movies What's the last film you watched? And rate it!

Melancholia - 5/10

Meh... can't say I'd recommend it.
Thank God for 2X fast-forward on my DVD remote.
A) it's slowwwwww...
B) I don't care for YET ANOTHER scifi-lite film. (Joining the ranks of Monsters, Never Let Me Go, Limitless, The Adjustment Bureau, Super 8, Inception, Another Earth, Source Code, etc.)

I'm always surprised for the films actors agree to do nude shots in. O...kay.

Technically iteresting film website: http://www.melancholiathemovie.com/#_technicalinfo


Cowboys & Aliens - 1/10

Absolute suck-fest.
Don't waste your time.
No redeeming attributes.
 
@ray,

I think in particular, the little Last of the Wind Benders kid did an especially SUCKY job.

I'm sorry - but how did Spiels let him on the set?
 
Roc -
Which sucky kid?
There was so much suckin' going on I couldn't discern one suck from the conglomerated suck-orgy.



Like Crazy 7/10

I'm getting a little old for these young-love dramas and the "mystical complexities" of faux scenarios, but it's a very nice film.

Budget-wise: best $250k I've seen spent in a long time.
Technical-wise: amazing what can be done with one of these.
512nfG0dDIL._AA115_.jpg


WhyTF are there not more of us IT-ers making this quality film with this no-budget equipment?

Monsters was shot on a mini-monstrosity.
I wonder what the set-up was for Like Crazy.
 
I'm seeing The Hunger Games tonight - bunch of friends are taking me out.

I'm excited. I only know a little bit about the book.

I'll letcha know :)

Wish me luck - LA premieres can be scary!!!
 
One more vote for Hunger Games being good. I did read, and love the books. I almost didn't after having heard them described as "Battle Royale for the Twilight crowd". I read them, loved them, and realized that description, as distasteful as it sounds, is pretty apt.

The opening had a bit too much shakey-cam for my tastes, but good score, great set design and fantastic performances overshadowed it. By a bunch. I often forget how really good Woody Harrelson is.
 
Am I the only one who didn't think The Hunger Games was fantastic? It was Okay in my books - possibly a 7 out of 10. It kept my interest, but I have a few notes:

1. Most important for me (obviously) is the Sound Design. This movie I thought could have done way more to forward the story with sound. Sure, the mockingjays are pretty cool, but I'm talking about more organically integrating the Sci-Fi universe from the future (much like Star Wars did) without all sorts of generic beeps, etc. Specifically, I thought some of the doors were pretty much copied and pasted from a stock "KEWL SCI FI SOUND EFFEX" library. In many cases, the foley was about 10 dB too low in the mix and I thought they could have gotten way more intimate with the breath, foley, interaction with the forest by the main character, to really put you into the movie. At no point did I feel like I was in the forest with the character... I missed that a little bit.

2. Ok - I'm surprised no-one mentioned that 80% of the movie was out of focus...? C'mon - you hire a FOCUS PULLER to do the job of keeping the action in focus if you decide to film everything with 2 feet of DOF... I thought the focusing was HORRIBLE on this movie.

3. This movie was reminiscent of Bourne... Come on. A little too much shake for my taste. Handheld from the VERY $*$&ING BEGINNING of the movie. Whole entire fight scenes were unable to be seen because the camera operator was shaking so bad.

4. It seems like the DP forgot his wide angle lenses at home. I think there were a total of 6 or 7 shots in the ENTIRE movie that were wider than 50mm. Practically the entire movie was shot with the frame size of Jennifer Lawrence's forehead to the middle of her neck. It was SO tight. I couldn't believe my eyes... Not nearly enough medium or long shots showing beautiful landscapes, etc. for my taste. I seriously think this is a fault.

5. Production design. I thought the police or "peacekeepers" could have been way better designed (costumes and props). And my god... The cornucopia??? Come on.. The equipment laying in and around the cornucopia looked exactly like one of the equipment rental flight packs I see at film shoots - grey camera cases, black storm cases, etc. Nothing futuristic about them... They literally looked like modern film equipment cases.

6. Visual effects? Meh. Could have made the kid's faces come through more on those dogs at the end like in the book.. The fire on their costumes in the palace city was mediocre ...


I guess that's what I get for going into a movie expecting way much more...
 
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Saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel last night. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Such a delightful script and of course outstanding acting. The cinematography was very complimentary as well. I'd give it 4 out of 5.
 
Winter's Bone. Yep. This is a good one. The positive buzz around it is well deserved. Definately recommended.

A Single Man. For the second time. Still very good. It still bugs me that
he dies in the end
. But I suppose it's more poetic, fitting than
if he lived and found a new lease on life
. It's probably a little bit silly that everyone looks as if they've stepped out of a fashion ad. But hey, it does make the film nice to look at, and why not?

Another great interview by Charlie Rose this one with Tom Ford.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). Very good. It's very nice that as Gary Oldman says they'll be making another film.

Eyes Wide Shut. For the second time. I think this time I got to see the uncensored Blu-ray version. It says: "The unrated international version." Very good, of course. Aren't there at least a couple Stanley Kubrick threads floating around here? I'll ask my questions on one of those I guess.
 
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I'm a board certified "Twilight" hater. The whole franchise IMO is garbage. Especially the baseball scene. But I'm vouching big time for "Hunger Games". I didn't think the action sequences were anything special at all. But, rich characters and compelling story trump all. And Jennifer Lawrence put that movie on her (supple, sculpted) shoulder and sprinted across the finish line. She's pretty much the sh*t.
 
Hugo (why all the hype? It was ok. Great cast, though)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Fincher) - I enjoyed it. I need to see the original now.
 
Rabbit Hole - 7/10 - overall well done.

You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger - 8.5/10 - very good film. Though I am a Woody fan

The Rum Diary - 7/10 - not too bad but needed some work prior to release. Still not bad
 
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