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

Me too on The Avengers. Good good. That's Joss Whedon for you. I might give it a more conservative 8 though. But, whatever. I really don't like to be pinned down with a evaluative number rating. Oh well.

You know, the spectacular final act suffers a teensy eensy bit from the common ho-hum doldrums that spectaculars often suffer from. But those ho-hums are barely measurable or at least survivabley tolerable, thanks to Whedon's helmsmanship and a fun cast.

How do we feel about the same actor (Chris Evans... not that I'm not glad for him getting the work) playing two different characters in the same Marvel Universe? Is it a bit like... Harrison Ford playing both Han Solo and Qui-Gon Jinn etc?
 
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I also caught Avengers (jeez, who didn't! Look at those box office numbers! So now that Joss Whedon has All The Money....Serenity 2?) and, of course, had a blast. Good balance between the characters, though for me, that wasn't always a plus. I continually fail to care about Captain America, though his workout/punching bag gag was one of my favorite scenes. But anyway, that's personal tastes, not a reflection of quality of the film. Loki's descent from scheming tragic figure in Thor to all-out comic book antagonist was great (though possibly off-putting if you hadn't read the comics). Great stuff, and lots of fun, and nice setup for Avengers 2 at the end.
Thanos
is awesome.

richy, I wasn't distracted by Evans' dual roles. While it might make any crossovers odd to say the least (if they don't just recast), I didn't see him as anything other than Steve Rogers while watching. But as a long time comic geek, I'm used to different artists, and characters looking a little different or sometimes similar. Note to hollywood: we're used to that, so recast rather than reboot ;)

Addendum, related to point 2: Ryan Reynolds. Deadpool. Needs to happen, and it doesn't matter how many other comic roles he plays. I also wouldn't complain about Nathan Fillion as Hank Pym in Avengers 2. Just saying.
 
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JoshL said:
Addendum, related to point 2: Ryan Reynolds. Deadpool. Needs to happen, and it doesn't matter how many other comic roles he plays. I also wouldn't complain about Nathan Fillion as Hank Pym in Avengers 2. Just saying.
Click to expand...

Deadpool (2014)

:)

Ant-man (2014)

But Fillion's name isn't attached? Time to start a letter writing campaign? ;)

Dreams can come true/ It can happen to you/If... Josh marshals his hundreds(?) ...his thousands(?) of Twitter followers to write Marvel Studios to cast Nathan Fillion as Hank Pym.

But, uh, eh-hem, as long is his participation doesn't interfere with his commitment to reprising his role as Mal in Serenity II, right? :)
 
Today I saw "A Dangerous Method". Focusses on the life of Carl Jung, and his interactions with Freud and one of his patients played by Keira Knightly.

I have subtitled it "The Jung and the restless".

I would give it 6.5 out of 10.

Knightly gives a very compelling rendition of a mad woman, particularly in the early parts of the film and her first few sessions with Jung. I found it disturbing and uncomfortable to watch.

Best line in the movie goes to the character Otto Gross who comments the Freud's obsession with sexual explanations for behaviour is because he is not getting any.

I don't think Viggo Mortensen has a scene in the movie when he is NOT smoking a cigar.

Interesting insight into the personalities but only if your into that kind of thing.
 
MI4: GHOST TURD-IN-THE-HALL - 5/10
I like action movies. A lot.
I can't stand drama snore-fests.
But this one had me fast forwarding 2X with subtitles and clicking on the time counter within thirty minutes.
Too many preposterous deus ex machina tech toys.
Maybe I'd call it "tech ex machina" save@ss complacency.

Gotta love the profitability on this gig, though.
Budget $145 million
Box office $693 million

WTH are people so delighted over?
I turned it off during the Dubai to Mumbai air hop aboard the GS. Snore....


A DANGEROUS METHOD - 6/10
It was fairly interesting, but I still FF@2X w/ sub-tittlies after the first half hour.
(KK's bubbies, such that they are, zipped right on by, thank God!)

Two points I found myself distractedly interested in were that historically the development of "the talking cure" as opposed to mechanical or chemical "cures" was revolutionary, and that our self-righteous society of "freedom" absolutely dismisses that not all "sex" is about sex or that some things which do not at all appear to be about sex are indeed quite about sex.

I was most impressed with Knightly's performance. It was a tough role to accept.
Kudos to both her and the director.


MARGIN CALL - 9/10
A very nice film.
Hoorah for another excellent indie film.
Maybe it's because at heart I am a numbers guy and clearly understand how digits on a screen or paper have a real life impact - but the tension of the responsibility to exactly "whom" do employees in this position have was meaningful to me.
At what point is technically legal behavior socially criminal?

I know they made money on this (barely), but I'm disappointed more people weren't interested in it.
Budget $3.4–3.5 million (est.)
Box office $11,507,328 (worldwide)

This is what I would call "a good movie that I didn't enjoy."
My nerves were a wreck during and afterward.


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsBznn8D13zOdGlCeDRmWTFCYXJRWjJ3SUphZDNzMGc#gid=0
Of the 2011 Sundance features that received distribution, Margin Call & The Guard are the only two I'd recommend watching.
I'm still waiting for Trollhunter to stay on the library shelf long enough to snatch it up!




Hey, Pete! (below) -
What makes for a good Guy Ritchie trifecta is to watch his progression from LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, when he had no financing, to SNATCH, when he did have better financing - but received a lotta grief over just a remake of the LS&TSB formula with cash, to ROCKNROLLA, where he ditched the "fun" and just caught grief for being poor at being serious. :)
And if you can, try to catch up with DEFENDOR back to back with SUPER.

>> http://www.crackle.com/c/Defendor
 
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Just seen The Avengers! Great film. 9/10. Visual effects and humour was top notch.

Like Justin said, suprised that some of it was filmed on the 5D, a great encouragament to indie filmmakers.
 
Apparently YouTube cycles out the free movies in their "movies" section (I reviewed Defendor from that but now it isn't available).

Snatch. - 8.5/10 (you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=preWi1lCHaw)

This is a stylish and darkly funny film. The style reminds me a lot of Tarantino, but maybe a bit more "grounded". The cinematography is great, especially in the last fight scene. And the characters are excellent, every one of them with their own quirks. The style may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I highly recommend it!
 
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The Avengers - 9/10
Very nice.
Good story, acting, action, dialog was fair.
Favorite scene was between Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, and agent Coulson.
Code: 
Pepper - Phil!
Stark - I thought his first name was "Agent?"
And the dynamic between Stark and Banner was great, too.
Code: 
Stark - Dr. Banner, your work is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of 
the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.

I don't think the 3D added anything to it, though.
Often it just irritated me when gratuitous 3D shots were included.

And is it just me, but does 3D bugger with the perspective, making some shots look like they should be tiny little "bug on a blade of grass"?
 
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I agree with you rayw! I found myself taking off the 3D glass in every other shot and I actually find it better without it! lol. If you haven't seen it, definitely save some money and watch it in 2D.

Stark was hilarious on this movie. I like his character arc too! But for me, the Hulk stole the show. lol. SPOILER: I like how he just punches Capt. America lol. Everyone in the theater died in laughter when that happened :SPOILER

Anyone else notice the Lord of the Rings reference? Stark just called Hawkeye Legolas. LOL.

Also, my question is... Why is Black Widow a part of the Avengers? I mean, what does she do? She seems kinda normal... and pretty. :)
 
justinisfilming said:
Also, my question is... Why is Black Widow a part of the Avengers? I mean, what does she do? She seems kinda normal... and pretty. :)
Click to expand...

Superhero doesn't always mean superpowered. Black Widow and Hawkeye were both members of SHIELD at the beginning, as spy and assassin. As the Avengers are formed in the movie, they are given reasons to be there and despite not being superpowered, are able to keep up. Black Widow in particular is good at close quarters combat (whereas Hawkeye is long range).

The fact that they both held their own in a battle that was tiring even for Cap and Thor demonstrates that they're a cut above the average SHIELD member.

All that said, in the Marvel universe, arguably the most powerful character (more solo victories versus top tier villains) and one of my personal favorites is a character whose sole power is being able to talk to squirrels: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_Girl Hooray for whimsy!

Yeah, I'm a big geek and comfortable with that (so of course caught the LOTR reference!)
 
rayw said:


And is it just me, but does 3D bugger with the perspective, making some shots look like they should be tiny little "bug on a blade of grass"?
Click to expand...


Not just you. It often looks like something shot with a tilt/shift lens.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbnGeWzYPZw
 
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THE AVENGERS, viewed on the biggest screen I could find -- in 3D (first showing so not many in the theater) was very, entertaining. The movie is updated, but my understanding is that the script is based upon the 1963 comic book 'The Avengers'. Give it a solid A (very entertaining).

GOD BLESS AMERICA, watched on widescreen HD at home. Loved the sick, but well deserved and conveyed anger. Gave me something to think about after the movie was over, A

OUTCAST (netflix on HD computer screen) good small budget indie -- B

SHADOW (netflix on HD computer screen) good small budget indie -- B

WAR HORSE watched on widescreen HD at home. Pretty camera work, C+

A DANGEROUS METHOD, fell asleep after the first 25 minutes and didn't care to see beyond the point of falling asleep. Didn't think I was that tired. NO grade.

THE IMMORTALS, as with CLASH OF THE TITANS and 300, ho hum (no where as good as CONAN), B-
 
World's Greatest Dad. You all are right. It's good. A black comedy with a heart. Maybe a 7 or an 8.

Kevin Smith: Burn in Hell. Good good. Interesting Q & A. His explaination for his coming retirement sounds a little bit like Kurt Cobain's suicide note. So a bit sad. But overall, entertaining as usual.
 
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Our Idiot Brother - 2/10

Textbook indie film.
I didn't even start fast-forwarding, I just turned it off at 10min.
Now, how this thing opened on 2,555 screens is beyond me, but between the low public opinion and low revenues (although they clearly made a profit!) I am not the least bit surprised. Weinstein screwed over some theater owners on this one.

Wiki production synopsis explains A LOT!
The story of Our Idiot Brother was conceived by Jesse Peretz and his sister Evgenia, who had written a screenplay together before but were unable to finance the project. They greatly enjoyed working together though, so they decided to draft another story, this time "a bit more commercial" and with characters in their 30s. They planned to cast actors with whom Peretz was already friends, and created the main character with Paul Rudd in mind. The script was written by Evgenia Peretz and her husband David Schisgall, and was completed by December 2009 under the original title of My Idiot Brother. Peretz brought the script to producer Anthony Bregman, with whom he had worked on the 2007 film The Ex. According to Bregman, "I was always looking for something to do with him [Peretz] and he came to me with this script. It was fantastic." Bregman was familiar with producers Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub and had previously attempted to collaborate with the two. He sent them the script in April 2010 and Saraf said that he "loved it and was eager to work with both of them [Bregman and Peretz]." The film was co-financed by Bregman's production company, "Likely Story" and Saraf and Turtletaub's company, "Big Beach", with a budget of less than $10 million. The project developed unusually rapidly for an independent film; Bregman remarked in September 2010, "We worked on it for a few months and then it came together really quickly for the world of independent film. [...] We will have a cut of the film less than a year after we saw this script." Saraf said, "This movie will set a record for how quickly it came together: from the time I first read the script to the time we wrapped the shoot was four months."

High friends in high places.
Gottaluvit. ;)


Life During Wartime - 2/10

Same fate as Our Idiot Brother: Eject DVD @ 10min.
Dysfunction as entertainment ain't my bag. Sorry.



Brüno - 3/10

Off 10min in.
Borat was funny.
This was just adult themed retardation.
 
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