Last Movie You Watched

[Director Black]

Well, I guess I am setting out to watch Innocence...but it's going to take a while. I plan to finish Bacanno, get to the SAC, and re-watch Revolutionary Girl Utena, Kino's Journey, Serial Experiments Lain, and Paranoia Agent to see if they still hold up as some of my favorite anime...though the rewatches can be toned down depending on much I wanna revisit them.

[Kazuki_Fuse]

Lost River- "a dark fairy tale about love, family and the fight for survival in the face of danger. In the virtually abandoned city of Lost River, Billy (Christina Hendricks), a single mother of two, is led into a macabre underworld in her quest to save her childhood home and hold her family together. Her teenage son Bones (Iain De Casestecker) discovers a mystery about the origins of Lost River that triggers his curiosity and sets into motion an unexpected journey that will test his limits and the limits of those he loves."

Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, and almost painfully obviously a love letter to Refn (who directed him in Drive and Only God Forgives). Like Refn's latest films, its more style over substance, beautiful cinematography, but characters all lack depth. Although I did enjoy seeing Matt Smith (aka the 11th Doctor) as Bully, self proclaimed king of copper pipes and a demon with scissors.
https://youtu.be/w1aEAHR5bgc

[silvermoonlight]

Angry birds....just don't bother with this one you'll just regret it I think its just one of those concepts that doesn't translate well to a movie and is better in mini series animations segments.

[Ray]

^ Blasphemy. we're going to be talking about Angry Birds the way we talk about Animal Farm in the future.

[silvermoonlight]

^ Blasphemy. we're going to be talking about Angry Birds the way we talk about Animal Farm in the future.

What that "All movies are equal but some movies are more equal than others" Or how animal farm is trying to make a point about something and angry birds isn't on the same level as Animal Farm film because it doesn't have work horses being sent to the knacker yard after serving loyally or good leaders being run off the farm and it doesn't shows how dictators take over and warp the system and become like the oppressors that claim to hate.

[Ray]

Since the serious discussion thread is gone. . . I don't want to get in trouble with the mods for talking about what the Angry Birds movie is meant to be a thinly veiled allegory for.

[silvermoonlight]

Since the serious discussion thread is gone. . . I don't want to get in trouble with the mods for talking about what the Angry Birds movie is meant to be a thinly veiled allegory for.

Oh I see where your going there and I won't talk further on the subject as I'd rather nether of us got in to trouble for that...

[Director Black]

Saw the Lego Batman Movie. Though, before I get into it, I should explain that I, or probably anyone else, would expect this franchise to go this far. The Lego Movie is easily my favorite animated of the decade, and...yeah, The Lego Batman Movie is as great as you've heard. Don't expect it to be on par with the Lego Movie, but do expect it to be just as funny.

If the Lego Ninjago movie actually turns up good and/or makes a good chunk of money, then we're probably going to actually see a solid movie franchise out of what was basically a giant toy commercial.

[Gus Hanson]

Just got done rewatching Fast Five. At that point honestly, the franchise could've stopped on a good note but the butthurt Michelle Rodriguez fanboys had to have their say in making sure a sixth happened with her back on board.

[Ray]

Terry Gilliam's "Adventures Of Baron Munchausen"



Look at it. This poster can't begin to prepare you for the illogical insanity of this movie.

A lot like Time Bandits. Only this time it shows us the adventure through the eyes of a young girl instead of a boy, a decent piece of 80's goodness. Based on the wacky over the top adventures of the fictional 18th century explorer . . . it's hilarious, heartfelt, and with a lot of subversive themes (They use the word 'orgasm' and show a naked womans backside . . . IN A FAMILY MOVIE) , and excellent choreography and imagery that is both beautiful and wacky.

and a surprise Cameo from an old friend. . . his name wasn't even on the dvd box!

SPOILER: Show

What I will say is that the ending is very confusing . . . much like Time Bandits the ending is rather weird and illogical and functions on the dream logic of movies. Which I suppose is the point of the movie. Which is about how the modern world is no place for people like the Baron, the character out of the old pulps who is held down by the logic and reason of the modern world.

It's very Spielbergian. . . even by Gilliam's standards.

[Director Black]

Re-watched the Babadook with my aunt and mother last night. When I first saw it, it immediately became my favorite movie of the decade (A year later, Ex Machina replaced it), and I still stand by it: it's a fantastic psychological horror with great acting - especially from the lead actress Essie Davis - that's criminally underrated. The only problem I have with it is that sometimes Samuel (The son of the mother) can be grating at first (Or, for some, the entire movie), but I got used to it knowing that it's how most kids act like.

[Director Black]

Saw Rosemary's Baby for the first time, making this the second horror movie I've watched this week (Possibly'll be three if I get the chance to see Get Out this weekend).

But yeah, it's a great movie. I don't know if I can say much about it seeing as how much it's been ingrained in pop culture and film discussions. The most I can say is that unless you've had the whole thing spoiled by anything that referenced it (Discounting the creepy but awesome theme music), go into it with as little knowledge as possible.

[Gendo'sPapa]

A CURE FOR WELLNESS.

Gore Verbinski partially gets back to being the exciting filmmaker who gave us The Ring but he gets lost along the way. Reuniting with cinematographer Bojan Bazelli the duo have certainly made the most visually stunning horror movie in recent years - this movie is beautifully composed in every shot & is a real feast for the eyes - & if you have a chance to see it try to find it on the biggest screen possible. But the bad tendencies Verbinski has inherited from making four super-sized live-action blockbusters with Johnny Depp - the first three Pirates of the Caribbean & The Lone Ranger - do carry over into this movie. Namely a far-too-long running time of 146 minutes & a need for everything to end in a third act action sequence that is tonally at odds with everything that came before it.

I would say for the first two hours of it's overlong running time A CURE FOR WELLNESS works as long as you just let the movie flow over you & don't ask any questions - logically it is riddled with flaws & afterwards my date & I kept asking "why X happened" & "what was up with y", etc - but I repeat it works wonderfully..... and then in the last thirty minutes the movie falls on its face & just gets really Really REALLY dumb. Oh well.

I still recommend seeing it in a theater if you can if you're an open minded film buff. It's certainly one of the weirdest movies to ever get released by a studio - certainly weirder than DOCTOR STRANGE which while a far better movie is certainly not weird even though Marvel sold it as such - but you better move quick because the film had a dismal opening weekend.

[Sachi]

For a while now, I've had the movie Outcast on my list on Netflix, simply because it had an image of Nicholas Cage in what seemed to be a medieval knight/samurai getup.

I was expecting a terrible, over the top performance by him, and an otherwise boring movie. However, what I got was a surprisingly entertaining and well-executed movie, which pretty much lacked Nicholas Cage entirely, except for about a third of it. Instead, our lead is Hayden Christensen-- yes, young Darth Vader from the prequels (I always think his name is Christian Haydensen, for some reason)-- and he's giving a spectacular performance as a guilt-ridden, opium-addicted ex-crusader gone east to search for an old comrade (Nicholas Cage). The film is primarily set in China, and follows the drama of one of two princes murdering the emperor because he chose the other prince as a successor; the murderer frames his brother, and seizes power. Anakin Skywalker eventually comes in, and saves the day, blah blah blah, typical movie. The plot itself is rather basic, and follows fairly a fairly predictable structure. However, the execution is on point. From the cinematography and style, to the pacing/foreshadowing/etc, the acting, the action, and the overall direction of the film, it does a pretty solid job. Haydensen kicks a lot of ass in this movie, and in a rather compelling way. He's a fallen hero with a rugged side, struggling with guilt and seeking some form of redemption; and the entire time I was thinking this is what young Darth Vader should have been. People give a lot of shit to Haydensen for his involvement in the Star Wars prequels, but most of that isn't his fault, and he really is a good actor. And then there's Nick Cage, whom I was expecting a classic over the top and cheesy performance from, yet instead I got a rather subdued and honestly, quite believable performance out of him; he blended well into the setting, despite being Nicholas Cage playing a white guy in China during medieval times; again, sign of good directing. The rest of the cast is mostly comprised and lead by Asians, which is neat, and there is some compelling drama among the royal family, and even among some that serve them and are forced to choose sides between the two princes. There's a princess too, and she's a pretty strong character throughout, however falling victim to a few predictable tropes along the way.

Basically, I just turned this movie on because I wanted mindless eye candy in the background. Instead, I got something kind of neat. Definitely a solid popcorn flick. I recommend giving it a look.

[FrDougal9000]

My dad wanted us to go out and see a movie this week, so (because there was nothing else we would both find interesting) we ended up seeing The Great Wall (y'know, that Matt Damon in Ancient China fighting monsters movie). And... meh. If there's anything you can say about it, it's the most tentpole Hollywood action movie out of all the tentpole Hollywood action movies I've seen in recent memory. Included in this are, of course:

-Big dumb action scenes full of shaky cam and cinematography so uninspired that I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't much (if any) storyboarding done before shooting began.

-A flaccid script that tells us things we're already seeing/hearing (random Spanish dude pointing out each army divisions' function or obvious visual trait) and informs us of personality traits that aren't shown with the character's actions (Matt Damon is apparently "a liar, a thief and a killer", even though all we saw of him beforehand was running off from some dudes).

-A wall of noise that is somehow supposed to count as music. It's not music. It's just noise that exists for the sake of existing. Please stop doing that, Hollywood. Make actual good music that stands out within the film itself and is good to listen to on its own, for fuck's sake.

-A poor use of Willem Dafoe. Yes, this actually does annoy me, since that's pretty much why I wanted to see this movie. He shows up, says about a page's worth of dialogue, and makes one hilariously silly face before he gets blown up. I understand that he's a minor character, and therefore he didn't have to be as good as, say, his performance as Nosferatu in Shadow of the Vampire, but I expected better than this.

-Competent acting from everyone involved. They deliver the script well enough, I suppose, but there's nothing memorable on either side of the spectrum. There aren't any particularly compelling performances that made me feel for the character, nor anything stupidly bombastic enough for me to start grinning with enjoyment. The only notable thing in this department is Damon's really distracting accent for his character. It's like a weird mix between Canadian/Austrailian/British/David-Van-Driessen-from-Beavis-and-Butt-Head and it kept pulling me outta the film.

Anyway, it's a mediocre action film that's neither awful nor good. Like I said, the most tentpole Hollywood action movie of them all. Honestly, I'd just recommend you go watch Fury Road if you want a properly good action film, and Shadow of the Vampire if you need more Willem Dafoe in your life (don't worry, we all need Willem Dafoe; there is never enough Dafoe).

[Chuckman]

I watched Rambo last night.

I've seen it before, obviously, but on rewatching, for whatever reason I noticed just how absurd the blood in this movie is. It takes place in a universe where human beings contain several hundred gallons of red syrupy goo under high pressure and any puncturing of their bodies causes it to fly everywhere all over everyone.

I think it deserves respect as some kind of weird artistic take on the 80's action film. It de-sanitizes the comic book violence with absurd amounts of gore and at the ending says "yes, this is a movie about how it actually it is better to butcher people like swine instead of bringing peace with compassion and faith, what about it?"

[silvermoonlight]

Watched TMNT of of the shadows, It was slightly better than the first movie but not by much but saying that it is well worth watching this film just to see the comically stuff with Rocksteady and Bebop who I always loved in the 80's cartoon and are captured perfectly in this film and they really steal the show, I just wish they'd had even more screen time personally.

[Kazuki_Fuse]

They Look Like People- I don't really want to say anything about this film because its one of those movies you should know next to nothing about before watching. However I will say it's a fantastic psychological horror, a slow burn, and the first movie in a long time to genuinely unsettle me at times.

[Ray]

Scanners

Also known as the movie that blew a man's head up.



Not Cronenberg's best movie, the characters are milk toast bland, the plots as basic as you can get, the majority of the techno synthetic score gave me a headache. But it's definitely well crafted, a lot of the special effects are appropriately subtle and unnerving, (a payphone BLEEDS), and I like Michael Ironside as the villain, his mannerisms remind me a lot of Jack Nicholson. I think it's a shame he's not in the movie more because he let's his henchman do the heavy hitting.

He also has the best line in the movie.

"I'm gonna suck yer brain dry!"

[Guy Nacks]

"I'm gonna suck yer brain dry!"

I think I've heard this quote paraphrased by Riley Reid into something slightly different. It yielded more pleasurable results.



Anyway, I saw GET OUT, directed by Jordan Peele of the sketch comedy duo Key & Peele. It's basically Guess Who's Coming to Dinner by way of Sam Raimi. The tone of the movie is very tongue in cheek in the first half, then plays it mostly straight throughout the final act of the film.

As a sketch comic, Peele knows how to stage a scene for comedic purposes, but also knows how to stage effectively creepy and unsettling moments. It is for this reason that most critics are saying that Peele should modify his business card from "Comedian" to "Filmmaker" and that he deserves to get additional work based on the strength of this first effort.

The theater I was in was about half full and the audience was very responsive to both the tongue-in-cheek comic moments as well as the genuinely scary ones. It was also the first time in a long time I've pumped my fist at the screen and exclaimed a resounding "Yeah!" while during s film.

Strange that the only two films I've seen this year have both been in the horror genre--one that I consider to be mostly garbage and rarely see in theaters. But both Split and Get Out were surprisingly good efforts, though I do like Get Out more so.