Last Movie You Watched

[Todd]

Please don't tell us you prefer M. Night Shyamalan.

Dude, The Last Airbender rawks!

[TheGSMoeller]

No, not going to happen.

I'm not a fan of everything that Tarentino has produced, but the ones I like I find original and enjoyable, but there are better American filmmakers that deserve the kind of attention he receives.

That is probably my least favourite Tarentino film.  Sorry, Greg.    I find there is too much over the top violence in the second half of the film.  I prefer Vol. II

I understand your point, Ray, but I find the violence in Kill Bill Vol.1 to be more animated and cartoonish than say Reservoir Dogs.

[TheGSMoeller]

Dude, The Last Airbender rawks!

http://www.youtube.com/v/H3VnQE3qXHE

[stingo]

I can actually participate in this thread for a change...

I watched Amélie recently (a second viewing) and the film still resonates with me. Probably one of my favorite feel good films ever.

[Drasko]

Pretty, with good cast, by the numbers. Bonello should be more interesting (based on L'Apollonide).

[TheGSMoeller]

The word epic only begins to express the scope of this animated DC movie. Don't let the fact that it's animated deter any of you from watching, this might just be the Dark Knight movie that Nolan should have made instead of TDK Rises to close out his trilogy. The story is deep, following Bruce Wayne as a much older man who's been 10 years retired from the cape. Gotham is once again in shambles and Bruce Wayne can't sit back any longer while he watches his city crumble. I don't want to ruin too much of the plot, but here are some great cameos from the Batman/DC universe, and a few surprises including a showdown between two classic superheroes that is massive. The Dark Knight Returns is just as intense, violent and dramatic as any live action comic book film, and as long as well (2 hours and 30 minutes).



[asin] B00DP9RYDY[/asin]

[milk]

I'm not a fan of everything that Tarentino has produced, but the ones I like I find original and enjoyable, but there are better American filmmakers that deserve the kind of attention he receives.


I understand your point, Ray, but I find the violence in Kill Bill Vol.1 to be more animated and cartoonish than say Reservoir Dogs.

The thing that annoys me about Tarantino is his constant referencing of film in his films. I think he's talented. I've enjoyed some of his films. But for me, they never reach beyond and I'm not all that sympathetic to his cinematic goals. But Tarantino probably succeeds at what he's trying to do. 
On the other hand, Linklater doesn't always succeed in his efforts. But I'm on board with these efforts. I'll be checking this out:
https://www.youtube.com/v/eOjd_7aXRRk

[Todd]

The Unknown Known.  A little over an hour-and-a-half of Errol Morris interviewing Donald Rumsfeld on all matters from his youth to his second stint as SecDef.  Perhaps Mr Morris thought he would be able to extract "confessions", like he did with Robert McNamara, but it was not to be.  (Aside from personalty traits, the amount of time between decisions and interview may have played a role in how the respective subjects view what they did.)  Whatever one's views of Rumsfeld, he's clearly still very sharp and able to communicate with carefully worded sentences, and he also clearly understood the intent of Morris, so he never really gets caught out.  He has an answer for every question, a justification for every action.  The righteous indignation I read in some reviews of the film are just gripes; I wasn't surprised that a political lifer could behave so ruthlessly and coldly, all while grinning.  I seriously doubt the indignant reviewers were, either, they just needed an excuse to revel in their moral superiority.

While the film is generally entertaining for what it is, Mr Morris employs a few devices that detract from the film, and made me take the film, and him, less seriously.  There's the heavy-handed score by Danny Elfmann.  There's the footage of the submarine missile launch.  (WMD – get it?).  And there's the Wilhelm scream near the end.  Of a documentary.  Right.

[Bogey]

Still holds up because the story is that good.  Reminds me of an extended Twilight Zone episode.  Plus, those 50's sci-fi effects are priceless!

[milk]

This had great reviews and good sci-fi is hard to find so I gave it a go. Honestly, I got bored half-way through.

[TheGSMoeller]

This had great reviews and good sci-fi is hard to find so I gave it a go. Honestly, I got bored half-way through.

This one is on my list, I've really enjoyed the director's previous films, bummer to hear you didn't like it, milk. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see it soon, however Foreign and art-house cinema rarely finds its way near my part.

[milk]

This one is on my list, I've really enjoyed the director's previous films, bummer to hear you didn't like it, milk. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see it soon, however Foreign and art-house cinema rarely finds its way near my part.

It's kind of a sci-fi action film I think. The director did a good job. The first act is fun because of the novelty of the idea. However, once that wears off, what's left? I think maybe there's a large audience of people who like slow-motion action sequences. That's enough for them. Maybe they're the ones who say: "this film had good action." But I can't think of a movie I like for that reason. I have to care about the characters...But I like sci-fi. 

[SonicMan46]

Well, I took advantage of the B&N half price sale on Criterion BDs - ordered 4 and have watched 2 as of last night:

 

[Bogey]

Well, I took advantage of the B&N half price sale on Criterion BDs - ordered 4 and have watched 2 as of last night:

 

Excellent!  Still need to get Ace in the Hole.

[Ken B]

I would have thought jazz would warrant at least a mention, but then that would detract from a faux high-minded gripe.

That sums up Vidal perfectly.

[Todd]

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  Humans and apes are having trouble getting along.  Misunderstandings arise, as one might expect in inter-species communication.  There's some scheming.  The apes go, well, they go apeshit.  The human actors all say things and do stuff, but the whole point of seeing the movie is to see the apes do their thing, and on that count, the movie is superb, with generally outstanding CGI.  (Cascading water didn't come off well, for some reason.)  One thing that did trouble me was the gross gender imbalance among the apes.  One hopes that the new society they create in the next flick isn't patriarchal.

And for those who might want a short version of the movie, there's always:

[North Star]

Three Zvyagintsev movies during the past couple of days, first time I've seen any movies from him. The cinematography is constantly gorgeous, the pace slow, and the movies very powerful.

THE RETURN (Vozvrashchenie, 2003)
 



THE BANISHMENT (Izgnanie, 2007)





ELENA (2011)
 

 

[Drasko]

This [Snowpiercer] had great reviews and good sci-fi is hard to find so I gave it a go. Honestly, I got bored half-way through.

+1

[TheGSMoeller]

+1

Love this film. And just about everything from Hou Hsiao-hsian. I've been meaning to watch Flowers of Shanghai again soon, images from that film have always stuck with me.

[André]

John Ford's The Searchers.

Nikolaj Arcel's A Royal Affair.

Both very interesting in their own way. But Ford's opus is the stuff legends are made of.  Considering the quasi non-existent historical import of the Denmark's King's marital misfortunes, the second is of secondary interest. Albeit good foor TV viewing.