NOW CLOSED ; List some movies you've watched recently. Theatre, rental, TV... and give a */10

[Svnla]

Saw two movies this weekend.

Zero Dark Thirty - 7.5/10. Decent movie but the action part (when they went to take UBL) was a not as fast (too slow IMO) and action packed as I thought it would be. Another minus was the hard to understand dialogs of Arabic characters. I want to tip my hat off to all the guys and gals in the military, either in uniform or undercover/support roles/etc.

Love this part:

Boss: "How far is this place to this building?" <pointing to the map and asking others in the room>
Maya (speaking out of turn): "4328 ft or about 8/10 of a mile"
Boss: " and you are..?"
Maya: "I am the motherfucker that finds that place.............sir"


The Last Stand - 8/10. Not bad action but not enough car chasing/vehicle from the suggestion at the beginning of the movie (one of the bad guys was a pro-driver). Have some hilarious lines.

 

[Fingolfin269]

The Hobbit 7/10

Movie was decent enough but the fact that they split it into 3 different movies is just an obvious cash grab. The movie could have been shorter, there were quite a few extended boring and dull scenes.

Not a knock against the film but I just don't think I like "The Hobbit" story that much. I watched the cartoon all the time when I was a kid and have always associated it as being more on the side of a children's novel. Like it or not this movie will be compared to "Lord of the Rings" which is much more epic and has a better plot than "The Hobbit". I still don't understand how Peter Jackson plans on getting a full 3 movies out of the novel, it was not a very long book.

He's not going to get 3 movies out of the Hobbit novel. It's going to be The Hobbit plus other material. The Hobbit portion may actually be done at end of the second movie but I'm not entirely certain about that. I do think it's too long though. He probably could have accomplished the same vision in two movies.

 

[Xonim]

Watched 3 movies this weekend, plus a few episodes of Breaking Bad (in the middle of season 4 right now).

The Cabin in the Woods -- 7/10

Not my typical kind of movie, but Joss Whedon was attached so I had to see it. Decent enough. Dunno what else to really say about it.

Premium Rush -- 8/10

Liked this movie a lot. JGL is one of my favorite actors as of late, so there's that. This movie was fast paced and overall fun. I really liked the style the director used for many aspects of the movie, was pretty unique.

Spoiler

Specifically, when he's coming up to an intersection with cross traffic, and it shows the outcome of taking that path. Also, zooming along the maps that show the route.

Had a few pretty funny parts too. Definitely could recommend it.

Django Unchained -- 9.5/10

Finally got to see this. Went into it knowing it was a Tarantino western with Leonardo DiCaprio (favorite actor). Didn't know much else about it story-wise. It did not disappoint. I don't know what/if it was nominated for any awards, I didn't pay attention this year, but Christopher Waltz was FANTASTIC. Jamie Foxx was great. Leonardo DiCaprio was good - I had a hard time at first with the role he was in, until we got more of his backstory.

After the first 10-15 minutes it felt like it slowed down a bit, I do think if it has a fault it's in the length of the movie, which is why I knocked half a point off.

Spoiler

The whole setup thing as far as riding the horses out to Candy land, the guy in the tree with the dogs, finding the right one, etc I feel could've been pushed a long a little quicker. Also, earlier in the movie, on the other plantation where they kill the 3 guys, and then the KKK-type cult thing --- was entertaining and all, perhaps one of the best parts of the movie, but it wasn't really necessary to the overall story. We could have just assumed that when money is used later on, it was from previous bounties or some such. I don't know. Also, it was funny when they pointed out the problems with the masks and eyeholes -- for the first 10-15 seconds. Not 3-5 minutes or whatever it was.

Will be a day 1 bluray buy for me. Should be for you too :biggrin:

Breaking Bad - 8/10

Since it was mentioned in the last few posts, I'm going to go against the grain here and say it's only an 8/10. In fair disclosure, I'm just over halfway through season 4, and I started watching a couple weeks ago.

Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic TV show. However, it's falling into sort of a cycle. One example is I feel there's way too much of "Walt tells Jesse that he's young and stupid and should be listening to him instead of making his own choices" and it's really starting to bother me.

Also:

Spoiler

For the first couple seasons, Hank was one of my favorite characters. After getting shot, he obviously would have changed a bit, but I think they pushed it way too far in the other direction. I haven't really liked any of the scenes he's been in since then, he just bugs the hell out of me.

 

[arrfep]

I get the feeling that I'm the only person that didn't really care much for this movie. It probably didn't help that it was somewhat over-hyped by everyone saying how awesome and action-packed it is. Now, it's certainly action-packed, but I need more than just a barrage of a barrage of punches to entertain me. The characters were boring and mostly the equivalent of Star Trek red shirts, the story pretty much lulled after about ten minutes and picked back up in the last ten, and some of the fights just seemed a little too ridiculous.

The problem is that when the characters are boring, I don't care about them. If I don't care about them, I need something else to engross me in the movie. The plot or rather the plot's pacing was incredibly poor, which means it didn't help either. So, I pretty much sat there picking the movie apart after fight scenes started dragging on.

Also, when you have a movie full of people that look fairly similar to each other (they're all about the same size, similar complexion and have black hair), try using some sort of indicative marking to let us easily realize who the guy we're supposed to care about is. Oh, and make sure it's easy for us to keep track of (not like John Carter's Red vs. Blue)... perhaps a patch that says "Good Guy" would work! :biggrin:

The Raid: Redemption: 9/10

Yes, the story was weak and dialogue was out of a 1980's saturday-morning cartoon. But there was some pretty impressive camera work and most of the fight scenes were fantastic. A couple did get annoyingly long, but for the most part they were different enough from each other that I didn't get sick of watching them.

I will agree that it's hard to watch movies when you think every guy looks the same (that was my first thought when I saw the squad in the van at the beginning), but I will say that I felt bad when at least one of the good guys died; in fact I was downright shocked that

Spoiler

Jaka

died...that was very un-Hollywood.

If you're a fan of kung-fu movies or loved The Expendables, you'll love Raid. If you're looking to have your brain tickled...not so much.

 

[SP33Demon]

Zero Dark Thirty - 6.5/10

Drags in many of the sections (kept asking myself, is this movie almost over? Jesus!), and the story touches on the stupidity of both sides (

Spoiler

such as the 7 agents killed b/c they didn't follow proper base security, our seals stupidly crash a billion dollar helo, they make our seals look like partying jock gungho meathead idiots, UBL's courier is driving a cool white SUV & talking on the phone to stick out like a sore thumb, UBL is living in one of the most expensive houses in the area and sticks out like a sore thumb

). I think for someone who doesn't know much of the story, it could be entertaining but the reenactments were meh and the reminder of the stupidity on both sides made me /facepalm.

 

[purbeast0]

just went to watch the lobby scene in the matrix for the first time in my ht and ended up watching it until the end of the movie. forgot how awesome that movie is. still lives up to everything to this day.

http://i.imgur.com/vyN2smC.jpg

 

[JimKiler]

The Raid: Redemption: 9/10

Yes, the story was weak and dialogue was out of a 1980's saturday-morning cartoon. But there was some pretty impressive camera work and most of the fight scenes were fantastic. A couple did get annoyingly long, but for the most part they were different enough from each other that I didn't get sick of watching them.

I will agree that it's hard to watch movies when you think every guy looks the same (that was my first thought when I saw the squad in the van at the beginning), but I will say that I felt bad when at least one of the good guys died; in fact I was downright shocked that

Spoiler

Jaka

died...that was very un-Hollywood.

If you're a fan of kung-fu movies or loved The Expendables, you'll love Raid. If you're looking to have your brain tickled...not so much.

Now go watch the Korean film Oldboy. It is on Netflix but dubbed if you stream it.

 

[mcurphy]

His Name Is Bob - 9/10 This is a 2009 Doc about a guy named Bob who lives in Dallas Texas. Bob has lived through an extremely hard life. I couldn't imagine having what he had to endure through his lifetime, and then to still have a great spirit after it all. It was a very inspirational story that made me thankful for everything that I have had in life. The guy is truly a great man, and I wish I could meet him some day.

 

[bigrash]

The Campaign - 2/5

Wasn't as funny as I thought it'd be.

 

[Cerb]

Gifted Hands: the Ben Carson Story - 6/10

You know what the worst part about this movie was? I kept wanting a grouchy old white guy to come in and call him cookie, and make him wear lots of brass. IMO, it should have been done with a non-star in the lead. Cool story and all, but CGJr was playing the same character as in Men of Honor, just with less machismo.

 

[OlafSicky]

His Name Is Bob - 9/10 This is a 2009 Doc about a guy named Bob who lives in Dallas Texas. Bob has lived through an extremely hard life. I couldn't imagine having what he had to endure through his lifetime, and then to still have a great spirit after it all. It was a very inspirational story that made me thankful for everything that I have had in life. The guy is truly a great man, and I wish I could meet him some day.

I saw the trailer for this pleas tell us more. Is the guy homeless? Disabled?

 

[ManBearPig]

just went to watch the lobby scene in the matrix for the first time in my ht and ended up watching it until the end of the movie. forgot how awesome that movie is. still lives up to everything to this day.

http://i.imgur.com/vyN2smC.jpg

Yeah I love the matrix on a good system. Watching it on yours would be awesome.

 

[SP33Demon]

Silver Linings Playbook - 9/10 I can't explain what I liked about this movie other than I grew up in the Philly area and they nailed it, especially with DeNiro and his wife - that is really how people are in that area when it comes to the Eagles (hopelessly hardcore bluecollar fans). Bradley Cooper nails his role as a bipolar but lovable weirdo and Jennifer Lawrence as his equally fucked up weirdo partner in crime. Just a weirdass movie overall but I really liked it since I've seen people who get shit on in life, but they end up finding happiness in the end and it reminded me of them.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Dredd 7/10
Much darker and less corny than the other one. Just an all around fun stupid action movie with lots of cool deaths and gun fire.

FDR: American Badass 6/10
This is a bad movie. You know it is going to be bad before watching it and they knew it while making it which makes it good. No budget but has it's funny bits and lots of recognizable actors just having fun.

Death Race 3: Inferno 3/10
Much like FDR this is a bad movie the difference is they didn't set off to make a bad movie so it sucks lol. I'm not really sure where this one falls into the time line but I'm guessing it is another prequel to the first. Been awhile since I've seen the other ones. Does have some cool cars in it.

 

[Childs]

Silver Linings Playbook - 9/10 I can't explain what I liked about this movie other than I grew up in the Philly area and they nailed it, especially with DeNiro and his wife - that is really how people are in that area when it comes to the Eagles (hopelessly hardcore bluecollar fans). Bradley Cooper nails his role as a bipolar but lovable weirdo and Jennifer Lawrence as his equally fucked up weirdo partner in crime. Just a weirdass movie overall but I really liked it since I've seen people who get shit on in life, but they end up finding happiness in the end and it reminded me of them.

I saw this recently and really dont get why its getting on the buzz it is. I actually thought it was fairly depressing on many levels, because its hard to laugh at someone's idiosyncrasies when you know they are broken. And its pretty much everyone in the movie. The only parts I like was when Jennifer Lawrence was on the screen, as she is very likable. She is sort of obnoxious, but in a cute annoying younger sister sort of way. I think thats only because early on you dont really see her issues, its only slighter after you like her you realize she is just as f'd up as everyone else in the movie. Or maybe I just liked her character because I kinda like the actress in general.

I almost wonder if I bought into the hype too much and expected a great romantic comedy, and instead of getting a Jerry Maguire like experience I got something...else. Not as bad as the first 10 mins of Up, but in the ballpark.

 

[MetalMat]

Searching for Sugarman - 8/10

There may be some spoilers FYI

A well made documentary and a pretty amazing story. However I could see why his albums did not sell at all in the US, he has a very Bob Dylanish sound and Dylan had been around throughout the sixties. By the time 1970 hit Bob Dylan was sort of old news. There are some missing key points in the story though, like they never went into detail of when he actually did find out his albums were selling very well overseas. Plus they did not even mention Australia where he also had strong album sales. It is still an amazing story, highly recommended.

On a side note they play songs throughout the documentary from his 3 albums (1 was unreleased). I am not sure if they remastered the albums but I was impressed with the production, it sounded really good for albums coming out of the late 60's and early 70's.

 

[MetalMat]

Django Unchained -- 9.5/10

Finally got to see this. Went into it knowing it was a Tarantino western with Leonardo DiCaprio (favorite actor). Didn't know much else about it story-wise. It did not disappoint. I don't know what/if it was nominated for any awards, I didn't pay attention this year, but Christopher Waltz was FANTASTIC. Jamie Foxx was great. Leonardo DiCaprio was good - I had a hard time at first with the role he was in, until we got more of his backstory.

After the first 10-15 minutes it felt like it slowed down a bit, I do think if it has a fault it's in the length of the movie, which is why I knocked half a point off.

I liked Django but not quite as much as you. You are correct about Christopher Waltz, he was GREAT! His character was my favorite part of the movie. I also really liked Samuel L Jackson's character. I felt the movie went on too long and there is a clear 1st part and 2nd part to the movie. The 2nd part of the movie moved too slow for me, they could have cut at least 30 minutes easy out the movie. Overall it is an entertaining movie with a bunch of cool Tarantino over the top action scenes. 7/10

Spoiler

My 2 favorite parts: The part with the KKK retards asking why they had to wear those white masks and the eye hole placement was flat out hilarious. Another was right before Django shoots "Ms. Lara" when he tell the lady to "Say bye to Miss Lara". I also liked how Samuel L Jackson's character got blown up at the end, epic

 

[Xonim]

I liked Django but not quite as much as you. You are correct about Christopher Waltz, he was GREAT! His character was my favorite part of the movie. I also really liked Samuel L Jackson's character. I felt the movie went on too long and there is a clear 1st part and 2nd part to the movie. The 2nd part of the movie moved too slow for me, they could have cut at least 30 minutes easy out the movie.

I was thinking maybe 20-30 minutes, basically what I explained in my original review I thought could be cut just due to it not being entirely relevant to the overall story.

I do agree with the part 1 and part 2 bit, never really thought of it that way, but I definitely see what you're saying. It most certainly was the slower half.

That being said, that's basically a Tarantino trademark =)

 

[Xonim]

Trouble with the Curve -- 7/10

Dear Clint Eastwood,

It's time to retire. This movie was good, when you weren't the focus. Amy Adams is very talented, and as much as it pains me to say, Justin Timberlake has really grown on me as an actor. But you are old, and grumpy, and even though you play the role of an old grumpy man, suck at it. Your lines felt forced and over-delivered, and I would be very happy if you are not in anymore movies that require you to speak.

/signed

Spoiler

I did like at the end that she found that pitcher (and that it was peanut boy), saw most of the rest of the ending coming as it was pretty predictable. Kind of would have liked to find out if JT's character made it as an announcer or not since it came up a few times throughout the movie. Thought the line at the end - something to the extent of "he knows it's coming and he still can't hit it" - was pretty awesome.

 

[Pheran]

Trouble with the Curve -- 7/10

Dear Clint Eastwood,

It's time to retire. This movie was good, when you weren't the focus. Amy Adams is very talented, and as much as it pains me to say, Justin Timberlake has really grown on me as an actor. But you are old, and grumpy, and even though you play the role of an old grumpy man, suck at it. Your lines felt forced and over-delivered, and I would be very happy if you are not in anymore movies that require you to speak.

Did you feel any differently about Gran Torino? Because I liked him in that one.

 

[Xonim]

Did you feel any differently about Gran Torino? Because I liked him in that one.

Sorta. I don't know. Something's just not quite right.

I guess the best way I could put it is that I felt Gran Torino covered up his awkwardness better than Trouble with the Curve did. They were basically the same type of character, but there was just something about his character in Gran Torino that said he was going to be mean and awkward, and because of that, I was ok with the weird delivery of his lines. In TwtC, it wasn't the grumpy old man that bothered me, but I wasn't able to make a connection as to why his lines were awkward other than bad acting, and that's probably why it bothered me.

Makes sense in my head, not sure if that describes it adequately.

 

[mcurphy]

I saw the trailer for this pleas tell us more. Is the guy homeless? Disabled?

He was abused and abandoned as both a child and an adult. As a kid he was left to be raised by an institution for simple minded people, which left lasting effects on him as a person. The Doc goes into detail about Bob's past, and present, and even delivers a couple "surprises" near the end about some of Bob's abilities. I found it fascinating that a film crew would take the time, energy, and expenses to help this man tell his story. But once you watch the movie, you really get a feel for how special this man is. I really thought it was great, and I'd recommend it to anyone.

I watched it for free on my Roku through the ADC channel. I've heard it has also aired on the Doc. Channel on cable. There is a website and facebook page that give more info and updates if you enjoy the movie.

 

[KeithTalent]

Watched The Imposter last night. I would give it a 7.5/10. It is best if you nothing about it going in, but definitely worth a watch for those who like documentaries.

KT

 

[randomrogue]

Lincoln - 9 / 10
Excellent movie-making. Awesome performances all around. It's so rare for a film like this to be made these days.

9/10 for me too. It's excellent. Really excellent.

 

[SandEagle]

5 Broken Cameras (2011): 8/10

found this streaming on Netflix. its a documentary by a farmer that captures the non-violent resistance of occupying forces. movie was academy award nominee for best documentary and won several awards including one at the 2012 sundance festival.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XID_UuxiGxM
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/5_broken_cameras_2012/