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

[ponyo]

John Wick 1. 8/10. I really enjoyed it. The use of symbolism, colors, and gold coins were super cool. The action was great as well.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Arrival - 9/10

Great concept and I was really happy to see the aliens get real screen time instead of living in shadows. Appreciated the perspective of a linguist and not a scientist like most SciFis. Only complaint is main male character is supposed to a scientist but ends up only being an assistant to the main character or doing basic math. Worth it for the bigger reveal about life and free will. Probably the best SciFi I have seen since Wall E.

 

[Aharami]

Battle for Sevastopol (2015) - 8/10, this is a movie that reminds me a lot of Enemy at the gates, its about a woman sniper and her role in WWII, it goes back and forth between what happens during her service and how she copes with life after the war.

There is a really good version of it on Amazon prime members.

Wiki page

Trailer:

started watching this on amazon prime on your recommendation. Good so far!

 

[MongGrel]

Santa Clarita Diet

8/10 so far IMHO, it is off the wall in a fun way.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580540/?ref_=nv_sr_1

 

[DigDog]

i watched Doctor Strange - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1211837/reference

i liked it, but it wasnt amazing or anything.

bit by bit:
Bumblefoot Cambuslang was ok, but i didn't buy into his "suffering" persona, i actually liked him better as a dick overachiever.
Chijwetel Whateveryournameis can't act, demonstrated by the fact the he's identical in D.S. to what he was in American Gangster (or any other of his films).
Tilda Swinton was decent. Not much of a body language actress.
Wong was bad.
Rachel Macadmansandamas was way over the top. Her bits look like they got lifted from a tv show.
Mads Mikkelsen was ok as well.

Doctor Strange just basically shows up at the doorstep of these ancient-order dudes and shows them how to do it right, and they are like "wow dude you are a natural, who needs training". So much so, that they need to show him still being basically dazed by stuff that happens to him, while fighting several enemies one of which can challenge the The Ancient One (one).
This bit was crap. Re-write it to do a proper growth of the hero and maybe it's a little more believable. It also puts into perspective the ancient order ninja magic guys as being basically a bunch of incompetent idiots.

The special effects were fancy and well done but barely relevant to the story and of little impact.

That "dormammu i've come to bargain" bit was silly. And makes the whole "fighting vs the villain" kinda pointless as all he needs to do is use one spell. All his previous struggles are basically in vain, as all he needed to do was wait until shit happens, then show up and cast the one spell and press win.

I really liked "no; my name is Doctor Stephen Strange" because it is the anti-trope of the hero's name being read wrong.That bit alone was worth 50% of the film.

There were a few ideas that i really liked, like the time manipulation, and i thought the Dark Dimension looked cool way more than the stupid Mirror Dimension.

I realize i've written basically all bad things but i thought the film was not bad.
These days, when i watch a film, i'm mostly facepalming due to the ridiculous amount of awful in them, which this film didn't have, and that's enough for me to give it a solid

7/10 - it's ok, go watch it.

 

[Thebobo]

Arrival - 9/10

Great concept and I was really happy to see the aliens get real screen time instead of living in shadows. Appreciated the perspective of a linguist and not a scientist like most SciFis. Only complaint is main male character is supposed to a scientist but ends up only being an assistant to the main character or doing basic math. Worth it for the bigger reveal about life and free will. Probably the best SciFi I have seen since Wall E.

Agree just finished watching 9/10

 

[zerocool84]

Arrival - 9/10

Great concept and I was really happy to see the aliens get real screen time instead of living in shadows. Appreciated the perspective of a linguist and not a scientist like most SciFis. Only complaint is main male character is supposed to a scientist but ends up only being an assistant to the main character or doing basic math. Worth it for the bigger reveal about life and free will. Probably the best SciFi I have seen since Wall E.

I was expecting something else from the ending. Other than the ending I liked it

Spoiler

I didn't like the overly sappy ending that it gave us. I was expecting something more in that regard.

 

[DigDog]

i tried to take on Akira Kurosawa's monumental Kagemusha - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080979/reference

and i failed.

At a runtime of just a touch over three motherloving hours, this film can bend the will of the most dedicated film snob.

Toshiro Mifune is a Sengoku-era thief, who happens to look just like a local lord in the very moment of that lord's death; quickly he is put in place as his Kagemusha, or "stunt double". A rival clan wants to know if the lord has in fact died, to launch an attack.
There is deception and there is Mifune becoming more and more like the real lord.

I'm a big fan of Kurosawa but this film is not quite as well thought out as Rashomon or Shichinin no Samurai. I had the strong feeling throughout that i was watching one of those episode-epics which were popular during the 70s and 80s, because while the main theme is good, it is diluted over time and there is a ton of filler. With hardcore editing, you could get a 1-hour film out of this which really strikes a chord, without having the other 2/3 devolve into a historical documentary.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad film, and there are historical constraints which make the "hero" solution impossible. But, differently from most of his other films, the protagonist here isn't Mifune, it's history, and if history demands that you sit through 270 OOPS I MEANT 187 minutes of film, well, you better bring some popcorn.

8/10 would still watch.

 

[Crumpet]

DIsney's Moana

don't judge me.

Genuinely good film, laughed a lot, a LOT.

9/10

 

[Ichinisan]

DIsney's Moana

don't judge me.

Genuinely good film, laughed a lot, a LOT.

9/10

Yes. It is much better than Frozen, in my opinion.

It is also my opinion that most people will still like Frozen a lot more (I don't get it).

 

[Crumpet]

Last night I watched Hacksaw Ridge

Damn son.. I already knew the story, but the film does it justice in my opinion.
I've got no idea how long the film was as I was captured all the way through.

If you're into war movies, coming of age sorta movies, and films with heroes.. Look no further.

I rank it 9/10, and even the wife enjoyed it. When I asked for her rating out of 10 she said ManyLots/10

Yes. It is much better than Frozen, in my opinion.

It is also my opinion that most people will still like Frozen a lot more (I don't get it).

Yup, more songs... I think.. Moana's songs seemed less.. cheezy?

Moana seems to stick pretty true to the Native mythologies and beliefs and seems to have a pretty good balance of emotion and comedic effect. Yes like every films it has it's "eh" moments, but it was pretty good throughout.

 

[Svnla]

Great Wall - 6/10 (including 1 bonus point for CCG and decent looking female characters). Let see, talk about whitewash and I am not talking about the white actors. Typical of whities saved the day while the rest just stood around and did not do much. Perfect hair and red lipstick during combat situation for the female lead, really? Would not watch again. Oh, and I did recognize the Strategist as the old actor from the 80s/90s chinese folk lore movies such as The Condor Hero.

John Wick 2 - 8/10. If you like JW1, then you should like this one too. Love the reference to The Matrix (the headphone of the operator = Tank and the train scenes) and the manual typewriter and the cables and old phones. Love the minor characters such as the receptionists, the tailor, the summerlin. There will be a JW3 for sure from the ending.

 

[purbeast0]

Girl On a Train - 0/10 - wish I never wasted my time on this piece of shit. So bad.

 

[DigDog]

@purebeast0 care to expand ?

 

[Ichinisan]

@purebeast0 care to expand ?

He's right. The scenario is ludicrous and non-sesnsical.

 

[DigDog]

well i haven't watched the film. are you telling me i need to watch it, to know why i shoudn't have watched it?

 

[purbeast0]

@purebeast0 care to expand ?

It's just a bad artsy fartsy movie that was probably made just for the book lovers. It's all over the place and goes back and forth in time to act as if it's doing something special but all it does is confuse you as to the timeframe because they tell you when they go back in time but not when it's back in the present time, then it becomes so completely predictable and when you realize the end is exactly what you thought it was you are like "that's it? really?" and it ends.

 

[gorcorps]

Magnificent Seven (new one) - 4/10

I didn't have high hopes, but the trailers made it look a lot better (and more humor based) than it ended up being. Ethan Hawke's character was the only one I liked, and he seemed to be the only one who was acting anywhere decently. Pratt sucked, worst role I've ever seen him in by far. At least some of the action was decent, but nothing spectacular.

 

[gorcorps]

It's just a bad artsy fartsy movie that was probably made just for the book lovers. It's all over the place and goes back and forth in time to act as if it's doing something special but all it does is confuse you as to the timeframe because they tell you when they go back in time but not when it's back in the present time, then it becomes so completely predictable and when you realize the end is exactly what you thought it was you are like "that's it? really?" and it ends.

I didn't think it was THAT bad, but by the end it just felt like a fancy Lifetime movie... and I've seen too many of those recently as it is

 

[jhansman]

Our neighbors had a Blue Ray "For Your Consideration" copy of "Fences" we watched last night. Great performances (especially Viola Davis-just excellent!), but I would only recommend it if you like stories about family angst. My gauge is "Would I watch it again?" This one is a no, 6/10.

 

[Ackmed]

I didn't think it was THAT bad, but by the end it just felt like a fancy Lifetime movie... and I've seen too many of those recently as it is

I too didn't think it was that bad, certainly not a 0/10. But sometimes movies just rub people wrong. We saw it in the theater. My wife and I both really liked the book. She disliked the movie more than I did, I'd give it a 6/10. They just left soooooo much out from the book, and changed some things that just didn't need changing. I know there are time constraints but damn, did a poor job translating it to film. Felt rushed, much more was on the train in the movie, her history, and alcoholism.

Keeping on the book topic, HBO's new Big Little Lies premiered, and after one episode my wife and I are both digging it. Again we both read the book, and both REALLY liked it. We read a lot. This is a mini series so they shouldn't run out of time to tell everything, I just hope they don't get too inventive and try and make something that they don't need to. Just stick to the damn book. No rating yet, just starting. Our DVD was at 49 mins after the episode was over, wtf? So many commercials and a small preview over the last 11 mins.

Why him? Very, VERY funny movie imo. I actually lol'd which I don't normally do. Sure it's stupid comedy, but sometimes that is just needed. Predictable story line, but had the ending I wanted. Just so many funny moments, really enjoyed it. Will win zero awards, but whatever.

 

[Eug]

La la land: 1st 2/3 of the movie 9/10. the turning point was when they

Spoiler

Started arguing in the apartment about him staying on tour for a long time. She said she didn't expected him, then he cuts her off and accuses her of thinking he wasn't going to succeed. Forced drama. The situation could have been easily diffused if she just said that she thought it was only short term to get enough $ to open his own club like he dreamed

Hmmm... I was just the opposite. I give it an 8/10 but I found much of the first 1/2 of the movie kinda boring, yet also almost irritating at times.

I have spoiler-tagged part of your post because it is... well... a spoiler. I won't go to the details.

I found the movie annoyingly self-serving. Or perhaps better described as catering to those in the movie industry. It seemed to be written by those in the industry FOR those in the industry. I initially found it very difficult to have empathy for the characters. Things got more interesting later. The same overall feeling was there, but at least there was more meat to it.

I think Emma Stone definitely deserved her Best Actress Oscar nomination for this movie though, because her acting was standout. However, I was not as impressed by Ryan Gosling's acting. It was good, but not Best Actor good.

As for the Best Picture Oscar nomination, I would probably not have expected to have selected this one in my top five, but I fully understand why the Academy has picked this one, because it is one that caters to them.

Santa Clarita Diet

8/10 so far IMHO, it is off the wall in a fun way.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580540/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Agreed. 8/10. Very fun. I've watched the entire season, and hope there will be a season 2.

 

[KeithTalent]

He's right. The scenario is ludicrous and non-sesnsical.

Yeah, it's pretty stupid, but I love Emily Blunt, so I still gave it a pass. I could watch her do anything...

KT

 

[JEDI]

Arrival - 9/10

Great concept and I was really happy to see the aliens get real screen time instead of living in shadows. Appreciated the perspective of a linguist and not a scientist like most SciFis. Only complaint is main male character is supposed to a scientist but ends up only being an assistant to the main character or doing basic math. Worth it for the bigger reveal about life and free will. Probably the best SciFi I have seen since Wall E.

Arrival 9/10 for the 1st 90% of the movie.
last 10% after the plot twist: wtfbbq?

were the aliens helping or wanted to cause humans to destroy each other?

Spoiler

giving everyone the knowledge to know their future

the plot twist was definitely not 'Give me my 2hrs back' like in Sunshine.
would watch again, but still conflicted about the ending.

 

[Eug]

For Arrival, I thought the ending tied the movie together perfectly.

9/10 for Arrival. In fact, I already own it on Blu-ray (and UHD BR). Looking forward to rewatching it in my home theatre this week. I originally watched Arrival in a crappy mall theatre in New Orleans while killing time before my flight back to Toronto, so I've been itching to see it again with better quality.

Arrival was one of my fave movies last year, and I like it better than La La Land for Best Picture, even though I think Emma Stone is a great choice for Best Actress. I want to see Moonlight though to see if that one will beat both in my mind for Best Picture.