Grownups 2-3/10
Some minutely funny parts but none really memirable. Should've made my son pay my admissions.
The Butler- 7/10
Pretty good movie but it didn't really capture me the way most civil rights movies do. Whitaker did well, Oprah did pretty well too, but I wasn't feeling the movie.
Ewan McGregor and a friend riding motorbikes from Scotland to South Africa. Loved the first one (Long Way Round - London to New York going east), and this one is pretty good also.
Ewan McGregor and a friend riding motorbikes from Scotland to South Africa. Loved the first one (Long Way Round - London to New York going east), and this one is pretty good also.
Tonight I watched Heat and Collateral back to back. Obviously I've seen these before, but they're great flicks. Michael Mann is a highly underated writer and director, IMO. Collateral is very good - Heat is one of the best films of all time.
watched it last night and enjoyed it. i didn't really find the movie slow at all as i've heard other people say, but it definitely did feel like a 2 hour movie, it didn't fly by or anything as some long movies do. i enjoyed the build up and getting to see the world as they saw it. the effects and sound track were great in it too. it did get a bit confusing to me towards the end but i think i understood exactly what was going on. very entertaining movie.
Killer Joe - 6/10 - Plot was tight, but not revolutionary. The focus is on the unusual characters. I though Emile Hirsch did a great job, but overall I thought all the characters were played well. I know the people are just supposed to be dysfunctional but I felt like a lot of the scenes were very unnatural. You can be weird and natural, but this didn't hit it. Had some good dark humor but not enough to save it for me
when i heard neckbone say "duckbutter" i was like "woah woah hold on did he really just say that?" and had to rewind it to listen again. laughed my ass off at that part.
and yeah i agree about the 2 kids who acted, they were great. my wife and i said the same thing after (and during) the movie.
when i heard neckbone say "duckbutter" i was like "woah woah hold on did he really just say that?" and had to rewind it to listen again. laughed my ass off at that part.
and yeah i agree about the 2 kids who acted, they were great. my wife and i said the same thing after (and during) the movie.
I watched Olympus has Fallen last night...Typical good guys US battling the bad N\Korea and I have to say I felt angst against the baddies too...LOL. I really like Morgan Freeman, and the movies was quite good, if not that believeable....all action and good with it..
watched it last night and enjoyed it. i didn't really find the movie slow at all as i've heard other people say, but it definitely did feel like a 2 hour movie, it didn't fly by or anything as some long movies do. i enjoyed the build up and getting to see the world as they saw it. the effects and sound track were great in it too. it did get a bit confusing to me towards the end but i think i understood exactly what was going on. very entertaining movie.
I finally saw it tonight. Killed the lights and full- on home theater blu ray and 7.1 surround sound.
It is a stunningly beautiful movie. The visuals, the M83 score/soundtrack, and oh my Olga Kurylenko. The story is also solid, with some criticisms.
First the story - I had read reviews and in retrospect, am very dissatisfied with and let down by the ones which stated knee jerk "derivative" criticisms. Yes, there are elements from many other sci fi stalwarts in the story, but from the basis of sci fi storytelling, this story is a tight, cohesive, adroit telling of multiple story elements. It is very satisfying from that standpoint. The languid pacing in the beginning is entirely intentional, and I completely agree with it. The reveal elements of the story are very well done with great pacing without excessive spoon feeding. I really only have two criticisms of the storytelling:
1) The action sequences. :sigh: there's some kind of syfy original movie like desperation in some of them. For this story, most of them are not needed, and not in this level of detail. In layman's terms - the movie was trying too hard here to appease the lowest denominator of the audience.
2) The movie suffered from the studio's (hellbent) "PG-13" treatment. In attempting to win a more universal audience rating, the film lost out on its potential to explore the evolving humanity of the Jack & Vick characters (and to a lesser extent, the Scavs). Concentrating on more adult themes exploring the evolution of key characters' humanity would have added additional emotional depth that the movie was missing. Case in point - *spoiler*
Vick - the real one, as we learn during the flight recorded playback, but hinted at by the body language of her clone, desperately wants Jack, but is denied him. She is a fragile character, and he is one of the things she clings to for stability. More raw emotion - including a more explicit sex scene with Jack, would have been an excellent opportunity to convey that
.
But back to the visuals - the director and cinematographer (are they one and the same? haven't checked the credits) exploited the beauty of Iceland to show a stunning post apocalyptic earth. This is a movie that demands HD.
The soundtrack from M83 is epic - that word gets overused nowadays, but the breadth of emotion in the score deserves that description. I particularly like Track 2 - "waking up". It sets your pulse pounding and is a perfect match for the slow build emotional barrage of the movie.
Finally, a purely personal preference - While Andrea Riseborough shined as Vick, I am an absolute sucker for beauties like Olga Kurylenko. I was particularly moved by how beautiful she is without makeup (something I always prefer to see). I remember her as the only redeeming factor from Quantum of Solace. She is an absolutely stunning woman, and for a change, not just the latest 20 year fad (IIRC she's 34). Riseborough was the be better actress, but I could watch Olga all day.
In any case - this movie did not deserve to get panned as hard as it did. It's not without flaws, but it is a much better movie than the reviews say. 8/10
I watched Olympus has Fallen last night...Typical good guys US battling the bad N\Korea and I have to say I felt angst against the baddies too...LOL. I really like Morgan Freeman, and the movies was quite good, if not that believeable....all action and good with it..
Not a whole lot to complain about here really. I thought it was well acted, nicely filmed with some nice music, and overall a pretty interesting story. It is probably the first Chinese film that I've watched and truly enjoyed. It is a martial arts film, and while there is some pretty good action in it that is not the whole focus of the film. As in action plays a supporting role, it's still important mind you, but not constant which the 2nd film decided to do. The story is supposedly a true one. The setting finds you in the time period of 1920's to 1940's era, so quite a lot to show, and in Chinese so subtitles will have to be read for most. Overall an excellent film and I think a fair number here will enjoy it. However I don't think the netflix plot summary did a good job of explaining it.
If you liked the first one you might enjoy the 2nd one as well. It starts up immediately after the first, however it's pretty much all action driven, which while good it seems to lose some of the focus the first one had. I'd probably say 7/10 for IP man 2.
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