Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[srboone]

Nice review bugen. I agree whole-heartedly. I didn't care for it when I saw it theaters, but I appreciate more now on video.

[bugen]

Thanks Boone. I hope to see a Blu-ray of this one day but with its box office I'm skeptical. I keep trying to get Universal to release Bowfinger but these guys tend to believe if it didn't make money in theaters then it's a bad movie and doesn't deserve much, if any, money thrown at the Home Video.

[srboone]

Bowfinger: Another tremendously underrated movie! What I really like about it is that Steve Martin is terrific without being Steve Martin--he is the title character, but he doesn't try to upstage anybody and it comes off as a great ensemble comedy. I want to see "Fake Purse Ninjas"!

[Sock Monkey]

I enjoyed Wonder Boys quite a bit though it was my second attempt at it where it really grew on me. Great movie.

[srboone]

Making more rounds of the award nominees this weekend:

Wild: If I'd never seen her brilliant performance in Walk the Line, I'd never have known Reese Witherspoon has what it takes to be a leading lady. Here's she's miscast (since she was a producer here, she cast herself), she plays bits in this movie for comedy that shouldn't be, and she exposes herself as an actress of limited range. How she scored a nomination is beyond me. The whole movie is one giant mess. To save it financially, there's even an extended segment that is a commercial for an adventure wear company.

Skip this one. Even a Honey-Do List is bound to be less painful.

1/5

[bugen]

Ex Machina

A talented programmer wins an inter-office lottery and is invited to the company owner’s home for a week in a near-future reality. It’s not just any company, think Google years after they’ve taken over everything. The guest programmer, Caleb, discovers he is to participate in a Turing test, which measure’s a machine’s ability to emulate humans. The company owner, Nathan, rich beyond anyone’s measure, has developed an A.I., Ava, and wants Caleb to run it through the motions. Over the next seven days Caleb interviews Ava with Nathan monitoring everything, and the level of manipulation between the parties becomes extremely complicated with all three utilizing brilliant minds.

The film digs deeper into the realities and implications of artificial intelligence than any other movie I can recall, while also taking a dark stab at human intelligence.

I’m afraid today's audiences don’t want movies that force people to engage their minds, to ponder humanity and all of creation on this level. Even to ponder god. We only want bullets and boobies, at least here in the U.S.

I hope I’m wrong.

A dangerous, brilliant film, capable of inspiring us to do what no one seems to want us to do. To stop and think.

5 stars

[markgunnells]

Boyhood, a real triumph!

[TJCams]

Blended - After reading so many negative reviews I still find is entertaining. It’s a family movie that every member can relate to. Though boring at first it kinda picked up when they went to Africa. Awesome movie. 8/10

I agree - I really enjoyed this one. Kind of funny, romantic comedy. Terry Crews plays some really good comedic roles.

[Dan Hocker]

I agree - I really enjoyed this one. Kind of funny, romantic comedy. Terry Crews plays some really good comedic roles.

Ok so strangely enough that person you replied to was the most creative spam bot I have ever seen. Many normal posts, then slips in one spam comment.

[srboone]

Every year around this time , I look to an afternoon of short films:

The Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animated: Eight animated shorts, ranging from 2 to 18 minutes in length, from around the world--only 5 were nominated. The two best were the entries from the US, The Dam Keeper and Feast. Feast, about a dog eating his way through his owner's life, is an instant classic (it was featured before some Disney pic--I never saw it) and should win. but the 2 min A Single Life from the Netherlands about a person's life placed on a 45 rpm single is imaginative, funny and truly original.

5/5

The Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action: The Five oscar-nominated short films from around the world, from 11 to 39 minutes long. The only one I found moving was The Phone Call from the UK, about a homely crisis center volunteer who takes a call from a man who has overdosed on anti-depression pills. Not particularly orginal, but really well done and acted. But Parvaneh from Switzerland about an Afgani immigrant who goes on a trip to Western Union send money to her sick mother will probably pick up the award.

4/5

Predictions for tonite:

Best Picture: Boyhood (tossup wiht Birdman, but I liked Boyhood better)
Best Director: Richard Linklater
Best Actor: Michael Keaton (possibly a Bradley Cooper snipe here)
Best Actress: Jullianne Moore (I haven't seen Still Alice yet, but she's cleaned up everywhere else)
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette
Original Screenplay: The Grand Budhapest Hotel
Adapted Screenplay: Whiplash (better possibility for an American Sniper snipe)
Animated film: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (should have been The Lego Movie)
Sound Editiing, Mixing: American Sniper
Makeup; Production; Costumes: The Grand Budhapest Hotel
Cinematography: Birdman
Original Score: The Theory of Everything
Song: "I'm Not Gonna Miss You," Glen Campbell (but I love" Everything is Awesome" form The lego Movie)
Animated short: Feast (possibly The Dam Keeper)
Live action short: Parvaneh (should be The Phone Call)
Foregin Film: Can't say, haven't seen any
Documentary, short: haven't seen any

I think The Grand Budhapest Hotel walks away with the most statues. Of course, it's the surprises that make the evening, so we'll see.

[srboone]

HA! I've only picked 3 Best Picture winners in the 21st century: The Return of the King, Crash, and Slumdog Millionaire. Oh well.

[srboone]

The Lazarus Effect: A group of university professors and student assistants experiment with maintaining brain function long enough to give doctors a chance at life-saving procedures. But when an animal specimen actually comes back to life, the team decides to go further with their experiments. They soon realize that they have a real problem on their hands. It's full of horror tropes that threaten to derail the whole film, but with a very capapble and game cast; smart (and smarmy) nods to The Exorcist, The Shining, and Frankenstein;an interesting premise; and some genuinely tense moments (that unfortunately end in gotcha shocks), TLE rises just enough above average to entertain. It didn't end as I expected and I'd go see a sequel.

If only it were rated R instead of PG-13. Then all the teenie-boppers who go to movies just to socialize with friends and chatter all the way through would stay away.

3/5

[srboone]

In 1989, me and some buddies went to a movie marathon at a drive-in in Topeka KS. The first eight Friday the 13th movies--18 hours of slasher gore. I was 24 at the time.

I've decided to test my stamina, appetite and bladder with a 29-hour movie marathon of Marvel Universe movies. Eleven movies, starting at 6 pm with Iron Man on 29 April and ending at 7 pm with The Age of Ultron on 30 April. I may not survive, but I'll go down doing something I enjoy!

Everybody does something stoopid in middle age to prove to themselves they can still do the things they could when they were younger. At least mine has a low probability of putting me in a wheelchair. I have a feeling insanity would be preferable. (though I always felt I was too sane for insanity--maybe THAT"S insanity!)

[subie09lega]

Everybody does something stoopid in middle age to prove to themselves they can still do the things they could when they were younger. At least mine has a low probability of putting me in a wheelchair. I have a feeling insanity would be preferable. (though I always felt I was too sane for insanity--maybe THAT"S insanity!)

My feeble middle-age endeavor: I was visiting friends last night and sat cross-legged on the floor for a while. I thought all was going to be okay until I had to stand up. Not in a wheelchair but still a bit achy today. Why was it so easy to sit that way as a child but now it's literally such a pain?

[srboone]

I could never sit that way as a kid, so I don't even try it!