Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Brian861]

I'd probably argue since Unbreakable. I personally don't think Signs and The Village where good at all. I'm pretty sure I called the ending to The Village from like the first 15 minutes of the movie. All that said I'd actually say that The Visit was actually pretty decent.

I'd agree, Dan about Unbreakable. As Keith stated, I feel the same way towards The Village due to the casting. Both excellent actors IMO.

Don't waste your time with After Earth.

How do you guys feel about The Sixth Sense? I thought it was well done also.

[TacomaDiver]

Unbreakable might be one of my favorite super hero movies ever. Even when I rewatched it recently (my GF hadn't seen it before) I felt that it held up well. Even knowing the twist didn't detract too much from it.

Same with the Sixth Sense - I saw it in the theater before it became the thing to see and it blew me away. And when I rewatched it, I saw SO MUCH more (I think I read an essay about the use of color) and might have even enjoyed it more the second time around.

I still love Signs. Just ignore the fact that aliens came to earth of all places, I still think it was a great suspenseful movie.

I remember predicting the twist in The Village about 15-20 minutes into it. Haven't seen it since (I own it though!) so I don't recall what it was that made me guess it - probably just the idea that there had to be a twist . . . what could it be.

[Sock Monkey]

I don't have a problem with the aliens' weakness in Signs. I do understand where the argument comes into play and to a certain point agree, but the argument could be leveled at The War of the Worlds and the Martians' lack of knowledge about earth bacteria.

The Sixth Sense is a fantastic movie whose themes change on repeat viewings. The first time, it's a creepy ghost story about Bruce Willis trying to save a young boy from his gift; second time, the scares don't work as well, but it becomes a more fully realized discussion on grief and loss. Haley Joel Osment absolutely deserved his Oscar nomination, but Willis's work on both this and Unbreakable deserved to get more accolades than it did.

[mphprez]

THE VISIT IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER!!! Haha maybe not that great, but a decent story with a ton of humor. Saw it three times in theaters: once with my girlfriend and then we took our friends to see it twice. Love the scene where the grandma pops up in front of the camera and of course, YAHTZEEEEE!!!

[mphprez]

I'm probably being too harsh... The writers did draw from the mythology very well and the acting and directing were great. I especially liked the scenes (SPOILERS AHEAD)

Spoiler!

where the creatures charge The Wall and when Matt Damon is in the fog and can only hear the creatures from the sound of the arrows.

[Theli]

The Visit had it's fun. I didn't love it, some of my friends did though. The little kid was just irritating. I guess that was the point though.

[Sock Monkey]

Finally got around to watching Split and I thought it was more of a "return to form" for M. Night than The Visit was. It doesn't quite rank up there with my favorite films of his, but I was pleasantly surprised. James McAvoy kills it as the man suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, but I was also glad to see The Witch's Anya Taylor-Joy in another solid performance. What made the movie even better was the ending. It's not a "twist" in the typical M. Night fashion, but rather a "revelation" that made me more excited than any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe end credit scenes. Grade: B+

[Sock Monkey]

My wife and I have decided to dedicate the month of May to watching older films that we might have missed out on or never gotten around to watching. The goal was to pick two to three movies from each decade that at least one of us hadn't seen, thus eliminating the some of the easier choices ("We both like Grease, let's just watch that again"), no movies that duplicated directors (once again to help broaden horizons, instead of just picking a handful of Hitchcock movies we haven't seen yet), and nothing that was in the science fiction/horror genres as we do a list specifically for these genres during October. With the Blu-rays and DVDs already in hand, I think it is safe to unveil the line-up:

1. Citizen Kane (1941) *I've actually had this for a year or two and never gotten around to watching it.
2. Laura (1944)
3. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
4. An American in Paris (1951)
5. Spartacus (1960)
6. The Hustler (1961)
7. The Conversation (1974)
8. The Tenant (1976)
9. All the President's Men (1976)
10. 48 HRS (1982)
11. To Live and Die in LA (1985)
12. Rain Man (1988)
13. Backdraft (1991)
14. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
15. Trainspotting (1996)

Looking the list over, I feel pretty good about my choices, though we'll see when we start watching them. It wasn't my intention, but I also got a pretty good list of directors: Orson Welles, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick, Walter Hill, William Friedkin, Barry Levinson, Ron Howard, Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola, Danny Boyle, and Peter Jackson. I can't wait to dig in!

[Sock Monkey]

Detention: I have no idea what I just watched. There are movies that mash up genres to highly entertaining effects and then there's movies that throw everything and the kitchen sink into a steaming stew of wtf-ery. Detention falls solidly in the latter camp.

The movie follows young Riley Jones as the geeky girl who tries desperately to kill herself to no avail as she pines for her best friend, Clapton Davis--a "too-cool-for-school" Josh Hutcherson--who is dating the new head cheerleader of Grizzly Falls high school, Ione. But Clapton is too busy to notice Riley as not only does he have a new hot blonde girlfriend to make out with, he has to get the principal of the high school off his back by either getting an A in a class...or saving the universe. He also has Ione's jock ex-boyfriend to deal with who every thinks is pumped on steroids, but actually has Jeff Goldblum-The Fly blood coursing through his veins. Did I mention that classmates are also being bumped off by the in-movie killer, Cinderhella? Yeah, that's happening as well. If you think the movie is full to bursting already just wait until I get to the time-traveling bear and UFO sightings...

All the disparate parts do come together in the end but not in a Shyamalan-"I need to watch that again"-kinda way, but more in a shrugging "sure, why not?" resignation. It's loud, obnoxious and a little too smug in its own cleverness, but when the jokes do land, it's kinda fun. Unfortunately it barely takes a deep breath to allow any of the jokes to fully register before bombarding you with more. Imagine a genre version of Juno but spun out on methamphetamines. I'm sure that some people will LOVE this movie and I can see it playing like gangbusters at a midnight showing in the right venue, but for me, it didn't quite work. Grade: C+

[Theli]

I have to say the premise of Detention intrigues, but mostly in the way that a car accident attracts passersby.

Solid list of films for the month. Most I have seen, and enjoyed, but there's a couple that I've missed.

[c marvel]

On Wed. evening, I saw Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. I did see the first Guardians movie which was better than I anticipated. The choices at the movie cinema where I was were less than stellar so I wound up choosing Guardians, Vol. 2. I liked it better than the first Guardians movie and really enjoyed it.


Cap

[srboone]

Vol 2. was positively psychedelic! I like it a lot, but it could have benefited from a couple more scenes like the opening, where the apocalyptic battle takes place in the background. The two scenes in which that occurs sums up the subversiveness of the GotG franchise. It's also a pretty scathing critique on the more bloated entries in the MCU. Beautiful CGI that never seems gratuitous.

The first great film of 2017 that I've seen, though, is not form the US. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is 3-hour Indian fantasy/action adventure film that blows away anything Hollywood has done in the last decade. You can see how Jackson's LOTR series inspired it, but it never copies those films. Everything about the film is first class: writing, acting, directing, cinematography, score, action set pieces, etc. I was concerned about not having seen the first film (Baalhubali: The Beginning), but some expertly paced and placed flashbacks took care of that. I had to travel 25 miles to see it and the ticket price was near outrageous, but it was soooooo worth it. Highly recommended if subtitled films don't bother you.

[daverob]

Speaking of Indian films, I watched Drishyam over the weekend on Netflix. It's a long, but enjoyable movie, about a family that gets involved in a criminal investigation. The less said, the better. I thought it was very well done.

[Sock Monkey]

I caught up with three movies recently:

Alien: Covenant: This was touted as a wholesale return to great xenomorph action and for the most part it's true. The classic xenomorph returns, along with his equally creepy albino buddy, the neomorph. And there is blood. But there is also an interesting theme of the destruction of creators by their creations, most notably played out in the dual roles played by Michael Fassbender. Unfortunately, like most prequels--and most notably Prometheus--Covenant has to do some heavy lifting in regards to wrapping up the loose ends left by the prior film and further explaining the evolution of the xenomorph. And frankly, what I've come away with from both of these Alien prequels is that we don't need an explanation for the space jockey or for the xenomorph. The fact that it's "alien" is good enough; the mystery was fine, the discussions and theories about the mystery was half the fun. It's a decent step in the right direction for the franchise but has yet to truly grasp the tension of the original. Grade: B-
***This showing also has the dubious honor of me deciding that beyond Fantastic Fest, I'm over going to the theater. Every time I venture out to one of the cinemas in my town, I always end up with a bad audience. We had a couple of people decide to chime in loudly with their "witticisms", which is annoying enough, but the teen next to me obviously didn't want to be there and wanted to make sure that I at least knew that as he sighed loudly time again, checked the time on his phone repeatedly and constantly shifted in his seat to the point that he had slouched so low that he was practically laying in his chair like a bored child waiting in the lounge of a doctor's office. I'm not the "Cinema Police" but, man, common courtesy for others in the audience would be nice.

Get Out: Tons and tons of praise has been heaped on this film and for good reason. Writer/director Jordan Peele knocks it out of the park with this assured directorial debut that delivers a well-balanced movie full of suspense and dread, some great laughs, and tackling modern-day racial relations. Peele is also smart to populate his cast with great actors. Daniel Kaluuya anchors the cast with a likeable performance as Chris Washington, a young African-American man who has to meet the affluent family of his white girlfriend, Rose. Other standouts are Stephen Root as a blind art dealer and LilRel Howery, who gets all the laughs as Chris's best friend, Rod. I also find it interesting that Bradley Whitford has found himself in two of the best reviewed horror movies in the last five years with this and Cabin in the Woods. Though maybe slightly overhyped, this is a solid thriller and I look forward to see what Peele does next. Grade: A-

Logan: It's been said before about this movie, but Hugh Jackman's last outing as Wolverine is by far his best. There was some controversy over the R rating that came so quickly on the heels of Deadpool, but any doubts that this was just an excuse for more violence and some f-bombs were misplaced as this stripped down, more grounded version of a future Logan is amazing. Some of the choices made in the script were so brave for a franchise film, that I'm glad that it paid off and the movie was the success that it was. Mangold's direction is top-notch and Jackman's and Stewart's performances were their best that they've given in their roles. It was a fitting ending for Jackman's tenure in the titular role, but I almost wish we had more X-Men/Wolverine movies set in this world. The best X-franchise movie so far: Grade A

[Brian861]

Thanks for the reviews, Keith. Completely agree about Logan. I plan on seeing AC next week.

Never really have ran into a bad cinema audience myself. I go during slow days and times though. Void the riff-raff.