Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[srboone]

Young Adult: A mildly successful ghostwiter of young adult romance books makes a trip to her hometown to try to rekindle the flame between herself and her HS boyfiend when she finds out he's become a father. It amazes me still that such a stunningly beautiful actress like Charlize Theron makes her living by making herself look so vilely unattractive--physically and emotionally; I cared less for her character at the end than when the movie started. What makes the movie work, tho, is Theron's relationship with a classmate whose life was upended when he was the victim of a hate crime. This movie is a black-hearted valentine to all those girls in high school who were too good to even look your way (even tho the truth of the matter was, in most cases, that you were simply too afraid to talk to them.) It's full of smart dialog, painful insights, and spot-on performances. It won't be everybody's taste, but it's laugh out loud funny in places, smirkingly funny in others, and sometimes just painful to watch. Quite the cathartic experience for me.

4.5/5

[theenormityofitall]

Wow I keep posting things in the wrong threads.......
Anyway: Hatchet II On Demand. It was about the same as the first one without anywhere near the gore : 6/10

No more movies been watching bowl games and now watcing the Giants/Falcons game.

[Martin]

Watched 'Rebecca' last night. Have not seen it in 20+ years and my wife had never watched it. Very enjoyable film, holds up well for a film that is over 70 years old.

[srboone]

It's award season for movies and every Tom, Dick, and Harry's got a top 10 list. Well, I don't--a top 10 says "I don't know how to make a decision" to me. I grew up with nominations being limited to 5, and that's acceptable. 10 is for the intellectually wimpy. So here's my top 5, in order:

1. Hugo. Beautiful, elegant, makes me want to be a kid again--something I never wish for.

2. Melancholia. Filled with disturbingly exhillerating imagery and an unusually dark performance from the usually sunny Dunst. If only the director weren't such an ***hole...

3. Drive. Moody, violent art piece about a nameless and emotionless driver-for-hire falling in love. The elevator sequence is one of the best scenes from any move this year and Gosling breathes life into a role that wouldn't have any without him.

4. Moneyball. Sharp, funny, extremely exciting look at behind-the-scenes dealings of 3rd rate baseball team; or maybe it's a revenge film, or maybe a baseball film, etc. Pitts' most likeable perfomance.

5. The Artist. A love letter to the days of silent cinema that has more to say than most "talkies" of today do with a magnificent, larger-than-life performance by Jean Dujardin. A classic, near masterpiece.

I still have to see Shame and Take Shelter, but I will eventually.

[RJK1981]

I actually saw this a little over a week ago, but forgot to mention it.

We Bought a Zoo - C+ to a B- (seeing how I like using this as my rating method for a bit)

I found this movie to be pretty entertaining and funny, but full of problems. One problem would be the enclosures used in the movie. Some of the enclosures were very low to the ground compared to what would actually be needed for wild animals like lions and tigers. Fences that are only as high as your typical American back yard fence just doesn't cut it for lions. Not only that but some of the enclosures had higher walls and the same enclosure also had a shorter fence for part of it as well. That wasn't the only glaring issue with the movie though, as they also advocated looking the tiger directly in the eyes. You don't want to do that to any animals that could perceive that as a challenge or threat.

So while I enjoyed the movie and found it entertaining, those big issues kept me from giving it a higher rating. If I wasn't an observant person I might not have noticed those things

[theenormityofitall]

Watched 'Rebecca' last night. Have not seen it in 20+ years and my wife had never watched it. Very enjoyable film, holds up well for a film that is over 70 years old.

Excellent film!!! The Hitchcock film, right? I love that one.
But 70 years?? Maybe I'm thinking of another one?

[Martin]

Yes, the Hitchcock movie from the Daphne Du Mauirer book, and yes it is over 70 years old. This was released in 1940!

Excellent film!!! The Hitchcock film, right? I love that one.
But 70 years?? Maybe I'm thinking of another one?

[TerryE]

Finally watched Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. 3.5/5 By no means a great movie, but a lot of fun. (And this is by no means a knock, but) it was like an ultimate nightmare episode of Three's Company. If anybody would have spoken up early on, all the trouble could have been avoided. I'm not the kind of person who watches a movie just for gore, but I actually expected things to be worse than they were. What was there was good effects, though.

[srboone]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: This is probably how real spy cases are handled--in a locked room with tons of files, cigarette smoke floating around, and a bunch of 50-60 year old men hashing and rehashing the facts. This is not James Bond stuff. And it's facinating, make no mistake. Olman is outstanding his role and Tom Hardy keeps his promise of being the next big thing in acting. But you have to pay attention for the entire 130 minutes of the movie (not that I mind that at all). Things are revealed to the audience as the characters uncover them, so unless you're familiar with the story, you're as in the dark as they are (and as frustrated). The le Carre novel was previously adapted for British TV in 1979 and it was 5 1/2 hour long! This film is just over two, so a lot of what takes place is given in exposition and it comes rapid fire. Stay away from this if you don't plan on paying close attention to what's being said or you hate being frustrated. But it is rewarding in the end if you can stay with it.

3.5/5

The Iron Lady: Meryl Streep is...well...Hollywood Royalty for a reason. She's just that good. But I didn't come into this film knowing much about Margret Thatcher except what I saw on TV in the late 70's thru the early 90's. And I didn't really learn anything new about her. The film is built on flashback as MT is packing up her late husband's belongings to get rid of them. And therein lies the problem with the movie. Is this about Margret Thatcher or her husband? The movie shifts focus so often that it's difficult to get involved in any meaningful way. And 1/3 of the film is about her hallucinating about and talking to her late husband. If those 30-40 minutes were spent on Thatcher herself, the movie might have been more meaningful. As it is, it's a mediocre movie with a star wattage central perfomance.

2/5

By the way, I'm going to leave it up to someone else to review the new Underworld pic. I don't plan on seeing it, and I wouldn't admit it if I did anyway.

[theenormityofitall]

The Iron Lady: Meryl Streep is...well...Hollywood Royalty for a reason. She's just that good. But I didn't come into this film knowing much about Margret Thatcher except what I saw on TV in the late 70's thru the early 90's. And I didn't really learn anything new about her. The film is built on flashback as MT is packing up her late husband's belongings to get rid of them. And therein lies the problem with the movie. Is this about Margret Thatcher or her husband? The movie shifts focus so often that it's difficult to get involved in any meaningful way. And 1/3 of the film is about her hallucinating about and talking to her late husband. If those 30-40 minutes were spent on Thatcher herself, the movie might have been more meaningful. As it is, it's a mediocre movie with a star wattage central perfomance.

2/5

You don't know much about Thatcher? Maybe you're too young but I sure remember her and she was one of the greatest prime ministers the UK has ever had (perhaps Churchill was the only one better).
But I just heard Streep won some award for the movie lol. Just goes to show what star power does even if the movie is shit. But I never watch those silly award shows so was it the Academy or somethin'?

The last movie I saw was once again, a horror flick called Satan's Black Wedding which is on DVD and the other side has the amazing, wonderful film: Criminally Insane. That one gets a 10/10; SBW gets 5/10.

BTW, what kind of name is Meryl?

[srboone]

I never said I didn't know who Thatcher was, but my knowledge of her was what came from TV. And that's all that was really presented in the movie.

Meryl is a Gaelic name but it seems to be a nickname based on her first and middle names (Mary Louise).

[theenormityofitall]

Well, if all you know about Thatcher is from TV then she was probably potrayed as a loose cannon.


But I myself actually like watching Streep in some films, never been big on any particular actor except perhaps DeNiro or Vincent Price. But I saw some movie she was in with that Leo kid from Titanic. It was about a sister of hers who was dying. Pretty good and that one where she played a nun not long ago was good too.

[PaulB]

Saw Fincher's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo the other night. It is the first americanised film of an original I have seen and I have to say it stacks up pretty well. Rooney Mara does an amazing job as the titular Girl. While I am still not too sure as to why this film was made (the original was just fine) Fincher brings something a bit extra. Well worth a watch and will probably pick it up when released on dvd.
From the sublime to the ridiculous...also saw the Muppet Movie. Great way to spend a couple of hours. Family friendly story which has enough for both the smaller and larger audience members. A couple of great cameos with one particular heavy hitting drummer being a bit of a stand out.

[Dan Hocker]

While I am still not too sure as to why this film was made (the original was just fine) Fincher brings something a bit extra.

I can tell you why it was made. Most people (who only speak English) would prefer not to watch a movie with subtitles, and the parties involved stood to make millions from making another movie, so they did. Myself I love a good movie with subtitles, although the original format is usually in Japanese when I'm reading them.

[gsconquest]

In the last week or so I was able to watch Tucker and Dale vs Evil, Yellowbrick Road, and Frozen. While Tucker and Dale will never win any awards, I think in fits nicely next to Army of Darkness in the Horror/Comdey niche. It may not rise to AoD levels in terms of historical value but I have to say there were several times I laughed my ass off. 4/5. Yellowbrick Road makes me sad because I feel like all of the elements were there for this to be a great movie but things seemed to fall apart in the second half of the film and I was ultimately disappointed. I know many people loved this movie but I have to give it 2.5/5. I thought Frozen was ok. It had a couple of plot holes that made me take off half a point but there were some tense moments and you can positively feel the cold. 3/5.