Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[theenormityofitall]

I forgot. I did see the pilot to Dragnet lol and it was good despite the silly acting. 7/10.

[Martin]

Had not heard of this before so I googled it. Looks very interesting and a video rental store near my office has it. I will be watching this soon. Thanks!

This really isn't a movie but the DVD set of One Step Beyond is awesome. Not only is it based on true events, the acting is great as well. Unfortunately it didn't last long; people in the 50's didn't seem to be as interetsed in that stuff as they are today.
But I'd give it a 10/10.

[theenormityofitall]

Had not heard of this before so I googled it. Looks very interesting and a video rental store near my office has it. I will be watching this soon. Thanks!

You're welcome, very cool episodes. Amazing really.

[srboone]

Side Effects: Poor Emily Taylor. She's had to endure 4 years of loneliness while her husband was imprisoned for insider trading. That would make anybody depressed. She's gone from one med to the next with no luck. Enter Dr. John Banks, a happily-married psychiatrist with too little time on his hands and too many patients who prescribes an experimental drug to her. Coincidence?

I chose this one for two reasons: 1) it's director Soderberg's self-proclaimed swan song (at 50, he's ready to move on--but we know how that goes), and 2) the trailer gave me NO idea what the movie was about (which is quite unusual these days). What I discovered was a tense, psychological thriller that starts out as an indictment of Big Pharma and ends up as something akin to the best of Alfred Hitchcock. First you build trust in a characer, then you throw out lies and make them seem plausible (for fun you can throw out more than one set of lies--which one to believe?), then you pull the rug out from under the viewer with even more twists and turns until it's all wrapped up rather nicely. Throw in some nice camera work, a finely-tuned sceenpaly, and a simply terrific cast and you have the makings of something great. Or near great at least. I loved this movie, it made me feel like I was discovering the joys of watching movies all over again. Some will complain that the ending is too pat, that a few loose ends are need for impact (even tho there are some loose ends); others will say that the movie's too talky, there's not enough action (hmmm...). It's all very low-key, but this really is the first outstanding movie of 2013.

If Soderberg is retiring from directing, then he shall be missed. His knack for taking small films and making them compulsively watchable is sorely needed in the first part of the year (which is when most of his films were released).

5/5

[srboone]

Bullet to the Head: With such a brazenly violent title (especially at this time of hysterical overreaction), this movie was not a question of "if", but "when" I would see it. Stallone plays a hitman who lost his partner of 6-years in a double cross on his last job. He teams up with the cop who's former partner was the hit to find the guys responsible. Nothing groundbreaking here, so your enjoyment of this film is going to be dependent on how nostalgic you are for the violent 80s actioners. Me, I miss the 80s. The story is limp, the dialog awful (though I did like Stallone's sarcasm at his Asian partner's tactics: "Nice going, Oddjob!"), and the women are either hostages, naked, or showering. But DAMN if the action isn't top-notch. In it's own weird way, this film works, but I wouldn't call it "good". Violent and dopey, it features a typically dull and unexpressive villian in Jason Momoa (ther lastest incarnation of Conan)--he could been a star if he'd been around in the 80s! But as long as Walter Hill keeps hangin onto his glory days, he can.

Did I mention I miss the 80s?

2.5/5

[peteOcha]

Argo - 4.5/5 - Finally catching up on movies. I'm not a big Affleck fan, but I actually liked him here. And I liked how they chose actors very similar in appearance to the real life counterparts.

[Teriw]

Red Dawn - This was an ok movie but I liked the original much better. The lack of an ending kinda ticked me off a bit.

[srboone]

Jack the Giant Slayer: An adult revision of the classic fairy tale. The giants that live at the top of the beanstalk hold a grudge against mankind that they are itching (and scratching, and belching, and snoring, and farting) to avenge. When you have no expectations for a movie, you are sometimes pleasantly surprised. This a straight-forward, non-cynical, non-sarcastic film that is exciting, funny, smart, and quite satisfying by the rules of it's own limited scope. It's never quite as rousing as I would have like it to be, but it tells it's story well and has some very good CGI in it--the giants look really good in nose-picking closeup, as well as in tree-lobbing long range shots. I don't know what 3D would add the the movie (as I saw it in 2D), but it might be worth a look. Only Stanley Tucci as the villianous Roderick and Ian McShane as King Brahmwell stand out in the terrific cast, but director Bryan Singer puts a lot of heart into this simple story.

I enjoyed it more the sprawling tedium of The Hobbit (Can you hear the sounds of the fanboys screaming?).

3.5/5

[TJCams]

Argo - 4.5/5 - Finally catching up on movies. I'm not a big Affleck fan, but I actually liked him here. And I liked how they chose actors very similar in appearance to the real life counterparts.

As a Canadian, I am reluctant to see this film because of this:
According to former US President Jimmy Carter, whose administration had to authorize the CIA's part of this whole operation, this film is a dramatized Hollywood exaggeration of the agency's role in the extraction when in reality "90 percent of the contribution to the ideas and consummation of the plan was Canadian."
and this:
...the film unfairly minimized the participation of the Canadian government, and Taylor, in the extraction operation. This included the addition to the film of several fictional events for dramatic reasons, as well as a postscript text indicating that the CIA let Taylor take the credit for political purposes, implying that he did not deserve the accolades he received. Really......

I know Afleck did consult with Ken Taylor on certain parts, I just hope they didn't Americanize too much, although that is what I expect.

[srboone]

The Frankenstein Theory: An unrated horror film that found it's way to AMC theaters through its independent film promotions. To prove his thesis that Shelley's Frankenstein was a ficitonalized account of a true story, a discredited PhD student leads a documentary film crew into the Artic Circle in search of the monster. Starting with an astoundingly great, yet simple, premise, this film has some really terrific ideas; and the sceenplay really isn't that bad. Unfortunately, the film is incompetently directed, the lead is miscast, and it's presented as found footage. 14 years after the Blair Witch Project, the found-footage format needs to be laid to rest. This film simply isn't scary--it's not really boring (thanks to a skeptical and wise-cracking sound crew), but nothing happens until the end, and when it does, it's offscreen. The final two minutes of the film are terrific, though (if that counts for anything)!

In the end, it's no better or no worse than most of the stuff I see on Chiller (which is where I expect to see it soon). And the ticket was free, so I'm not complaining.

2/5

[Lou Sytsma]

Finally got around to seeing Inglourious Basterds. Tarratino's alternate WWII history is a great mix of intertwining storylines and superlative acting. I really enjoyed this quite a bit. Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa was just brilliant and played the bad guy with much relish. Polished, refined, charming, and able to speak several languages including English, French, and Italian; Landa is very much a coiled snake that lulls his victims so they lower their defenses and then he strikes with lightning, brutal violence. Bravo!

[tweetygirl0606]

The last movie I saw in the theaters was The Hobbit. I didn't know what to expect since I never read the book, but I actually liked it (of course it helped that I got in free (had a free movie coupon..lol..can't beat that..lol)

[srboone]

Oz the Great and Powerful: A prequel to the 1939 film that has Oscar Diggs escaping his life as a con man in a Kansas carnival and landing in Oz. The problem with this film seems to be the lead actors. Franco seems really uncomfortable playing Oz, he's either over or underacting in the wrong places (he only seems to find his comfort zone in a grand showdown with the witch sisters--but then, he's behind the curtain.) Kunis induces laughter rather than chills as the Wicked Witch and Williams is just bland as Glinda. The intial glimpses of the land of Oz unnecessarily decorative, but there are visual marvels abound in the film. And Weisz, Braff, and King are quite good.

Plus the kiddies seemed to like it.

3/5

[sunnyckf]

Just saw Lincoln. And giving it 5/5. Not because it is a flawless film which it is not , not because it's 100% historically accurate which it is not, not because it is a well-directed film which it is but Spielberg has done better more groundbreaking works, but because it is a film that is truly well-rounded with superb acting all around. It's been a long time that I've seen a film where acting by not just the main actors but all the supporting cast and extras really took things to a whole other level. So for that, 5/5. And if you think Ben Affleck was robbed of an Oscar for directing Argo, take some time to consider Tommy Lee Jones in this film.

[sunnyckf]

Another similarly titled film which just substitute the word 'to' with 'in' comes highly recommended. An HK film, classic of the 90's from John Woo.

Bullet to the Head: With such a brazenly violent title (especially at this time of hysterical overreaction), this movie was not a question of "if", but "when" I would see it. Stallone plays a hitman who lost his partner of 6-years in a double cross on his last job. He teams up with the cop who's former partner was the hit to find the guys responsible. Nothing groundbreaking here, so your enjoyment of this film is going to be dependent on how nostalgic you are for the violent 80s actioners. Me, I miss the 80s. The story is limp, the dialog awful (though I did like Stallone's sarcasm at his Asian partner's tactics: "Nice going, Oddjob!"), and the women are either hostages, naked, or showering. But DAMN if the action isn't top-notch. In it's own weird way, this film works, but I wouldn't call it "good". Violent and dopey, it features a typically dull and unexpressive villian in Jason Momoa (ther lastest incarnation of Conan)--he could been a star if he'd been around in the 80s! But as long as Walter Hill keeps hangin onto his glory days, he can.

Did I mention I miss the 80s?

2.5/5