Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Sock Monkey]

Thor: The Dark World: Though an improvement over the first installment, this one still didn't quite hit the mark for me. The film's biggest issue is that there was no character development, no character arcs--save the one about Thor becoming king of Asgard, but don't expect it to go anywhere because the film is all about maintaining the status quo and yes, I know that it is supposed to show Thor's growth, but it more feels like a cop-out--in fact, all the characters are in the same place as they began the movie, which is never good. The final fight scene is fun and ends the film on a high note. The mid-credits scene is nice for people who know their comics (I had to explain it to my wife) and sets up some problems that probably won't come to fruition until Avengers 2 or 3. Overall, not the worst superhero movie in recent memory, but not rather mediocre. Grade: C-

I am looking forward to Captain America: The Winter Soldier as I enjoyed the first film and though that it suffered mainly from not being able to have an ending, since it had to lead into The Avengers. The flick that really has me excited though is Guardians of the Galaxy. If the movie is as much fun as the trailer, it should be a blast. And an anthropomorphic raccoon with machine guns? Does it get any better?

[srboone]

300: Rise of an Empire: This film tells the story of what was going on in Greece while King Leonidas of Sparta and his band of 300 were annoying Xerxes in "The Hot Gates" during the first film. General Themistokles of Athens attempts to unite the city-states of Greece after the god-king Xerxes sets his sights on the country. He finds himself a few steps behind King Leonidas and meets his greatest resistance to a unified Greece from Queen Gorgo of Sparta. But while Xerxes' infantry meets frustrating resistance, his vengeful naval general Artemisia seems poised to strike the killing blow.

It's more of the same, though the color palate is muted this time around. It doesn't have the dramtic intesity of the first film and the band of heroes aren't nearly as interesting this time, but it makes up for that with one of the most meserizingly brutal villians in a long time. Eva Green's Artemisia is the heart and soul of this film--without her presence, the film would fall apart. This is a must-see performance. Disappointingly, her screen time was cut nearly in half from the orginal screenplay. The film earns it's R-rating with an overly generous amount of bloodletting and a sex scene that is...energetic, to say the least. More stylized gore than history lesson (like it's predecessor, this film is not one to be taken seriously), this film is definitely worth seeing in 3D if you have the extra cash to spare.

A guilty-pleasure. 4/5

[ozmosis7]

For Marvel comic fan's, I saw this Stan Lee documentary today that was pretty cool. I think it's called "With Great Power." Anyway, free on cable if you have the right channel. Believe it was HBO, but not certain.

[srboone]

Stalingrad: A group of Russian Army regulars defend a strategic apartment building that in the ruined city of Stalingrad (so the movie is not about the battle of Stalingrad) against the advance of the Nazis. This is the first Russian film ever filmed entirely in 3D and the first non-North American film in IMAX. And as big screen spectacle, it's pretty good. The body count is high, the blood flows freely and the violence is operatic. There's a little too much slo-mo for me, but it's all played to good effect. Too bad more time wasn't spent on the story and the characters. The narrator TELLS us who the characters are and what their motivations are, but we never get to SEE how all this plays out. Plus, the bookending of this story of war with the rescue efforts in the aftermath of the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 is intriguing, but nothing much is ever made of it, so it just becomes bizarre (though I think I know what the writer was going for). Not to mention that the film is about the "five fathers" that the narrator has, but there are six people defending the building: 5 army regulars and 1 naval officer--unless the naval officer doesn't count (but that would just piss off some navy vets who like to see movies, so we won't go there.)

3/5

[Teriw]

"The Lords of Salem" - oh, I guess 1 out of 5. The script was so bad, and many of the effects were downright laughable. Just not interesting at all. I usually enjoy Zombie's aesthetic, but someone forgot to tell him that a decent script is usually a good idea.

I didn't have time to read everyones review(at Work) but I Will say that this one, There aren't even words. I shouldn't judge a movie I didn't actually watch but I will...lol... First, I never saw a trailer or read what it was about I just watched it(Tried) because it was a Rob Zombie movie. The acting and dialogue was THAT BAD that I didn't even get far enough to find out it was a zombie movie and had no idea it was until just now when I read marduk's review!

Also I will say this also happened with the new hunger games movie. Just couldn't get into it. I gave it a shot since i thought the first was just ok but I couldn't do the second one.

[Theli]

other than some shoddy FX near the end, I loved Lords of Salem. Vastly different from RZ's other flicks, but more in tune with the 70's satanic/occult flicks. The Lords music was just plain eerie. But to each their own.

[srboone]

What kind of movie can sell out a theater (granted, a smaller one--only 220 seats) on a Sunday afternoon in late March? Well, I found out:

The Shawshank Redemption: I've seen this umpteen million times, but only once on the big screen, back in 1994. This time around, I noticed how perfectly Everymanish Morgan Freeman's crooked teeth are. Maybe I've noticed it before, but never in any significant way. Anyway, the sign of a great film is when people, 20 years later, still talk about themselves in relation to the charaters in the movie: "Which character are you?" "What would you have done in that situation?" "Would you have become 'institutionalized'?" A handful of movies have, in my life, had that effect on people: Star Wars, Reservoir Dogs, to name a couple--there are others. A prison break movie would have been boring, but a prison break movie from the perspective of some one not really involved is genius. The special thanks to Stephen King in the credits is particulary well-deserved. A story that worked better as a movie, for me, than as a novella (which was pretty damn good to begin with).

5/5

The Shawshank Redemption is also playing on Wednesday, 2 April, at 2pm and 7 pm at participating AMC theaters (US only) for any people interested in seeing it.

[T-Dogz_AK47]

An awesome film, Squire! It's almost worth flying to the US just to watch it on the big screen!

[subie09lega]

I just returned from The Shawshank Redemption. We showed up early expecting a full theater, got there and the place was empty. I even went out to make sure we were in the correct auditorium. In total, ten people attended the showing. I think they don't advertise well enough. I found out about the Rear Window showings too late to make it to them.
Regardless, great movie.

[srboone]

Wow, the film sold out in KCMO on Sunday. But it would have been worth it even if I'd had a private showing! Glad you got to see it. Next week is The Silence of the Lambs!

[TJCams]

Rarely (if ever?) do they show movies like this here (at least in Windsor, ONT). Or if they do, I never hear about. I am not a movie person much - I can watch it when it comes out on satellite or netflix. Too expensive now, plus rarely is there a "must see" for me. Last 3 movies I saw at a theatre were: The Conjuring, Snitch and either Sinister or Safe House.

I would love it if they did that around here, maybe Cineplex does it in bigger cities? (Toronto?)

[frik51]

Liked it, but it's not my favorite Marvel.
It's a great-looking movie, with amazing effects - there truly no limit in what can be shown these days.
Still - the realism is missing. It's fun to watch, but never believable.
I didn't have one I'm-on-the-edge-of-my-seat moment.

sk

[TJCams]

Just noticed that poster (or promo pic, whatever)...photoshop Scarlet Johansson a bit eh!!!!

[Dan Hocker]

Liked it, but it's not my favorite Marvel.
It's a great-looking movie, with amazing effects - there truly no limit in what can be shown these days.
Still - the realism is missing. It's fun to watch, but never believable.
I didn't have one I'm-on-the-edge-of-my-seat moment.

sk

Did you get an early screening or was the premier earlier over there? I'm still super excited for this one. I really enjoyed the first one and this is one of the Captain America story lines I liked from the Marvel Universe.

[frik51]

Europe got it first! Not the first time this happened either. I remember the times we had to wait for months to get a new release.

sk