Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[srboone]

Agreed! Great time at Sharknado. And I actually liked the movie. Unlike a lot of other Sy-Fy (I hate that) movies that take themselves seriously, this one did not and worked as paraody/satire. The movie was competently made (given it's ridiculousness and it's 1990's CGI) and I had a blast watching it (I'd seen it before). The nuts of Rifftrax made it all the more enjoyable. Tara Reid may be alive, but her face isn't.

My "Coiley" approved rating is:

Sharknado: 3/5

Rifftrax Live: Sharknado: 5/5

August 14: Rifftrax Live: Godzilla. I've got my ticket already.

[srboone]

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Superior to the first film in every way. Scary, suspenseful, great effects, good performances, and a story that resonates. As good as Andy Serkis was as Caesar in the first film, he's even better here. He's been called the Lon Chaney of the digital age and I'll agree with that (he seems to REALLY come to life as an actor when wearing a mask; though he doesn't have to endure tortuous makeup sessions). Here we have one of those sequels that is so much better than its predecessor that it leaves you breathless thinking about the possibilities for the next PotA film. This reboot of the Apes franchise doesn't have the satire of the 70s films, but its just as politically savy. DotPotA has a few too many things crashing into each other in its finale, but that's really minor. This is one of the best films of the year and the best big-budget movie so far this summer.

Gonna go out on a limb on this one and rate it 5/5.

Right now, my five best movies of 2014 are:

The Lego Movie
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Snowpiercer
The Grand Budhapest Hotel
Edge of Tommorow

[Sock Monkey]

I agree about Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Just saw it today and thought it was a great follow up to Rise. Interesting, but not preachy, theme of the cyclical nature of fear and violence. The reviews have been overwhelmingly positive and there is a reason why. It is just a well made movie. Grade: A

[Tommy]

I agree with all the glowing reviews for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as well, it is superior to the first and a very engrossing experience but I did have one MAJOR problem with the story and that is...

Spoiler!

The Kirk Acevedo Character kills the ape at the beginning of the film and nearly causes a war to break out, why in the world did the humans decide to bring that asshole back with them when the apes agreed to let them work on the dam? And surprise! he nearly jeopardizes the whole thing again! It makes no sense whatsoever, he wasn't needed to work on the dam and there were definitely more available soldier types who had not killed any apes and didn't run the risk of pissing off the apes like he did, other than that it is a great film

[Tommy]

My new favorite movie of the year is The Raid 2, light years ahead of it's predecessor in scope and style, a Shakespearean plot combined with some of the best martial arts sequences I've seen, just a breath taking awe-inspiring film, see it if you can!

[srboone]

Loved The Raid. I'll definitely look for the sequel.

[srboone]

The Purge: Anarchy: Here's another sequel that is superior to the original in every significant way. It's grisly, nilhilistic and ugly, but the writing and directing are much better as is the ensemble acting. It's still filled with plot holes and nonsensical occurences, but it's oddly compelling. The film is at it's best when it's dealing with interaction between the five people thown together by fate on Purge Night; the rest is messy and almost incoherent. I say it's better than the original, which is true, but the orginal was only a 2-star effort. I left the first film wishing I knew more about the "New Founding Fathers of America" organization that instituted the Purge; that subject is addressed in this new film--and I was disappointed and more than a little frightened by the answer. It seems we VOTED these guys into office. We really are our own worst enemy.

It passed my "Good Movie Sniff Test". Barely.

3/5

The last time I had to use the Sniff Test to rate a movie, Underworld (the vampire/lycanthrope movie) passed with a 3/5 also.

[srboone]

Not a movie but it was beamed live into movie theaters--

Monty Python Live: One Down, Five to Go: Basically a collection of MP's greatest sketches, utilizing clips from the original shows combined with live presentations. Not as hysterical as I wished it had been, but the nostalgia of the whole show won me over. The best moments were when John Cleese blew his lines (which happened a lot) and he ad-libbed. His musing during the dead parrot sketch that the Norwegian Blue had gone to a consultation with Dr. Chapman was priceless and elicted a standing ovation in the (movie) theater. Plus, Eric Idle asking everybody watching around the world to join him in singing "The Bright Side of Life" during the encore was a great way to end the evening. All-in-all, it was an enjoyable evening.

They even had the Chinese Dragon in their inspired stage rendition of "Every Sperm is Sacred" (my favorite Python skit/song).

4/5

[William J. Grabowski]

Not a movie but it was beamed live into movie theaters--

Monty Python Live: One Down, Five to Go: Basically a collection of MP's greatest sketches, utilizing clips from the original shows combined with live presentations. Not as hysterical as I wished it had been, but the nostalgia of the whole show won me over. The best moments were when John Cleese blew his lines (which happened a lot) and he ad-libbed. His musing during the dead parrot sketch that the Norwegian Blue had gone to a consultation with Dr. Chapman was priceless and elicted a standing ovation in the (movie) theater. Plus, Eric Idle asking everybody watching around the world to join him in singing "The Bright Side of Life" during the encore was a great way to end the evening. All-in-all, it was an enjoyable evening.

They even had the Chinese Dragon in their inspired stage rendition of "Every Sperm is Sacred" (my favorite Python skit/song).

4/5

Thanks for this. I've GOT to see it.

[William J. Grabowski]

That is, if it's made available....

[Sock Monkey]

Loved The Raid. I'll definitely look for the sequel.

The Raid has been on my radar for a while now. With all the positive reviews, maybe it's time for me to actually get around to watching it.

[srboone]

Blames social media for this one folks. After the original in 2013, Twitter and Facebook exploded with glowing reviews and comments on the delightful absurdity and genre parody of the meteorological phenomenon. Even reclusive grandma had heard of it. Now, in 2014, we have...

Sharknado 2: The Next One: If the first one made you roll your eyes, leave the room, break out the razor blades and run a warm bath, or go rearrange your sock drawer for fun, then don't bother with this one. But for those of you who found the original fun, then this sequel is nice way to waste two hours of your life with your brain on idle. With its tongue firmly planted in its cheek, SN2 delivers more stylized schlock and bigger laughs than it's predecessor. The effects are still low-grade and there's a lack of suspense and tension to the whole affair, but nods to genre staples and the addition of a handful of cameos adds to the fun. (In fact, there's a waiting list for cameos in a Sharknado movie, so expect SN3 next summer.) The openning of the film is well-executed by director Ferrante, and although the film never quite lives up to the promise of it's intial sequence, it still tops the original in just about everything.

I also can't wait for RiffTrax Live to get hold of this one.

I guess Twitter and Facebook do have some redeeming values after all.

3.5/5

[William J. Grabowski]

Blames social media for this one folks. After the original in 2013, Twitter and Facebook exploded with glowing reviews and comments on the delightful absurdity and genre parody of the meteorological phenomenon. Even reclusive grandma had heard of it. Now, in 2014, we have...

Sharknado 2: The Next One: If the first one made you roll your eyes, leave the room, break out the razor blades and run a warm bath, or go rearrange your sock drawer for fun, then don't bother with this one. But for those of you who found the original fun, then this sequel is nice way to waste two hours of your life with your brain on idle. With its tongue firmly planted in its cheek, SN2 delivers more stylized schlock and bigger laughs than it's predecessor. The effects are still low-grade and there's a lack of suspense and tension to the whole affair, but nods to genre staples and the addition of a handful of cameos adds to the fun. (In fact, there's a waiting list for cameos in a Sharknado movie, so expect SN3 next summer.) The openning of the film is well-executed by director Ferrante, and although the film never quite lives up to the promise of it's intial sequence, it still tops the original in just about everything.

I also can't wait for RiffTrax Live to get hold of this one.

I guess Twitter and Facebook do have some redeeming values after all.

3.5/5

Mike Nelson's probably making notes at this moment....

[srboone]

Guardians of the Galaxy: A "Woo-Hoo!" ride of a movie. Silly, snarky and subversive, this Marvel adventure is fun from the get-go. Pretty light-weight when it comes to Marvel blockbusters, but at least it doesn't invovle an invasion of para-dimensional metal insects. Yet. (There are sequels in the works.) The 3D gives the movie texture (though there are a few in-your-face sequences) and is quite enjoyable. Pratt seems ready for stardom, Saldana is at her best when she's a different color, and Cooper and Diesel steal the show. I'm not an expert on the Marvel universe, but I'm sure there are connections I couldn't make, such as: who are Thanos, the brick-jawed (an unrecognizable Josh Brolin) demi-god(?) and Drax the Detroyer? There are others, I'm sure; but I didn't need to know them to enjoy the movie for what it is.

4/5

EDIT: On a side note, Sharknado 2 has become Sy-Fy's most watched movie at 3.9 million viewers and is the most "socially networked" of all movies having generated over 1,000,000,000 tweets just in its 2-hour premiere.

Maybe those nuts from RiffTrax live were correct in suggesting we salt the Earth and just give up...

[Dan Hocker]

Guardians of the Galaxy: A "Woo-Hoo!" ride of a movie. Silly, snarky and subversive, this Marvel adventure is fun from the get-go. Pretty light-weight when it comes to Marvel blockbusters, but at least it doesn't invovle an invasion of para-dimensional metal insects. Yet. (There are sequels in the works.) The 3D gives the movie texture (though there are a few in-your-face sequences) and is quite enjoyable. Pratt seems ready for stardom, Saldana is at her best when she's a different color, and Cooper and Diesel steal the show. I'm not an expert on the Marvel universe, but I'm sure there are connections I couldn't make, such as: who are Thanos, the brick-jawed (an unrecognizable Josh Brolin) demi-god(?) and Drax the Detroyer? There are others, I'm sure; but I didn't need to know them to enjoy the movie for what it is.

4/5

EDIT: On a side note, Sharknado 2 has become Sy-Fy's most watched movie at 3.9 million viewers and is the most "socially networked" of all movies having generated over 1,000,000,000 tweets just in its 2-hour premiere.

Maybe those nuts from RiffTrax live were correct in suggesting we salt the Earth and just give up...

Pretty much this. I don't know much about Drax, I don't really think he has a lot of major connections though. Thanos on the other hand is the biggest bad guy of the entire Marvel universe, who's goal is to destroy the entire universe. If you're familiar with the DC universe his counterpart there would probably be Darkseid.