The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

[bigblue_dl]

Apparently the old thread was closed, and I didn't find a new one.

We watched "Now You See Me" a couple nights ago. I did not have high expectations, because I remember hearing that it wasn't very good. This is the magician movie with Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Mark Ruffalo and Morgan Freeman in it, it was in theaters earlier this year. Surprisingly, I really liked it. It was far from perfect, but it kept me entertained. It is a movie that keeps you trying to figure out what their next move is, or "how did they do that?" Some of the stuff was easy to figure out, and others were pretty clever. I suspected the final twist, part way through the movie, but they did a good job of pulling me away from it until the end when I found out my suspicians were correct. Overall, I'd recommend it as entertaining way to spend a couple hours.

[SJHovey]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

Apparently the old thread was closed, and I didn't find a new one.

We watched "Now You See Me" a couple nights ago. I did not have high expectations, because I remember hearing that it wasn't very good. This is the magician movie with Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Mark Ruffalo and Morgan Freeman in it, it was in theaters earlier this year. Surprisingly, I really liked it. It was far from perfect, but it kept me entertained. It is a movie that keeps you trying to figure out what their next move is, or "how did they do that?" Some of the stuff was easy to figure out, and others were pretty clever. I suspected the final twist, part way through the movie, but they did a good job of pulling me away from it until the end when I found out my suspicians were correct. Overall, I'd recommend it as entertaining way to spend a couple hours.

I saw that movie in the theater, and was actually a little disappointed. Like you I suspected the final twist fairly early on, and anytime I do that, and it turns out to be correct, I'm disappointed.

The card trick was a good way to open the movie. You could tell people around the theater had themselves succumbed to the visual trick. But it kind of went down hill from there for me.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

I saw that movie in the theater, and was actually a little disappointed. Like you I suspected the final twist fairly early on, and anytime I do that, and it turns out to be correct, I'm disappointed.

The card trick was a good way to open the movie. You could tell people around the theater had themselves succumbed to the visual trick. But it kind of went down hill from there for me.

This is what I had heard from other people previously, which is why I didn't have high expectations. I think part of the reason I liked it is because I did have such low expectations. Even still, I did enjoy the movie.

[aygwm2]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

Watched two very good movies the last two nights.

The Big Country (1958) Ship's captain from the east meets feuding ranchers in the west. Excellent western with Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives, Chuck Connors...directed by William Wyler.

The Counterfeiters (2007) 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Based on a true story of how the Nazis set up a counterfeiting production facility in a concentration camp using the talents of Jewish counterfeiters and printers during WWII.

[St. Clown]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

I watched The Unhung Hero the other night. It's both cringe worthy and hilarious all at the same time. The basic premise is that it's a documentary that follows this guy who proposed to his girlfriend while on the Kiss Cam at a Lakers game. She said no and ran out of the building. Later he caught up with her, found out it was because his wang is too small. That's why she wouldn't marry him. It upset him, and it just so happens that the Kiss Cam rejection was put up on YouTube and got over 10 million hits, so some filmmaker who later found out why she rejected him contacted him about the making a documentary on his wang size. Don't worry, you never see actual wang during the show. So the show follows him while he meets with different people, from ex-girlfriends to a urologist to various "size enhanement experts" to a worldwide leading plastic surgery in wang augmentation surgeries. He also gets the opinions of different people he meets along the way, and that's where the comedy really is.

It should be noted that the guy is a standup comic and has had a few bit parts on TV over the past few years. The one clip he shows is from his five-second appearance on How I Met Your Mother.

[The Rube]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

If you want awesomely horrible schlock, "The Mini-Skirt Mob" and "Switchblade Sisters" definitely fit the bill.

[aygwm2]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

Watched Searching For Sugar Man last night and it's a pretty good documentary. It's about the folk singer Rodriguez who produced two albums in the 70s and then dropped off the radar. SFSM is the story of what happened. 60 Minutes did a piece on Rodriguez in October 2012.

[bigmrg74]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

Watched Searching For Sugar Man last night and it's a pretty good documentary. It's about the folk singer Rodriguez who produced two albums in the 70s and then dropped off the radar. SFSM is the story of what happened. 60 Minutes did a piece on Rodriguez in October 2012.

yeah, but some how he blew up in South Africa.

[aygwm2]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

yeah, but some how he blew up in South Africa.

Right, somehow his music took off and he was a star in South Africa; a phenomenon bigger than Elvis and the Stones, etc.

[Gurtholfin]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

Watched the Hobbit extended edition tonight. Didn't like the movie when I saw it in the theater last December for a myriad of reasons that I won't get into here. Hadn't seen it again till tonight.

I enjoyed it immensely. It didn't suddenly become a great movie - it's not. But I had a good time watching it.


Probably a number of factors at play.

One, I have had a year to stew over the changes that PJ made and can look past (most of) them and just try and enjoy the movie. I still have quibbles - some pretty big (Goblin Town - Ugh!) - but they're not the deal breakers that they were upon first view.

Two, the added scenes helped to flesh out the story and explain a few of the changes as well as add some foreshadowing. They also allowed for more character development which I thought was SORELY lacking in the theatrical release. I enjoy the subtle moments and conversations oftentimes more than protracted action sequences and this version of the movie gave me those.

The EEs of the first trilogy are certainly the definitive version and I expect that these will be of the Hobbit.


I can see how non fan-boys would see this as bloated and overlong. It's not a great movie in the traditional sense. But for a LOTR dork like me, I want more and now with this version, got it. Again, the movie still has flaws, but it's an acceptable/good first movie and I expect (really hope) the next two are better.


For those who wanted to like the first movie and didn't - especially fans of Tolkien, not just moviegoers - I'd suggest checking out the EE before going to the next movie. It certainly changed my perspective.

Was really looking forward to the next movie and now I'm even more excited.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfflhfn1W-o

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

Watched the Hobbit extended edition tonight. Didn't like the movie when I saw it in the theater last December for a myriad of reasons that I won't get into here. Hadn't seen it again till tonight.

I enjoyed it immensely. It didn't suddenly become a great movie - it's not. But I had a good time watching it.


Probably a number of factors at play.

One, I have had a year to stew over the changes that PJ made and can look past (most of) them and just try and enjoy the movie. I still have quibbles - some pretty big (Goblin Town - Ugh!) - but they're not the deal breakers that they were upon first view.

Two, the added scenes helped to flesh out the story and explain a few of the changes as well as add some foreshadowing. They also allowed for more character development which I thought was SORELY lacking in the theatrical release. I enjoy the subtle moments and conversations oftentimes more than protracted action sequences and this version of the movie gave me those.

The EEs of the first trilogy are certainly the definitive version and I expect that these will be of the Hobbit.


I can see how non fan-boys would see this as bloated and overlong. It's not a great movie in the traditional sense. But for a LOTR dork like me, I want more and now with this version, got it. Again, the movie still has flaws, but it's an acceptable/good first movie and I expect (really hope) the next two are better.


For those who wanted to like the first movie and didn't - especially fans of Tolkien, not just moviegoers - I'd suggest checking out the EE before going to the next movie. It certainly changed my perspective.

Was really looking forward to the next movie and now I'm even more excited.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfflhfn1W-o

Hell has frozen over.

[Slap Shot]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

Layer Cake. 2004 crime bit with Daniel Craig as a somewhat small time crook that wants out of the business, but keeps finding himself in the middle of s**t. I found it very enjoyable.

Killing Them Softly. Another crime bit with Pitt and Gandolfini among others. I was far less impressed by this one, parts were downright slow and too drawn out, and the director sadly failed to fully utilize some very fine actors.

[Slap Shot]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

The City of Life and Death. B&W foreign language about the Japanese overtaking Nanking in 1937 and the atrocities that followed. Extremely well done and obviously quite gut-wrenching.

Warm Bodies. I assumed I would hate this and I didn't. Funny that I thought it was amazing I didn't hate Kristen Stewart until I realized it wasn't her.

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Hell has frozen over.

This has convinced me to watch the EE.

If I have a Gurt-like turnaround (unlikely, but then again I did have a brief period where I didn't hate Revenge of the Sith), then we will know for sure that Hell hath frozen over.

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Re: The Movie Thread: New, Rented, Whatever....I don't care

Also: watched The Croods on Thanksgiving (courtesy of being in a room of 20 family members with a half dozen kids under 10).

Even for a family film, it has the subtlety and nuance of a cat in a swimming pool. Characters don't have personalities, they merely fit broad toothless archetypes. It would be hard to talk about how stupid the film actually is without drifting into hyperbole.

But it was still an entertaining movie, in the same way that rock-paper-scissors is an interesting game.

The best thing I got out of watching it was teasing my less-than-bright 20 year old cousin-in-law because she thought it was a terrible movie ten minutes before it ended when she thought it was going to have a sad ending.