Which movie did you watch today and how would you rate it?

[Jimmy Higgins]

Rush - A nice fictional account about historical race car drivers in Formula 1. A not so good honest portrayal of the real-life interaction between said historical race car drivers in Formula 1. Days of Thunder for Formula 1. I'm growing tired of historical films that are fictionalized. 2.5 of 4

 

[Daioh]

Godzilla vs Megaguirus
5/10
I remember having watched this a long time ago, and now having rewatched this I can say it is one of the weaker movies
And it is generally weaker all across the board
Godzilla is criminally underused in this movie, and seems devoid of any real purpose in the plot other then as a vague "big evil" that never really does anything
The Human characters just aren't all that interesting, most never really moving beyond their basic characterisations and brought down even more by some wooden acting
The special effects just don't mesh, the practical effects and CGI effects are not done well together to the point that it either looks cheap or silly and when together just don't cut it
And the plot is kinda hamfisted and meandering to the point that it really doesn't go anywhere and it's message is forgotten
So in the end, it is a mediocre movie that isn't the worst Godzilla has done but not the best either

 

[Ford]

Sometimes I like slow and weird pacing. In fact, it's one of the few things I like about M. Night Shyamalan movies. However, for some reason the slow and weird pacing of Mr. Nobody bugged me so much that I had to stop watching it. No idea why. Anyway, the plot seems to be structured around the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics: all possible paths are taken. If the quantum mechanics metaphor holds up, then somewhere at the end of the movie a "measurement" is taken, and his life would snap into only one of the possibilities (analogous to the wave function collapse in quantum theory).

It goes in a completely different direction which requires a considerable suspension of disbelief about...well...maybe you should just watch the rest of the movie.

 

[MarkW]

The Killers (1946 version)

9.5/10

One of the textbook examples of film noir. The first 15-20 minutes, a very faithful adaptation of Hemingway's short story of the same title, are incredibly intense, with Charles McGraw and William Conrad as the "killers" of the title, and Burt Lancaster in his screen debut as their target, the Swede. The remainder of the film is less excellent, but Lancaster (in flashbacks) dominates every scene he is in, Ava Gardner is an effective femme fatale, and Edmond O'Brien and Sam Levene are very good as a pair of rigidly righteous servants of law and order. The main theme from Miklos Rosza's score, with a change of tempo, became the theme for TV's "Dragnet."

 

[angelo]

The Killers (1946 version)

9.5/10

One of the textbook examples of film noir. The first 15-20 minutes, a very faithful adaptation of Hemingway's short story of the same title, are incredibly intense, with Charles McGraw and William Conrad as the "killers" of the title, and Burt Lancaster in his screen debut as their target, the Swede. The remainder of the film is less excellent, but Lancaster (in flashbacks) dominates every scene he is in, Ava Gardner is an effective femme fatale, and Edmond O'Brien and Sam Levene are very good as a pair of rigidly righteous servants of law and order. The main theme from Miklos Rosza's score, with a change of tempo, became the theme for TV's "Dragnet."

Wasn't this remade more than once? I seem to have the image of a Angie Dickinson in one version.

 

[MarkW]

The Killers (1946 version)

9.5/10

One of the textbook examples of film noir. The first 15-20 minutes, a very faithful adaptation of Hemingway's short story of the same title, are incredibly intense, with Charles McGraw and William Conrad as the "killers" of the title, and Burt Lancaster in his screen debut as their target, the Swede. The remainder of the film is less excellent, but Lancaster (in flashbacks) dominates every scene he is in, Ava Gardner is an effective femme fatale, and Edmond O'Brien and Sam Levene are very good as a pair of rigidly righteous servants of law and order. The main theme from Miklos Rosza's score, with a change of tempo, became the theme for TV's "Dragnet."

Wasn't this remade more than once? I seem to have the image of a Angie Dickinson in one version.

You are quite correct. Don Siegel directed a remake in 1964, and Angie Dickinson more-or-less took the role played by Ava Gardner in the original film. This was also the last film Ronald Reagan made before going into politics. It was intended initially as a TV movie, but NBC decided it was too violent to show on TV so it was given a theatrical release. I watched it once a few years back--it's not too bad but not the classic that the 1946 film is.

 

[angelo]

Yep, that's what reviewers said as well.
Watched the original The Hangover last night. A good gag taken far too far in the sequel. This original rates 6/10.

 

[spikepipsqueak]

K-PAX. 8/10

I still love this film though not as much as I remember at first viewing. The potential for ambiguity is icing.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Total Recall (201x verstion) - It was better than the corny original, mainly because special effects are nicer these days. Honestly, however, there was no reason to make this film. It didn't add much to the original. I was hoping for a nice twist, but it never came. Honestly, I just don't think it was worth watching to see Biel. 2 of 4

 

[angelo]

Total Recall (201x verstion) - It was better than the corny original, mainly because special effects are nicer these days. Honestly, however, there was no reason to make this film. It didn't add much to the original. I was hoping for a nice twist, but it never came. Honestly, I just don't think it was worth watching to see Biel. 2 of 4

Oh I don't know about that! I thought Biel would be worth at least another point!

 

[ksen]

Elysium

At least 9/10. The action didn't take away from the message at all imo. And Sharlto Copley was, as always, excellent.

 

[Narapoia]

Gran Torino Leading role, Directed and produced by Clunk Eastwood. Far superior to other similarly themed vengeance flicks, and all done with a cast of unknowns. This movie showcases Clint Eastwood's many talents.

9.5/10

I liked the film but the appalling acting by some of the supporting cast just yanked me right out of it on a number of occasions.

 

[angelo]

Gran Torino Leading role, Directed and produced by Clunk Eastwood. Far superior to other similarly themed vengeance flicks, and all done with a cast of unknowns. This movie showcases Clint Eastwood's many talents.

9.5/10

I liked the film but the appalling acting by some of the supporting cast just yanked me right out of it on a number of occasions.

Because Clint used unknowns in his film.

 

[angelo]

I watched Wedding Crashes last night, my third viewing of this comedy. It promises much, and most reviewers rate this movie very highly. It must be my dislike of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughan's wooden acting that stops me from seeing what the fuss is all about. I rate it 5/10 and that's being generous.

 

[James Brown]

Gran Torino Leading role, Directed and produced by Clunk Eastwood. Far superior to other similarly themed vengeance flicks, and all done with a cast of unknowns. This movie showcases Clint Eastwood's many talents.

9.5/10

I liked the film but the appalling acting by some of the supporting cast just yanked me right out of it on a number of occasions.

Because Clint used unknowns in his film.

"Unknown" does not always equal "appalling actor."

 

[Narapoia]

Gran Torino Leading role, Directed and produced by Clunk Eastwood. Far superior to other similarly themed vengeance flicks, and all done with a cast of unknowns. This movie showcases Clint Eastwood's many talents.

9.5/10

I liked the film but the appalling acting by some of the supporting cast just yanked me right out of it on a number of occasions.

Because Clint used unknowns in his film.

"Unknown" does not always equal "appalling actor."

Pretty much. Eastwood set himself a tough task to find new actors amongst a relatively small ethnic population, I think that relaxing this requirement may have resulted in an overall higher quality film. Plenty of films have introduced previously unknown actors that have been amazing and gone on to long and successful careers. Grand Turino does not fall into this category.

 

[Ford]

After Porn Ends

A documentary that profiles the lives of adult film stars after they've left the business. Some try to return to a normal life. Some find religion. Some find it difficult to walk away.

It deals with the porn industry in a matter-of-fact way, and always up front is the fact that once you've done porn, you can never go back. Plenty of interesting stories, and of course lots of nudity and sex.

6.5/10

 

[credoconsolans]

Captain America 8.5/10

Great sequel. Really enjoyed the 70s style plotline and fight sequences. This is the least funny Marvel movie. The plot is grim and the characters do not get much of a chance for levity. It is a story about betrayal on many levels, trust and it deserves the kudos and box office it has earned.

Spiderman 2 (2014 version) 6.5/10

Let me start off by saying I'm not a Spiderman fan. He's OK as a superhero, but I've never really been a fan. So, watching this movie in IMAX 3D was awesome, but the classic Spiderman-swinging-through-the-city sequences are all digital, so they look as fake as they are. Lotta people liked them, but I'm not one of them.

I never saw Spiderman 1, but it wasn't needed. I knew the general gist so I was able to dive right in. I did love the rapid fire dialogue and some comments, scenes and lines were hysterically funny and very enjoyable. Andrew Garfield is an excellent actor. The love relationship - since it is real - comes across very real.

The problems:

Problem #1 the actors are too old for their parts.

They're playing high school graduates.

Garfield has a very evident 5 o'clock shadow and Emma has a 'been around the block' look about her.

So you have to suspend your disbelief about how they look.

But luckily the two are sufficiently talented that they act like high schoolers with all the melodramatic angst, hurt feelings, sad mooning, hanging up on each other and "oh, I changed my mind after putting you through emotional pain" rebounds that you expect from teens.

So their romance is teenager-ish and exhausting and not the kind of romance you enjoy seeing going through its paces.

Problem #2 is that the lead up to

Show

how Gwen was killed was lame. She insists, super insists, overwhelmingly insists to Peter that she can help him fight a bad guy because of her genius technical and scientific knowledge. And how does she apply that knowledge? She flips the big red switch.

Duh.

Problem #3 was that

Show

the Green Goblin was almost like an afterthought. Something tacked on to the end of the movie because the first bad guy was done away with on their first try. But yet he's defeated quickly too so they can get to the tragic death of Gwen scene. Both bad guys are easily defeated. The producers should have not put in 2 bad guys and just concentrated on one bad guy and made him a bit more difficult to overcome. The actor who plays Harry Osborn though, Dane DeHaan is definitely too good to be in a comic book movie. Like Garfield, an excellent actor.

So, not so great plot. Next to it, Captain America 2 is like the Scorsese of comic book movies.

An OK romp. Don't pay to see it in IMAX or 3D unless you like video game level Spiderman-swinging-around- town-like-Tarzan effects.

 

[angelo]

Gran Torino Leading role, Directed and produced by Clunk Eastwood. Far superior to other similarly themed vengeance flicks, and all done with a cast of unknowns. This movie showcases Clint Eastwood's many talents.

9.5/10

I liked the film but the appalling acting by some of the supporting cast just yanked me right out of it on a number of occasions.

Because Clint used unknowns in his film.

"Unknown" does not always equal "appalling actor."

Not to mention that Clunk saved a fortune by having very ordinary folk in his movie who more than likely got paid zilch.

 

[angelo]

There's Something About Mary Ben Stiller and the truly delicious Cameron Diaz star in this laugh out loud comedy which is top notch of it's gentry.
The plot is along these lines: A man hires a private detective to search for the girl he was infatuated with during high school. This movie strikes a match with me as I went through the very same thing all those years ago. Diference being I went searching for her myself, no PI. When I did find her, she was nothing like I remembered her.
Anyway, my rating 9/10