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

[credoconsolans]

I watched Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy last night and was REALLY disappointed.

.... the film just sucked.

How could they do that?

I liked the dolphin song and the improbability drive. Everything else sucked. They could have taken any of the books or even just parts, and made a good film - there was enough story! Instead, they tried to jam all the concepts into too small a production, and failed miserably.

Would I get marshmallow-fluffed if I admitted to liking Despicable Me? I'm not a big fan of children but this is funny.

I loved The Hitchhikers Guide. My sister and I were laughing our guts out we thought it was funny.

I think there is a human tendency to love the first form in which you encounter something, if it is good. The film changed a lot of what had been good in the other formats, and not for the better.

It certainly still had its moments but was not what it could have been.

If you can, access the series. It's dryer.

I have the movie DVD, the books, the TV series on video. They're all enjoyable. The series, however drier, does not give any inclination as to why Trillian would be with Zaphod and took the risks she took for him. For adventure? With someone that selfish and aloof? At least in the movie, he's shown to be more rock-n-roll charismatic and charming.

Lost in Translation was an incredible bore.

Another movie I liked a lot. Lot of absurdity and loneliness in that movie. I don't remember it being a comedy.

 

[Narapoia]

Lost in Translation was an incredible bore.

I have to agree, it's the only Bill Murray film I never actually finished.

I must disagree. "Broken Flowers" makes Lost in Translation look like an action film.

At first I thought Lost in Translation was boring...that nothing was happening in the film. Then as it progressed I noticed that things were happening, but were very subtle. Most films nowadays are painted in broad strokes, but that one was almost all minute details.

The film I watched the other day - Melancholia - tried to catch that minimalist vibe. It tried to tell the story of the end of the world through a a few emotionally distant characters but failed miserably.

I have not seen Broken Flowers, however on your recommendation I might give it a miss . Yeah, with you on Melancholia, I did not enjoy that film, no I did not.

 

[repoman]

I think that Broken Flowers must be good at least for introducing some people to Mulatu Astatke:



But, yeah also not in the mood for ponderous movies.

I saw The Bank Job (2008) a few days ago. I give it a 7.5/10

Set in the early 70s London. It was a good heist flick that was not filled with many WTF are the characters doing moments.

 

[Petrel]

I have not seen Broken Flowers, however on your recommendation I might give it a miss .

Good decision. It didn't suck quite as long and slowly as the other one, but it was.... minimalist enough to be going on with.
Subtle and nuanced? I'm not qualified to say.
Time better spent watching Groundhog Day again.

 

[angelo]

Wayne's World Is there something wrong with me or is this highly rated so-called comedy crap of the highest order? How can others see humour while I see nothing but pure shite! 1.5/10

The movie may not have aged well. It could be stuck in a comic time warp, as some forms of comedy do. The movie wasn't absurdly funny, but was pretty good at the time. The sequel didn't amount to much.

If that is so, how come comedies in the ilk of Flying High, Naked Gun, and their sequals are still fresh and hilarious today as the day they were released? Others that comes to mind are Caddy Shack, National Lampoon's Vacation and sequels just a few examples.

Because I said some comedies are stuck in a time warp.

I watched three quarters of this so called comedic genius when it was released and that to me was some effort. Perhaps I don't like Mike Myers but Wayne's World stunk from the opening credits. But then, I feel the same about [for me] the actor Will Ferrel. Among the most overrated actors in present day Hollywood.

 

[angelo]

I have not seen Broken Flowers, however on your recommendation I might give it a miss .

Good decision. It didn't suck quite as long and slowly as the other one, but it was.... minimalist enough to be going on with.
Subtle and nuanced? I'm not qualified to say.
Time better spent watching Groundhog Day again.

Even Stripes was as good as Groundhog Day That's where Bill Murray's forte is.

 

[TV and credit cards]

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) 9/10

This is one of my favorites. There are not many movies I'll watch a second time and few that I own. This one is in my Amazon downloads.
This is the 1982 version with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour. If you're not familiar with the story, watch closely or the Pimpernel may elude you too.
I've yet to read Baroness Orczy's book.
Set during France's Reign of Terror, the Scarlet Pimpernel has a number of very creative methods for saving as many of the French aristocracy from Madame Guillotine as he can.
Surely it couldn't be this fool:

Or could it?

A very well directed film and a very well written script. You can also watch it on YouTube ten minutes at a time.

Apologies if I wrote this up already on the previous board.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Wayne's World Is there something wrong with me or is this highly rated so-called comedy crap of the highest order? How can others see humour while I see nothing but pure shite! 1.5/10

The movie may not have aged well. It could be stuck in a comic time warp, as some forms of comedy do. The movie wasn't absurdly funny, but was pretty good at the time. The sequel didn't amount to much.

If that is so, how come comedies in the ilk of Flying High, Naked Gun, and their sequals are still fresh and hilarious today as the day they were released? Others that comes to mind are Caddy Shack, National Lampoon's Vacation and sequels just a few examples.

Because I said some comedies are stuck in a time warp.

I watched three quarters of this so called comedic genius when it was released and that to me was some effort. Perhaps I don't like Mike Myers but Wayne's World stunk from the opening credits. But then, I feel the same about [for me] the actor Will Ferrel. Among the most overrated actors in present day Hollywood.

First off, shy of a movie or two, Will Ferrell is not an actor. Secondly, you can not like Wayne's World. You made no indication you didn't like it the first time you saw it. If you had, I wouldn't have made any comment. You don't like it, you don't like it. Thirdly, hard to consider Myers a comedic genius. I would say he puts everything he has into quirky roles, but even his best stuff gets tiring (Austin Powers).

 

[Petrel]

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) 9/10

.

I didn't know about this. Will look into it. I read the books as a teenager. Liked the original movie, with Leslie Howard (I admired him) and my esteemed compatriot Raymond Massey.

 

[MarkW]

Catch Me If You Can

8/10

This dramatization of the life of the audacious con man/check forger Frank Abagnale, Jr., isn't a classic but it's a very well-made film that tells an interesting story. The cast is very strong, headlined by Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, supported by, among others, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen and Amy Adams.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Catch Me If You Can

8/10

This dramatization of the life of the audacious con man/check forger Frank Abagnale, Jr., isn't a classic but it's a very well-made film that tells an interesting story. The cast is very strong, headlined by Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, supported by, among others, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen and Amy Adams.

Love Tom Hanks' knock-knock joke.

 

[Ford]

Shaolin Temple Against Lama

The user review on IMDB sums it up well:

Creaky plot concerning palace intrigues in the late Ming Dynasty. In a slight nod to Hamlet, an evil Lord has killed the king and consorts with the lovely queen. Queen's son, the Prince, is a braggard who seeks the truth, and also to be the leading martial artist in China before fully assuming the throne. The evil lord leads the Black faction, which seeks to unite all the martial arts schools under their sway. Shaolin resists. This causes one helluva lot of fighting.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0201093/combined

One helluva lot of fighting, indeed! There is a fight every few minutes, and if your idea of a martial arts fight is two guys leaping and flipping and barely hitting each other while every single move is accompanied by an over the top sound effect, then this is your kind of martial arts movie! There is not a trope or cliche' that isn't used in this gloriously ridiculous film, and used often.

Bad guys attack good guy one at a time even though they outnumber him? Check.

Bad guys attack en masse but good guy is so good at kung fu they fail? Check.

Nobody ever gets tired despite fighting almost continuously? Check.

Literally everyone knows kung fu? Check.

Antagonists insulting each others' style of kung fu? Check.

Secret grip/strike/attack taught to the hero earlier in the film that is used in the final fight? Check!

(In all seriousness, though, if you turned the sound down and just watched the fights as athletic demonstrations, these martial artists top anything done nowadays with wires and special effects.)

Oh, and about the over-dubbing. The cadence of the original Mandarin obviously doesn't match English, but for the looping on this one they apparently tried to make the English dialog match the lip movements of the Chinese actors, and the...effect is...odd and...disconcerting to....watch yet...hilarious!

I don't know if I can wait until this comes on late night over the air television again. I may have to buy the DVD!

11/10

 

[spikepipsqueak]

Balibo 8/10

I was 18 when the Balibo 5 were murdered, and not much of a news junkie, but still this filtered into my consciousness.

This portrayal is disturbing and given an extra poignancy by the knowledge that the facts were suppressed for so long for political expediency.

 

[MarkW]

Flypaper

7.5/10

This modestly-budgeted crime comedy is better than many a big-budget film. The script, about a bank that is robbed by two heist crews simultaneously, is both smart and funny, although the ending feels a little bit rushed. Patrick Dempsey, in a role that would likely have gone to John Cusack in a more lavishly funded production, is a very effective lead, while Tim Blake Nelson and Pruitt Taylor Vince are scene-stealers as a pair of lovable rogues.

 

[angelo]

Frantic for the third time in recent memory. Harrison Ford was brilliant in this, as were his co stars. A good thriller. 8/10

 

[Unbeatable]

Oculus. It did its tagline "You see what it wants you to see" justice, keeping me guessing as to what was actually happening and what was an illusion. It wasn't the "random jump scares and generic creepy visions" film I'd been expecting from the trailer, which was a relief. It was just an artifact of doom film about a supernatural mirror, and this is probably my favorite execution yet (on film, at least; the SCP Foundation has done some interesting things with mirrors in print) of this incredibly familiar combination of tropes. Plausible characterizations, decent performances. I only caught one slip in Gillan's accent. 9/10

 

[bradw]

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)

Good goofy fun.

Very little CG. Lots of creature models and men in rubber suits.

7/10

 

[bradw]

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Boring, incoherent, and really awful cinematography.

3/10

 

[Daioh]

Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths
6/10
This is one I have mixed feelings about
I mean the plotline is fine, the characters are all fine and the animation is solid throughout
But this movie just lacked passion
It seems to be a bit like they were just ticking off plot points at times and sometimes just seemed to be going through the motions but without the love of the action and characters you get from other DC Animated movies
I liked this movie, but I really felt it could have been alot better then it was

 

[MarkW]

Ging chaat goo si juk jaap/Police Story 2

7.5/10

This one has all the basic features, both good and bad, of the first in the series. Jackie Chan returns as the indestructible Hong Kong policeman Ka-Kui Chan, trying to stop bomb plots while keeping girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung) out of the crossfire that his police work generates. If you like high-energy action and spectacular stunt work and are not in too demanding a mood when it comes to plot and dialogue, this is highly entertaining.