What have you watched recently?

slothrop · 25-01-2010 11:23am

Hello all, this weekend I watched three films -

The Hurt Locker, which whilst being admirably well made on a slender budget was also unengaging.
This was unintentionally ironic because it was the very desire to get me involved in the characters that left me even more disaffected with the cultural war on terror.

Terminator Salvation, which really was a poorly plotted, cliche ridden, waste of energy.

District 9, a much better, if ultimately frustrating effort, in that it had a rewarding go at satire before settling more comfortably in to the misunderstood-alien-pines-for-home action/adventure genre.
Reassuringly misanthropic: More ET GO home than ET goes home.

That_Guy · 25-01-2010 4:26pm

Dude, Where's My Car?:

Was quite bored last night so just stuck this on. Got a few chuckles out of it. I took it for what it was and actually rather enjoyed it despite its crazy storyline.
"Zoltan"

Cloverfield:

I love this film but the guy holdinig the camera for the majority of the film is fcuking annoying. "Dude we gotta go" Multiply that by 20 times in about 2 mins and it gets on your nerves at times.

Still a great idea for a film and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

L31mr0d · 25-01-2010 4:50pm

Sideways: Had only seen bits and pieces from it when it was aired on TV. Well written and acted. Recommended.

30 Days of Night: Surprisingly good Vampire film. Was not expecting something that would hold my attention right up until the closing credits.

JP Liz V1 · 25-01-2010 4:54pm

I watched 12 Rounds and enjoyed it

JesseCuster · 25-01-2010 5:21pm

Funny People - Not as hilarious as Apatow's other work but still worth a watch. Could have done with being half an hour shorter.

Kashkai · 25-01-2010 5:45pm

I've watched 2012, Avatar in the cinema and Drag me to Hell, the hurt locker, district 9 on blu ray. So it's been a pretty decent run of movies for the past month. The hurt locker would be my no1 as the tension is palpable when the bombs are being difused. Avatar was a lot better than I was expecting.

kumate_champ07 · 25-01-2010 6:35pm

humanji wrote: »

I watched Hot Rod last night. I wasn't expecting much, but I thought it was hilarious. I can easily imagine people hating it as the humour is the kind of Superbad/Anchorman humour that people love or hate. But I recommend it to anyone who likes that type of film.

Also, it's got Isla Fisher in it, so it does it for me!

I watched all 3 as I was interested in what American pop comedy has to offer, superbad wasnt bad, anchorman I didnt warm too but it has some great actors, hotrod is one of the ****est movies I've ever seen, jokes were lame and seemed like they tried real hard to be funny.

some movies Ive seen recently, the yes man actually quite good, jim carrey gives a nice restrained performance

slingblade couldnt see what all the hype was about this one, I'd give it 7/10 max but people seem to love it

watched gran torino again and loved it, some hammy acting and some of the characters arent believable like clint's sons and grandchildren, horrible people. we never get to learn about his wife but she was supposed to have been a church person so you would think that the sons would have some kind of respect. the asian 'actors' are terrible in some parts, but they arent pro actors, the story is strong enough to forgive/carry it tho

whats eating gilbert grape just a pleasant movie, watchable but not exciting. leonardo does a better job than billy bob thornton(who reminds me a little of simple jack from tropic thunder'), such a great actor at a young age

the hills have eyes (original) enjoyed this one, basic story, horror meets revenge in the middle of nowhere /in middle american dessert

Apocalypto starts off good and seems promising but didnt realise it was gonna become a 'chase movie', wanted to see more of the ancient city and some kind of revolt or mass escape, instead its a guy being chased thru forests by warriors. I remember reading bad reviews when it came out in the cinema and hearing that it was based on a made up civilization 1000's of years ago but its actually based in south america 100's of years ago and the language in the movie is authentic/not made up. didnt realise till the end, it makes it better imo.
(**thinking back it perhaps was a review of 10,000bc I had heard)

Raising Arizona and Barton Fink, my least favorite coen brothers movies, wanted more from barton fink, raising arizona was just daft.

I wonder how many more movies with the same 'plot' they can get away with and keep them original, 'ordinary people, in need of money, opportunity arises, briefcase of money, some people die, nothing goes to plan, the end.'
No country for old men and burn after reading are good movies tho, its the build up/suspense that makes them worth watching

dances with wolves really loved this, very nice movie, costner is great, white man is evil!

*slingblade score is great tho, daniel lanois sounding very brian eno'ish, tho they did both work together on some U2 albums including 'the joshua tree'

slothrop · 25-01-2010 7:04pm

Just sitting through Antichrist.

Outraged

fitz0 · 25-01-2010 7:51pm

slothrop wrote: »

Just sitting through Antichrist.

Outraged

What did you expect?

beans · 25-01-2010 8:11pm

Bet he didn't expect

stupid talking foxes

Great movie, though

Keyzer · 25-01-2010 8:13pm

Un prophète (A Prophet)...

French movie, absolutely brilliant, 10 out of 10...

nicklauski · 25-01-2010 8:30pm

FAME
The new one. Fairly shite to be honest. Seen it all before in the numours dance/music movies out lately.

4/10 (Only because the blondie one was a bit of alright)
The Hurt Locker

Amazing. Absolutely loved it.
From the opening slow motion shot to the final shot, I was hooked. Thought it was well acted and some good tension in it.
Would recommend it.

9/10

slothrop · 25-01-2010 9:25pm

Didnt expect what?

The FGM?

Nah, I saw that coming a long way off, bit like Defoe's bloody member...

All very domestic but then I do live in Howth.

No. I refer you to the excellent Lars Von Trier thread.

That_Guy · 26-01-2010 10:02am

The Book Of Eli:

Saw this last night. I went in with very low expectations. Wasn't too bad at all really. It was just like watching a post apocalyptic Western. Some of the early fight scenes were rather good and a pretty decent twist towards the end. I'd recommend it.

themont85 · 27-01-2010 6:42pm

Saw the Book of Eli on Monday night with the GF. Very enjoyable.

What are the opinions on Brothers out there? May give that a watch later in the week.

OutlawPete · 27-01-2010 8:52pm

Saw Brothers today.

Good film with some amazing acting performances.

Couldn't help but think that it was edited very well. Scenes jump around too fast and then aren't finished at all it appears at times.

The little girl in this film should get an Oscar. She's unbelievable. Her performance alone is worth seeing. Amazing.

bnt · 28-01-2010 11:58pm

28 Weeks Later on TV this evening. Reviews were a bit mixed, so I didn't know what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The scenes with the "infected" were so completely OTT that I was grinning like a loon.

On the other hand, seeing London in such a ruined state was as disturbing as anything I've ever seen. I lived there for years and was back there a few weeks ago. I was in Canary Wharf, and walked along Whitehall, while in the movie

the kids were being driven along there by Scarlett, dodging fire from high-powered machine guns, running from clouds of gas

. Imagine a beautiful painting shot through with holes and covered in blood. :eek:

kryogen · 29-01-2010 11:16am

watched The Invention of Lying last night

boring pointless film

and im a gervais fan

delbertgrady · 29-01-2010 1:43pm

Watched Flash Gordon the other night. All together now - "Gordon's alive?!"... Classic.

BopNiblets · 29-01-2010 3:54pm

I saw Book Of Eli recently too, nothing special but it was ok, Denzel and Oldman made it really.

Others:
Copland - oldschool kind of corrupt cop stuff but entertaining and loads of big names
Mesrine: Death Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 - they were ok too, French John Dillinger stuff.

Turtyturd · 29-01-2010 4:02pm

Finally watched Crash the other night, had been meaning to watch it for ages but eventually got around to it because I had to do college work on it. Really good movie even if some part were predictable.

Funny People- Had heard really bad things about this but I found it good and even Sandler is tolerable.

I am legend- Decent movie ruined by bad effects and a really bad alternate ending.

Up in the Air- I am not having a mid life crisis so a lot of the movie flew over my head what I did get I enjoyed though.

trustno1 · 29-01-2010 4:26pm

I saw Avatar in 3D recently.. such nonsense.. whoever coined the phrase 'Dances with Smurf's' nailed it. I reckon the people raving about this at the moment will be very embarssed when the hype dies down and they can see it in all its ridiculous glory... 'I see you' indeed!. James - you should have spent more money on the script and less on the 'spectacular' special effects..

budgemook · 29-01-2010 4:33pm

trustno1 wrote: »

I saw Avatar in 3D recently.. such nonsense.. whoever coined the phrase 'Dances with Smurf's' nailed it. I reckon the people raving about this at the moment will be very embarssed when the hype dies down and they can see it in all its ridiculous glory... 'I see you' indeed!. James - you should have spent more money on the script and less on the 'spectacular' special effects..

They "I see you" stuff was referring to to shamanism I thought. Just like apologising to the animal they killed. Both of those things are spoken about in Carlos Castanedas books (among others). This is among the many reasons I really liked the movie. Predictable - sure, OTT - absolutely but it is what it is - A special effects fest with a decent story to keep you interested and some nice references to shamanism to keep people like me who like that sort of thing happy.

Tristram · 29-01-2010 4:36pm

Avatar looked incredible. That's what did it for me tbh. I was so busy figuring out what to focus on that I wasn't paying much attention to anything else. Whole package, no. Important, yes.

Also, do people really think Crash is a good movie? Thought it to be absolute tripe myself.

budgemook · 29-01-2010 4:38pm

Tristram wrote: »

Avatar looked incredible. That's what did it for me tbh. I was so busy figuring out what to focus on that I wasn't paying much attention to anything else. Whole package, no. Important, yes.

Also, do people really think Crash is a good movie? Thought it to be absolute tripe myself.

I thought Crash to be hugely over rated and very cliche.

The racist saves the woman and the black woman turns out racist

who'd have thunk it?

trustno1 · 29-01-2010 4:42pm

Tristram wrote: »

Avatar looked incredible. That's what did it for me tbh. I was so busy figuring out what to focus on that I wasn't paying much attention to anything else. Whole package, no. Important, yes.

Also, do people really think Crash is a good movie? Thought it to be absolute tripe myself.

The only scenes that I thought looked impressive were the start when they are coming out of the sleep chambers and the part in the large meeting room when the troops are being addressed by Quaritch. Other than that I thought the rest of it was alright and the parts in Ferngully.. I mean on Andora looked rather tacky, animals also looked awful.. Also thought The Matrix was ripped off big time..

budgemook · 29-01-2010 4:44pm

trustno1 wrote: »

The only scenes that I thought looked impressive were the start when they are coming out of the sleep chambers and the part in the large meeting room when the troops are being addressed by Quaritch. Other than that I thought the rest of it was alright and the parts in Ferngully.. I mean on Andora looked rather tacky, animals also looked awful.. Also thought The Matrix was ripped off big time..

Well I did think of the Matrix alright. Guess it's just a difference of opinion. But - The I see you part was cool if you know what it referenced IMO.

L'prof · 29-01-2010 4:47pm

budgemook wrote: »

Well I did think of the Matrix alright. Guess it's just a difference of opinion. But - The I see you part was cool if you know what it referenced IMO.

I assumed it was a reference to some culture, just like when they killed an animal but, I thought it was overplayed to be honest.

Catenaccio! · 29-01-2010 4:49pm

Oh, we're not talking about Cronenberg's 'Crash'?

Tristram · 29-01-2010 4:53pm

Catenaccio! wrote: »

Oh, we're not talking about Cronenberg's 'Crash'?

Sadly no.

kryogen · 29-01-2010 5:01pm

Saw Frost/Nixon last week too

really enjoyed it i must say

would recommend it

seanybiker · 29-01-2010 5:06pm

Watched Men who stare at goats a few days ago and loved every single bit of it.
Seen Sherlock holmes to, loved it all apart from any part where Jude Law was on the screen on his own. Hate him grrr shoo jude shoo.

ShagNastii · 29-01-2010 5:43pm

I sky+ed Crash for my mother the other night and adviced her to look at what I thought was a really cool interesting movie.........................Yep the wrong "Crash". My mother now thinks I'm a bit mental

budgemook · 29-01-2010 5:44pm

ShagNastii wrote: »

I sky+ed Crash for my mother the other night and adviced her to look at what I thought was a really cool interesting movie.........................Yep the wrong "Crash". My mother now thinks I'm a bit mental

Was it the one with the car crash sex storyline?

That_Guy · 30-01-2010 12:48am

Kidulthood:

I enjoyed this film a lot. The acting wasn't great by any means but it felt very real and raw. The accents got on my nerves for the first 10 minutes or so but you get used to it.
Decent storyline to it. Well worth checking out.

Adulthood:

The sequel to Kidulthood. Didn't enjoy this at all really. It was pretty poor imo throughout.

Misery:

What a film. Really enjoyed it. Kathy Bates is a fantastic actress and she really plays her role very very well. I definitely recommend that you see this film if you haven't already.

ArtSmart · 30-01-2010 1:06am

Most recent would be
Joe Kidd
Not Eastwood's best but enjoyable. Robert Duvall good in it.
Really enjoyed Once upon a time in the West with Fonda playing a brill role
Old stuuf but good esp Once upon...
ps Just noticed recently that Clint seems to like working with the same actors for many years.

DazMarz · 30-01-2010 5:37am

Went on a DVD-buying splurge on amazon.co.uk there not too long ago... Been glued to films ever since!:D

Here are some I've watched recently

Gran Torino: excellent film that perfectly captures how out of tune the older generation can get, but also a brilliant story of hostility, conflict and final redemption. Moral of story: never, ever fúck with Clint Eastwood.

15 Minutes: criminally under-rated Robert de Niro flick, co-starring Edward Burns and a perfectly cast Kelsey Grammer (as a sleazy tabloid TV news anchor). Break-neck pace and some truly exciting actions sequences and some very dark humour (one character telling his friend who is sewing a wound together he has to light the scene properly, "Like the movie, 'Silence of the Sheeps'"). Well worth a look for fans of good, frenetic action and fans of de Niro won't be disappointed either.

Mystic River: powerful, powerful stuff. Dennis Lehane's novel is perfectly transferred onto the silver screen. Sean Penn and Tim Robbins deservedly picked up Academy Awards for their performances, and the strong supporting cast includes Kevin Bacon and Laurence Fishbourne.

The Damned United: Michael Sheen IS Brian Clough. Hilarious, dark, brooding and at times sad, Clough's 44-day reign at Leeds United (coupled with flashbacks to his glory days at Derby County) is captured to a tee here. The film also reminds us that Clough was "... the greatest manager the England National Team never had..."

Ouijaboard · 31-01-2010 12:52am

State Of Play - 8/10

Very good, fantastic performance again by Russell Crowe as investigative journalist, a little let down by Ben Affleck, but movie is fast paced with lots of small intricate plot twists. Need to pay attention.

Sunshine - 8/10

Surprised by this, wasnt expecting much but it was suspenseful and beautifully shot, it had just the right sci fi sense of claustrophobia and impending doom at every corner. Let down a little by a very obscure and distracting final quarter but well worth the trip.

Zodiac - 9.5/10

Brilliant film, surprised it didn't get more praise when it came out. Very long and intricate but brilliant acting and is the definitive serial killer movie if you ask me, completely loyal to the actual zodiac murders case, unlike many stories that were "inspired by true events" or "based on true events", this is the actual case on film. Phenomenal. 2hr 45 mins long so not for everybody but criminally underrated. Fincher is an amazing film maker.

Duggy747 · 31-01-2010 2:17am

Just watched The Book Of Eli, pretty crap film I thought. Production and cinematography were fine but the story was dull and as predictable as a kettle. Action scenes were handled surprisingly well. Mila Kunis is still getting hotter :pac:

Denzel being something like a terminator when disposing of the goons while the ol' "we-can't-shoot-the-good-guy-for-shìt" cliche was well intact.

Dialogue was pretty hammy - everyone referring to the past as "the world before", classic apocalyptic-story talk.

The ending was predictable that I didn't even want it to be true (That the book wasn't exactly what it was supposed to be and that Denzel knew the entire thing word-for-word off the top of his head........*sigh*)

And the thought that it was soooooo vital that the bible needed to re-created in order for any hope for humanity was a bit naff. I like my films that have religious themes to them, usually brings a certain sense of class to them, but this was just lazy.

And Mila's character essentially turning into Denzel's protagonist at the very end was the final nail in this movie's coffin.

Like so many of their lesser films, this would've been truly crap had it not been for the talents of Denzel & Oldman to keep your attention above water.

Still, there was nothing but shìt on TV so this did it's job. You want a good apocalyptic movie then go see The Road, this is more for the visuals than the plot.

ScumLord · 31-01-2010 3:53am

Watched black dynamite and had a smile on my face the whole time. It's a film that plays on the so bad it's good again theme but is a superb film.

It's almost like a film made for film buffs as some of the jokes only stand out if you've watched allot of bad films. The fight scenes are done really well and look very convincing when not trying to be funny. The acting is great/bad and perfect for the film, the blinking during numchuck play is hilarious. I just can't fault it for what it is.

JesseCuster · 31-01-2010 1:14pm

cougar1 wrote: »

Zodiac - 9.5/10

Brilliant film, surprised it didn't get more praise when it came out. Very long and intricate but brilliant acting and is the definitive serial killer movie if you ask me, completely loyal to the actual zodiac murders case, unlike many stories that were "inspired by true events" or "based on true events", this is the actual case on film. Phenomenal. 2hr 45 mins long so not for everybody but criminally underrated. Fincher is an amazing film maker.

Rewatched Zodiac myself; another big Fincher fan here!
It tends to be overlooked but in my opinion it was one of the best films of the decade.
"The definitive serial killer movie" is indeed a suitable accolade.

Mal-Adjusted · 31-01-2010 3:21pm

just watched The Hurt Locker, It's very tense, but other than that, good, not really great at all. I'm a little disappointed after all the hype.

irishh_bob · 31-01-2010 11:58pm

indiana jones and the kingdom of skulls , by far the worst of the series , terrible movie

kryogen · 01-02-2010 1:50am

9th District: enjoyed it, different and nice social metaphors in there

Last house on the left: meh, didnt get the hype...... was there even a plot? i mean where do the 4 baddies come from anyway, whats the motivation? and why the **** would you bring a poker when looking for a killer when you have a gun? enjoyed some of the violence though, rape scene was also over hyped, not glorifying rape in any way, just from the reviews i read i was expecting to be disgusted, maybe im just sick?

500 days of summer: not as bad as i thought it would be, but wont be watching it again

trustno1 · 01-02-2010 9:51am

seanybiker wrote: »

Seen Sherlock holmes to, loved it all apart from any part where Jude Law was on the screen on his own. Hate him grrr shoo jude shoo.

I went to see Sherlock Holmes last week - and I was dreading it because it had Jude Law in it, and I have to say I really enjoyed him in this!.. the storyline was very poor - but the onscreen banter between Robert D Jnr and Jude was very entertaining!..

Also watched Inglorious Basterds - switched it off halfway through as I found it extremely boring and the small yellow subtitles were highly annoying..

Sean Quagmire · 01-02-2010 10:13am

2012
I felt like taking a blowtorch to my eyeballs after seeing this.
Good god is it bad.

humanji · 01-02-2010 10:26am

I watched Copland last night. Fantastic film with an amazing cast. Everyone was on top form.

don ramo · 01-02-2010 3:46pm

watched sunshine cleaning, an ok bit of fluff, a bit of talent to look at and an average story, 6/10

also rewatched down periscope, what a laugh, i didnt think id still find it funny after so long, but it really stands up to repeat viewing, they just dont make them like they used to, 8/10

L31mr0d · 01-02-2010 4:10pm

Ponyo on the cliff by the sea: Like everything Ghibli, it's beautifully animated, full of colour, with an immaculate musical score. Watch the subtitled version if possible. Absolutely loved it.

Law Abiding Citizen: It's watchable. I can't really decide whether I liked it or not. It has some good parts and definitely keeps you interested, but the plot is beyond believable and the ending feels tacked together. Worth a rental, maybe.

weiland79 · 01-02-2010 5:10pm

Watched Seven again last night hadn't seen it in years,what a movie!
"Whats in the box? Tell me whats in the box!"

Eh Your wifes head

Great stuff! And only noticed how little screen time Kevin Spacey gets but my God what a serial killer,and he doesn't really do anything but sit in a car.

What have you watched recently?

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