Recently Viewed Movies Episode 2: The Vampire Bites Back

[Dice]

The thing I appreciated about Monsters U was that it had a sort of message of "Hey, not everybody is going to be the star player on the football team, and that's OK.  Find your strengths and be the best you can be at those things."  For example, there's no glory to be found in being an excellent accountant, construction guy, teacher, gaffer, etc.  But those are important jobs, and there's no shame in doing them.  If that's what you're good at, find the joy in it!

I see that as the more grown-up level of the movie, as well.  Just my two cents.

Yes!!  I noticed this too when the plot made me feel bad for an instant.  On one hand it's a downer, but on the other you can't *ALWAYS* go for every dream.  I'm sure a lot of people want to be famous actors or musicians, but not all have the talent for it.  It's a sad but grown-up fact of life that many face.

I thought the mom monster was funny (death metal in the car).

Otherwise, I agree, completely average otherwise.  Poor Pixar, in a bit of a lull right now.

[GrimReality]

I agree, John, that that message is a bit refreshing. All you ever hear is "follow your dreams and you can be whatever you want to be!" which is honestly not true. Plus that also kind of implies that anything less is loseriffic, which, as you said, is SO not true, and often more important! So, yeah, I agree on that. I just wonder how many kids got that.

Maniac -

Man, this was disturbing as hell. And not just because it's nice little Frodo(elijah Wood) in the role of serial killer either. It's also the way it's filmed, and how we get a unique perspective of what the killer sees and is thinking. Definitely one that stays in your mind for a while. But it is a good movie? That's a tough one. It's not fun to watch in any way. Like how a good horror movies scares you like crazy, but you love it. This isn't like that. You just kind of regret ever having seen it. I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone, unless your into torture porn type stuff, which is disturbing in it's own right. I definitely give Elijah point for having the gonads to make a movie like this.

[Dice]

I agree, John, that that message is a bit refreshing. All you ever hear is "follow your dreams and you can be whatever you want to be!" which is honestly not true. Plus that also kind of implies that anything less is loseriffic, which, as you said, is SO not true, and often more important! So, yeah, I agree on that. I just wonder how many kids got that.

It ironically had one of the deeper themes you could see in a "kids film"... sadly, the movie wasn't up to par to tell the story all that well.

Also, despite being a more minor role, I did like Elijah Wood as a crazy killer Sunday School boy in Sin City.

[Tooker]

Forgot to mention that last night we watched The Big Lebowski again, and it's still awesome.

We also rewatched The Orphanage, a Spanish film produced by Guillermo Del Toro.  It's very good, but the ending is pretty hard for me to watch.

And we watched Gatsby, which we liked. Baz Luhrman is one of those guys whose work we pretty much always find entertaining, but I think what I liked about it was the story it's based on, which I've never read.

[Esper_Crusader]

I'm watching some of my favorite movies this weekend. Forrest Gump, Goodfellas, Kill Bill and Devils Rejects. A general consensus between a few like-minded friends.

[Darilon]

We also rewatched The Orphanage, a Spanish film produced by Guillermo Del Toro.  It's very good, but the ending is pretty hard for me to watch.

I am also a fan of the movie

Code:

I remember just feeling depressed at the parts where my friends who were seeing it for the first time were more scared. The rewatch was well worth it for me. I do agree with the ending.

[GrimReality]

Oblivion -

I had to ponder this one a bit before writing the review. Despite Tom Cruise overload, I kind of liked this movie. It was far more "intimate" than I was expecting. Despite what the ridiculous synopsis says it's really just about one man's personal journey of discovery, , not saving mankind entirely. Sure, that's in there a little bit, but it's secondary.
There's a lot wrong with Oblivion. I was left with questions on top of questions, and not all the good kind that come from great movies. I won't even go into them.
The movie looks and sounds great. Andrea Riseborough is totally yummy, and Morgan Freeman even shows up in kind of a stupid role. Actually, that whole portion of the movie makes very little sense.
Still, I'm a glutton for sci-fi, and liked it more than I probably should have.

The Wall -

Wow. Did this movie ever catch me off guard. I forget where I even heard about it, but I'm glad I did.
The premise is so simple. A lone women ends up stranded in a secluded mountainside area by the sudden "appearance" of an invisible wall. She cannot figure where it came from or why it's there, but she's now stuck where she is. her only companion(initially) being her dog Lynx.
As any could guess, she learns to live off the land, by hunting(which she hates doing), and scavenging fruit, herbs, etc.
The scenery is STUNNING. It might even make you want to be in her place for a little while.
The story pulls no punches about the reality of her situation. This is a dark movie, filled with dark moments. The woman(who is never named) goes through some very existential times, and seems to go in and out of depression. Her animal companions help her cope with the loneliness.
We listen as she narrates what she is writing down in her journal, and I felt a deep connection with her as she talks about life, nature, and our place in the world. This is powerful stuff.
It's a slow moving film that requires patience. I highly recommend this to any true lover film, and thought-provoking entertainment. It's on netflix streaming, so no excuses.

[Tooker]

Sort of watched Melancholia this evening.  (Yeah, that movie where Kirsten Dunst gets naked.)  A strange film, and definitely one that goes in a way different direction than I would have expected.  (Mostly because I missed the first few minutes.)  I really liked the final scenes.

Earlier, I went to see The Lego Movie with my ten year old nephew, we both loved it.  Very funny, often silly, but not JUST silly and funny.  A part of me wants to buy the soundtrack, another part of me worries that if I did, "Everything Is Awesome" would never leave my skull.

Dice, come back and read this spoiler after you see it.  But NOT before.

Code:

You said you were going to see this with your dad, and I thought "that is so perfect," but I couldn't say that without making you wonder why, which would have spoiled the end of the movie, which would have been super sad.  Hope you liked it!

[Blace]

Black Snake Moan -

What a completely ridiculous premise this movie has... and although it starts off as kind of intriguing and interesting because you don't know where the plot is going with it, turns out not much really. All of these tortured souls so to speak go way over the top and there's times where I simply was bored because the movie spends way too long on some of the uninteresting characters & aspects of the story. Especially Justin Timberlake's character, which was way underdeveloped and seemed tacked on. He simply wasn't good. Samuel L. Jackson practically carries the movie by himself. He's solid and his singing is actually pretty good. Christina Ricci doesn't really have much to do other than look like she wants to bang everything in sight, which I guess she does well. The blues soundtrack to this is nice, but some of it they could have done without. I feel like 30 minutes could have been cut out of this film and nothing would have changed. If not for Jackson, it would have been a waste of time. With him, it's alright but could have been much better.

Captain Phillips -

Captain Phillips is a gripping and emotionally gut-wrenching biopic with an excellent central performance from Tom Hanks. The supporting cast is also fantastic, crafting memorable characters. The only problem I had is that the story is a little bit too long and drags at times trying to get you so invested into these characters and their fates. It starts off fantastic with some great suspense when the Somali pirates are attacking and hijacking the ship, but after those events I wasn't as into it until much later on. The final moments with Tom Hanks are absolutely powerful though and some of the best acting I have seen in a long time. This isn't a fantastic film, but rather a solid one with fantastic performances elevating the material. Paul Greengrass has shown he is a good director, but a little bit of the fat could have been trimmed here.

[Ikusagami]

A Swedish friend recently got me hooked on Ingmar Bergman. I think I like this guy better than Kurosawa, who has ALWAYS been my favorite director. His films are minimalistic, but dear god are they profound and thought provoking.
7th Seal is easily a favorite.

[Blace]

About Time -

I'm a big fan of Richard Curtis' films (especially Love Actually). They make me feel good and are usually very entertaining. They aren't exactly the highest quality films, but they don't need to be. About Time isn't on par with Love Actually, but it is another solid entry into his overly sentimental and wholly entertaining films category. The story is a little on the cheesy side, but told well enough that you get invested in the characters who are played with charm and wit (minus Rachel McAdams, who is just there to look pretty). Bill Nighy is often hilarious and Domhnall Gleeson holds his own admirably. The overall plot structure follows its own rules when it comes to the time traveling mechanics, which is refreshing, but at times annoying too because you keep expecting established rules to take effect (like the butterfly effect) and they don't. Either way, I enjoyed this movie for what it was and am kind of sad that this might be Curtis' last film.

[Dice]

About Time -

I'm a big fan of Richard Curtis' films (especially Love Actually). They make me feel good and are usually very entertaining. They aren't exactly the highest quality films, but they don't need to be. About Time isn't on par with Love Actually, but it is another solid entry into his overly sentimental and wholly entertaining films category. The story is a little on the cheesy side, but told well enough that you get invested in the characters who are played with charm and wit (minus Rachel McAdams, who is just there to look pretty). Bill Nighy is often hilarious and Domhnall Gleeson holds his own admirably. The overall plot structure follows its own rules when it comes to the time traveling mechanics, which is refreshing, but at times annoying too because you keep expecting established rules to take effect (like the butterfly effect) and they don't. Either way, I enjoyed this movie for what it was and am kind of sad that this might be Curtis' last film.

Why is it his last film?? :(

I think "really enjoyable" describes the film as well; it's not *amazing*, but it's also not boring, dry, or pointless... But I think it's important to review films in such a way that it is simply good entertainment; in which case, I agree with your review and I really liked the film as well.  ...and I'm surprised by the Weasley kid's ability to act when he was put on the centre spot; I also loved how forward Bill Nighy was about time travel itself and how he used it.  The film happily dives into its idea, and I like that.

However, I think the film makes an effort to break a lot of its OWN time travel rules or really rely on "technicalities" I guess.  A lot of people like to criticize the film for being "creepy", but quite frankly I can't imagine people NOT using time travel to pick up chicks in some form (Bill Murray pulled this off beautifully in Groundhog Day; but also counters such warm-hearted behaviour with numerous suicide attempts).

Also, this marks the third time Rachel McAdams has played a time traveller's love interest!  I guess she's got the face of a girl...worth waiting for?  I dunno.

[Starmongoose]

I watched Frozen and now I'm singing all the songs.

[Blace]

About Time -

I'm a big fan of Richard Curtis' films (especially Love Actually). They make me feel good and are usually very entertaining. They aren't exactly the highest quality films, but they don't need to be. About Time isn't on par with Love Actually, but it is another solid entry into his overly sentimental and wholly entertaining films category. The story is a little on the cheesy side, but told well enough that you get invested in the characters who are played with charm and wit (minus Rachel McAdams, who is just there to look pretty). Bill Nighy is often hilarious and Domhnall Gleeson holds his own admirably. The overall plot structure follows its own rules when it comes to the time traveling mechanics, which is refreshing, but at times annoying too because you keep expecting established rules to take effect (like the butterfly effect) and they don't. Either way, I enjoyed this movie for what it was and am kind of sad that this might be Curtis' last film.

Why is it his last film?? :(

I think "really enjoyable" describes the film as well; it's not *amazing*, but it's also not boring, dry, or pointless... But I think it's important to review films in such a way that it is simply good entertainment; in which case, I agree with your review and I really liked the film as well.  ...and I'm surprised by the Weasley kid's ability to act when he was put on the centre spot; I also loved how forward Bill Nighy was about time travel itself and how he used it.  The film happily dives into its idea, and I like that.

However, I think the film makes an effort to break a lot of its OWN time travel rules or really rely on "technicalities" I guess.  A lot of people like to criticize the film for being "creepy", but quite frankly I can't imagine people NOT using time travel to pick up chicks in some form (Bill Murray pulled this off beautifully in Groundhog Day; but also counters such warm-hearted behaviour with numerous suicide attempts).

Also, this marks the third time Rachel McAdams has played a time traveller's love interest!  I guess she's got the face of a girl...worth waiting for?  I dunno.

Rachel McAdams is certainly yummy :P I do find her fascination with time travel movies a little weird. I didn't even realize it was the Weasley kid until I looked to see what else he had been in and was like whaaaa? Idk why Curtis is quitting, but he said in an interview last year that this is probably the last film he will direct. He will still write movies though.

[GrimReality]

Yeah, I've got a thing for McAdams, too. Yum, indeed. I wish she would break out of the damn Romance movies, though. Try something different! Challenge yourself.
The trailer for that About Time movie definitely didn't do anything for me, that's for sure. I'll give it  a try if it ever shows up on streaming, but mostly just to look at McAdams.
(I also didn't realize that was one of the Weasleys! Weird)