Recently Viewed Movies Episode 2: The Vampire Bites Back

[GrimReality]

The Killer -
Insanely violent and full of implausible scenarios, yet still quite entertaining. I would not call this a great movie by any stretch, and don't quite get why it's so admired. I suppose the difference here is the odd "relationship" here between Jeffrey(Chow Yun Fats character) and the singer, Jenny. What we have here is an assassin with a conscience. he unintentionally hurts her eyes during a shot out, and ends up helping her out afterwards, without her knowing who he is.
Then there's all sorts of manly brotherhood(I love you, man!) type stuff going on throughout.
It's really quite cheesy, and you have to suspend disbelief almost the whole way through. It's probably unfair for me to mark it down a star because of this, but I just think it went a bit TOO far. By the end I was almost stammering at the TV over the ridiculous action happening on screen.
Still, I must admit I was entertained. this is certainly better than a lot of more recent attempts at action and story mixed together. It just didn't quite live up to what I was expecting. I'm definitely hunting down more John Woo movies, though.

[Agent D.]

I watched Stephen King's Thinner the other day again. Man....that was a creepy movie. Also funny because old gypsie men are hilariously ugly and funny sounding.

[GrimReality]

The Professionals -
This was a fun movie. It accomplished exactly what it set out to do, which is entertain me. I was expecting some sort of western, but got a fun action/adventure. Movies like this are why I don't limit myself to any one genre or era. I forget where I even heard about it, but I'm glad I did.

I'm hot on seeing Gravity now after seeing all the gushing reviews. I've convinced Nan she wants to see it, so we'll probably go next weekend.

[Aeolus]

Did the yearly Halloweenie movie watching thing and watched Hocus Pocus for the umpteenth time. Still only mildly amusing and 90s as all hell.

Also watched Dr. Syn aka. Scarecrow for the umpteenth time. Still basically British Zorro and 60s Disney as all hell.

Still too early for the Great Pumpkin though. Calling it now though, Charlie Brown's still not going to kick that football and it will be kiddie movie as all hell.

[GrimReality]

Oldboy -
Man, was this one off the wall. It left my mind reeling, and full of questions. This is not a bad thing. A revenge thriller that ends up being not as typical as one expects from the genre.
It's fun because we go right along with Oh Dae-Su as he sets out to try and find out who imprisoned him and why. We, along with him, are slowly given clues as to what is really going on. By the end, the characters in the movie may have it all figured out, but I was left wondering about many things.
It's very stylish, and well made. Lots of context clues,. and imagery that seems like it means nothing at the time, but comes back to you later.
My only real problem was with some of the acting. A few of the scenes could have been dialed back a bit, with nothing lost for the viewer. I'm pretty sure this is a cultural thing, though, based upon other similar movies I've watched.
Overall, it definitely lived up to the hype. A second viewing would probably help my understanding, but I rarely watch movies more than once, so it will probably never happen. Still great, despite not quite grasping all the details

[Tooker]

Has anyone seen this movie... or even heard of it?

http://www.unicorncity.com/

[CluelessWonder]

Oldboy -
Man, was this one off the wall. It left my mind reeling, and full of questions. This is not a bad thing. A revenge thriller that ends up being not as typical as one expects from the genre.
It's fun because we go right along with Oh Dae-Su as he sets out to try and find out who imprisoned him and why. We, along with him, are slowly given clues as to what is really going on. By the end, the characters in the movie may have it all figured out, but I was left wondering about many things.
It's very stylish, and well made. Lots of context clues,. and imagery that seems like it means nothing at the time, but comes back to you later.
My only real problem was with some of the acting. A few of the scenes could have been dialed back a bit, with nothing lost for the viewer. I'm pretty sure this is a cultural thing, though, based upon other similar movies I've watched.
Overall, it definitely lived up to the hype. A second viewing would probably help my understanding, but I rarely watch movies more than once, so it will probably never happen. Still great, despite not quite grasping all the details

I remember I watched this a long time ago with some friends.  At the end of the movie we were like "wtf".  I felt so uncomfortable and a little dirty after watching it.  I am tempted to go with my friend to the American remake.  He hasn't seen the original and I really want to see his face at the end.

The Great Gatsby -  I never read the book nor have I seen the Robert Redford version.  I thought the new version was beautiful but I still didn't like it.  I'm fine with anachronistic music.  It worked well in Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet.  Here it didn't jive as well.  Maybe it is because this wasn't a musical.  I also didn't see what was so great about Daisy.  She seemed selfish and Gatsby seemed delusional. 

[Aeolus]

I also didn't see what was so great about Daisy.  She seemed selfish and Gatsby seemed delusional. 

That was, quite literally, the point. Gatsby spends pretty much the entire story bending over backwards for this dame who even after all that he's done can barely give him the time of day because she has absolutely no concept of value and he's too madly in love with her to realize that she really wasn't worth it or that he was reaching too far into the lion's maw in his pursuit of her.

It's a lot like Aladdin (the Arabian Nights version, not the Disney version) except for the part where the protagonist gets his wish granting Genie back, gets the girl, or gets to live.


Anyways, I've finally gotten around to watching This is Spinal Tap. It's funny because its true-ish. (Well not really, but you can see a lot of the parallels in their story versus real ones.)

[Yoda]

Attn:

American Movie (one of the best entertainment documentaries ever) is free to watch on Amazon Prime.

[GrimReality]

The French Connection -
I enjoyed this movie. It was fast-paced, and had some great action sequences. What I don't understand is why it won the awards it did. Best Picture? Really? I think not. I can only assume that this was seen as somewhat ground breaking when it was released and rode that wave to Oscar glory.
I suppose Hackman was pretty good here, but I've never really liked him much, so that didn't make or break the movie.
I was bothered by some pretty major issues, like how they got the car back together, and in perfect condition, in time for Mr. Frenchy to pick it up.
I also didn't know until it was over that this was based on a true story. I'm kind of glad I didn't know that ahead of time, or it would have started me out on a negative note. I'm sure a bit of it was "fudged" up to make for a more exciting film.
Another movie i can cross off the Top 100 list I've been chipping at. Lots more to go.

[Klutz64]

Finally saw Argo. such an amazing movie. Not great at movie critiques, so that's really all I can say about it. Truly deserving of it's awards.

[Esper_Crusader]

Pacific Rim. For the third time. I like it. Needs a Godzilla crossover: P

[Tooker]

Just watched Joss Whedon's version of Much Ado About Nothing.  It's pretty good, although I did feel like the missing material was noticeable from time to time.

[Yoda]

The French Connection -
I enjoyed this movie. It was fast-paced, and had some great action sequences. What I don't understand is why it won the awards it did. Best Picture? Really? I think not. I can only assume that this was seen as somewhat ground breaking when it was released and rode that wave to Oscar glory.
I suppose Hackman was pretty good here, but I've never really liked him much, so that didn't make or break the movie.
I was bothered by some pretty major issues, like how they got the car back together, and in perfect condition, in time for Mr. Frenchy to pick it up.
I also didn't know until it was over that this was based on a true story. I'm kind of glad I didn't know that ahead of time, or it would have started me out on a negative note. I'm sure a bit of it was "fudged" up to make for a more exciting film.
Another movie i can cross off the Top 100 list I've been chipping at. Lots more to go.

Which top 100 list are you using?

It's been a while since I've seen French Connection, but I loved it. That chase scene is legendary. I really dig that guy's nickname, Cloudy

[GrimReality]

Yodes, I generally go by the AFI: http://www.afi.com/100years/movies.aspx
but I've seen numerous lists.

Gravity -

Man, this is as simple as they come. There's no hour long build up like I thought there would be. We simply get a few astronauts in space finishing up a mission, when trouble arises. The story couldn't simpler. So then, what the heck is the deal with this movie? Why is everyone up in arms over it, and stamping "Best Picture" on it already? To be honest, I'm really not sure.
Visually, it is amazing. We saw it in normal 35mm, and it looked incredible, so i can only assume IMAX and/or 3D would enhance it even more. If the 3D is done right, that is.
The camera work is exceptional and really puts us in the middle of the action. We get some first person shots, which felt kind of trippy, and lots of closeups of the actors, which I'm not normally a fan of.
Speaking of the actors. There's only 2 here. Bullock rocks the role, and I can see her getting a nom for this. Clooney...well, he plays Clooney. That's not to say he's bad, as he does just fine, but I really think they should have cast someone lesser known. Without an ingrained persona like he has.
The sound design is fantastic, and obviously took a lot of work. Music is used sparingly and perfectly, until towards the end, when the composer thinks he's working on a different movie. I'm a music junkie, so I was a little bothered by the choices here.
I also didn't like how the script requires a character to do something that I really don't think they would do, based on what we've been told. I don't want to spoil so I'll leave it at that.
It was definitely a good movie, and worth seeing in the theater, but I'm not agreeing with those calling this a best picture candidate. I suppose it could be in a top 10, but there's plenty more to go through the rest of the year.