Recently Viewed Movies Episode 2: The Vampire Bites Back

[Yoda]

The previews make it seem pretty dramatic and very unique. Is it just Stiller traveling and ending up in weird places?


I liked the part of the preview where he'd sort of come to life out of a Time cover photo.

[Ranadiel]

Just saw the original Terminator for the first time.

High five! I just saw it last week.....or at least I think it was last week (days are sort of merging thanks to crunch time at work ugh).

[GrimReality]

Special screening of Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Really really good

How did you manage that? Doesn't open until Christmas.
The early reviews aren't all that positive:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_secret_life_of_walter_mitty_2013/

To me, the trailers have made it look at tad too whimsical. Like they're trying too hard. Plus, I'm not that much a fan of Stiller nowadays. Probably won't see it until video, regardless.

I gotta guy. I actually saw it almost a week ago. I actually enjoyed it. It is a bit whimsical, but I found it entertaining. I don't really like Stiller, but he was pretty good in it. Also..fuck reviews. I hate movie review sites in general. Too many douche canoes

Sure, a lot of reviewers suck, but movie reviews as a whole, when compiled together, tend to be pretty darn accurate. I prefer scores over yes or no sites, though. RT is just where I looked first. It's best to find a reviewer that lines up with your tastes. I pretty much only read reviews from one or two. My favorite continues to be http://www.flickfilosopher.com/. She knows her stuff.

[Yoda]

The only reviewer I read is Grimreality

[GrimReality]

The only reviewer I read is Grimreality

I feel so honored! I'm sure this comment is 100% sarcasm free. I'll try not to let you down!
 

[Yoda]

It is true! You are the only reviewer I read!

[Dice]

While I was sick, I was more into just watching "easy" stuff.  So forgive the dramatic selection:

The Spectacular Now:
Loved it!  The two mains have a great opposites-attract chemistry that is sweet and honest and works well on screen.  I was happy following that and the main fella, Tiller, plays that suave high school senior that you might hate but slowly "disarms" in front of the lovely yet atypical Amy.  I didn't care for the final act that much, it was predictable.  It's exactly how you think that "my dad is a drunk" plot would go.  Where the MC gets affected by it a bit too much, suffers and staggers through a dark period, then kinda gets his shit together in time to make the ending.  It's a distraction from the main bit I think even if it does add do whatever plot of the film.  Eh; i'd have taken highschool drama over "daddy issues", and the film is at its best when it focuses on the lead two being quite "real".  Still good though. :)

Stuck in Love:
Originally it was called 'Writers', and I think I preferred that to the current uninspired nonsense.  Quite the cast anyways; we got Greg Kinnear, Jen Connoly, Lily Collins, Kristen Bell, Logan-something from the Perks of Being a Wallflower, and a literally phoned-in cameo from Stephen King.  What I like is the movie sets up a bunch of great drama, but resolves is so CLEANLY and so EASILY you'd wonder it was an issue at all.  But hey, here's a nice feel-good film for ya.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno:
Kinda breaks the feel-good flow, but I love this movie.  It's filthy, but mostly in its dialogue.  I also love how damn quotable this movie is!  Something about announcing "LET US FUCK!" kills me every time, so does the conversation with Justin Long's character.  I usually watch this movie around Christmas time. 

[GrimReality]

Lars and the Real Girl -
This was a surprisingly sweet movie. It also proves how versatile Ryan Gosling can be. I was impressed by his performance here.
We have a very introverted man who orders himself one of those "real doll" thingys on the web. He proceeds to treat it as if it's a real woman. He's obviously going through some mental trauma, so the whole village agrees to go along with it, in the hopes that doing so will help him work out his issues.
It's a fantastic example of how wonderful people can be when we all come together for a cause. I was genuinely moved.
The only problem is a lack of decent backstory to explain what really caused his slip into delusion. We get a little, but not quite enough.
I like surprises like this. You would never think a movie about a a man and his doll could work so well.

[Klutz64]

A Good Day to Die Hard

I never expect these movies to be good anymore, but the sheer level of bad that this iteration reached is beyond acceptable. Nothing really ever made sense, including the script--half of which sounded like it was written by a 12 year old trying to turn every line into an action movie catch phrase. Everything was predictable, from the action sequences to the plot at large. And speaking of the plot, the pacing of the movie was all over the place. The way it was all framed, it felt like the movie took place over the course of three scenes. This wasn't helped by the fact that none of the characters had enough screen time to really know or care about any of them. At least I don't have to think hard on the worst movie I've seen this year, this one clearly takes the cake.

[GrimReality]

Insidious -

It starts out as a pretty typical Haunted house type movie, with a decently creepy vibe. The about halfway through they introduce some elements which tell me that they were trying to differentiate themselves from the typical haunted house flik. Unfortunately, all it does is add layers of confusion on top of simplicity. Add in people doing incredibly stupid things, and there is really nothing special about this movie. Plus, the ending was lame, and way too blatant about setting up a sequel.

[Dincrest]

'Tis the season of Xmas movies and at work (I work at a high school) most of the teachers were showing Xmas movies the past week like Polar Express, Elf, etc.  One teacher aired a movie that is an Xmas classic that I immediately went, "Yo, that's right!  It IS a Christmas movie!"  That lovely Xmas classic is.....

Gremlins. 

I want to see it and Gremlins 2 again now. 

[Darilon]

Insidious -

It starts out as a pretty typical Haunted house type movie, with a decently creepy vibe. The about halfway through they introduce some elements which tell me that they were trying to differentiate themselves from the typical haunted house flik. Unfortunately, all it does is add layers of confusion on top of simplicity. Add in people doing incredibly stupid things, and there is really nothing special about this movie. Plus, the ending was lame, and way too blatant about setting up a sequel.

Not a huge fan of the movie myself. The two ghostbusters were probably the highlight of it for me. They didn't really fit in with the tone of the first half but were fun to watch.

Code:

I thought the idea of the old woman slowly getting closer to the father in all those photographs would have been a lot more interesting to watch than the carnival of horrors they went with.

[Dice]

Don Jon
Hmm.  On one hand, I love how personal, dirty, and even "icky" the plot can get.  I love the caricatures we get of those sort-of "Jersey Shore"-type leads between Joseph Gordon Levitt and Scarlett Johannson.  It's got great performances and a pretty good story.....  
Till about the last-third of the film.  I'm not sure bringing in Julianne Moore was the best "fix" for the plot and I'm not sure it flowed right since it kind of disrupts the character in a short amount of time.  It's brought in carefully, but I'm not sure how well it jives with the plot and setting we're thrown into.  I thought the plot was going on a pretty funny but honest route by just following JGL and ScarJo's characters and showing how *they* develop.  But you then get a new route and the story loses focus by perhaps taking itself to seriously.  

Lots of movies lately I've seen seem too good at fucking up the end game; turning great films to a "meh".

Hungrier Games: Catching Fire
AKA: How many times can we get Jennifer Lawrence to cry on screen.
Not that that's a bad thing, a lot of the moments in this film are extremely powerful and shocking!  I'm sort of torn on how much I liked "doing the Hunger Games....AGAIN" (which feels like the film runs with a bad case of sequelitis -- or Hunger Games: Electric Boogaloo), but I did like how they tried to keep it fresh.  Certainly the larger cast was damn nice (Philip Seymour Hoffman is great in general, Jenna Malone's character was entertaining as hell, and the Trident guy was pretty cool too!), and even the existing characters get much better treatment this time around (like Effie!).  
Basically, it felt like the first Hunger Games -- except things gets turned up a hundred degrees!  A "let's do it again -- but better!", and the stakes were raised, the drama heightened, and the world grew larger.  A great sequel nonetheless, my eyes even turned misty a few times, but Katniss (which is still a dumb name) gets her lips worked by two bachelors made it feel a bit too much like the YA novel it's based on...
(which, by the way, no fucking contest, Gale is gorgeous, Peeta is named after bread and slows things down more often than not...  There's some blog post on the internet floating around that mentions an interesting reversal actually: Peeta plays the "girlfriend" whereas Katniss plays the "male hero".... it actually works).


Silver Linings Playbook
This has actually become one of my favorite films.  It's on a Top # list for sure, just not sure where.  I think it's because I see so much of my family in it sometimes (well, with less of the psychotic episodes thankfully).  The romance feels a bit pressed in and contrived, but I kinda just like how busy things feel in home, and how we all have each others backs, but we're still good at making fun of each other or bugging each other and causing stress (in a loving-family way).  The movie makes me feel good, and the characters charm the hell out of me.  I can't really explain it beyond that.

[GrimReality]

Elysium -

There is no fun to be had from this movie. It is a dark and dreary vision of a depressing future. It is violent, and gritty, and maintains it's atmosphere from start to finish. I can totally see how Neil Blomkamp made this, based on his previously amazing District 9. It feels a lot like that movie. Except nowhere near as good. Go see District 9 if you haven't. Thank me later.
It's kind of a bummer because there is potential in this world. I'd like to know how it got to this point. I'd like to know how the "rich" managed to separate themselves from the rest of society and build the Elysium ship habitat. It reminded me of The Citadel from Mass Effect. I'd like to see more of what goes on on Elysium. There are so many stories to tell!
The story we DO get is just OK. Matt Damon is just fine as the regular guy who needs to get to Elysium to save himself from radiation poisoning. Because on Elysium  they have these fancy machines that can heal all your bodily issues in a matter of seconds(Oh, how amazing that would be!). Of course, the rich refuse to share these fancy toys with the "lowlife" Earth citizens, so there is constant strife.
Sharlto Copley, who was so good in District 9, plays a cool badass here.
Jodie Fosters character is just weird. I have no clue what that accent was supposed to be, but it was distracting. She's kind of cool as a nasty politician, though.
All sorts of questions are raised that are never answered. The movie certainly makes you think, but it's not all good. There's some pretty illogical things going on here.
So I liked parts of it, and disliked parts of it. I'm definitely right down the middle on this one.

[GrimReality]

Olympus Has Fallen -

I found this surprisingly entertaining. Not a good movie, by any stretch of the imagination, but it just had that right kind of feeling to it. Reminded me of 80s action movies that were a ton of fun, but fell apart as soon as you started thinking about all the intricacies.
The whole attack on the White House sequence was pretty darn intense. Scary even, to think it's at all a possibility. I was kind of shocked by the violence here, too. They don't pull any punches. I'm kind of surprised they didn't whittle it down to PG-13 to get a bigger audience. Good on them for sticking with it, as it's feels more "real" this way.
It's so weird seeing Gerard Butler suppress his accent and be an American hero. he's perfectly fine here, but it's kind of distracting.
Aaron Eckhart looks too much like a guy I work with, so whenever he shows up in a movie, he reminds me of work. Ok actor, but ugh.
Of course, the plot falls apart as soon as you start thinking about the details. How no one detected this world renown terrorist beforehand is beyond me. Plus, how did all his helpers go unnoticed? And all those weapons they have? Some alarm bells would have been set off somewhere.
Anyway, it IS entertaining, I'll give it that. lots of things blow up real good. It's rare for me to enjoy a movie like this nowadays, so take that for what it's worth.