Film Thread

[patters]

I just noticed we haven't got a film thread, pretty much state a film or two which you have seen recently and thoughts about it.

Inglourious Basterds: a fantastic return to Tarantino's style of old. Go see it.

District 9: another fantastic film, done in a documentary style, with some really excellent characters.

[Samas]

I loved District 9 - it was just so different to any other Sci-fi movie I've seen in such a long time. It was so original and wonderful, and I left the cinema with a profound appreciation of just how shit human beings can be.

[Secret Fawful]

Is this topic just for theater only movies?

Rope: A fantastic Alfred Hitchcock film I hadn't heard of before. It had some very good themes and a great plot, though the TV Guide spoiled it for me. But this is one of the few movies I've seen where you know the plot twist but you're still filled with tension. Hitchcock is really a great director. Jimmy Stewart was great and the acting was top notch.

[ShaggE]

Last two films I've watched:

Ghostbusters 2: Ghostbusters never gets old. Never.

Blazing Saddles: While it's not the best Brooks film, it certainly has some of the funniest lines. "What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?"

[Darth Marsden]

The last film I saw, if you don't catch the brief snippet of The Addams Family I caught while passing by the front room, was Hancock, which I thought was pretty good until the completely random plot twist half-way through.

[TookiGuy]

Short films count?
"The Separation" by Robert Morgan.
Reccomended heavily.

I haven't really come across any movie I really liked in the last few years, though.

[patters]

Originally Posted by Secret Fawful

Is this topic just for theater only movies?

Certainly not.

[Linque]

I went to see both D9 and Tarantino's Basterds. D9 was good - the movie itself wasn't that special, but the setting was extremely original. Very enjoyable. Also makes some interesting and perhaps quite accurate statements about our general behavior towards outsiders, no matter what the scale. Inglourious Basterds on the other hand surprised me tremendously. I saw the trailer and wasn't convinced at all. I expected it to be mediocre or pretty good, but instead it was fantastic! I love how well it caught me by surprise. And the praise over the Austrian actor is very much justified.

[Darkblade07]

anyone seen 9 yet

[Spadge]

Alien Trespass - Just watched it. Man, what can I say. It's a 50's sci-fi B movie shot in 2009. The guy from Wiil&Grace plays a scientist and the T-1000 plays a redneck sheriff. If you like those old black and white movies, you might check it out.

[corruptbiggins]

Just been watching 28 Days Later again and it's still a brilliant film with a great cast (Cillian Murphy is just perfect) and an awesome soundtrack (especially the climactic, signature track). British film making at it's best.

[Frogacuda]

Had a suburban Jew flick double feature today:

Life During Wartime: This is the sequel to Happiness, one of my favorite black comedies. It was very funny, and true to the first film in style, but I worry that Solondz might have put himself in a corner with this because A) It kind of does require that you have seen Happiness in order to be able to get all the jokes and understand what's happening quickly and B) has recast all of the characters with actors that don't even resemble the old ones (Phillip Seymour Hoffman's character is now played by Michael K Williams), so you need to be familiar enough with the movie that you know the characters by name as well. Helps to know your Wellcome to the Dollhouse characters as well, though you'll follow fine if you don't, since their history isn't brought into play.

That said, I enjoyed it a lot. It's very dark, but it's not as oppressive and nihilistic as Solondz's other movies, with a theme of forgiveness (even if that forgiveness never comes). The new cast is mostly good, and Paul Reubens' part is great (he plays the ghost of Andy, Jon Lovitz's character), but even with very different actors in the roles, it's hard not to compare them to the old actors (Michael K Williams gets off slightly easier because they've retooled his character a bit to accommodate his new race). So yeah, basically a "for fans only" affair, but a worthy follow up.

A Serious Man: This is a pretty unique film for the Coens. The humor is still their usual style and straight-faced delivery, but it's by far their least narrative movie ever. Where the Coens usually seem concerned with big, violent plot twists, this is a small, quiet, film without a lot of flash or fury. That, coupled with the love of suburban Jews actually reminds me a bit of Solondz's work, although the humor is obviously of a different sort.

The ending is ridiculously abrupt, and the story never really goes anywhere, which ties in with the theme of uncertainty in the movie. On that level it works, but don't expect the usual noir-tinged drama with a traditional three act structure, because it just isn't here.

Originally Posted by TookiGuy

Short films count?
"The Separation" by Robert Morgan.
Reccomended heavily.

I saw a good short today, too. It was called Socarrat, a Spanish short about a dysfunctional family. Very good dark comedy. I wouldn't mind seeing it fleshed out into a feature.

[Fury]

Full Metal Alchemist Movie - Don't bother.

[Fury]

Originally Posted by Darth Marsden

The last film I saw, if you don't catch the brief snippet of The Addams Family I caught while passing by the front room, was Hancock, which I thought was pretty good until the completely random plot twist half-way through.

Hancock got better from the halfway point I thought. He was a really likeable character, but I admit the whole him being Thor plotline was a bit farfetched, but it is a superhero movie.

First half wasn't as good a parody as I thought, but I totally got sucked in half way, you had so much empathy with his situation and I liked the whole love interest/weakness thing.

[ShaggE]

Recently watched Trick 'r Treat and Philosophy of a Knife. Trick 'r Treat was a great Creepshow homage, and likely to become my new "yearly Halloween tradition flick".

Philosophy of a Knife, on the other hand... I knew it wouldn't be a good documentary, so I can't fault it there. It's very much a gore flick that just happens to be filled with dry facts and interviews about Unit 731. And as far as the shock factor goes, it succeeds in spades. For the sake of the family-friendly nature of the forum, let's just say it makes Men Behind the Sun and Salo: 120 Days of Sodom look like Disney films.

That being said, this film is very hard to sit through, but not because of the torture. It's four hours of drawn-out shots of absolutely nothing, followed by interview segments with the world's slowest speaking Russian man, slideshows of war photos overdubbed with a narrator that sounds extremely bored, and then re-enactments of 731's "experiments", which lose a bit of their impact due to ridiculous sound effects. You almost expect slide whistles and "boing" sounds at some points. Were they going for "Japan's Funniest Home Mutilations"?

And yet, despite all of that, I'd still recommend this film to those with a love for history and a stomach of steel. It's sheer pretentious exploitation, but the info on Unit 731 and the interviews with a guy who actually ran into them are well worth the bad film-making.

[JedExodus]

Miami Vice: Just wanted to check if it really was as bad as when I saw it in the cinema.

It was

[GaryCXJk]

On my plane back from Suriname, I got to watch several.

Land of the Lost: Now I kind of suspect the sentiment about Will Ferrell and that he's not that funny, but the movie is pretty good. Not great for kids.

Star Trek XI: I pretty much forgot how many times I've seen this one, but it still is a great movie.

Night At the Museum 2: This one I know people think isn't that great, but I need to say one thing. It promoted Amy Adams onto my top 10 favorite female actors, and possibly even top 10 favorite actors overall. Seriously, she looks hot with glasses. Of course I'm pretty biased and think most women look in fact better with glasses, but that's probably not really the point. Other than that, pretty much campy acting on her part most of the time. Seriously, it worked on Giselle, probably not so much on Emilia Earhart. And we all know she can do more serious stuff. Ben Stiller himself pretty much looks weird when trying bad-ass. In fact, the whole movie was pretty camp, but fun nevertheless.

[Frogacuda]

If you saw it on a plane, odds are no one wants to hear about it

[Gman5852]

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs I went with my family, and we were taken here(so close toy story toy story 2 3D, so close) IT was a pretty good movie, you barely noticed the 3D though, so I reccomend watching it in 2D and save some $$$ if you have the option, if not 3D. It was funny(he created spray on shoes that never come off and wore them for at least 7 years without ever being able to take them off ) It also gave me a preview of the Christmas carol in 3D and THAT you notice in 3D. I actualy tried to grab a snowflake thinking it was a real prop.

[GuybrushWilco]

The last movie I saw was Star Trek, and it was great.