What is the latest movie you watched and what did you think of it?

[megabyteme]

I saw American History X the other day. Then I shaved my head.

Then, allow me to recommend the movie Splash, and a good underwater swim. Don't worry, you'll be able to breathe...

[clocker]

50/50- Joseph Gordon Levitt, Seth Rogan and Anna Kendrick.

Adam, a 20-something dipster* is diagnosed with very serious spinal cancer.
50/50 shows how he and his friends/family react.

So, a comedy about cancer with Seth Rogan as the manic pixie sidekick**, gee, what could go wrong?
Amazingly, almost nothing.
Rogan- who basically plays himself in every movie- reins it in and gives the performance of his career.
Anna Kendrick is fucking adorable and Angelica Huston plays the troubled mother with gooey steel (go ahead, figure that allusion out).
JGL is his usual polished/nuanced self.

Bonus for a cameo by Max Headroom.

50/50 is a small movie that left a larger impression than I expected.


*I made that up.
**This one too.

[999969999]

50/50 was surprisingly good.

[Funkin']

Went last night to see the latest Twilight. Good thing I didn't actually pay for the tickets(just the popcorn) or I would have felt completely ripped off. Actually I kind of do anyways. I could have sat at home and popped a bag of microwave popcorn and watched the entire 49'ers game, instead of making it home just in time for the fourth quarter.

50/50 was surprisingly good.

If it wasn't for Seth Rogan I wouldn't mind seeing it. I'm not really a fan of him. But then again the reviews I've read have been mostly positive so maybe I could tolerate him to see an ok movie.

[temisturk]

I'll probably get dragged along to see Twilight too, arrggghhh but the other night I watched Tucker & Dale vs Evil and that was really good.

[Quarterquack]

Hugo: Wow. This has made it to my top movie in a recent time very quickly. I don't remember enjoying a movie this way since Benjamin Button. The entire movie was a gigantic moving painting, the sub-textual references to the medium, the speeches given back and forth between proxies, the simplistic but cute attempts at finding meaning within absolute chaos, and an entire testimonial about the state and ideals of movies in a self-reflective manner all rolled into one. I loved this movie like no other in recent times. And that's something since it'd usually be out of my sweet spot.

[IdolEyes787]

The Eagle (2011) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034389/

I actually have a well worn copy of the original short novel someplace.Not that this film has more than a nodding acquaintance to it which is only ironic in the sense that the novel ,The Eagle of the Ninth ,written as it was for younger readers is still considerably more mature than this adaptation.

The movie starts out well ,setting the proper tone of bravery and honour but soon after the event that sets the real story in motion, missteps badly and during the next hour or so basically nothing of interest happens.
When the climax finally arrives the whole movie lacking true substance, while not entirely toppling over like a house of cards still teeters more than is comfortable.

Part of the problem is that of the main "villains" , their atrocities are not shown, only spoken of as historical events and besides the truly ill-conceived decision to present them as some sort of ancient Celt/Apache hybrid there really isn't enough reason to root against them.
A hero is only as great as the evil he fights against.First rule of something or other.

Other than that I should mention that somewhere between Fighting and Dear John Channing Tatum removed himself from the Justin Timberlake category of actors whose mere presence ruins any movie for me .Although lacking the necessary "steel" to make him totally believable in the role , he stirs enough empathy to make you hope he comes out of everything OK in the end.

In short , the movie peaks about 15 minutes in and the final battle when if finally occurs comes off as more merely tying up loose ends than rousing climax. Between those two events sadly just a lot of epic pointless padding happens.

Oh and during the final scene I think someone forgot which movie they where making and inadvertently stuck in the ending to a buddy cop movie.

[mjmacky]

Hugo: Wow. This has made it to my top movie in a recent time very quickly. I don't remember enjoying a movie this way since Benjamin Button. The entire movie was a gigantic moving painting, the sub-textual references to the medium, the speeches given back and forth between proxies, the simplistic but cute attempts at finding meaning within absolute chaos, and an entire testimonial about the state and ideals of movies in a self-reflective manner all rolled into one. I loved this movie like no other in recent times. And that's something since it'd usually be out of my sweet spot.

I'm angry at you for the Princess and the Frog by the way. It reminded me why I hate non-Pixar Disney films in general. Faux sentiments, one-dimensional characterization that makes it a feat that those idiots have managed to remain alive in the created universe of their story. Something else I forgot to respond to:

A heck yes, but I have romanticized everything African American from the 50's/60's personally, from the music, to the clothing, to the cultural presence. To me, for reasons that would go beyond the 20,000 character limit of VB, it is the one era in American history that didn't suck, and it's the one environment other cultures should push towards

I could think of a couple of reasons why the 50's/60's sucked for African Americans. I wouldn't even need to break 10 words.

[clocker]

The Ides of March- George Clooney, Ryan Gosling.

Ryan Gosling changed clothes after Drive but walked the same character into The Ides of March.
Seriously, the "extended closeup of a grim face- no dialogue" seems to be his only schtick lately.

Clooney plays a Democratic Governor vying for the White House.
He is a white Obama, gifted at rousing populist anger and promising change.
Naturally, he has feet of clay.
Gosling is second in command of the campaign and has to clean up the muddy footprints.

This is another Clooney vanity project (he also produced it) and it's just not as interesting as Good Night and Good Luck.
Everybody thinks politicians are sleazy empty shells these days, the machinations/inside deals of Ides aren't a surprise or particularly shocking- and no where near as luridly bizarre as the current Cain/Gingritch candidacies- so I'm left wondering what the point is.
Ides is basically a well produced visual edition of the Huffington Post.

Note to scriptwriters everywhere:
Simply panning in to Ryan Gosling's face and having him stare mute at the camera is NOT A PLOT, nor is it CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.
In normal life you'd think someone who silently deadpanned like that was either a psychopath or retarded...possibly both.
If you can't find words for Gosling to say, hire Aaron Sorkin but I'll be damned if I'm going to do your work for you.
"Is that look supposed to be steely resolve or did he eat Taco Bell for lunch? Aaarrgh! I don't know! Ryan, you're SO enigmatic!"

Enigmatic my sweet ass.
Gosling has perfected the art of getting roles where he doesn't have to learn any lines.

[chalice]

The Ides of March- George Clooney, Ryan Gosling.

Ryan Gosling changed clothes after Drive but walked the same character into The Ides of March.
Seriously, the "extended closeup of a grim face- no dialogue" seems to be his only schtick lately.

Clooney plays a Democratic Governor vying for the White House.
He is a white Obama, gifted at rousing populist anger and promising change.
Naturally, he has feet of clay.
Gosling is second in command of the campaign and has to clean up the muddy footprints.

This is another Clooney vanity project (he also produced it) and it's just not as interesting as Good Night and Good Luck.
Everybody thinks politicians are sleazy empty shells these days, the machinations/inside deals of Ides aren't a surprise or particularly shocking- and no where near as luridly bizarre as the current Cain/Gingritch candidacies- so I'm left wondering what the point is.
Ides is basically a well produced visual edition of the Huffington Post.

Note to scriptwriters everywhere:
Simply panning in to Ryan Gosling's face and having him stare mute at the camera is NOT A PLOT, nor is it CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.
In normal life you'd think someone who silently deadpanned like that was either a psychopath or retarded...possibly both.
If you can't find words for Gosling to say, hire Aaron Sorkin but I'll be damned if I'm going to do your work for you.
"Is that look supposed to be steely resolve or did he eat Taco Bell for lunch? Aaarrgh! I don't know! Ryan, you're SO enigmatic!"

Enigmatic my sweet ass.
Gosling has perfected the art of getting roles where he doesn't have to learn any lines.

I had just finished stealing this film when I read the above.

Not a fucking sliver of a chance of me watching it now. I don't know whether to thank you or call you a cunt.

Thanks, you cunt.