Critically Evaluate the last movie you saw.

[clocker]

Joseph Goebbels would approve.

[clocker]

The Pledge (2001)- Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright, Aaron Eckhart, et al.

I've never been a big fan of Nicholson (I think Axe body spray was based on his sweat) but he's very, very good in this film (which had flown completely under my radar till yesterday).
In fact, everyone in this movie is good and it's a very high profile cast (not many films have cameos by Helen Mirren, Benicio Del Toro and a fairly normal Mickey Roarke).

Without getting too spoiler-y it's hard to summarize the plot...basically, Nicholson is a retiring Reno police detective who gets drawn into a child murder case on his last day and it overwhelms his life.
He promises the grieving mother that he will find the killer and goes to extraordinary lengths to do so.
For such a sensational premise (he's convinced there's a serial killer at work), the film is remarkably low key, almost elegiac.

For me it was a rare experience in that the questions I was asking and the details I thought important turned out to be irrelevant...the real point isn't made clear till the movie is over and the whole thing is seen in a different light.
Like I said, it's difficult to talk about without being too revealing but I recommend it as a very interesting film, if for no other reason than Nicholson's performance.

Marley (2012)
A documentary about reggae superstar Bob Marley.
I wasn't greatly into reggae music but was fascinated to see how incredibly political and influential Bob Marley was. Bono/Geldof don't even begin to approach Bob Marley in terms of activism and charisma.
Some pretty amazing archival footage and the music ain't bad either.

[clocker]

Lockout (2012)
Another shitballs stupid "action" movie, rivals Taken for improbability.
For an excellent explanation of exactly why this movie is so execrably awful read the novel Redshirts by John Scalzi (it really is a wonderful book).

Nuff said.

[Missing]

Zombieland (2009)

One of the few zombie movies I've seen. In fact I think it's the only zombie film I've watched. I actually really enjoyed it. The main character Columbus along with his male companion Tallahassee were great together. However, the two girls Wichita and Little Rock ruined the film for me with their presence. It seemed that they were just thrown in there so the main character could have a love interest with one of them. I felt that the film could have been a lot better without them and without the main character "falling" for the selfish girl Wichita.

[clocker]

Divine Madness (1980)- Bette Midler and The Harlettes.

Bette Midler is sui generis and in my experience, one of the few real "entertainers" I've ever seen.
I first saw her in New York in the 70's and was an instant fan...she would do anything to connect with her audience, they loved her and she loved them back.
No doubt, her singing is not to everyone's taste but you cannot watch this concert and deny that she didn't give your moneys worth.

Even now, thirty years later, the staging and costumes are terrific, and some of the medleys are sheer genius.

If you simply want to be entertained by a movie, I don't think you can do better.

While I'm on the genre, I'd also recommend Stop Making Sense (Talking Heads) for it's tremendously clever production, P.U.L.S.E (Pink Floyd) for it's masterful live recreation of Dark Side of the Moon and Live in Australia (The Eagles) for a master lesson in guitar by Joe Walsh (and some great classic songs).

I think I've just totally dated myself.

[Artemis]

I would have seen the movie Stop Making Sense, but I went to see Talking Heads live that year instead (imo one of the best live bands I've ever seen).

Lockout (2012)
Another shitballs stupid "action" movie, rivals Taken for improbability.
For an excellent explanation of exactly why this movie is so execrably awful read the novel Redshirts by John Scalzi (it really is a wonderful book).

Nuff said.

What is so improbable about a prison in space where all the prisoners are put into to stasis? It's only a small leap from Demolition Man after all and we have already had space marines zooming around in James Bond's Moonraker. It's all perfectly feasible, I don't know why you're getting your tits in a tangle. It's sort of Snake Plissken versus homicidal Glaswegian scousers instead of the World Wrestling Federation baddies he had to deal with in Escape from New York, but apart from that it's all perfectly rational.

[clocker]

What is so improbable about a prison in space where all the prisoners are put into to stasis?

Explain why the prison is set up to repel invasion from the outside and has such easily defeated controls for the inside.

[Artemis]

/sarcasm mode off

I can think of two reasons why the controls were easy:
1.They arrogantly believed that since their victims test subjects prisoners were going to be sleeping and didn't need that much security
2. A really well designed internally secure prison would have made the story r e a l l y s l o w. In fact it probably would have ruined the whole flow of the admittedly moronic lighthearted action and repartee.

But lots of guns on the outside was really silly.......

[clocker]

Out of the 500 prisoners released how did the Sean Connery wannabe become the undisputed leader so quickly and why did he continue to let his psychotic brother fuck things up?

Also, I actually LOLed when they encountered the gravity generator...it was a direct ripoff of the scene in Galaxy Quest where Tim Allen and Ripley come to the hallway of random pistons, except it lacked the hilarious explanation.
Again, read Redshirts...it's worth it.

[IdolEyes787]

Movies don't have to make sense to be entertaining but it certainly helps.

Also Bette Midler lost me somewhere around Beaches and Wind Beneath My Wings.
Being Midler of the road doesn't suit her.

Lockout (2012)

I rewatched Drive sat through 3 hours of Tour de France and still not bored enough to download this.

Also clocker on review you were right and Ryan Gossling's character is merely empty ,not overflowing with interesting stuff going on just below the surface.

It did get me to start reading the novel though, just so I finally get a story to associate with the visuals.