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

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Originally Posted by clocker

Atlas Shrugged is ideology disguised as entertainment,Margin Call shows what happened when the ideology is made real.
In Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand asserts that The Producers-, i.e., The Rich- are held back by an intrusive government and the weight of the undeserving masses.
Margin Call is the logical progression of Rand's philosophy.

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I downloaded it when I came across it the other night. My mother is a devout follower of Rand (and, not surprisingly, a shitty mother), and had made countless attempts to get me to read Atlas Shrugged. I believe her best offer was in the ballpark of $0.25/page (considering the size of the book, roughly enough to attend college- or something else). However, I decided moving out and not speaking to her for a decade was a better option.

That said, I never did get around to reading the book, so I thought I would give the WORLD'S LONGEST EXPANSION OF A BUMPER STICKER PHILOSOPHY 2 hours instead of enduring the book. Now it seems, setting myself on fire would be a more enjoyable evening than finding Waldo John Galt.
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I Saw the Devil http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588170/

After a particularly nasty and successful serial killer murders his pregnant wife , a special agent blurs the line between good and evil in his quest for revenge.

Directed by renowned Korean film maker Jee-woon Kim I didn't find it anywhere as good as some people seem to think it is.
Sure there is a very effective opening sequence with some remarkable acting by Byung-hun Lee but the story because truly silly not shocking shortly thereafter.
That it runs on a good 30 minutes longer than necessary only highlights the fact that everything that needed doing/showing happens fairly early on and after that it becomes not just silly but pointless.

As for "being the most violent movie ever made" , hardly. Given that I Saw the Devil is little more than a stylish cartoon I would say that The Road Runner is more brutal.
Self indulgence on the part of a director seldom a good film makes.

Not terrible not hardly a 7.8 unless you like assumingly the people rating it are 14 ears old and think lack of sense equates to deep and you can be truly savage by cutting up cardboard.
First 15 minutes a 9 everything after that a 6.

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Originally Posted by IdolEyes787

First 15 minutes a 9 everything after that a 6.

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Thus you score it a 6.3

Rounded to 2 sig figs from 6.319149

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Originally Posted by mjmacky

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Originally Posted by IdolEyes787

First 15 minutes a 9 everything after that a 6.

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Thus you score it a 6.3

Rounded to 2 sig figs from 6.319149

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I figured it to 6.37200 so I think you're math is off.

Or maybe you just didn't factor in that someone gets his balls bashed in with a pipe wrench.

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Originally Posted by IdolEyes787

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Originally Posted by mjmacky

Thus you score it a 6.3

Rounded to 2 sig figs from 6.319149

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I figured it to 6.37200 so I think you're math is off.

Or maybe you just didn't factor in that someone gets his balls bashed in with a pipe wrench.

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I worked it off a 141 min length.

9*(15/141) + 6*(126/141)
You said, everything after, so I included credits. Shortening the length of the movie would bring it to your figure. No matter how long this discussion carries on, regarding the formula and values used, I'm sure it is more interesting than either of the movies you and Clocker have recently subjected yourself to.

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Originally Posted by mjmacky

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Originally Posted by clocker

As attractive as martyrdom may be, the reason I watched was more prosaic...I couldn't talk shit about the movie till I'd seen it.

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I get that, but I found that I could bullshit about most terrible films (not having seen them) and pretty much stay on mark (though I would have had to known about the movie beforehand). It feels like the predictable direction of most bad ideas lends me that only advantage. Basically, I lie about seeing bad films and subsequently denounce them as bad films after having a near impeccable record of predicting how subjectively great/shitty I'll deem the movie. I don't watch many movies these days...

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I understand your approach but think you do yourself a disservice.
"Bad" movies teach you to appreciate "good" ones by exposing the framework behind the image.
My definition of a good movie is simple- emotional engagement propels the story.
If the viewer likes/believes/understands the characters, he'll follow their journey.
Afterwords, you may discover all sorts of inconsistencies or irritations but the viewing experience was seamless.

Two personal examples would be Juno and Chicago, films I unreservedly loved after the first viewing.
I was hooked from frame one and enjoyed the (very different) emotional jolts in both stories.
Subsequent viewings have shown weaknesses in both, but the afterglow of first exposure still glazes them for me and I count them as favorites.

I am predisposed to dislike some genres/actors/stories just like anyone else and admittedly approached Atlas Shrugged like a hate fuck, but I was fully prepared to
admit it was a good movie with an puerile philosophy had that been the case.
It was not.
If you want to see a great movie with a loathsome agenda, watch Triumph of the Will...that's how you sell propaganda.

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Originally Posted by mjmacky

it is more interesting than either of the movies you and Clocker have recently subjected yourself to.

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I would feel a lot more "subjected" had I actually paid to see any of these films.

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Originally Posted by clocker

Two personal examples would be Juno and Chicago, films I unreservedly loved after the first viewing.

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Funny you mention those two films. While I'm sure there are solid arguments for each of those films, that they aren't terrible flicks, I did not enjoy them. I had already suspected I wouldn't enjoy them, but the Blockbuster rentals (for both, I believe) was tasked by the wife and/or the mother-in-law. I ended up walking out of the living room for both. Chicago just didn't keep me reeled in, and Juno was (IIRC) just irritating. It's not like these were the only two movies I ever walked away from, I have to oust myself from the viewing of many, but these are among the few that I have no reason to label as terrible films. I have a similar outlook for Mad Men, I would say it's a great show, but I couldn't personally remain interested in the series (I will not badmouth that one either).

There are few to no movies that I was strongly certain I would hate/love and ended up opposing my expectations (which means, none that I can recall). It's when the feelings are more muddled in the gray that I end being surprised (in either direction). Example, I thought I might slightly enjoy American Psycho, I ended up hating the film so thoroughly, that I lambasted the friend who recommended it. From the terribly uninteresting story line (why the fuck to people care about Wall Street culture?!) and some absolutely dull acting, if not confused, I fast forwarded the last 30-45 min and still wanted to punch someone in the face for suffering through that. Public Enemies is another that I though I'd enjoy a bit, it was the worst thing I've seen in awhile (these days, I don't make a habit of watching terrible movies). Even worse is that I paid to watch that garbage of a film. Little Miss Sunshine is a movie I thought I'd write off as a forced independent feeling pseudo glorification of pageants. I loved that movie, fuck I want to watch again now.

Basically, if I have strong feelings in either direction, I trust them. I find it a disservice not to trust my stronger senses of intuition. It's that middle area that I keep experimenting with chance, mood and opportunity, and it's starting to really irritate me. I end up buried neck deep in shit holding a match in one hand and topaz in the other. I end up having better luck with TV series and Anime. I could easily just do away with movies entirely.

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Originally Posted by mjmacky

While I'm sure there are solid arguments for each of those films, that they aren't terrible flicks, I did not enjoy them...Little Miss Sunshine is a movie I thought I'd write off as a forced independent feeling pseudo glorification of pageants. I loved that movie, fuck I want to watch again now.

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It's interesting that you disliked Juno yet liked the equally twee Little Miss Sunshine (which I liked also).
Any idea why?

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Originally Posted by mjmacky

Basically, if I have strong feelings in either direction, I trust them. I find it a disservice not to trust my stronger senses of intuition. It's that middle area that I keep experimenting with chance, mood and opportunity, and it's starting to really irritate me. I end up buried neck deep in shit holding a match in one hand and topaz in the other. I end up having better luck with TV series and Anime. I could easily just do away with movies entirely.

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Where do these "strong feelings" about an as-yet-unseen movie come from?

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Originally Posted by clocker

It's interesting that you disliked Juno yet liked the equally twee Little Miss Sunshine (which I liked also).
Any idea why?

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Not exactly sure, as I actually wanted to like Juno (against my expectations). If forced at gunpoint to recall, I think I remember feeling like the unique dialogue was being forced to fit rather than being naturally woven (like in a Coen brothers or Tarantino film). Of course, I could be confusing it with a critique of a different movie, but I remember feeling irritated (so that's my best guess as to why).

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Originally Posted by clocker

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Originally Posted by mjmacky

Basically, if I have strong feelings in either direction, I trust them. I find it a disservice not to trust my stronger senses of intuition. It's that middle area that I keep experimenting with chance, mood and opportunity, and it's starting to really irritate me. I end up buried neck deep in shit holding a match in one hand and topaz in the other. I end up having better luck with TV series and Anime. I could easily just do away with movies entirely.

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Where do these "strong feelings" about an as-yet-unseen movie come from?

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This seems easier to answer with examples of movies I have not yet seen, and how I would expect to respond to them:
Mission Impossible - will hate
Moneyball - will love
Footloose (2011) - will hate
Killer Elite - will love (though I am a mark for Clive Owen action, the International being the only exception)
Harry Potter - will hate
Real Steel - will hate

All the other stuff that's currently out, I'm just unsure of (regardless of direction I'm leaning). As for the strong feelings, I've been exposed to trailers/interviews/synopses and whatever in intuit from those. Some of these being sequels to movies I've previously hated helps as well. I haven't actually seen a trailer for Moneyball, but hearing about it through I think Terry Gross, I'm sold on it (even though I'm not really a Pitt fan).

Here's a Rorschach test for you...
The Fall
Oldboy

Have you seen them and if so, reactions?