What was the last movie you've seen?

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Good old WV

[AppleQueso]

So I got around to seeing The Avengers just now after catching up on the rest of the films in that universe. Late to the party but WHATEVER I DON'T EVEN CARE MAN.

Man, who would've thought that 5 films worth of buildup would actually provide an extremely satisfying payoff? I loved all the humor, action was great, etc etc. Not much to say that hasn't been said really.

First time I've been to a theater in nearly 5 years...

What was the previous movie you saw?

In theaters? I think it might've been Pirates 3 or something. Whatever it was, it was bad. I worked at the movie theater then though so at least I saw it for free instead of wasting money on it.

[Nintendork666]

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective



Adaptation

[BoringSupreez]

Fight Club
Believe it or not, this was the first time I ever watched Fight Club, and I don't know what to think of it.

At first it seems to be a normal, albeit quirky film, but by then end it veers into total craziness. I'm not sure if anything was actually real. The whole thing might have been nothing more than the main character's imaginings.

[Hobie-wan]

Fight Club
Believe it or not, this was the first time I ever watched Fight Club, and I don't know what to think of it.

At first it seems to be a normal, albeit quirky film, but by then end it veers into total craziness. I'm not sure if anything was actually real. The whole thing might have been nothing more than the main character's imaginings.

Love that movie. I still get chills when The Pixies fire up.

IMHO Fight Club is a rare occasion where the movie is better than the book. Not that the book is bad, just that the movie really tightens things up nicely.

[Stark]

Fight Club
Believe it or not, this was the first time I ever watched Fight Club, and I don't know what to think of it.

At first it seems to be a normal, albeit quirky film, but by then end it veers into total craziness. I'm not sure if anything was actually real. The whole thing might have been nothing more than the main character's imaginings.

Love that movie. I still get chills when The Pixies fire up.

IMHO Fight Club is a rare occasion where the movie is better than the book. Not that the book is bad, just that the movie really tightens things up nicely.

Hey Hobie, did you see this yet?

[Hobie-wan]

Hey Hobie, did you see this yet?

I did, but I didn't have anything nice to say about him so I didn't. Ah well.

[Stark]

Hey Hobie, did you see this yet?

I did, but I didn't have anything nice to say about him so I didn't. Ah well.

Well there ya go!

[Forlorn Drifter]

Good old WV

I originally watched a piece of this due to the fact that Hank III is in it, and happens to be a favorite musician of mine. He wrote a song about them, and I got interested. That's a weird and fucked up family right there. From now on, when I get accused of being a redneck, I will refer to them as evidence of what a real one is.

I was suprised to learn that Hank III himself, not an easily intimidated man (I saw him cuss out many a Hell's Angel for getting in his way or touching his stuff at one concert I went to. It was interesting) was actually pretty scared of these people.

Documentaries make me sad to think about what's really out there.

[dsheinem]

A few (relatively) short reviews to clear out my queue:

To Catch a Thief (1955) – Along with Notorious, this was the other Hitchcock/Carey pairing I hadn’t yet seen. This one was better than the former film, but still not as good as Suspicion in my mind. There are some beautifully shot outdoor scenes in this one and Carey and Grace Kelly are both at the top of their game, but for some reason it reminded me more of a Bond-style film than a typical Hitchcock film. I enjoyed it well enough, and it is a solid film – but I wouldn’t put it in the upper echelon of Hitchcock movies.
Grade: 3.5/5

North by Northwest (1959) – By contrast, this film is an amazing piece of film and well deserving of its reputation. This is an absolute marvel of a film for 1959, and is so chock-full of memorable scenes, biting wit, tense suspense, interesting twists, and more that it in many ways sets the standard for the “thriller” genre to this day. Hitchcock’s eye for detail is in full display here, and Carey is perfectly cast in the role. If you haven’t seen this, you really should.
Grade: 4.5/5

Bridesmaids (2011) – This film has received a lot of comparisons to The Hangover and I think they are spot on – but probably not in the way the analogy is usually meant to be taken. Like The Hangover, Bridesmaids offers only two or three genuinely funny scenes and is bogged down by poor pacing, lackluster direction, and – most despairingly – a lack of comedy. There’s more drama here than needed for something so predictable and droll, there’s a lot of wasted potential given the talented cast and scenario presented, and there’s virtually nothing here to warrant repeat viewings.
Grade: 1.5/5

The Italian Job (1969) – I enjoyed the recent remake of this film when it came out a few years ago (Edit – 2003?! Wow! That seems like yesterday…), but hadn’t ever seen the original until a few weeks ago. I think I prefer the original in many ways – it is a nice time-capsule film in that it captures English cinema of the late 1960s quite well. The cast is a virtual who’s who of well placed cameos and character actors from the period, Caine is excellent (I now understand better than ever why he was cast as Austin Powers’ father), and the film has a real ambitious feel to it in terms of visuals, score, plot and pacing. The action scenes are exceedingly well done (especially for the era) and it is quite refreshing to watch engaging and realistic looking action scenes and stunts and know that there is no CGI afoot.
Grade: 4/5

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) – I have never been a fan of Captain America, but I figured this film – which has received a lot of praise around here – might be just the thing to win me over. I am planning to go see The Avengers soon (perhaps this weekend), and I figured I should get this one under my belt first. While the film is certainly fine visually – there’s some nice camerawork here and the sets and costuming are excellent - I didn’t really care for the casting or the plot. Chris Evans is a lifeless, uncharismatic bore, Tommy Lee Jones plays Tommy Lee Jones (as he does in almost every popular film he makes these days – I long for more roles like he had in Heaven and Earth or even No Country for Old Men – he is wasted here), the story jumps quite suddenly to the final act/confrontation well before enough dramatic tension had been created, and the character is still entirely uncompelling to me. This is probably my least favorite Avengers-related film.
Grade: 2/5