What was the last movie you've seen?

[dsheinem]

Oh neat, I didn't see your write-up of Clockwork Orange.

You weren't here yet!

I have somewhat deliberately fallen out of the habit of reviewing and scoring movies in this thread this year, but I used to link this in my signature. I reviewed ~300 films from roughly 2009-2013, including at least some Kubrick films...

[Stark]

That explains it, I guess I could've taken a clue from the 5 years ago comment. Reading fail.

Why have you deliberately stopped, is it because you've increased how much you're writing for work/books/articles/etc. and don't want to take time for reviews as well? I'd like to write more reviews of the entertainment I consume honestly. I feel it gives me a deeper understanding of what I felt about a particular work if I try and express it in words.

[dsheinem]

Why have you deliberately stopped, is it because you've increased how much you're writing for work/books/articles/etc. and don't want to take time for reviews as well? I'd like to write more reviews of the entertainment I consume honestly. I feel it gives me a deeper understanding of what I felt about a particular work if I try and express it in words.

A couple of reasons. I got in the habit of building up a backlog of reviews to write and that ended up making me not want to watch a movie sometimes because I didn't want to add to the "work" I had to do. I also felt like I couldn't spend much time rewatching things I'd already reviewed because, well, I had already written about them.

I agree that writing adds to an appreciation and I will likely still do that from time to time. I just don't want to do it as a regular thing for the time being.

[Forlorn Drifter]

I liked the trailer Stark. Though it seems like Max is a prisoner the entire movie. That seems strange.

Maybe it is an origin story and explains why he is so mad?

In an interview I read it sounded like that actually had really little to do with the whole plot. It sounds like its an epic chase scene ala Mad Max 2, except better, more crazy, and with cooler cars. From what I understood, there wasn't even going to be a script until someone finally convinced the director to draft one.

I'm really excited for the new Mad Max. It takes one of my absolute favorite movie genres, carsploitation, and combines it with the crazy, tribalistic energy in something like Conan (book Conan, not the movie one).

[BogusMeatFactory]

I liked the trailer Stark. Though it seems like Max is a prisoner the entire movie. That seems strange.

Maybe it is an origin story and explains why he is so mad?

In an interview I read it sounded like that actually had really little to do with the whole plot. It sounds like its an epic chase scene ala Mad Max 2, except better, more crazy, and with cooler cars. From what I understood, there wasn't even going to be a script until someone finally convinced the director to draft one.

I'm really excited for the new Mad Max. It takes one of my absolute favorite movie genres, carsploitation, and combines it with the crazy, tribalistic energy in something like Conan (book Conan, not the movie one).

I hehe..I should have made my text blue. I forget sometimes that sarcasm can be lost in the text haha!

[Gamerforlife]

I'll just say right off the bat that I haven't read the books, so I can't say how good an adaptation this or the first movie is, though I've read a few things indicating that some book fans seemed to like this one better than the first. I used to read tons of novels in high school and college. Now and days, I tend to read only for educational purposes, not for entertainment (unless we count comic books). So these movies are really my only exposure to the Hunger Games, and so far I like what I've seen.

I thought this was a good movie. Good performances, some nice tension, a few neat action/special effect set pieces, and a few nice story twists. Much like movies like Snowpiercer (and I guess most sci fi in general), I like some of the social commentary in these movies. There are a few little things in the story that I thought weren't properly explained, but I'm hoping they are things that will be touched on in the two part finale, whenever those two movies get released. I really liked Philip Seymour Hoffman in this, and I'm glad they filmed most of his scenes for the next two movies before he passed away. Woody Harrelson is a guy who always seems to get the fun movie roles and I love him as Haymitch.

I was slightly pissed when I saw the cliffhanger ending, but not in a bad way. I genuinely wanted to see what happens next and hate having to wait.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I've always loved Kubrick but for different reasons.

I have seen most of Kubrick's films, but I can't say that he is one of my favorite directors. (The only ones I have not yet seen are Fear & Desire, Killer's Kiss, Paths of Glory, and Lolita.) His style is too cold and mechanical for my tastes. IMO, it only really works in 2001: A Space Odyssey - which is by far my favorite Kubrick film - and it detracts from the rest of his work. I very much admire his work with a camera, and it is clear that he had a background in photography. Getting someone else to direct his actors, however, probably would have benefited his films immensely.

[lisalover1]

I went to see Snowpiercer the other day. Why? It was the only thing playing at the time, and I needed to stay at the theater for about 2 hours starting then. In retrospect, I should have stayed in the lobby and stared at the drywall.

First, let me get the obvious out of the way and say just how stupid the premise is. World freezes over, so naturally humanity boards a large train. Logic! is is given a half-explanation later on in the film, but major questions regarding the setting's apocalypse remain obscured out of what I assume was just forgetfulness on the screenwriter's part. The other big thing that bugs me is how painfully on-the-nose the social commentary is. Not once did I see any hint of subtlety in the delivery of the story's themes. I often found myself laughing at some of the film's more "dramatic" moments, just because of how hammy and over-the-top the actors were. Not a single character in this movie was elevated beyond the depth of a generic, disposable pile of tropes. Chris Evans - normally a great actor, gives his worst performance yet (yes, worse than Fantastic Four), and it's such a disappointment. He can do better than a lifeless puppet hobbling through this movie.

The one thing the film has going for it is its distinctive visual aesthetic, as well as the lengths they went to to craft a world around such a stupid idea. Their brashness has to be commended.

I hated this movie. I hated it so, so, so much. Normally, I don't get this upset over a film; I'm generally optimistic about watching movies. But every now and then, something just rubs me the wrong way on every one of my sensibilities. I haven't been this pissed off by a film since I watched Being John Malkovich.

[Fragems]

Watched a ton of stuff recently .
Dragon Tiger Gate
Born To Fight
The Raid 2

Dragon Tiger Gate

Although being a wee bit cheesy and over the top this was a pretty good film. Plenty of massive fight scenes, a good mixture of martial arts styles and weapons, and decent production values. The only part of the movie that kind of turned me off was the final battle which involved a lot of special effects which were definitely the weak point of the movie.

Born to Fight

This was an awesome Thailand action film. Amazing stunts and fights the actors and stuntmen really put their all into this movie and it shows. The plot as a whole may be somewhat basic it keeps the adrenaline pumping and sets things up for a pretty awesome struggle. The only somewhat goofy part of the film is the athletes some of their moments were a little humorous such as a soccer player sniping a guy out of a watchtower with a soccer ball . Overall I really liked it and was down right amazed that nobody got killed during production there were a lot of close calls throughout the film and the outtakes in the end credits showed some of the stunts that went bad.

Worst close call involved a guy literally getting within a couple of inches of getting his head under the back tires of a tractor trailer . As much as I respect the live action stunts they really need some safety regulations tossed in over there .


The Raid 2

Really good movie wish I had seen the original first though since I felt like I was missing out a bit with a few of the characters. The action was top notch though and while down right insane at times the moves were believable and very well choreographed. The whole gang politics side of it also reminded me of the two Outrage films I watched recently which was definitely a good thing . Didn't check out the english dub but the subs were very good quality.

On another note the claw hammer action in this movie was probably the most gruesome I have seen definitely did a great job of showing just how brutal a weapon it can be.

[Forlorn Drifter]

Watched a couple today.

The Devil's Backbone
2001 del Toro film. All subtitled, but I understand Spanish passibly enough that I didn't have to depend on them. (I understand way better than I speak...) It wasn't bad, but I'm not sure what I was supposed to get out of it. It seem like he tried to put too much in at once. A certain bit about one of the orphans and a gift he gives to a woman was a nice touch, but it seemed like he tried to tell multiple stories without really getting all of them.

The Road Killers (I've also seen it called Roadflower, I believe that's the European name)
Simple movie, somewhat in the vein of trashy crazy outlaws, kinda think Natural Born Killers or Love and a .45, except the crazy people are the bad guys. Some car action, lot of scenes of crazy people arguing, pretty good fight scene at the end. However, overall, the one twist is expected and it isn't much of a standout for what it offers. Entertaining, but not memorable.