What was the last movie you've seen?

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

You said it perfectly Ack, it's a movie that was designed and tailor made for gamers, nerds and geeks who genuinely love their hobby. Not to mention the characters are genuinely likeable and relateable to most gamers, nerd or geeks because we all either are, know someone, or met someone like the characters portrayed onscreen at some point in time.

[Snickerd00dle]

Saw Scott Pilgrim last night, loved it, blah blah blah (I was surprised that even though some things were changed from the books, I ultimately did not mind, and Romona Flowers is a babe)

[dsheinem]

It’s been almost a month since my last set of reviews, but the movie watching has slowed down some. Here’s what I’ve gotten around to seeing:

The DaVinci Code (2006) – A convoluted mess that still managed to be predictable and boring. I felt like I should finally try to understand what the fuss around the book/film was about, and I have come to the conclusion that people who liked this must have never seen or read a good detective/conspiracy film. The pacing is slow and tedious, the movie is over-long, and the acting wooden. I’m not the biggest fan of Hanks to begin with, but I can’t think of a worse role I’ve seen him play. I was also surprised by the lack of plot that was actually related to DaVinci and his work – it seems like there’s lots of untapped potential. So…think National Treasure with less campy/explosive fun, poorer acting, and a cast that looks like even they don’t want to be in the movie. Even the always great McKellan can’t save the film. This one is quite a disappointment from Ron Howard, who usually does a better job.
Grade: 1.5/5

Angels and Demons (2009) – Against my better judgment I decided to watch the sequel to the DaVinci Code and – to my surprise – actually found a decent film! Not only is the plot much more streamlined and engaging, but there were some genuine surprises towards the second half of the film. Also of note here is the vastly improved pacing, direction, and cinematography. Vatican City comes alive with lush reds and golds, the camerawork almost always frames scenes with the appropriate tone, and the acting is a slight touch better than the first film (mostly thanks to a better supporting cast around the still wooden Hanks). A much better film from Howard that I’d actually suggest fans of conspiracy films should see. It stands apart from the first film, so no need to drag yourself through that mess.
Grade: 3.5/5

Capitalism, A Love Story (2009) – Just to get this out of the way – I am usually sympathetic to most of Moore’s arguments and have enjoyed the majority of his films for both their directorial acumen and their politics. Roger and Me, Bowling for Columbine, and Sicko are all fascinating films that present a well supported series of claims through a balanced mix of the three traditional persuasive proofs – logic/reason, credibility/good will, and emotional appeals. However, Moore has a tendency to go a bit overboard on the last of these – emotion - in some of his work . Fahrenheit 9/11 and this film are two primary examples of this indulgence. Here, the problems start from the get-go with a heavy handed focus on people who have been hurt by the mortgage crisis. It isn’t that he shouldn’t engender sympathy towards these individuals who are often the victim of predatory lending and/or hard circumstance, but he uses this emotional set-up as the backing for his claims against a capitalist system gone haywire for the first half of the film. Missing is the strong logos (reasoned arguments, stats, etc. ) and ethos (credible authority…sorry, but the “inconceivable!” guy from The Princess Pride is not going to help you make an argument about the economy). Many of these early faults are fixed in the second half of the film when Moore does a better job incorporating relevant historical context, actual experts, and non-gerrymandered news clips. That said, he becomes his own worst enemy again at the end with a general “rah rah revolution” sentiment…the film would stand much stronger as an enthymematic argument .
Grade: 3/5

Next Up: I’ll have a very special set of reviews!

[Gooseberrysoda]

Urban Legends Final Cut- 2/10
Blair Witch 2- Better than the first. Marginally.

[CRTGAMER]

The DaVinci Code (2006) Grade: 1.5/5

Angels and Demons (2009) Grade: 3.5/5

Opposite here, thought the first one was a lot better, the mystery aura about the Holy Grail. Angels and Demons was crap, a trying to create ancient foretelling conspiracies out of just plain events. Big ho hum to me.

[vash23n]

Watched Daybreakers and I really liked it. Another movie I heard nothing but negative reviews about - when you use "but" in that context are you still supposed to use the comma? Anyhoo, I thought it was clever and there were hints of some sort of lesson that you can make as obvious as you want. In other words, you can just enjoy it as an actiony movie or you can delve deeper and make comparisons to the real world.




POSSIBLE SPOILERS




I really liked the role reversal between the vampires and humans. The humans hiding and only moving by day while the vampires try to suppress them in order to maintain a fragile society they have built on all the wrong principles. The film had some big names and I think they all played their parts well. Sam Neil was excellent - an evil man who turned into the person he is out of fear and other very human traits. Willem Defoe played a more upbeat type and it was a bit weird to get used to at first. I think he was great, but many dislike the way he played the role. They work to tie in the different types of vampires that have appeared throughout history, which was clever. The ending was also a bit of a stretch, but it was still pretty good. Refreshing to see something done differently within the genre. It's funny how many people hate when something new is tried in a beloved genre, but just as many people hate when the same idea is beaten to death - kind of reminds me of certain arguments between video gamers (especially in regards to Nintendo and the Zelda and SMB franchises).

[Pulsar_t]

I'm going to make an immature argument here that is 100% true whether you like it or not

Daybreakers >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Shitlight

[the7k]

Finally watched Scott Pilgrim vs The World. (Better late than never, right?) Kinda weird watching a movie when you're the only person in the theater.

Really enjoyed the hell out of it. It's ridiculous, sure, but at least the film was aware of how ridiculous it was.

The characters and their relationships are what really sold it - I gotta admit, I wasn't expecting much from the cast (I'm sure we've all become a little wary of Cera), but they managed to really pull through.

So, yeah... the best movie I've seen in a while. I'm pretty sure I'd even put it over Shawn of the Dead. Definitely the best movie to use video games in any fashion, whether we're talking about direct license (like Mortal Kombat) or as a plot device (like Gamer... but saying SPvTW is better than Gamer isn't exactly top praise).

Honestly, it's kinda hard to compare this movie to most other Hollywood films. It almost felt more like I was watching an anime or something.

[D.D.D.]

Finally watched Scott Pilgrim vs The World. (Better late than never, right?)

Hell, that's not bad. This ain't ever gonna come out in Japan so I gotta wait for the DVD (can't stand in-theater bootlegs).

Kinda weird watching a movie when you're the only person in the theater.

Almost always when the wifey and I can get out to the theater, because we watch the movies subtitled here, we're usually the only ones in there (or 10 people at the most).


We just watched KICK-ASS last night; pretty fun movie. Especially in the middle of the night the craziness was even more pronounced due to sleep deprivation.

[Gamerforlife]

Finally watched Scott Pilgrim vs The World. (Better late than never, right?)

Hell, that's not bad. This ain't ever gonna come out in Japan so I gotta wait for the DVD (can't stand in-theater bootlegs).

Kinda weird watching a movie when you're the only person in the theater.

Almost always when the wifey and I can get out to the theater, because we watch the movies subtitled here, we're usually the only ones in there (or 10 people at the most).


We just watched KICK-ASS last night; pretty fun movie. Especially in the middle of the night the craziness was even more pronounced due to sleep deprivation.

This had to be the coolest scene in the whole movie, especially for all of the shooter fans on this board: