Thoughts On The Last Movie You've Seen

[meta187]

Don't mean to sound like a miserable git but I think Jack Black is awful. Anything with his name attached is always a must-avoid for me.

 

 

You're entitled to your dislike. No worries.

 

 

 

That Mesrine looks bad ass though. Is it a two part movie? Like two separate movies or one four hour movie on two separate discs?

[Lithium]

I like Jack Black. f*cking love Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny.

Shallow Hal is pretty good. There's a handful of others that he's pretty good in.

 

Never seen Nacho Libre, for some reason I've got a feeling I'll highly dislike it.

I agree that you would highly dislike it. There are a few funny parts, but it doesn't really capture how funny Jack Black can actually be.

[Mister Pink]

Don't mean to sound like a miserable git but I think Jack Black is awful. Anything with his name attached is always a must-avoid for me.

 

 

You're entitled to your dislike. No worries.

 

 

 

That Mesrine looks bad ass though. Is it a two part movie? Like two separate movies or one four hour movie on two separate discs?

It is, buddy. I think you'd like it. It's two films well, it's like a really long film I suppose. Like the Ché film. Part One and Part Two. The first half deals with how he becomes a criminal and his relationship with his family and him becoming a full blown lunatic on his travels in Canada. The second disc is where he actually becomes public enemy number 1 in France and breaks out of prison a couple more times and just goes nuts really with the ol' bank robberies. Good watch. Hope you don't mind reading subtitles. It's not like it's a heavy drama though so it's not a pain watching the subs

[meta187]

Honestly, I don't.

 

If anything, I tend to pay attention more. I remember going to see Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon at the theater and really enjoying it but when I watched a dubbed version later on DVD barely paying attention to it.

 

One of my favorite foreign language films is Run Lola Run. It's in german and has to do with alternate outcomes based on small decisions and events. Very clever film with some action and pretty unorthodox filming techniques for a late 90's film.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2011 by meta187

[pauliux2]

 

 

This movie is so old,but really funny I laughed hard...

[trip]

Speaking of Jack Black, I just watched 'Tropic Thunder' for the first time the other night. He wasn't all Jack Blackish in it, and he played a pretty good character. I do have to say that I really enjoyed him in 'School of Rock'. I tired 'Nacho Libre' but didn't manage past the first quarter of the film.

 

Tropic Thunder was exactly the medicine I needed the night I watched it. It was the right dose of silliness for my foul, stressed out mood. I'm a Ben Stiller fan, so that helped. Robert Downey did an amazing job with his character. If you haven't seen the movie - Downey plays an Australian that plays an american black guy. You almost have no idea it is him.

 

Most of my friends who saw this movie when it came out weren't that impressed, so I went into it thinking it was going to suck. It might have been my ultra stressed out day, but I really enjoyed it. It was just straight up, light hearted, silliness.

[BrownBear]

Don't mean to sound like a miserable git but I think Jack Black is awful. Anything with his name attached is always a must-avoid for me.

 

 

You're entitled to your dislike. No worries.

 

 

 

That Mesrine looks bad ass though. Is it a two part movie? Like two separate movies or one four hour movie on two separate discs?

It is, buddy. I think you'd like it. It's two films well, it's like a really long film I suppose. Like the Ché film. Part One and Part Two. The first half deals with how he becomes a criminal and his relationship with his family and him becoming a full blown lunatic on his travels in Canada. The second disc is where he actually becomes public enemy number 1 in France and breaks out of prison a couple more times and just goes nuts really with the ol' bank robberies. Good watch. Hope you don't mind reading subtitles. It's not like it's a heavy drama though so it's not a pain watching the subs

I bought Mesrine for christmas, haven't got round to watching it yet though.

[meta187]

Robert Downey did an amazing job with his character.

Yea, he pretty much killed it on that one.

 

"I'm a lead farmer, motherf*ckas!"

 

And I didn't have a high expectation for Tropic Thunder either or know anything about him doing that role so it was a pleasant surprise for myself as well.

[Tyler]

I loved Tropic Thunder much more than I thought I would. The Tom Cruise dance scene is what sold it for me, and his character altogether is hilarious. "I want you to take a step back and f*ck YOUR OWN FACE!"

 

[Iminicus]

Schindler's List - 1993. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler supported by Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goth.

 

Schindler's List - Wiki

 

Schindler's List - IMDb

 

 

Schindler's List is an Academy Award winnning movie about Oskar Schindler's war profiteering during World War II. As a member of the Nazi Party, Schindler used his influence and money, to obtain Jewish people from the Krakow ghetto to manufacture pots and pans for the War effort. Since, these Jewish people were not paid, he dealt in human trafficking, bribery and theft ( the theft of their property ).

 

Steven Spielberg used black and white film with several instances of color. The most vivid usage of color is the scene of the Girl in the Red Jacket walking through the Krakow ghetto as Nazi soldiers force the Jewish people from the tenements they occupied. Schindler is looking down on this as it happens. What seems like an insignificant character, the Girl, becomes a huge influence on Schindler later on in the film.

 

When I first experienced Schindler's List, I didn't understand what Spielberg was doing filming it in B&W, yet, as I have grown up and re watched it I have come to understand. The usage of B&W shows us the world devoid of color, of hope. It creates a picture that isn't visually stimulating but allows the humanity and inhumanity of what happened to appear in the characters and their resolve.

 

I'm a sap, I cry. I cry when Schindler is trying to get more for his list. I cry when the women and girls are taken to Aushwitz. I cry when the War ends and the Jewish people, Schindler's Jews, are told that at midnight they are free. I cry when Schindler breaks down because he could have saved more. I cry when I see the Schindler Jews today ( circa 1992/3 ).

 

Spielberg has crafted a powerful movie with Schindler's List. It is a movie that everyone should see.

[Robinski]

I managed to catch one of my childhood favourites on TV today: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

 

Boy was I a stupid kid. The movie is nowhere near as good as I thought it was back then, and Jar Jar Binks may just be what took it from an ok film to a bad film. He's just so f*cking annoying. There's also the fact that Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi are basically the same character, neither one would be sorely missed if their plot roles were taken up by the other. On the upside, the effects hold up reasonably well, considering the film was made over a decade ago. A good balance between the still-proving-itself modern CGI and physical effects.

 

One thing that did throw me a bit was the resemblance between Natalie Portman (Padme) and Keira Knightley (Padme's decoy). Obviously this was intentional but it's still striking, especially considering the latter was only 14 and the former 18, though to be fair Knightley looks quite old for her age and Portman very young for hers. Also, I thought the ridiculous costumes for Queen Amidala were stupid when I was a kid, I now realise that they're f*cking awesome.

 

PS: This may be a bit premature by the way, I'm not even finished watching it yet. That's how much it's engaged me.

Edited January 8, 2011 by Robinski

[makeshyft]

I managed to catch one of my childhood favourites on TV today: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Christ, I didn't realise you were that young.

[Robinski]

Yep, I was 7 when PM came out. If it claws back any of my film cred, I only enjoyed PM so much 'cos I spent the years before it hooked on the original trilogy (which was completed nine years before I was born).

[makeshyft]

Hey, no-one's faulting you for liking it. I was 18 when it was screened in cinemas. Went to the midnight premiere and was blown away... but I attribute that to the fact I had been punching bongs the whole night leading up to it.

 

Needless to say, it didn't hold up when I saw it sober.

[meta187]

Jar Jar's the gimme. I really disliked all the marketing behind Darth Maul because you never really get to see him be a bad ass until right before he's killed and he does nothing memorable prior to that fight. And Ron was right about Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi essentially having little distinguishable difference between them aside from a haircut. So many missteps with those episodes

 

 

@Imi: Schindler's List may not be the feel good comedy of the year but it's an important movie to see just the same.

[Creed Bratton]

Jar Jar's the gimme. I really disliked all the marketing behind Darth Maul because you never really get to see him be a bad ass until right before he's killed and he does nothing memorable prior to that fight. And Ron was right about Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi essentially having little distinguishable difference between them aside from a haircut. So many missteps with those episodes

 

 

@Imi: Schindler's List may not be the feel good comedy of the year but it's an important movie to see just the same.

Phantom Menace was a disgrace in every way shape and form. There was no protagonist, no real story just some political nonsense about trading and whatnot, hundreds of logical mistakes. It's like a movie for 6 year old kids.

[Pico]

I'm a sap, I cry. I cry when Schindler is trying to get more for his list. I cry when the women and girls are taken to Aushwitz. I cry when the War ends and the Jewish people, Schindler's Jews, are told that at midnight they are free. I cry when Schindler breaks down because he could have saved more. I cry when I see the Schindler Jews today ( circa 1992/3 ).

 

Spielberg has crafted a powerful movie with Schindler's List. It is a movie that everyone should see.

FAG!

 

Lol, just kidding, of course. Schindler's List is an amazing movie. I always avoided watching it due to being in B&W, I thought it'd be some old crappy movie with bad acting. Eventually I discovered it was released in the 90s and not too long ago finally watched it. I wasn't surprised, since I heard it was an amazing movie from pretty much everyone, but I was satisfied, for sure. As you stated, it's a very powerful movie and I'd recommend it to anyone who can watch a serious movie.

 

I loved the use of black and white, it gave a good sense of dreariness to everything. The little use of color was obviously intentional and effective.

 

As for the newer trilogy of Star Wars... well, it's tough. The acting was pretty sh*tty, although the original trilogy wasn't a whole lot better but being from it's time it's easy to write off any bad acting.

My biggest issue is that episodes 4-6, fight scenes were sh*tty. Not enough of the force being used, sh*tty choreography of fights. I understand they were limited by the technology at the time. What makes it worse is episodes 1-3, where every single fight scene has excellent choreography and over-the-top fight scenes, again, due to technology.

Basically, the 4-6 was too little, 1-3 was too much. This causes too much of a difference in style that hurt the series.

 

I do like the story line thought, primarily Anakin's. It's a great tragedy. His self struggle with the need for power and his love for Padme. The irony the dark side played in him trying to utilize it to help her, ended up killing her. Then it comes full circle when he gives his life to save his son. Well done. The best thing about episodes 1-3 is getting to learn who Vader really is, in my opnion. It adds so much depth to his character when you watch 4-6.

[makeshyft]

I always avoided watching it due to being in B&W, I thought it'd be some old crappy movie with bad acting.

Sorry man, but it's comments like this which make me unwilling to read any of your posts in this section.

[Finn 7 five 11]

Just saw Gullivers travels, with jack black, what i will say is the movie is really out there and a lot of fun, it is god darn odd, but i found it funny and enjoyable.

 

P.S there is quite a good looking female cast.

[Andyzoot]

As for the newer trilogy of Star Wars... well, it's tough. The acting was pretty sh*tty, although the original trilogy wasn't a whole lot better but being from it's time it's easy to write off any bad acting.

My biggest issue is that episodes 4-6, fight scenes were sh*tty. Not enough of the force being used, sh*tty choreography of fights. I understand they were limited by the technology at the time. What makes it worse is episodes 1-3, where every single fight scene has excellent choreography and over-the-top fight scenes, again, due to technology.

Basically, the 4-6 was too little, 1-3 was too much. This causes too much of a difference in style that hurt the series.

Sorry man, but it's comments like this which make me unwilling to read any of your posts in this section.

 

.....I don't understand how the time that the film was released can be explained for it's "sh*tty acting". Do feel that acting was all "sh*tty" back in the 70's? Because I think you need to watch a few more films from the seventies, films like Chinatown, Taxi Driver, Patton and Raging Bull (Oh wait, on second thoughts you better not watch Raging Bull because it's black and white )

[Pico]

Anything 70s and earlier primarily did have bad acting, in my opinion. Obviously, it's not a proven fact because it's up to interpretation. I wouldn't say that all movies made before a certain time are all sh*tty. The Godfather, as an example, is a brilliantly done movie. And you pretty much listed off all the classics I always hear about that have been made 30 or more years ago. I know it's not all the greats, but honestly compared to how many amazing movies there are now, movies in the past were almost always sh*t for one reason or another, and in my experience it's been down to how poor the acting was.

I know I'm not alone in this thought, as I've had countless discussions with people, including those alive when the movies were released and they talk about so many movies that had bad acting even for the time. The method/style of acting has progressed over the years and actors/actresses learn from each other, improving the overall quality of presentation.

Now, I do understand that many times more movies come out per year these days than 30 or more years ago, so it's not a surprise there are so many more great movies released per any given year. But that just makes it easier to find so many more good movies, and I've found that not many before a certain time frame do it for me.

 

The black and white comment wasn't taken the way I meant it to be. I meant I used to think that, as in like 10 years ago when I was a teenager. Being young and not having too much care for movies I wrote off Schindler's List as looking like some old movie that was probably slow an boring and didn't care to look into the movie much at all. It was only until I started getting into movies more and more over the past year or two that I had noticed it wasn't some 50s film that would be starring Jimmy Stewart or something.

 

Also, nice job copying and pasting.

[makeshyft]

Ok...

 

Basically, everything you typed in that paragraph is wrong. You can throw words around like 'interpretation' and 'opinion', but those mean very little if you haven't been trained to analyse films. They also mean very little unless you have studied screen history and/or research. It's like saying, "I don't like the colour orange because it makes my teeth hurt." I'm not going to dissect every point you make, because I really don't know where to begin, and I didn't study film theory for four years in order to waste the resulting degree by lecturing people over the internet. I am just honestly 100% baffled by the sheer level of ignorance I am seeing.

 

Movies in the past were always sh*t for one reason or another? Christ... what a statement. I'm done with this section. Have fun, kids.

[SIKKS66]

Okay so you agree The Godfather was a brilliant film, most likely because of the show-stopping performances of actors such as Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and James Caan. Yet Marlon Brando's earlier films were "badly acted" because they were in black and white? Lolwhut? Have you not seen some of his earlier films? On the Waterfront? Julius Caesar? I ask you, Pico, to watch this clip of Brando delivering Mark Antony's funeral oration in Julius Caesar and tell me that it does not make the hairs on the back of you neck stand up. Because it gets me every damn time:

 

 

 

The level of ignorance is boggling my mind. Has April 1st come early?

 

ON TOPIC

 

After my bashing of everybody's favourite 2010 movie (Inception) a couple pages back, I'm going to say something equally controversial. I watched Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on TV on New Year's Day at I found it quite enjoyable. There were questionable plot moments (aliens, nuke-resistant fridges etc) that were a bit dumb but on the whole I thought it wasn't as bad as some people have made it out to be. Shia LaBeouf was good, Ray Winstone was a laugh (nobody quite does villains like us Brits, eh?) and Harrison Ford is a bit of legend. The action scenes were amazing (over the top with the tongue firmly placed in the cheek) and it has its funny moments. Maybe it's because I was hungover and I hadn't paid to see it but I enjoyed it

 

7/10

[Pico]

 

Ok...

 

Basically, everything you typed in that paragraph is wrong. You can throw words around like 'interpretation' and 'opinion', but those mean very little if you haven't been trained to analyse films. They also mean very little unless you have studied screen history and/or research. It's like saying, "I don't like the colour orange because it makes my teeth hurt." I'm not going to dissect every point you make, because I really don't know where to begin, and I didn't study film theory for four years in order to waste the resulting degree by lecturing people over the internet. I am just honestly 100% baffled by the sheer level of ignorance I am seeing.

 

Movies in the past were always sh*t for one reason or another? Christ... what a statement. I'm done with this section. Have fun, kids.

I see that four years studying film theory has done you a lot. Bitching about people posting titles of movies in this thread on a video game forum. Yep, that's not wasting it. How's the job at the grocery store going? Hopefully it can pay off your student loans well.

 

Seriously, you're quite a pretentious cock. I always saw that we had similar views on movies, for the most part, and I honestly have no clue where this is coming from. And I used terms like 'opinion' because that's what it is. Anyone who states what they thought about a movie is giving their opinion. Even a person who has "studied film" creates an opinion, the fact that it may be based on knowledge of elements of film doesn't change what it is. It may be more of a subjective and in-depth analysis of a movie, but that's about it.

 

You missed the "almost" before the word always in your last sentence. And yes, that is my statement in reference to the kinds of movies I seen in the era before competent directing and acting. I don't like to generalize things in such a way for the most part, but I call them as I see them.

 

Being a narcissistic, failed movie critic, I can see how you would blatantly defend the golden oldies. When told how things should be done by old people for 4 wasted years, you're going to pick up and believe their bullsh*t instead of spending your own time watching movies and determining how you best, personally, formulate your own methods of observation, inspection and interpretation to ultimately form a unique coherent thought instead of spewing out recycled terms beaten into your brain from some text book an old self-proclaimed film expert charged you $300 for.

 

@SIKK, as I stated: I worded my first statement on black and white films poorly. As a young teenager I disregarded movies in black and white, dismissing them as likely to be bad movies. I, in no way, feel that way right now. Even if the movie was in a certain time frame, whether it was in color or not, as I've learned, doesn't make or break it.

As for any relation between black and white movies and poor acting, it would strictly be due to the time frame in which black and white movies were made, when not intentional. Correlation does not imply causality; I never stated that BECAUSE it's in black and white the acting sucks, or vice versa.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Pico

[Robinski]

Hey isn't this the thread where we talk about movies we just watched?

 

On that subject, I watched Iron Man 2 this afternoon. I went into it not expecting too much as I do with most super hero films. I thoroughly enjoyed it as a brain:[off] action movie. One dimensional characters made from played out archetypes (the lovably cocky hero, the evil foreigner out for familial revenge, the ruthless business rival etc) but they were actually done pretty well for what they are. The set pieces were great fun, the fight in the house especially. Great fun movie for killing two hours.

 

Oh, and Scarlett Johansson, always a great asset.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Robinski

[meta187]

Movies in the past were always sh*t for one reason or another? Christ... what a statement. I'm done with this section. Have fun, kids.

 

 

[makeshyft]

I'm not reading that. The bits and pieces I skimmed were largely personal insults and phrased like the words of a teenager mid-tantrum. If you're going to resort to that then it really only confirms what I thought about you to begin with. Grocery store, eh? Good one.

 

I'll leave you to give yourself a high-five for telling me off for being a pretentious cock. You sure showed me! I'd better get back to stackin' them there shelves before I get myself fired!

 

lol

 

 

[Icarus]

I'm a sap, I cry.

I remember we watched Schindler's List in history class when I was in grade 11 and I still remember the one part that made me sad was when they shot the guy in the head who only had one arm. I felt bad for him, because Schindler gave him a job in the factory, which made him so happy, but then he winds up being killed.

[Finn 7 five 11]

Use spoilers please, thank-you.

I watched a movie called "The Wood" which is not very well known even though i thought it was a great movie.

It is about 3 best friends one of which is about to get married and is having second thoughts, they have a series of flashbacks to their childhood when they all first met, the plot is thin, but it is a pretty funny movie as well as being a little emotional, despite the thin plot it turned out to be a great movie.

[Iminicus]

Saving Private Ryan

 

Saving Private Ryan

 

Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 War film starring Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg.

 

I'm not going to do a huge write up on Saving Private Ryan. For as much as I enjoy this film, its strongest moment is the opening Beach Scene. The rest of the movie falls some what flat and slows down.

 

My biggest gripe is the casting of Matt Damon. He doesn't embody a soldier extremely well, he seems to be missing that American feel.

 

Overall, this is another great War film from Spielberg and I hope he comes back to this genre soon.