What movie did you just watch, and how was it? (expect some spoilers but try not to post any!)

Forums › Off topic › What movie did you just watch, and how was it? (expect some spoilers but try not to post any!)

1 | ... | 143 | 144 | 145 | 146 | 147 | 148 | 149 | 150 | 151 | 152 | 153 | ... | 422

2061 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1061620 9-Jun-2014 08:37

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2D) - 8.5/10

I saw this movie after reading a few (non-spoiler) reviews which rated this really highly, possibly the best superhero film ever. I don't know that I'd go quite that far (I'd probably give that honour to The Dark Knight), but I would definitely rate it in the top 5. The time travel stuff does fry your brain if you stop and think about it for too long, but if you adopt the Austin Powers approach ("I suggest you don't think about it too hard, and just try and enjoy yourself") then it's fine.

I'm not a comic book reader, so I knew nothing of the source material. I subsequently read about some of the differences they made, but they all seemed either necessary or unimportant. Logan/Wolverine's role is pivotal, but it was nice to see him less of the action man and more of a silent narrator. While it's always fun to watch chaos and mayhem ensue when Wolverine's claws come out, it also helped to embed the film with some "realism", showing him working as part of a team rather than rehashing his "man alone" schtick from the first three X-Men films. It also reinforced the idea that this was a "First Class" film with cameos from the "original" series, rather than the other way around.

There were so many great characters in this film - Raven/Mystique, Charles (the younger), Eric (the younger), and Bolivar Trask all stand out for me. I especially liked the way they portrayed Trask as the villain - it made a refreshing change from the previous villains of the earlier films, and seemed to borrow a little from the Game of Thrones storytelling style of avoiding simple distinctions of "good" and "evil" and instead showing a more nuanced interplay of issues. It probably helped a lot that Peter Dinklage was in the role, who does "nuanced" very well. Quicksilver was done really well too - the only major new character to be introduced, and they did it really well without distracting from the main story.

There was only one post-credit sequence - right at the very end of the credits, so if you like those stick around until the very end of the credits for that.

old3eyes

9120 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1061627 9-Jun-2014 08:56

Disrespective: I saw Edge of Tomorrow last night and I still can't decide how to rate it.

They needed to cut the last few minutes I felt... but it's an entirely enjoyable The Day of the Triffids-Groundhog Day-Matrix mashup. 7/10

I also saw Sneakers (1992) for the first time in over a decade... the last 5 minutes of that film is so appropriate to the current state of NSA operations in the US. 7/10

I saw it yesterday at Tauranga in 3D. Quite enjoyed it. I give it 8 out of 10. It's one of the few movies that is better than the trailer was..

Regards,

Old3eyes

blakamin

4431 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1065493 14-Jun-2014 12:59

Snowtown. Wow. Brilliant acting and quite gory. Obviously based on a true story.
Not sure how accurate it was, but knowing that half of that stuff happened less than 20kms from where I live... Again, wow.
8/10

Lizard1977

2061 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1066392 16-Jun-2014 08:56

Cosmopolis - 2/10

I had a sick day so used this a chance to catch up on some watching. Really wish I hadn't...

I read about this film in Empire a while back, and it seemed interesting - a billionaire currency manager decides to get a haircut, and the movie follows him during the course of the day, as he is challenged by a range of people about his place in the world. Most of the film takes place in his limo, which I thought would add for some interesting tension - I quite like the idea of small films taking place in cramped spaces, as an intimate antidote to wide blockbuster vistas. It was the same reason I went to see Buried. For similar reasons, both were an absolute waste of time - I may have to revisit my "small films in cramped spaces" idea.

If I had to sum up the film in short phrases, they would be: "pointless", "pretentious", "boring", "nonsensical", "utter crap". The director is David Cronenberg, which I had taken as a marker of quality, but then that was offset but the utter crapness that is Robert Pattinson. I didn't want to prejudice his acting based on the Twilight series (which I was forced, against my will, to watch by my sister-in-law who is a mega-fan of the films), but after watching Cosmopolis I can report that stony-faced Mr Pattinson is devoid of any kind of acting talent. But even worse than his lack of acting ability is the pointless meandering script which purports to be some high-minded reflection on the capitalist world, but just ends up feeling like a burst of staccato phrases batted back and force between the actors, which often bear no relation to the things they are supposed to be talking about. It's like they took the script, threw it up in the air, and gathered up the pages in any old order and just filmed that.

I find myself wondering why I watched it all the way to the end. I chalk it up to my foolish optimism - I hoped that all this nonsense was laying the foundation for a revelatory moment that would justify the dullness that had preceded it. But no - there was no such moment. It just finishes. And that's about the best thing I can say about this film - it finished. I just wished I had the courage (or less optimism) to switch it off at the start - I could have saved myself 108 minutes.

scuwp

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#1066795 16-Jun-2014 16:41

Big fan of James McAvoy so had to check out this missed gem: Filth (2013)

A depraved and often bizarre look at a man on the road to self destruction fueled by drugs and alcohol while trying to gain a promotion in the Scottish Police force and redemption from his past. Dark humor abound and the performance of a lifetime from McAvoy. Not for anyone of a delicate disposition (from the creators of Trainspotting so that will give you an idea) but if you are made of stauncher stuff then highly recommend. 7/10

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#1066879 16-Jun-2014 18:22

A Million Ways to Die in the West - 3/10 - Avoid

Good concept, but there were only a limited number of jokes which were re-used over, and over, and over. Biggest problem, it's a comedy but apart from a few isolated instances it simply isn't funny.

Liam Neeson was wasted in his role, he's a much better actor than this.

Coil

6614 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1066880 16-Jun-2014 18:24

Harry Brown

Good movie.
Tim gives 4/5 stars.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

old3eyes

9120 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1066919 16-Jun-2014 18:56

Big A*s Spider. It was way better that I thought it would be for a B grade movie. 5 / 10.

Seeing at the board won't allow the full name of the movie to be posted here's the IMDB link

The Big something Spider

Regards,

Old3eyes

jamesrt

1612 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1066984 16-Jun-2014 20:14

The Two Faces of January

Set in early 1960s Greece, "Two Faces" tells the story of a young Greek-speaking American (Oscar Isaac), who makes a living as a "tour-guide" (with a sideline of swindling tourists). He comes across an older American man (Viggo Mortensen) and his young wife (Kirsten Dunst), who have gotten themselves into a bit of a problem; and attempts to help them out - for a price. Things rapidly escalate beyond his plans, as the older American is hiding a unexpected secret...

8/10; enjoyable thriller, well directed and acted; and the setting in Greece was wonderful - really want to go there sometime myself!

Hobchild

623 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1067171 16-Jun-2014 23:45

Saw both X-Men: Days of Future Past and A Million Ways to Die in the West tonight and I enjoyed both of them.

X-Men could be a bit confusing sometimes especially with how it related to the previous films and I really wasn't a huge fan of the ending. A good film all in all though. 7.5/10

AMWTDITW was crass and vulgar humour, I loved it. You'll enjoy it if you like Family Guy. 7/10

BurningBeard

1030 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1067239 17-Jun-2014 07:15

TimA: Harry Brown

Good movie.
Tim gives 4/5 stars.

GREAT flick. Caine is in top form.

My very metal Doctor Who theme

ToPGuNZ

389 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1069712 20-Jun-2014 08:20

Mr Peabody and Shearman 2D at the theatre - 5/10 some good moments but mostly very average. The kids thought is was ok but not a favourite.

What We do in the Shadows - 8/10 really enjoyed, very funny, great characters, effects were very controlled and worked in with the humour. I would have liked a larger audience as it would have been more enjoyable to laugh with a lot of other people rather than the handful that was there. Highly recommend seeing this especially with a full house.

Lizard1977

2061 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1071441 21-Jun-2014 09:26

Edge of Tomorrow (2D) - 8/10

A few others have already mentioned Edge of Tomorrow so I won't say too much about it. I quite enjoyed this film - a lot of people have hate for Mr Cruise, but I don't really mind him. He's actually got quite a good sense of comic timing, which is starting to come through in some of his more recent films. While there are glimmers of this in Edge of Tomorrow, I think they could have used the central plot device to show a little more of the absurdity of the situation. A good example of this is the similar story in Stargate SG-1 where Jack O'Neill and Teal'C relive the same day over and over again. They - like Pvt. William Cage in this film - soon realise that when you repeat over and over again, you can take a "day" off. SG-1 came up with some great examples of what you could do when there are no consequences, but Edge of Tomorrow didn't really take full advantage of this.

The other little criticism is that the film didn't spend too long dwelling on what I thought was a crucial moment. [Slight spoiler here - look away now if you want to avoid a small plot detail]

When Cage is broken from the time-loop and no longer repeats each day, it casts a different shadow on his easy acceptance of daily death. Whereas before he was somewhat carefree, knowing that if he died he could "do it over" to get it right. But when the time-loop is broken, he can no longer be so frivolous. I would have liked the film to explore this a little more, showing how we can sometimes take our life for granted when we don't think about our impending deaths, but that it also makes us bolder and more prepared to take risks, a benefit that is diminished once we know that death can come at any second. It encapsulates the "young vs old" dilemma nicely, and the film hints at this but doesn't really spend any time on it.

Overall though, the film is great (minus the last five minutes - which serves up the fairy tale happy ending that Hollywood thinks we all demand).

DarthKermit

5346 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1074151 25-Jun-2014 12:26

Ender's Game

I tried to like it but just didn't. I can't quite put my finger on what was wrong with this film for me.

Man of Steel

This I did enjoy. I got it out on a whim, having avoided it previously because it was just another hollywood remake. Yes it's a remake, but a very slick one.

Whatifthespacekeyhadneverbeeninvented?

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79288 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#1078747 2-Jul-2014 16:20

Watched Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit last night. I am almost contacting Amazon to get my money back. What a piece of bad acting, bad story, bad everything movie.

1 | ... | 143 | 144 | 145 | 146 | 147 | 148 | 149 | 150 | 151 | 152 | 153 | ... | 422