The "last movie I saw" thread

[jay santos]

Saw Precious over the weekend. Wow, very very difficult movie. Powerful film.

[jay santos]

On Tuesday, we watched THE BOX with Cameron Diaz. It's directed by Richard Kelly, who did DONNIE DARKO. Man, talk about a guy who likes to bite off more than he can chew. It was a "kitchen sink" movie: Lots of interesting ideas and good filmmaking all in service to a plot and screenplay that really needed some help. I mean, murder, brainwashing, aliens, conspiracies, the afterlife. Man, what a crazy movie. This movie failed, but it was an ambitious failure, which I always find kind of endearing.

The Box was awful. Donnie Darko was great, but after his last two (didn't see the one before The Box but hear it was just as bad), it seems he just got lucky with it. Absolutely no point to The Box.

[Donuthole]

I finally saw "Crash". I have to say that I heard so much over the past 4-5 years about it being overrated that I was pleasantly surprised. Sandra Bullock is annoying, as always, but the other actors were great. I'm certainly not going to complain about a little Jen Esposito nudity, and I thought the Persian actress, Bahar Soomekh, was absolutely stunning.

[Green Lantern]

The Box was awful. Donnie Darko was great, but after his last two (didn't see the one before The Box but hear it was just as bad), it seems he just got lucky with it. Absolutely no point to The Box.

Yeah, I'm trying to decide whether he got lucky as you say or if he just had wiser people around him telling him what to cut on DARKO. If you watch the director's cut of DARKO, it's kind of a disaster too. We often trumpet the virtues of unfettered directorial control in Hollywood without understanding the consequences. Film is a collaborative medium and sometimes the best films result from people NOT being allowed to indulge their every whim and "vision." I think Kelly is definitely one of those guys. Give him a good editor and a producer with a strong but compassionate hand and I bet we'll see some brilliant work.

[Green Lantern]

I finally saw "Crash". I have to say that I heard so much over the past 4-5 years about it being overrated that I was pleasantly surprised. Sandra Bullock is annoying, as always, but the other actors were great. I'm certainly not going to complain about a little Jen Esposito nudity, and I thought the Persian actress, Bahar Soomekh, was absolutely stunning.

I didn't like CRASH all that much but I will say that I became a fan of Michael Pena (the locksmith character) because of the movie. I thought he was great.

[Green Lantern]

The Tower Theatre in Salt Lake had the latest in their monthly classic movie series last night. They screened the 1929 silent film classic PANDORA'S BOX with live organ accompaniment by Blaine Gale, the organist from Salt Lake's silent movie house The Organ Loft. Watching silent film takes some getting used to, but this one was excellent.

And yes, I went to this instead of watching the Duke/Butler game. I can't explain it either.

[BoylenOver]

"Phoebe in Wonderland"

Pretty good. Elle Fanning is unbelievable, and I love Patricia Clarkson. It just seemed to miss its mark execution-wise.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Took the grandkids yesterday to see How to Train Your Dragon, Dreamworks' latest animated effort. It was very nicely done and the little ones liked it a lot, despite some early scary scenes. Clever dialog, a nice story line and excellent CG animation.

[clackamascoug]

Tsotsi - No not Tootsie

I scout ahead on the comcast movie channels, and DVR the 4 star movies for future watching. We haven't gone to theaters for years, and there are lots of good movies I haven't seen, to draw upon.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Yesterday on a plane I watched The Box with Cameron Diaz. I apologize if this offends anyone but there is only one way to describe that movie. Shit sandwich. I can not think of one positive thing to say about that movie.

[Green Lantern]

Yesterday on a plane I watched The Box with Cameron Diaz. I apologize if this offends anyone but there is only one way to describe that movie. Shit sandwich. I can not think of one positive thing to say about that movie.

I'm starting to think THE BOX should have its own thread just so we can start listing the innumerable ways in which that movie advances the art of sucking.

[Fiyero]

The best line from Date Night:

Realtor: (showing a laaaaarge house) It used to be listed for 1.8 mil, but is now only 320,000.

Potential buyer: I'd like to wait a while and see if it comes down.

[Green Lantern]

Watched A Prophet, which is a pretty cool story about a Corsican Muslim sent to prison for six years for getting into a fight with a police officer. To the Corsican mafia in the jail the youth is another Muslim, but to the Muslims, he is another Corsican. He has no friends or family on the outside and he is illiterate. When the Corsican mafia threatens to kill him if he doesn't assist in the murder of a fellow Muslim informant, the youth balks, but finally capitulates. His involvement in the assassination wins him some protection and begins his prison criminal career. He discovers within himself criminal talent so profound that other criminals who see his sudden rise wonder if he isn't some kind of prophet, capable of knowing things that other humans don't. This is a cool crime film that shows a peek into a French prison, which isn't so different than an American prison, except an old guard of traditional European gangsters is slowing being overtaken by a new prison population of Muslim immigrants. I liked the film very much.

I saw this last night and also thought it was excellent. The acting by Tahar Rahim in the main role was just incredible. It's pretty hard to convey that kind of growth and progression in a movie without resorting to the "bigger is better" style of acting favored by Hollywood. He was subtle and believable the whole time. I'd recommend this film to any fans of GODFATHER-esque crime sagas. Also, Cesar Luciani is one of the best crime bosses in recent movie history. I kind of wish he would've played Jack Nicholson's part in THE DEPARTED.

[Katy Lied]

Finally saw Brothers last night and really liked it. After Tobey Maguire's breathless ingenue performances in the Spiderman series (even the "dark" one), I really liked his restrained acting. And I've like Jake Gillenhall since, well, Bubble Boy.

I found the one scene where he is a prisoner in Afghanistan horrific, even though everything happened off camera. It made me queasy.

This is the kind of movie (I'm not drawing parallels to Saw I-VII mind you) where you wonder afterwards what you would be capable of in order to survive.

Hurt Locker draws out the suspense and makes your stomach ache from the tension. In Brothers the violence is sudden and unexpected and flares up and then subsides in an instant.

[RobinFinderson]

I saw this last night and also thought it was excellent. The acting by Tahar Rahim in the main role was just incredible. It's pretty hard to convey that kind of growth and progression in a movie without resorting to the "bigger is better" style of acting favored by Hollywood. He was subtle and believable the whole time. I'd recommend this film to any fans of GODFATHER-esque crime sagas. Also, Cesar Luciani is one of the best crime bosses in recent movie history. I kind of wish he would've played Jack Nicholson's part in THE DEPARTED.

It was really great, no? I'm glad someone else had the chance to see it. One of the things that I like about watching a lot of foreign movies is how (often) all of the actors are new to me. It sure helps to see the characters as real people instead of seeing them as some famous actor playing a role. Tahar Rahim nails his performance, and shows some impressive range, but really, the whole cast is superb.

One of the things that I love about the film industry is how every year a handful of gems come along that simply rejuvenate my love for the medium. This was certainly one of those wonderful discoveries.