The "last movie I saw" thread

[Jeff Lebowski]

This was the midnight movie at the Tower last weekend and it was great seeing it with a crowd. What an absolutely pitch-perfect movie. It improves and gets funnier every single time I see it. "This is what happens Larry!"

Yep. Like most Coen Bros movies it is character driven rather than plot driven. And it succeeds in that area brilliantly.

[Donuthole]

We watched that on Netflix last night. It was fine.

On Netflix?

[The_Douger]

On Netflix?

They mailed it to us. It's out on video. Not yet on streaming, I just checked.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

My wife DVRd this Marilyn Monroe documentary that's running on HBO. It's lol terrible. It has a number of movie actors reciting lines from Marilyn Monroe's diaries and almost all of them are over the top. I saw a reviewer say "this documentary turns Monroe's personal notes into the Vagina Monologues."

It's so pretentious and self-important, I had to turn it off after about 15 minutes.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Saw Before Midnight a couple days ago. Its the best of the trilogy, in my opinion. If you liked Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, you definitely need to see Before Midnight (but I'm sure you already knew that).

I couldn't decide whether Sunrise or Sunset made me want to gouge my eyes out more. To steal a line from you, I can't think of two movies I found more boring and vapid. Though I'll probably watch the third still, just to finish it. lol.

MG, I always appreciate your reviews and am on the same page most of the time, but I suspect we'll disagree pretty significantly on Before Midnight (I'm curious if you've seen it yet). I thought the first two Befores were good, though not great. The dialogue was interesting and seemed very honest. But Before Midnight is, as UVA observed, the best of the three. It came as a welcome change from the usual summer fare (not a single explosion!).

This movie, which is essentially four different conversations between the two stars plus an interesting group dinner conversation that lays out the movie's themes, is an interesting study in male and female views of things. It's also a bit depressing at times, as a common theme throughout reminded me of something RobinFinderson (and others, certainly) have observed here and elsewhere (wish I could find that thread): that people change and a couple can't expect to feel the same toward each other at 40 as they did at 20--life-long relationships are necessarily the exception, not the rule. The film's penultimate scene is a disturbing, but well done, argument between the two that should provide a lot of grist to couples who like to parse a movie after the fact, as we did.

It's rated R for language and an extended scene involving foreplay and Julie Delpy's exposed rack--perhaps the least erotic scene involving lovemaking I've ever seen, so don't get your hopes up. Although it's scoring in the 90s on Rotten Tomatoes for both critics and audiences, I'm certain that's a function of the self-selection process among the audience. Show this to the masses and it'll score lower than 50%. If you don't like talking head movies, stay away.

By the way, the male side of the argument was the clear winner. Trust me on this.

[jay santos]

Man of Steel. Really disliked it. Almost hated it. Too much crashing around and destruction. After a while, all that destruction just palls. How many more buildings were going to collapse? And if that world machine really did the damage that the movie shows, earth is pretty much kaput.

I was really offended when they took the Man of Steel and transformed him from a Moses figure, savior of the Jews, to a Christ figure, savior of the entire earth. So Christ is the one, not Mohammed nor the Jewish Savior or anyone from all of the other religions? That's sort of presumptuous in a Hollywood movie. Now if it were playing at the Joseph Smith Building, that's another matter.

I did like it when Superman hits the sound barrier. I also liked what the "S" meant.

Agree with this review. BORING. But Katy, I have no idea what you mean in your second paragraph. Expound?

Also, I kept falling asleep, so I'm not sure if I missed some stuff, but it seems like the Superman/Lois Lane love story was really underdeveloped. It's pretty much the only interesting thing about Superman. And Indy, trashing on Margot Kidder?? That's not cool.

[Indy Coug]

And Indy, trashing on Margot Kidder?? That's not cool.

Holy shit, has there ever been a worse leading lady? Superman is good looking and has super vision and Margot Kidder is the best he can do? Is it her 3-pack-a-day voice that softly and sweetly beguiles him? Was it her impassioned crying scene in the pink honeymoon suite that cemented their painfully co-dependent relationship (BTW, that has to be one of the worst-acted crying scenes ever)?

[jay santos]

Holy shit, has there ever been a worse leading lady? Superman is good looking and has super vision and Margot Kidder is the best he can do? Is it her 3-pack-a-day voice that softly and sweetly beguiles him? Was it her impassioned crying scene in the pink honeymoon suite that cemented their painfully co-dependent relationship (BTW, that has to be one of the worst-acted crying scenes ever)?

I don't know if it's prejudice for what you liked when you were young or the poor integration of special effects and drama that modern film makers struggle with or what, but I liken this to the Star Wars problems. The original had great acting, good actors, romance and emotion that touched you. The modern versions were just robotic and stale. I like Amy Adams, but I didn't feel any emotional connection. Then again, maybe I'm just dead inside.

[Indy Coug]

I don't know if it's prejudice for what you liked when you were young or the poor integration of special effects and drama that modern film makers struggle with or what, but I liken this to the Star Wars problems. The original had great acting, good actors, romance and emotion that touched you. The modern versions were just robotic and stale. I like Amy Adams, but I didn't feel any emotional connection. Then again, maybe I'm just dead inside.

Amy Adams wasn't great in her role -- she just didn't annoy the hell out of me.

EDIT: Besides, Amy Adams is a lapsed Mormon, so I have to cut her some slack.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Holy shit, has there ever been a worse leading lady? Superman is good looking and has super vision and Margot Kidder is the best he can do? Is it her 3-pack-a-day voice that softly and sweetly beguiles him? Was it her impassioned crying scene in the pink honeymoon suite that cemented their painfully co-dependent relationship (BTW, that has to be one of the worst-acted crying scenes ever)?

You know who else was up for that role in the original? Anne Archer -- one of the inaugural members of the Sela Ward HoF. She was hot from the 70s all the way through the 90s. Anne Archer totally discredited the premise of Fatal Attraction; why the hell would Michael Douglas cheat on Anne Archer with Glenn Close of all people?

This recent version of Superman did feature a Sela Ward HoF Mount Rushmore member -- Diane Lane.

[cougjunkie]

This is the end is pretty damn funny. Danny McBride slayed it.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[dabrockster]

Holy shit, has there ever been a worse leading lady? Superman is good looking and has super vision and Margot Kidder is the best he can do? Is it her 3-pack-a-day voice that softly and sweetly beguiles him? Was it her impassioned crying scene in the pink honeymoon suite that cemented their painfully co-dependent relationship (BTW, that has to be one of the worst-acted crying scenes ever)?

[Katy Lied]

World War Z. I had such low expectations for this movie, given all the confusion and re-writes and dustups between star Brad Pitt and the Director Marc Forster. Much better than I anticipated. It was undeniably scary at times. I agree with critics who claim that Forster is not a proven action director-- most of his action scenes seem lifted from other movies.

For example, this scene from the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report is absolutely reproduced in WWZ:



But there were other scenes that were fabulous. I liked the North Korean solution to their zombie problem. I liked the airplane scene. Director Forster is really adept at shooting high priced zombie swarms, although the most scary scenes do NOT feature swarms-- it's almost as if the swarms have too much action and not enough suspense, if you know what I mean. Lots of scary scenes though, I would watch the sequel.

This was much more of a military movie than you might think. It was very interesting-- soldiers spend all their time watching for, and being vigilant about potential threats. Here, their worst nightmares have come true, and the world is on the brink of collapse, and the military springs into action. They are in their element. And somewhat smug about how much better they are equipped because they prepared. But doing all the logistical things they need to do to save the world.

The only thing I found laughable was

Spoiler for spoiler:

the scene in the WHO Health Research Center, where they keep the world's supply of infectious viruses in a glass vault protected only with a door code. I think it was The Hot Zone where I read that the CDC keeps that stuff 6 stories under the ground, each floor protected by an air lock and door locks galore, and you're not allowed near the stuff unless you follow a bunch of safety protocols and don protective gear.

[Coach McGuirk]

Man of Steel was a piece of shit.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Thanks for the reviews on Superman everyone. I don't think I will even bother when it comes to DVD.