The "last movie I saw" thread

[PaloAltoCougar]

I'll join LAU and Paperback in recommending The Way Way Back. With no explosions (other than a fireworks display) or CGI, it was a refreshing change from standard summer fare, a very nice coming of age movie about a young teenager dealing with pretty screwed up adults. Written by two of the three guys (Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, sans Alexander Payne) who wrote The Descendants (and the two have brief but funny roles in the movie), the script is nicely done. Steve Carell does a good job at playing a completely unfunny jerk. Lots of other good performers, including the painfully awkward teen, Liam James.

[The_Tick]

The Heat.

Inapropriatly...funny as hell.

Haven't laughed that hard since the first Hangover.

[thesaint258]

I saw a double feature last weekend. The Conjuring was the first show. Probably the best horror/haunt/possession/exorcism movie I've seen in years. While it certainly used its fair share of horror cliches (family dog won't go into the new house, etc.) they were subtle enough that didn't bother me like they usually do. The cinematography is stunning, and the plot and visual effects both held their own. All in all, pretty darn good. Also, it's a well-done period piece, so that always helps hold my interest.

The second movie was some Korean movie called Secretly, Greatly, about a North Korean spy stationed as a village idiot in South Korea. Totally sucked. Awful. I did enjoy being the only non-Asian in the movie theater. I imagine I felt an awful lot like ts258 at Sunday dinner with his future in-laws.

I need to learn Cantonese...

[Katy Lied]

Surprised that DH liked The Conjuring. Patrick Wilson is in it.

I did like Here Comes the Boom, but how much of a sports movie is it, really?

[Green Lantern]

Saw Only God Forgives last night. It's Nicolas Winding Refn's follow-up to Drive and, like that movie, stars Ryan Gosling as a man-of-few-words with a penchant for extreme violence. However, unlike that 2011 movie, this movie is absolutely terrible. Refn is phenomenally skilled at framing his shots and using colors and lighting to set a mood; every scene looks artfully composed. But in the end it's a lot of directorial flourish in the service of what? A muddled, violent tone poem with ugly characters, incestuous overtones and no real themes to speak of. There's nothing to latch onto here, just ugliness for the sake of ugliness. Gosling doesn't do the film any favors. His angry, intense, wordless glare thing is growing tiresome, especially when he doesn't balance it with any kind of feeling or softness. The film comes across as a giant pretentious (and, worst of all, totally humorless) mess that leaves you thankful when the credits roll.

Worst movie I've seen this year.

[MarkGrace]

I'm still excited to see it.

[Surfah]

Saw Only God Forgives last night. It's Nicolas Winding Refn's follow-up to Drive and, like that movie, stars Ryan Gosling as a man-of-few-words with a penchant for extreme violence. However, unlike that 2011 movie, this movie is absolutely terrible. Refn is phenomenally skilled at framing his shots and using colors and lighting to set a mood; every scene looks artfully composed. But in the end it's a lot of directorial flourish in the service of what? A muddled, violent tone poem with ugly characters, incestuous overtones and no real themes to speak of. There's nothing to latch onto here, just ugliness for the sake of ugliness. Gosling doesn't do the film any favors. His angry, intense, wordless glare thing is growing tiresome, especially when he doesn't balance it with any kind of feeling or softness. The film comes across as a giant pretentious (and, worst of all, totally humorless) mess that leaves you thankful when the credits roll.

Worst movie I've seen this year.

It's been getting killed. I saw one review that said it might not be the worst movie he's ever seen, but it is in it's top 5.

[Commando]

Surprised that DH liked The Conjuring. Patrick Wilson is in it.

I did like Here Comes the Boom, but how much of a sports movie is it, really?

From Weezer?

[jay santos]

Saw Only God Forgives last night. It's Nicolas Winding Refn's follow-up to Drive and, like that movie, stars Ryan Gosling as a man-of-few-words with a penchant for extreme violence. However, unlike that 2011 movie, this movie is absolutely terrible. Refn is phenomenally skilled at framing his shots and using colors and lighting to set a mood; every scene looks artfully composed. But in the end it's a lot of directorial flourish in the service of what? A muddled, violent tone poem with ugly characters, incestuous overtones and no real themes to speak of. There's nothing to latch onto here, just ugliness for the sake of ugliness. Gosling doesn't do the film any favors. His angry, intense, wordless glare thing is growing tiresome, especially when he doesn't balance it with any kind of feeling or softness. The film comes across as a giant pretentious (and, worst of all, totally humorless) mess that leaves you thankful when the credits roll.

Worst movie I've seen this year.

So sad. That's kinda the same vibe I'm getting from other reviews. I loved Drive so much. It might be my fav film of the last five years. I was really looking forward to this one.

[Northwestcoug]

I saw a double feature last weekend. The Conjuring was the first show. Probably the best horror/haunt/possession/exorcism movie I've seen in years. While it certainly used its fair share of horror cliches (family dog won't go into the new house, etc.) they were subtle enough that didn't bother me like they usually do. The cinematography is stunning, and the plot and visual effects both held their own. All in all, pretty darn good. Also, it's a well-done period piece, so that always helps hold my interest.

Agreed. Some genuinely scary scenes. And the cliches (what horror movie doesn't have them?) are not too annoying. A solid 'B' for me.

[Green Lantern]

I'm still excited to see it.

Hey, when I see something terrible, I'm always hoping at least a few other people see it so we can argue/commiserate about the experience. (See also: Lars von Trier's Antichrist.)

[MarkGrace]

Hey, when I see something terrible, I'm always hoping at least a few other people see it so we can argue/commiserate about the experience. (See also: Lars von Trier's Antichrist.)

I think it's pretty awesome that you have four star reviews from the Guardian and Roeper saying it's one of the best films this year, contrasted against "it's the worst movie I've ever seen" kind of stuff. The "it's shitty" camp definitely seems much bigger than the former, however. That said, I'm expecting such a pile of crap I'll probably still enjoy it because it won't be as bad as I'm expecting at this point. I'm the pornographer of cinema! Refn...lol.

[MarkGrace]

So sad. That's kinda the same vibe I'm getting from other reviews. I loved Drive so much. It might be my fav film of the last five years. I was really looking forward to this one.

Well you can always work your way backward instead. Bronson, Pusher Trilogy, etc. Some really liked Valhalla Rising, but I couldn't get into it.

[Katy Lied]

From Weezer?

patrick_wilson.jpg

[jay santos]

Well you can always work your way backward instead. Bronson, Pusher Trilogy, etc. Some really liked Valhalla Rising, but I couldn't get into it.

I tried Valhalla Rising. Very different. Didn't love it, but I give it a mild thumbs up. I was planning on getting to the Pusher Trilogy.