The "last movie I saw" thread

[BoylenOver]

"Wordplay"

It's about crosswords, and specifically, The New York Times crossword. It goes into the process of how a crossword is created; some of the people that do crosswords (including Bill Clinton, Mike Mussina, Jon Stewart, and Ken Burns); the history of the NYT crossword; and culminates with the annual "crossword convention".

It's a charming, clever, and interesting insight into the culture of crosswords. I can really appreciate seeing people who are skilled at this quirky and introverted craft turning it into a social, competitive, and even vocational entity.

[Katy Lied]

One of my favorite memories of grad school was starting a marzipan kringle on Saturday night, and baking it on Sunday morning, then laying around all morning doing the NYT crossword puzzle. Sybaritic bliss.

The LA Times Sunday crossword was much harder to me, because its main puzzle words were always some dumb pun.

[Green Lantern]

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The LA Times Sunday crossword was much harder to me, because its main puzzle words were always some dumb pun.

Agreed, those are tough. And I always had trouble with the British ones when I was over there. They use a lot of puns and slang terms. They're a different ballgame.

[BoylenOver]

Also, I saw "Million Dollar Baby" for the first time and rewatched "Memento" in the last few days.

I was surprised by MDB. Great film, and totally not what I was expecting. I got distracted by Jay Baruchel playing Danger, but damn, the three main characters are dynamite.

And what more can be said about "Memento"? I think I enjoyed it a little more the second time around, knowing how the story is presented and being able to pick out different things. So good.

[Green Lantern]

Just watched UP IN THE AIR. That Clooney is a handsome man.

[COUGALICIOUS]

Just watched UP IN THE AIR. That Clooney is a handsome man.

I really loved it. I watched in on back to back nights - I never do that. I didn't realize that it really was smart (or at least trying really really hard to be smart) until after I watched it.

I don't really like Clooney much (though i'd probably rather kiss him than say, Janet Reno) - but, like Nicholas Cage, he's in some of my favorite movies.

[falafel]

I watched Big Trouble last night. It felt like an 80s movie.

[Green Lantern]

I watched Big Trouble last night. It felt like an 80s movie.

The one with Tim Allen and Rene Russo? Yeah, that's a pretty good description.

[UtahDan]

The Road. Not perfect, but it thought it took a decent stab at capturing McCarthy's intentions.

[falafel]

The one with Tim Allen and Rene Russo? Yeah, that's a pretty good description.

That's the one. The music, the costumes, even the location (Miami) all felt very 80s.

[Jacob]

Finally watched The Hurt Locker on a recent flight. I absolutely loved it. For once, I can totally agree with the Oscar for best picture. I loved the suspense. It was certainly not an action movie in the vein of the modern trend of all special effects, no story or character development. But I was on the edge of my seat almost the entire time, even though the pace was slow and usually nothing happened.

And I really liked the ending. I was saddened that this guy keeps leaving his family. It sucks for his family. But the way the character was built, he couldn't have done anything else.

I can't think of a single thing in the movie to complain about.

So, my top movies of last year were:
1. Hurt Locker
2. Avatar


Worst: Brothers

PS - I found The Hurt Locker to be virtuous, of good report and praiseworthy, but I'm not sure about lovely. I think everybody should follow the admonition of Paul and seek after it.

[New Mexican Disaster]

Just watched Legend with my wife who is constantly reliving her childhood. Man that was terrible. I lasted about 45 minutes but they were excruciating. The whole production design was incredibly garish and irritating.

[Green Lantern]

PS - I found The Hurt Locker to be virtuous, of good report and praiseworthy, but I'm not sure about lovely. I think everybody should follow the admonition of Paul and seek after it.

Brilliant! I foresee this taking over for the "two thumbs up" approach.

[MarkGrace]

For those of you geeking out about Firefly, my favorite TV critic, Alan Sepinwall, spends each summer going through completed series and doing commentary/analysis on his blog. His recaps of the first two seasons of The Wire have been awesome, and this summer he's continuing with season 3 while adding Undeclared (he did Freaks and Geeks last summer) and Firefly.

If you're interested: http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-al...r-2010-edition

[Green Lantern]

For those of you geeking out about Firefly, my favorite TV critic, Alan Sepinwall, spends each summer going through completed series and doing commentary/analysis on his blog. His recaps of the first two seasons of The Wire have been awesome, and this summer he's continuing with season 3 while adding Undeclared (he did Freaks and Geeks last summer) and Firefly.

If you're interested: http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-al...r-2010-edition

Sepinwall's stuff is great. Speaking of THE WIRE, if anyone's looking for cheap home viewing options, Hollywood Video is closing its last stores and when I went in there earlier this week every DVD was 99 cents or less. I picked up all five seasons of THE WIRE for $15!