The "last movie I saw" thread

[smokymountainrain]

ps this is bullshit a post has to be at least three characters long...

[MarkGrace]

3

ps this is bullshit a post has to be at least three characters long...

I know what you mean. Sometimes I just want to post an emoji and it won't let me do it!

So yeah, Charlie Kaufman wrote Eternal Sunshine. With that movie, Adaptation and Being John Malkovich he pretty much became as big a star as you can being exclusively a screenwriter. His writing was so great that talk of the screenplays ofter overshadowed other aspects of the films. Synecdoche was his directorial debut. People were pretty divided on it (many hated it, many loved; Roger Ebert gave it his film of the decade), but I've been curious about it because I always liked his work in those films mentioned above. Did you see it?

And speaking of Roger Ebert, there's a new documentary about him that is supposedly pretty great.

[Katy Lied]

Eternal Sunshine is one of my all time favorite movies. I remember my best friend seeing it with me, and she went on and on after about how boring it was, and I found the whole thing enchanting. Synecdoche I didn't like.

[jay santos]

I know what you mean. Sometimes I just want to post an emoji and it won't let me do it!

So yeah, Charlie Kaufman wrote Eternal Sunshine. With that movie, Adaptation and Being John Malkovich he pretty much became as big a star as you can being exclusively a screenwriter. His writing was so great that talk of the screenplays ofter overshadowed other aspects of the films. Synecdoche was his directorial debut. People were pretty divided on it (many hated it, many loved; Roger Ebert gave it his film of the decade), but I've been curious about it because I always liked his work in those films mentioned above. Did you see it?

And speaking of Roger Ebert, there's a new documentary about him that is supposedly pretty great.

Duh, of course. Been a long day. I'm a big Charlie Kaufman fan, so I can't believe it slipped my mind he wrote Eternal Sunshine. Of course he's associated with the Spike Jonze films and I know that was his first as a director, but I forgot he did that one. Yes, I loved Synecdoche. First time through I liked it. Second time I loved it. For me it's one of those that if you invest a little, there's a big payoff (like Mulholland Drive or Primer).

[MarkGrace]

Duh, of course. Been a long day. I'm a big Charlie Kaufman fan, so I can't believe it slipped my mind he wrote Eternal Sunshine. Of course he's associated with the Spike Jonze films and I know that was his first as a director, but I forgot he did that one. Yes, I loved Synecdoche. First time through I liked it. Second time I loved it. For me it's one of those that if you invest a little, there's a big payoff (like Mulholland Drive or Primer).

Had a feeling it would be like this. Need to see it, then get ready for a second viewing.

I also need to see Primer again as the first time I spent most of the movie trying to figure out wtf was going on. Upstream Color was similar that way (I'm assuming you've seen it?) but had a little more emotion to it than Primer so it was a bit easier to connect.

[jay santos]

Had a feeling it would be like this. Need to see it, then get ready for a second viewing.

I also need to see Primer again as the first time I spent most of the movie trying to figure out wtf was going on. Upstream Color was similar that way (I'm assuming you've seen it?) but had a little more emotion to it than Primer so it was a bit easier to connect.

First I heard of Upstream Color. I'll check it out. When I watched Primer. I immediately watched it again. Then I read everything I could on the internet. Then watched it two more times, pausing, taking notes. I had diagrams and a page full of notes. Made for a fun weekend. Synecdoche is really nothing that complicated. But it definitely requires some processing, and there's a lot you miss on first viewing.

[woot]

I've only seen Primer once, but really liked it and wouldn't mind trying to unravel it a bit more. Upstream Color, while beautifully shot, is just awful. It's a very different kind of movie though. Primer, despite it's very convoluted plot, was still a pretty standard story-based film. Upstream Color is one of those movies that pretends to have a plot, but really doesn't, and is probably intended to be more about the mood or the themes or something. So I guess if I watched it again trying to think of it as a 2 hour-long painting rather than a story, it's possible I would hate it slightly less. But I generally don't watch movies I hate more than once.

[MarkGrace]

I don't think Upstream Color really pretends to have a plot or specific story. I viewed it as more of a tone poem type thing maybe more along the lines of something you'd see from Malick. Though it's probably even more scattered than his stuff. I loved it. Probably in my top 3 from last year. I enjoyed it much more than Primer, but I've only seen Primer once.

[Commando]

TMNT. I had the graphic novels as a kid and loved those, while I sort of watched the cartoon more just because it was on and I liked TMNT- not because it was particularly compelling; the movie is sort of a mix of the two, so therefore I have a mixed review for this one.

First, the animation is terrific. The opening titles/exposition done in stylistic graphics was very well done and awesome. Also, his is a big, well-funded movie capable of supporting the demands of the story, which is an improvement. ( I understand the first movie(s) in the 90s were indie flicks, which explains a lot of the questionable choices in those) While overall the animated turtles are an upgrade from the clunky Jim Henson costumes, I think a mix of the old and new movie turtles would have been ideal; the new ones are awesome, are impeccably animated, but are wayyyyy too big(and indestructible, apparently The comic book versions definitely bled, whereas these are literally bullet-proof ). The turtles of the comic books are tough but are slightly diminutive. So aside from that complaint, they did a great job portraying that the turtles and shredder were actually skilled, coordinated fighters and didn't rely on camera tricks during the fight scenes. (waist-up fighting, close ups of a guy pretending to get hit in the face with a foam foot).

Second, I really like the casting. I never had a thing for Megan Fox (I didn't even get halfway through the first Transformers), but she is well placed and certainly fun to look at. I like that they cast someone who is actually attractive to attempt to make up for the April O'Neal they cast for the first one, who was so gingery and annoying you are left wondering why everyone is pretending to like her throughout the story. Also, I like that Oroku Saku- The Shredder- is actually Japanese and speaks Japanese- not some mask with the voice of Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince. Also, any movie where Gob has a good supporting role is okay by me.

Third, the thing was filled with winks, nods, easter eggs, and allusions to the cartoon, comics, and various video games (Tonight I dine on turtle soup! ), which was fun.

However, I didn't like how pedestrian the storyline was. I guess there's only so much you can do and you would have some serious identity problems if you didn't make a kid's show at least somewhat palatable for kids, but.. meh. Also, shredder's shreddy knife suit was wayyyy too elaborate. Hopefully they tone it down for the sequel because while it did cool stuff it wasn't necessary at all to advance any of the story lines (or fights for that matter). Oh there is one scene that is so stupid in the writing department I still can't let it go.

Spoiler for Not really a spoiler:

I just think when a person is about to die from being pumped dry of his blood, an infusion of adrenaline doesn't just bring him back. *Unless it's that way for certain kinds of genetic mutants, in which case you must make mention of that.

While the turtles didn't end up being aliens, Michael Bay did deviate from the origins story a bit in order to make April O'Neal a more important character, but I didn't so much mind any of that. I didn't like that Splinter taught himself Ninjitsu from a book and then trained the turtles from what he learned, but I guess that's more plausible than having learned it by mimicking his former owner's movements in his cage as a regular rat.

Overall, it is definitely a popcorn movie from its inception, but I'm disappointed that in this day and age-- where comic book adaptations have sort of figured out how to be good movies --we have a movie whose writing wasn't quite strong enough to put it in the Ironman/Guardians of the Galaxy category. Not to say that it didn't have its moments or wasn't funny or clever in places, but there was a lot of room for improvement. Better writing, some clever music choices, and a cameo by Vanilla Ice could have put this one over the top. B- from me.

[Pheidippides]

SHW and I just saw Don Jon. Fantastic movie, albeit quite profane and explicit (not unintentionally).

[Pelado]

SHW and I just saw Don Jon. Fantastic movie, albeit quite profane and explicit (not unintentionally).

I was surprised at the "moral" of the story.

[LA Ute]

We saw "The Giver" tonight. I don't want to give away any spoilers but I recommend the movie, mainly because I want to see what everyone thinks of it. I liked it a lot but it didn't have the emotional impact I thought it would -- and that may just be because of what I brought to the movie. (Sorry to seem cryptic; I'm avoiding spoilers.) I suspect that you'll walk out after the movie talking and thinking about the story, and regardless of your politics or religious views you'll find themes that resonate with you.

[ERCougar]

We saw "The Giver" tonight. I don't want to give away any spoilers but I recommend the movie, mainly because I want to see what everyone thinks of it. I liked it a lot but it didn't have the emotional impact I thought it would -- and that may just be because of what I brought to the movie. (Sorry to seem cryptic; I'm avoiding spoilers.) I suspect that you'll walk out after the movie talking and thinking about the story, and regardless of your politics or religious views you'll find themes that resonate with you.

I'm interested in this. I just finished the book with my son and have really mixed feelings about it.

[ERCougar]

SHW and I just saw Don Jon. Fantastic movie, albeit quite profane and explicit (not unintentionally).

I almost gave up on this early on because it seemed so cheesy and stupid (and ScarJo as a Jersey girl was just painful). But I had heard a decent review somewhere, so I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. It's too bad so many will be turned off by the porn--it actually has a pretty strong (and effective) anti porn message without getting preachy. I'm also glad he didn't get back with ScarJo's character--I was afraid that was coming.

Overall, still too many corny moments to be "fantastic", but definitely good.

[Pheidippides]

I almost gave up on this early on because it seemed so cheesy and stupid (and ScarJo as a Jersey girl was just painful). But I had heard a decent review somewhere, so I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. It's too bad so many will be turned off by the porn--it actually has a pretty strong (and effective) anti porn message without getting preachy. I'm also glad he didn't get back with ScarJo's character--I was afraid that was coming.

Overall, still too many corny moments to be "fantastic", but definitely good.

I can definitely see that. You are not supposed to like Don Jon at first at all. If you do, then there is something wrong with you. I wish they would have devoted more time to the second part with Julianne Moore. That scene near the end was the only one that was erotic at all. By design, no doubt.

I did completely crack up at the review that called it A Very Special Episode of Jersey Shore.