The "last movie I saw" thread

[MarkGrace]

Ugh. I didn't like that movie. Overrated.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Last night for some reason we watched Source Code. I could have watched an episode and a half of The Wire instead.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Saw Contagion last night at the dollar theater. Overall, I thought it was pretty good. They seemed to keep things within the realm of believability on how epidemics occur. The most depressing thing about it was the fact that this had been the first time I'd been back to this dollar theater since I worked there in high school practically 20 years ago and I couldn't see a single difference.

[BoylenOver]

The Adjustment Bureau. I thought it was a thriller. Turns out it was a click flick.

I wanted to like it, but the ending is brutal.

[MarkGrace]

The Descendants. Really good, with very strong performances from at least a half dozen actors. My bromance with George Clooney continues. Director Alexander Payne (Sideways, About Schmidt, Election, etc.) always does a great job showing the extraordinary aspects of ordinary lives, and rarely if ever do his characters in this movie produce a false note. The family isn't Ensign cover material, but one still feels drawn to them and appreciates their pain, empathy and unity.

Lots of laughs, but I was actually moved to tears 2-3 times, as any spouse or parent will be.

I especially liked the conclusion.

Spoiler for As the credits roll...:

Clooney's character and his two daughters sit down, under a shared comforter, eating ice cream as they're watching March of the Penguins (one never sees the screen, but hears Morgan Freeman's soothing narration). It's a great choice, given that a storyline of that movie shows how the female goes off, leaving the father to protect their offspring under very harsh conditions.

Also, if you like the Islands, you'll see dozens of great shots on Oahu and Kauai, accompanied by a fine soundtrack. An important scene takes place in a favored eatery near Hanalei (Tahiti Nui). I'd also like someone (KL, perhaps?) to tell me where the family estate (supposedly 25,000 acres on Kauai) was shot.

Spoiler for The Comforter:

The comforter was the one the mom had draped over her in the hospital. Not sure if you noticed that. Nice touch. Lots of sentiments for me watching this movie, including the "haole as shit (but I can speak pigeon!) but we have Hawaiian blood." I'm hoping to get the time to express more thoughts. Really loved this film. I can already hear my mom ranting about the lack of Hawaiian/local characters in this thing, but I'm going to try and get her to watch it anyway.

[Mormon Red Death]

Saw the Immortals this morning. Lots of action and an interesting story.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Spoiler for The Comforter:

The comforter was the one the mom had draped over her in the hospital. Not sure if you noticed that. Nice touch. Lots of sentiments for me watching this movie, including the "haole as shit (but I can speak pigeon!) but we have Hawaiian blood." I'm hoping to get the time to express more thoughts. Really loved this film. I can already hear my mom ranting about the lack of Hawaiian/local characters in this thing, but I'm going to try and get her to watch it anyway.

Spoiler for The comforter...:

I hadn't noticed, but when Mrs. PAC and I were discussing the film later, she mentioned this, although she hadn't thought about the March of the Penguins angle, so we kind of enlightened each other. As you observed, a very nice touch. Mrs. PAC makes some great quilts, and she was all over that one, noting the Hawaiian motifs in the comforter/quilt. I've heard, and perhaps even agree, that the film tries hard to be an audience pleaser, but it certainly succeeded with me.

[Soccermom]

Took the fam to Arthur Christmas. It took me a minute to realize Arthur wasn't the guy with glasses from PBS. I thought it was really fun.

We saw that movie yesterday. I really liked it. Exceeded my expectations.

[MarkGrace]

Spoiler for The comforter...:

I hadn't noticed, but when Mrs. PAC and I were discussing the film later, she mentioned this, although she hadn't thought about the March of the Penguins angle, so we kind of enlightened each other. As you observed, a very nice touch. Mrs. PAC makes some great quilts, and she was all over that one, noting the Hawaiian motifs in the comforter/quilt. I've heard, and perhaps even agree, that the film tries hard to be an audience pleaser, but it certainly succeeded with me.

That comforter looks almost exactly like the one my parent's have on their bed. In fact, I swear my parents have half the decorations used in that house. And several of the paintings that turned up in people's homes I'm almost positive were done by Diana Hansen Young. My parents have some of her stuff up in their house, too.

[LA Ute]

The Descendants. Really good, with very strong performances from at least a half dozen actors. My bromance with George Clooney continues. Director Alexander Payne (Sideways, About Schmidt, Election, etc.) always does a great job showing the extraordinary aspects of ordinary lives, and rarely if ever do his characters in this movie produce a false note. The family isn't Ensign cover material, but one still feels drawn to them and appreciates their pain, empathy and unity.

Lots of laughs, but I was actually moved to tears 2-3 times, as any spouse or parent will be.

I especially liked the conclusion.

Spoiler for As the credits roll...:

Clooney's character and his two daughters sit down, under a shared comforter, eating ice cream as they're watching March of the Penguins (one never sees the screen, but hears Morgan Freeman's soothing narration). It's a great choice, given that a storyline of that movie shows how the female goes off, leaving the father to protect their offspring under very harsh conditions.

Also, if you like the Islands, you'll see dozens of great shots on Oahu and Kauai, accompanied by a fine soundtrack. An important scene takes place in a favored eatery near Hanalei (Tahiti Nui). I'd also like someone (KL, perhaps?) to tell me where the family estate (supposedly 25,000 acres on Kauai) was shot.

I saw it last night and loved it. Clooney shows some serious acting chops in this one. I assume he was instrumental in getting the movie made, since he's the only well-known actor in it. I'll bet it gets some Oscar nominations, including Screenplay and Best Actor.

[Levin]

The Muppets and Hugo. Both bored the hell out of me.

The Muppets had way too many self-referential jokes, none of which were that funny.

Hugo was pretty visually, but inert emotionally.

[MarkGrace]

I saw it last night and loved it. Clooney shows some serious acting chops in this one. I assume he was instrumental in getting the movie made, since he's the only well-known actor in it. I'll bet it gets some Oscar nominations, including Screenplay and Best Actor.

Ha. Payne doesn't need clooney to get a movie made, but otherwise I agree. . Clooney is already the front-runner for best actor and I'm sure this will get a best pic nom as well.

[Surfah]

Ha. Payne doesn't need clooney to get a movie made, but otherwise I agree. . Clooney is already the front-runner for best actor and I'm sure this will get a best pic nom as well.

I need to see this movie.

[LA Ute]

Ha. Payne doesn't need clooney to get a movie made, but otherwise I agree. . Clooney is already the front-runner for best actor and I'm sure this will get a best pic nom as well.

Just my speculation as to why Clooney was the only name actor in the flick. In L.A. it's being released mostly in the art houses.

EDIT: Another possibility is that Clooney wanted to be in the movie and asked to be in it. That's what Geraldine Page did with "The Trip to Bountiful." She got paid scale for her work and won Best Actress.

[Katy Lied]

Daybreakers, by all accounts a lame vampire movie, except with some interesting thoughts.

In this movie, people selectively choose to become vampires or not. Some make the choice because they've just received a devastating cancer diagnosis and they are not ready to die, rich people opt for it because they want to live forever in never ending pleasure, our protagonist becomes a vampire against his will when he is attacked by his brother, who wants to live forever and doesn't want to live without his best friend.

The filmmakers look at the logistics of a vampire society. If you start with one vampire who needs to feed on human blood say, once per month, then in two months, there will be an additional vampire, in 3 months there will be 4 vampires, and so on, each month adding more vampires to demand while at the same time diminishing the supply. In 34 months' time, there will be 7 billion vamps and no humans to feed off of. This movie takes place in such a time, when rich vampires capture and deposit human victims in private blood banks for their personal blood supply, and poor vampires roam the streets feeding on other vampires because it is the only blood they can get, even though it changes them into subhuman batlike creatures.