The "last movie I saw" thread

[PaloAltoCougar]

Get On Up. I'd give the movie only a B because the director got too gimmicky with the nonlinear storyline and odd moments of the star talking directly to the camera/audience, and the film could have been shortened up a bit. But... Chadwick Boseman (42) as the King of Soul was absolutely great, as were Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer in much smaller roles. And if you enjoy James Brown, you'll love pretty much every performance, and there are quite a few. The movie doesn't shy away from showing him as the conflicted, messed up dude that he was frequently throughout his life.


It was also a sentimental journey for me. In June 1970, some friends (all white) and I performed the final act of our HS's Senior Show, lip-synching "Ain't It Funky Now." A pal since grade school, and to whom I'm still close, did a superb Mr. Dynamite, while four of us played his Famous Flames. We had great costumes, had a nice back-up band, and managed to do the rolling splits, funky chicken, and hitchhike. We closed by placing a cape over our crouching star, who jumped up and danced off stage right. Filmed in spectacular 8mm, it may someday appear on YouTube.

[New Mexican Disaster]

Get On Up. I'd give the movie only a B because the director got too gimmicky with the nonlinear storyline and odd moments of the star talking directly to the camera/audience, and the film could have been shortened up a bit. But... Chadwick Boseman (42) as the King of Soul was absolutely great, as were Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer in much smaller roles. And if you enjoy James Brown, you'll love pretty much every performance, and there are quite a few. The movie doesn't shy away from showing him as the conflicted, messed up dude that he was frequently throughout his life.


It was also a sentimental journey for me. In June 1970, some friends (all white) and I performed the final act of our HS's Senior Show, lip-synching "Ain't It Funky Now." A pal since grade school, and to whom I'm still close, did a superb Mr. Dynamite, while four of us played his Famous Flames. We had great costumes, had a nice back-up band, and managed to do the rolling splits, funky chicken, and hitchhike. We closed by placing a cape over our crouching star, who jumped up and danced off stage right. Filmed in spectacular 8mm, it may someday appear on YouTube.

Took my daughter to see this last night. JB has been our thing since she was about 5 years old, so she really wanted to go with me. When it became clear that James had children by multiple women, she turned to me in shock and said "but he's already married???!!? First biography of a famous figure. I enjoyed the movie but it was difficult at times to understand what James was saying.

I have to admit that at the scene where he is about to walk on stage at the end, I was pretty amused that it was almost an exact replica of the scene in "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story., where Dewey has to think about his entire life before he plays. That scene was a parody before it was even released.

[Green Monstah]

Lucy. Probably the best film I've seen this summer. It does cover familiar themes, but presents them in a unique way. One of the measures of whether I like a film is if it is thought-provoking after the credits roll.

I will probably have to re-watch to understand the final line of the film, but I love stuff like that.

I'm not a huge science fiction fan, so I was surprised how much I enjoyed it (did Scarlett Johansen have something to do with that? Can't say for sure.)

[Jeff Lebowski]

Lucy. Probably the best film I've seen this summer. It does cover familiar themes, but presents them in a unique way. One of the measures of whether I like a film is if it is thought-provoking after the credits roll.

I will probably have to re-watch to understand the final line of the film, but I love stuff like that.

I'm not a huge science fiction fan, so I was surprised how much I enjoyed it (did Scarlett Johansen have something to do with that? Can't say for sure.)

I think this is the first positive recommendation I have seen for this film.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Captain America: Winter Soldier. Not nearly as terrible as the first one. I even stayed awake!

[falafel]

Captain America: Ghost Soldier. Not nearly as terrible as the first one. I even stayed awake!

Apparently not awake enough to catch the actual name of the film: The Winter Soldier.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Apparently not awake enough to catch the actual name of the film: The Winter Soldier.

Hah. I had already fixed my post before you caught this. Smarty pants!

[The_Douger]

I watched "Undefeated" on Netflix streaming which is a football documentary about a coach and his team in Memphis as they try to turn around their football program from it's losing ways. It's very inner city and many of the kids are in bad situations at home or have had run ins with the law. Their goal was to win a playoff game as their school had never accomplished that. I really liked it.

[falafel]

Hah. I had already fixed my post before you caught this. Smarty pants!

Not according to the quote in my post! Smarty pants! (please don't use your editorial powers to correct it, please)

[Jeff Lebowski]

Not according to the quote in my post! Smarty pants! (please don't use your editorial powers to correct it, please)

No I typed faster than you. I hit return and then your post popped up 30 seconds later.

[Green Monstah]

I think this is the first positive recommendation I have seen for this film.

I can see why some people would not enjoy the film, but it's probably a result of high expectations (SJ and Morgan Freeman). I went in expecting that I would not like it, since I'm not a sci-fi guy, but I enjoyed the way they presented the story, and it put a new, thought-provoking spin on a theme that Hollywood has hashed a few times in my lifetime. I can't guarantee you'll like it, but I enjoyed it a lot. I may be giving the film more praise than it merits because this summer has been a shitty one for film. It may simly be that Lucy didn't bore me to death like most of this summer's movies.

[Moliere]

Transcendence: Maybe the worst movie I've seen this year. Really dumb, which is sad as the main idea could have been used for something interesting. I wonder if Morgan Freeman is just out to collect checks at this point

[Pelado]

Transcendence: Maybe the worst movie I've seen this year. Really dumb, which is sad as the main idea could have been used for something interesting. I wonder if Morgan Freeman is just out to collect checks at this point

Bucket_list_poster.jpg

[falafel]

Transcendence: Maybe the worst movie I've seen this year. Really dumb, which is sad as the main idea could have been used for something interesting. I wonder if Morgan Freeman is just out to collect checks at this point

He's over 80, isn't he? Its incredible that he's still in so many movies at that age. He fell asleep in an interview a little while back.

[Katy Lied]

I can see why some people would not enjoy the film, but it's probably a result of high expectations (SJ and Morgan Freeman). I went in expecting that I would not like it, since I'm not a sci-fi guy, but I enjoyed the way they presented the story, and it put a new, thought-provoking spin on a theme that Hollywood has hashed a few times in my lifetime. I can't guarantee you'll like it, but I enjoyed it a lot. I may be giving the film more praise than it merits because this summer has been a shitty one for film. It may simly be that Lucy didn't bore me to death like most of this summer's movies.

I respect your cinema opinions, so your review causes me to rethink Lucy. What can you tell me to back me off from my belief that Lucy is just Limitless meets La Femme Nikita? (O crap-- I just realized that Luc Besson filmed both Lucy and La Femme Nikita-- now you wont be able to sway me from thinking this is new wine in an old bottle.)