The "last movie I saw" thread

[Northwestcoug]

I really liked it. Maybe my favorite movie I've seen in the last year. All the criticisms I've read here are all fair. I can't explain why I liked it so much. It just really engaged me.

[Jeff Lebowski]

WTF no spoiler alert?!?!

Yeah that's not a movie I would like. Can't understand the 95% on RT.

There is no accounting for taste when it comes to scifi fans.

Note the user reviews on metacritics. Everyone either loves it or hates it.

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/snow...r/user-reviews

This one pretty much sums up my response:

Without doubt, one of the worst films of 2014, as well as of recent years, Snowpiercer was a massive disappointment. Collectively, I'm a fan of several of the actors and behind-the-scenes talent involved with this film, as well as its kind of dystopian setting, so although I knew little about the film I had high hopesfor it - sadly, they were soon dashed. Where to begin?

There were just too many things wrong with it - for a train that's perpetually rocketing around the world, half the film featured zero sense of inertia or speed (even Star Trek's hams could wobble in their seats sometimes), as utterly stationary cast and equipment appeared stage-bound - apart from a few token sequences. We had a rocketing train that conveniently slowed wayyyy down at key expositional points (the Plane Below, the Frozen Exiles), as well as utterly bizarre casting decisions that were never explained (Jamie Bell's bizarre and somewhat patronising "Shoite!" 'Oirish' accent - why?!), while Hurt and Evans regularly over-emoted as though they going for an Academy award. (Just wait til the seemingly endless speech about what Evans used to eat...)


Then, once the story started rolling along into the front, better-off section of the train, it absolutely rocketed into utter silliness. Yes, we get that they're all decadent, parasitic snobs living it up at the front - but did we need slo-mo Eurodisco shots to underline this? (Send in the gimps!) Derivative and dull to sit through, ticking one clichéd box after another, this was the point where I started considering what I could be doing instead of staying on board to the ending.


The film's one - and only - saving grace is Tilda Swinton, who stole every scene with her perfidious Mason character. Half Gollum, half Northern English trade unionist, and half vintage Deirdre Barlow (Irish/British TV audiences will get that reference), her cowardly, sniping, mocking and treacherous ways were an absolute hoot to watch, with her hateful character proving unexpectedly entertaining in each and every scene she was in, while John Hurt was also a reliably engaging presence on screen.


Unfortunately, one brilliant character and an okay-ish set-up do not an entertaining film make, and the initially interesting dystopian set-up soon derails into a cheap - and dare one say, almost grubby-feeling - Eurofilmesque tale, populated with flashes of jarring, stylised uber-violence, an inconsistent narrative, lazy editing, generally cheap-looking CGI/effects and a crashing bore of an ending.


As such, it's 3 points for Tildy's turn, but a big, fat Zero for anything else...

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I'm a big fan of the first Sin City, I thought it was unique and very well done. I thought we were going to see a string of graphic novel movies done the same way. I'm surprised it took 9 years to make a sequel.

I've seen 300 once, it was marginally okay. The Spirit was panned and I never bothered with it. Now Sin City 2 looks like it's total crap.

It appears as if Sin City will retain that uniqueness, all other attempts at the graphic novel against a green screen have been terrible.

[MarkGrace]

I loved the 1st and will see the 2nd.

[Donuthole]

I'm a big fan of the first Sin City, I thought it was unique and very well done. I thought we were going to see a string of graphic novel movies done the same way. I'm surprised it took 9 years to make a sequel.

I've seen 300 once, it was marginally okay. The Spirit was panned and I never bothered with it. Now Sin City 2 looks like it's total crap.

It appears as if Sin City will retain that uniqueness, all other attempts at the graphic novel against a green screen have been terrible.

I really enjoyed the first half of Sin City. My wife made me turn it off at some point and I never got to watch the second half. Seeing the trailers for the new one has reminded me I need to go back and watch the first one all the way through.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I loved the 1st and will see the 2nd.

Richard Roeper loved it. I'm curious what the Cinemascore is on it. Eva Green's boobs alone are enough for the film to earn at least a B+.

[GeoArch]

I should add that if you see "The Giver," you need to stay past the credits. There's a short bonus feature about the making of the movie.

Drat, I saw "The Giver" but didn't stay past the credits.

I'm not really sure how I felt about the movie. It wasn't a bad movie. However, it did feel like something was lost in translation between the book and the film adaptation in terms of message impact and being thought-provoking. I could see the ghosts of those themes in the film adaptation though, and for a lot of people I'm sure it will be enough to be worth watching.

[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).

Listening to an interview with Richard Linklater and he just pushed Synecdoche as his best film of the last 9 years.

[Pelado]

Moonrise Kingdom - Fun and quirky movie - really liked the smoking scoutmaster and "Social Services".

Now You See It - Lots of holes in this one, but still mostly entertaining

[MarkGrace]

Rian Johnson picks his favorite 10 since in the last 9 years:

Holy Motors
Upstream Color
No Country for Old Men
Tree of Life
A Serious Man
Under the Skin
Inglorious Basterds
The Darjeeling Limited
The Master
There Will Be Blood

Some great picks. The only one in there I haven't seen is Under the Skin, which came out this year. He was also interviewed about Star Wars and revealed basically nothing about it despite the questions. Still think he's a terrific pick for the gig.

[CardiacCoug]

The Drop was great. One of the rare movies that my wife and I both really liked.

[Armenag]

Any Whit Stillman fans? I finally saw Barcelona the other night. I liked it, though it wasn't amazing. Last of his that I hadn't seen. I would rank his movies:

1. Metropolitan
2. Barcelona
3. Last Days of Disco
4. Damsels in Distress

His pilot for The Cosmopolitans is up as one of those vote-to-see-the-series-commissioned pilots on Amazon. I thought it was pretty good and would definitely watch the series if made. I'm glad it seems good because my ranking of his movies is also the order in which he made them, which might otherwise be a bad sign.

[MarkGrace]

I watched the pilot for The Cosmopolitans and definitely enjoyed it. The ending felt a little out of place, but I read that it was supposed to be an hour pilot and then either he or someone else didn't like the second half so it got chopped down to a half hour.

[falafel]

I watched the pilot for The Cosmopolitans and definitely enjoyed it. The ending felt a little out of place, but I read that it was supposed to be an hour pilot and then either he or someone else didn't like the second half so it got chopped down to a half hour.

It seemed so forced to me, but then again I am not familiar with his style.

[Armenag]

It seemed so forced to me, but then again I am not familiar with his style.

I can see that. Reactions to Stillman somewhat remind me of those to Wes Anderson -- some people enjoy his work while others find it forced or too artificial. I enjoy both.