Man i just finished watching Dogtooth, a Greek film from 2009 about a father and mother hiding the reality outside their home from their 3 adult children whilst brainwashing them. It is like Plato's Allagory of the cave. It was a weird movie but very interesting and i couldn't peel my eyes away from the screen. Id give it a watch, its up in full and subbed on youtube. Gotta thank thank Elliot on the Flophouse podcast for recommending this movie during the Village episode.
I also watched Godzilla and X-Men Days of Future Past today. X-Men was really fantastic, I think i liked it more than most of the Marvel studios standalone movies (except for Cap 2, haven't seen that). Godzilla was pretty good, was a bit let down by it not having the classic theme in it but it was good. I just wish they would of kept Bryan Cranston as the lead instead of killing him early so "Kick-ass" could be the lead.
I decided to watch the first 15 minutes of Pacific Rim because I missed that part when I saw it in theaters, and the movie was on HBO Go. Then it was over before I knew it. I could watch robots fight giant monsters all day long. My friend thinks I'm unnaturally inclined towards this movie because it's basically a live action anime, that happens to have Charlie Day and Ron Perlman in it, and he claims my affection for both is on record. If liking robots and Ron Perlman is wrong, then I don't want to be right. 8/10
Judy Dench is in master acting mode, and the writing and story(true, was a book first, and the male co-star wrote the screenplay btw)are heart wrenching.
Really? I thought bought Godzilla and X-Men DOFP had really cheesy dialogue parts. Which normally I wouldn't have minded but both the movies took themselves incredibly seriously so it lessened my enjoyment quite a bit. Godzilla's monsters scenes were great but it's like they weren't even trying in the drama parts. Crazy old conspiracy theorist who no one believes, sergeant who has a baby waiting back at home. Come on. X-Men though had the one scene that I would call the best in 2014 so far, where the fast kid clears everyone in the room, that was brilliant. I wish rest of the movie could hold up to that.
The fact that Joaquin Phoenix hasn't won an Academy Award yet astounds me. He is one of the best actors working today. In Her, The Master and Walk the Line he is amazing.
@shortbreadtom: I agree. His performance in The Master was at least comparable to -- if not better than -- Day Lewis' in Lincoln. Not that I care about awards, but The Master has certainly got the shaft, especially in the Oscars. PTA not getting nominated for his direction nor screenplay was baffling.
Anyway, I watched Nymphomaniac Vol. I and II a while back. The first part was decent; the direction and writing were very good. The second part, however, was disappointing. The storyline just got really absurd and it dragged on for too long. Ultimately, I was disappointed with the movie as a whole. I think the other two films of the trilogy were better, especially Melancholia.
I liked it better than any other Marvel movies (the current franchise only, not counting X-Men), The Avengers included. Certainly vastly superior to that turd that was Iron Man 3.
Burke and Hare, from 2010. It's a comedy based on the famous graverobbers/murderers from the early 1800s. It was alright. It had some mildly funny moments but it wasn't anything special. It's unfortunate, because with a cast of Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, and Tim Curry, and John Landis directing, it should have been fucking spectacular.
@apparatus_unearth: It looks and feels nothing like the first one. Visually and with the style of action it's a lot more in line with The Avengers and Iron Man movies. I still liked the first one though. Chris Evans as Captain America is quickly becoming my favorite character of that whole group.
Really? I thought bought Godzilla and X-Men DOFP had really cheesy dialogue parts. Which normally I wouldn't have minded but both the movies took themselves incredibly seriously so it lessened my enjoyment quite a bit. Godzilla's monsters scenes were great but it's like they weren't even trying in the drama parts. Crazy old conspiracy theorist who no one believes, sergeant who has a baby waiting back at home. Come on. X-Men though had the one scene that I would call the best in 2014 so far, where the fast kid clears everyone in the room, that was brilliant. I wish rest of the movie could hold up to that.
Have not seen Godzilla but wholeheartedly agree with everything you wrote about X-Men. There is a weird inconsistency about the action scenes too. Some of them feel kind of sluggish while others are pretty great especially of course the scene you mentioned which really is perfect. I'd say it's about on par with First Class, maybe a little bit better.
X-Men: Days of Future Past: 3/5
The Lego Movie: 4/5I'm torn between a three and four for this one but I'll give it the better score because of how refreshing the approach to this movie is. It really looks fantastic and is extremely colorful (sometimes overwhelmingly so) but it can also be kind of messy and convoluted. In some spots simpler might have been better. Still a very enjoyable movie.
I saw 47 Ronin over the weekend. That movie had wonderful visual design and nothing else. Keanu Reeves was absolutely terrible and so was his beard. 2/5?
@militantfreudian: I'm thinking about watching Nymphomaniac, but don't know if I want to invest that much time into it. Does it benefit from being two movies? Or can I watch the first half and ignore the second?
The Normal Heart, which is a movie going on HBO right now about some of the first few years of the aids crisis and how it impacted some of the homosexual community and also follows this one guy (I'm so shit with names) played by Mark "That's the face you're going with?" Ruffalo who's a very vocal activist to spread awareness of what is going on. It was really great, the personal scenes between Mark and his boyfriend in the film were great and super touching. The absolute horrific shit that gay men had to put up with during the crisis was just gut wrenching. And it was just really good. A complete downer of a movie, by the end you feel like such crap emotionally but it's worth watching for the two perspectives the movie gives of the personal touch and the "here is what was going on back then." Also it was great seeing Julia Roberts actually be in a good movie since forever. 5/5 hard to watch if movies get to you emotionally but worth the watch.
I saw Divergent with my roommates about a week ago, since 'Teenage Romance Dystopian Something???' movies usually rank perfectly fine with me. We're all pretty avid fans of The Hunger Games, as awful as that probably sounds for a group of twenty year olds.
It was one of the biggest messes I've seen in years, and I don't even think I have very high standards. Very poorly explained premise, flat characters with no motives, unnecessary, misappropriated sexual assault scenes that supposedly weren't in the book, and so many set pieces that it was impossible to tell what was going on. The pacing was awful for a 2+ hours long movie. The plot didn't show up until about half way through, and it was way too weak to carry my interest at that point.
I also couldn't recognize the love interest no matter how many times they showed him or how many times he spoke. The guy that looked like Future Macklemore stuck out more than him.
3/10, and just because even bad movies can be semi-enjoyable in a group. I'm going to stick to waiting for Mockingjay for my dystopian war romance fix.
Godzilla- 2 out of 5. Conflicting motivations, a plastic leading actor, weak monster designs, and overwrought pacing outweigh the few decently directed scenes and also who put that teapot on?
3/5. It wasn't bad. Liam neelson was awesome as always. But i dunno i was expecting a more interesting plot and circumstances. It just felt very plain and by the numbers. An average movie. Also very forgettable, i watched it the other day and I'm honestly starting to struggle to remember things about it, thats not failing memory, its just bland as shit.
Princess Mononoke - Fucking 5/5. A masterpiece of a movie. Not much to say really. It's probably my new favorite Studio Ghibli movie.
Lego Movie - 4/5 I thought it was awesome. I would've given it a 5/5, but there were quite a few times where I wasn't laughing at any of the jokes and it was just kinda meh. Most of the time though, they knocked it out of the park. The double-decker couch and spaceship bits had me fucking losing it.
Monsters - 5/5. Another one of the best movies I've seen in a while. I was watching RLM's review of Godzilla and one of the hosts brought this movie up and I decided to go check it out and, man oh man, I loved it. Despite being called "Monsters," it's focus is pretty much the human element of the equation, but it never forgets the monster side of things either so to speak. It's labeled a sci-fi movie, but the only thing that's even remotely sci-fi about it is the monsters themselves. Still, even if you're a hardocre sci-fi fan, or you enjoy monster movies, or dramas, or if looking for anything other than a comedy really, then I implore you to watch this movie.
@shortbreadtom: To be honest, I'm not really sure if you can entirely skip the second part; it is a four-hour movie. The movie is basically snippets from the life of the main character. It's a frame story, in which the main characters recounts certain events of her life to an old intellectual man, who tries link these events to things he's read about. In my opinion, that was the best part of the movie, and it continues to be good, even in the second volume. The first volume ends on a cliffhanger that in a way drives the events of the second volume.
What can I say? Jack Nicholson is the eternal legend and the script moves at a whirlwind pace with absolutely stellar dialogue and intrigue. Jerry Goldsmiths soundtrack is one of the most incredible ever performed, and whilst the direction is a bit stiff, it's a competent framework for the rest to really shine.
Iron Sky. All I knew going in was "moon Nazis", and that it was probably stupid. Well, suprise, it was incredibly, amazingly, catastrophically stupid. And yet, somehow, I had a mostly fun time watching it. I should probably state here that I was in a heavily altered conscious state, since that surely had something to do with it. It was poorly directed, written, acted...everything. Still, they go some places in that movie I wasn't expecting, ad I somehow managed to have a good time. 4/5, even if I'll never watch that piece of shit movie again.
Really enjoyed it, pretty great story. Surprisingly little action but not to the movies determent. Also goddamn right you better bring back Cyclops you sonsabitches. Dude leads the team shouldn't have killed him in the first place.
X-Men DOFP. 4 Stars (max movie review stars). Liked it a lot. Performances were great; seriously since first class that franchise is stuffed with engaging performances. The character writing has empathy and soul, and the action is well placed and exciting. It would be nice if they wrapped up the franchise in a movie or two (even if that won't happen) because many actors will age out of the roles (Hugh Jackman) and at some point the movies'll probably wrap around to being middling again.
This is a horror-comedy about a monster that lives inside of a dude's ass. It's a manifest of his stress, and when he becomes too stressed, it comes out of his ass and kills whoever has wronged him. So...yeah. I really, really liked this movie. It's definitely a comedy more than anything else, and it has a fantastic cast including Ken Marino, Patrick Warburton, and Peter Stormare. It's really dumb and gross and it knows it. It's also, in a very strange way, kind of sweet. They manage to make a monster that lives in a guy's asshole kinda cute at times. I'll say that since it was rated R, I wish they really went for more gore, because apart from one pretty fucked up scene that I'm surprised they didn't cut away from, there's nothing too crazy in the movie. Still, it was really damn funny in a way that a lot of movies like this aren't.
@shortbreadtom: I'm admittedly pretty behind on what's happening in the comics. Last Xmen comics I read was the Joss Whedon run where Cyclops lost his powers an still managed to kick all kinds of ass. But that was a while ago.
I don't understand the love this movie got to be honest, its a movie about slavery and adds nothing to the equation. The pacing was awful and the only noteable performance was Fassbender. Just didn't feel like a best picture nomination let alone winner.
Gravity - 3/5
Movie is gorgeous to look at and I wish I watched it in IMAX last year but we didn't. Just it is predictable and I found it hard to go along with what's happening. Some very cheesy parts in a movie trying to be serious.
Alex nailed his review on screened some years ago, i didnt expect the characters to be so wonderfully expressed and developed through so few and seemingly simple interactions. Three howling wolves out of three
The premise of this movie was great, A Philosophy teacher challenges his graduating class with a final thought experiment where he makes them decide who should live and who should die. If you took a philosophy class you probably learned about Unitarianism then you'd understand whats going on here. The first 2 scenarios it goes through you see the students trying to make their decisions through reasoning logic, allowing those with the best assets to survival into the bunker then see if the decisions they made would lead them to survive. Its alright, entertaining but not great. The characters are all interesting. Its the 3rd scenario and the ending that totally ruins this movie.
Spoilers if you're interested in watching, which i still would recommend on a rainy afternoon.
For the 3rd scenario the group allows Petra, the smartest girl in class, to choose the survivors instead of voting. She choose the 10 individuals that don't contain any logic or reasoning behind her choices, other than that they fun and everyone has equal value. It completely throws out the rest of the movie. And to top that off you find out the the teacher is having sexual relations with Petra, and since shes leaving him and going off to college with her boyfriend he kills himself.
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