Rate the last movie you watched.

I rewatched...

• Ghost in the Shell (7th time) - 7/10. Relies so much on exposition that it can be confusing and dull at times, but I like its artistry.
• Cowboy Bebop (7th time at least) - 8/10. I miss anime like this. Dumbest thing has to be Ed and Ein tracking the hacker down by his scent.
• Seven Samurai (3rd time I think, but it's been so long that I forgot most of it.) - 10/10
• Beauty and the Beast - 9/10
• Groundhog Day - 8/10

Watched The Sword of Doom. About a wicked samurai. It's gorgeous. Also the most violent classic samurai movie I've seen. Too bad much of it is unresolved. Apparently, it was meant to be the first of a trilogy.

I just got back from watching it as well. I liked it a bit more than you guys, but it wasn't all that good. I've never liked David Yates, and felt his direction was a big step back compared to what Alfonso Cuaron did (hell, I even think the Chris Columbus might be more cinematic in their approach). Just by dint of having been written with the screen in mind makes it better than most of the mainline potter films for me.

And when it is being a lighthearted standalone romp it's pretty enjoyable. Solid acting, some decent jokes. But then that is constantly being intruded on by a darker storyline, that feels tacked on. It's tone is completely at odds with the rest of the film, and it keeps dropping in links to the main series that really clang. Obviously it's setting up a franchise, but that's really part of the problem. Once the "fantastic beasts" plot drops away, that's all you're left with. At that point they also start layering twist upon twist, culminating in a totally unnecessary twist that makes the whole thing collapse, for me. That plot line also ends with a massively unsatisfying downer.I'm not someone who demands a happy ending but it really is a damp squib.

It doesn't help that the film is a constant barrage of scenes that feel lifted from other (better) films - Citizen Kane, Akira, Soylent Green, Men in Black 3... A lot of the action scenes felt like Star Wars, and not the good Star Wars (one scene actually felt to me like an am dram version of the Senate scene from Episode 1) Even the good bits are just Doctor Who with wizards instead of space wizards.

That's a lot of negativity,but I did find it enjoyable. It's the sort of film that is ok in a Cinema but would probably be less enjoyable on a small screen.

@ezekiel: That final sword fight is one of the most intense pieces of filmmaking I've ever seen. It's a shame that we never got more, but I kind of like the way it ended regardless; he's descended into complete madness, so whether or not he makes it out of that fight, you can extrapolate what happens to him (more scenes like this until he meets his match) pretty easily. That might not be how the novel worked out, but it still fits.

Yeah, I like the way it ends too. That last shot captures his essence nicely. But I thought the stories of the vengeful brother and the Mifune character were going somewhere. The brother, for obvious reasons. The Mifune character, because of how intimidated the protagonist was after witnessing his skill in that intense snow battle. I still would probably rate it an 8/10 (at most) because I believe a work like this should be judged as a part of something bigger, even if it's never completed.

@ezekiel: I was also expecting the brother to either challenge him and escape to hire Mifune's character for the vengeance he couldn't pull off, or for some combination of those events, but sadly we'll never know. With that in mind, an 8/10 sounds about right to me as well.

Watched the most recent Godzilla movie last night. It was strangely flat and un-engaging. There wasn't nearly enough monster fighting action and what there was kinda sucked. I could care less about Walter White, his no name son, or his no name son's Olsen twin wife, but for some reason that's what the movie chose to focus on.

5/10

Just got back from Arrival.

I loved it. It was such an interesting approach to an alien encounter movie. The shots of their reactions when first coming in contact with the ship were amazingly done. I felt like they explained the twist at the end a little to thoroughly. But I think that makes sense for the tone of this film; more so than if he did it in his earlier film Enemy. The ideas of language and how that affects the way we perceive reality and others, and how misunderstanding and miscommunication can lead to fear and violence, felt especially poignant during this time.

5/5

We did a horror double feature two nights ago -

Breathing Room - 2/5

Very low budget. In the first 30 seconds I said "Oh no" but kept watching because the premise was interesting. While the camera+camera work and sound is sometimes infuriatingly poor, I remained engaged and the last third actually elevated the movie, imo. It's totally fine. Not amazing, not horrible. It's just really low budget and it doesn't really escape that look and feel, unlike other movies that did more with similar means (Clerks, The Blair Witch Project, etc).

P2 - 4/5

Awesome. Much, much better than expected. The main idea is that a woman is trapped in a parking garage over Christmas Eve. What could have been a tired, cliched slasher movie was instead really well done. No one was stupid for plot reasons, including the damsel in distress main character, which was so refreshing. I honestly will watch this one again. It was fun, had some great gory moments, and the film makers creatively used the setting to their advantage.

Pandorum: It's a pretty cool sci-fi thriller with some neat moments, gorey violence and Dennis Quaid chewing a bit of scenery. There is absolutely nothing to offend but it doesn't really go anywhere beyond being a solid movie. I was entertained for the whole thing. 3/5

I watched Sausage Party and you know, it wasn't as awful as I thought it was going to be. In fact I have to applaud Seth Rogen for putting in that weirdly clever social commentary into what is otherwise a 2 hr long dick joke.

Arrival. Best movie of the year for me. 5/5

Trolls 9/10

The Neon Demon - 6.5 +- .5 (the movie is still fresh on my mind so it might change)/10

• I can see why some people hated this film. It is slow, 90% of the movie is visual instead of having a clearly defined narrative, and despite the fact that you have to interpret the story it is fairly straightforward.
• I loved the movie because I am biased towards Nicholas Winding Refin films. I enjoyed all his films and I think there is a place for his weird abstract style. This one has an almost 70's italian horror feel to it where the film is not doing anything scary, but it always keeps you in a state of uneasiness.
• I think that NWF should just drop the pretense and try to make a completely silent film already. He has come close with films like Valhalla Rising, and The Neon Demon, it just feels like this is something that he wants to do but doesn't have the guts to actually go through with it and this leaves his movies in some sort of weird middle-ground where they aren't quite silent films but they don't have enough exposition to keep the majority of people interested.

After re-watching "A Cat In Paris" with my kindred, I rate it an 8 out of 10 for its artistic direction, simple yet refreshing plot on thievery, and overall pleasing to an adult like myself.

The Handmaiden - Korean period piece con man erotic thriller from the director of Oldboy... of course it was fucking awesome. 4.5/5

Allied - Sexy WWII spy shenanigans with Brad Pitt and Marion Cotilliard, directed by Robert Zemeckis... The first half was awesome, then it just gets silly and dumb. Also, I'm pretty sure they reused the soundtrack from Contact for the last part of the movie. 3/5

Arrival - Pretty good, the ending kinda fell flat for me though (having read the short story, the "twist" didn't really do much for me). Still, Villeneuve is a hell of a director. 4/5

American Pastoral - Intriguing premise (all-American family man dealing with his political terrorist daughter), but god damn the dialogue in this is fucking awful and I'm slowly beginning to suspect that Ewan McGregor isn't a good actor. 2/5

The Player - Traffic was a bitch. 5/5

Movie adaptation of the book "Siege of Jadotville". 4 out of 5 Leopolds. Had all the action, but almost none of the politics. Suppose it was a calculated omission.

@lawgamer said:

I was pretty confused for a second until I realized you meant 2014's Godzilla movie. The most recent Godzilla film was October's Shin Godzilla, but sadly it only had a very limited theatrical run here in the US. With that being said, if you really like old Godzilla movies, and all of the tropes/clichés that go with them, figure out a way to get your hands on Shin Godzilla. It's got 100% less Walter White, his no name son, or his no name son's Olsen twin wife, but 100% more indecisive government officials, poor usage of English, worse special effects that are way better because they are worse, totally impractical plans to stop Godzilla, and totally useless military attacks. The music is killer and they go back to the well to reuse some stuff from the very first Godzilla movie, as indicated by the dope trailer:

It's pure OG Godzilla through and through, with everything that implies.

Elle- 4/5 It's.....interesting.

The Nice Guys 4/5. Honestly, enjoyed this much more than I expected.

Mercy 3/5

It was all right. I liked the cinematography and there was some nice orange lighting.

Arrival was nice. I rate it seven magic languages out of seven.

Kubo and the two strings.

9/10

I liked this movie very much. Probably one of my favorite movies of 2016.

Movie looked great. The boat sequence looks amazing. Overall look for this movie is a great step-up from Boxtrolls. I really hope the box office numbers don`t impact them to much and the keep going. Really wanna see what`s next for them.

@ozzdog12: Can`t agree more. Good movie but somehow i was a bit disappointed. Still looking forward to Shane Black next thought.

Just got back from seeing arrival and loved every minute of it. 5/5

@humanity: Sausage Party made me mad in a way that few movies have ever done. I had heard good things about it so me and my fiancée went to see it and I think she disliked it more than me. I did not think that the films social commentary was smart at all, it just came across like Seth Rogan and his buddies got high and thought they were saying something really profound but non of it worked for me at all and it barley got a chuckle out of me.

I will say, I did like the Saving Private Ryan scene but that's the only nice thing I can say about it.

I saw three movies in theaters this week, which was really fun because I always feel like I don't get to the movies as much as I used to and I miss it.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - It was really enjoyable and it's pretty cool to see a totally new story out of the Harry Potter universe. I really don't think it needs to be a five-film series, or even a trilogy necessarily. I think this type of movie could work well as a one-off film with a nice contained story, but unfortunately that's not how blockbusters go anymore. The lead character mumbled a bit too much, and did this weird thing where he was like always leaning to one side. But I really enjoyed all the side characters and think the series got off to a good start. 4/5 Stars!

Arrival - Had no idea what to expect going in because I hadn't seen the trailer or knew the premise at all other than aliens. Was super interesting and had a cool twist/reveal. 5/5 Stars!

Edge of Seventeen - This one I was very much looking forward to because this kind of movie is right up my alley. Reminded me of The Spectacular Now. 5/5 Stars!

Spectre

The biggest flaw of this movie is how it reverted most, if not every, good changes the new movies made. Now it's back to James sleeping with every woman he encounters (except for Moneypenny), a villain who has a grandiose plan which he tells to Bond before he doesn't kill him (because why kill him instantly to be sure, that's just sound stupid) and classic cartoonish gadgets. On the bright side, if the streak continues then the next movie will be great.

5 / 10

I've been watching a ton of movies recently, way more so than usual.

The Neon Demon. I'm already not a huge fan of Nicolas Winding Refn, but this movie took his pretension to new heights. I never thought a movie could be that far up its own ass. Sure, it's beautifully shot, but it really beats you over the head with its arthouse bullshit, not to mention Refn's signature "long, pensive, silent stares" and characters with zero charisma or energy on screen. The ending is so fucking bizarre that i will at least applaud it for taking me by surprise, but it exists purely for shock value rather than trying to add anything to the barely-there plot. Oh, Keanu Reeves was funny, too. 2/5.

Brothers Grimsby. Way funnier than the trailers made it look. There is some genuinely good stuff here. The elephant scene was so disgustingly over the top that it wasn't even funny, but actually felt out of place. Besides that, great and hilarious perfomances from SBC and Mark Strong. I wouldn't be against a sequel. 4/5

Bad Santa. Not only my second favorite Christmas movie, but one of my favorite comedies of all time. It had been a few years since I've seen it, but it still holds up wonderfully. 5/5

Edward Scissorhands. I had gone my entire life without seeing this until Thanksgiving. I gotta say, it wasn't really what I had always imagined it was like, and in a good way. I enjoyed it quite a bit and it definitely falls in line, stylistically, with Burton's other films from that era. 4/5

Fantastic Beasts. Awesome movie as a diehard Potter fan. Maybe not as whimsical as the Potter films, and Newt Scamander doesn't have much development, but everything about the film is well done and highly enjoyable. 4/5

Red Planet 3/5

I felt compelled to watch this due to the most recent Bombcast/Fisk0. I suppose I enjoyed it. I'd say It's close enough to being a good movie. I really liked the spacesuit design at the very end.

Arrival

It's really very good and you should see it if you would like to watch a harder science fiction story that isn't just trappings for explosions and landmark destruction. Also a must see for anyone who is a linguistics buff and wants to enjoy a world where that is literally the most important thing.

Yojimbo 5/5 - Tightly paced, beautifully shot, and fun to watch.
Sanjuro 5/5 - Same applies above

Love & Pop - 3/5 - It was pretty good. I watched this because it was directed by Hideaki Anno and yes, a lot of it felt like some sort of missing piece of Evangelion. The weird angles, the fish eye lenses, the narrow aspect ratio shots, the switch to inverted colors, the unspoken dialogue text, the trains, the discomfort, the overlaid videos, the introspection, the mocking head-voices, the growth. It's sure something.

Rubin & Ed (1991) - 1.5/5

If you've seen the infamous interview Crispin Glover did on Letterman in '87, Rubin Farr is the character Crispin portrayed on that first appearance. This movie could have been so much more interesting if it was stripped of all the generic tropes of a buddy comedy movie, and leaned more on its weirdness. Because it has its weird moments, and those are the only good moments it has.

Arrival 4/5

Do you like your sci-fi movies borderline nonsensical? Then this is for you.

Wild Things: For some reason this movie kept coming up in conversation, so I rented it over the weekend. This is both better than you remember it (Bill Murray and Robert Wagner are both in this movie! Bill Murray, I assume, ad libbed most of his lines because they are better than the rest of the writing in this movie) and also way less sexy - the scenes that everyone remembers are way shorter than I remembered (teenage me thought Neve Campbell was the more attractive of the two and 31 year old me still agrees). I will continue to defend this movie as a solid noir potboiler to my grave.

3/5 murderous teens

Yeah, I think Showgirls is a good movie. Not great, not wholesome, and not refined; but it is a damn good 'fairy-tale meet cult classic' story.

I'm one of those that believes Verhoeven's intention was to make a satire about the exploitation and hypocrisy of Vegas, where the decent people are the low-level sleaze and the real monsters are the high-level "legitimate" shows. Ex: At, the crappy strip club, Nomi has real friends who under their rough exteriors care, yet at the big hotel show everyone is actually out to demean (and be mean) to each other. She reaches for the top, but finds it not worth it if a true friend has be be victimized and get no justice. No a hard story to wrap your head around, but ist tells the story and completes the circle which most films have a hard time doing.

I'm not sure it does not come out a bit-too camp. And, I do not feel the Verhoeven' intention was hilariously, trashy camp; so he did miss teh mark. Yet, even viewed as such, it is not a badly told story...it might not be art...but it gets the job done.

• Campy? Yes.
• Trashy? Oh, yes!
• Heartless or dull? Never.

Just watched Arrival. Gonna be generous and give it a 3/5.

Great buildup, but the payoff of this was just bad. The first half of the movie is full of good headscratchers, they then turn into bad ones, and the final reveal hit like a wet fart.

Many of my issues with Interstellar were on show here, only Arrival is overall a more interesting and better-made film (also shorter, which certainly helps).

I watched two movies over the weekend:

Kubo and the two strings, was alright was possibly a little too over hyped in my social circle. 3.5 out of 5

Escape from tomorrow: the movie partially filmed on location at Disney world without consent, its interesting as a project and fun in a goofy kind of way but the actual story and acting was hit and miss 2.5 out of 5

The Wicker Man (1973): After finally watching this insanely weird amazing masterpiece, a whole lot of 'Hot Fuzz' References finally made a lot more sense. 4/5

Big Trouble In Little China: Campy action film, making fun of the genre, at it's peak. A great subversion of quite a few genre's. John Carpenter at the height of his power. 4/5

Yojimbo 9/10.

The only reason it's not 10/10 is because Rashomon is 10/10

So I wanted to watch The Godfather Part II, but I watched the original Godfather like 8 years ago, when I still was in high school, so I decided to watch it again to get a refresher.

...Um, yeah...that's a really fucking good movie. I don't want to blow anyone's mind or anything, but that Godfather...pretty damn good movie. I know, it's a really controversial opinion, but I just wanted to put that out there.

The interactions between the 5 families, the drama of the Corleone family, Michael's relationship with Kay... What a masterpiece in cinema.

I must have been a really dumb teenager to not realize what a fucking classic The Godfather is when I watched it for the first time.

@wumbo3000: Is it sad to sad those games are my guilty pleasure?

Lucky Number Slevin. Seen it a couple of times. A fun film with a lot of charm, blending several genres together, most notably action, comedy, drama and even a little thriller. It's directed by Paul McGuigan, who's most notable work includes several episodes of Sherlock and Luke Cage. It's written by Jason Smilovic who's only other writing credit of some note is War Dogs. While the director and writer aren't super well known, I think they've actually cooked together something really interesting, and the film has a nice look to it and tons of good writing and memorable lines. It also plays fast and lose with the concept of time, and that works in it's favour.

The film stars Josh Hartnett (who is a wonderful and underrated actor, glad to see him make somewhat of a comeback of late) and Bruce Willis, with supporting roles from Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, Lucy Liu, Corey Stoll and others. Great cast in other words.

I won't say much about the plot other than it's wholly unpredictable and rather original. The best way to describe it would be a action film made by Wes Anderson, and who doesn't like the sound of that?

Rating: 9/11. No really though, four stars.

The Barkley Marathon 8/10

A good documentary about the trials runners put themselves through in a ~120 mile race that needs to be completed in 40 hours. The doc has some history of the race and follows the then current runners of it as they go through the motions of what has been called the hardest marathon.

Black Hawk Down. 2/10

this movie is bad. it felt like a 2 and a half hour gun fest. there is almost no character development, WAAAAYYY too many characters (im not really sure which one is even supposed to be the "star" of the film. im okay with big dumb action movies, love them even. but this movie takes itself much too seriously. the film should take itself seriously since it is based on true events, but it just seems bad.

Watched some Robert Zemeckis movies.

Beowulf (2007) 1/5 Just a really bland animated fantasy with a story told really poorly. Some of the faces and lighting are still kind of impressive looking but the action scenes are really stiff and show their age.

Contact (1997) 2/5 Cool premise for a sci-fi/drama, the writing is just kind of generic and sappy a lot of the time and some of the acting is also underwhelming, though I think Jodi Foster is fine. The scene where she goes through the wormhole is great.

Flight (2012) 3.5/5 I feel like Denzel Washington almost makes this movie because his performance is near flawless throughout, but the movie in general is well acted, written and directed. The biggest issue I have with it is something I noticed in Contact as well, which is Zemeckis's heavy handed way of including some sort of religious theme into the story. In Contact it makes more sense but even then the way it's handled is odd, and in this one it really stands out in a negative way. Still, good movie.

Millennium Actress - 5/5

This is the first Satoshi Kon film I've ever seen, and I have been missing out on so much. The animation was gorgeous; the way scenes seamlessly flowed into one another was amazing. I liked the story as both a personal journey and a history of Japanese film. That soundtrack was dope too. This was a really great movie.

Late on the Deadpool train. Am I missing something? For being a movie that likes to be pretty self-aware of itself, it's still awfully cliché and generic, from the villain to the thriller tropes to the romantic plot. Maybe that's the point, but it didn't make it any more fun. I liked a couple of jokes and mannerisms, but the whole ride was not worth it. 2/5