Periodic Movie Review

Talk about anything under the sun or stars - but keep it civil. This is where we really get to know each other. Everyone is welcome, and invited!
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Postby Caspian » Wed Dec 15, 2010 7:15 am

locke, you are entitled to your opinion of Narnia, but I think you're putting your finger exactly on a major problem of Hollywood as it currently exists. If you don't want to be faithful to the source material, why not just make something original? There's an enormous amount of (what I think is misplaced) hubris in saying "This is a classic piece of literature, beloved by millions, and I'm going to fix everything that is wrong with it."
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Postby Mich » Wed Dec 15, 2010 10:18 am

Watched a Kid's Christmas in Chicago tonight, aka Home Alone. Good God, this movie is absolutely magic. It's brilliant on a classic pratfalls level with the things Kevin puts Marv and Harry through, but what makes the movie wonderful and perfect is the other 80% of the movie that actually achieves a truly wonderful christmas movie all on its own, even without the booby trapped house you have a wonderfully magical and magically told Christmas story that is moving and completely worthwhile. That's what makes the difference for home alone, the filmmakers took the time to let you get to care about the characters, not just Kevin, but his mother and Father as well. They spend 90 minutes just developing the story of the family and then have a comic climax with the villains, but the heart and soul of the movie is always the family story at the core.

Also, Columbus might have directed the most quoteable short film ever, Angels with Filthy Souls. "Leave it on the Doorstep and get the hell out of here." "I'm gonna give you to the count of ten to get your ugly yellow no good keister off my property before I pump your guts full of lead." "One, Two... Ten." "Keep the Change you filthy Animal." "Too bad Acey ain't in charge anymore."

:)
I've been wanting to rewatch this a lot lately, mostly, for some reason, to see John Candy's bits. But you're right, there's a heck of a lot to love in that movie. I shall watch it soon!
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Postby Nehali Sophia » Wed Dec 15, 2010 10:13 pm

Meanwhile, I had the pleasure of watching the delightful Taare Zameen Par yesterday, and I'd totally recommend it to anyone who felt grossly misunderstood in school, or has a learning disability, or is a parent/sibling/teacher of a kid with a learning disability. I'd recommend it to anyone, really, because it's a delight of a movie, but especially to the aforementioned

.........

There was also a scene which was the most l'Archey thing I've seen since leaving l'Arche. It made my heart ache with the memories and I hope so much that the school in question actually exists.

........

Anyway, it's a fabulous movie. I enjoyed that there were no Bad Guys, really, only people who didn't understand the situation. Sure they're unlikable, but they're not evil or unredeemed. The music is used to very good effect, and helps with the characterisation - it's not random at all.

.........


Anyway, just some thoughts.
Glad you liked it! I'll try to think of more movies to recommend. In the mean time, there's always those books I've suggested!
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Postby Eaquae Legit » Thu Dec 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Yes please! Although I don't remember the book titles, and I totally forgot to ask you about those songs, too.
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Postby Gravity Defier » Sat Dec 18, 2010 11:49 pm

This isn't a review at all but I wasn't sure where else to stash it.

The last movie of 2010 I'm greatly looking forward to (if it actually gets released here) is Blue Valentine; if not, it'll be one of the first in 2011. Ryan Gosling makes some great movies (Lars and the Real Girl, Half Nelson) and I expect this to be such a one.

On a considerably cheesier level, I'm looking forward to Take Me Home Tonight, which comes out in March 2011. That it is named after the Eddie Money song makes it about 100 times better to begin with.

Our only standing Christmas tradition is to see a movie on Christmas day but my brother and I are mighty disappointed with our options this year. We may see Tron or Tangled, the former a movie he's already seen, but the pickings sure are slim.
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Postby Eaquae Legit » Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:31 am

We just saw Tangled. It's not up to, say, Up or Wall-E, but it was well done and enjoyable and worth the trip.

I have to say, the villain in this one is one of the most repulsive characters Disney has ever created, probably because everyone has a villain like that in their life. Wowza.
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Postby Janus%TheDoorman » Sun Dec 19, 2010 9:25 am

Saw TRON: Legacy. Good, but, and I know how this sounds, a bit plot-heavy. It felt like they had a plot-ready made for any generic adventure movie and just sort of wrapped Tron around it. All the bits I actually came to see - the Lightcycles, the Disc Battles, had almost no relevance to the plot whatsoever, and felt a bit forced, and bit short, like they were just throwing people a bone so they could move on with their story. It feels like they had a checklist of necessary Tron bits, and just shoved them in where they could.

And the actual story was somewhat poorly constructed. I'll avoid spoilers, but there are some major unresolved questions at the end. I was kind of expecting this to be a love-letter to fans, full of passion for the raw creativity that Tron's virtual reality inspired back in the 80s, and it just wasn't. I left satisfied, but it could have been so much more.
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Postby Gravity Defier » Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:26 pm

Jeff Bridges played Jeff Bridges in Tron: Legacy; I found it distracting and disappointing.

My only other comment on the movie was wondering to my brother how it was that it took nearly two hours for the movie considering what happened in it, or rather, what didn't happen.

I wanted to like it more than I did but alas.



As for How Do You Know, it tried to be an intellectual rom-com and failed at all three aspects; it wasn't all that smart, romantic, or comedic. Mostly, it was awkward.
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Postby Wil » Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:17 pm

I went opening weekend to see TR2N, and I paid the stupid-amount of money for the IMAX 3D screening. I'm not quite sure it was worth the $17 ticket, but I very much liked how the 3D wasn't so overbearing and was more subtle. Enough to just draw you in to the movie without making it impossible to look elsewhere in the scene without getting sick.

Interesting tidbit here: I wanted to watch the original TRON first, before seeing the new one, but I just couldn't get in to it. So, I got drunk, and THEN I watched it. Great movie to watch drunk. But I enjoyed it, and it made it seem less draggy.

CG Clu/Jeff Bridges looked pretty good considering, but still CG.

Plot wise, TR2N wasn't anything super special, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. It took a little bit of work for me to get past them using computer terms in ways that made no sense (apparently a computer 'cycles' about 50 times a year?), however I did really love that they used real unix terminal commands (grep, kill, whoami, looking through the history file) instead of just making s*** up, so that helped me forgive them.

In the long run, I think they did a great job bringing TRON more in to the future, the pacing felt good, the music was awesome, the ending was epic, I liked the inclusion of the Iso's, Olivia Wilde is still hot even when she's playing an innocent yet kick-ass existential AI, and hopefully they make enough back in box-office and DVD sales to make a sequel to wrap everything up.

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Postby Gravity Defier » Sun Jan 16, 2011 6:46 pm

"Get Him to the Greek" was everything I was hoping "The Hangover" would be and ultimately wasn't. I think GHttG benefited from having a smaller profile/following than Hangover, which, in my opinion, was way overhyped, awkward, and not particularly funny in a lot of parts; the exception for me was the Lone Wolf speech. Crude humor and speech, to say the least, sex, drugs, and of course rock and roll were all involved, so I wouldn't recommend this to a majority of the female members of Pweb.

P. Diddy was surprisingly hilarious and probably my favorite character in the movie and I got a giggle-esque thing out of the nod to "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." This was, hands down, the funniest movie I've seen in recent memory.


Now, causing me to laugh for all the wrong reasons was "Sex and the City 2." Had I seen this for the first time as a 3/4 year old, I'd probably be gushing about how wonderfully bad it is but I saw it this month and there's really no excuse for it. It was completely removed from the SatC brand I grew to enjoy on HBO and for the first time ever, I was able to see just what it was that so many people told me they hated about Carrie Bradshaw. Was she always so selfish, self-centered, childish, petty, and passive aggressive? I'm afraid to go back and watch the series for fear I'll see those things and have it all ruined for me.

It was over the top -laughably so if you can picture S1E1 while watching- unrealistic to the extreme, and the story it told was just so stupid 90% of the time that the few parts I enjoyed may as well not have been there. This was one of the biggest disappointments of my cinematic life.
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Postby waffleman » Sun Jan 16, 2011 7:18 pm

I personally haven't seen a good movie in mainstream for a while. All Hollywood is good for in my opinion is the effects. The only reason I watch the movies is for animation. The plot lines never original or interesting enough for me. Comedy is usually just plain stupid. I prefer older movies and though this last part might destroy the chance of anyone agreeing with the above. I am 13 years old.
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Postby mr_thebrain » Sun Jan 16, 2011 10:32 pm

I prefer older movies.... I am 13 years old.
not agreeing or disagreeing, but this begs the question how old are the movies you're watching.
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Postby zeroguy » Mon Jan 17, 2011 1:08 am

Due to various circumstances, I saw what I'm pretty sure is the newest Harry Potter movie a few weeks ago (Deathly Hallows pt 1, I think?). Which is a little strange, since I haven't read most of the books, and I haven't seen any of the other movies.

The best part of that movie was the animated short story thing they had in the middle. That was really cool! The rest of the movie... not really worth talking about.
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Postby waffleman » Mon Jan 17, 2011 6:34 am

I prefer movies before 2003 or so. Cant put an exact date since there are always some good movies popping through the strangling nets of Hollywood.

One of my favorite comedies is Charlie Chaplin though i don't literally laugh out loud. I don't really like silent movies other then that and so I mean movies with sound and at least decent black and white footage ( some super old movies are really hard to see and a good storyline is hard to portray)
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Postby locke » Mon Jan 17, 2011 2:37 pm

I prefer movies before 2003 or so.
That reminds me of something said at the Golden Globes last night.
Were you guys even born when the first Toy Story came out?
Good movies that came out of hollywood this year:

Inception
Karate Kid
Flipped
Kick Ass
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Shutter Island
Waiting for Superman
Black Swan
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
The Social Network
Despicable Me
Toy Story 3
How to Train Your Dragon
The Town
The Expendables
Tangled
Unstoppable
Iron Man 2
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.

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Postby waffleman » Mon Jan 17, 2011 3:59 pm

Inception: Okay movie too complicated and nothing too special
Karate Kid: Enjoyed simple movie
Flipped: never heard of it.
Kick Ass: Never watched looks stupid
Exit Through the Gift Shop:Never heard of it
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Not very interesting read the book.
Shutter Island: Never watched people I know didn't like it
Waiting for Superman: Never heard of it
Black Swan: never watched
Scott Pilgrim vs The World: Want to watch
The Social Network: Heard it was ok.
Despicable Me: Too childish
Toy Story 3: Okay movie nothing SUPER original.
How to Train Your Dragon: Pretty boring...
The Town: Never heard of it.
The Expendables: I dont know
Tangled: Looks boring
Unstoppable: Never heard of it
Iron Man 2: Not very original at all..
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Postby Jayelle » Mon Jan 17, 2011 8:56 pm

I prefer movies before 2003 or so.
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Postby LilBee91 » Mon Jan 17, 2011 9:34 pm

I prefer movies before 2003 or so.
Geddoff my lawn.
I feel old. Since when are the movies from my childhood considered older films? It was only the 90s....
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Postby mr_thebrain » Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:44 pm

could be worse, my childhood was the 80s

but he's thirteen that makes him a product of what, '98?

that's the flippin' year i graduated high school. i'm old enough to be his dad. wtf
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Postby powerfulcheese04 » Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:46 pm

I prefer movies before 2003 or so.
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Postby Jayelle » Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:29 pm

Not yet. Have you seen the stuff most 13 year olds put on the internet? This newbie can spell and use sentences!
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Postby waffleman » Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:13 pm

Not yet. Have you seen the stuff most 13 year olds put on the internet? This newbie can spell and use sentences!
A compliment?Anyway I have a friend who thinks I am awful at grammar.
My biggest mistake is staying away from commas.
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Postby Mich » Wed Jan 19, 2011 7:37 pm

Ugh, you know what's worse than no commas? Too many commas. I will gladly take too-few over too-many, any, day.
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Postby waffleman » Thu Jan 20, 2011 7:17 pm

Anyway I probably shouldn't have posted that I am a 13 year old until I had built up some sort of reputation. Then you wouldnt be thinking that it is only a 13 year old writing this post. I dont blame you its just how our brains work.

This remind you of anyone in the book :wink:
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Postby mr_thebrain » Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:42 pm

don't worry, we don't hold your age against you in any way.

i don't think you're even the youngest member we've ever had.
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Postby zeroguy » Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:55 pm

Eh, I started posting around here when I was 13. You're definitely posting way more coherently and understandably than I did for years.
Ugh, you know what's worse than no commas? Too many commas. I will gladly take too-few over too-many, any, day.
Dude, like, commas, are, seriously, like, awesome. I, for one, will not stand for your anti-comma giraffe.
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Postby Eaquae Legit » Fri Jan 21, 2011 5:01 am

Yeah, we're really not fussed by age. It's a forum about Ender's Game, after all.
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Postby jotabe » Fri Jan 21, 2011 5:39 am

Ugh, you know what's worse than no commas? Too many commas. I will gladly take too-few over too-many, any, day.
There, is, no, such, thing, as, too, many, commas; you, will, learn, to, love, them, or, else...
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Postby Syphon the Sun » Thu Jan 27, 2011 7:40 am

I liked Despicable Me way too much for an adult.
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Postby Rei » Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:57 am

I laughed pretty good in that film. I'm hoping a certain amount of misanthropy is good for a person or I'm in trouble...
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Postby Eaquae Legit » Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:24 pm

I liked Despicable Me way too much for an adult.
It was one of my favourite films all year.
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Postby locke » Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:29 am

sooooo fluffy!
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.

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Postby Mich » Mon Feb 14, 2011 10:22 am

I finally saw Toy Story 3 AND The Princess and the Frog AND The Shining.

They were all great! It's pretty strange that I had gone that long before watching The Shining, since I'm a huge Stephen King fan and a pretty big Kubrick one [Which makes me think of a conversation I had with my friend a few weeks back. Friend: "Kubrick is pretty great." Me: "You mean was great." Friend: "What do you mean?" Me: "He's kind of dead." Friend: "What? Since when?" Me: "Um, the nineties?"], and it was really good. I am a huge Kubrick fan, though, so it's pretty clear I'm not going to bash it for not being true to the book.

Princess, though, was like "hey, Disney is still good at doing 2D! Yay for John Lasseter!" And enough said.

And I, like so many movie audiences, had to hold back a tear or two at Toy Story 3. Just about the most bittersweet ending you can imagine. In fact, a heck of a lot of that movie was kind of heartbreaking. Like, from the start to the finish. Animation was top-notch, too, but that's pretty much to be expected.
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Postby Gravity Defier » Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:56 pm

Eat, Pray, Love: long, preachy, slow-paced, and boring. I felt too bad about turning it off but I kind of wish I had and had walked my dogs instead.
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Postby Luet » Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:18 am

Well, that just confirms my complete lack of desire to see it.
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