What Movie Did You Just Watch? - Forever

PeterPanfan · Post by **PeterPanfan** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:47 pm

Lazario wrote:
PeterPanfan wrote:Night of the Living Dead - A little overrated. The acting was horrible, but the cinematography was very good.
The color version? I mean, the 1990 color movie?

No, the original black-and-white 1968 version.

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 4:15 pm

Save the Last Dance- I've always liked this movie a lot, and I hadn't seen it in years. It's such a good movie. It feels very real, and I like the relationship between the two leads. A+

Goliath · Post by **Goliath** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 5:57 pm

Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Finally I've seen it! (Premiered November, 26 in The Netherlands.) The expectations were very high, based on the trailer (the best trailer ever -see below). While it was a good film and I liked it overall, my expectations weren't matched. I agree with the basic premise and message of the film, and it uses the right facts and examples to illustrate its point, but two things rubbed me the wrong way:

1.) The overkill of examples of people who got screwed by "the system", versus too little time spend on explaining the basis of the current economic crisis. Of course people are hurt badly by the financial meltdown and its consequences and I feel for each and every one of them, but after a couple of examples, Mr. Moore made his point already. But I felt he went over the Reagan-period much too quick. It was with Reagan that the beginnings of today's crisis lay, and Moore should have sorted this out better.

2.) The way Moore spend virtually no time on Clinton's policies and the way he inconsistently first criticized Obama's picks for cabinet positions (financial failures and causes of the crisis Larry Summers and Tim Geitner) and then praised Obama and pretended that he would bring change to the country, while still pointing out how much money Obama received from big banks and Wall Street firms. Moore should've made up his mind.

Other than that, good film (just not as great as Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11).

Trailer was exceptional. Especially the last part, with the music and the images edited to the sound of shots being fired. Very powerful:

<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JeROnVUADj0&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JeROnVUADj0&hl=nl_NL&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

Lazario · Post by **Lazario** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 7:20 pm

PeterPanfan wrote:
Lazario wrote: The color version? I mean, the 1990 color movie?
No, the original black-and-white 1968 version.

I'm pretty daft most of the time- this is the first rave I've heard of this film's cinematography.

And I'm not huge fan of the film myself, but your basic dislike for it almost makes me want to defend it.

I mean, with a film like this, the last thing I'll ever complain about is the acting. Really bad acting can kill a movie, but that's a rare occurence. My personal philosophy with acting (is just like special effects): if the story is smart and the director is ambitious and knows exactly what they're doing... the acting doesn't matter. The film's implications about race are enough by themselves to make acting quality a non-issue. And then of course... all actors back then were incredibly stiff and reserved. Until the moment when action called for them to do something. I usually ignore what would pass for social commentary in this movie and focus on the action. Which kind of amounts to schlock in these current times.

Here's where the me-being-daft part comes in: I wouldn't know bad acting if it accosted me in the street and recited Shakespeare right in my face. At least according to other peoples' observations. My most infamous 2 are the first "Alan Willis" on The Jeffersons and Stephen Lack from Scanners. I thought they were perfect. But everyone I've come across tells me they stunk. There's definitely a pattern here... It must have been my attention focused on the wrong things. But the last thing I'd fault Night of the Living Dead for is the acting. I loved Barbara. Everyone else knows how dated this portrayal of a woman is, but I don't care. I enjoyed her hysteria. Only 2 other horror heroines ever did this better (Shelley Duvall in The Shining and Marilyn Burns in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

Margos · Post by **Margos** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:23 pm

Hercules - You know, the gag timing was very similar to TPatF, but the design (especially of the characters) was a lot more sort of "fast and loose." I do love the songs in this, but there is a segment of the score that has always sounded suspiciously like "Hellfire." (I'm referring to the very end of "Go the Distance," btw.) All in all, an excellent movie. Is it the tone that I personally would have liked to see a Greek mythology film done in? No. But it's so funny that I don't care, and the relationship between Meg and Herc is just so perfect. Lovely film.

Toy Story - It's weird. This is one of those movies that it considered a masterpiece, a classic, etc. And it does deserve that. It's a very enjoyable film, and quite funny, too. But it is very easily overshadowed by its much more emotional and heartfelt sequel. In fact, Pixar's first movie is perhaps most impressive just because it was their first. Could it compete with say "Up" or "WALL-E" if it was released today? Absolutely not. It's not very powerful in comparison to their more recent pictures. And what's more, the computer animation feels extremely clunky and dated (more on the humans than the toys, really, but Scud was just a terrible-looking character, also). It's still great and I do love it, but I think it is most interesting as a comparison, like "Gee, Pixar sure has come a long way in 15 years!" Not bashing it.... Just think it's pretty highly overrated. And it is a very impressive first effort.

Cordy_Biddle · Post by **Cordy_Biddle** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:43 pm

When Time Ran Out... - Rather tepid recycling of concepts from Irwin Allen's disaster favourite 'Poseidon Adventure', this time set on a Pacific island with a long-dormat volcano that's about to cause a looloo of a natural disaster! Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset and William Holden star. I was most pleased to see lovely Valentina Cortese amongst the star-studded supporting cast.

zackisthewalrus · Post by **zackisthewalrus** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 11:31 pm

A Goofy Movie - This is the only DisneyToon Studios movie that I really enjoy (aside from Ducktales: The Movie). It's a great heartfelt movie that really strikes into modern aspects (Well, 90s aspects. Haha). The music is great! I really want Disney to release a new DVD with a 16x9 transfer instead of the fool screen crap on the current DVD. I want the FULL picture!

Cordy_Biddle · Post by **Cordy_Biddle** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 11:53 pm

Margos wrote:Hercules - You know, the gag timing was very similar to TPatF, but the design (especially of the characters) was a lot more sort of "fast and loose." I do love the songs in this, but there is a segment of the score that has always sounded suspiciously like "Hellfire." (I'm referring to the very end of "Go the Distance," btw.) All in all, an excellent movie. Is it the tone that I personally would have liked to see a Greek mythology film done in? No. But it's so funny that I don't care, and the relationship between Meg and Herc is just so perfect. Lovely film.
.

And it's also the closest a Disney heroine has come to being a true femme fatale.... Meg is quite close in spirit to an animated Barbara Stanwyck.

PixarFan2006 · Post by **PixarFan2006** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 7:17 am

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm - This was a pretty good animated comic book film. It kind of makes me want to watch TAS now (Which I never really watched as a kid).

Margos · Post by **Margos** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 9:55 am

Cordy_Biddle wrote: And it's also the closest a Disney heroine has come to being a true femme fatale.... Meg is quite close in spirit to an animated Barbara Stanwyck.

Well, one could make the arguement for Jessica Rabbit.... although that's really more of a facade than her true nature, I guess.

dvdjunkie · Post by **dvdjunkie** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 2:27 pm

Last night, Saturday, December 12, we watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince along with a ton of other people on the BD Live Event of the Year presented by Warner Brothers, and hosted by Daniel Radcliffe, David Heywood and members of the production staff. It was the most memorable three and a half hours of television. We got to see some behind-the-scenes stuff in the making of HBP, and then as a fitting conclusion to the night we were treated to an 8-minute clip from the still in production "Deathly Hallows" film which will be released in two parts, Part 1 - 11/2010 and Part 2 - 7/2011. Best time ever, and now I an convinced that Blu-ray is here to stay.

Cordy_Biddle · Post by **Cordy_Biddle** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 2:48 pm

Margos wrote:
Cordy_Biddle wrote: And it's also the closest a Disney heroine has come to being a true femme fatale.... Meg is quite close in spirit to an animated Barbara Stanwyck.
Well, one could make the arguement for Jessica Rabbit.... although that's really more of a facade than her true nature, I guess.

Jess isn't really a femme fatale...she's just drawn that way!

Margos · Post by **Margos** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 3:14 pm

She can act the part if she wants to, which I think makes her very interesting. She isn't a one-note character, and she is very in control of her every action. But, you're right, she isn't much of a femme fatale, really.

Toy Story 2 - Really, this is one of the few sequels in all of movie-dom that really does surpass the original. Now, it's not perfect by any means, especially in the visuals department. Pixar still had quite a ways to go to get to perfection, for example, Buster doesn't look anywhere near as nice as the dogs in "Up" (depsite being a ten-fold improvement over Scud), and the humans really approach uncanny valley at times (Pixar really didn't master the human form in an appealing way until "The Incredibles). But story and theme wise, this was a huge step for the young studio. "Toy Story" was a heartwarming buddy comedy. "A Bug's Life" was an uplifiting story about how even though an individual is weak, there is a very powerful strength in numbers. But "Toy Story 2" really was an examination of mortality: both literally and in the sense of the death of childhood, not to mention the concept of a short, full life as opposed to empty immortality. And "When She Loved Me" is one of the best songs that Randy Newman has ever written, simply heartbreaking! This movie always makes me a little weepy... I love it!

zackisthewalrus · Post by **zackisthewalrus** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 3:28 pm

The Princess and the Frog - Purely and absolutely amazing! Welcome back Disney!

Disney-Fan · Post by **Disney-Fan** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:18 pm

2012 - Predictable and bland, but the crying teenage girls next to me were HILARIOUS!

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 7:27 pm

Disney-Fan wrote:2012 - Predictable and bland

Was it really? I don't want to see this bad enough to pay the regular price of a ticket, but I'd see it at the second run theater or through Netflix. I thought that it looked really good...

Cordy_Biddle · Post by **Cordy_Biddle** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 9:41 pm

Margos wrote:She can act the part if she wants to, which I think makes her very interesting. She isn't a one-note character, and she is very in control of her every action. But, you're right, she isn't much of a femme fatale, really.

Toy Story 2 - Really, this is one of the few sequels in all of movie-dom that really does surpass the original. Now, it's not perfect by any means, especially in the visuals department. Pixar still had quite a ways to go to get to perfection, for example, Buster doesn't look anywhere near as nice as the dogs in "Up" (depsite being a ten-fold improvement over Scud), and the humans really approach uncanny valley at times (Pixar really didn't master the human form in an appealing way until "The Incredibles). But story and theme wise, this was a huge step for the young studio. "Toy Story" was a heartwarming buddy comedy. "A Bug's Life" was an uplifiting story about how even though an individual is weak, there is a very powerful strength in numbers. But "Toy Story 2" really was an examination of mortality: both literally and in the sense of the death of childhood, not to mention the concept of a short, full life as opposed to empty immortality. And "When She Loved Me" is one of the best songs that Randy Newman has ever written, simply heartbreaking! This movie always makes me a little weepy... I love it!

To my shame, I only managed to catch "Toy Story 2" a couple of years ago--my brother urged me to see it when it came to TV--and I must say I was most pleasantly surprised. Totally agree with your thoughts about it. Didn't think it would live up to the incredible hype of the first movie but it's even better in my opinion.

Disney-Fan · Post by **Disney-Fan** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:19 am

blackcauldron85 wrote:
Disney-Fan wrote:2012 - Predictable and bland
Was it really? I don't want to see this bad enough to pay the regular price of a ticket, but I'd see it at the second run theater or through Netflix. I thought that it looked really good...

I thought it looked good too, but truthfully aside from pushing the envelope in effects (which is a given for any new effects movies) it really doesn't add anything new.

PixarFan2006 · Post by **PixarFan2006** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 2:43 pm

I watched The Santa Clause (1994) Sunday night. Always good to watch around this time of year. I was irked though they cut out a line for a stupid reason.

7.5/10

I just finished watching Inglorious Basterds (2009) today. I thought it was pretty good, but there were times where it dragged a bit.

7/10

Cordy_Biddle · Post by **Cordy_Biddle** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:03 pm

Watch on the Rhine. A very interesting anti-Nazi drama from 1943 starring Paul Lukas and Bette Davis.

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