What Movie Did You Just Watch? ... And Robin

[littlefuzzy]

In the past few days, I've seen:
Frankenstein General Hospital - OK, but cheesy dialogue towards the end
Frankenstein: The College Years - more fun
Big Man on Campus (Hunchback retelling) - The best of the three, IMO.

[Goliath]

13 going on 30 (2004)

The latest addition to my list of 'guilty pleasures' (alongside titles like 10 things I hate about you, Enchanted, Freaky Friday and Mean girls). A person needs these kind of non-complicated, light-hearted films from time to time. And if they're as well-executed as this one, with such a charming leading lady as Jennifer Garner, it's a fun watch too. Not many romantic comedies have a credible leading couple which shows real chemistry, but this one did. I enjoyed every minute of it, also thanks in part to the supporting roles and the clever jokes.

Or, to quote an IMDb reviewer who worded it better than I could: "Jennifer Garner sparkles with charisma and sizzles with charm. She's got that whole `girl next door' thing going on, supercharged with a personality that just doesn't quit. There's great chemistry amongst the cast - and all of them makes this light-hearted tale work."


The kite runner (2007)

A whole different story altogether. Based on the worldwide bestseller novel by Khalid Hosseini, this is the story of Amin, who grows up in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970's. Everything is calm and peaceful, although underneath, both the mullahs and the communists are starting to threatening the status quo. Amir has a very tight friendship with Hassan. After a disturbing incident, they have a falling out. Soon thereafter, the Red Army invades and Amir and his father have to flee to the US. In the 1990's, he gets a message from his uncle to return home to resolve a matter concerning Hassan. Now Amir has to return to Afghanistan, now not only in ruins, but also ruled ruthlessly by the Taliban...

Good film, very gripping and emotional at times.

[jpanimation]

13 going on 30 (2004)

The latest addition to my list of 'guilty pleasures'

Me too. The body switching/kid trapped in adult body thing has been done to death but I actually enjoy this one quite a bit. When times are tough, I indulge in these guilty pleasures, as you need that "non-complicated, light-hearted" escapist cinema every once in a while

August Rush (2007) 7/10 - I agree with ajmrowland's assessment of this movie down to the rating.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) 7.5/10 - also known as Men Who Hate Women and is the first movie in a trilogy. While I'm not sure it holds up to the hype (which is high), I enjoyed it. The beginning stuff with the parole officer and rape scenes are completely unnecessary and inconsequential to the rest of the story, which is a murder mystery (so if you're sensitive to that kind of content, you can fast forward and not miss anything). It starts to pickup once we get past all that and back to the mystery, just don't expect any new grounds to be broken here.

NOTE: Goliath, the movie I watched was 2.5 hrs long. What you watched was the television cut of the movie, which has an extra half hour of footage (making it 3 hrs long) and they split it into two parts. If you watch part 2, you would be watching the rest of the first movie and not the sequel. I recommend seeing it through to the end, if for no other reason then to make a fair critique.

Get Him to the Greek (2010) 7/10 - Not bad. This is basically a spinoff of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, using the same characters and director, but unfortunately it was just not as enjoyable. If you saw the former movie, then you know to expect more drama then humor and won't be disappointed. The characters were well developed and the story solid enough (despite feeling a tad bit formulaic at this point). Considering I can't stand Russell Brand as a human being, they must have done something right to get me through the movie.

The Karate Kid (2010) 6.5/10 - the remake of the 80s classic. It's not much worse then the original in terms of quality (seriously, the whole idea of a douche bag bulling the new kid, let alone with karate, was dumb to begin with), but it lacks the 80s nostalgia and a charismatic lead that I can get into (I liked Jaden in The Pursuit of Happyness but didn't care for him here). Jackie Chan was alright (more then makes up for his performance in The Spy Next Door) but no one can replace Pat.

[pap64]

Oh lord, thank GOD that I am not the only one who enjoyed 13 going on 30.

Yeah, if you deeply analyze it, it is very flawed. The Nostalgia Chick once said that the problem with most girl centric films is that they portray girls as being selfish beings who care more about what they want, their needs and how to obtain that rather than growing into people you can actually relate to. For the most part, 13 going on 30 suffers from this, with the rival girl feeling like the main girl is hurting her style while the main girl wants to fit in with them rather than just ignoring them.

But the body switching concept makes it interesting because the girl actually learns from experience that trying to be so hard to be something you are not and trying to gain the approval of the people that see nothing of value in you is silly at ANY age. I like the twist that the mean girl betrays her and steals her idea while losing her job. It does eventually end on a very happy note, but it felt real, and the characters were human. The main girl actually learns her lesson and appreciates what she has more, where as in other movies the girl just keeps wishing and wishing until she finally gets what she wants.

Yeah, it's cheesy, silly, very girly and VERY cliched, but it's definitely one of the best in its genre, and I really enjoy Jennifer Garner's performance. She nails the adult being really a kid part down that is ALMOST comparable to Tom Hank's Big (emphasis on ALMOST since I think Hank perfected that role to an eerie degree of success).

[littlefuzzy]

I just finished up Opportunity Knocks with Dana Carvey.

[PixarFan2006]

Watched Alien (1979) last night. Though it does not really fit in with the Halloween theme, it's still a pretty good sci-fi/horror film. The effects are also pretty good for their time.

[jpanimation]

The Ghost Writer (2010) 7.5/10 - everyone’s favorite child rapist is back with what I can only describe as modern day Hitchcock. I actually enjoyed this one a lot more then I did Rosemary's Baby or Chinatown (I’ve yet to see the The Pianist, which is very high on my list). It’s about a writer (Ewan McGregor) hired to be a Prim Minister’s (Pierce Brosnan) ghost writer for his memoir and uncovering unsavory secrets about his past and the people that surround him. He in turn finds himself in danger in this mystery/thriller that feels very much like a lesser Hitchcock. I thought the casting, writing, acting, cinematography and especially the music (very Herrmann) was great. If only the story brought a little more originality to the table.

PS: Holy shit was I surprised to see Eli Wallace, which was just like seeing Ernest Borgnine in Red. Not only is it crazy to see them still alive, they're both 90-something but acting too.

[stitchje1981]

I just watched Bolt on Blu

[BelleGirl]

Jurassic Parc for the greatest part at least.

A sensational movie in 1993, released in the same year as Aladdin: the dinosaurs were particularly spectacular. I must say they still look impressive 17 years later, even on the small screen. But it's quite laughable to see how the heroes of the story each time manage to have a narrow escape from dangerous dinosaurs (apparently you can stop a fierce Velociraptor for a while bu pushing against a door with two people) and the story tends to get repetitive. Simple message: it's not a good idea to try to recreate dinosaurs in the age of men.

[Goliath]

When times are tough, I indulge in these guilty pleasures, as you need that "non-complicated, light-hearted" escapist cinema every once in a while

Well, I might have worded it a bit silly, but I *was* right, wasn't I?

NOTE: Goliath, the movie I watched was 2.5 hrs long. What you watched was the television cut of the movie, which has an extra half hour of footage (making it 3 hrs long) and they split it into two parts. If you watch part 2, you would be watching the rest of the first movie and not the sequel. I recommend seeing it through to the end, if for no other reason then to make a fair critique.

Yes, I meant to say that, as I found this out last week, but I wanted to wait until I had watched the 2nd part. Still haven't gotten around to it (too busy watching formulaic romcoms).

[my chicken is infected]

I've been watching a lot of Charlie Chaplin lately, and I've still quite a few of the feature films left to watch. (Plus tracking down good copies of his earlier shorts and such.) What I've watched lately:
Limelight - Fantastic film, but suffers a bit from Claire Bloom's histrionic overacted performance.
The Great Dictator - And to think he improvised most of his fake German on the spot. Bravo, sir.
The Gold Rush - The roll dance scene is forever classic.
Monsieur Verdoux - Deliciously wicked, but suffers a bit from its own hubris near the end.
A King In New York - Flawed and you can taste the bitterness, but still entertaining.
Modern Times - Scarily relevant in this day and age as well.
Charlie: The Life And Art Of Charles Chaplin - Great documentary and overview of his career.

The man truly was a gifted and innovative artist. I'll watch his films any day over some of this crap they call "comedy" these days.

[stitchje1981]

Charlie And the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp from Tim Burton: love all the movies with Johnny Depp but this "Willy Wonka" reminds me of Michael Jackson and all the Oompa Loompa's are 1 and the same person + they don't have the original Oompa loompa song from the original with Gene Wilder! But still fun to watch, especially the scene where WW bumps againts his glass elavator all the time

[Goliath]

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Even though I vowed to never watch it when it came out (the disappointment of the latest Die Hard was still fresh), when it came on tv I couldn't resist. I wish I had. What a load of nonsense! I know, it's supposed to be an over-the-top adventure film, but at least the 1980;s films had a tiny bit of credibility left. It seemed like Lucas and Spielberg wanted to do everything bigger, but went too far. I especially hated the chaggarine-sweet nonsense about Shia LaBoeuf being Indy's son and then the wedding at the end. Funny thing is, the 1980's movies looked more natural and believable than this one, even though we can do much more with CGI these days.

[PixarFan2006]

Watched the Boris Karloff classic Frankenstein (1931) last night with my family. We then tried watching The Mummy (1932), which also starred Karloff, but we got bored with it and turned it off. Maybe someday, we'll give it another chance.

Frankenstein - 8/10
The Mummy - 5/10

[TheSequelOfDisney]

The Black Cauldron

It's certainly not the best film Disney's ever made, but it's not as terrible as some people seem to believe. It's nice to see that Disney did something different, even if it didn't pan out the best it could have.

[PixarFan2006]

Aliens(1986) - A pretty decent sequel with some great visual effects. Not sure if I like this or the original Alien more. Now I have Alien3 and Alien Resurrection left to watch (even though people say they are inferior to the first two).

[jpanimation]

Aliens(1986) - A pretty decent sequel with some great visual effects. Not sure if I like this or the original Alien more. Now I have Alien3 and Alien Resurrection left to watch (even though people say they are inferior to the first two).

I have the same problem. I like them both, they're completely different movies, and I like them for different reasons. Now save yourself the trouble and avoid the last two (Fincher disowns 3).

Funny thing is, the 1980's movies looked more natural and believable than this one, even though we can do much more with CGI these days.

The monkey vine swinging scene was embarrassing.

[littlefuzzy]

I watched Kazaam! with Shaquille O'Neal...

I alsaw Jackie Chan's Police Story 4: First Strike.

[my chicken is infected]

A Shelley Winters psycho-biddy double bill - What's The Matter With Helen? and Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? Helen is the story of two women - Adelle (Debbie Reynolds) and Helen (Winters) who's sons commit a murder and the two women move to Hollywood after getting threatening phone calls. However, their troubles don't end there. Helen is a religious nut and allegedly has repressed lesbian tendencies. Auntie Roo, the better of the two films IMO and the one with the more interesting premise, has Winters as Rosie Forrest, or Auntie Roo as the children know her, a rich widow who's slowly began to lose her mind since the accidental death of her daughter, who's mummified corpse she often lays out in her bed so she can talk to her as if she's still alive. When she holds a Christmas party for local orphans, she notices one resembles her daughter, so she kidnaps her and her brother. Meanwhile, the brother is convinced that he and his sister are in a real life "Hansel And Gretel" situation.

Neither film is gonna be considered a grand masterpiece of cinema, but both are great campy fun, especially for the Halloween season.

[PixarFan2006]

An American Werewolf in London - A great comedy/horror film with some great makeup effects that still hold up well for it's time (and outdo anything done with CGI).