What Movie Did You Just Watch? ...Rises

[TheSequelOfDisney]

The Divingbell and the Butterfly
Skyfall
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Earrings of Madame de...
Kill Bill Volume 1
Kill Bill Volume 2
Blue Valentine
Belle de Jour
An Affair to Remember

[PeterPanfan]

The Divingbell and the Butterfly
Skyfall
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Earrings of Madame de...
Kill Bill Volume 1
Kill Bill Volume 2
Blue Valentine
Belle de Jour
An Affair to Remember

I'm wondering what you thought of some of these, such as Blue Valentine, The Divingbell and the Butterfly, and Belle de Jour?

As for me,

Hitchcock - Being a fan of Alfred Hitchcock himself, I didn't like the way Anthony Hopkins portrayed him here. It was way too much of a caricature role, rather than a realized and developed person. Helen Mirren is the only cast member to really shine, though Scarlett Johannsen was good, too. I'm not sure if I even recommend it... the dialogue was usually hokey and save for the last five minutes, a lot of it was meandering and pointless.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

I'm wondering what you thought of some of these, such as Blue Valentine, The Divingbell and the Butterfly, and Belle de Jour?

Well, I've been waiting to see Blue Valentine for quite awhile, and it was really worth it. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are totally on their games playing a couple, both younger and older versions. Michelle Williams, though, was pretty good. The story was kind of blah, but the performances were really good, plus there are some "cute" moments (like a nice tap dancing/ukelele singing scene).

I wasn't expecting much from The Divingbell and the Butterfly, but I found it to be really good. To me it felt like art being up on the screen; it was certainly visually appealing (since the subject matter is locked-in syndrome where Jean-Do Bauby can only use one eye to communicate with others). I enjoyed the story quite a bit and all of the performances were great: a definite reccommendation.

I had heard that Belle de Jour was good, but it really didn't do much for me. It's not like the subject matter (a young woman who turns to prostitution because she's basically a masochist) was too farfetched or weird or anything, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. It's directed by Luis Bunel and there was definitely some surrealism, which makes it unique, but I just wasn't feeling it. I did watch it in a couple of segments, so maybe that's why it wasn't so appealing to me, but I'm not entirely sure. It was good, but I wasn't totally enraptured in it.

[yamiiguy]

Belle de jour was a relatively big hit when it was released as intrepid distributors/theatres knew just how to market it - hence why it is Bunuel's best known film. I quite like it, it seems to bridge surrealist Bunuel with social realist Bunuel but it feels like a jack of all trades and a master of none with little power or conviction behind it. Of the handful of films I've seen from Bunuel, it's one of my least favourite. Catherine Deneuve is incredible though.

[PixarFan2006]

Frankenweenie-It had good stop motion animation but there was a little too much randomness and some of the characters were annoying.

[ajmrowland]

Frankenweenie-It had good stop motion animation but there was a little too much randomness and some of the characters were annoying.

I just watched it again and wasnt annoyed by any of the characters and like some of the random stuff, if that third act could even really be called random. It was pretty ingenious in my opinion, if a little off-center.

[PeterPanfan]

Near Dark - I haven't seen much Bigelow (I actually think this was my first), but I was already a fan of her on principle alone. This film combines two seemingly unlike genres, horror and western, to create a trail-blazing blood-fest... literally.

Ok, for real though, this was a pretty good film. It has been recommended to me for years now, so I'm glad I finally got a chance to see it. The transfer was not that great on Blu-Ray, and I actually sort of wish I saw it on DVD since the picture was slightly grainy and undersaturated, but I digress. The storyline was minimal... this was a film mostly about atmosphere and characterization. That said, the cast was decent, though no one particularly stood out (perhaps Lance Henrickson and Jenny Wright, simply because she was so beautiful). None of it was too scary, either, except for the plot: a lost young man is taken into a seemingly glamorous (I saw it as such, sort of like how The Lost Boys initially seemed) cult-like band of outlaws by a gorgeous woman. His entire life is literally ripped away from him, and as he's trying to find a way home and dealing with his new vampire state, his dad and sister are trying to find him. Recommended if you're looking for something different in the horror genre, though not necessarily mandatory viewing. A lot of it does seem dated.

[PeterPanfan]

I wish more people would write in this thread! I'm always in the mood to discuss film.

Zero Dark Thirty - Despite still needing to see a few big players, I can easily name this as my favorite film of 2012. The "Best Directing" snub for Kathryn Bigelow is astounding and surely will be known as one of the Academy's biggest embarrassments for many years to come. This was clearly a difficult movie to make... it needed to be handled gently but still pack a punch, as it is an "action" film. Bigelow was able to create a powerful narrative that was largely emphasized by the subtly fantastic performance of Jessica Chastain, who I think should win "Best Actress." The other actors were great, but Chastain was a force to be reckoned with. Some say she really didn't do anything, but if they really paid attention (plus read anything about the woman she was portraying), they should realize that the strength and complexity of Maya didn't need to be shoved in the audience's face, and Chastain was restrained when she needed to be to be able to effectively capture viewers' attention in the "big" scenes. Overall, a fantastic production in every way, and an important and mostly apolitical retelling of an important event.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Crazy Stupid Love
Hanna
Se7en

I hadn't expected much from these films, but I actually quite enjoyed all of them. I was pleasently surprised, and hopefully I'll be adding their Blu-rays to my collection.

[TheValentineBros]

The Last Stand.

Yeah, surprisingly, it was enjoyable!

[TheValentineBros]

Gangster Squad.

[Dr Frankenollie]

Blue Velvet - Despite how much I love Mulholland Drive - I mean I really, really love it - I hadn't seen another David Lynch movie until today. Blue Velvet isn't as stylised or confusing as Mulholland Drive, yet it has early shades of it and some similar themes. Nevertheless, it's still a very strange, nightmarish, gruesome and mesmerizingly demented film, and the epitome of juxtaposition - it ends in a corny, bright and happy manner, but includes some of the most disgusting and repellent movie scenes ever. Dennis Hopper is the tour-de-force behind the movie's quality, superbly portraying a monstrous, Roy Orbison-obsessed and sexually perverse psychopath. His bulging white eyes, hoarse breathing and the sheer unpredictability to his performance and lines all make him a fascinating and darkly entertaining character. Lynch's direction is reminiscent of Hitchcock's, and like in Rear Window, places us into the position of the protagonist in voyeuristic sequences. He masterfully injects suspense into scenes, even when we know the outcome, and the suspenseful moments kept me on the edge of my seat.

I did initially believe that the camera's movement into the ear symbolised that a large portion of the film was Jeffrey's dream; there is definitely an explicit parallel made between the breathing of Jeffrey's father in hospital and the breathing of Frank Booth, who insists on the moniker of 'daddy' during his depraved acts, but if we are just seeing the psyche of Jeffrey going through pubertal sexual awakening - a much more interesting possibility than it being a run-of-the-mill neo-noir - then the ending doesn't imply this at all, instead suggesting that everything we saw did really happen.

It's not as funny, frightening, heart-breaking or ingenious as Mulholland Drive, and it's not the masterpiece I was hoping for (perhaps raising my expectations too high), yet it's still thrilling and a much more repulsive movie.

[ajmrowland]

Crazy Stupid Love
Hanna
Se7en

I hadn't expected much from these films, but I actually quite enjoyed all of them. I was pleasently surprised, and hopefully I'll be adding their Blu-rays to my collection.

yeah Hanna and crazy stupid love were really enjoyable. And well reviewed.

Secret of the wings-not a bad movie by any means but not quite as good as great fairy rescue. And rather brief.

[ajmrowland]

Flight-Denzel gives a great performance in a film that was mismarketed as a mystery and is instead a film about addiction. A real downer but is very nice.

Astro Boy(2009)-better than I expected but only slightly above average. Still it was easy to care for the main character and his attempts to fit in. Could've been longer in some scenes, especially in the beginning before the death scene but is reasonably entertaining nonetheless.

It actually did make me interested in the manga and tv series so if anyone can, pm me some recommendations.

[dvdjunkie]

Skyfall (2012) Warren Theaters

I know this is being released on Blu-ray in just a couple of weeks but I had to see it one more time on the big screen with the 7.1 Dolby Sound.

Javier Bardem is excellent as the evil bad guy and I love the theme song sung by Adele and hope that the song wins the Academy Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture.

Daniel Craig IS James Bond and this film, which is directed by Sam Mendes, is probably my second favorite James Bond film with the first being Goldfinger.

Lots of favorite scenes which include the opening sequence, and the way the story flows. Lots of references to former bad guys in other James Bond stories and lots of great twists in this one. I will be first in line at Best Buy on February 12, the date scheduled for release.

[Dr Frankenollie]

Les Miserables (2012) - 3/10.
Django Unchained (2012) - 10/10.
Doubt (2008) - 10/10.

[dvdjunkie]

Hotel Transylvania Blu-ray


Didn't want to see this animated film at all, but yesterday (Saturday) my son-in-law brought it home and we watched it as a family. I was quite surprised at how good it was. There was humor for the adults, for the kids, and there was some unneeded 'toilet' humor which we all 'booed' at.

Voice overs provided by Adam Sandler, who also Executive Produced this very good movie, and Kevin James, Selena Gomez, Ceelo Green, David Spade, Fran Drescher, and many, many more.

Loved the storyline. Mavis Dracula, daughter of Count Dracula is turning 118 years old and for her birthday she wants to travel to the "outside" world. Her father doesn't want her to see what "evils" lurk out there for her and does all he can to prevent her journey.

A very well done Sony Animation studios film, and I will watch this one again be myself to get it all from beginning to end. I am sure there were some jokes that got past me while we were watching this as a family.

On first watch I will give this film a strong 4 star rating. It really was good, and I want to watch it again.

[JiminyCrick91]

Since New Year's Day the movies I have seen (in theatres only as I can't recall the others) are This Is 40, Parental Guidance, Cloud Atlas, Monsters, Inc. 3D (+ For the Birds 3D), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Les Miserables, Django Unchained and today the fun documentary about making musical theater shows in 24 hours One Night Stand.

-Skyler

[jpanimation]

Hotel Transylvania (2012) 7/10 - I actually enjoyed this one. It's basically a character driven comedy, since there isn't much of a story (well, what's there isn't at all original), and it plays out like saturday morning cartoon. That may not sound good but it works (as they say, it's better to have a crap story and interesting characters then a great story and uninteresting characters). Most of the characters are stereotypes but they're incredibly fun to watch. Quasimoto was obviously inspired by Skinner from Ratatouille but it's hard not to be entertained watching this beautifully animated character do his thing. Which reminds me, the animation. HOLY CRAP THE ANIMATION! It's super broad animation with incredibly clear silhouettes and posing. It felt like one of Genndy's shows except incredibly polished. I honestly haven't seen this kind of cartoony animation since Horton Hears a Who. Absolutely fantastic. Overall, it's one of the least offensive animated films I've seen in a while. It never tries to be something it's not and it was throughly enjoyable.

If I had one complaint it was Adam Sandler's voice. I just never bought it. At one point he hypnotizes an airplane pilot and speaks through him and I felt like that guy was a more believable Dracula then Sandler. Oh, and the Frankenstein fart joke.

[PixarFan2006]

Les Miserables (2012) - I finally got around to seeing this today. Some of the acting was a bit off (especially Sacha Baron Cohen's terrible singing) and some of the songs weren't as good as they were in the stage version. Overall though, it was still very enjoyable. As for Anne Hathaway, I guess she lives up to the hype and she will most likely win the Oscar unless a major upset occurs (Hey it's happened).