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

[BelleGirl]

On a side note, it's rating on IMDB is way overinflated (I guess it adds to the disappointment when you expect the 6th greatest movie ever made to hold up).

They call it that?! I don't know whether to or to ... You're really sure it's the 6th greatest movie "ever" on IMDb?

IMDB is killing me with the recent movies getting such bloated ratings, like The Dark Knight, or Toy Story 3, or How to Train Your Dragon, or Rapunzel or Avatar. Enjoyable movies but their ratings are REALLY misleading.

Ugh... don't get me started. Last time I checked, Rapunzel had an 8.3 rating. Now I haven't seen the film yet, but it would surprise me if this film is really better than The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and most of Walt's classics --which *all* get lower ratings than Rapunzel!!

But how could you trust a site which gives Live Free or Die Hard a 7.5?

How many people would claim Toy Story 3 the greatest animated film ever made or that The Dark Knight is one of the top 10 greatest movies ever made? [...]

It appears to me that most IMDB-users are a bit shallow and don't look any further than the most recent hits. Wy else do recent movies get high grades so easily and end up so high in top 250's? That's because older movies simply don't exist for these people. At least that's how I think it is.
But be comforted, in the course of time the grades of 'overrated' movies will go down eventually.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Jumanji - Never gets old. It's awesome. The CGI does show since it was just in it's infancy, but it doesn't detract that much from the film. I should get this on DVD/Blu-ray eventually.

[BelleGirl]

Goldfinger
yesterday evening. I've always loved the title song, but never got round to watching this James Bond movie. So I rented it last week. It was entertaining and funny, and Goldfinger was a great villain (luckily he got what he deserved!).

[Lazario]

It appears to me that most IMDB-users are a bit shallow and don't look any further than the most recent hits. Wy else do recent movies get high grades so easily and end up so high in top 250's? That's because older movies simply don't exist for these people. At least that's how I think it is.

I agree.

Of course, I was born in the early 80's and grew up in the mid-90's. Back then, I didn't like very many old movies either. The problem is that too many kids have access to the internet and can't wait to run onto it to share their often naive opinions, poorly thought out arguments, and shallow perspectives. Old movies suck because they're not just like the new movies, this is gay, that's too slow, and the music sucks. That sort of thing, etc.

[pap64]

Um, why are you guys taking IMDB so seriously? If you know that this is a place for casual movie fans who lack the same critical skills as other movie fans, why keep pondering about it? If you didn't like the movie they claim is the best just move on.

Don't get me wrong, I love movies, and I love discussing them, especially how people view their worth in society. But all this talk about "OMG they overrated this movie" is silly, in my opinion.

I mean, I didn't like "Where the wild things are", and that one was hailed as cinematic masterpiece. Once again, movies are all about perception, what is good for some is bad for others. Some views will be deeper than others, hell, some might be like this guy...



OOOOOOH MY GOD, THIS IS THE GREATEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!

[dvdjunkie]

Nick of Time with Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken and Marsha Mason. Story of a everyday guy who is coming to Los Angeles with his daughter and she is kidnapped by some nefarious people who want him to assassinate the Governor of California (Mason). Really good movie and done in actual time.

Johnny Depp is one of Hollywood's most versatile because he hasn't done two roles that are the same. This is counting "Jack Sparrow" as one role even though there are three movies out there with a fourth one coming next year.

[Cordy_Biddle]

[Duckburger]

Just finished watching There Will Be Blood.

Excellent film. Daniel Day-Lewis certainly deserved that Best Actor Oscar. The last scene in particular was pretty humourous considering that the rest of the film was pretty dark and twisted.

[Goliath]

It appears to me that most IMDB-users are a bit shallow and don't look any further than the most recent hits. Wy else do recent movies get high grades so easily and end up so high in top 250's? That's because older movies simply don't exist for these people. At least that's how I think it is. [...]

I really think that's true. If this forum is any indication, you're right.

That site went downhill when it places a LOTR movie on the 3rd place in their Top 250 Movies of all time.

but LOTR was marvelous. well, at least the extended cuts are.

That may very well be true, but is it Top 10 worthy? Is it really better than almost all movies *ever* made over the last 100 years? I doubt it.

[jpanimation]

That may very well be true, but is it Top 10 worthy? Is it really better than almost all movies *ever* made over the last 100 years? I doubt it.

Top 10, no way. Top 50, maybe. Top 100, most definitely. I love the movies, probably my favorite trilogy (they're all about equal in quality, unlike some other great trilogies, that have that one stinker) but would never put them in my top 10.

Anyways, the next couple of movie choices were inspired by a list of great noir movies that IGN recently put together (CLICK HERE). These were the only two I had never seen before:

Murder, My Sweet (1944) 7.5/10 - this is an adaptation of the Raymond Chandler novel Farewell My Lovely. It stars Dick Powell (at that time famous for the Warner/Bubsey Berkely musicals) as private eye Phillip Marlowe. Much like the other Raymond Chandler cinematic adaption staring Phillip Marlowe, The Big Sleep (made after this), there is lots of twists and turns, deadly dames, and a mystery that doesn't give itself away too early. I just wished I cared for the characters a little more, like I did in The Big Sleep. It was still an enjoyable movie worth checking out.

So the real question is: Bogart or Powell? The Big Sleep or Murder, My Sweet? I have to say Bogie and Howard Hawks win both rounds. Not that this movie or Powell are bad, they're actually pretty good, but it's just that Bogie and Hawkes are THAT good (I love The Big Sleep). I just have a hard time seeing anyone but Bogie playing Marlowe or Sam Spade, he owns the roles.

Brick (2005) 7/10 - I had never even heard of this one, it went completely under my radar back in 05, which is a shame. This movie is really unique in what it was trying to do and you could even call it brave. It took a classic 50s noir and put it in a modern day high school setting, starring teenagers. Sure, all the 50s slang and fast talk can be a bit jaunting a first but you will get used to it. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who I remember from 3rd Rock from the Sun but most others on here may know him from (500) Days of Summer or Inception) as the loner who tries to solve this mystery and Emilie de Ravin (Claire from LOST) as the murdered girl who starts the whole investigation. What caught me off guard was just how serious this movie takes itself. Also, at a couple of points I had a hard time keeping up, which I really didn't expect to be a problem, but figured it all out by the end. All said, it's a weird movie. It's a serious noir, not the joke I thought it would be, that feels 'off' do to it's setting. You really have to see this for yourself and make up your own mind, as I think it's one of those movies that will divide.

Now that I've seen all the movies on the list, I certainly can't agree with ALL of them representing the best the genre has to offer (to me, that would be Laura, The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, The Killers, The Big Sleep, The Third Man, Out of the Past, Sunset Boulevard, Touch of Evil, The Killing, L.A. Confidential, Sin City, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and to a lesser extent, Who Framed Roger Rabbit).

[Cordy_Biddle]

I prefer "Murder My Sweet" over "The Big Sleep" (which I've never really *gotten* truth be told), for some reason I've never been able to understand why "The Big Sleep" is so highly regarded (right up there with "Maltese Falcon") in the noir pantheon. For while the performances are superb, and anything with Bogart and Bacall is fantastic; the storyline is so cluttered.

The performances of "Murder My Sweet" are fascinating and surreal; and I think Dick Powell does a marvelous job of shedding his squeaky clean musical image. Claire Trevor is delicious; and I love Anne Shirley in a rare noir turn. I really need to watch it again, actually.

[carolinakid]

I watched Whatever Happened To Baby Jane (1962) and Cabaret (1972) on TCM. Loved them!

[BelleGirl]

Watched Waking Sleeping Beauty last night. You rarely get such an honest ' inside the Disney company' look. I hope some day we get a documentary on how things went on in the years after the 'The Lion King" smash hit and Frank Well's death. There are a lot more intriguing stories to tell.

[Barbossa]

Inception - Awesome. Complex. 2nd time seeing it. This definitely needs a few viewings to take it all in. Another Nolan masterpiece. Neat seeing the old Fortress Mountain ski resort in Alberta where all the ski and mountain scenes were filmed. Currently the ski resort is closed (due to tax issues) - hopefully it will be reopened soon - that's why they did the filming there.

Hot Dog... The Movie - It just wouldn't be the start of the ski season without watching this oldy from 1983. Great stuff. Rudi cracks me up. "A Lay Tuck Tuck Triple!"

[UmbrellaFish]

We've been snowed out of school all week, so I've had plenty of time to watch some movies...

Cabaret- I wasn't crazy about it. It was good, but I definitely preferred Chicago. Actually, I'm more interested now in seeing a staged version of Cabaret (which might happen since the play is coming soon to my closest playhouse).

Stepping Out- More Liza. Funny. Definitely very 90's, but holds up well enough. I thought the best parts were towards the end.

The Heiress- Olivia de Havilland/Montgomery Clift flick. Very good.

To Each His Own- Another de Havilland movie that just blew my socks off, even better than The Heiress. I immediately looked to see if this was out on DVD, and sadly, it's not.

A Place in the Sun- Good Montgomery Clift/Liz Taylor film I've seen several times before.

And I just realized all these films have connecting actors:
To Each His Own (de Havilland) ---> The Heiress (de Havilland/Clift) ---> A Place in the Sun (Clift/Winters) ---> Stepping Out (Winters/Minnelli) ---> Cabaret (Minnelli)

Did not plan it that way...

[Duckburger]

Pay It Forward (2000)

I thought it was an okay film, maybe a little bit too sappy for my taste. The acting was really good though, especially from the kid, Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey. There were quite a few unneccesary side stories though, all going on at the same time without any clue as to why they're happening, and they didn't really make any sense until the end scenes in the last few minutes. It's obviously filled with A LOT of clichés. With that said, I didn't think it was a bad movie, it just tries too hard to be sappy.

Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009)

First time I watched this, since I missed it when they had it in theatres last year. This movie was DARK, holy $#*%. I did not expect that. The scene with Marley, the 'ignorance and want' scene, the Ghost of Christmas Present dying, the black horses, etc. That's definitely new, since I'm used to watching the Muppet version every year. I still don't like Zemeckis' zombie people, but alas... can't have everything. Jim Carrey was genius in all his parts, especially Scrooge. He manages to add some humour to his lines, which does help make the tone a bit lighter for the darker scenes. Despite the characters still looking like Mo-Cap zombies, I loved the backgrounds. Especially the scene where Scrooge is in the room of the Ghost of Christmas Present for the first time. All in all, I think it's an amazing film. Not as much heart as most of the other versions I've seen, but still pretty freakin' amazing.

[dvdjunkie]

Watched a couple of great films On Demand.

First up was The Presidio starring Sean Connery, Mark Harmon and a very young Meg Ryan. Really good movie about the murder of an MP on the grounds of the Presidio. Lots of great San Francisco footage used in the second unit photography. Highly recommended.

Second, I watched on recommendation of a friend, L.I.E. (Long Island Expressway) starring Brian Cox. Very controversial in subject matter, but this movie hooks you in the first three minutes and you have to watch the rest of the movie. Very strong emotional movie, not recommended for those with a weak heart.

[BelleGirl]

Pay It Forward (2000)

I thought it was an okay film, maybe a little bit too sappy for my taste. The acting was really good though, especially from the kid, Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey. There were quite a few unneccesary side stories though, all going on at the same time without any clue as to why they're happening, and they didn't really make any sense until the end scenes in the last few minutes. It's obviously filled with A LOT of clichés. With that said, I didn't think it was a bad movie, it just tries too hard to be sappy.

The kid was Haley Joel Osment, the star kid-actor from The Sixt sense

Wondering what he working on now, since he no longer is a kid.

[Duckburger]

Yeah, I forgot his name for a moment there. I think he quit acting, or something. He only does voice acting for the Kingdom Hearts games now it seems.

Shame, I thought he was really good at acting. He was also really good in A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

[Cordy_Biddle]

We've been snowed out of school all week, so I've had plenty of time to watch some movies...

Cabaret- I wasn't crazy about it. It was good, but I definitely preferred Chicago. Actually, I'm more interested now in seeing a staged version of Cabaret (which might happen since the play is coming soon to my closest playhouse).

Stepping Out- More Liza. Funny. Definitely very 90's, but holds up well enough. I thought the best parts were towards the end.

The Heiress- Olivia de Havilland/Montgomery Clift flick. Very good.

To Each His Own- Another de Havilland movie that just blew my socks off, even better than The Heiress. I immediately looked to see if this was out on DVD, and sadly, it's not.

A Place in the Sun- Good Montgomery Clift/Liz Taylor film I've seen several times before.

And I just realized all these films have connecting actors:
To Each His Own (de Havilland) ---> The Heiress (de Havilland/Clift) ---> A Place in the Sun (Clift/Winters) ---> Stepping Out (Winters/Minnelli) ---> Cabaret (Minnelli)

Did not plan it that way...

"To Each His Own" has been announced for release in the United Kingdom early next year on the Odeon label. It's up for pre-order on Amazon UK.