Movies!

[ceethegreat]

 

The most recent thing I saw was Pain and Gain, last night.  It was surprisingly entertaining - from the previews it could have gone either way, but it actually worked!  As for what I'm looking forward to, mostly The Wolverine (although I'll catch most of the nerd-bait releases, of course).

I just watched Pain and Gain over the weekend. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't as funny or action-y as I thought it was going to be. But being Michael Bay, I had low expectations lmao, so I enjoyed it. I wish I hadn't paid full price though.

 

I forgot The Wolverine is coming out. Want to see that one, too.

[Raikas]

I just watched Pain and Gain over the weekend. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't as funny or action-y as I thought it was going to be. But being Michael Bay, I had low expectations lmao, so I enjoyed it. I wish I hadn't paid full price though.

 

Heh, I didn't mention it, but I had a two-for-one coupon, so that always helps in one's relative enjoyment of an okay movie.

[obax]

My favourite movie is Shortbus. I have yet to meet anyone who's heard of this, which makes me sound like a hipster, I promise I'm not. It's a movie everyone should see, but not everyone would enjoy it due to some pretty explicit nudity/sex. It never seems gratuitous, to me at least, but not everyone wants to see that.

 

I'm most looking forward to Iron Man 3 and the new Star Trek movie, and Man of Steel, strangely, I'm not a huge Superman fan but from what I've seen it looks good. And I actually kind of want to see Oblivion, despite it being Tom Cruise. I really wish is was someone other than him... Haven't heard any reviews on it, though, so I can't decide if I want to spend my money on it or not...

[MariahSnow]

Last movie I saw in the theatre was Jurassic Park!! In 3D!! I totally fan-girl'ed it up and got popcorn and twizzlers. Sat in the front row by myself.

 

The last "new" movie I saw was Zero Dark Thirty. My boyfriend loved it but I just can't get into it. I liked Argo a lot better because, even though you knew what happens, it was still really suspenseful. Zero Dark Thirty didn't have that for me.

 

My favorite movie, sadly, is honestly Forrest Gump. We didn't have a lot of TV when I was growing up but we had some VHS tapes and Forrest Gump was one that I watched over and over. I can actually recreate entire scenes complete with accents and the whole thing. It's kind of one of those neat party tricks that gets people giggling, but sometimes I take it too far and then they realize, "this girl is a freak who remembers Forrest Gump frame-by-frame!" 

 

Sometimes I guess there just aren't enough rocks.

 

Also, my personal favorite line. It's when Lt Dan and Forrest are in NY and Lt Dan is looking for booze in his apartment and struggling with being an injured Vietnam vet.

Lt Dan: "Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?"

Forrest: "I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir"

[Katinka]

My favorite movie is Apollo 13. Lately I've been more into TV than movies (BSG, Doctor Who, Downton Abbey), but I just love the experience of going to the movies. I've really wanted to go lately, but there hasn't been anything playing near us that I'd even consider renting, let alone going to see in theaters. I'm so excited for summer movies so I can go!

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Oh, man, you had to ask this question, didn't you? :-)

 

I'm a total cinephile, so my fave list is enormous. Tops would be Terry Gilliam's 'The Fisher King': I love the themes of madness and redemption, Robin WIlliams' performance is brilliant, and the scene in Grand Central where everybody just spontaneously breaks into a waltz... sublime.

 

Just about anything by the Marx Brothers, except maybe 'The Big Store'.  Kinda weird to see Harpo doing wire-fu.

 

Speaking of wire-fu (or lack thereof): Jackie Chan's Drunken Master movies, (Little Big Soldier is great stuff too); Master Killer: 36 Chambers of Shaolin (classic Shaw Brothers) and pretty much anything by Stephen Chow (God of Cookery, Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle)

 

Of course, we must acknowledge the masters: anything by Hayao Miyazaki, Akira Kurosawa, and Juzo Itami (go see 'Tampopo' and 'A Taxing Woman'.  Hilarious.)

 

Oddly enough, 'Born in East L.A.' is an unsung comic gem. Cheech Marin is a flexible enough actor to switch from goofball humor to pathos to tender romance, and make it all believable. Still funny after 20+ years.

[ModernSpartacus]

I'm looking forward to Catching Fire and the Desolation of Smaug. I feel like I've earned the nerd badge of honour by watching the LotR trilogy and The Hobbit.

[ceethegreat]

Heh, I didn't mention it, but I had a two-for-one coupon, so that always helps in one's relative enjoyment of an okay movie.

LOL that does make it more enjoyable! I don't generally pay full price for movies anymore because few theaters out here have $5 or $6 days, so that's usually when I try to go. Even the big screen (not imax, but exTREME big screen lol) is only $8. Popcorn and soda still adds up though haha.

[Retxab]

I just saw Pain and Gain today, and I thought it was really good. It's far more like a Coen brothers style of movie than a Michael Bay movie, I can see where if you went in expecting typical Michael Bay it'd be a bit jarring.

 

I'm looking forward to all the big summer blockbusters - Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, Star Trek: Into Darkness, The Wolverine, World War Z, The Great Gatsby, probably others I'm forgetting. I like to catch a couple a month.

[I-Jo]

I watched that Sunday- totally not what I was expecting or thought I was in for (expectations were low- I just thought it was supposed to be funny).

 

Was interesting for sure!!!

 

saw Oblivion yesterday- was fucking rubbish- almost walked out.

 

REALLY excited for some of the stuff coming out this year- Thor, Star Trek, The Lone Ranger, The Great Gatsby (first preview I saw was last night- looks awesome)

 

(S)ome of my favorites- 

 

> 300

> Troy

> Fifth Element

> Night at the Roxbury- probably music wise- my all time favorite. Every song that comes on at the gym from that movie- I love. I'ts awful and awesome. 

 

those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head I can watch over and over again and not get bored LOL

[Waldo]

I don't really make it to the theater much, don't care for them.  Last movie I saw in the theater was Iron Man 2.  Last movie I saw (for the first time) was either Skyfall or the Expendables 2 (forget the order).

 

I'm really looking forward to the next Star Trek chapter.  The last one was sooooo good.

 

My favorite movies include the original Star Wars series and the Matrix, though my favorite movie hands down is Demolition Man.

 

I do love stupid action movies, the dumber and more ludicrous the better (the Expendables really hit it out of the park in that genre).  Navy Seals.  Kickboxer.  Commando.  Rambo Pt2.  True Lies, Kill Bill(s).  Kiss of the Dragon.  Bond(s).  Superhero movies (usually). 

[I-Jo]

OMG DEMOLITION MAN....

 

totally on the list.  good call. 

[CharlieBoston]

Depending on what day you ask me, my favorite movie is either The Matrix (just the first one, the sequels are rubbish) or The Incredibles.

 

I'm looking forward to the new Star Trek. Benedict Cumberbatch is the goddamned man, and all the clips I've seen of him in this movie are just intense, even when he's just standing there and talking inside the brig. I won't even care if it's revealed that his character actually is the new timeline's Khan.

 

Man of Steel I've got high hopes for. Superman isn't even my favorite superhero, but I loved the Christopher Reeve Superman movies. (Well, the first and part II. III and The Quest for Peace can get tossed into the sun.) I think I'm a bigger fan of the idea of Superman and what he stands for than the character itself. I didn't even hate Superman Returns, even though in hindsight I thought they shouldn't have been a continuation of the Reeve movies. But Man of Steel just looks incredible.

[AlterStephen]

Edit: Oops, wrong thread

[AlterStephen]

Iron Man 3 was very good. Not as good as the first, but way better than the second (which I didn't have a very high opinion of at all), and the action scenes were some of the best I've seen in a superhero movie. The scope, timing, and cinematography were all spot-on during these scenes. Some cool plot twists in the second half too (some of which might upset some diehard fans of the comics) -- and yes, there is a scene after the credits.

 

A really solid film. Not groundbreaking by any means, but entertaining and very funny at times, and I'm looking forward to watching it again.

[I-Jo]

oh yay- can't wait to see it.

Oblivion was fucking awful- so i'm getting soured going to the movies- typically is such a waste of money!

[tseecka]

I-Jo, I heard great things about Oblivion from a friend whose opinion I trust, but I'm still tentative about it purely because of the Cruise factor...

 

I think my favourite movie of all time has got to be The Princess Bride, purely because--well, it's The Princess Bride! I also spend far too much time rewatching the (extended) LotR trilogy, adore the original Star Wars movies, and have seen Equilibrium more times than I can count. Disney movies ALWAYS have a soft spot in my heart--Lion King, Robin Hood, Aladdin, Mulan, and Tangled are my faves!

 

The last thing I saw in a theatre was Jurassic Park 3D, but I'm hoping to catch IM3 this weekend, and have tickets to the Fan Sneaks of Star Trek: Into Darkness on the 15th!

[I-Jo]

We almost walked out- it was awful.  

 

Seriously. It was terrible.

 

But I also though The Hobbit was complete and utter rubbish- biggest waste of 30 $ ever.  And people CONTINUE to rave about it.  BF's sister and her husband raved about it- so much so they left their premi-twins at home ("they needed a break"- don't get me started) and then 3 weeks later did it AGAIN.... because they thought it was so good.

 

I have high standards for my movies.  Apparently no one else does. 

[tseecka]

The Hobbit was a beautiful movie, and the cinematography and casting was spot on for me--but there were definitely some production-side decisions that had me shaking my head. (wtaf were you doing with those goblins, PJ? WTAF.) I was too busy geeking out over all the blatant references to the Silmarillion to get my panties too much in a twist over the sheer ridiculousness of trying to stretch The Hobbit into three movies, but on rewatch, I can understand the feeling. When Fellowship came out I saw it 9 times in theatres--and being 13, I didn't have that much of a disposable income! An Unexpected Journey I only saw three times, but you can bet I'll have my midnight premiere tickets for Desolation as soon as they go on sale.

 

Personally, I feel like all the stories have already been told, and all we're getting now is variations on a theme. So rather than judge a movie by the story it tells--which I think would end up disappointing me far more often--I've reset my criteria. A "good movie" to me, now, is one with stunning or creative cinematography, a score that makes me want to run out and buy the soundtrack, engaged performances by the cast, and good pacing. I don't go to movies to be entertained, I go to be immersed. Which is why The Hobbit gets 4 stars from me, and Les Mis only gets 2.

[I-Jo]

I was angry the ork looked like something from Avatar- it was just rubbish- they are hyperextending a book that is literally a tenth the size of the full LOR.

 

Content means more to me than pretty pictures- sure they look cool but come on.  I have limites.

 

Sure the pictures were pretty but so are fake breasts- and they still leave me disappointed. 

[tseecka]

I was angry the ork looked like something from Avatar- it was just rubbish- they are hyperextending a book that is literally a tenth the size of the full LOR.

 

But that's the thing that makes big Tolkien nerds like me happy--the hyperextension is, by and large, done by pulling in the lore of Tolkien's extended writings about Middle-Earth. The Silmarillion would /never/ make a good movie, but there are relevant pieces of it that PJ pulled in, and while I won't argue that the primary motive there is money, there is also joy for fans in seeing things like the meeting of the White Council, or the history of the fall of Erebor, that otherwise wouldn't ever be brought into popular culture.

 

Granted, there are some extension techniques that I greatly disapprove of, like rewriting Azog into it or whatever the hell that was with Radagast and the bunny sled. There were definitely some poor choices made. But by and large, I choose to believe that The Hobbit was nearly as much a labour of love as it was a money-making scheme. I would rather they shift some things around and pull in lore from the extended writings than come up with the travesty that was the bastardization of the Harry Potter books into films...

[I-Jo]

least those were entertaining. 

 

I didn't find the Hobbit to be entertaining though- it just wasn't.  LOL it's okay I don't expect everyone to have the same tastes in movies- but as I get older I just keep realizing what I can tolerate- is way different than what others will... my toleration is super low I guess LOL

 

Hunger Games- another one of those- everyone raved and I hated... I dunno.  

[AlterStephen]

I liked a lot of things about The Hobbit. The visual style, cinematography, music, and acting were all terrific. But it didn't quite have the emotional power that The Lord of the Rings films had and still have. And I didn't like that the orcs and goblins were CGI-rendered rather than people in costumes and makeup like they were in The Lord of the Rings.

 

And I really liked Oblivion. I thought Tom Cruise did a great job (say what you will about the guy, I think he's a great actor), and I really enjoyed the plot twists, although the way they answered everything really quickly in the last half hour could have been done a little more smoothly.

[beanpop]

Favourite movie is Pleasantville! Just such sweet ideas, amazing/hideous 90's and early 00's fashion and culture and 1950's America is my favourite period of time from a design point of view

I love this movie. It's sweet funny and charming and I always have a few teary moment's in it.

[AlterStephen]

I saw Pain & Gain with some friends the other day. Not at all what I was expecting, especially the last half (and half the time I was in complete disbelief at what I was watching and at how stupid the characters are), but in some kind of sick, twisted way... I kinda liked it. It's way longer than it should have been and often relentlessly stupid, but it's also vibrant, ambitious, and (in a way) strangely charming. Just don't go in expecting a comedy. It has some funny scenes, especially ones involving Dwayne Johnson's character, but it's really ultimately more satirical than comedic.

 

Also watched 127 Hours last night. Loved it. The amputation scene is a little hard to watch. I usually have a strong stomach, but I almost had to look away a few times, and I winced bad when he snapped the bone... But what a great and moving film. James Franco is incredible in it. I knew he was a talented actor, but I never knew he was THAT good. Served as another reminder that any actor can surprise you and crank out an incredible performance if they have the right material in their hands (like Jack Black in Bernie or Tobey Magure in Brothers).