Last Movie You Watched...

Jurassic World, finally. I WANT A VELOCIRAPTOR. And Chris Pratt, but MOSTLY A VELOCIRAPTOR.

Rhoda Nightingale said:

Jurassic World, finally. I WANT A VELOCIRAPTOR. And Chris Pratt, but MOSTLY A VELOCIRAPTOR.

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hahaha!

Arachnoquake.




(Actually, as a B-movie, not too bad. Special effects not horrible and I loved Bug Hall.)

Just got done re-watching Guardians of the Galaxy for the fourth time. It's getting better with each viewing. But I'm not huge on James Gunn's commentary. He spends way too much time praising everyone as "the best guy in the world." Lots of "best guys in the world" on that shoot. Still, that's one hell of a film.

Yes Man

Rhoda Nightingale said:

Jurassic World, finally. I WANT A VELOCIRAPTOR. And Chris Pratt, but MOSTLY A VELOCIRAPTOR.

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Lol. I saw that a few weeks ago and my dinosaur-loving inner child wants to ride a triceratops. And my adult self wants Chris Pratt. There's still a conflict of interests going on.

I saw Inside Out with some friends last night. It was adorable!

^Heh, yeah, I got that weird mix too. They designed the park SO well, so like what a dinosaur park with totally look like if one existed, with all the stupid touristy crap spliced in with the awesome, that was I caught neatly between, "Jeeez, so much consumerism going on here," and "I WANT TO GO THERE SO BAD."

Cyia said:

I don't know about Bearilou, but for me, all the potential awesome was there, but they didn't seem to know what to do with it. There are some scenes that, taken individually, are beautifully shot and either very thrilling or very funny, but put together, it's just plain weird.

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I think that's generous.

I just watched Jupiter Ascending and I don't even understand what they thought was going on. Mostly, through the whole thing, I kept wondering how and why people who would theoretically have other prospects ended up doing this. Like, I can't imagine the script being in any way compelling or anything really, but 'wtf?' I don't know who greenlit this mess, which must've cost a pretty penny, I don't understand what pretty much anyone involved was thinking. Just... what the hell was that?

Tonight's answer is Akira. It would have been The Gallows, but that was just so awful that I needed to cleanse my palette. Honestly, the less said about The Gallows, the better.

So I'll instead sing the praises of Akira. I never fully appreciated it when I first saw the film back in 1991. It was too weird, too "artsy." This is the first time I have seen it in several years. I've liked it more and more each time I've seen it, and now I'm really in awe of how ahead of its time Akira was. So many films that I've loved in the last 25 years owe a great debt to Akira (I'm thinking, for instance, the farmhouse scene in Looper).

And I really love the notion of a power so terrible that it cannot be responsibly wielded. Tetsuo ends up hurting the ones he cares about just as readily as his foes. He's simultaneously the villain and a sympathetic innocent. That kind of texture makes for a fascinating character.

Just finished watching the doc "Cropsey" on Netflix. It's about a series of child abductions in Staten Island in the 80s.

I may never sleep again. I recommend it for anyone who likes folklore, true crime, and horror-style shots of decaying buildings.

Chappie. This is a weird one. Ever see a film where you're totally out of line with the popular perception, and you get a nagging feeling that you got it wrong? That was my experience with Chappie. I loved it when I saw it in March. Then the reviews hit and they were brutal. Of course I like plenty of films that aren't widely popular, yet something in the Chappie reviews got me thinking. The criticisms seemed valid, and I began to wonder if I hadn't been wrong.

Cut to last night when I watched it again, and yup ... it's bad. It's actually pretty obviously bad. So what was going on with me when I saw it the first time? Somehow, the simple, manipulative storyline caught me. Maybe I'm a Neill Blomkamp apologist (I seem to love all his films, even against reason). Anyway, I'm ready to concede that Chappie isn't what I thought it was.

Corsairs said:

Cut to last night when I watched it again, and yup ... it's bad. It's actually pretty obviously bad. So what was going on with me when I saw it the first time? Somehow, the simple, manipulative storyline caught me. Maybe I'm a Neill Blomkamp apologist (I seem to love all his films, even against reason). Anyway, I'm ready to concede that Chappie isn't what I thought it was.

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I sometimes do the same thing.

I think audiences generally want their entertainment to be good. We go into movies genuinely looking for something that will be fun or moving or what have you so when we see things for the first time we're more than willing to suspend our disbelief and just go with the moment. The second time we're a little more removed from the work and so we see its flaws.

Corsairs said:

Chappie. This is a weird one. Ever see a film where you're totally out of line with the popular perception, and you get a nagging feeling that you got it wrong? That was my experience with Chappie. I loved it when I saw it in March. Then the reviews hit and they were brutal. Of course I like plenty of films that aren't widely popular, yet something in the Chappie reviews got me thinking. The criticisms seemed valid, and I began to wonder if I hadn't been wrong.

Cut to last night when I watched it again, and yup ... it's bad. It's actually pretty obviously bad. So what was going on with me when I saw it the first time? Somehow, the simple, manipulative storyline caught me. Maybe I'm a Neill Blomkamp apologist (I seem to love all his films, even against reason). Anyway, I'm ready to concede that Chappie isn't what I thought it was.

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I decided to stick with Short Circuit, myself.


=======================

Today, I watched...

Truck Turner (1974) -- Starring Isaac Hayes, Jr. and Nichelle Nichols in a very different kind of role than the one she's most famous for. But, it was great to see her in a non-Trek role. I've been enjoying seeing the various Star Trek stars scattered throughout the TV/Movie industry during the '70s, when Star Trek was, for the most part, in limbo. Yes, there was the animated series, which I'm watching right now, but it's going to be thrilling to actually see them reunited when I get to The Motion Picture.

I also watched S*P*Y*S -- Starring Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould from the film version of M*A*S*H, and a very different kind of movie than the one above.

Finished up my recent review of Neill Blomkamp films with Elysium. This is the one where all the Blomkamp hate began, but on this second viewing, I still quite enjoy it. It fits squarely into the Blomkamp model. The man gets the absolute most from his visuals (holy mackerel, this is a good-looking film!), and he gets the absolute least from his actors (if this isn't Jodie Foster's worst performance, I don't know what is). It's focused on class warfare, as always, and it's on the nose in delivering its populist message. The villain is a mustachio-twirling type, yet the action is thrilling and memorable (that grenade blowing of Kruger's face ... yikes!).

I guess the question now is how do we feel about Blomkamp being the man to revive the Alien franchise?

OMG, just watch an AMAZING movie on Netflix called, Haunter. It was SO good. Tons of creepiness and lots of confusion that all came together in a story that was so well put together.

Calla Lily (and scary/horror movie lovers), if you haven't seen this one, I think you might like it. I'm sort of blown away by its cleverness. I was browsing Netflix and saw it had a 3 star rating which is high for scary movies and the premise sounded interesting, so I gave it a shot. I don't know, maybe I'm crazy and everyone else hates this movie, but I thought it was great.

mad max: fury road. i loved it! it was really interesting and it had lots of cool female characters, such as the amazing furiosa.

mellymel said:

OMG, just watch an AMAZING movie on Netflix called, Haunter. It was SO good. Tons of creepiness and lots of confusion that all came together in a story that was so well put together. Calla Lily (and scary/horror movie lovers), if you haven't seen this one, I think you might like it. I'm sort of blown away by its cleverness. I was browsing Netflix and saw it had a 3 star rating which is high for scary movies and the premise sounded interesting, so I gave it a shot. I don't know, maybe I'm crazy and everyone else hates this movie, but I thought it was great.

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Thanks for the recommendation! I looked up Haunter and discovered that it's directed by Vincenzo Natali, the director of Cube. That's good enough for me.

shivadyne said:

mad max: fury road. i loved it! it was really interesting and it had lots of cool female characters, such as the amazing furiosa.

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Mad Max: Fury Road isn't just the best film of the year; it's the best film in years. If you haven't seen it yet, run—do not walk—to the theater. They're going to be talking about this film for years, and you don't want to have to admit that you missed it.

Just finished watching Desperado. It's been years since I last saw it, and I'm happy to say it stands up. This was at the height of Robert Rodriguez's powers, when he and Quentin Tarantino were just killing in with those crazy-long dialogue-filled scenes, and later the wanton bloodshed. Antonio Banderas is basically a stand in for "the guy every guy wishes he could be." He is effortlessly cool. I confess to wishing that, someday, I'll get the chance to use the line he uses on Salma Hayek: "Have I thanked you yet? No? I will." Cool. As. Ice.

Saw Rifftrax Live take on Sharknado 2 last night (with the short Parents: Who Needs Them?, in which an evil puppet turns an ungrateful boy invisible so he can watch his parents do what they do all day... which could've turned out real bad, but mostly his parents obsessively clean things.)

There's something to be said for a movie that doesn't even try to make sense... (And, yes, there's gonna be a third one.) Fun presentation, though it's impossible to top their riffing of The Room (that spiral staircase sex scene...) The short was a blatant ripoff of the MST-ied older short Appreciating Your Parents, only far less effective.

Unfortunately, the couple in front of us never shut up. At all. Through the entire film. And they were speaking at near-normal volume. I'm not sure they were aware other people were in the theater. Otherwise, it was a much better presentation than before, with decent sound levels and no tech issues.

I just watched Once Upon A Time In The West by Sergio Leone for the first time. I must say it was quite fun. A bit long from time to time but it has its moments. And a lot of great quotes

Rewatched Ender's Game. I liked it better than the people I saw it with the first time, and I was curious if I'd still like it as much on a second viewing. The answer is "mostly." I see the film's flaws more clearly now. There's an over-reliance on CGI, and much of the CGI (Battle Room excepted) looks terribly fake. The mind game sequences don't really work, and the secondary actors really aren't good at all.

Still, there's a lot that's good to be said about the film. Writer/director Gavin Hood did a great job of boiling down the essence of the book into a two-hour film. When the big twist arrives (don't worry, I won't spoil it!), it lands with an appropriately solid impact. I also bought Ender's relationship with his sister, as well as the growing respect and admiration Ender's peers have for him.

Overall, I still give Ender's Game a solid thumbs-up. I can see why it would irritate fans of the book because of all the liberties it takes with Orson Scott Card's story, but of course liberties were going to have to be taken to condense the story down to feature film length. I think Hood captured the core of the story well.

Just watched Gone Girl and Mad Max Fury Road.

Like, wow.

Both movies were brutal, disturbing, and thrilling in their own way. Mad Max was a thrilling, fun, brutal action-movie. Gone Girl was a disturbing...thriller? I'm not sure what genre that movie is. I enjoyed both movies, especially Mad Max. Gone Girl was very interesting, even kind of cool. Hey, I like proactive female protagonists, even if some of them are a little bit...twisted, lol.

The Good Lie. http://www.thegoodliemovie.com/ (trailer) Great. Moving, smart, and funny. Reese Witherspoon is something special. And here, especially, because of her generosity and graciousness.

i watched most of the lethal weapon series last night on television.