Movies You've Seen Recently

[Volourn]

"The best bits are really Parker-Gwen and Captain Stacey towards the end, but it takes a long time to get there."

 

Agree. I also loatheed the streotype Captain Stacy was at the start.

 

 

"the movie also seems to forget about plot points and characters that they introduced earlier"

 

Yup. Like the bully. It looked like they were setting him up for some depth but then it really didn't go anywhere.

[LadyCrimson]

Well, we watched The Hobbit. Never got around to seeing it in the theater.

 

For the first 1.5 hours I was lying on the couch with an ever growing sense of "this movie sucks." Not "meh," or "it's watchable" but "sucks."

But then latter half picked up and became watchable. At the least, it gave me hope maybe the 2nd one will be a bit better. The issue for me was at no time did I feel any connection to the characters, not even Gandalf. The dwarves were slapstick-y and outside of Thorin, I couldn't tell you who each one was, or why I should care what happens to them. Love the actor playing Bilbo tho, and so far he's the saving grace in the movie for me, even if his role really isn't much yet.

 

And yes I read the book....when I was maybe 11. But the only thing I really remember was the riddle/Gollum sequence. Which was ok in the film, except they removed almost all tension/intrigue. Anyway, the LotR films had their own set of pacing/filler issues too, but at least it made me feel something for most of the characters, pretty quickly. By the end of LotR, I was desperate for the next film. At the end of The Hobbit....not so much. I'll watch it a 2nd time tomorrow, see if that changes my mind about anything.

[Gorgon]

Cloud Atlas. Was told it was hard to keep track of because of all the time shifts, au contraire actually. I thought the shifts were very smooth. The story was a little meh though. I suppose they had to dumb it down to make a movie out of it. There was not a lot of connecting the dots between the different characters played by the same actors, or the story, and ultimately It didn't succeed in making me ponderous about life and stufftm after leaving the theater.

 

That Korean actress from lost with the funny nose is still very cute though. She looked hilarious as a European.

[Gorgon]

Well, we watched The Hobbit. Never got around to seeing it in the theater.

 

For the first 1.5 hours I was lying on the couch with an ever growing sense of "this movie sucks." Not "meh," or "it's watchable" but "sucks."

But then latter half picked up and became watchable. At the least, it gave me hope maybe the 2nd one will be a bit better. The issue for me was at no time did I feel any connection to the characters, not even Gandalf. The dwarves were slapstick-y and outside of Thorin, I couldn't tell you who each one was, or why I should care what happens to them. Love the actor playing Bilbo tho, and so far he's the saving grace in the movie for me, even if his role really isn't much yet.

 

And yes I read the book....when I was maybe 11. But the only thing I really remember was the riddle/Gollum sequence. Which was ok in the film, except they removed almost all tension/intrigue. Anyway, the LotR films had their own set of pacing/filler issues too, but at least it made me feel something for most of the characters, pretty quickly. By the end of LotR, I was desperate for the next film. At the end of The Hobbit....not so much. I'll watch it a 2nd time tomorrow, see if that changes my mind about anything.

I know it's not fair to Peter Jackson, a movie has to stand on its own and it's not supposed to be true to the book except in a general sense, but I was too annoyed with all the stuff he just made up to suit the pacing. It didn't feel like the Hobbit to me and the Dwarves were all stupid. There is a lot of Dwarf slapstick in the book but if you cant make it work - better to cut it out entirely.

 

Any film of the Hobbit was going to depend a lot on the cinematography being part of the storytelling. All the GCI and tumbling and dangling off the edges of cliffs for the benifit of the 3D cameras worked against him this time. 

[Oerwinde]

God Bless America. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Hurlshort]

30 for 30:  You Don't Know Bo.  This was a biography of Bo Jackson, and it was awesome.  I was so young when he was in his prime, and it brought back a lot of childhood memories.  I want to play TecmoBowl now

[babaganoosh13]

Die Hard 5, of course. First time I went to a cinema in a couple of years.

[JFSOCC]

I watched Cloud Atlas. Very nice.

 

There was one scene in that movie which made me question my ethics.

 

The scene where it is revealed how the servants are executed and then used as meat, made me question how we treat cattle worldwide, worse.

I love eating meat, but ultimately we treat those animals worse than the slaves in this film were treated.

 

[Orogun01]

I watched Cloud Atlas. Very nice.

 

There was one scene in that movie which made me question my ethics.

 

The scene where it is revealed how the servants are executed and then used as meat, made me question how we treat cattle worldwide, worse.

I love eating meat, but ultimately we treat those animals worse than the slaves in this film were treated.

 

Good that you are aware of the double standard that is human pride, even though the thought of humanity as being inherently noble is a pipe dream.

[Raithe]

Damn. I caught a clip from "The Ice Pirates". Reminded me how it is so much cheesy spectacular goodness packed in one campy space opera.

 

This is a hole in my dvd libary. At some point in the near future I must acquire a copy....

[LadyCrimson]

Stolen - that Nic Cage flop. Hahaha....Cage didn't go all over the top but what a terrible movie. Still, it's almost bad enough to be amusing.

[LadyCrimson]

Finally saw a version of that Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film ... the US one. I kept meaning to watch the Swedish on Netflix but was never in a mood for over two hours of subtitles. I think I did try a few times but didn't get far. Anyway....the US version was very well filmed/acted, so props for that...at least it wasn't as "Hollywoodized" as some. But it did leave me feeling distant and detached most of the time. Also, I knew who the "bad guy" would be almost from the get go. There was a huge tell in one very early scene that made it obvious, so that ruined some of the mystery/suspense. Don't know if it was that obvious in the Swedish version. Still, I liked it well enough. Maybe I'll read the book someday.

[Gorgon]

You knew the minuite you saw 

Stellan Skarsgård

, but it's an old trick to dangle an apparent lead in front of the audience in the beginning to throw them off track.

 

I think I saw the one where everyone is Swedish except the leads and they all speak English. Kinda bizarre, but you got used to it I suppose.

 

They made one with American actors ?

[Hurlshort]

I watched the Swedish version of Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, and I didn't pick up on the killer right away.  I think it was subtitled, it was a long time ago.

[Gorgon]

Subs are awesome by the way. Yay for subs.

[HoonDing]

Stolen - that Nic Cage flop. Hahaha....Cage didn't go all over the top but what a terrible movie. Still, it's almost bad enough to be amusing.

Has Nic Cage been in any decent movie after 2000? I can't remember any.

 

He's evolved into the Van Damme/Seagal of the 2000s.

Edited March 23, 2013 by Drudanae

[Meshugger]

^Exactly. Why on earth would you guys watch dubs to begin with? It doesn't really retract from the experience, and i do hope that you can read, right?

[Gorgon]

It's not a dub, the actors just speak English so Daniel Craig can understand what they are saying. The effect is the impression that Sweden is populated by Brits.

[LadyCrimson]

They made one with American actors ?

No, I meant the Craig one, but it's an American production. David Fincher/MGM(and others)+Columbia Pictures and Sony. Hence "American version."

 

I realized who it was during:

the dinner Craig had with Stellan, where the latter mentioned a door (or something) being left open and he wandered off to get more wine. I don't know if that was the absolute first time you see him...I was making dinner the first 15 minutes and only half-paying attention, heh.

 

 

 

^Exactly. Why on earth would you guys watch dubs to begin with? It doesn't really retract from the experience, and i do hope that you can read, right?

It would be pretty hard to read/respond on a forum if I couldn't, y'know.

I like some subs, and there's some films I refuse to watch without them, but I personally have nothing against dubs either. I've seen good/bad ones of both, so I don't really see either as being exalted. Just depends on certain preferences.

 

The thing is my husband was born with mild dyslexia, so he reads verry slowly and he hates subs, so I can't watch dubs with him. And I guess I'm getting old and titles on small screens are becoming a bit annoying .... I usually watch Netflix on the 23" monitor, which means sitting in the deskchair or squinting across the room from the daybed, and I don't like sitting in a deskchair at a desk to watch a 2+ hr. movie.

[Oerwinde]

Saw the Hobbit finally. The whole part at the beginning with bilbo and frodo was unnecessary. And the whole movie was pretty much the party running from stuff. I've never read the book, but after finding out they weren't being pursued by orcs in the book, I don't think it was necessary in the movie.

 

Otherwise I enjoyed it.

[Hurlshort]

My wife also has a minor learning disability and it makes subs very hard to follow.  It's not exactly uncommon.  Personally I can't watch stuff in 3D because I get major eye strain.

[Blarghagh]

Did you see The Hobbit in 48fps 3D? Because I tend to get painful eye strain and headaches from 3D but the 48fps was smooth watching.

[LadyCrimson]

Hubby gets 3D eyestrain too. I don't think it's usually major, but he's not fond of 3D either. The reading thing can make me impatient when we game, as he's still sorting through dozens of inventory items when I'm ready to go.

Saw the Hobbit finally. The whole part at the beginning with bilbo and frodo was unnecessary. And the whole movie was pretty much the party running from stuff. I've never read the book, but after finding out they weren't being pursued by orcs in the book, I don't think it was necessary in the movie.

 

Otherwise I enjoyed it.

Yeah, I felt the same about the Bilbo/Frodo start.

I also didn't like the storm giant sequence, because despite all the wonders of effects these days, I thought that looked utterly terrible. But then, I didn't see it on the big screen.

[LadyCrimson]

On another note, why can't they use true short actors for dwarf/halfing roles these days? All the cgi tricks now, and they can't manage that?

Also, dwarf make-up is still mostly terrible (the face prosthetics). Effects advances haven't helped there much.

[Oerwinde]

Did you see The Hobbit in 48fps 3D? Because I tend to get painful eye strain and headaches from 3D but the 48fps was smooth watching.

Blu-Ray, so no 3d.

 

As for using short/dwarf actors, probably because decent ones who fit the part and don't look funny walking/are proportionate are in (pardon the pun) short supply.