What was the last movie you watched?

[Starman!]

John Dies At The End. Didn't care for it.

[Darth Geek]

I liked it. Although the amorphous blob thing at the end was kind of a letdown. And a lot of the movie seemed like weird for the sake of weird.

[Mrs. Dick Courier]

John Dies At The End. Didn't care for it.

Just don't give away the ending.  Haven't seen it yet.

[Relaxing Dragon]

I liked it. Although the amorphous blob thing at the end was kind of a letdown. And a lot of the movie seemed like weird for the sake of weird.

It's a tricky thing to adapt material from a book as weird as JDatE. But I think the movie manages admirably, and I enjoyed it even before I read the thing.

[losingmydignity]

John Huston's Wise Blood.

Just as nutty as Flannery's story. I thought Huston made a good film out of a so so book (sorry O'Connor fans). I like how the film never settled on one tone: went from southern goth to serious drama to dark comedy, etc.

Still think Huston's Fat City is better and more deserving of a Criterion release. Check out Fat City, a great underrated film with Jeff Bridges.

And, yes, no Huston in a banana hammock in either...

[lassieface]

Europa Report



I was on board the second I heard it featured incredibly accurate science. And it really does. The ship that they use to get to Europa is not unlike one we might build to do that. The details are great too. If you listen to the technical dialogue it actually isn't gibberish (at least not all of it...there was some technical stuff I understood).

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It also portrays life on Europa in a way that you could call evolutionarily feasible (again, parts of it).

The story is pretty simple...some astronauts head to Europa and then things start going wrong. If you look at it like a horror movie it sucks. It has almost every trope in the book. If, however, you view it as a science fiction film that highlights the dangers of space travel and the importance of exploration it sits much better. The visuals are really great. Some of the CG is bad, but by and large it looks awesome. The score by Bear McCreary is also excellent. Like most of his work it isn't available for purchase or download anywhere.

I'd highly recommend it. Right now it's on VOD.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

The score by Bear McCreary is also excellent. Like most of his work it isn't available for purchase or download anywhere.

Lots of his stuff is available, loads of Battlestar Galactica discs were released (I have the season 3 one), also the Terminator (TV series) and Eureka soundtracks.

Looks like an interesting movie, $10 for a 48 hour rental is a bit much though, I'll probably wait until after it's theatrical run when it gets cheaper.  But I like the idea of putting stuff out on VOD pre-theatrical, hope they do it with more movies.

[lassieface]

VOD especially nice if you live somewhere that doesn't get smaller, independent movies in local theaters.

[Thrifty Version II]

John Dies At The End. Didn't care for it.

Just don't give away the ending.  Haven't seen it yet.

Surprise twist ending!  John survives the entire movie!

Actually haven't seen it yet.

[Nunyerbiz]

Monsters University
Pixar has been on cruise control for three summers now... With a straightforward "aim for the six year olds and sell toys" cash-in with Cars 2... and even with some relatively unique 'girl power' underpinnings "Brave" was fairly forgettable... and now we have another sequel... err prequel. Well, I give those guys credit... they sold out to Disney right at high tide. The Pixar name will still be a license to print money for decades to come, but I'm starting to think that they had their 15 year run of brilliance and now it's the long plateau of above average-ness.

Nothing wrong with this movie, just like there wasn't really anything wrong with Brave or Cars 2. The plot framework was lifted from any handful of campus farce movies dating back 30+ years... but the message was solid and the laughs were plentiful enough... Even if Pixar can't quite seem to consistently deliver the 'magic' factor anymore, their gradual decline and/or leveling off will still be an entertaining ride.

Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2
For about a decade starting in the mid-80s, Hollywood kept throwing Bill Murray "lovable asshole" roles and he kept hitting them out of the park. The Ghostbusters movies, Scrooged, What About Bob?, Groundhog Day... the man had a gift. Ackroyd, Ramis and Hudson could have been replaced with just about anybody competent... but you lose Murray (and to a lesser degree, Moranis in support) and it's not a pair of movies that I rewatch 30 years later. Also, the original movie features another one of my "William Zabka Plays a Great Prick" Lifetime Achievement Award Winners: William Atherton... You may remember him as the prick in: Ghostbusters, Die Hard and Real Genius. 

The Goonies
My wife really digs this one and bought the DVD for our sons to watch. Most kids in my generation... let's say those that were between the ages of 10 and 14 when this released in 1985, absolutely adore this movie. I gotta say, it's never done a whole lot for me. There are pre-teens saying "shit" alot... which my wife and I completely forgot about and we sorta cringed more than once as our 5 and 7 year olds watched it... And there are some genuinely funny moments and a few good action scenes... But it just never clicked for me, even when I was 12 years old watching it on cable for the first time. When anybody my age ever brings it up, only two things stuck with me... Short Round and his chattering teeth utility belt and the Cyndi Lauper theme song... and the Lauper theme song is not one of her stronger efforts.

[Mrs. Dick Courier]

Behind the Candleabra

Really enjoyed.  Micheal Douglas and Matt Damom were Excellent.  And it had an awesome supporting cast too.

From what I heard about it expected it to be more explicit.  It wasn't at all.

[MightyJack]

Cloud Atlas
I've always been drawn to movies with multiple storylines/timelines etc. I actually loved "The Fountain" for example, even though it received some bad notices. So this appealed to me, though I did have some problems with it. Such as the distracting accents and makeup... that it became like a heavy handed Hallmark card with it's message, and that some segments didn't seem to blend well with the whole (The one about the writer's agent guy in the asylum... how did that fit? Anyone know?) So yeah, flawed, but entertaining.

I enjoyed the futuristic tales best of all, despite the one with Doo-na Bae going all Matrixy on our asses, I thought Bae was outstanding in the role, she really got me to care for the character and her situation.

[Darth Geek]

Your Highness - I liked it. It had some decent laughs, but wasn't really incredibly funny. So I think it succeeded at the fantasy movie part more than the comedy.

[losingmydignity]

Nicholas Roeg's Eureka.

I love most of Roeg's mind-f&#k movies and this one started out promising but it just lost me in the end. I was laughing my ass off during the court room scene which I'm not sure Roeg intended. Or maybe he did. Still, it's no Performance or Don't Look Now.

[The Lurker]

Currently watching A Christmas Story 2.  So far the acting is more hammy than the first one (especially the dad, played by Daniel Stern).  Also, there's one moment I'm not sure is accurate to the time period.  More when the movie is finished.