What was the last movie you watched?

[Pak-Man]

It was to make another 80s reference.

?

Did you block them out? Every store with a space for useless crap had a shelf full of plastic flowers in pots, usually wearing sunglasses and holding a saxaphone or something, that would dance back and forth when you played music.

And if you cut off the daisy and get a little artsy-craftsy:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/IxxOi9fUNs8" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/IxxOi9fUNs8</a>

[Relaxing Dragon]

Monuments Men

It has a great cast and a fun premise, but it is a surprisingly lifeless movie (with a few good scenes).  It's a shame such a charismatic group of actors is given so little to do and it feels like a film from the 80's due to it's use of music that is largely cheesy by today's standards.  The film is also disappointingly free of tension, even in the scenes where I must assume that tension was intended.  It does make me want to read a book of the true story, but this film feels more like a checklist of interesting occurrences (though I'm not sure which ones were made for the film) that lacks a heart or stronger exploration of the central theme to keep it held together.

Yeah, this one was a big letdown. The cast is perfect, the premise is super intriguing, but ultimately it just comes off so flat. A real missed opportunity, even if I at least want to know more about the real-life aspect of things.

[Quirk]

Sorry, I shoulda put a quote in there - I was replying to Quirk.

I wasn't actually alive during any point of the 80's, so I had no idea about the dancing flowers. I can appreciate the scene a little more now that I know that.

[d00hickey]

Sorry, I shoulda put a quote in there - I was replying to Quirk.

I wasn't actually alive during any point of the 80's, so I had no idea about the dancing flowers. I can appreciate the scene a little more now that I know that.

I'm pretty sure the dancing flower stuck around into the nineties. The dancing Pepsi can definitely did.

[d00hickey]

Yea, now we only bust out the cheap dancing tchotchkies for holidays. Back in the 90's and 80's it was a year round affair.

 

[ScottotD]

People see those movies?  Arent they huge snore fests where people kiss each others asses about how artsy they are?

Did this turn into a conversation about pseudo-indie Wes Anderson movies?

[ScottotD]

The Avengers, I was actuallyI'd love eant to watch the rifftrax but I hadn't watched it since it was in theatres so I watched it straight instead. Still really enjoyed it. I'm also firmly in the 'we need a a black widow movie' and a Hulk one.

YES! And before Avenger I don't think I ever would have wanted to see a Black Widow or Hawkeye movie. But now I'd love one.

HOORAY!~

[Sideswipe]

I guess I'm the only person who's seen the Avengers who thought it was basically completely average, laden with a lot of Stupid Shit (TM).

No, the movie was incredibly over rated. 

YES! And before Avenger I don't think I ever would have wanted to see a Black Widow or Hawkeye movie. But now I'd love one.

Black Widow and Hawkeye added nothing to the movie.  If they were taken out the story would still be almost exactly the same.  In the MCU they are boring compared to the super heros in the movies.

[Johnny Unusual]

Flash Gordon

This one is a weird mix of "works really well" and "falls really flat".  Max von Sydow is great as Ming the Merciless, bringing a sense of genuine menace and fun to what is really a one-dimensional villain.  The set designs are a lot of fun, as is the comic booky setting.  And I do like Topol as Zarkov.  And Klytus is a cool villain (especially in his first big scene).  I also kind of like the world of Mongo and Brian Blessed and Timothy Dalton play their cartoonish parts very well. 

Flash, however, is a boring lead and while Flash should have been a charming rogue, he's just kind of... there.  Dale is also pretty irritating for the most part, and the two leads lack any real chemistry beyond sharing a love of being bland.  The fight scenes are pretty lame too, with a low point being a battle between Ming's guards and Flash.  I like the idea that Flash would re-appropriate his football skills to win a fight, but it looks really dumb when it should have seemed more kinetic, rather than a particularly lame comedy sketch.

The soundtrack is sort of the perfect encapsulation of the film: awesome rock with weak-sounding synth.  It really is half way to being a truly great movie.  I think with better leads (and some better writing for Dale), this script could easily have been saved and turned into a truly fun flick instead of a mixed bag.

[Darth Geek]

I just watch the documentary about voice over acting I Know That Voice. I really enjoyed it. It goes through the history and many different aspects of voice acting. Interviews with pretty much all of the well know, and lesser known, voice actors in the business. The exception being Frank Welker, but apparently he's a bit of a recluse.

[Johnny Unusual]

World's End

Not as good as the first two in the trilogy, but still, a great movie and not a bad way to top off the trilogy.  I like the fact that, not unlike From Dusk Till Dawn, it doesn't let on what kind of movie it is going to become until well into the story and it still works very well (I always envy people who get to see those kinds of movies without a clue of what it is going to become).  If I have one major complaint, it's that the movie's complication just doesn't feel dire enough despite the fact that it technically is.  Still, it has some fantastic character work in it, which Edgar Wright never skimps on no matter what the genre.  I like that the film makes no bones about how deeply pathetic Gary King is and how sad their recreation of a pub crawl is.  It doesn't slowly reveal what would have been to the obvious early on, it dives right into the patheticness of a character who believes he is cool (or that it can be cool) and reveals more about where that sadness and patheticness comes from.  From what I understand, some people have a problem with the epilogue, but I actually like it quite a bit.  I have more problem with the climax, which lacks a little oomph and feels a bit more like drunken funny Star Trek.  Overall, good movie, and I look forward to revisiting (Edgar Wright's films are endlessly revisitable).

[d00hickey]

Worlds End and Shaun of the Dead were my favorites.   

[Johnny Unusual]

Hot Fuzz is my favourite.  It's the one I keep going back to again and again.

Gary certainly isn't likable in World's End, but I think the film gives him sympathy, making him aware of how pathetic he is and how Quixotic his mission is.  The scene towards the end where he and Andy are fighting is powerful stuff.

[Edward J Grug III]

Hot Fuzz is my favourite.  It's the one I keep going back to again and again.

Gary certainly isn't likable in World's End, but I think the film gives him sympathy, making him aware of how pathetic he is and how Quixotic his mission is.  The scene towards the end where he and Andy are fighting is powerful stuff.

I agree.

I'm hoping World's End grows on me, so far Hot Fuzz is the last thing I really liked of EW's, and that was 7 years ago now... Having said that, I also found it had to grow on me. But I have found my enjoyment of SotD lessen over the years too. It's good, but not as great as I once found it.

[d00hickey]

I have the same experience with SotD, the first time I saw it I thought it was great but much less so with repeat viewings. I should try Hot Fuzz again because I've only seen it once and I might not have been in the right mood for it. I hope Edgar Wright is working on a new one, his IMDB list ends with The Worlds End.