It's Back: Exceelent Movies I've Seen Lately

[Gregg]

I forgot how good The Shooter was. My wife recorded it for us not knowing that I had seen it. I told her I would gladly watch it again. She liked it and we both had fun with it. Good action flick for a quiet Friday night.

[johnnya24]

Watched some pretty good ones lately:

Margin Call - hadn't really heard anything about this before seeing it on the Oscar ballot for its screenplay even though it's pretty star-studded (Paul Bettany, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker). The film revolves around an investment firm realizing they're screwed and the fallout that ensues. The screenplay is incredibly tight and the performances are excellent all-around. Highly recommended movie.

Very claustrophobic, and it had a real sinister feel. Not a single good guy when it all boiled down. I wonder if that was to make the movie watchable, or to make a more subtle point?

[Gregg]

I just noticed this comment from Teenwolf:

Being There - I haven't seen anything with Peter Sellers, so this was an interesting place to start. I've already watched it twice now, and think it's pretty incredible. It's a strange film, because it's never comfortable to watch. Took me a few years to get around to it. Glad I finally did

I love this movie. It was Sellers second to last movie. The mansion is the Biltmore Estate in Ashville NC. If you ever get a chance to visit it is an amazing experience.

I think this would be a good movie for this week's movie night.

[Gregg]

Someone in here recommended Kill the Irishman. I watched it last night. Not bad. Well worth the time.

I was surprised that it is based on a true story taking place in the mid to late 70's Cleveland (just before I moved there). I do not remember reading about the war zone that made national headlines. Maybe Gainesville Georgia didn't deem it important.

My wife missed out as she went to bed early. I will watch it again with her in the near future.

[overkill94]

Very claustrophobic, and it had a real sinister feel. Not a single good guy when it all boiled down. I wonder if that was to make the movie watchable, or to make a more subtle point?

First of all it speaks to the greed involved in the banking industry in the US. Second, it shows that these guys probably aren't normally bad people, but in a situation where their livelihood is on the line they will do virtually anything to survive. It's obviously not a feel-good movie, but I thought that it was really sharply written and the acting was solid all-around as well.

[johnnya24]

21 Jump Street = lame

EDIT: downgrading this review to "sucks"

[johnnya24]

First of all it speaks to the greed involved in the banking industry in the US. Second, it shows that these guys probably aren't normally bad people, but in a situation where their livelihood is on the line they will do virtually anything to survive. It's obviously not a feel-good movie, but I thought that it was really sharply written and the acting was solid all-around as well.

Great cast. I think it goes beyond people just looking after their livelihood ... it expressed the completely out-of-touch-with-reality wall street culture very well. The Stanley Tucci character didn't really seem to care one way or the other. His conversation with Demi Moore was cold. The analyst (Zachary Quinto) admitted he was only there for the money, and was seen at the end lining up to sell his soul. Kevin Spacey was probably the only character to hesitate and act in the interests of his livelihood ... but I get the impression that he'd act the same way in any case. I would say his hesitation came as much from the turmoil in his private life (divorce, dog death) forcing him out of his comfort zone. When it came down to it, he went into the room, offered the bribe, and got them to go and sell worthless toxic assets to whoever would buy them. Paul Bettany, Simon Baker, Jeremy Irons and Demi Moore were all grade A sh!ts. I think that it was clever to get the audience to kindoff like the main characters ... some of the things that Bettany said made sense, you couldn't root against the two young guys who uncovered the issue and were worried about their futures. You had some sympathy for Tucci (the manner in which he was fired) and Spacey. But behind it all ... they did what they did ... and they'd do it again.

[johnnya24]

Seeing this trailer on the big screen didn't make is seem any better ... looks horrifyingly terrible, and I mean that in a bad way ... and I'm not referring to Scarlett Johansson in skin tight apparel ... that of course cannot be horrifyingly terrible.

[Mithrandir]

I just watched "Kick Ass" and it was highly enjoyable. Hit-Girl freaking rocked. The "Banana Splits" Theme song part and the "Bad Reputation" part when Hit-Girl was kicking ass ROCKED!!!!!

[DMT]

'Kick Ass' did just that.

[DMT]

'Game Change' was pretty good and apparently was a fair representation according to two of McCain's top campaign advisors that were featured prominently in the film.

[JudeBaldo]

From everything I've read it is pretty accurate. Palin's failure to grasp even the most rudimentary understanding of basic issues made me feel uncomfortable.

[DMT]

From everything I've read it is pretty accurate. Palin's failure to grasp even the most rudimentary understanding of basic issues made me feel uncomfortable.

Yes, same here.

What was incredible was extreme amount of arrogance coupled with the staggering amount of ignorance.

Edited for grammar.

[JudeBaldo]

Yes, same here.

What was incredible was extreme amount of arrogance coupled with the amount levels of ignorance.

The acting was excellent. Woody was top notch. Palin's transformation from backwater "golly-gee-schucks" to a political awareness about her star power was kind of eerie.

[revo]

Someone in here recommended Kill the Irishman. I watched it last night. Not bad. Well worth the time.

I was surprised that it is based on a true story taking place in the mid to late 70's Cleveland (just before I moved there). I do not remember reading about the war zone that made national headlines. Maybe Gainesville Georgia didn't deem it important.

My wife missed out as she went to bed early. I will watch it again with her in the near future.

I saw Kill the Irishman last week, and went in expecting, well, not much. It was great! Kind of like Goodfellas moves to Cleveland. True story about a day laborer-turned-Union Boss-turned-gangster in the 1960s and mid-1970s. The plot was good, the action good, and it was like a who's who of your favorite Sopranos and Goodfellas actors, with Chris Walken, Val Kilmer and Ray Stevenson sprinkled in.

That was me, back in July. Glad you liked it. You should check out the bio of Danny Greene on the BIO channel.