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

[johnnya24]

Saw Oblivion over the weekend. Seemed to have all the right ingredients on paper: concept sci-fi, dystopian future, great visuals, Tom Cruise starring, stellar support cast. It wanted to be a 2001: A Space Odyssey and Independence Day at the same time, and ended up being neither. Disappointed.

[rhd]

I finally got around to seeing 42 last night (yes, I know it came out Friday!). Definitely belongs in this thread. Obviously great story told very well, and particularly great cinematography of the on field scenes... yes it's somewhat hokey in how noble Robinson and Rickey come across, but that's to be expected. The whole family really enjoyed it, and for the first time that I've seen in a very long time, the audience applauded when the closing credits came up. Must see for everyone here.

I tried to see it this weekend, but couldnt because it was sold out! I havent heard anyone say anything but good things about this movie. I'll try to see it later this week, if I have time.

[B-Fly]

I finally got around to seeing 42 last night (yes, I know it came out Friday!). Definitely belongs in this thread. Obviously great story told very well, and particularly great cinematography of the on field scenes... yes it's somewhat hokey in how noble Robinson and Rickey come across, but that's to be expected. The whole family really enjoyed it, and for the first time that I've seen in a very long time, the audience applauded when the closing credits came up. Must see for everyone here.

A few colleagues and I clocked out for a long lunch and saw it this afternoon. Yes, it cloaks Robinson and Rickey with halos, but it was still pretty powerful and inspiring to watch. I really thought it was great.

[griswold]

I was really looking forward to seeing Lincoln, but I have to admit, while Daniel Day-Lewis was phenomenal, the movie was booooooring even to this Civil War buff. It was for all intents and purposes a courtroom drama that would've played well as a one-man production on Broadway (Daniel Day-Lewis is "LINCOLN!!") I did not expect the movie to spend 2 1/2 hours on a single month (a single week, really) in the war, with almost zero "action" scenes. Even his assassination scene was disappointing and anti-climactic.

I felt the same way about Lincoln. I learned quite a bit about the time period and the legislative system of the day....but way too long on that one topic.

And Sally Fields was awesome as well.

[griswold]

I finally got around to seeing 42 last night (yes, I know it came out Friday!). Definitely belongs in this thread. Obviously great story told very well, and particularly great cinematography of the on field scenes... yes it's somewhat hokey in how noble Robinson and Rickey come across, but that's to be expected. The whole family really enjoyed it, and for the first time that I've seen in a very long time, the audience applauded when the closing credits came up. Must see for everyone here.

Agree with this as well...and yes, the audience applauded at the end of our showing as well.

[rhd]

OK, I saw 42 2 days ago. It was a good movie, but it had some the typical features that most modern movies have that I dont like. The most touching scene for me was when Pee Wee Reese stood w his arm around Jackie on the field in Cincy. I applauded quietly. The scene where Rickey explains to Jackie why bringing him to MLB was important personally for him was also a moving scene.

[TranaGreg]

Saw Oblivion over the weekend. Seemed to have all the right ingredients on paper: concept sci-fi, dystopian future, great visuals, Tom Cruise starring, stellar support cast. It wanted to be a 2001: A Space Odyssey and Independence Day at the same time, and ended up being neither. Disappointed.

I saw it last weekend & came away with a very different take. I really enjoyed it, way more than I thought I would - went in expecting the typical action type flick & it definitely isn't that. I thought the plot twists were really well done.

I also thought that this movie should have been made with someone other than Cruise - he has so much baggage it's tough to view the lead character except through the Tom Cruise lens. This movie could have been way more with a different lead. Despite that I still think it's worth seeing.

[dslaw]

Watched 'The Company You Keep' last weekend. Didn't think it was bad, but I can't recommend anyone dropping $20 to see it either. Better to redbox it.

[johnnya24]

I saw it last weekend & came away with a very different take. I really enjoyed it, way more than I thought I would - went in expecting the typical action type flick & it definitely isn't that. I thought the plot twists were really well done.

I also thought that this movie should have been made with someone other than Cruise - he has so much baggage it's tough to view the lead character except through the Tom Cruise lens. This movie could have been way more with a different lead. Despite that I still think it's worth seeing.

It could have been a lot better IMO. I really believe they made a mess of it. So much felt rushed and badly conceived ... like a first draft. There was a good movie there if they had've done it right. That was my feeling anyway.

Plus Peter Bradshaw at the Guardian gave it a bad review, so I figured it had to be pretty good. He gave Inglorious Basterds 1/5.

[Fresno Bob]

I just saw "Cabin in the Woods", I went in totally cold which I think helped a lot. I found it quite enjoyable

[overkill94]

Finally got around to seeing Django Unchained last night (GF's out of town) and thought it was quite good. The ending became a bit ridiculous and some of the violence was a bit too over-the-top, but Christoph Waltz's character was highly entertaining and the overall plot worked quite well. Hoping to see a few more that the GF doesn't want to see while she's out of town - Life of Pi, Lincoln (she's already seen it), and Zero Dark Thirty.

[heyelander]

I just saw "Cabin in the Woods", I went in totally cold which I think helped a lot. I found it quite enjoyable

too funny. I watched that on Netflix on Wednesday night as well. Good stuff.

Saw a couple of movies in the theaters this past weekend. Trek was very good. Fast and Furious was... well... fast and furious. There's one seen that was more rediculous than any other, and some guy in the back declares "That's not possible!" I'm like... really? *That's* not possible?!?! Anyway... it delivered pretty much what was expected, so I was happy enough. Bad news for steve though, after the credits they rolled one more scene that sets up the next movie... steve will be even further behind...

[TranaGreg]

Cloud Atlas - what a strange movie. The best I can say is that I didn't completely hate it, but it was a total mess.

saw this movie last night and agree completely with your assessment. It was particularly strange to me as I was thinking that it would make a much better book than movie given all the jumping around of time periods; except that I just read that the book was in chronological order with each storyline a consistent piece - it's only for the movie that they decided to scramble it. Very weird decision, definitely didn't work for me.

[johnnya24]

Wow, the new Star Trek movie is 100% exceelent. Best movie I've seen in a while.

Agree ... fine movie indeed. JJ Abrahms just went way up in my estimation. Very surprised they got this script passed.

[johnnya24]

Johnny and I agree on something entertainment-related? What's next? Cows flying (into backyards)?

Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scotty are so well recreated ... Kirk in particular. Some of Bones's "I'm a Doctor, not a ..." lines were brilliant.

I'm glad they kept Khan alive ... Benedict Cumberbatch was born to be one of the great cinema bad guys.

The first Star Trek reboot was very good also ... apart from the part were Kirk was marooned on the planet. That stretched credulity way past the limits.