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

[johnnya24]

I Since I haven't seen the movie yet I don't know if it's Exceelent but I thought some of you might be interested in checking it out.

Since the Oxford English dictionary definition of "Exceelent" is:

"An adjective used when describing something as either very good or very bad. More often though it is used to describe indifference."

... you should be OK

[johnnya24]

Saw World War Z this weekend.


Meh.

First time I saw it I was thinking about the book. But I still thought it was OK. I wasn't blown away or anything, but there was nothing to get militant about.

I watched it again a few weeks ago and liked it a lot more. I'm looking forward to the sequels ... I think they will be a lot better. Certainly there won't be any problem with budgeting given that the original took more than $500m.

[johnnya24]

Prisoner - really good movie, but grim to say the least. Probably 20 minutes too long, and I think they could have found a way to make the ending more efficient. Jake Gyllenhaal is one of those actors I will see pretty much anything he does (except Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time). Hugh Jackman and Paul Dano are also on top form. Nice to see Terrence Howard appear in something halfway decent again, although he never really got a chance to shine.

EDIT: when I went to the cinema there were 4 movies that I really wanted to see ... can't recall the last time I was so spoiled for choice.

[johnnya24]

Runner Runner - I found it somewhat interesting because I've been involved with the online poker / gaming world. From the same makers of Rounders. It mixes together the UB/AP multi-accounting scandal and the FTP player account theft into a single plot. Was OK up to a point, then I didn't really care from about half way through. The ending seemed like a huge contradiction. Decent enough.

Pain and Gain - surprisingly decent movie. I wasn't expecting anything here as the previews looked really cheesy, and Michael Bay directed ... but the cheese was necessary and the aesthetic was right up Bay's street. Probably 20 minutes too long, but the 3 leads nailed their roles, including The Rock surprisingly. Entertaining, and kinda disturbing given that it was a true story.

[johnnya24]

Blue Jasmine - brilliant movie. Cate Blanchett is spectacular (as usual). The whole cast is superb. It was weird seeing 'Arnold Rothstein' playing such a weedy pathetic character, and a fellow Boardwalk cast member Bobby Cannavale was given plenty of leeway to show his unique skills. Woody Allen's late career revival has been quite something ... I wasn't a fan of Midnight In Paris, but most people loved it, but I really liked Vicky Christina Barcelona. Blue Jasmine might be one of his best ever movies.

[Fresno Bob]

I went with the space porn last week. Saw Gravity in 3D IMAX, I hate 3D, but I think IMAX added a ton to my enjoyment of it. I watched Europa Report at home, which I found interesting, but the whole "found footage" seemed like an excuse to for the cheap effects more than anything else

[DMT]

Blue Jasmine - brilliant movie. Cate Blanchett is spectacular (as usual). The whole cast is superb. It was weird seeing 'Arnold Rothstein' playing such a weedy pathetic character, and a fellow Boardwalk cast member Bobby Cannavale was given plenty of leeway to show his unique skills. Woody Allen's late career revival has been quite something ... I wasn't a fan of Midnight In Paris, but most people loved it, but I really liked Vicky Christina Barcelona. Blue Jasmine might be one of his best ever movies.

Yea it was a great movie with superb acting. I thought Midnight In Paris was also excellent, and Match Point as well.

[johnnya24]

I went with the space porn last week. Saw Gravity in 3D IMAX, I hate 3D, but I think IMAX added a ton to my enjoyment of it. I watched Europa Report at home, which I found interesting, but the whole "found footage" seemed like an excuse to for the cheap effects more than anything else

Heard a lot of side-talk about how good Gravity is, but I've been avoiding reviews and previews so I can see it untarnished. I saw the trailer of it in the cinema and it looked spectacular. But I won't be ruining it with 3D as I rarely enjoy the experience of 3D movies. It was a nice gimmick at first, got tired quick.

Hard to take Sandra Bullock's voice in a serious role though. I can't help but associate her with comedy and action comedy.

[Fresno Bob]

Heard a lot of side-talk about how good Gravity is, but I've been avoiding reviews and previews so I can see it untarnished. I saw the trailer of it in the cinema and it looked spectacular. But I won't be ruining it with 3D as I rarely enjoy the experience of 3D movies. It was a nice gimmick at first, got tired quick.

Hard to take Sandra Bullock's voice in a serious role though. I can't help but associate her with comedy and action comedy.

I didn't think the 3D added much, but having the screen larger than your field of vision (IMAX) really added to the visual effect of space.

[johnnya24]

The Way Way Back - nice little indie style movie with a strong cast. It was kinda depressing in the overall feel, and dated seaside towns really bum me out for some reason ... then again, that whole feeling that things used to be better in a bygone era kinda fitted the broken-home / parents-fuck-you-up motif of the movie. Didn't love it, but it was good enough ... Sam Rockwell brought just enough charisma to drag it out of the mire.

[johnnya24]

Captain Phillips - good movie. Tom Hanks plays the slightly unlikeable, standoffish captain really well. It was clear the crew didn't like him that much, but they did a great job of conveying that very subtly. Turned into a fairly straight-laced action suspense movie. Started off like it was gong to deal with some wider issues: the background of the pirates and the pressures on them; the conversation Phillips had with his wife about the future ... then the movie just left all that behind. Kapringen (aka A Hijacking) is a similar a movie about a captured Danish vessel. It wasn't as good in terms of action, but really got its teeth into the ransom-negotiation aspect with the focus being more on the company owner and the pirates.

Both definitely worth watching.

[johnnya24]

I'm getting the urge to watch either Heat or Chinatown again ... I think it has something to do with GTA5 arriving tomorrow.

EDIT ... why not both?

[johnnya24]

Before Sunrise | Before Sunset | Before Midnight - I avoided Before Midnight (2013) when it was released because I still hadn't seen Before Sunset (2005). It's a pretty extraordinary series of movies. Like one of those experiments you read about when sociologists or psychologists follow the lives of twins separated at birth or octuplets. Every 5 years they return and carry out new tests and experiments. Kinda hard to watch in many respects, because it's like watching your own life in an alternate universe. Same arguments, same Mars-Venus dynamic, same make-up tactics etc.

If you were to rank the greatest romance / relationship movies, it'd be hard not to put this series on or around the top.

[heyelander]

I've seen both, but it's been years... Should i go back and rewatch to get the best effect?

[johnnya24]

I've seen both, but it's been years... Should i go back and rewatch to get the best effect?

Yeah, I would say so. Definitely the second one. Depends how many times you've seen the original, and how much of it you remember. I last saw Sunrise about a year ago, so I skipped that one. Sunset and Midnight are better than the original IMO.

That's a lot of talking in one session though Definitely would not recommened trying to watch all at once.