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

[johnnya24]

just watched. not a bad movie - hate, hate, hated the ending. could have been so much better.

I actually liked the overall ending, I just didn't think the transition phases in the middle worked as well as they might have. It's like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be an art movie, a quirky movie or an action movie, so it decided to be all 3.

[johnnya24]

Interstellar - a far from perfect movie, and there are a few clunky "Dark Knight Rises" moments, especially with the dialogue, plot and continuity. But overall I really liked it ... the movie was grand enough to overcome these problems IMO. I was worried after accidentally glancing at some reviews that it'd be terrible, but it seems these critics just dwelt on the bad parts. I can understand why some people got annoyed by a few of the lazy character relations, in particular the Michael Caine / Anne Hathaway thing. When you add that to the main father/daughter scenario, it just seems ridiculous. They should have either wrote out Caine and Hathaway or simplified their relationship.

Nolan is clearly aiming for "Haneke in space". There is a really strong Tree of Life vibe throughout, but without Haneke's attention to detail ... some of the characters, dialogue and story continuity were sub-par. It's still a good movie despite this, but it'll never be a "classic" ... and maybe could have been. The overarching idea is brilliant, and the way it was visually executed was jaw dropping. But this script needed 3 or 4 more revisions ... it's a draft of a great movie. IMO there was too much effort in getting the SFX and big visual moments right, and not enough on the movie making fundamentals.

I don't get how so many directors actually get less precise and less accurate as they get older. Surely it should be the other way around? Too many comic book movies? Dark Knight Rises was one of the worst movies I've ever seen, and it got 88% on RT, and 8.6 on IMDB. Maybe he thinks that he can just get away with laziness if it sells? Maybe he only really cares about the big ideas?

Good movie, great in parts, but a huge missed opportunity - coulda been a classic contender.

I'm pretty sure this wasn't the intention of the movie, but what this movie did convey to me was the pointlessness of searching beyond the solar system for habitable planets, as if we could ever one day get there and somehow live there ... such a flight of fancy. We need to stop fucking up this planet, quickly ... another flight of fancy.

[johnnya24]

Mr Turner - this is brilliant. Timothy Spall is sure to get a Nomination, might even win it. So many really comical characters and bizarre conversations. Turner is my favourite painter, used to go to Tate Britain all the time just to see their big permanent collection ... 3 rooms full. I knew he was strange, but if this depiction is even half close, I didn't realize he was that strange. Really shows the absurdity of Victorian life.

Spoiler!

I got the impression that his housemaid had syphilis, and that Turner had probably given it to her. The general info says a skin disease ... but there was more going on in their strange relationship

The Drop - I really liked this also. Tom Hardy is becoming a real show stopper. If you haven't already, check out Locke, he's superb in that.

Spoiler!

So who killed the Gandolfini character in the end? I'm guessing the Chechnyn's, though it wasn't 100% clear

[johnnya24]

BTW, I thought Hunger Games: MJ1 was really good. This is turning out to be one of those rare series of films that actually get better as it progresses. Thought part 1 was seriously overrated (and a bit dumb), Part 2 was much better, and this was another forward leap.

Still a bit handicapped by the Peeta casting IMO ... just can't see how anyone could be obsessed with that dead eyed, boring, and not that good looking bloke. I couldn't help thinking about that Onion review of the last movie every time he appeared on screen.

[johnnya24]

The Homesman - This is a strange one. Up to a certain point this had all the makings of a classic western. Original, really uncompromising, dark ... very dark. Then at one point it all just blows up and becomes stupid. I think this is the first time I've ever thought to myself, "you know what this movie needs ... more of a feminist angle". They basically ruined a potential classic Western ... I suppose that's pretty impressive in itself.

If you don't care about big spoilers, or have no intention of watching the movie:

Spoiler!

People talk about GRRM killing off characters, but he doesn't kill off the key central characters ... a good comparison with this movie would be if GRRM decided to kill off Daenerys Stormborn and the whole Slavers Bay plotline after 5 books ... rendering the entire story and plot pointless.

[revo]

I thought X-Men: Days of Future Past was most exceellent.

And then I saw A Million Days to Die in the West. You'd figure a cast with Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman, etc., and written and starring Seth MacFarlane would be funny and/or good, but man, was it turrble.

[overkill94]

Finally got around to seeing Bad Words last night. Jason Bateman does a great job of playing a middle-aged man who figured out a loophole where he's allowed to compete in the national spelling bee, all the while being a total dick and taking flak from all the parents. Sometimes it gets maybe a little too misanthropic, but there ends up being enough sweetness where you can still laugh without feeling like a dick yourself.

[johnnya24]

Generally speaking, lot's of good movies this year

The Imitation Game - movie about Alan Turing and the WW2 enigma code breakers. Very good with a stellar lead from Bendydick Cumberland.

... but ...

Horrible Bosses 2 - Enjoyed the first one, this one was OK I guess. Just a rehash though ... same jokes. Don't think I LOL'd once.

Black Sea - Horrible. Do not be fooled by the trailer into thinking this is a good movie. It's not. It sucks. Really poor amateurish attempt at an action movie. Nothing ties together and little makes any sense. Jude Law is terribad, although the characters are so vapid, De Niro circa 1979 would look bad.

Will probably check out the final Hobbit movie tonight. Absolutely hated the first two. What happened at the end of part 2, so I don't have to catch up on that crap again? Did the talking dragon get slayed?

[Gregg]

Lot's of good movies this year ...

The Imitation Game - movie about Alan Turing and the WW2 enigma code breakers. Very good with a stellar lead from Bendydick Cumberland.

Horrible Bosses 2 - Enjoyed the first one, this one was OK I guess. Just a rehash though ... same jokes. Don't think I LOL'd once.

Black Sea - Horrible. Do not be fooled by the trailer into thinking this is a good movie. It's not. It sucks. Really poor amateurish attempt at an action movie. Nothing ties together and little makes any sense. Jude Law is terribad, although the characters are so vapid, De Niro circa 1979 would look bad.

Will probably check out the final Hobbit movie tonight. Absolutely hated the first two. What happened at the end of part 2, so I don't have to catch up on that crap again? Did the talking dragon get slayed?

These reviews don't seem to back up your opening statement.

[johnnya24]

These reviews don't seem to back up your opening statement.

Fixed

[johnnya24]

The Hobbit 3 - laughably bad ... falls into the so bad it's almost good category. Some of the corniest acting, writing and scenes you'll ever see. It's like one big long battle from start to finish, and there isn't a single drop of blood spilt. "These orcs are bred for one reason ... WAR!" ... seriously, a half dozen Star Trek and Bond henchmen could kill an entire Orc army in like 10 minutes. Unarmed villagers were mowing through them like it was harvest time. You'll probably go and see it, so my advice is to enjoy how bad this movie is. Oh, and the SfX are horrendous. But I haven't laughed as much at a movie in ages ... sadly for all the wrong reasons.

[The Feral Slasher]

The Hobbit 3 - laughably bad ... falls into the so bad it's almost good category. Some of the corniest acting, writing and scenes you'll ever see. It's like one big long battle from start to finish, and there isn't a single drop of blood spilt. "These orcs are bred for one reason ... WAR!" ... seriously, a half dozen Star Trek and Bond henchmen could kill an entire Orc army in like 10 minutes. Unarmed villagers were mowing through them like it was harvest time. You'll probably go and see it, so my advice is to enjoy how bad this movie is. Oh, and the SfX are horrendous. But I haven't laughed as much at a movie in ages ... sadly for all the wrong reasons.

Maybe it would have been better with a 6 pack of Smaug Stout...or The Gollum Precious Pils if you prefer something lighter

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/11/central-city-brewing-lands-hobbit-series-beer/

[The Feral Slasher]

Maybe it would have been better with a 6 pack of Smaug Stout...or The Gollum Precious Pils if you prefer something lighter

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/11/c...t-series-beer/

I actually just saw this stuff at the liquor store. If I had waited around 15 minutes I could have met Jay Buhner.

[revo]

Saw The Expendables 3 last night. The concept of bringing back old action stars was nifty for awhile, but this is the one where you wish they crawl back under the rock they came from. Yeah, the action scenes are nice but cartoonishly unbelievable (a 68-year old Stallone outraces a building collapse and dives onto a helicopter! A 55-year old Antonio Banderas performs parkour stunts that would make a teen jealous!). Throughout the entire movie, only one baddie out of perhaps 500, Mel Gibson, is able to aim his weapon carefully enough to actually hit their target. Even once. That's right -- 10,000+ bullets expended, and not one nicks an Expendable. Not a single one. The irony is that Gibson's a weapons dealer, and his cronies are the ones he sold his weapons to. Perhaps they should request a refund. Maybe I should request a refund too.

[overkill94]

The Hobbit 3 - laughably bad ... falls into the so bad it's almost good category. Some of the corniest acting, writing and scenes you'll ever see. It's like one big long battle from start to finish, and there isn't a single drop of blood spilt. "These orcs are bred for one reason ... WAR!" ... seriously, a half dozen Star Trek and Bond henchmen could kill an entire Orc army in like 10 minutes. Unarmed villagers were mowing through them like it was harvest time. You'll probably go and see it, so my advice is to enjoy how bad this movie is. Oh, and the SfX are horrendous. But I haven't laughed as much at a movie in ages ... sadly for all the wrong reasons.

I thought the first one was pretty bad so I never felt the need to see any more, glad to see I didn't miss anything

Got around to seeing Let's Be Cops last night aaaaand I could've done without it. Seems weird that Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. (both from New Girl) could be so funny on that show yet fail to elicit any laughter in a full movie. The script seemed very hurried and amateurish with the laughs attempting to come from obvious jokes and silly situations. Can't say the critics didn't warn me!