Saw Cop Out - knew it wasn't going to be too good of a movie - and I was absolutely right. The humor was OK but mostly corny.
The best parts in the movie was Sean William Scott's 15 minutes of acting - seriously. He was barely in the movie but IMO was the funniest and actually made me laugh.
Other than that - I wouldn't really recommend watching it, unless you really have nothing else to watch.
Also seen of Edge of Darkness (Mel Gibson). The movie was alright also. I've seen a better Mel Gibson in other movies.
Enemy of The State? Another great that I watch regularly. Mr. Hackman has always been under rated IMO.
Johnny Depp? Loved him in the pirate series. Public Enemy was fantastic. His best sleeper in my eyes though is What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Leonardo was amazing also. He is also hard to find fault in. The first time my Father watched it he swore they found a mentally challenged kid to play the role. He was THAT convincing. That's good acting.
Side note. Just remembered today is the release date for Blind Side. My son has been DYING waiting for this. Going out on a mission to buy it. More on it later.
Just saw The Hurt Locker. It IS a good movie indeed. Not regretful at all for getting it. It's a story not all twisted out of context due to over acting or MAJOR Hollywood pyrotechnics and special effects. Just a man doing his job.
War flicks have got to be one of the largest genre based movies in the bunch. It's an endless pool of material that is only limited to the country's current state. EVERY war has been on the big screen so many times with so many different angles. It intrigues us.
If you want a good horror, The Changeling (1980's). Very good movie. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080516/
If you want a movie with an ending that will send chills down your spine, The Life of David Gale. Another great movie. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289992/
And my personal favorite, The Shawshank Redemption.
I think the late ninties had some really good movies. Fight Club, American Beauty, etc.
Yes The Shawshank Redemption is by far a major must see!
Friday Night Lights was also VERY good. I appeal to its' nature because I also played High school football so I can relate to it. The message is fantastic and since the film is based off a true story during the year 1988 I am RIGHT there with it lol!!!
All that's left is Blind Side. That will be tomorrow.
Wow what a fantastic movie. Sandra Bullock has NEVER acted better and I must say her looks to boot. The fact that this is a true story only makes it better. Nothing bad at all to say about this film. IMO Sandra's BEST film to date hands down. Took a screen shot off the film in the final credits to show who the real players are involved in the story and it IS a moving one. A MUST see.
The movie has inspired me to watch Invincible once again.
Raided the $5 bin once again lol. Picked up 4 more.
The Marine Time Burton's Corpse Bride (For the kids) Master and Commander, the Far Side of the World Lost in Translation
There are a lot of award winning and nominated films I have yet to see. I'm trying to back track and catch what I've missed. At least it's cheaper this way lol.
I'm not a fan of wrestling anymore so I wasn't aware John Cena was a wrestler. I'll give it a shot though. And I liked just about every movie The Rock played in. The Rundown, Walking Tall, both fun to watch. Also remember They Live with Rowdy Rodder Piper (Roderick George Toombs)? Mr. T was a former wrestler, and I also remember Andre the giant in Princess Bride. He was one huge mofo. But yeah, normally I associate wrestlers today as simply over beefed gymnasts. Some of their "acting" in the ring is simply atrocious, yet millions watch in awe, still believing deep down somewhere inside lol.
Master and Commander I got just because of Russell crowe. He's a beast of a great actor.
My kids love the creepy side of Burton too.
No lie in the past few months I've almost doubled my collection. Yahoo.
Ok so The Marine was a bust lol. Bad acting and special effects to boot. It's not exactly a B movie but close to it. Skullz was right on this one. Don't buy it. I watched it till the end and did so because I paid for it lol. I must admit I bought it mainly due to the cover. I expected it to be this badazz inspirational "war" movie and was let down big time. 3 stars out of 10.
lol I heard Lost in Translation is pretty good movie.
I not gonna be watching any movies this weekend - gonna catch up on Dexter lol. I'm officially addicted to this show. I watched 4 hours straight last night and forced myself to go to bed after that too lol.
Just saw Master and Commander. Good movie. I love sea going flicks and this one is almost 100% filmed as such lol. Good story and I felt lost at times with the excitement but well worth the $5 it cost me. Definitely a B+!!!
Went by the big box store today and they were selling 4 movies on a disk. A set of 4 Hitchcock or Marx Brothers. The Marx Brothers stuff was all 2nd string, from later in there careers, including A Day At The Races and Room Service. As for the Hitchcock, North by Northwest, Psycho, Rear Window and The Birds were NOT among the choices. OH! it did have Strangers On A Train, which ain't bad. Neither came home with me today. Others from the cheap pile included The Great Escape and Fargo, which was just on the tube.
Master And Commander has a great soundtrack, in addition to its other virtues. The cannon shot out of the fog just about made me soil myself. Turn it UP....no.... LOUDER!
Ya' gotta be in the mood for Lost In Translation. Very thoughful movie with great performances. Bill Murry should have at least got a best actor nomination for his role....even if not the big prize. Cast against type, it proves he has some real chops.
'The Rock' may be the pick-of-the-litter when it comes to wrestler turned actor. He can actually do something besides crush cars with his biceps. I enjoyed George 'The Animal' Steele in Ed Wood. This guy plays the dumb act as a pro (retired, methinks) but is actually pretty smart and teaches school. His role in Ed Wood was perfectly cast, playing the Tor Johnson character, to a TEE.
I not gonna be watching any movies this weekend - gonna catch up on Dexter lol. I'm officially addicted to this show. I watched 4 hours straight last night and forced myself to go to bed after that too lol.
Nobody watches this?
A while back my local Blockbuster was renting old TV series for $1 a disc, so I gave Dexter a try. I quickly ran through seasons 1&2. Brilliant entertainment, as far as I'm concerned. The show's not for everybody (kids, especially). I recommend watching the first 2 or 3 episodes before anybody takes a pass on it.
I think Blockbuster still has season 3 on the new release wall. This drove me to sign up for Netflix, as I was not about to pay $25 to rent it. You can buy the box set cheaper than that. Over all season 3 was a slight disappointment, even though Jimmy Smits is outstanding, as usual. I still recommend it though.
After I watched all 3 seasons, I found out something that apparently all hardcore Dexter fans already know. Dexter (Michael C. Hall) and that thin-as-a-rail police girl sister of his (Jennifer Carpenter) are actually married in real life. She has no appeal to me -- she needs to eat a Big Mac -- which is probably why I found her romance with Keith Carradine in season 2 a bit of a stretch.
No worries mate. TV and movies go hand in hand. Speaking of which I can now mention my fav series of all time. Cheers. My brother had M.A.S.H. I had Cheers. I tell you I admit at first I would surf the tube and ALWAYS passed on it. I thought how can any show shot in a bar be good? Well Seinfeld was a show about nothing and did what it did so I gave myself an episode or two. I was hooked. From Woody's wedding to Diane's many flees from Sam. Norm's one liners to Frasier and Lilith's spats.
I kid you not I watched the series finale in a locked room waiting for the story to suddenly turn around to reveal just ONE more year. Just about EVERY actor/actress on it spawned a career off that show.
Can you believe the series in full STILL isn't available on a full DVD set? They release one season every couple of years and they are up to 9 or 10 of 11. I started getting the series on VHS years ago but stopped mid stream. I realized technology was advancing faster than the tapes were coming lol. They were only putting 3 episodes on a tape which means after 273 episodes my shelf would have been taken hostage. To me it's worth waiting for the DVD set.
I agree with you about Cheers. I never really thought about it before, 270 shows and all of them 100% inside that bar. Wouldn't it be great to have something from that stage set as a souvenir? The show was certainly one of the highlights of the eighties; a Thursday night event as I recall. I'm not an easy laugher, but that show had at least one knee slapper in almost all of its episodes. (Fawlty Towers also qualifies in this respect.) Consistently funny scripts over many years. Everytime I see Ted Danson in reruns of Body Heat, I think of Cheers which premiered one year after that movie.
I put Frasier at or even a notch above Cheers, but that's me. Some find Frasier too highbrow I suppose.
Like a lot of people, I was slow to pick up on Seinfeld. I really enjoy seeing the reruns of it these days.
I actually visited the Bull and Finch pub in Boston where the show revolves around. Very glad I did. There are pictures all over the place of the original cast who have visited there. There were a few episodes shot outside the bar but not many. Woody's wedding for one. But yes the bar was the hub. Actors/actresses came and went but they kept the bar as original as possible. I have a picture of myself in my 20's in the snow outside of cheers. If I think about it I'll dig it out and see if I can scan and post it. It was a good day.
Yes many scenes were shot outside the bar. Like the Thanksgiving episode where they had a food fight at Norm's house, Carla breaking in her home she thought was haunted, the few scenes inside Cliff and Frasier's apartments, ect. I found some old pics from 1993 when I visited there from the outside. I really wish my cam at the time had a flash for inside pics. The show depicts the bar to be much larger than actuality. The concept is the same with a main bar in front, restaurant upstairs and a small pool room in the back connected by a narrow hall. Same stairs going down from the street as you saw on the show. I saved my receipt from when we ate/drank there. $15.90 for a burger and $5 beers. THAT was in 1993! The Boston subway was a thing to remember for sure. I felt like I was being carried inside a mine. The walls were about 12" from the sides of the subway cars. Went to the Hard Rock Cafe as well as other places. Boston was an experience worth remembering for sure.
Lost in Translation was indeed a movie you have to be ready for. Most definitely not one I ever thought Bill Murray would tackle at all. IMO it's the first serious roll I've seen him in. I loved the relationship between the two and the message it delivered but, just in my point of view, the fact that he actually did cheat on his wife with a night club singer kinda spoiled it for me. Yes he didn't taint their relationship but somehow the writer found it necessary to throw in a late adultery scene to somehow portray that it was inevitable.
Would've been better it were left out all together in my eyes. Still a great movie though. You're left wondering how the both of them tackled the rest of their lives which is I guess a fact of life itself huh lol?
Didn't Seabiscuit get a Best Sound Oscar? The race scene with the heartbeat is great. Overall, a terrific movie. I'll put it on my to buy list.
Today on one of the movie channels came......'The Last Picture Show'. This has a cast to die for. 'Introducing' Cybill Shepard! Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms and and Randy Quaid doing an early version of his moron cousin from the Vacation series. This is a must-see.
. Thanks for posting the pics Paul. Only been to Boston once and that was before the TV show. Two things I remember: great lobster bisque at a place called Anthony's Pier 4, and the street intersections they called "rotaries".
Got Seabiscuit HD DVD dirt cheap. I've never seen it before. Been saving it for the right time.
It had been some time since I was in Boston as well John. We did some site seeing but my main reason for going was the bar. Also if you remember the city shuts down VERY early. Like 9pm or something. We wanted beer in our hotel room and had to order room service to get it since all the stores were closed. $100 for a case of bud on ice!!!!
Eh, a once in a lifetime event so what the hey right lol?
Is the movie's depiction of Katharine Hepburn that dead on? Was she THAT beautiful and mysterious in real life in her youth? Either way I'd like to dance, if only once with her, for a moment.
Wife and I were back East in '01, just after 9-11, on a Leaf Peepers vacation. I Avoided Boston and Logan because of the Big Dig. How'd that turn out? I was frankly scared to go near the place. We did fly into Manchester, about an hour or so North of Boston.
. I'm due for Shawshank again. It's been a very long time.
I'll ask the same question I asked about Gene Hackman -- has Morgan Freeman ever been in a really bad movie? Considering how prolific his career has been, I'm sure he has.
Is it 'cast your own movie' time? Take any well known, reasonably good movie and recast it with the actors of your choice. They MUST at least still be alive. Casting say.... Bob Hope in the Shawshank Redemption is not allowed.
I'd like to see what Johnny Depp would have done w/Shutter Island.
I have to mention Russell Crowe as King Leonidas in 300. Said it before. So what if he isn't 6'4" with perfect abs and a Mediterranean tan lol.
Johnny Depp as Howard Huges in Aviator.
The "Rock" in Road House in place of Patrick Swayze. Rest in peace Patrick but you were simply too small and looked like a florist to be a bouncer in that film. Did they BOTH have to be alive Leo?
Just watched How to Train Your Dragon tonight in theater. Not too bad. My first choice in theaters had their 3D projector down so I had to go across town to another. The movie was decent but the theater was crap. The first 15 minutes was in 2D then all of a sudden the screen went black and it came back on in 3D. Nice story line though. Classic kids movie really but still fun for adults. The main black dragon reminded me so much of my black cat Brutus.
Saw King Kong again. Recent version. Had fun and enjoyed the special effects. I always enjoyed the dinosaur angle in the movie. Especially during the King Kong/Rex scene!!! Awesome scene IMO.
Fantastic piece of work by Mr. Redford. Watching it always makes me want to move out West. Great film. Great cast also.
Makes me want to buy "The Horse Whisperer". I've seen it, just don't own it. I remember it as a fantastic movie as well. I'll have to look for it. I remember a key phrase from the film:
"I don't help people with horse problems, I help horses with people problems."
Well couldn't catch the showtime for HTTM - so ended up watching Date Night starring Steve Carrell (sp?) and Tina Fey. The movie was not too bad. I thought it was going to be a complete chick flick but was not so. It had its funny parts and even some action along the lines. Overall I would give it a 6.5/10. Would not go on the 'priority list' though.
Steve Carrell has another movie coming out. I saw the trailer in the theater for it as well. Its called Dinner With the Schmucks....or something like that. That movie seems like it would be a pretty good laugh.
Last night I watched (or at least started to) a double feature. Ocean's 13 followed by the original Ocean's 11 with Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, ect. Always loved those movies. Tonight I'll finish up the original and work on the newer 11 and 12.
Saw The Kite Runner last night. Movie is very good and sad at times.
I heard the book was even better than movie (as usual). Definitely a movie worth watching.
Note to John S: I finished Season 4 of Dexter - this IS the best season so far. You gotta watch this ASAP - really lol. I didn't enjoy season 2 or 3 as much as I enjoyed season 1 and 4. Season 4 is just crazy - with a crazier ending.
As for books VS movies, I have to start thinking of them as 2 different things and take my comparisons with a healthy grain of salt. Maybe even the whole rock.
After all, how many movies DO compare favorably with the book? I can only think of ONE off-hand. TLOTR Trilogy was every bit as good as the books. I can hardly wait for 'The Hobbit' and 'The Simarilian'.
Just for comparison. Take a book of 300 pages....not long, right? Say that a 3 hour movie is made from that book. Pretty long by modern standards. That is STILL almost a page and two thirds per minute of film. Just try reading that fast. No wonder books are better.
Well books ARE better in that it allows the reader to use his/her imagination to fill in the gaps. Everybody gets a slightly different story. By all means it's far better reading the book first, that way you get 2 renderings instead of constantly visualizing the film while reading.
I remember one of my required readings in school, Lord of the Flies. It was chosen for all the subtle symbolism the story has. Read it, liked it. Then years later when they made a movie I just HAD to see it. I wanted to put 2 and 2 together and compare what the director would do with all the symbolism. The story was correct but just about every aspect of the film wasn't what I had pictured in my head. I kept saying to myself "what about this, or how come he left out that?". The director simply saw a different side of it.
On a complete side note, one of my movie pet peeves is how film stretches a scene waaaaay beyond reality, just to show more action that took place in a smaller time frame. Example: Take one of the opening scenes from The Fast and the Furious. The one where they all line up for that 1/4 mile race? In reality it's a 10 second race. In the movie if you time it out it's spread over several minutes. You're left thinking to yourself that there's no way all that could happen in 10 seconds. Pretty stupid peeve I guess lol.
Or the movie Invincible. At the end when Vince returns that ball for a touchdown. You'd swear he ran 95 yards to pay dirt but if you watch the clip of the REAL play in the credits you see it's only like 10 yards.
I watched the 3 Transporter's over the past few days. They all seemed to come on tv so I DVR'd them. Pretty good. Nice action movies but some of the scenes are over the top and totally not do-able. But that's what makes it a movie. If you havn't seem em though and like action movies, I'd recommend em.
Note to John S: I finished Season 4 of Dexter - this IS the best season so far. You gotta watch this ASAP - really lol. I didn't enjoy season 2 or 3 as much as I enjoyed season 1 and 4. Season 4 is just crazy - with a crazier ending.
This great to hear. I can't wait.
Seems like I am spending more time on TV series than movies lately, especially serials. Except for the current season, I've caught up on all seven 24s (that's a lot of hours!), am in the middle of Weeds and Battlestar Galactica, and am eagerly awaiting release of the second season of TrueBlood. Slow going -- I do have a life.
I did squeeze in Shawshank the other day, which I haven't seen since its release in '94. Funny how much of a movie you can forget in that amount of time -- speaking for myself of course. I did not read the original Stephen King novella that inspired this movie, but from the reviews and inteviews I've seen and read, this film is better than the original. Kudos to the screenplay, Morgan Freeman, and the other fine acting throughout. .
Paul, good example. Lord of the Flies has been made at least 2x that I know of, each kind of missing the nuances of the book.
A trivial example is stuff like many of the movies made from successful TV shows. Did the writers of 'Wild Wild West' or even 'Lost in Space' ever see the original series? Or for that matter, have a 10 year old explain it to them? After seeing those Turkeys, I kind of doubt it. So, how could you possibly expect them, the writers, to come up with a literate, entertaining movie version of a book like Lord of the Flies or even the Asimov written Fantastic Voyage?
Agreed. Not to mention we have been bombarded by films based off not only previous ideas but remakes as well. Hollywood ran out of ideas and decided to raid the vault to keep cashing in. So many cartoons/comic strips and tv series have been made into films I can't count them all.
Garfield Richie Rich Iron Man Scooby Doo He-Man Flintstones Transformers Inspector Gadget Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Addams Family Alvin and the Chipmunks Starsky and Hutch The Dukes of Hazzard Star Trek The Beverly Hillbillies Charlie's Angels Popeye Dragnet
Ect, ect, ect, ect.................
Are we reaching our creative limit? Must we always look back for new material to make a cinematic buck on?
Avatar comes out on the 22nd. If you havn't seen it yet I'd recommend buying it, its a must have in my opinion. I'm going to get it, but not to watch it, since I've already seen it 3 times, but rather to let friends and family who havn't seen it get to experience it. I just know however that it isn't going to have that same "pop" that it had in theaters in 3D.
. Since I didn't have a chance to see Avatar in a theater, I was happy to get a friend's downloaded copy. Video was better than expected (DVD quality, more or less) and the audio was Dolby stereo. I look forward to seeing the Blu-ray disc of it, and I will buy it at some point when the price is right.
I missed Avatar in theaters also. Heard so much about it, even from my 65 year old father who also said it was great, and he almost NEVER likes anything lol. Iron Man 2 and Avatar will be this year's must have on DVD from the looks of it. (At least thus far).
Wanted was very good! I must say it was better than expected. I never saw a film where Morgan Freeman was the bad guy, now I can say I saw one lol. Worth the $15 at Walmart to say the least. I know this film will be $2 in a couple of years in the DVD bins but I don't care. To me those bins are all about RIGHT NOW, not necessarily about what's good. You all know what I mean.
Avatar was....simply amazing. The smooth transition in special effects is beside none. Great story. I absolutely LOVE this film. It takes you inside such a wonderful and mystical world that you lose track of time, which is a good thing seeing as it's 2 hours and 40 minutes long yet I wanted more. Thanks to the money hungry corporate execs at Hollywood we will SURELY see a sequel. No doubt in my mind. No spoilers here, you must see it if you haven't.
Great thing also is that Walmart didn't super surcharge this movie like they do all other recent releases. $15 is all this gem cost me.
It was only OK for me. I'll give it top marks for effects and realization. Sound / Audio was ok, too. I'm sure they'll compress the H out of it at DVD / BR release.
The bad news? VERY Politically Correct view. Nearly Pagan outlook / bias. The Earth people on Pandora were also clearly European Colonists raping the 'new world'.
Characters were near cutout perfect. No deeper motives or development. Few or NO plot surprises. Earth Guy goes Native, helps 'savages' overcome long odds, as good triumphs over evil.
I just WISH there had been something about the movie (plotting / acting / character) which was either novel or a new twist.
Predictable and near-dull on any but a visceral level.
Anyone see the new reworking and ruination of RiverWorld? The whole thing should have been scraped into the rubbish bin and written off. NON of the characters from the book were well done and most were simply absent. The female Samurai! Blue Man Group as aliens? WTF? 6 sci fi novels (double trilogy?) which hangs together from beginning to end obliterated in a mere 4 hours. I've got 5 of 6 books sitting right in front of me to the tune of about 1600 pages. Give the 6th book another 300 pages which works out to nearly 8 pages per minute...not counting any interruptions in the 'movie'.
Characters? Plotline? Motivation? Razor Blades? (all in books were reborn hairless)
When it comes to me being entertained I don't necessarily need a complex script like Angels and Demons with Tom Hanks. That movie, though very good, kept my head in a spin. It was hard to follow at times and if you missed even 30 seconds you were bound to miss a crucial and constant change in direction. Don't get me wrong, films like The Departed kept me watching in suspense with an extremely satisfying ending. I suppose it works for me on some films but not others.
Avatar was just too much eye candy not to like for me. Sure you grasp the whole story inside 15 minutes but some films are just better that way, like Iron Man. You know the outcome and just want to be thrilled while it gets you there.
My son will worship Avatar when he sees it. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree?
I agree that Avatar does have a view point of like how the English came over here to America and just took it over. The story is a familiar one and I believe that's kind of what they were going for. It's something that is easily understood and that people can relate to. It wasn't meant to be complicated or deeply thought over.
I have no idea where this comes from but.......The Witches of Eastwick just screams to me at this venture in this thread. All star cast and a very........unique story lol.
Any takes on it?
P.S. I'm a big fan of Goldie Hawn. My fav from her is Wildcats. She's a sweety.
I'll be honest, i warmed to 'Witches' on the 2nd viewing. #1 didnt' impress, but I'll watch Jack anytime as the devil...... Believe it or not I couldn't write Sxxxx! And, at least it was a good take and pretty original. Book?
Goldie Hawn will be 65 this year! Foul Play is a favorite of mine. Poor Billy Barty! What a beating.
20 years ago Goldie was a real looker in my eyes. She just has that grace and the talent for that awkward comedy side. To each their own I suppose. Skullz the 80's held many great films that are still inspirational to at least me today.
The Breakfast Club Scrooged Ferris Bueller's Day Off Tron Risky Business Weird Science (Kelly Lebrock.....mmmmmmmm) Top Gun Big Trouble in Little China Rambo Ghostbusters Platoon Mannequin Back to The Future series (My fav) Full Metal Jacket Labyrinth (Jennifer Connelly was cute even back then as a teenager, today I'd sacrifice my first born for her lol) Gremlins Caddyshack Footloose E.T. Die Hard Cocoon Beverly Hills Cop Aliens
Among many more. Every one of them is a must have IMO and is what I grew up seeing.
thanks. Those are being added to my bin and hope to see them all soon.
I just seen kickas s today in theaters. Great movie and superb action. I gotta say the action in this movie was much better than movies that were purely made for action lol. Great comedy as well.
'Skullz, If you limit yourself to only those movies current or 'popular' you will be missing 75% of what you should be / could be seeing.
Bogart? Ever seen Casablana? Marx Brothers? Duck Soup or Monkey Business Bob Hope? ANY 'Road Picture'
ANYTHING from 1939. **Mister Smith Goes to Washington, or how about Gone With The Wind? How about what might have been the breakthru movie for John Wayne? Stagecoach by name. 1939 was the BEST single year for Hollywood.....EVER.
Naw, If you think that Kurt Russel stared in 'The Thing' or that Keanu Reeves was the star of 'The Day The Earth Stood Still', you are not seeing the best version of EITHER of 'em.
Just my OPIN, but to understand movies today, you have to see where they came from. See ANY of the titles Paul lists in his last post. Ask for help if you like a particular kind of movie.
Tron, for example. Starred Jeff Bridges and was a very early effort using computer generated graphics / backgrounds and sets. A must see, for those interested in where the current crop of CGI stuff came from. Beverly Hills Cop? Best Eddie Murphy flick, and worth it for that reason alone. Actually pretty good stuff. I'd add the Bruce Lee classic, Enter The Dragon as the #1 action flick EVER. Completely mindless with just a hint of plot, Bruce Lee kicks (behind). Even in single frame on DVD it is awesome.
Want Funny? Get ANY Blake Edwards movie. A Shot In The Dark will cause you to need Oxygen.
If you DON'T like it, save your rental receipt and I'll reimburse you for reasonable fees.
