Seen any movies lately?

Finally saw the new HP movie last night, it was good but not as good as Half-Blood Prince imho.

I didn't like the following; Dudley not being redeemed like in the book, The lack of a real time change (It just turned out to be christmas day in a scene that came after one in september, WTF?) The occasional shaky cam, The wedding being interrupted by death eater attack after the black guy sent a huge fireball (way to be inconspicuos but if that was in the book I apoligize), the idiot plotpoint of ron holding onto the locket for the longest (That was in the book but I thought it was still stupid), the Malfoy's home was ass ugly (which a couple of sets were) and the guy who played Rufus Scrimegor. He seemed too creepy for my tastes.

I really liked the following; The part with Dobby and Krecher, the animation style of hermoine telling the story of the DH, Neville's cameo on the train, the humor they had it, Luna and her dad and the ministry of magic part.

I just saw Megamind..

Yay?

Spider_Fan14 wrote:
I didn't like the following; the guy who played Rufus Scrimegor. He seemed too creepy for my tastes.

Dude, when the sixth book came out and my friends and I were casting the new characters, we totally wanted Bill Nighy to play Scrimgeour. Dude's mad skilled. He was also my pick to play the Red Skull in the up-coming Cap flick, but I'm happy with Hugo Weaving.

rwe1138 wrote:

Spider_Fan14 wrote:
I didn't like the following; the guy who played Rufus Scrimegor. He seemed too creepy for my tastes.

Dude, when the sixth book came out and my friends and I were casting the new characters, we totally wanted Bill Nighy to play Scrimgeour. Dude's mad skilled. He was also my pick to play the Red Skull in the up-coming Cap flick, but I'm happy with Hugo Weaving.

Bill Nighy? Was he in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie?

Also anyone else tihnk that the standoff of Bellatrix and Dobby was too long? Its like the old cliche of villainy. Also I found Dobby saying "Of course I can, Im an Elf!" unintentionally hilarious, as did my sister.

Spider_Fan14 wrote:

rwe1138 wrote:

Spider_Fan14 wrote:
I didn't like the following; the guy who played Rufus Scrimegor. He seemed too creepy for my tastes.

Dude, when the sixth book came out and my friends and I were casting the new characters, we totally wanted Bill Nighy to play Scrimgeour. Dude's mad skilled. He was also my pick to play the Red Skull in the up-coming Cap flick, but I'm happy with Hugo Weaving.

Bill Nighy? Was he in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie?

Yep, as Slartibartfast.

Watched She's Out of My League tonight. Second time viewing and it was still enjoyable to watch!

BlueMaxx wrote:^ That's what I forgot to mention. John Cusack is great. Even with these under-the-radar films, he sells it.

True that, glad that he's still doing well for himself.

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

It was a good direction from The Wardrobe. Better acting, the characters didn't feel hollow and they finally recognize death as being a part of the stories. All that cutting away crap in the first one. They somehow made Reepicheep not that corny. I was impressed.

Moral of the movie: Always listen to Lucy and never trust Warwick Davis.

Spoiler:

While searching for a photo to put, I came across this: http://www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Chronicles+Narnia+Prince+Caspian+Japan+Premiere+-gU9e_XLZ0ll.jpg
I laughed.

Narnia 3

2/4. Not really very good, and not very subtle when it came to Christian allegory, though it picked up towards the end a little.

It was a couple days ago, but watched The Protector.

It's about a young man and the love of his elephant. Kinda Jungle Book meets Dumbo meets 101 Dalmations if Mowgli knew Muay Thai.
Contains the longest one-shot fight scene in the history of cinema.

^ That movie rules! I did think the story was a little corny, but the fight scenes totally made up for it IMO!

^ Completely know what you mean. How can a story about a glorified security guard for elephants not be corny? Those fight scenes were epic. Wonder how many shots that one fight scene took? It was like the final level in a side-scrolling beat'em up.

Last night I watched Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones. I've seen a lot of not so good reviews for this film but I kind of liked it. It had me totally engaged the whole way through. I'm probably overlooking a whole heap of flaws

Spoiler:

but I don't really care. I thought all the actors were great (and I normally don't really like Mark Wahlberg but I think he's getting much better over the years) and I didn't mind any of the afterlife stuff and showing things from that point of view. It was a 3.5 out of 5 for me.

^ I thought that, too. But if you think about it, the guy offered to help him, not that he necessarily needed it. But yes, all those steps and narrow stairs and hallway to his truck...

I bought Sebold's The Almost Moon today, the book after The Lovely Bones, for my sister-in-law, and almost bought the movie for my sister. Decided against it. Think she already saw it. I enjoyed it. And that was after all the mean reviews of the acting. Susan Sarandon seemed out of place with the tone of the film. IDK.

Just finished Splice. Wow. It was really weird, it was a good movie, but still weird.

Walt and El Grupo - A documentary about a trip that Walt Disney took to South America in the months before the U.S.'s entry into World War II. Worth watching if you're interested in Disney's impact on world culture. 3.5 /5 stars.

Avatar - As expected, the visual effects were amazing, but the story and acting left a lot to be desired. Definitely overrated, but I didn't completely hate it. 2.5 / 5 stars.

JonSpangler wrote:Narnia 3

2/4. Not really very good, and not very subtle when it came to Christian allegory, though it picked up towards the end a little.

The Chronicles of Narnia is many things, but it's never really been known for its subtlety.

Last night I watched Frank Capra's Meet John Doe and really enjoyed it. It felt especially appropriate, given today's political and economic climate. Recommended.

Toy Story 3 was absolutely magnificent!

Finally saw Megamind. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I saw Valhalla Rising on the weekend.



It started off promising with a braining and a disembowelment, but got slow and weird from there. Great cinematography though and very artsy. The vikings could have used horns on their helmets Right after watching it I hated it, but thinking back, it was good for what it was. I think I was expecting something different.

2 out of 5.

She's Out of My League

This was okay. There were some funny bits, but overall I didn't find it hilarious. Alice Eve is super hot though, so that made up for it.

Debaser77 wrote:Toy Story 3 was absolutely magnificent!

After watching the first two on tv, I need to see the 3rd.

(._Y_.) wrote:I saw Valhalla Rising on the weekend.

I still really want to see it. Wasn't supposed to just be a representation of how the Crusades mangled misc. cultures. I'll admit, with the preview, I am/was expectant of something Gladiator-esque, but with a lower budget.

Iron Man II

Mickey Rourke really plays an awesome character, considering the character being kind of lame in the comics. Same ol' same ol'. I like it. BUT! My dad finally saw it (at least all the way through), and he really dug it. He usually hates things overly fictional, like with fantasy and scifi, and especially superhero-y stuff. He only kind of feigned interest in the first one, I think. The last battle with Iron Monger really seemed to take him out of it. But, oddly, the smartness of plot, with the U.S. taking the designs and hiring a criminal weaponer to make these different branches of military drones really grabbed his imagination, I guess. So that's cool.

Frenemy

Direct to video for a reason. Galifianakis is on the movie, but he has a pretty small part. And don't expect too much funny from him. It's a whacked out drama about two friends that are sociopathic killers. I enjoyed the walking and talking scenes. They had interesting takes, although bleak, takes on the hyper-sexed, ultra-violence of the mindsets that is boiling over in societies. As far as a story, there was hardly any plot. It was just an excercise in budget and longshots for the most part. Which really isn't a compliment, just is what it is. Not recommending, but rent it if you want. You won't be too bored, I guess.

Passenger Side

This film really hit me. It's about two estranged brothers, with the one having to drive around the other, who is trying to finally get his life together. So they drive all over L.A. in a mixed bag of misadventure moments. Nothing whacky, like Harold and Kumar, just filled with great little moments. Like the way they talk to each other--I swear it's like an exaggeration of how my brother and I talk to one another. Smartassery, facetiousness, and more smartassery layered on top of one another as we chat. I'd say rent this. It's good.

Bitch Slap

Pretty disappointed, even with it being unrated. I get that it was intentional cheese, but I was just bored. Figured out who was who and what was what before the first half hour, but man, did it seem longer than the hour, 40 something. I really wanted to like it... :/

Disney's A Christmas Carol

Pretty good. I normally dislike all incarnations of Dicken's story. It's always had cool elements, I just never cared for the execution on most films and things--with the exception of Scrooged and Batman: "Ghosts". Which the latter doesn't really count. But yes, the animation, which was astoundingly real at times, really brought the story to life.

BlueMaxx wrote:
Bitch Slap

Pretty disappointed, even with it being unrated. I get that it was intentional cheese, but I was just bored. Figured out who was who and what was what before the first half hour, but man, did it seem longer than the hour, 40 something. I really wanted to like it... :/

Agreed, but I still really enjoyed this movie for a couple reasons:

1. The Xena/Hercules cameos
2. The nodes to Russ Meyer's Films

I watched Ong Bak yesterday

It was pretty good. The instant replays got a bit annoying, but other then that a good Martial Arts flick.
3 out of 5.