What MOVIE(s) have you been....seeing? watching?

hotseatgames wrote: Crimson Peak - It's been a while since I've seen a movie this bad. The boring actors spout boring lines about a boring story. I almost fell asleep a few times. Shame on you, Del Toro.

Crimson Peak was improperly marketed as a horror movie, when it was actually a gothic romance movie. That makes it a very particular subset of chick flick.

Columbob wrote: What struck me the first time I watched Le dîner de cons is that they never actually make it to the dinner. If you want a similar type of French comedy, check out Le placard. Some older fare featuring Louis de Funès: Rabbi Jacob and La soupe aux choux (also starring the guy who plays the idiot in Le dîner de cons).

I love the obscure stuff that bubbles up on this site from time to time.

Two polar opposites here...

Peanuts: Saw this the other night with my girls and we all really liked it. I grew up devouring Peanuts books, and enjoyed those classic films and TV specials, so for me, there was definitely a nostalgia factor. I thought this version had a really cool visual look (a mix of 2D and CGI), and they did some clever things with the animation.

In terms of story focus, the classic A Boy Named Charlie Brown (with the spelling bee) was better, but this was engaging enough. One thing I found interesting is that they really seemed to soften the “loser” status of Charlie Brown. Sure, Lucy still bags on him, and he feels inadequate and all that, but I recall some pretty heavy derision heaped on him in some of the older Peanuts films and specials. It would get downright dark at times. But I think this new film may be trying to shy away from depicting any serious bullying, so it’s a kinder and gentler Peanuts, I suppose.

Bone Tomahawk: A western with horror elements, starring Kurt Russell. Say no more, right? I hadn't even heard of this (limited release and VOD only), but some film review podcasters I listen to were raving about it, so I rented it on Vudu. I ended up liking it quite a lot, but it's uneven. For the most part it is just a western, basically The Searchers, and pretty solid in that sense, though the dialogue shifts from being witty and sharp to being forced and a little clunky. But then there are occasional bursts of violence and gore and horror movie tropes like, "Mr. Barn Caretaker... is that your shadow I see lurking in this dark barn??"

One thing to note is that this movie contains one of the most gruesome kills EVER, especially for a largely mainstream film. It is truly nasty. So there's that... The plot involves a tribe of cannibals attacking a small Old West town and kidnapping some people, leading the Sheriff (Russell) and a few others to go after them. Mathew Fox is particularly good as a smug doctor. A lot to like in the film, no doubt, but it's a little long and I think it doesn't quite hold together in its feel and style.

Agreed---there's no way that "real" Peanuts would make it into current popular culture unaltered. It is a fucking DARK strip, largely about the futility of life.

I stayed up late last night watching all three "Prequel" Star Wars films.

I'm starting to realize how much Lucas tried to add little humorous bits, but failed to execute them. The "Jar Jar shooting his tongue out and stealing the apples" bit was the worst offender....there was literally no reason for that to exist. Same with the bit at the Podraces where the animal farts on him. Literally a waste of 10 seconds of film.

That said, I think people are WAY too hard on them. Other than that kind of shit, they're really good. The one thing I wish he'd done is stick to REAL humor, like when Obi Wan says, "9 times....that business on (so and so) doesn't count". That was funny, and clever, and timed well.

You could easily cut an hour from Phantom Menace without losing any plot. They just wanted to add cool cgi scenes for the wow factor.

This YouTube series should be required viewing, for being hilarious, and also for showing detailed insight about why Phantom Menace is terrible, and why the original trilogy is so great. It's really an excellent treatise in general about film and what makes characters memorable, action meaningful, etc.

Part 1:

One example...

Describe Han Solo: rogueish, dashing, sexy in a bad boy way, scoundrel, sarcastic, fighter, but has a heart underneath

Describe Qui Gonn Jin: uh, he has a beard

Describe C-3PO: fussy, effeminate, scaredy cat, comic relief

Describe Queen Amidala: uhhhhh, monotone

Seriously, go watch this series. It's great.

I liked Phantom Menace, sorry. Yes, there were a lot of things that should've been cut (like half an hour at least) but on balance, it was entertaining.

Off the cuff, ten completely horrendous line deliveries in the prequels (incorrectly remembered, I'm sure):

1) "I thought you liked flying master"
2) "Are you saying you're clumsy Jar-Jar"
3) "Is that....LEEEEEGAL?
4) "A communications breakdown can mean only one thing...INVASION."
5) "I will not condone a course of action that will lead my people to war."
6) "I killed them all! The mothers and younglings too!"
7) "I won them in a game of chance."
8) "Are you saying that he is the one that will fulfill the prophecy and bring balance to the force?
9) "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
and of course, the LOWEST POINT in Star Wars history...
10) "Are you an angel?"

Also- if your chancellor starts wearing devil worship robes...you might need to call for a vote or something. Just saying.

And don't go on a stealth mission riding a giant, braying green dragon.

Black Barney wrote: You're learning French, Erik? That's awesome! Can I recommend my favourite French movie of all time to you? It's STUNNINGLY good

THE CLASS. - it's sooooooo good. It's from 2008.

See it and let me know what you think.

Yeah, I started going to classes back in October. I just felt kind of bad about only knowing two languages when I could easily learn a third and seeing a friend who speaks at least five kind of pushed me over the edge. I studied it back in high school and it's very similar in structure to Spanish so I ended up taking fairly high-level classes (B1) and I need all the help I can muster to remember the basics.

I'll try to see if I can find The Class with French subtitles

btw, speaking of foreign film, I'm so mad they're making an American version of El Secreto de Sus Ojos with Julia Roberts. I saw the trailer this week and it looks awful. The original was amazing.

Personally I feel most remakes have little value beyond replacing

Columbob wrote: What struck me the first time I watched Le dîner de cons is that they never actually make it to the dinner. If you want a similar type of French comedy, check out Le placard. Some older fare featuring Louis de Funès: Rabbi Jacob and La soupe aux choux (also starring the guy who plays the idiot in Le dîner de cons).

I think that's kind of the point, isn't it? There's a "dîner de cons" it's just not the kind the guy expected because he's the real idiot for behaving like that.

Dear Zachary. Wow. What a hard film to watch.

Michael Barnes wrote: Off the cuff, ten completely horrendous line deliveries in the prequels (incorrectly remembered, I'm sure):

1) "I thought you liked flying master"
2) "Are you saying you're clumsy Jar-Jar"
3) "Is that....LEEEEEGAL?
4) "A communications breakdown can mean only one thing...INVASION."
5) "I will not condone a course of action that will lead my people to war."
6) "I killed them all! The mothers and younglings too!"
7) "I won them in a game of chance."
8) "Are you saying that he is the one that will fulfill the prophecy and bring balance to the force?
9) "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
and of course, the LOWEST POINT in Star Wars history...
10) "Are you an angel?"

You didn't even list the three worst ones!

1) Let's try spinning! That's a good trick!
2) I hate sand. It's course and irritating and gets everywhere.
3) I heard Master Yoda mention midichlorians. I've been wondering ... what are midichorlians.

Terrible dialog, terrible direction. I put very little of the blame on the actors, who were pretty much screwed.

The prequels biggest problem (out of a whole host of problems) is that there's simply no reason for them to exist. All they do is explain things that never needed to be explained in the first place. The Clone Wars, midichlorians, C3PO's origin ... none of that shit matters. The original trilogy starts at exactly the right moment in the story in order to tell that particular story. Everything that happens before R2 and 3PO land on Tatooine is just background color. There's nothing that interesting that has to be dramatized, especially across three fucking movies.

Columbob wrote: You could easily cut an hour from Phantom Menace without losing any plot. They just wanted to add cool cgi scenes for the wow factor.

There are a lot of fan remixes out there. I'm too lazy to figure out the ideal order to show the ideal cuts to my kids.

Darth Vader, one of the most iconic villians in film history, is... Hayden Christensen. Hahahaha! Good one, George. You almost got me!

Production is starting in January for ELRIC OF MELNIBONE.
Starring Pauly Shore.

People are still bitching about the prequels? Don't watch them. Problem solved.