Rate The Last Movie You Saw

[drinkanddestroy]

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD 5out of 10.... solid acting and a reallly good train robbery sequence toward the beginning. hated just about everything else. the music, the narration, the photography shtick with the color and the blurred edges.

[dave jenkins]

Drive, He Said (1971) - 8/10. An unlikeable college basketball star (William Tepper), who is nailing his professor's wife (Karen Black), and who has a borderline psychotic roommate, wonders what he should do with his life. It's Zabriskie Point meets Animal House. Filmed at the U of Oregon in Eugene, the movie has a nice Northwesterly vibe and captures some of the chaos of the campus protest era, but director Nicholson makes certain we also get plenty of shots of well-played basketball. Bruce Dern does a more-than-credible job as the coach, yet the real surprise is Robert Towne (!) as the nebishy professor whose wife is cheating on him. Toward the end the focus shifts to the roommate melting down, which isn't all that interesting, and for some reason the film never manages to get back to the lead. You end up feeling that the final reel is missing, but hey, I guess that's what makes it art.

[titoli]

Drive, He Said (1971) -

The italian title Yellow 33 is  better business-wise.  The american title gives away the fact that this movie is boring. I saw it in a theatre about 40 years ago and coming out of it I wondered what was the point of it all. Actually I went to see it only because I was a Nicholson's fan and wondered what he could do behind a camera.

[Groggy]

Captain America: The First Avenger - 5/10 - Superhero flicks have been done to death.  World War II films have been done to death. Why in the hell did I expect a WWII Superhero Film to be any good? There are a few modestly creative action scenes, and Hugo Weaving and Tommy Lee Jones have fun chewing scenery, but really it's just a grab-bag of obnoxious cliches combined with a tacky faux-period look. It's all a waste of time anyway since it's just a set-up for the upcoming Avengers movie.

I also caught the last hour of Rango which I enjoyed.

[dave jenkins]

The italian title Yellow 33 is  better business-wise.  The american title gives away the fact that this movie is boring. I saw it in a theatre about 40 years ago and coming out of it I wondered what was the point of it all.

Not sure what the intent at the time was, but today it can be enjoyed for the nostalgia it brings and the time and place it documents. Also, some of the performances (Bruce Dern's in particular) are fun to see. Robert Towne in an acting role really blew my mind.

You really think the color and number of the lead character's jersey makes a better title? Well, to each his own.

[Groggy]

A Very Long Engagement - 8/10 - Cleverly mixes elements of a detective story, melodrama and war film with Jeunet's usual stylized imagery. A bit sloppy in the plot department but lots of memorable set-pieces and episodes make up for it. Audrey Tautou is a sweetheart and there's an interesting supporting cast, most notably Jodie Foster.

[titoli]

You really think the color and number of the lead character's jersey makes a better title?

Especially since the italian title was in english.

[noodles_leone]

A Very Long Engagement - 8/10 - Cleverly mixes elements of a detective story, melodrama and war film with Jeunet's usual stylized imagery. A bit sloppy in the plot department but lots of memorable set-pieces and episodes make up for it. Audrey Tautou is a sweetheart and there's an interesting supporting cast, most notably Jodie Foster.

Jodie Foster is really good in it. As you notice it, the movie's value lies far more in separate interesting pieces than in the whole movie itself. And the fact that Gaspard Ulliel gives one of his worst performances (which says a lot) does not help.
This movie could have reached 8 or 9/10 with a little more work, as it is it's more a 5 to me. Although not a "mediocre" 5: some parts deserve 9, others deserve 1.

SUPER 8
Why does everybody here hate this movie so much? Of course it is really flawed (all the adult characters/plots are ridiculous when the professor, the bad guy and the girl's father SHOULD have been great charismatic characters, the ending SUCKS almost as much as ET ending does). But eh, the kids scenes really work, and that's the first time since Terminator 2 that something like that happens in a blockbuster. Even the love affair is quite ok (and they don't kiss)!
They really catched the 80's blockbusters feeling they wanted. I'm also surprised no one noticed that for once there is very little shaky cam involved, and they did NOT replace it by cheeesy bullet-time effects.
It is a 6.5/10 to me, and I'll watch it again for sure.

[dave jenkins]

I'm also surprised no one noticed that for once there is very little shaky cam involved, and they did NOT replace it by cheeesy bullet-time effects.

They replaced it with cheesy lens flare effects. Just as annoying.

[Groggy]

SUPER 8
Why does everybody here hate this movie so much?

I didn't. Presumably you mean Jenkins, who was disappointed in the lack of an Avengers tie-in, and Mr. Power, who's Mr. Power.

[noodles_leone]

They replaced it with cheesy lens flare effects. Just as annoying.

Lol!

I didn't. Presumably you mean Jenkins, who was disappointed in the lack of an Avengers tie-in, and Mr. Power, who's Mr. Power.

I thought you didn't like it. I remember you really liking "The Case", but not the real stuff. I'll read your review again, it's not burried too far.

[Groggy]

That was Jenkins.

[noodles_leone]

Uh. I really need to read the whole discussion again, I think I'm lost.

[dave jenkins]

RotPotA (2011) - 5/10. A kind of remake of CotPotA (1972). I'd guess about 80% of this is CGI. Only about 2% is devoted to photographing the amazing practical effect called Freida Pinto. Isn't there something wrong with this ratio?

The plot doesn't completely suck if you're willing to grant the film its major premise (i.e. that science is actually magic). For the Apes to rise, of course, the humans have to fall, and the movie takes care of audience sympathies by making the various primates hairy humans who walk funny. So then it's just a case of rooting for the underdogs--er, undersimians. It's mildly entertaining, especially if you can spot all the clever nods to Apes '68.

[Groggy]

Uh. I really need to read the whole discussion again, I think I'm lost.

It's not worth it.