Last movie you watched and your critique of it

[Jinx]

Oh, I've seen it plenty of times. I just hadn't in awhile and I forgot how much I enjoyed it!

[Nate]

I watched Contagion again. It helps me sleep.

[Shorty]

Oh, I've seen it plenty of times. I just hadn't in awhile and I forgot how much I enjoyed it!

I see! It's good stuff, I like it a lot. Especially since it has my boyfriend in it as douche-y hipster royalty.

[Jinx]

Yeah, Jason Schwartzman is a babe.

[Shiny]

I saw Locke last night and it was pretty terrible.

[McLovin']

American Beauty

Wow I never saw this until now and I'm happy I saw it now rather than when I was younger. I dunno the movie resonated with me since the theme was about doing what makes you happy and it was portrayed in a decent way with each characters issues. Like once youve felt the disappointment that the main character goes through in your own life then you can understand better the happiness he experiences throughout the movie. Also Kevin spacey is the man.

8/10

[Shorty]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
10/10

I can't quite put my finger on it, but something was nudging me in the back of my head all the while I was watching this film that said, "This is the greatest film produced in this millenium." I think I need to watch it again, but my mind was blown. It is slow to get going, but I really, really enjoyed it. Mark Strong's story as Jim Prideaux was probably my favorite.

I primarily chose to watch this film because it featured Gary Oldman and Benedict Cumberbatch. Both were extremely superb actors, but something about Gary Oldman's refusal to display any sort of emotional compromise made his role a little bit unbelievable to me. He was so hard for me to read for so much of the film and I felt like near the end that at any moment there would be this massive unleash of anger or hatred or some kind of emotion, but it never came. That was a little bit disappointing. I don't think anyone could be so perceptive or intelligent as his character was in this film. That was the only unbelievable part to me. All the rest was excellent.

I was shocked as smurf when (SPOILER)Irina was shot to death in front of Prideaux. That was smurfing insane and I didn't see that coming at all.

Really, really good stuff. Definite 10/10.

[Ayen]

Guardians of the Galaxy:
Characters motivations were weak
It was funny, some parts more than others
Lots of action
The villain was an idiot
Needed more Nebula
Rocket and Groot were the best characters
Bradley Cooper sounded like Jason Alexander
The Star Trek girl and the Doctor Who girl both played aliens and fought each other
The opening was crap
That is all.

[Pumpkin]

Skeleton Key - 7/10
I enjoyed it and would watch again

Nightmare on Elm Street 2 - 5/10
Wasn't very scary, which was good because I spook easily and it was right before bedtime

28 days - 7/10
Also enjoyed it

[deepdoop]

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For
9/10

I really really loved it. It was pretty much the sequel I waited for. I'm surprised it's gotten such low-ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, if I'm being honest.

Anyway, what I like so much besides just the fact I find the characters and violence interesting, is that it actually feels like a comic book rather than just an action movie with comic book characters. I'm not criticizing the latter, because my favourite comic book movies are like that, but it's a nice change of pace to have a movie that hits the feel more. We don't get many like that. I remember The Spirit being like that but The Spirit was mediocre.

I've always appreciated the film-noir aspects of Sin City, the "cheesy" narration, the badasses, the black and white visuals. It's all part of the appeal. It's a hard sell for some people though because it's something you have to give yourself to. A lot of people won't watch a movie simply because it's black and white.

[Shiny]

I'm glad you thought The Spirit was mediocre because it was, so I might trust your review. However, given the reviews I have my doubts about seeing this sequel.

[deepdoop]

Yeah, I don't know what to tell ya. I haven't even read reviews to see what they're criticizing so I can't say with any authority if they're wrong in my eyes or not. I just saw it wasn't getting rated fairly high and was surprised.

For what it's worth, I review things based on a mixture of what I think they're trying to accomplish and my own personal taste. I don't believe a review has to be "objective" because that doesn't exist, but I do try to look at what I think a film maker is trying to do and rate it accordingly. I have my own biases like every one else, and I acknowledge that in any review I do if I feel like I have to, but it's hard to escape them so I just incorporate them. This isn't an exact science by any means, but say, even if I don't personally enjoy a movie, I can still rate it above a 5/10 if I think it was well-made. Sometimes movies just don't click with a person.

Sin City I was a little biased. Sometime I'll have to look to see what critics are saying but I think this will probably just be a movie I end up claiming as underrated in the years to come.

[Freya]

Just saw Guardians of hte Galaxy this weekend.

9/10

I really enjoyed this more for the fact that it seemed how normal people would act if they were tasked with saving the world. They'd be jamming out and "yeah bitch"ing things. I identified with that. The theater was still packed when we went there. I had to sit in the very front seat. I'm sure it would have been more enjoyable further back so my neck wasn't cranked up but still. It was a great movie.

[deepdoop]

Yeah, Guardians was fantastic. I'd say it's probably my favourite Marvel movie.

I just watched The Prince
4.5/10

When I give a movie a 4.5, it doesn't even mean that it's terrible. I literally work on a system that a 5/10 is kinda on the fence but generally a pass, whereas I know a lot of people look down on anything from 5-7 and only think 7 and up is good. A 4 or 4.5 to me is just that I wouldn't recommend seeing it unless you have nothing else, but it's not without it's good parts.

I'm generally down with movies where a retired badass is dragged back into his old business to save someone or something. Taken is awesome, for example. I mention Taken because this is seen as a lesser version of that movie. It is on all accounts. It lacks the charisma, excitement and Liam Neeson -- all three things that made it an incredible thrill ride.

With this, we get Bruce Willis and John Cusack but they're just phoning it in. They're underused anyway. The script is average, the shootouts are a little on the dull side, and the last showdown is stupid.

I enjoyed little touches where the guy actually went to buy more bullets, because it's a detail we don't often see, and for the most part the acting was okay.

Still, I have a bit of a soft spot for these types of movies, and it takes more effort from me to actively hate a movie than mildly enjoy it. I don't hate The Prince, I just don't feel like it was worth my time.

[deepdoop]

Hey before I say anything, I am aware that double posting is often frowned upon on forums but here's why I'm doing it in this thread. I've watched like 5 or 6 movies since my last post and want to post about them, and I was waiting for someone else to reply so I could, haha. If this is unacceptable just tell me and I won't do it again, otherwise I'll just keep posting in here whenever I see a new movie.


So I've seen...

Swearnet: The Movie
9/10

I saw this last night. I know the Trailer Park Boys are more of a Nova Scotian thing, but this is their new movie where they don't play the characters from that show... rather versions of themselves trying to get their own network off the ground. I thought it was hilarious. Be warned, there is a lot of swearing (who woulda thunk it?) in this movie, but it never feels like it's lazy. The only bad part in the movie is when it tries to get a little sentimental. It's hard to take these guys seriously.


Chef
7.5/10
I'm just going to post my review from Criticker:

I enjoyed it but wasn't madly in love with it or anything. The chemistry between father and son was there, and even though it really didn't do anything new with the genre (the indie dramedy/feel good story), it did it well. I didn't really find it that funny, but it was interesting and what little drama there was worked for me. The part with the 1 second videos edited together was genuinely touching. Also has a great soundtrack with reworkings of some classic songs.

The Prince
4.5/10

More Criticker:
It's not terrible, just a little dull and uninspired. The shoot outs really aren't that exciting at all, and many will say it's a lesser 'Taken' (it is), but it's not without its good parts. Cusack/Willis r underused but r seemingly just phoning it in anyway. It's a nice touch that the main character actually goes and buys bullets.. it shows some attention to detail that quite a few movies lack. But there's no oomph to anything. The final shootout isn't thrilling and the last showdown is stupid.


I also watched 3 short films, and all of these are Criticker reviews.

What's On Your Mind?
2/10

It has a point I guess, about how sometimes I suppose people can glorify and manipulate their life on Facebook to make it seem more appealing... but I honestly don't think people exaggerate it like he did, even if they do it. Most people, at least on my FB, seem pretty legit and if you say "my life sucks..." then people will generally comment (if you're popular. Nobody likes me so they won't). Not funny, not really that dramatic either.

See it on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y


The Writing On The Wall
6.5/10

"It's kind of an insignificant short film. I mean, it brings up a question but there really isn't enough time to truly evaluate and discuss the question. It talks briefly about the "other side" that may not like street art, but it doesn't go into a lot of depth and is mostly an endorsement of it. It gets some points though because I actually love graffiti so the fact we got to see some was pretty awesome."

See it on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0z2vvezjxI


Johnny Express
8.5/10

"An interesting take on a disaster film, really. It was funny seeing the lazy delivery man unknowingly rampage the city of the really really tiny citizens while trying to find where to deliver the really really tiny parcel. It was only roughly 5 minutes and it got two good laughs out of me so I'd say it was a success. It was animated well, colourful, expressive... a great animated short."

See it on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/94502406