The Official Last Movie You Saw Thread (Part 2)

[Joneslab]

Went back and caught a couple of "oldies" on Prime.

Lucky Number Slevin.

This movie is on a lot of the "best twist endings" lists, and while the ending isn't completely shocking it's a highly entertaining movie. Reminded me a lot of In Bruges in that it's like Tarantino that's been softened. Also has Lucy Liu in it, so.

Terrible title but a twisty movie with a lot of heart. Recommended.

Saw.

I'd never seen this, probably because "torture porn" doesn't interest me. But since it's new to the Prime line-up I thought I'd give it a shot. And the first thing I noticed about it is how...well, bad it is. This is a bad movie. It has some redeeming qualities--the intensity of its plot is interesting--but some of the scenes, the editing, the absolutely horrible score, and the acting are so overwrought that it is literally never scary.

This is a total dog. Lucky for us James Wan has made infinitely better films.

[Joneslab]

The Gift.

Hitch**************** behind glass. The symbolism is heavy in this movie--there are enough scenes where characters stand behind glass, write with their fingers on glass, watch people through glass, etc.--that it could come off as heavy-handed, but the pacing is great and there's a sense of ominous disaster hanging over every scene. Just when you think the movie is about to slide into convention and you know how it's going to end, the rug is pulled out and the film ascends to this pitch-perfect, brutal 20-minute ending that's as wrenching as almost any I've seen in a suspense movie.

Highly recommended. Joel Edgerton who plays the "villain" (that idea is upended and toyed with as the movie goes along) is absolutely perfect and should be considered for an Oscar. One of the best damaged, twisted characters I've seen in the movies.

[Joneslab]

Edgerton wrote and directed the movie as well, it appears. Wow.

[Spiritof96]

I saw Specter this weekend....

Beautifully shot. Well acted. On par action set pieces.

Unfortunately this movie continues the recent trend of making no sense. I am a pretty involved viewer but I was frequently confused as to why we were going from place to place and what anyone wanted. I accept a certain amount of nonsense with these movies because I like the genre, the tropes, and I want a good story.

This was not a good story. If you just want to live in Bond world a while, there are worse ways to spend two hours. It really is the prettiest one I can remember.

[Blue Heaven]

127 Hours- An older movie but caught this on HDNet Saturday. It's the story of Aaron Ralston who got his arm caught in a fallen boulder while hiking the Blue John Canyon in Utah. Danny Boyle of Trainspotting fame directed and it starred James Franco as the lead role. This was a fantastic movie. What Ralston went through in freeing himself was not only horrifying, but uplifting. The will to live is the theme of this movie. He had to break his arm twice and cut through it with a dull multi tool. I love survival movies, particularly those based on true stories. Franco turned in a great performance, and I forgot that this movie was nominated for multiple Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. This movie is a true testament to the human spirit and I'm glad I watched it. I've been hiking in some wild places and this movie struck a cord with me. Granted, I never have done anything Ralston has done, but I've been in some hairy situations and this movie got me thinking "what could've been." HIghly recommend this movie.

[Joneslab]

The Loft.

This movie got terrible reviews--it garnered a hilarious 11% on Rotten Tomatoes--but I enjoyed it. It's a remake of a Belgian film that sort of takes the Usual Suspects formula and twists it into a locked room thriller. The characters--and there are so many of them, as many as 20 major and minor roles--are mostly stock, but the structure of the movie is highly interesting, and I had no idea what was going on until the final reveal.

A stylish and entertaining thriller. Could have been a little swankier, maybe, but I enjoyed it as a sort of Basic Instinct homage. Recommended for a rental.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Secret in their Eyes

Julia Roberts is powerful in this movie....along with Nicole Kidman.....great story

[Joneslab]

Secret in their Eyes

Julia Roberts is powerful in this movie....along with Nicole Kidman.....great story

The original Argentinian version of this is one of the best movies I've seen.

[Joneslab]

The Good Dinosaur.

The most interesting (and disappointing) thing about this is how much it borrows from other movies. It might be the first Pixar film to actually steal ideas and sequences from other films. Really the whole thing is kind of an inversion of Finding Nemo, but this is a far inferior movie. It has moments of Pixar-esque brilliance, but only two or three. Otherwise the movie is sort of a mutt and never really finds its rhythm.

Outside of the remarkably bad Cars 2, this is Pixar's worst film.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.

My son was dying to see this after reading the books. He loved it; I, OTOH, thought it was the weakest of the four movies. I get why Katniss is broken; her PTSD is necessary to offset the kids-killing-kids dynamic that is the most interesting part of this concept. But Katniss gets so whiny and confused at times that she threatens to burn the whole movie to the ground. There are long sections of this film--which has a nearly three-hour running time--where we get nothing but Katniss slipping into a blank-eyed nihilism. Still, the movie is worth a watch because of the intelligent things it has to say about war and propaganda and how corrupt people slip into the spaces left behind by other tyrants.

Recommended for a rental, but easily the least effective of the four movies in the series.

[uglyduckling]

Ex Machina is a movie that I wish I could go back and see again for the first time. The first time I watched I was absolutely blown away by the entire movie. Now, rewatching on blu ray, it's still a tremendous film but nothing beats the feeling I had the first time I saw it in theatres with the huge screen and loud speakers. Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander were fantastic in this movie. The more I watch this movie the more I feel for Isaac's character. One of my favorite movies of all time.

[Joneslab]

Ex Machina is a movie that I wish I could go back and see again for the first time. The first time I watched I was absolutely blown away by the entire movie. Now, rewatching on blu ray, it's still a tremendous film but nothing beats the feeling I had the first time I saw it in theatres with the huge screen and loud speakers. Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander were fantastic in this movie. The more I watch this movie the more I feel for Isaac's character. One of my favorite movies of all time.

Tremendous movie. I listen to the soundtrack a lot as I'm writing.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Krampus..............Lord what a weird movie

[Owllycat]

Santa's Little Helper (2015)

[Blue Heaven]

T-Minus two days and counting for Star Wars....

[Spiritof96]

T-Minus two days and counting for Star Wars....

Me and the wife are hitting a 10am matinee on Sat. (I am cautiously optimistic) If JJ gives SW the Star Trek treatment he is dead to me forever.