Latest Movie That You Watched!

[KingAHolic]

Comic Book Villains

Really? Is this the best movie we could come up with last night to watch (that we haven't already seen numerous time before). The worst part is, the movie we started to watch BEFORE this one was The New Guy (which had the same annoying actor in it - DJ Qualls - ) - but, on the upside, it had Donal Logue in it, who I like.

 

[KingAHolic]

3 yesterday:

Heaven Is For Real

It was a nice movie. So much was told/said about the movie, and the previews pretty much summed up the major parts so, really no surprises and overall I think was a very average movie. Great story though.

End Game

Very much like either a made for TV movie or a 2 hour TV Drama. Decent story line / plot but a little predictable. Acting was mediocre. Pretty good cast, however (Cuba Gooding Jr., Anne Archer, James Woods)

Super 8

Had potential it seemed, but gave up on it about 2/3rds of the way through (it was getting late by this time) - I loved the concept and what I DID see of the movie in the beginning. A lot of TV actors in this movie.

 

[swiftdog2.0]

Watched The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Liked it better than the first Hobbit movie. It was still overlong. Could really trim about 30 minutes from it and it would be just as effective. Part 3 is up when I get it from Netflix.

 

[fljoe0]

Curse Of The Starving Class (1994) James Woods, Kathy Bates, Henry Thomas

This is a movie that is out of print and has never been released on dvd. It is on netflix, however. This is a movie based on a Sam Shephard play. It's a family tragedy with some dark comedy but it's more depressing than comic. It seems to me to be about the four characters in the family and each one's different idea of how to get out of their depressed situation. I liked it but you have to be in the mood for something like this, it's not bright and cheery. Kathy Bates and Henry Thomas are very good in this. James Woods is great at times and at times he seems over the top.

 

[doowopgirl]

I put this in the thread Rate the last movie you watched, but I have to say thisd again. Last night we watched Horns. Absolutely top notch. I was afraid it would be a hard book to adapt because it was an uncomfortable read. I mean a lot of the characters were not very likeable. Very awkward situation you are thrown into at the very start. But the film managed all of this. Spun the story out perfectly. Can't reccomend it enough.

 

[Grandpa]

Watched The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Liked it better than the first Hobbit movie. It was still overlong. Could really trim about 30 minutes from it and it would be just as effective. Part 3 is up when I get it from Netflix.

So here's our thing.

LOTR, especially the first one, exceeded all our expectations. We went in expecting to be entertained, and we were flat blown away. After that first installment of 26 hours, or whatever it was, we came out of the theater ready to grab a sandwich and walk back in to catch the next one. The next two weren't quite as wonderful, how could they be, but still eminently satisfying (with just a touch of too much epic battle, but I wasn't making the movie).

So we went into the Hobbit series with our expectations unfairly elevated. And there was a point during the first movie when I... I have to admit it, I'm sorry... dozed off. Somewhere with the cartoonish dwarves and the Brown or Green Wizard, whatever it was, with his rabbit chariot (I think I'm remembering that right, but that was when I started nodding), I just lost the plot thread and gave a short, whispered visit to Morpheus.

Y'know, after the overwhelming grab-your-mind-and-don't-let-go sensory feasting of LOTR, this just didn't cut it. I wanted to go to Desolation of Smaug, but I didn't want to spend ten bucks to take a nap again. But I'm told I should watch Five Armies, and to do that, I should watch Smaug first, and... oh, dear. I just don't know how to budget the time for it.

 

[swiftdog2.0]

So here's our thing.

LOTR, especially the first one, exceeded all our expectations. We went in expecting to be entertained, and we were flat blown away. After that first installment of 26 hours, or whatever it was, we came out of the theater ready to grab a sandwich and walk back in to catch the next one. The next two weren't quite as wonderful, how could they be, but still eminently satisfying (with just a touch of too much epic battle, but I wasn't making the movie).

So we went into the Hobbit series with our expectations unfairly elevated. And there was a point during the first movie when I... I have to admit it, I'm sorry... dozed off. Somewhere with the cartoonish dwarves and the Brown or Green Wizard, whatever it was, with his rabbit chariot (I think I'm remembering that right, but that was when I started nodding), I just lost the thread and gave a short, whispered visit to Morpheus.

Y'know, after the overwhelming grab-your-mind-and-don't-let-go sensory feasting of LOTR, this just didn't cut it. I wanted to go to Desolation of Smaug, but I didn't want to spend ten bucks to take a nap again. But I'm told I should watch Five Armies, and to do that, I should watch Smaug first, and... oh, dear. I just don't know how to budget the time for it.

That's why I waited for them to come out on Blu-Ray, so I could watch them at home and not have to wait a year between each installment. I don't know why they took a three movie approach to a relatively short novel. So far, they are not as good as the LOTR movies. Not surprising as The Hobbit is not as good a novel as the LOTR trilogy of novels.

 

[Grandpa]

That's why I waited for them to come out on Blu-Ray, so I could watch them at home and not have to wait a year between each installment. I don't know why they took a three movie approach to a relatively short novel. So far, they are not as good as the LOTR movies. Not surprising as The Hobbit is not as good a novel as the LOTR trilogy of novels.

Eldest son, who is more geeky on this than I, informs me that they (meaning Peter Jackson) took elements of The Similarion... Simarrillio...Sensamilla... the other canonical stories by Tolkien and incorporated them into the Hobbit films to flesh it out. I was glad to hear that, because I was pretty sure that I hadn't read about the rabbit-riding wizard when I originally read The Hobbit.

 

[swiftdog2.0]

Eldest son, who is more geeky on this than I, informs me that they (meaning Peter Jackson) took elements of The Similarion... Simarrillio...Sensamilla... the other canonical stories by Tolkien and incorporated them into the Hobbit films to flesh it out. I was glad to hear that, because I was pretty sure that I hadn't read about the rabbit-riding wizard when I originally read The Hobbit.

Yes, there are parts of The Silmarillion incorporated into the films.

There were overly goofy moments in the first film that I could have done without. The rabbit racer being one.

There are less goofy moments in the second. Still about a half hour too long though.

 

[swiftdog2.0]

Watched Death Wish on Netflix this afternoon. I've seen it before a bunch of times with my Dad but have not watched in a while.

Gritty, grindhouse style exploitation film. Entertaining though.

First film appearance for Jeff Goldblum in this, I think. Charles Bronson also shoots the guy who played Freddy "Boom Boom" Washington on Welcome Back Kotter. Also an appearance from Stuart Margolin, who played Angel on The Rockford Files. The guy who plays Charles Bronson's son-in-law played Jackie Brown in The Friends of Eddie Coyle.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a fantastic film in it's own right. If you've never seen it I highly recommend it. Elmore Leonard liked the book it's based on so much that he named the main character in Rum Punch, which the film Jackie Brown is based on, in honor of the gun runner character in it.

 

[Grandpa]

Watched Death Wish on Netflix this afternoon. I've seen it before a bunch of times with my Dad but have not watched in a while.

Gritty, grindhouse style exploitation film. Entertaining though.

Grandma and I saw it when it first came out. Your description is spot on and typical of Michael Winner-directed and Bronson-acted films of that era (cross-reference: The Mechanic, et al.). It's a prime exhibit for the question of, why was Charles Bronson so popular, and he was, somewhat, with Grandma and me at the time (we even watched Chato's Land).

Unfortunately, to my view, Death Wish, as a simple exploitation/entertainment yarn, became some mission statement in later years.

 

[swiftdog2.0]

Grandma and I saw it when it first came out. Your description is spot on and typical of Michael Winner-directed and Bronson-acted films of that era (cross-reference: The Mechanic, et al.). It's a prime exhibit for the question of, why was Charles Bronson so popular, and he was, somewhat, with Grandma and me at the time (we even watched Chato's Land).

Unfortunately, to my view, Death Wish, as a simple exploitation/entertainment yarn, became some mission statement in later years.

Yes, I think Bernie Getz probably watched this movie one too many times

My Dad was a big Charles Bronson fan as well. I watched the original The Mechanic and Mr. Majestic with him back in my SwiftPup days. Mr. Majestic is based on an Elmore Leonard novel as well. The novel is pretty good, too.

 

[Neil W]

So here's our thing.

LOTR, especially the first one, exceeded all our expectations. We went in expecting to be entertained, and we were flat blown away. After that first installment of 26 hours, or whatever it was, we came out of the theater ready to grab a sandwich and walk back in to catch the next one. The next two weren't quite as wonderful, how could they be, but still eminently satisfying (with just a touch of too much epic battle, but I wasn't making the movie).

So we went into the Hobbit series with our expectations unfairly elevated. And there was a point during the first movie when I... I have to admit it, I'm sorry... dozed off. Somewhere with the cartoonish dwarves and the Brown or Green Wizard, whatever it was, with his rabbit chariot (I think I'm remembering that right, but that was when I started nodding), I just lost the plot thread and gave a short, whispered visit to Morpheus.

Y'know, after the overwhelming grab-your-mind-and-don't-let-go sensory feasting of LOTR, this just didn't cut it. I wanted to go to Desolation of Smaug, but I didn't want to spend ten bucks to take a nap again. But I'm told I should watch Five Armies, and to do that, I should watch Smaug first, and... oh, dear. I just don't know how to budget the time for it.

There was a TV series called The World At War - it ran for 26 hour-long episodes, and was narrated by Laurence Olivier. World War II was a conflict which merited that sort of presentation. If they had done a 26 part series, narrated by Sir Ian McKellen, over the Falklands conflict, that might be regarded as overkill.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy.

 

[KingAHolic]

finished watching Super 8. Not impressed with the ending, it has potential and momentum that fizzled I thought.

also watched Hot Tub Time Machine

 

[fljoe0]

Greedy (1994) Kirk Douglas, Michael J Fox, Nancy Travis

You've seen this comedy plot before, greedy family members positioning themselves with the old rich relative, hoping for a big inheritance. Despite the tired plot, the cast makes this very funny and worth watching. Kirk Douglas plays the wealthy Uncle Joe and has a blast toying with the greedy relatives. Kirk Douglas is very good in a rare comedic role and Phil Hartman just about steals the show as one of the greedy relatives.

 

[Grandpa]

There was a TV series called The World At War - it ran for 26 hour-long episodes, and was narrated by Laurence Olivier. World War II was a conflict which merited that sort of presentation. If they had done a 26 part series, narrated by Sir Ian McKellen, over the Falklands conflict, that might be regarded as overkill.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy.

Excellent analogy.

Tonight: The Harder They Fall

Humphrey Bogart's last movie, 1956. A hard-hitting snarl at the boxing industry and shameless exploitation. Some plot weaknesses, but it ages well as a period piece. There are a few movements out of the expected cliches of the era, which adds to the punch (pun intended).

We enjoyed it, and Bogart, who's not my favorite actor, did quite nicely in it. As a last body of work, it stands up.

 

[swiftdog2.0]

finished watching Super 8. Not impressed with the ending, it has potential and momentum that fizzled I thought.

also watched Hot Tub Time Machine

We got a Hot Tub Time Machine.......

Stupid, but funny movie. I put it in the same category as Dude, Where's My Car or Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Now I don't know why Hot Tub Time Machine is getting a sequel. I think they beat the joke to death already.

 

[muskrat]

Excellent analogy.

Tonight: The Harder They Fall

Humphrey Bogart's last movie, 1956. A hard-hitting snarl at the boxing industry and shameless exploitation. Some plot weaknesses, but it ages well as a period piece. There are a few movements out of the expected cliches of the era, which adds to the punch (pun intended).

We enjoyed it, and Bogart, who's not my favorite actor, did quite nicely in it. As a last body of work, it stands up.

Rod Steiger does his usual good job as well. While we're discussing Bogie, I gotta recommend Beat The Devil. A comedy, not yer usual Bogart/Huston collaboration. Zaniness abounds, but as for plot...well...?

 

[Grandpa]

Rod Steiger does his usual good job as well. While we're discussing Bogie, I gotta recommend Beat The Devil. A comedy, not yer usual Bogart/Huston collaboration. Zaniness abounds, but as for plot...well...?

Yeah, I should be embarrassed for not mentioning Steiger. He certainly brings intensity to the work, none better at that.

 

[KingAHolic]

We got a Hot Tub Time Machine.......

Stupid, but funny movie. I put it in the same category as Dude, Where's My Car or Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Now I don't know why Hot Tub Time Machine is getting a sequel. I think they beat the joke to death already.

I wonder, if I had a Hot Tub Time Machine, where would I go.....?