Genesia said:

Sweetie and I went to see The Sound of Music on the big screen last week. I've seen it several times, but it was his first time.

We mostly went to see it because he was an exchange student in Austria during high school and a lot of the SOM locations were near places he'd stayed over there.

He didn't want me to tell anyone we went to the movie though - he's afraid his "brutha card" will be revoked if anyone finds out.

I loved this movie when I was a kid. (I even had the soundtrack.) As an adult, I find it a little schmaltzy.

Sweetie's a good man.

sexton said:

My Oscar run continues...

Prometheus (2012) - A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

I knew going in there were flaws with this, but I didn't let them bother me so much. Perhaps because I was never a fan of the Alien series having seen only the second of the four films. Overall I thought it was very slick-looking and not terrible.

Not terrible gets the better part of 5 stars?

[Edited 1/21/13 22:34pm]

johnart said:

ZombieKitten said:

johnart said:

Not terrible gets the better part of 5 stars?

[Edited 1/21/13 22:34pm]

It's up for fx right? It's a very good looking movie I watched it again the other night and funnily enough got annoyed by the music - it has a hooky little theme motif I got dead sick of. I find Shaw and her Holloway an odd couple And I'm surprised he didn't get champagne dick (plot flaw I know!) I still think Vickers and David fascinating. Real standout characters. I can't wait for the sequel(s) I even have the picture book

Effects is about the most that movie had going for it. That's 2 1/2 overall score at best.

ZombieKitten said:

johnart said:

Not terrible gets the better part of 5 stars?

[Edited 1/21/13 22:34pm]

It's up for fx right? It's a very good looking movie I watched it again the other night and funnily enough got annoyed by the music - it has a hooky little theme motif I got dead sick of. I find Shaw and her Holloway an odd couple And I'm surprised he didn't get champagne dick (plot flaw I know!) I still think Vickers and David fascinating. Real standout characters. I can't wait for the sequel(s) I even have the picture book

As much as I personally disliked it, I wouldn't deny that there were things to enjoy in the movie, its looks chief among them. I do think there was some basic storytelling shortcomings - 'why is that happening' plot-points that are lazy or silly or just not explained - that really hamper it, but the things that made me really hate it had more to do with the basic premise and some of the sources of inspiration that Scott brought to the movie.

This is mainly my own bias and preferences speaking, but I can't help but feel that there was a more interesting story in going to a world where the alien was a natural predator & not a (I think?) biological weapon. I'd love to have been given a world where they evolved & co-existed, see what other kinds of life are there, how they live in that system. My queen ant laid eggs last week (pictures of my kids below - she laid eggs last summer too, but ended up eating all of them) and I'm hoping I'm going to have the beginning of a thriving colony this summer, and if she pulls that off I think that will be way more interesting than anything Ridley Scott did in Prometheus IMO.

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/flipwilson1/IMG_0279_zps5b529751.jpg[/img:$uid]

Sorry, rant over....I really just wanted to show off my ant.

[Edited 1/22/13 4:06am]

Ace in the Hole - 4.5/5

i want a room at this place for a few weeks. british comedy/drama with great indian backdrop. the trailer doesn't do it justice

[Edited 1/22/13 11:08am]

johnart said:

Genesia said:

Sweetie and I went to see The Sound of Music on the big screen last week. I've seen it several times, but it was his first time.

We mostly went to see it because he was an exchange student in Austria during high school and a lot of the SOM locations were near places he'd stayed over there.

He didn't want me to tell anyone we went to the movie though - he's afraid his "brutha card" will be revoked if anyone finds out.

I loved this movie when I was a kid. (I even had the soundtrack.) As an adult, I find it a little schmaltzy.

Sweetie's a good man.

He is that.

He's out of town this week, so I'm going to see To Catch A Thief tomorrow night - by myself. Cary Grant, Grace Kelly and the French Riviera on the big screen.

Young Adult (2011)

Charlize Theron, with an assist from Patton Oswalt, saves a movie that loses steam in the 2d act but nails the ending. Very nice turn by Jill Eikenberry.

Excellent!

I can see how they're going to stretch out that one tiny book into an epic trilogy.

damosuzuki said:

johnart said:

sexton said:

My Oscar run continues...

Prometheus (2012) - A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

I knew going in there were flaws with this, but I didn't let them bother me so much. Perhaps because I was never a fan of the Alien series having seen only the second of the four films. Overall I thought it was very slick-looking and not terrible.

Not terrible gets the better part of 5 stars?

I suppose I understated my impression there. I liked the movie more than I disliked it so it gets a barely above average rating.

Snow White & The Huntsman (2012) - In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.

Another good-looking film, but other than that, dreadful. 1/2

ZombieKitten said:

damosuzuki said:

As much as I personally disliked it, I wouldn't deny that there were things to enjoy in the movie, its looks chief among them. I do think there was some basic storytelling shortcomings - 'why is that happening' plot-points that are lazy or silly or just not explained - that really hamper it, but the things that made me really hate it had more to do with the basic premise and some of the sources of inspiration that Scott brought to the movie.

This is mainly my own bias and preferences speaking, but I can't help but feel that there was a more interesting story in going to a world where the alien was a natural predator & not a (I think?) biological weapon. I'd love to have been given a world where they evolved & co-existed, see what other kinds of life are there, how they live in that system. My queen ant laid eggs last week (pictures of my kids below - she laid eggs last summer too, but ended up eating all of them) and I'm hoping I'm going to have the beginning of a thriving colony this summer, and if she pulls that off I think that will be way more interesting than anything Ridley Scott did in Prometheus IMO.

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/flipwilson1/IMG_0279_zps5b529751.jpg[/img:$uid]

Sorry, rant over....I really just wanted to show off my ant.

[Edited 1/22/13 4:06am]

I don't really think its fair to compare this movie to an imaginary movie that SHOULD have been made - at least now I'm understanding people's hatred for it. Like Sexton, whilst I enjoyed the alien movies I was never hung up on them.

Oh absolutely – I didn’t hate it just because the filmmaker didn’t make my fantasy movie. I had a real problem with the premise and with some of the things Scott actually cited when promoting the film. Those particular areas kinda wade into p&r-style topics, and I don’t want to fight with anybody so I won’t delve into too deeply into it. I suppose if I had found the movie a little more compelling I would have been able to put those basic objections aside and enjoy the movie for what it was, though it still would have bothered me. I wrote a post detailing some of my issues with it here in posts 89 + 92.

I’m actually not a great fan of the franchise either, at least not to the extent that I view Prometheus as an assault on a cherished childhood memory or anything silly like that. I really only liked the first film. I suppose I have a formative attachment to it because it’s the first time I can recall really, really being scared by a movie (12 years old or so, midnight movie on local tv, quiet dark house, all the elements were in place). The second one I’d rate as pretty good, & the other two can take a hike as far as I’m concerned.

"That's My Boy" - 1 Star

Adam Sandler comedies are all the same but now he's getting older and he's lost. Hope he's still making money and not the complete fuck-up he protrays himself in all of his recent movies.

Frankenweenie (2012) - Young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences.

I found it funny and interesting that there are many oddball inconsistencies which the viewer is just supposed to accept. Like why are all the kids in the town Addams Family-spooky while the adults are normal-looking? And why did the lightning have such random effects on the other animals? 1/2

Slave2daGroove said:

"That's My Boy" - 1 Star

Adam Sandler comedies are all the same but now he's getting older and he's lost. Hope he's still making money and not the complete fuck-up he protrays himself in all of his recent movies.

Well, he can't win. When he does a movie like Punch Drunk Love or Funny People, he takes a critical and/or commercial hit. Time will tell.

Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (2011)

Fun, entertaining movie. Met expectations.

namepeace said:

Slave2daGroove said:

"That's My Boy" - 1 Star

Adam Sandler comedies are all the same but now he's getting older and he's lost. Hope he's still making money and not the complete fuck-up he protrays himself in all of his recent movies.

Well, he can't win. When he does a movie like Punch Drunk Love or Funny People, he takes a critical and/or commercial hit. Time will tell.

He's too old to play the goofball characters that won him fame, and he's not a good enough actor to play serious parts. He's kind of a man without a genre right now.

But he made so much money in the '90's and early '00's that he can't spend it all. So don't cry for Adam Sandler, Argentina!

RodeoSchro said:

namepeace said:

Well, he can't win. When he does a movie like Punch Drunk Love or Funny People, he takes a critical and/or commercial hit. Time will tell.

He's too old to play the goofball characters that won him fame, and he's not a good enough actor to play serious parts. He's kind of a man without a genre right now.

But he made so much money in the '90's and early '00's that he can't spend it all. So don't cry for Adam Sandler, Argentina!

Indeed. He's already "won," everything else is gravy.

kinda funny. essense atkins is a goddess of sorts. 100 stars.

damosuzuki said:

ZombieKitten said:

damosuzuki said: I don't really think its fair to compare this movie to an imaginary movie that SHOULD have been made - at least now I'm understanding people's hatred for it. Like Sexton, whilst I enjoyed the alien movies I was never hung up on them.

Oh absolutely – I didn’t hate it just because the filmmaker didn’t make my fantasy movie. I had a real problem with the premise and with some of the things Scott actually cited when promoting the film. Those particular areas kinda wade into p&r-style topics, and I don’t want to fight with anybody so I won’t delve into too deeply into it. I suppose if I had found the movie a little more compelling I would have been able to put those basic objections aside and enjoy the movie for what it was, though it still would have bothered me. I wrote a post detailing some of my issues with it here in posts 89 + 92.

I’m actually not a great fan of the franchise either, at least not to the extent that I view Prometheus as an assault on a cherished childhood memory or anything silly like that. I really only liked the first film. I suppose I have a formative attachment to it because it’s the first time I can recall really, really being scared by a movie (12 years old or so, midnight movie on local tv, quiet dark house, all the elements were in place). The second one I’d rate as pretty good, & the other two can take a hike as far as I’m concerned.

I watched it again last night

I must say on 2nd and 3rd viewings it's a very pacey movie!

From last year's list of Oscar nominees:

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) - The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets.

About halfway through I gave up trying to understand what was going on and just watched the special effects. 1/2

24 Hour Party People 4/5

[Edited 1/24/13 3:41am]

I saw To Catch A Thief on the big screen for the first time last night. It was just...beautiful.

Like Water for Chocolate (1992)

Around the 2d act, I thought "this movie was overrated," but the ending likely justified the accolades. Maybe it will grow on me, but there's no doubt it is a beautifully shot and nicely-acted film. I didn't love it but can see how many do.

-1/2

SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN

Docu about an artist named Rodriguez from the 70s that did a couple of albums and then disappeared when he didn't sell any records. Meanwhile, he's influenced musicians and has a major following in South Africa influencing the freedom during the Apartide time.

His music is right out of the early 70's (Dylan meets Cat Stevens with some Jim Croce) So amazing it just got to me on so many levels. In these dark times, it was just inspiring and moving!

Slave2daGroove said:

SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN

Docu about an artist named Rodriguez from the 70s that did a couple of albums and then disappeared when he didn't sell any records. Meanwhile, he's influenced musicians and has a major following in South Africa influencing the freedom during the Apartide time.

His music is right out of the early 70's (Dylan meets Cat Stevens with some Jim Croce) So amazing it just got to me on so many levels. In these dark times, it was just inspiring and moving!

I heard about that!

He apparently was living in near-poverty as a day laborer (or something like that) and had NO CLUE that he was such a STAR in South Africa.

PurpleJedi said:

Slave2daGroove said:

SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN

Docu about an artist named Rodriguez from the 70s that did a couple of albums and then disappeared when he didn't sell any records. Meanwhile, he's influenced musicians and has a major following in South Africa influencing the freedom during the Apartide time.

His music is right out of the early 70's (Dylan meets Cat Stevens with some Jim Croce) So amazing it just got to me on so many levels. In these dark times, it was just inspiring and moving!

I heard about that!

He apparently was living in near-poverty as a day laborer (or something like that) and had NO CLUE that he was such a STAR in South Africa.

Yeah, that's the one! Goes to South Africa and sells out 6 nights at a 5000 person arena! It's just one of those stories about a man who is like a modern day prophet or something. Just inspiring and humbling all at the same time, lessons to be learned and I just can't say enough good things about it. Just see it when you can!