Son of Saul (2015) - In the horror of 1944 Auschwitz, a prisoner forced to burn the corpses of his own people finds moral survival upon trying to salvage from the flames the body of a boy he takes for his son.

Very downbeat of course. And notable in that the movie is composed almost entirely of close-ups. 4/5

The 2015 Academy Award-Nominated Animated Short Films:



Sanjay's Super Team (2015) - Bored with his father's meditation, a young Indian boy daydreams of Hindu gods as superheroes. 4/5

World of Tomorrow (2015) - A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future. 5/5

Bear Story (2014) - An old, lonesome bear tells the story of his life through a mechanical diorama. 3.5/5

We Can't Live Without Cosmos (2014) - Two cosmonaut friends try to do their best in their everyday training life to make their common dream a reality. 4/5

Prologue (2015) - A brutal battle between two teams of Spartan and Athenian warriors takes place 2,400 years in the past. 2.5/5

Room 6.5 / 10

Attended the very first showing of this:



I'd give it a 3 out of 5.

The storyline is very un-original and somewhat predictable.

The acting was very good, action scenes could have been more exciting.

[Spammy snippy - luv4u]

Deadpool (2016) - A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopting the alter ego Deadpool.

Dumb, but fun. I give the creators credit for making a movie that reflects the source material more than any other comic book movie I've seen. 3.5/5

[Edited 2/26/16 17:54pm]

Bridge of Spies (2015) - During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

Nothing more or less than what you'd expect from a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. 4/5

El abrazo de la serpiente / Embrace of the Serpent (2015) - The story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists who work together over the course of 40 years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant.

It's like Heart of Darkness with a litte 2001: A Space Odyssey thrown in at the end. Fascinating film. 4/5

The Revenant (2015) - A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.

The cinematography alone earns the movie a high rating from me. Epic. 4.5/5

Steve Jobs (2015) - Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. It's a clever way to structure a biopic. And the Academy Award nominations for acting are well-deserved. 4/5

[Edited 2/27/16 20:20pm]

Cinderella (2015) - When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her scheming step-sisters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger.

It's better than many of the other recent fairytale remakes. 2.5/5

Theeb (2014) - In the Ottoman province of Hijaz during World War I, a young Bedouin boy experiences a greatly hastened coming-of-age as he embarks on a perilous desert journey to guide a British officer to his secret destination.

Good movie and great shots of the Jordanian desert. 3.5/5

Racing Extinction (2015) - A documentary that follows undercover activists trying to stave off a man-made mass extinction.

Very scary environmental message. 4/5

It was on TV (had never seen it before).
People are so retarded, it's ridiculous.

Creed - crowd-pleaser in the best way. 4.5/5

The Hunting Ground (2015) - An exposé of rape crimes on U.S. college campuses, their institutional cover-ups, and the devastating toll they take on students and their families.

Because of the subject matter, there are many detractors discrediting the entire film. However, it's definitely worth seeing. 4/5

Stalker

I found this impenetrable, and it's certainly slow-moving, but it's undeniably filled with many great images, and as confounded as i was, i was not bored, i did not feel restless, and i'm glad i watched it. i have no idea how you even rate something like this, but it's certainly worth a watch for those who fancy a challenge or a bit of a trip into the deep end.

the films of andrei tarkovsky are available for free on youtube. these are legitimate streams, put there by the studio for which he made the films.

http://www.openculture.co...nline.html

[Edited 3/4/16 19:41pm]

logger said:

sexton said:

sexton said:

Ace said:

Interesting movie, but limited because it's a true story. Not nearly as funny as advertised, especially the second half. I'd give it a 3 out of 5.

300 - Rise of an Empire. 2/10. And that's basically for Eva Green.

.

Only God Forgives. ?/10. Second time I watched this and I still can't say what I think of this.

damosuzuki said:

Brendan said:

Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015) [img:$uid]http://s26.postimg.org/bwwidd7i1/image.jpg[/img:$uid] Felt as deeply unsettling and tragically manifest as Thelma linking hands with Louise somewhere over their Grand Canyon escape watching the titular character, Mad Max, ride shotgun to Charlize Theron's in a car chase heavy metal enough to spray paint the chrome on your derangement. A world reset and still at the bottom of it, chained to the ultimate chastity belt for refueling its madness. A tiny window for escape aboard the reins of 2,000 horses of feminine unleash in search of a decade's remembered promise land through obstacles as insanely never ending as three traveling funhouses hellbent on consuming anything not related to its psychotic royalty. Before the final chapter, Theron's character, weakened to utter speechlessness in the desert, drops to her knees, slumps to her backside, and lets go a wail at the sky gaping enough to encapsulate the millennia. Gets more thrilling with each viewing/reflection. One of the great car chases and heroes (not heroines) in cinema history. 5 out of 5 --- [Edited 3/4/16 1:22am]

It's really a very good movie.