The Latest Movie You Watched Topic 2.0

[zilla103192]

WATCHMEN (2009)

I watched it for the first time ever a few nights ago, and rewatching it right now.

I never had an interest in this film. It looked rather boring and kind of dumb.

But my best friend insisted I see it, seeing as how big I am into the super hero genre. So he lent me his copy and I gave it a watch.

OMFG I love this movie. I was so emotionally invested in the characters. I love the dark but colorful style. And how every character represents a different personality/sexual drive is a cool idea.

Rorshach is one of my all time favorite heroes now. He is a man that wants justice, and will get it no matter what he has to do. The fact that he is just a normal guy makes it even cooler to me too. No powers, not into super high tech gadgets, not super intelligent. Just an average man behind a mask.

I also really like the music in this film. It goes away from the typical symphony music that most films have, and use real songs from the time that wouldn't normally sound right in a super hero film, but I think that they worked pretty damn good in this movie. I am hooked on the song "The Sounds of Silence" and "The Times are A-Changing"

Personally: 5/5
Critically: 4/5

[Tohosaurus]

Troy (2004)
Umm ... wow. I was taken aback by how stunningly well executed this film was. Two common criticisms I see to this movie: no mythological advent of the gods as in the original poem and that in the end you're wondering who the audience is supposed to root for. I see the former as somewhat irrelevant and the latter the part of a broader message. War is ugly, horrible, and even the winners have made great sacrifices. Families are ripped apart and thousands of lives are changed forever. While some are noble, others suffer from a bottomless pit of greed for more power and control. The characters are to die for and you wrestle with them and invest in them completely. Everyone has a dark side and we see the most noble at their best AND worst. I viewed the director's cut, btw, and I don't know how it compares to the theatrical version. It's interesting to see how they took a mythos and tried to make this a reality as opposed to Legendary's 300 that took real events and fantasized them. Opposite takes, not that I'm really comparing the two as films because they're rather different.
9/10

[wataru]

Wrath of the Titans (2012) -

Girlfriend and I went to see this instead of going to Blue Springs because we were told it was going to rain. And it didnt rain til 5:30.

So the movie... is this movie going to win ANY awards? Probably not.. BUT DAMN IT WAS ENJOYABLE! Hades and Zeus get more screen time, the characters have evolved (well the only ones returning at Perseus and Andromeda) but damn you really like the characters. The only two things I were a bit off of was the romance & Ares. He seemed to get pulled from the writer's ass and the actor playing him was shit. The movie is enjoyable. It's a popcorn flick. If you like Liam Neeson and Sam Worthington, you'll dig this film.

Personally: 4/5
Critically: 2.5/5

[GodzillavsZilla]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
I love the ninja turtles and this movie, I haven't seen it in a long time. Yet, it sort of messed up the origin a little, instead of Splinter be Homato Yoshi, he's already a rat, and the turtles were already mutants. I also like how the turtles say damn a lot. The fight scenes are awesome, the costumes are incredible, and the final battle was one of the best final battles, I have ever seen.

I give it a 4.3/5

[Tim85]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
I love the ninja turtles and this movie, I haven't seen it in a long time. Yet, it sort of messed up the origin a little, instead of Splinter be Homato Yoshi, he's already a rat, and the turtles were already mutants. I also like how the turtles say damn a lot. The fight scenes are awesome, the costumes are incredible, and the final battle was one of the best final battles, I have ever seen.

I give it a 4.3/5

Actually, the movie was based off the comics more then cartoon. The origin is the same or really close to the original comic and the Turtles themselves were more mature in language and in violence.

[Tohosaurus]

Wrath of the Titans (2012)
Having recently watched Clash of the Titans (2010) to remember everything and get back in the mindset before seeing Wrath of the Titans, I was able to give them a pretty fair side-by-side comparison. While the story was not that strong in the original movie, it's stronger than it is here. Plus, we're moving further and further away from true Greek mythology and this movie leaves the actual story quite unexplored. Still, I'm not entirely convinced they went the wrong route though, since this is really just supposed to be another action-adventure-fantasy movie. It just could have been better. On the plus side, it is visually superb and the CGI is integrated quite well 90% of the time. There is also more than enough action to keep a person entertained and not in the mind numbing fashion of the sequels to Transformers. So not a total loss here, but I don't know that I'll buy it down the road before it becomes dirt cheap.
6/10

[wataru]

Choujin Locke: Millenium of the Witch (1984) -
First anime Ive sat down to watch in awhile. Locke the Superpower (the VHS dub) sat on my Favorite Anime Shelf for years as a bootleg before I shitcanned it and regretted it because the 4 anime features have NEVER received a DVD release in R1. Ive seen Millenium of the Witch and Lord Leon and I must say, this one is an 80s anime. Alittle long, alittle slow but again enjoyable.
Personally: 3/5
Critically: 3/5

Mutant Chronicles (2008/2009) -
When I first saw this, I thought it was HORRIBLE. Then I researched Mutant Chronicles - a Danish CCG and TTG - and really got more into it. The movies is ....OK. It's not really as immersive as the games. Thomas Jane is OK, Ron Pearlman saves it. I dug it.
Personally: 3.5/5
Critically: 1.5/5

Hackers (1995) -
Shoot me. In the head. This movie is bad. I mean GAWD. 28.8bps modems were HOT! LOL you cant have a VR OS with 28.8bps! GTFO! This movie is so NOT what Hackers are or what they do. I dug Cereal Killer/Matthew Lillard. He's always fun to watch. And a young Angelina Jolie was in this. She looked like a boy.
Meh. Better then Tank Girl...
Personally: 1/5
Critically: 0.5/5

Sneakers (1992) -
Shit. Movie is horrible. I cant believe Redford, Akroyd and Sir Sidney Poitier can get together and put out such a BORING, dry, horrible movie. I had to force myself to watch it. Redford IMHO is HIGHLY overrated as an actor.
Personally: 1/5
Critically: 1/5

[Tohosaurus]

Gunhed (1989)
Well to start on a bad note unrelated to the film itself, ADV's release is poor. The picture is not anamorphic for widescreen presentations so it's pretty much a letterbox view for me. Worse, the picture itself does not show color that well, looking very green and goopy with slightly to moderately blurry text. I know these issues aren't unique to my particular copy either. Hopefully someday a company like Mill Creek or Media Blasters will secure the rights to it and give it a proper HD widescreen presentation with digital surround sound audio because this is a film that depends heavily upon its "flair" like the visuals and soundtrack. Back to the movie ... Gunhed is a mixed bag for me. The basic idea of the movie is great. But several things are lost in translation. The story can be a little difficult to follow along, but it all ends up being a little dry. The characters fall completely flat. Speaking of, other than the main cast we don't really see anyone else in the entire movie. There's a sense of eeriness and isolation that actually might help the movie as a result rather than detract from it; but again, the boring characters that we don't care about or have attachment to keep this from working to full effect. There is a sprinkling of random items that are left unexplained or otherwise confusing to the viewer but I don't delve into them all. In spite of these issues, Gunhed is still reasonably enjoyable for its top notch special effects and cool setting/visuals. The soundtrack is also pretty awesome, with a very 80s theme that works well and is fresh, not feeling like recycled stuff from previous Toho productions. In the end, Gunhed may well have worked out better if Godzilla was integral to the movie. Without Godzilla and all the changes supposedly made to the script, the movie doesn't feel quite right, quite complete ... something like that.
5/10

[wataru]

The Sandlot (1993) -
Still a very cute film. A good ol' fashioned family movie that's safe for kids.
Personally: 3/5
Critically: 3/5

Bull Durham (1988) -
Dated. So dated. And IMHO overrated.
Personally: 1/5
Critically: 4/5

[Tohosaurus]

Looks like wataru and I are going to keep tag-teaming this thread, lol.

American Reunion (2012)
The first properly "good" movie this year that I've seen. The filmmakers have managed to keep the cast and story of our characters fresh and engaging. The characters continue to amuse and even be touching when necessary. The only significant complaint I had was the Kara subplot, which was rather clumsily integrated into the overall story. It wasn't so much bad as just being quite cliche and corny in how it was executed. But the Jim-Kara subplot definitely still provided the laughs, so it works out in the end. The whole movie is a hoot without humor that's trying too hard. The audience was chuckling and laughing throughout. They've given the American Pie franchise a proper entry again. The second one was decent but the third was disappointing overall.
8/10

Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (2008)
A kaiju comedy is an idea that's been largely left untouched, so the filmmakers here had the opportunity to do something pretty unique. While this film is unique, it could really have been better. Much if not most of the humor barely elicits a smile, the main cast displays acting that I could probably compete with, and this clashes with what was an interesting and amusing story with some subtle political undertones. Again, the final product doesn't live up to the potential. Is it still at least mildly entertaining? Sure, but only mildly so.
4/10

[tymon]

Drive - The direction, cinematography and acting were fantastic. The storytelling, on the other hand, was quite lacking and cliche. Mehhh. 2/5

[Space Hunter M]

King Kong vs. Godzilla (US, 1963)

Finally got around to watching the John Beck cut. What a difference ...a terrible difference. What a shambling mockery of an entertaining monster movie. The film's nimble pace grinds to screeching halt every few minutes, where Carter and his grey haired friends explain what we're missing out on. The drab music replacement is almost akin to someone re-scoring Star Wars with Ren & Stimpy Production Music. The dubbing is laughable, especially the infamous "corn" monologue, which only serves to cover up the fact the scene has been shifted. Why was Godzilla once again reduced to nothing more than a stereotypical prehistoric monster who had never been seen before? The could have used the U.N. scenes to explain Godzilla's actual past to unfamiliar audiences, but no, let's talk about who's brain is bigger. Whereas Gigantis, the Fire Monster was a terrible Americanization of a generally mediocre movie, Universal International's King Kong vs. Godzilla is an awful butchery of a genuinely good movie, so it's much worse in my book.

3.5/10

[zilla103192]

American Reunion (2012)
The first properly "good" movie this year that I've seen. The filmmakers have managed to keep the cast and story of our characters fresh and engaging. The characters continue to amuse and even be touching when necessary. The only significant complaint I had was the Kara subplot, which was rather clumsily integrated into the overall story. It wasn't so much bad as just being quite cliche and corny in how it was executed. But the Jim-Kara subplot definitely still provided the laughs, so it works out in the end. The whole movie is a hoot without humor that's trying too hard. The audience was chuckling and laughing throughout. They've given the American Pie franchise a proper entry again. The second one was decent but the third was disappointing overall.
8/10

I saw this too... It was alright. I thought it had a few more serious moments then it should have for an American Pie movie, but it was still very funny throughout. I also liked seeing how all the characters grew up and matured. I think it was a nice way to end the series (If they really are ending it).

Personally 3/5
Critically 2.5/5

Jurassic Park (1993)

I still adore this film. It is a true cinematic masterpiece. The fact that it came out when I was 1 year old, and STILL has better effects then some film that are being released today is a huge achievement. I usually say that a book based film would be better if it was more faithful to the source, but I just don't think they could of done a better job here.

Personally 5/5
Critically 5/5

The Sitter (2011)

This movie sucked

Personally 1.5/5
Critically 0.2/5

[wataru]

Prepping for Avengers...

The Incredible Hulk (2008).
Personally: 4.5/5
Critically: 4/5
I really love this movie. so much more then the 2003 Ang Lee. I love Norton in this and Im not a huge fan of all his work (this and Red Dragon are my favorite). I dug the CGI, the Hulk, all the characters save Liv Tyler (she has ONE really good scene, the rest were phoned in).

Iron Man (2008)
Personally: 4/5
Critically: 4/5
Great film. RDJ proves he is a power in Hollywood. Jeff Bridges puts on another great performance outside of a hippy hero. The CGI was amazing and the feel of Iron Man is scores above the crap comis. Paltrow is absolutely gorgeous.

Predators (2010).
Personally: 4/5
Critically: 3.5/5
I finally got the movie legit and I still dig it. The opening is still a bit slow, but every characters is amazing. I would like some more official non-comic book background on the larger Preds though...

[edgaguirus]

This Island Earth (1955)

I hadn't watched this movie for awhile. It has an entertaining plot, but the lead actor's performance is a bit dry. Still, it's a pretty good sci fi flick.

[zilla103192]

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

One of the very few sequels that lives up to the original if you ask me. The characters are great, the effects are brilliant, the story is fun. But I DO feel they could of been a bit more faithful to the book in this case. Although it was awesome and fun, I wasn't a big fan of the "Rex on the loose" ending. It just didn't feel like a jurassic park film with that tacked on.

Personally: 4/5

Critically: 3.5/5

[edgaguirus]

Godzilla against Mechagodzilla

It's not the best of the millenium series, but it does offer a fast paced story and pleasing 2cd battle. The subplot with the officer seeking redemption doesn't bring empathy IMO. Her performance is a bit too two dimensional. The Kiryu suit looks great, though.

[Tohosaurus]

The Avengers (2012)
Only the fourth 2012 movie I've seen so far but this definitely sets the standard for movies by leaps and bounds. The Avengers was extremely hyped up, and yet in my book it lived up to the excessive hype. No, it isn't the most sophisticated, deep movie that The Dark Knight Rises is expected to be, but this movie never promises that sort of thing. It's well done, but it's mainly about being WILDLY entertained, and man is it FUN. I could've smiled through the whole thing. The humor was generally placed well and had the audience laughing. The action sequences were excellent, as were the special effects. I don't really want to say much else for fear of spoiling it for anyone, but this jumps immediately on my list as one of the best superhero movies. I cannot wait for the sequel (and I'm sure there will be one). All I can really say beyond that is: ladies and gentlemen, they did it. They successfully brought all of the superheros together, several of them from the well known franchises of their own. It's unique in that way and they didn't screw it up in the slightest.
9/10

[Kiryu2012]

Peter Benchley's Creature. A very awesome sharkman movie that deserves more praise.

[HayesAJones]

sharkman movie.

Are there even enough of those to earn a title like that?