Rate / Review the Last Film you've seen v.3

[Goddess_Clio]

Originally Posted by WelkinCooper

I just saw The Hunger Games and would rate it quite good, but not great...maybe four out of five stars. It did make me cry at one point, which is pretty hard to do at the movies. I thought it seemed a bit rushed, like they tried to cram too much into the time alloted, but at least it didn't drag on. The ending definitely screamed sequel but in a tv mini-series sort of a way, not a movie way.

I just saw Hunger Games last night, I'd give it an 8/10.

I'll preface any review by saying I have not read the books so I have no idea how good an adaptation it is.

I thought it was actually kind of slow as a movie. It seemed to take a long time for things to happen and there didn't seem to be much urgency on the part of the tributes - they're being sent to their death! The only one who really seemed nervous was the guy from district 12 that went along with Kat. I also got the impression that Kat's character wasn't fully realized all that well, she seemed at moments to be alternately dumb as rocks, off in la-la land or too savvy to be believed. Her first interview with the Stanely Tucci (LOL!) character, for instance, she was a little too stunned and then too immediately willing to play along with the interview and show off her fire dress. I wish more of the in-between moments of her cottoning on to the fact that she has to play along with them were shown.

I think the actual games were kind of boring; it seemed like they spent too long on the fact that she would tie herself into a tree to sleep and after the third time they showed her doing that I was over it. The games were a bit bloodier than I thought given that the movie got a PG-13 rating in the US - it wasn't graphic but it was bloody.

Originally Posted by 1BellaLestrange

I wish the Mutant dogs were scarier though, not how I imagined them.

Okay, okay okay!! When the dogs came up on screen I totally thought they looked like the dogs from Ghostbusters!!! You know, when Sigourney Weaver's character opens her refrigerator and sees the dog thing in there eating all her food?! HA!

Anyway.

I thought it was a decent movie (Hunger Games, not Ghostbusters - that's a classic!) and I'd both see it again and recommend it to others.

[yorkiedoodle]

I saw The Pirates! An Adventure with Scientists! yesterday. It's an Aardman film ( creators of Wallace and Grommit and Chicken Run) with a fab cast of voices - David Tennant, Imelda Staunton, Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Lenny Henry......

I loved the film and the music. As with most Aardman productions I want to see it again because I know I won't have picked up on more than 50% of the jokes....

The plot is OK - you can see where it's going but that really doesn't matter.

A fun way to spend a cold, wet and thoroughly miserable afternoon:- 8.5/10

[gertiekeddle]

Our idiot brother
7/10

This film get's a relatively high score from me because I felt greatly entertained by a neat and sympathetic comedy movie. It's not too casual, the same time it's not packed with entirely surprising jokes, but uses some standard turns. Neat film, possibly working for many viewers, but the same time it's no 'must see' recommendation.

[SnapesBane]

I just Tree of Life for the first time. Man what an experience that was. It spoke to me on so many different levels. I am really having a difficult time seeing why so many people dont like it. This is a 10/10 movie for me. Everything is absolutely perfect I cant find any faults.

[Yoana]

Rear Window - 8/10 - I really liked it. I love that the main way to convey meaning was pantomime.

[Fawkesfan1]

Saw three movies over the weekend.

In the land of blood and honey -- 8/10

Angelina Jolie did a very good job in terms of both writing, producing and directing this film. It's about the Bosnian war and two people, Danijel (who is a Serbian soldier) and Ajia (a Bosnian who is a captive in the camp he oversees). He sees her again and the both of them have to deal with the very different situation that they're in now that the war is upon them.

Very brutal at times and an adult movie, but worth the watch, just to get an idea of what the country was going through at that point in time.


J. Edgar -- 8/10

Been wanting to see this film for some time now and it was worth the watch. Leonardo Dicaprio did a good job as J. Edgar, portraying him from when he was a young man til' adulthood. It's an interesting take on his life to say the least.

He's more complicated than what's out there. He managed to keep secret files on others; yet wanted to destroy as many of those files as he possibly could, since he knew that Nixon was far more of a danger than he was.

This tale is mainly told from J. Edgar as an old man looking back on his life. Some parts are exaggerated, and some parts are not. But overall it was a good film.


The Muppets -- 7/10

Another film I've been wanting to see. Worth the wait too . Complete nostalgia fest (some of it silly, but ok enough). Three fans try to help the Muppets save their studio. It's nice to see the old gang together again, and a lot of the inside jokes made me laugh out loud . A lot of 70's/80's references and just good old corny humor. Pretty much harmless, family fun.

[yorkiedoodle]

Finally got to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel yesterday. It's been out for ages but the cinema was PACKED! I don't think that there was a spare seat!

Anyway it's a cast to die for - Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Maggie Smith, Ronald Pickup, Tom Wilkinson, Celia Imrie and Dev Patel.

A group of Brits meet at the airport as they head out to Jaipur for a new life. The film charts how they deal with the change in culture/experience etc. Some cope better than others...

It's a lovely film, well shot with glorious backdrops. The story is a tad predictable ( I haven't read the book) but it doesn't really matter.There are a lot of laughs.....

I went with SopophorousBean and she couldn't believe how much she laughed - she was about the youngest person in there!

I would definitely recommend it - esp if you like good British films........ 9/10.

[gertiekeddle]

I so much agree about Best Exotic Marigold Hotel! *pokes at her signature*

[ccollinsmith]

Titanic 3D

I'm not going to attempt to rate it. I'll just say that the 3D transfer looks great, and the spectacle is especially awe-inspiring on a huge IMAX screen.

Now, I'll comment on the film...

I consider Titanic to be the "most terrible great movie of all time" - meaning that it is simultaneously a great movie and a terrible movie in the same space. Its flaws are not superficial. They are fundamental. But the causes of the flaws are also the causes of the film's greatness. This is why I simply cannot rate the film.

The Terrible:
Jack and Rose and Cal and His Manservant running around the sinking Titanic firing weapons and generally acting like they are in a James Cameron action film.

Why this is fundamental and not superficial: Because it's the device by which we get to see the sinking of the ship - everywhere on the ship - from Rose's point of view. After all, this is Rose's story of the sinking. So there has to be some device to put her on every deck of the ship as it is going down, and Cameron never gets the viewer too far away from what Rose sees and experiences. Cameron went for what he knew best in order to create the device... i.e., he dipped into his action film repertoire.

I personally have always found it utterly ridiculous... but I learned to live with it by joking that Rose - now 101 years old - has probably seen her fair share of action films, and as narrator is simply filtering her 84-year-old memories of the sinking through her own experience of action films.

Hey... it may not be what Cameron intended, but it works for me!!!

The Great:
The sinking of the ship.

Nobody has ever sunk the Titanic the way James Cameron sank the Titanic. And after watching the film again today, I would venture that nobody will attempt to sink the Titanic again on screen for a good long time. And why should they? Cameron's film looks as good today as it did in 1997... probably better, given the beauty of the 3D transfer and the potential to see the sinking on the IMAX screen.

One thing I noticed on this viewing... the RL sinking took 2 hours, 40 minutes. Cameron devoted about 1.5 hours to the sinking. So even though he shaved about an hour off the timeit took the ship to actually sink, he really gave the viewer an extended experience of the horror, the panic, the villainy, and the heroism that took place that night on that ship.

And those are the stories that resonate with me... the stories of the real people who died and the real people who were saved that night. Much as the Jack/Rose story often annoys me, I have no complaints about how Cameron treats the men who dressed like gentlemen to meet their death; or how he treated the musicians who bravely stood their ground and played on the deck to calm the panic surrounding them; or how he treated Father Byles, the heroic priest who stayed on ship that night to help those who would not survive (we see him only towards the end of the sinking leading the people in the Rosary; in RL, he heard confessions, rescued women and children from the steerage, refused seats on two boats so that others might live, and THEN led people in prayer).

I don't watch Titanic for the absurd love story (though I must admit, I did cry today when Jack died and when Rose met him in her dreams/death at the end). I watch Titanic because it is still an amazing chronicle of the sinking of the Titanic, and it really brings to the foreground the human element of the story.

Regardless of what I think about Jack & Rose, the film is definitely well worth seeing in 3D.

[HedwigOwl]

Originally Posted by yorkiedoodle

Finally got to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel yesterday. It's been out for ages but the cinema was PACKED! I don't think that there was a spare seat!

Anyway it's a cast to die for - Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Maggie Smith, Ronald Pickup, Tom Wilkinson, Celia Imrie and Dev Patel.

A group of Brits meet at the airport as they head out to Jaipur for a new life. The film charts how they deal with the change in culture/experience etc. Some cope better than others...

It's a lovely film, well shot with glorious backdrops. The story is a tad predictable ( I haven't read the book) but it doesn't really matter.There are a lot of laughs.....

I went with SopophorousBean and she couldn't believe how much she laughed - she was about the youngest person in there!

I would definitely recommend it - esp if you like good British films........ 9/10.

It hasn't been anywhere in my area yet at all. I want to see it for the cast alone.

[yorkiedoodle]

Given the cast I thought it would be rude not to go!

I really enjoyed it!

[MmeBergerac]

The Happening 6/10

Very, very disturbing movie. The plot is oppressive enough, but Shyamalan knows very well that suggesting is better than showing. IMO, the most distressing scenes are those in which you don't actually see what's happening.

Spoiler: show

I mean the scene where you hear a girl killing herself while talking to her mother on the phone, and later when Mark Whalberg is trying to think while you hear the gunshots of the hippies' group

I didn't like very much the "explanation" of the phenomenom, or at least the way it's developed. Main character in distressing situation that guesses exactly how the inexplicable thing works (without being any special reason for his having the inspiration) and therefore can survive always seemed a cheap trick for me.

At least the acting is quite decent and there are a few humour touches to make it bearable (Mark Whalberg realizing he's talking to a plant...). However, I don't think I repeat; it's not my cup of tea.


The Quiet Man 10/10

Though John Wayne is so charming and Maureen O'Hara so beautiful, and their story is absolutely fantastic, this movie has the longest list of lovely secondaries I've ever seen. The matchmaker, the train drivers, the priest that never can fish his salmon, the old man that virtually revives at hearing there's a fight...

My dad's right: nobody makes movies like this any more

[SnapesBane]

I finally got around to seeing Inception. I am not a fan of it. It all seemed unimaginative and boring. Every of my friends said it was an amazing movie but I just dont see it. I found the action to be really dull. I;d haveto give it a 4/10.

[yorkiedoodle]

Salmon fishing in the Yemen.

I got tickets via an offer in the Radio Times - large thanks are due to SopophorousBean who spotted the offer and duly accompanied me today ( or did I accompany her?)

Based on the book by Paul Torday it follows the attempt by a Yemeni Sheikh to introduce salmon fishing into his country. It stars Ewan McGregor as the salmon expert, Emily Blunt as the sheikh's representative/facilitator and Kristen Scott Thomas as the PM's PR person.

I really enjoyed it - much more than I thought i would. The film is not on general release in the UK until Friday and the only review I had read had been underwhelming, but there was much to enjoy. I haven't read the book, so I can't comment on how closely it follows the story.

Ewan McGregor is very believable as the fish expert and Kristen Scott Thomas plays a blinder as the Whitehall press guru!

A solid 8/10

[ccollinsmith]

Cabin in the Woods - 4/10

Too clever for its own good and not scary at all, the two best words to describe this film would be "cynical" and "nihilistic."

I posted my full review on the film's thread:

http://www.cosforums.com/showthread....07#post6005107

[lcbaseball22]

I Am Legend- 82

Verdict- mostly a one man show with a terrific performance from Will Smith, but also has poor visual effects and a controversial ending,


Contagion- 80

Verdict- despite the amazing array of cast members and an interesting premise, there's something off about this film...which I think is a result of Soderberg's direction that I'm becoming increasingly not a fan of.


The Lincoln Lawyer- 87

Verdict- engaging legal drama, but some issues with some of the acting and camera work.


Cowboys and Aliens- 75

Verdict- entertaining enough for what it is

[lcbaseball22]

Captain America: The First Avenger

Acting- 9
Script- 7.5
Visuals- 9
Sound- 8.5
Editing- 9

Total Score = 86

Verdict- the premise is pretty ridiculous but as popcorn entertainment it's a really solid production. Oh, and it's interesting to see how they tried to tie in with Iron Man (ie collaboration with Howard Stark, Tony's father) , SHIELD, and rest of the Marvel characters/universe to set up for The Avengers movie that's coming out in just a week or so here...which was my reason for watching this now since I've never picked up a comic in my life and I thought it wise if I have some familiarity with the background of the characters (I might watch Thor too) if I am going to see The Avengers...which I probably will since it's going to have the final trailer for The Dark Knight Rises!

[HedwigOwl]

The Big Year - 8/10

I thought this was a nice entertaining movie with a quirky premise. I like all the main characters -- Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, so I may have had a favorable leaning before seeing it.

[Fawkesfan1]

The Captains -- 7/10

A nice Star Trek based documentary by William Shatner. Worth the watch for what it's worth. It's about his life, along with the rest of the actors and actresses who've played Star Trek captains.


The Boy in the Striped Pajamas -- 8/10

A good movie that's also in terms heart rendering and heart breaking. Everyone played their part well and the cinematography is top notch. It's about a young boy who has to move with his family (unbeknowst to him, to a Nazi camp), and how he adjusts to his new life.

[ccollinsmith]

The Hunger Games - 10/10

I had not read the book before seeing the movie. However, I have been a fan of Battle Royale since the early 2000s.

After seeing The Hunger Games and seeing how the game plays out, I do not believe Collins' claim that she was unaware of Battle Royale when she wrote the book. While the framework for the games is different (and more fleshed out), the way the game itself plays out is almost identical to Battle Royale.

Yet, I just gave the movie a 10/10. Why?

Because the film was so well done that it made me forget that the story is largely a rip of one of my favorite Japanese cult classics.

Please realize... I resisted seeing this film because of my loyalty to Battle Royale. Yet from the very opening moments, the film completely drew me in to its world. Everything - from the script to the acting to the soundtrack - got me engaged and involved. Breaking down my resistance has to count for something.

I will not be surprised if the film gets some award nods at the end of the year. How often do you get a popular film phenomenon that is also an authentically excellent film?