Movie Monday, round 4

[AmberCutie]

Whoa, nearly 6 months with no Movie Monday blog from me? I'm ashamed...


Silver Linings Playbook

Ok, so this could be one of my favorite movies. I enjoyed the entire film, and especially love how well Bradley Cooper played his role. We are so used to seeing him as some hunky, macho ladies man, that sometimes we wonder if his type-cast was all he was capable of. He pulled off crazy bipolar highly emotionally damaged (still sexy) man so well. And don't get me started on Jennifer Lawrence. I nearly peed myself when I saw the outfit she wore for the dance competition. I'm pretty sure I got a massive lady-boner. She's so hot, and her crazy sexy character only made me love her more. The chemistry between the two of them was phenomenal. Robert De Niro is SO perfect as the superstitious OCD dad. The scene where he and his old buddy are negotiating the bet with the parlay is absolute classic De Niro. I couldn't help but smile during that entire scene.

Overall, I loved the way they eased into the story and the way it unfolded. While I do believe certain parts of the story were incredibly predictable, it was still extremely fun to watch.

Did I mention Jennifer Lawrence was hot in this? I feel like I might have left that out.

9/10

Django Unchained

First off, holy hell, never heard the n word used so many times in one sitting in all my life. :shock:

I'll admit right now, I went into watching this expecting to absolutely HATE it. I am not a fan of anything super-violent, and really not much of a Tarantino fan at all. I agreed to watch it because of all the talk and hype about it, as well as my never-ending love for Leonardo DiCaprio. Jamie Foxx used to be one of my favorites, too, until it seemed he fell off the face of the earth. It was nice to see him again, and in such a huge role. He nailed it, if you ask me. The character of Dr. King Schultz was so completely enthralling to watch and listen to. Absolutely lovable character. Jawbs and I both agreed on this.

It was difficult to watch Leonardo as Calvin Candie. That's not to say he didn't play it very well, it was just that he did so well that it actually made me shudder.

I actually didn't even know what the story was about going into this viewing but I found it really fun and interesting. For the most part the violence wasn't too over the top for me and I could hang pretty well. I don't know why I've become so squeamish, hah. Toward what I expected to be the end of the film, I could just sense there was some mega-bloody action leering around the corner. I've seen and heard about enough Tarantino films to know that it wasn't just going to end without a huge blow out. I wasn't disappointed nor surprised.

I'm happy and surprised to say that I actually liked this movie quite a lot. Fun story, great acting and actors and some well timed comedic moments.

8/10

This Is 40

Jawbs and I actually watched this a couple months ago. We were in the mood for a comedy, and Judd Apatow movies are usually a sure-win for us. I sadly say that I was extremely disappointed in this one. I enjoyed Paul Rudd (as usual as I've really loved him ever since Clueless) and could relate to the story and characters, but it was just. so. depressing.

I'm all for a comedy to have some drama to it, but this just left me feeling sad and lifeless, even with its silver linings. Never mind the fact that it was WAY too long.

Why the fuck have movies gotten so long these days? Once upon a decade or 2 ago, they were on average like 90 minutes and a long one was 2 hours. Am I wrong? Maybe I'm remembering things incorrectly...

This sad, midlife depression story was dragged out for about 40 minutes too long, in my opinion. Hurry up and get to a happy ending before we all want to jump off a cliff, yeah?

4/10

Wreck-it Ralph

As expected: SO CUTE!

It was about 2 months ago that Jawbs and I watched this. He fell asleep ( ) but I enjoyed every moment of it. Anyone who loves video games, especially arcade games, will love the characters and jokes in the movie. The main characters, played by John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman were so adorable and fun. Jane Lynch's character was so well played and intriguing. I could probably watch this movie multiple times and enjoy it equally each time. That's hard to say for a lot of movies, for me, these days.

9/10


What movies have you seen recently? Any recommendations, based on how well you know my pickiness and preferences? Agree or disagree with my thoughts on any of these?

REPLY AND LET ME KNOW!

:thumbleft:

 

[MrStayReady420]

Of those movies, I have only watched Django Unchained. As a black man, I wanted to see what the fuss was about from the radical black folk who always seem to want to come out of their holes whenever a movies that pushes the racial and/or cultural envelope is released.

The screenplay for Django Unchained is arguably the best Original Screenplay written in the last 25 years. It was indeed a great flick. And as for the violence, it is Tarrentino; fans of his movies have come to expect it. I will catch up on these others you have reviewed, but I also give Django a 8/10

 

[BullFrogBlues]

Silver Linings Playbook.... Bradley Cooper played his role too well, he annoyed the hell out of me. 6/10

Django Unchained... loved it 9/10

Haven't watched the rest.

Jack Reacher

5 people are shot by an expert sniper who is quickly arrested by the police. A slam-dunk case until the sniper says "Get Jack Reacher". Reacher (Tom Cruise) is a former Army Criminal Investigator who has pledged to bury the sniper himself. Don't want to give away more of the plot.

8/10

 

[AmberCutie]

Silver Linings Playbook.... Bradley Cooper played his role too well, he annoyed the hell out of me. 6/10

Django Unchained... loved it 9/10

Haven't watched the rest.

Jack Reacher

5 people are shot by an expert sniper who is quickly arrested by the police. A slam-dunk case until the sniper says "Get Jack Reacher". Reacher (Tom Cruise) is a former Army Criminal Investigator who has pledged to bury the sniper himself. Don't want to give away more of the plot.

8/10

Thank you, we almost watched Jack Reacher instead of Django on Saturday. We'll get to it soon I think.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

The Last Stand
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1549920/?ref_=sr_1

Overall a fun movie. Not a complicated script or academy level acting. But it has good solid action with some fun moments tossed in. And good pacing so you won't be wishing for it to be over faster.
Overall for the action genre I'd say 7/10.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Parker
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1904996/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Simple review for this one. If you're a fan of Jason Statham, watch this. I'm not a major fan of Jennifer Lopez but she does look rather nice in undies, that's about all I'll say for her performance. :lol:

Rating as a regular movie - 6/10. Rating as a Statham movie - 7.5/10

 

[Neudiin]

Silver Linings Playbook - Looked up the dance scene for sexiness and was going to post chic flick not interested but I watched another couple scenes after the dance and I'll have to give it a look.. WOW! Amber, you need that top, you have the pants hehe For the lazy among us lol.



Django Unchained - Loved this movie. Samuel L Jackson cracked me up lol And yeah DiCaprio is such an amazing actor that when he plays such a rotten human you actually believe it.

This Is 40 - I saw Knocked Up and disliked these 2 in it so no interest in seeing a spin off

Wreck-it Ralph - Looked cute haven't seen it but I just might.

 

[Neudiin]

Parker
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1904996/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Simple review for this one. If you're a fan of Jason Statham, watch this. I'm not a major fan of Jennifer Lopez but she does look rather nice in undies, that's about all I'll say for her performance. :lol:

Rating as a regular movie - 6/10. Rating as a Statham movie - 7.5/10

I haven't seen this but it looks a lot like a less funny version of Payback. But I could be wrong.

 

[Neudiin]

OH almost forgot lol

Underworld: Awakening

Its worth it just to see Kate Beckinsale in the pvp pants, yes I'm always a perv. I hope it made enough money to continue the story line since they sort of have an interesting direction to go. Not gonna give anything away.

8/10

 

[AmberCutie]

OH almost forgot lol

Underworld: Awakening

Its worth it just to see Kate Beckinsale in the pvp pants, yes I'm always a perv. I hope it made enough money to continue the story line since they sort of have an interesting direction to go. Not gonna give anything away.

8/10

Kind of like how watching the newest Batman was only worth it to see Anne Hathaway in her catsuit?

Oh and I suppose to see JGL, because he's so adorable.

Yeah I almost reviewed the movie but realized these notes were all I had to contribute. I can't even remember the name, I just keep calling it "the newest Batman".

3/10

:mrgreen:

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Okay, I'll do another one, and NOT in the action genre. I know, shocking for a guy. :-D

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Steve Carell and Keira Knightley
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1307068/

An end of the world story that has really great dialogue and story line. I really liked this one. If you're looking for a good romantic movie this one works.

 

[AmberCutie]

Okay, I'll do another one, and NOT in the action genre. I know, shocking for a guy. :-D

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Steve Carell and Keira Knightley
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1307068/

An end of the world story that has really great dialogue and story line. I really liked this one. If you're looking for a good romantic movie this one works.

Oh yeah we just watched that a week ago, too! I enjoyed it quite a lot. Really pulled at my heart strings, though.

 

[BullFrogBlues]

The character of Dr. King Schultz was so completely enthralling to watch and listen to. Absolutely lovable character. Jawbs and I both agreed on this.

If you loved Christoph Waltz in Django, have you seen him in Inglourious Basterds ? He is fucking brilliant! His character is not as delightful, although well acted, in the quite good Water for Elephants. He was good in Carnage if I remember correctly.

 

[LaylaLovegood]

Whoa, nearly 6 months with no Movie Monday blog from me? I'm ashamed...


Silver Linings Playbook

Ok, so this could be one of my favorite movies. I enjoyed the entire film, and especially love how well Bradley Cooper played his role. We are so used to seeing him as some hunky, macho ladies man, that sometimes we wonder if his type-cast was all he was capable of. He pulled off crazy bipolar highly emotionally damaged (still sexy) man so well. And don't get me started on Jennifer Lawrence. I nearly peed myself when I saw the outfit she wore for the dance competition. I'm pretty sure I got a massive lady-boner. She's so hot, and her crazy sexy character only made me love her more. The chemistry between the two of them was phenomenal. Robert De Niro is SO perfect as the superstitious OCD dad. The scene where he and his old buddy are negotiating the bet with the parlay is absolute classic De Niro. I couldn't help but smile during that entire scene.

Overall, I loved the way they eased into the story and the way it unfolded. While I do believe certain parts of the story were incredibly predictable, it was still extremely fun to watch.

Did I mention Jennifer Lawrence was hot in this? I feel like I might have left that out.

Couldn't agree more! I can't say enough about Silver Linings Playbook. I generally hate romantic comedies, but his movie was everything you could want in a movie. Also Jennifer Lawrence was incredibly hot.

Recently I saw The Place Beyond the Pines....

I was so excited to go see it because its another Bradly Cooper movie and also has Ryan Gosling in it. This was honestly one of the most terrible movies I have ever seen. If it was a made for TV Lifetime movie I may have been okay with it, but not a Ryan Gosling and Bradly Cooper movie. The story went no where and dragged on for 2 and a half hours. It started out good and I loved the setting of the film until it made no sense. I feel like it was meant to be deep and connect 2 stories, but it seemed more like 2 movies put together that had no point. Anyways....you get the picture. Luckily the movie theater I went to serves booze....so at least I ended up getting a really good buzz out of it.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Broken City
Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones

Review:
OMG so freaking boring.
Standard paint by numbers plot I've seen a hundred times before put together in a way to minimize my level of caring about any of the characters.

I'm not even going to bother rating this one because 48 minutes in I couldn't stand the torture anymore. I started jumping ahead minutes at a time just to see if anything interesting looking ever happened; nope.

 

[WildFingers]

Star Trek Into the Darkness



We went and saw this movie in 3D IMAX. It was awesome. There are a lot of little things/bits in this movie's story line that are related to the Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). The Wrath of Khan takes place around 20 after the Into the Darkness story line. I do not think it is necessary to see the Wrath of Khan prior to seeing Into the Darkness. Into the Darkness can stand alone by itself with out ever seeing any other Star Trek movie.

After Discussing the movie on the way home We had remembered some Wrath story lines that followed or were expanded on in the new movie. I didn't really pay attention to any of that during the movie . The movie moves quite fluidly and at a good pace. I didn't want to miss anything and so I didn't eat any popcorn but I was able to have a few sips of Diet Coke.

Some Critics said it was a little slow and choppy because of some of the details that were explored. I didn't notice this at all.

The IMAX Surround deafening sound was tremendous. I personally think that it was too loud. But O survived the explosions and Warp Speed sounds. I was told that quit acting like an old man by my wife when I jokingly asked for something to stuff in my ears. (no sense of humor).

The Special FX were superb. If you go back an watch the Wraith you will probably laugh at those 1982 special effects. I think I will have to dig out the VHS of the Wrath of Khan and watch it this week.



And for even more giggles here is a clip from the Star Trek tv show from the 70's when Kirk and Khan go at it. Some Quality special FX here.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

This one is not for everyone. Or even most I imagine.
Wu Xia (a.k.a. Dragon in English)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1718199/
Not sure if there's a version with English dubs, I watched with sub-titles. So every one may not like this for that reason.
Basically as the main reviewer on IMDB says it's the Chinese 'A History of Violence.' Pretty good story line and action. It starts off showing you what happened in a fight involving one of the main characters. But then you start to wonder if that is what really happened as a police officer comes in and starts to investigate. There's some martial arts throughout but the last half really picks up the pace.

Stars Donnie Yen (Ip Man) and Takeshi Kaneshiro (the main strategist in Red Cliff, which I should also post because that film was absolutely EPIC)
Overall I would give this an 8/10 rating with the caveat you are the sort of person who likes foreign martial arts movies and can tolerate sub-titles. If not, then just ignore this post. :-D

 

[JerryBoBerry]

World War Z
Brad Pitt
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816711/

This will be a very short review since this just came out in theaters so I won't be including any spoilers.

This movie starts right away getting into the action and keeps a very even pace throughout. Great special effects with some zombie thriller moments. All in all this was awesome. Most likely I'll be going back to see it again next weekend.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Just watched The Brass Teapot.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1935902/

Basic plot is a magic teapot that doles out money everytime the owner hurts themselves. In this case the owners are a young couple. I'll just quote the main user review off imdb since he did a good job. Overall if you're looking for well thought out good movie this is worth the time.

This is a really good Indie from writer/director Ramaa Mosley. She has only done Shorts up to now but after this clever little film I'm certain her future is assured. This is the story of two high school sweethearts who marry but things don't go as planned. Juno Temple (The Dark Knight Rises) plays Alice, the loving wife who has lots of qualifications but can't find a job. Michael Angarano (Haywire) plays John the husband who has been trying for a promotion but getting nowhere. They are invited to a high school reunion where they see everyone else is better dressed and doing way better than them. After a car accident they acquire a 'brass teapot' which pays out cash whenever they hurt themselves. I think you can guess the rest, lol.

I am a big fan of Juno Temple, she comes from a family who are well established in the film making world. She spends a lot of time in her bra in this film for some reason. I thought that this was made by a man because of that but after watching the film I found out on IMDb it was a woman. Go figure. This film is well made and the director has sort of 'played safe' with this by not going overboard with crazy 'shock' scenes, like 'Killer Joe' for example. Instead we have an intelligent, witty and beautifully paced script that is always interesting. The time passed so quickly because of the wonderful characters in this which we follow along as they hurt themselves in some imaginatively painful ways. It seems to have been well thought through by director Ramaa Mosley because I never felt like there was any holes in the story. It's a really good film from top to bottom that has a good cast of Indie players like Alexis Bledel and Alia Shawkat. You know, being a guy, I didn't mind at all that Juno was in her bra a lot, but I'd like to know why.

The bottom line is, it's well acted with steady performances, an original story, decent production for a low budget Indie and it's a good, funny movie.

Highly Recommended