The last movie you've seen thread 2016

[afleitch]

I'm under the impression it's very much in the "Crosses The Line Twice" style of Kick-Ass.

That's an unusual way to describe Kick-Ass. And yes, I'm aware of what the term means.

It's another Mark Millar adaptation. His violence is gratuitous but it's 'comic' so you have to be faithful to that. There's a scene in Kingsman which is downright silly, with a touch of Willy Wonka about it but probably the most contentious (and I have no idea how this will play in the US) is an entire church congregation killing each other in a rampage using chairs, bibles, crucifixes and anything they can use within the building. It's set up in such a way so that you don't 'object' but it seems to annoy more across the Atlantic than it does here.

Kingsman is actually very well..uh...executed. There's nods to Bond but also to other parts of the genre, a little bit of Alan Moore and even the recent trend of 'Nordic-noir.' Despite being more violent, it glorifies it less than Kick-Ass and it lacks the same sort of sexual undertones.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Just saw it today. It was fun, I had a good time. It's not amazing or anything, but there were a lot of funny moments. Colin Firth is great, as usual. The main character wasn't interesting, but he wasn't too annoying either. The bad guy was hilarious, and kinda creative in his style and attitude (BTW, does he also have a lisp in the original version? He had one in the dub and that worked fine). I didn't mind the violence, since it's surreal enough to be beyond the reach of emotion, kind of like a Tarantino movie. The Church scene among the best, but certainly not something to be shocked about (and the preacher's speech before gave me a few laughs). On the other hand, the final "fireworks" scene was hilarious. Best mass killing ever! And I like the subplot about the Swedish PM. What's the name they give him, Martin Lindstrom or something like that?

[Mr. Smith]

Gladiator: Excellent performances from Crowe and Phoenix, and it reminded how sad things are without Richard Harris.

Really managed to make all the characters really come out when the script gives them some pretty flat characterizations (sans Commodus that is who was actually decently layered)

And the action scenes were quite impressive.

[Gass3268]

Saw Kingsmen yesterday, fun flick.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Selma

[Middle-aged Europe]

American Sniper

Let's say that I understand the controversy and the movie may be even more controversial for non-Americans than it is for Americans.

Despite having being one of the most questionable foreign policy decisions made by the U.S. government in the last 40 years, the film largely depicts the invasion of Iraq as an integral part of the "War on Terror" in which shooting Iraqi children - while regretable - may be necessary to protect the lives of American troops.

Therefore the film omits to mention the fact that there had been no significant al-Qaeda presence in Iraq until the United States chose to invade the country. And to decide whether the shooting of children is justified is largely left up the viewers. Of course, if that one is left open to debate, then it must also be left open to debate whether the  killing of U.S. soldiers by said children (or Iraqi civilians in general for that matter) was justified as well... which the movie didn't really do. It only goes both ways. At least it speaks for Eastwood though that he didn't try to whitewash that aspect of the war by omitting it from the movie.

That being said the movie in itself provides an interesting glimpse into American psyche and how the Iraq war is interpreted there. Which was adimttedly one of the main motives to go see it in the first place.

[Thunderbird is the word]

Selma, generally thought it was a pretty decent telling of the events surrounding the march though I'll have to look more into the controversy surrounding its portrayal of LBJ.

I really want to see The Imitation Game next.

On Netflix Instant the last movie I saw was The Firm (1993) starring Tom Cruise.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Selma. It was a good movie. The emotional scenes were very powerful, and it did a good job at getting its point across. With that said, I was really annoyed by the historical inaccuracies, especially regarding the portrayal of LBJ. Yeah, we all know he was a huge dick, and yes, it might be true that, without the SCLC's continued pressure, he wouldn't have put so much energy into passing the VRA. But the way the movie turns him into a quasi-antagonist who deliberately attempted to stall the process is really unfair. They even imply that he was actually behind Hoover's shenanigans, as if Hoover needed anyone's permission to slander or threaten the figures he didn't like... That's pretty gross. It's also weird how MLK's philandering tendencies are given only an almost imperceptible nod. Not that I care about that, but if you're going to have a good chunk of the movie centered around the tensions in his couple, then it's weird not to address the elephant in the room. I think we're past the point when we can celebrate the man's greatness while also acknowledging his flaws. Also, I didn't picture George Wallace like that at all, but his character was hilarious (Tim Roth is great), so I give it a pass. Still, despite these issues, I was glad I saw it.

[Lief 🗽]

It Follows

One of the best horror films I've watched in many, many years. The soundtrack is fantastic, it's super creepy, it raises a lot of interesting issues about a host of topics, and the direction is superb. I think it's only in like twenty theaters at the moment, but it's wide release is this weekend. I highly, highly recommend it.

[Mr. Smith]

His Girl Friday for class.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The Better Angels

very beautifully done with some incredible shots. I found it emotionally engaging, contra many reviewers.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Kingsman

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

When I was twelve years old, my grandmother died and my bereaved grandfather was, within months, diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He was eighty years old at the time and was lucky enough to have already had and retired from a full career, raised children and seen grandchildren's childhoods, and come to terms with the fact of his old age; but the diagnosis interrupted his grief and so his wife never really left him. Even at the very end of his life five years later he'd still expect her to be there when he woke up every morning.

He had been, and it does no good to sugarcoat this, something of a hidebound and intransigent Mid-Atlantic lace-curtain-Irish oligarch, staunchly Republican and an apologist for the oil industry in which he had been an executive. Yet in his decline, in which he was cared for primarily by his youngest son, my father, he showed astounding amounts of grace and patience and openness of heart, not because of his condition--I would never dream of saying that about Alzheimer's--but in response to it, treating it, for as long as he was able to (and his ability did diminish as time went on), as an enemy to be faced and worked against rather than succumbed to. He finally died at the tail end of 2010 after a coma of four days, and it was difficult to find a Catholic church to hold his funeral, because the Christmas season was already so busy.

I saw Still Alice this evening and this is a film that is going to stay with me for a long time.

[Middle-aged Europe]

The original title of the last movie I've seen was "La famille Bélier".

A French comedy, for a change...

[Gustaf]

When I was twelve years old, my grandmother died and my bereaved grandfather was, within months, diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He was eighty years old at the time and was lucky enough to have already had and retired from a full career, raised children and seen grandchildren's childhoods, and come to terms with the fact of his old age; but the diagnosis interrupted his grief and so his wife never really left him. Even at the very end of his life five years later he'd still expect her to be there when he woke up every morning.

He had been, and it does no good to sugarcoat this, something of a hidebound and intransigent Mid-Atlantic lace-curtain-Irish oligarch, staunchly Republican and an apologist for the oil industry in which he had been an executive. Yet in his decline, in which he was cared for primarily by his youngest son, my father, he showed astounding amounts of grace and patience and openness of heart, not because of his condition--I would never dream of saying that about Alzheimer's--but in response to it, treating it, for as long as he was able to (and his ability did diminish as time went on), as an enemy to be faced and worked against rather than succumbed to. He finally died at the tail end of 2010 after a coma of four days, and it was difficult to find a Catholic church to hold his funeral, because the Christmas season was already so busy.

I saw Still Alice this evening and this is a film that is going to stay with me for a long time.

Can't think of anything appropriate to say but I wanted to acknowledge that I read this and took something from it.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

V/H/S: Viral

It was really disappointing and not much like the last two. For starters the wraparound had nothing to do with the segments which kind of defeats the purpose of the V/H/S series. The three segments also weren't all that good, the first was more like something from a Twilight Zone revival episode or some high school version of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, the second had a really cool premise but by the end just got so ridiculous with some things it was impossible to take seriously, and the third was something that could've been an interesting premise but wasn't really V/H/S worthy, it's more of a found footage action film short. There's a fourth that was cut making me wonder how low quality it was, and the wraparound was pretty dumb for the most part. Bad misstep for the series.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I watched Good Neighbors last night. It's okay, and while certain parts of it are clever, the movie is unfortunately not nearly as clever as it thinks that it is. I didn't hate it, which goes for just about everything I watch with Jay Baruchel in it, but it could've been better.

[Mr. Smith]

Interstellar for a homework assignment.

...Easily Nolan's best work, simultaneously mind-blowing, terrifying, and sad all in one.....

[Lief 🗽]

Interstellar for a homework assignment.

... I no longer support teacher unions.

[Mr. Smith]

Interstellar for a homework assignment.

... I no longer support teacher unions.

 ...?

[Middle-aged Europe]

A Most Violent Year

[ingemann]

i just saw Selma. It was a quite good movie, but honestly the whole "it clearly deserve an Oscar" was a whole bunch of bullsh**t. The Imitation Game, Birdman and The Theory of Everything was all better and including the actors in these movies.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I saw Woman in Gold. I'd like to be able to say I was somewhat disappointed with this movie, but somehow I sort of suspected going in that it would be mediocre so I decided to just focus on its strengths as I was watching. Its strengths are the acting (it stars Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds, and the supporting cast includes nerd demigods Tatiana Maslany and Charles Dance), the inherent interest of the subject matter, and some compelling drama in the flashback sequences. Its weaknesses are the pacing in the non-flashback parts, tonal indecisiveness, and a sort of anodyne sensibility that rendered the morality uncomplicated (for example, the real Maria Altmann's decision to sell her family's paintings to Ronald Lauder for a colossal sum once she'd regained them is presented, but glossed over).

[RI]

I checked out The Last Temptation of Christ from my university's library. Despite a couple of pacing issues and a few odd narrative choices, it was absolutely fantastic. One of the most powerful endings to a film I've ever seen; I don't know if a movie could capture the spirit of the crucifixion better that Scorsese did. Easily my favorite "Christian" movie I've ever seen.

[buritobr]

Last week I watcher "Road 47". It is a Brazilian movie about the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in the Second World War. The Brazilian Expeditionary Force was a group of 25.000 soldiers Brazil sent to Italy in July 1944, in order to fight against the German occupation there. The Brazilian Expeditionary Force joined the US 5th Army.
In this movie, we saw four Brazilian soldiers who lost the rest of the Brazilian army after a surprise German attack, on December 1944 in northern Italy. They found themselves in a noman's land. In order to not be on the military court for deserting, they decided to destroy the mines in the Road 47 (name of the movie), in order to make the way free for American tanks, so they reach a small village in Italy and avoid German counterattack. During this mission, the Brazilian soldiers found a German officer who deserted and an Italian partisan. The movie is focused on the human relations among these soldiers.
"Road 47" was the first Brazilian movie about the Second World War (after 70 years). This movie has very good cinematography, showing very beautiful landscapes of Italian snowy mountains.
Here you can see the trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIWRIJIMKUM

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