What's the last movie you've seen?

[patrick1]

Apocalypto.   Wow, Mel Gibson loves the gore. I thought it was a great movie.  It had great visuals and story structure. As with most Gibson movies there are historical lapses, however, I think it was still powerful.

[patrick1]

The Sting. (1973) IMO, It was good- not great. Great acting performances but the characters didnt grab me.

[patrick1]

Watchmen- What a terrible movie.  The choice in music throughout was laughable, cliched and distracting- so much so that I must ask was this the intent?  I fell asleep about 15 minutes from the end. Dont really care how it ended anyway.  Was I supposed to care about any of these characters?  I was waiting for the nukes to be launched so it would finally stop.

[patrick1]

Metropolis (1927)- There is a lot to discuss about this but I'm too lazy.... Excellent movie and would recommend.

[patrick1]

Metropolis (1927)- There is a lot to discuss about this but I'm too lazy.... Excellent movie and would recommend.

is it silent?

The actors do not speak but the classical music accompaniment was great.  It was really quite amazing to see what the director could do with such limited technology.  It was also very reflective of the social issues at that time and still relevant of divisions between rich and poor.

Just finished Moon (2009)- Sam Rockwell was great as always.  It is a slow paced movie but I think that works in this movie and it helps builds up suspense.  The one gripe I had was that the ending seemed rushed. Something finally happens and it is over.  Ill leave it at that to not introduce spoilers.

[patrick1]

The Searchers (1956)

[patrick1]

The Searchers (1956)

Good one.

Yeah, I liked it.  I remember liking Stagecoach a little more when I watched it several years ago  I think the designers of Red Dead Redemption watched a lot of John Ford movies.

[patrick1]

Wolfman.  Hilariously bad.  I hope they paid Del Toro and Hopkins well.

[patrick1]

Factotum.  Matt Dillon was an excellent Henry Chinaski.   It was not as funny as Barfly but I think a more realistic portrayal.

[patrick1]

^Yeah, I've been watching Netflix over the computer and through PS3. The selection is getting to be a little sparse though.  The Cocaine Cowboys documentary was good- about 70's to mid 80's narco trafficking in Miami.  I thought it was a good companion piece after watching The Two Escobars doc they did on ESPN. 

[patrick1]

Baader Meinhof is one of my recommendations but I haven't watched it. 

I watched the original Mad Max the other day.  What a crap movie. At least Thunderdome was funny in a parody way. 

Finally saw Zombieland and liked it a lot.  Shawn of the Dead was better though.

[patrick1]

Roots, if you consider it a movie. I watched it all last Sunday. It started out very cheesy, but it got much better with the second episode. It had this great ability to introduce new characters and get you emotionally involved with them immediately. I didn't think the final installment was that great either, but everything between the first and the last was gold. Very moving, and Lois Gossett Jr. as the fiddler was particularly funny so it lightened the mood. The one thing that was sort of bogus was that they presented all white men as having an insatiable case of jungle fever.

Isn't it funny that the guy who wrote that story made it all up.

Well it's a novel, the only part he claimed was actual history was that he descended from this guy, which doesn't affect the story in any way. So I don't think it's particularly funny that he "made it all up", thats what novelists do when writing novels

Yeah, there was also a lot of miscegenation and/or rape going on  then so the jungle fever thing has firm footing. I agree though that many white characters in these films are caricatures. Too many writers are ham fisted and leave out things that don't fit their narrative-  Braveheart and the Patriot spring to mind.

[patrick1]

The Town

Ben Affleck IS a good director. This is close to a must see. It's one of the most seamless mixtures of action, drama and romance I've seen in a long time. The only complaint is the ending was kind of anticlimatic (though considering what precedes it anything is going to feel that way.)  I'd be shocked if this doesn't get a Best Picture nomination with the 10 nominees now.

And here I thought you wouldn't like it because it is supposed to depict Irish Americans.   I havent been to the movies in a while but may have to check it out.

I'm really looking forward to The Fighter.  Christian Bale looks really good in the trailer. It helps that I also loved Mickey Ward as a boxer. He and Arturo Gatti (R.I.P.) beat the living hell out of each other in those 3 fights.

[patrick1]

Robin Hood (2010)  Ugh, this was crap.  I can overlook something being massively historically inaccurate if it is at least entertaining.  This was really plodding and just flat out boring.  I wanted to like this, but toward the ending with Le Dastardly Frechies storming Omaha Beach, Maid Marion in armor and kids in gorilla masks was one of the most absurd things Ive ever seen.

[patrick1]

Robin Hood (2010)  Ugh, this was crap.  I can overlook something being massively historically inaccurate if it is at least entertaining.  This was really plodding and just flat out boring.  I wanted to like this, but toward the ending with Le Dastardly Frechies storming Omaha Beach, Maid Marion in armor and kids in gorilla masks was one of the most absurd things Ive ever seen.

Robin Hood is historically inaccurate. 

Oh, and a friend of mine was an extra in that movie.

Quite   They just took it to a whole different level of absurdity. It was all over the map.  Like it tried to integrate historic events like the Magna Carta and Crusades, and just gets it all wrong.  Then they invent stuff. The Saving Private Ryan-esque scene at the end clinched it.  I would have preferred it if they just played it as straight folklore and dropped  the facade.  Worst of all it was just a bad movie. I was hoping for more with Ridley Scott and Crowe.

[patrick1]

Not a movie per se, but I recently watched the 8 part mini series Pillars of the Earth on Netflix and really enjoyed it.  I'm surprised that something of this caliber was produced for Starz.

[patrick1]

The Book of Eli  The plot itself was rather thin and I thought the whole movie dragged.  There really wasn't any suspense and it just plodded along down the highway.  The cinematography was subtle as a sledgehammer, however, I enjoyed that bit of pretentiousness as I felt it did set a mood. 2.3/4 stars

[patrick1]

Survival Island

Tell me: is Billy Zane a bad actor or does he just do it for the paycheck sleep his way through roles?  I've never been able to tell.

I thought he was good in Titanic.

It's kind of funny you mention Titanic; his character is similar in both films.

I think he owes the IRS money so I would think he just takes any role.  I remember reading he was in some Turkish anti American blockbuster.  I thought he was good in Dead Calm but that was over 20 years ago.

[patrick1]

I remember reading he was in some Turkish anti American blockbuster.

Yes, Valley of the Wolves... alongside Gary Busey! *lol*

I'm pissed this isnt on Netflix.  I watched the trailer and it looks hilarious.

[patrick1]

The Town.  I thought it was good while being very implausible. Jeremy Renner saved the movie for me. I'm personally getting a little tired of these tough guy Boston movies though. You have every mick in a scally cap who doesnt pronounce their r's thinking they are a tough guy now.

[patrick1]

The term hurt locker has been around for decades before the movie. It basically means a world of $hit. Like if you were going to beat someone up- you would say I'm going to put him in a hurt locker. Similar to many terms I'm sure it originated in the military.

[patrick1]

I saw Avatar a few days ago.  Pretty average movie, imo. The anti-capitalist and anti-militarism message has been done and done better by many before.

[patrick1]

The Darjeeling Limited is my favorite, I think.

Id personally go with Bottle Rocket. It has been a good decade since Ive seen it though.

[patrick1]

Sucker Punch is getting mostly garbage reviews. I'm still probably gonna go watch it tonight. How bad could a movie about hot chicks fighting robots and ninjas really be? Who needs a plot when you already have that stuff!?!

Sounds like a Peter Griffin production.

[patrick1]

Recently went on a Shakespeare run on netflix
Richard III- the 1930's themed Ian McKellan
Hamlet- 1944 Olivier version
Macbeth- the BBC Patrick Stewart/ Stalinist inspired one
Henry V- Kenneth Branagh version