overthere Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Oh , and if you follow directors, check out the work of a newish American named Jeff Nichols. In recent years he has written/directed a couple of terrific movies: Take Shelter and Mud. I'll invest two hours and $12 in this guy until he makes me stop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleeding heart Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 I saw Take Shelter, and thought it was terrific. And Michael Shannon was incredibly good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hardner Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 2 Days in New York, directed by actor Julie Delpy. A boisterous little comedy that plays on American/French manners in an unexpected way. Also, it is a must see if you're a fan of Chris Rock. He's cast as (mostly) a straight man here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 I saw Take Shelter, and thought it was terrific. And Michael Shannon was incredibly good.Shannon was also in Mud, though he had a smaller role and is a bit hard to recognize despite being a large homely man. It's a very good movie- another fine performance by the surprising Matthew McConaughey. Mud reminds me of the oldie but goodie Stand By Me. Shannon has become a favorite actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the meh Revolutionary Road and of course is great in Boardwalk Empire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleeding heart Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 He was almost good enough to save The Iceman (meh, as you say), a pretty tepid biopic of a real-life hitman. And he was really good in the under-appreciated Bug (the play from which it was derived was written by the same guy who wrote Killer Joe (speaking of McConaughey....we're getting into that six degrees of separation thing now. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkman Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 I don't think Scorcese has had the sharp decline in quality that a director like Woody Allen has had.... Allen now makes romantic fluff and homages to pretty Euro cities. Shocking really. Way too many shitty efforts, I don't bother with him any more. I think after Allen married his own daughter and started living with a woman a 1/3 of his age, his mind turned to the more romantic side of things, if you get my drift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GostHacked Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 I think he has had a somewhat typical career, but only in the sense that the quality of his stuff has been erratic. If you look at the filmography of most directors and actors with long careers they all pretty much have hits and misses. He has had some good ones in the last couple of years: Boardwalk Empire, Hugo and the excellent George Harrison documentary. But what is astonishing about Scorcese(aside from some classic movies) is the sheer volume, the guy must work 24/7. I think that is the case for most art. Only 10% of what anyone makes can be considered great. And that is not even talking to the projects that failed or never got a start. I've been doing house music for about a decade now, and most of my stuff is .. mediocre. But as you point out, it is the volume of material that people like Scorcese can dish out. He just loves what he does and will keep doing it no matter if it's good or not. Drive and determination. I am following this guy James Rolfe who is an independent filmmaker. His advice is, just keep going, for you will learn things each time of what works and what fails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 I think that is the case for most art. Only 10% of what anyone makes can be considered great. And that is not even talking to the projects that failed or never got a start. I've been doing house music for about a decade now, and most of my stuff is .. mediocre. But as you point out, it is the volume of material that people like Scorcese can dish out. He just loves what he does and will keep doing it no matter if it's good or not. Drive and determination. I am following this guy James Rolfe who is an independent filmmaker. His advice is, just keep going, for you will learn things each time of what works and what fails. A parallel career to Scorcese is actor Robert de Niro, a pair that have crossed paths to great mutual benefit a few times. De Niro is generally thought of as one of the very best actors of his generation, and certainly has been excellent in some epic movies. But lately..... the guy seems to be low on money, appearing in some really weak stuff. Compared to what he's done, it's more 'going through the motions' than 'working'. I can understand it when actors feel they have to take anything to make a living/ stay visible in a very competetitive business. But surely de Niro can do anything he wants in the movie business, he must get offered good parts. Beats me why he is making the crap he has lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hardner Posted January 11, 2014 Report Share Posted January 11, 2014 But lately..... the guy seems to be low on money, appearing in some really weak stuff. Lately ? http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000134/ The 1990s started the decline from 'Awakenings' 1990 down down DOWN to 'Rocky & Bullwinkle' 2000. But actors are whale plankton to Hollywood, and you don't know if you will be bankable forever or finished tomorrow, ie. Mel Gibson. At that level, you need a big paycheck from time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercoma Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 I just watched Pacific Rim and the movie entirely delivered on its promise. If you're expecting an action-packed big dumb Kaiju flick, this movie scratches that itch. I'm not sure why people were critical of it. Perhaps expecting it to be something that it's not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngusThermopyle Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 We just watched Machine Gun Preacher, picked it up cheap on Blue Ray. Great movie about a truly remarkable person. Sure its not a new release but if you haven't seen it yet I highly recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GostHacked Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Drive (2011) Catchy right at the start. Minimal dialogue to start. All creating a nice atmosphere for the movie. Overall very well done. Only a couple minor issues (visual aka car crashes into another , next shot car is fine) and some of the overall plot with certain characters. It's not a face paced movie at all, allowing you to absorb and kind of feel uncomfortable with some of the situations. Great camera work and editing throughout. Gosling did really good keeping the no emotion face for most of the movie, much of his emotions are muted, or we see a facial expression or a verbal one, but barely together. Made his character very engaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Gosling did really good keeping the no emotion face for most of the movie, much of his emotions are muted, or we see a facial expression or a verbal one, but barely together. Made his character very engaging. I reckon he is a terrfic actor(and Canadian of course), and was good in Drive doing a young Harrison Ford imitation His best stuff has been in Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl and in the fluffier comedy Crazy Stupid Love. And I have now seen Wolf of Wall Street and don't know if I'm better for it. I left the theater with a 'yeah, so what?' attitude. It is mostly an interesting rehash of horrific excess, a cautionary tale of where too much money takes people. It has its funny moments and De Caprio is pretty good here, as is Jonah Hill as his demented sidekick. But.. it is at least an hour too long, Scorcese failed to hire an editor with any cojones. And although I am not bothered with swearing, this movie sets a Hollywood record for F bombs. It's a bit distracting. It will be interesting to see if this movie ever gets onto a regular cable channel, like AMC. With commercials, it would be about 5 hours long and about 60% of total dialogue would be bleeped out. I'd give this one a miss at the theaters unless you really like Scorcese or the actors involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Just saw Out of the Furnace, and thought it was very good. It blew through the mainstream theaters quickly, so I guess not many others agreed. Stars Christian Bale and he is excellent as always, one of the best actors working today. It also has Woody Harrelson*, who has become an actor worth seeking out. He plays a very nasty sort to perfection. Casey Affleck has a strong turn too, proving again that big brother Ben is the second best actor in the family. The movie probably didn't do well at the box office because it is more or less unrelentingly grim. It takes place in steeltown Appalachia, with poverty and hard times creeping in everywhere in peoples lives. It's a bleak world with a lot of people doing their best to get by. The director is Scott Cooper, who also did Crazy Heart. *(Harrelson is now in a pretty interesting TV show called True Detective. Matthew McConagaughey also stars and they are both excellent. Woody has dropped the 'Cheers' persona altogether, he has become a first rate actor. Same with McConaughey.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonlight Graham Posted January 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 Over the last month saw: Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire - excellent, even better than the 1st film, one of the best films of the last few years. Never read the books but looking forward to the last 2 films. Anchorman 2 - so ridiculous & hilarious, again even better than the original. Best comedy probably since Bridesmaids (kudos to 21 Jump Street). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Saw 'Her', which stars Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and the voice of Scarlett Johanssen. It's a near-future romance whereby a lonely guy hooks up- with an aritfical intelligence operating system who becomes a serious love relationship.. I was prepared to hate this movie and went under protest with she who must be obeyed. It was in the end pretty good, a decent date movie. The premise leaves me a bit cold, maybe it would appeal more to metrosexuals urbanites who live and die with their smartphones. They do abound, and not in the future but right now. The cinematography is pretty damned good, it is shot in downtown Los Angeles, which is rarely seen in movies. The soundtrack is interesting too. I had a little trouble fathoming how a guy with a pretty ordinary job at ordinary pay afforded that lifetsyle, but that's a minor quibble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GostHacked Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Ender's Game. The books were incredible and the movie did the first book justice in many ways. One of the best novel to movie adaptations I have seen to date. When I heard about this being produced years ago, I knew the CGI was not ready enough to do what they did in the zero G room. The battles would have been impossible otherwise to properly pull off. I really like the person they got for Ender's role, was a good fit and he acted as I expected him to based on the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guyser Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Sadly I paid to see Wolf of Wall Street. Fell asleep twice, and damn well should have known it was 3 hrs long. Lousy movie for the most part, wish I paid to see Lego (and so did my GF) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. The popcorn was pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hardner Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 "another year" by Mike Leigh. Excellent starring role by Lesley Manville, who has developed possibly the neediest truck wreck of a character that ever was. You will cringe with your popcorn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Saw 'Her', which stars Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and the voice of Scarlett Johanssen. It's a near-future romance whereby a lonely guy hooks up- with an aritfical intelligence operating system who becomes a serious love relationship.. I was prepared to hate this movie and went under protest with she who must be obeyed. It was in the end pretty good, a decent date movie. The premise leaves me a bit cold, maybe it would appeal more to metrosexuals urbanites who live and die with their smartphones. They do abound, and not in the future but right now. The cinematography is pretty damned good, it is shot in downtown Los Angeles, which is rarely seen in movies. The soundtrack is interesting too. I had a little trouble fathoming how a guy with a pretty ordinary job at ordinary pay afforded that lifetsyle, but that's a minor quibble. Small point: much of "Her" was actually shot in Shanghai, which gives it that weird sort of futuristic look. But yeah, good movie. Interesting depiction of our evolving relationship with technology. A future where no one has to stand around staring at the screens of their smartphones sounds good to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonlight Graham Posted February 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 "About Time" - 8.5/10 or 4/5 A romantic comedy with McAdams. Really good movie, funny, romantic, and McAdams is so beautiful as always. I don't watch a ton of rom-coms but it's the best one I've seen since Silver Linings Playbook and The Notebook. If you like The Notebook you'll like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Squid Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Ender's Game.The books were incredible and the movie did the first book justice in many ways. One of the best novel to movie adaptations I have seen to date. When I heard about this being produced years ago, I knew the CGI was not ready enough to do what they did in the zero G room. The battles would have been impossible otherwise to properly pull off.I really like the person they got for Ender's role, was a good fit and he acted as I expected him to based on the book. I agree. Good movie adaption. Latest movie I watched was Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy. Very old school spy movie. I liked it a lot. Gary Oldman was excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleeding heart Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Still not quite over the experience of watching A Serbian Film, maybe the ugliest, filthiest, most distressing thing ever made by anybody. So as a painkiller, I watched Silver Linings Playbook. I'm not a big fan of romantic movies, but I liked this a lot. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper are excellent, and excellent together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted February 21, 2014 Report Share Posted February 21, 2014 Jennifer sure is a sweetie. Here's an old classic known for its 'large' budget at the time. From 1956... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a04C5-znaYY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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