Rate The Last Movie You Saw.

[Heather19]

Feev, did you ever get around to watching Ils?

Yes, I'm still waiting

And I'd also recommend Jarhead. I really enjoyed that one.

[Yeah Sure Whatever]

I had always though I saw Romancing the Stone, but it turns out it was Jewel of the Nile I've seen and not Romancing. Danny Devito was so funny and I typically dont care for older movies but I'll watch this again!

So we watched Gamer mostly for Michael C. Hall and it was interesting and pretty funny. Will watch again!

[Heather19]

Black Swan 10/10

What an amazing film. I was left speechless at the end. And I'm not sure what to even say about it other than if you have not seen it yet, please do yourself the favor and go! Natalie Portman shines as a young ballerina striving to achieve perfection and grab the staring role in the upcoming production of Swan Lake. Can she release her inner inhibitions and transform herself into what is needed to portray the role of the Black Swan? The film is very dark and very intense. All of the leading actors give outstanding performances. Add to that the direction of Darren Aronofsky, and you can't go wrong.

[Still Servant]

Black Swan 10/10

What an amazing film. I was left speechless at the end. And I'm not sure what to even say about it other than if you have not seen it yet, please do yourself the favor and go! Natalie Portman shines as a young ballerina striving to achieve perfection and grab the staring role in the upcoming production of Swan Lake. Can she release her inner inhibitions and transform herself into what is needed to portray the role of the Black Swan? The film is very dark and very intense. All of the leading actors give outstanding performances. Add to that the direction of Darren Aronofsky, and you can't go wrong.

I'm so glad you liked it, Heather. It really is a great film. I love the Black Swan theme by the way. I'm thinking of joining you.

[Still Servant]

Exit Through The Gift Shop 9/10

Exit Through The Gift Shop is the Inception of the documentary genre. Like Inception, which dealt with a dream-within-a-dream plot and posed questions about what was real and what wasn't, Exit Through The Gift Shop does the same thing.

It's like a documentary within a documentary and it's never quite clear if the whole thing is just one big hoax or if it's all real. I'm not really sure what else to say about this truly original documentary. It's not often I'm at a lose for words after I finish a movie, but that was the case with Exit Through The Gift Shop.

For those that are unfamiliar with the plot, I will try to take a crack at it. Thierry Guetta is an amateur filmmaker who stumbles into the underground world of street art. While traveling around the world documenting some of the most talented street artists, Thierry decides to take the footage and make a documentary. The only problem is that he has no idea what to do with the literally hundreds of hours of footage.

Once Thierry finally sits down to edit the film, he produces a long, almost unwatchable series of images that made no sense whatsoever. Guetta soon shows the finished product to Banksy, who is considered one of best and enigmatic artists on the underground scene, and he very kindly lets Thierry know that it's garbage and it doesn't show the true artistic expression of street art. Banksy tells Thierry to leave him the footage so he can put something together.

With the film out of his hands, a funny thing happened to Theirry. Instead of just documenting street artists, he becomes one himself. The rest of the film chronicles Guetta as he builds his art business, selling some of this "street art" for thousands of dollars. Guetta took street art, something that he fell in love with, and turned it into a commercial enterprise. But by doing so, he essentially loses the spirit of the art. Street art isn't about fame or fortune, it's about expressing yourself and this is where Guetta fails to become a true artist.

Or does he? Maybe the whole film is one big hoax to show how subjective art is and a commentary on what should or shouldn't be considered art.

If you are a fan of documentaries, Exit Through The Gift Shop should be your first stop. I have zero interest in the world of street art and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Learning about street art was very informative, but the true star of the film is Guetta. A captivating and enthralling person if there ever was one.

Real or fake, Exit Through The Gift Shop is a great film. So much for not knowing what to say, huh?

[Darkthoughts]

The Burning Plain - 9/10

Awesome film written and directed by Guillermo Arriaga, I had no idea what it was going to be about, it just randomly came on tv last night. I love Arriaga's style - I really enjoyed Babel too - the cinematography is very clean and simple in contrast to the story itself which jumps and twists all over the place. I don't want to say too much about the story, because part of what I loved was the realisation of what was happening.

[Mattrick]

Up In The Air [2008]
Director: Jason Reitman
Writers: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner
Cast: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman

First off, I think this movie is delightful to watch as are all of Reitman's movies. His movies often mix comedy with very subtle emotional ties and this is no exception. Ryan Bingham (Clooney) is a man who, due to his job as a professional firer, is always on the go in today's economy. He likes it up there. He's very loyal and gets special status with American Airlines, hotels and Hertz rent-a-car. Problem is, he's not loyal to people because people have faces, corporations do not. In the sky he has no baggage, emotionally or really physically. Nothing ties him down, nothing keeps him from being himself.

Enter Alex (Vera Farmiga) who is, (her words not mine) himself but with a vagina. He instantly feels a connection with her. Another new woman in his life, Natalie (Anna Kendrick) whose radical new ideas for revolutionizing how efficient you can fire complete strangers, threatens to throw his baggage free life out of control. You might think the title Up In The Air refers to him flying but it also refers to his life during the movie; it's all up in the air. Will Ryan make human connections? Will he be forever grounded, forced to live in Omaha and actually build relationships? Can he do this? What about his corporate loyalties? Will they simply abandon him?

All the acting is spot on in this movie and it's the right movie for today's economy. And in the end the film delivers a positive message; that a job is just a job, they come and go - but family doesn't, they stay. A great cameo appearance by J.K. Simmons really adds a very human element to firing someone.

9/10


Saw III
Director: Darren Lynn Sucksatdirecting
Writer: Leigh Wannell
Cast: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus McFayden, Bahar Soomekh

Watched this movie again by chance. I've a strong distaste for this franchise now. This movie did was a 3 movie in a trilogy should. It went back to the original and tied up some loose ends as well as focusing on the two most constant characters. Problem is, this movie has too many problems. Problem was is Boussman, who can't directed worth a shit. The movie is littered full of jump and flash cuts to give the movie a 'style', but it utterly fails. I enjoyed the twist except the five minute long sequence AFTER the twist that rehashes the entire movie in jump/flash cuts with weird sound effects in case you're mentally retarded and didn't get it. Add to the fact the events in Saw IV made this movie pretty damn irrelevant.

If this was the last saw movie, it would have been okay for a final. But since they made like 5 more and considering how terrible saw 4 was...I can only imagine how much worse they got. Due to this not having that final movie element and it did pretty much NOTHING to further the story, it loses marks.

5/10


I Love You, Man [2009]
Director: John Hamburg
Writer: John Hamburg, Larry Levin
Cast: Paul Rudd, Jason Siegel, Rashida Jones, Jamie Preissly, Jon Favreau, J.K. Simmins, Andy Samberg, Jane Curtain, Lou Ferrigno

This is what ALL comedies should be. Smart, funny and contain interesting characters. Both Sydney and Pete (Seigel/Rudd) are unique characters with unique mannerisms and attitudes. Pete is getting married to Zoe (Rashida Jones) and realizes he doesn't have a best friend nor really any male buddies. The search goes awry until he meets Syndey at the open house he has to sell Lou Ferrigno's house. They like each other interesting.

Now is when the movie gets interesting. This is a romantic comedy but instead of the typical boy meets girl formula, it's boy meets boy. We see many typical and necessary scenes for a romantic comedy and they all work. Sydney is who most guys wish they could be, comfortable in their own skin, no inhibitions; he's a man and he knows it and lives it. Pete is not a guy at all and it gets him in awkward moments while he tries poker, drinking games and male comradre.

Rudd is so good at making us believe he's awkward and has no idea what he should say or do and he fumbles his words and blurts out random nothings. Sydney finds this quality endearing since Pete is such an odd guy.

Movie is funny start to finish, actually has good characters, comedic acting and has at least omething to say. If more comedies were the quality of this one I would watch a lot more comedies. Simply one of the best comedies in years or even decades.

10/10



Gran Torino [2008]
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers: Dave Johannsen, Nick Schmeck
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, John Carroll Lynch

I'm a huge Eastwood fan, at least as a director. Not seen many of his acting jobs and he directed all of those too. This movie wasn't his best but it was good. It had a lot of heart in it and it's always nice to see a movie like this one, seeing a troubled person find contention and reason. The relationship he forms with his neighbours, Tao and Sue is very genuine I think. And who can not enjoy Eastwood's grunts in this movie! They're a dialogue all to themselves. Many of his racial comments got snickers out of me but what made it nice was how none of the Hmong people cared if he called them eggroll or fishhead or gook. They saw him beyond that exterior.

In comes the plot, where Tao/Sue's cousin tries to force him into their gang and his initiation is to steal Walt (eastwood) prized 1972 Gran Torino. We see Walt go back into the service to aid his neighbours fight against villainy. As an Korean Vet he'd served his country by killing asians and how he finds himself protecting the asians. It seemed to me it was his way of redeeming himself for the things he'd done during the war and it gave his life purpose; his wife is dead, his kids are practically estranged and his grandkids are simply waiting for him to die to claim his possessions; most notably his car.

To repay Walt, Tao is sent to help him and in the process, is taught man things about hard work and being an American man. Some very heartwarming scenes happen during all this, including a great scene at the barbers (John Carroll Lynch). I enjoyed the conclusion of this movie very much but it was still missing a little something...not sure what.

8/10


Fever Pitch: Just a quick note...I hate Drew Barrymore. Why is she in movies? Do people think she's talented? Has screen presence? Is attractive? She's none of the above. I just don't get it. This movie was okay. I thought I would like it more considering who recommended it but they are pretty big baseball fans. I just think this movie, with better casting, would have really worked out well. Instead it ended up just being okay.

6/10

[Rice Dancer]

Harry Potter...7/10 I guess because it was so damn long

[Mattrick]

The Good Girl [2002]
Director: Miguel Arteta
Writer: Mike White
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Rielly, Tim Blake Nelson, Zoey DesChanel, John Carroll Lynch

This is a movie that flew right under the radar and one of Anistons actual performance. It follows Justine (Aniston) as she struggles with mediocrity and low self worth; her pothead husband is going nowhere and hates his best friend; work bores her yet it's more home to her than home and she's starting to question her own views on life and society. Enter Holden (Gyllenhaal) who believes he is the re-incarnation of Holden Caulfield and that no one will ever get him. His desperation for normality and Anistons quest to get out of her funk, she starts a sexual relationship with Holden who is much younger. Both characters are in the relationship for their own selfish needs and neither really cares about the other, though they feign it real well. They both want to use each other to escape.

This movie is a portrait of a typical modern woman; one who never further her education, married early in life to someone not overly ambitious and has a dead end job at a department store. She feels trapped inside her life and wants more than anything to break out of it. Like most affairs, the sneaking around leads to paranoia and secrets and lies. All the characters suffer at the hands of the affair and lives are changed forever.

Despite the depressing topic of the movie, it's presented in a whimsicle place, where Texas is texas by accent only; where black berries have auspicious qualities and the store PA system is a great place to mess with shoppers. There are some genuine laughs in the movie that help break up the tension and adds to the movies charm. The cast, either dramatic or comedic all hit their tones. Gyllenhaal and Aniston have incredible chemistry and John C Reilly once again plays a likeable buffoon, a role he's lends so much too. Tim Blake Nelson is most memorable as buck and to anyone whose seen the movie would know what I'm talking about

8/10



Easy A [2010]
Director: Bill Gluck
Writer: Bert V. Royal
Cast: Emma Stone, Alyson Michalka, Amanda Bynes, Tomas Hayden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Lisa Kudrow

This movie is the re-invention of the 80's teen comedy. It's intelligently presented. Emma stone is without a doubt the next young actress of hollywood, she's charming and adorable. The movie follows Olive, a typical invisible teenage girl. After her conversation in which she lied about losing her virginity to a college guy is overhead, he life goes topsy turvy. She at first likes the attention. She begins to 'whore' herself out to fellow students for fake affairs and sexual encounters for gift cards. Her reputation grows leaps and bounds, she's viewed suddenly as sexy, promiscuous, trashy, stupid. Her life changes drastically.

Olive is studying the Scarlet Letter in school and takes on the role of hester prynne, proudly a red 'A' on her clothes as her reputation grows. Hester and Olive's lives end up having a lot in common; both are ostricized and criticized and hated. To anyone who has read the scarlet letter and understood it, the movie takes a deeper meaning. The many illusions drawn to John Hughes's movies is pretty great, they were very seminal movies and I feel this is also a seminal movie. Olive finds herself battling the school bible thumper Marianne (Bynes) over her reputation.

The support cast of her teachers (Kudrow and Church) and her parents (Tucci and Clarkson) round the movie out nicely and give the more dramatic scenes more weight and some good talent for Emma Stone to work off of. This movie deserves and Easy A from me, as I thought it was excellent. It's not the funniest movie out there but it has a lot to it. Still, what laughs are there are pretty good ones. A few parts I lost it on.

9/10

[Yeah Sure Whatever]

We finally got around to seeing Predators last night and I really liked it. There were a lot of winks and nudges to the first film, and it had some interesting characters. It was predictable at time and Adrian Brodie's impersonation of Christian Bale's Batman too some time to get used to (ok ok to stop laughing at), but over all its an enjoyable movie and damn Topher Grace!

[Still Servant]

Mattrick, I'm glad you liked Easy A. It's one of the more enjoyable films I saw all year.

[Yeah Sure Whatever]

I really want to see Easy A I actually have it but forgot about it! Thanks for the reminder guys

[cozener]

Black Swan, 3 out of 4. I think it helped that I had very little expectation...except that I thought there'd be a lot more HLA than there actually was. In that I'm very disappointed.

[kluker]

Just got around to watching Princess and the Frog with Amber and it turned out to better then I thought it would. Still don't like how they changed the story but it was a good movie none the less
7/10

[Roland of Gilead 33]

i haven't seen that one but my 3 year old niece LOVES the end credits on that one. odd huh? she loves the end credits more than the actual film strange. anyways i recently watched "Case 39" & while it was well made & well acted as well. it really bored me to death. thank GOD it was a rental.

the last 20 minutes or so of it was awesome though.

[fernandito]

Black Swan, 3 out of 4. I think it helped that I had very little expectation...except that I thought there'd be a lot more HLA than there actually was. In that I'm very disappointed.

HLA ?

[Jean]

human leucocyte antigens? I know I would be very disappointed not having seen enough of those in a movie

[Ricky]

Black Swan, 3 out of 4. I think it helped that I had very little expectation...except that I thought there'd be a lot more HLA than there actually was. In that I'm very disappointed.

HLA ?

I'm going to guess Hot Lesbian Action. I haven't seen the movie, just heard bits and pieces about it.

[Bethany]

Is that your guess, Ricky? I am learning more and more about you.

[Ricky]

Well, based on context in the post referring to it + the 0.5% I know about the movie, that's what I came up with.

[alinda]

human leucocyte antigens? I know I would be very disappointed not having seen enough of those in a movie

me too , you cant imagine how much!

on topic I finally watched Inception, I would have enjoyed this film more minus all the hype, I will be generous and rate it 6/10. I think it would be a stronger film with out all the build up , which made me feel let down , for not being blown away by its art.

[Mattrick]

Five Easy Pieces [1970]
Director: Bob Rafelson
Writers: Bob Refelson, Carole Eastman
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Billie Green Bush, Lois Smith, Ralph White

This is the first part of my 70's Nicholson trilogy. Very good way to start it. Between this and Easy Rider it's no wonder he really exploded very quickly. He absolutely nailed this role and a lesser actor would have destroyed this roll. As Robert Eroica Dupnea, Nicholson is in his niche. I don't want to say much about this movie because knowing little about the movie helps a lot. The journey of tracing Dupnea from finding him working in an oil field to his early days of youth and wondering why he ran from it as he did is just great. The ending is ambiguious and not entirely sad or happy. To quote Ebert in his review

"Five Easy Pieces" has the complexity, the nuance, the depth, of the best fiction. In involves us in these people, this time and place, and we care for them, even though they don't request our affection or applause. We remember Bobby and Rayette, because they are so completely themselves, so stuck, so needy, so brave in their loneliness. Once you have seen movie characters who are alive, it's harder to care about the robots in their puppet shows.

There are some great scenes throughout, most notably his conversation with a waitress over why he can't order toast. I highly recommend this movie, it's very good. This is the original Sundance movie.

10/10


Next in the Nicholson Triogy is Roman Polanski's 'Chinatown' which I'm sure Jean will be happy I'm watching. Followed by Michelangelo Antonioni's 'The Passenger'. Looking foward to both of them.

Then I'm thinking a bit of a western Trilogy; rewatch of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly then watching The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and Shane. Why do westerns have to have such long names? Damn.

[DoctorDodge]

Black Swan, 3 out of 4. I think it helped that I had very little expectation...except that I thought there'd be a lot more HLA than there actually was. In that I'm very disappointed.

HLA ?

I'm going to guess Hot Lesbian Action. I haven't seen the movie, just heard bits and pieces about it.

Well that sounds like a great film, anyway. I really need to see Black Swan. Honestly, I prefer lesbianism and homosexuality in film to be more subtle overall. It's always so much more interesting when there's nothing gratuitous about it, when it gives you the chance to work it out for yourself by the tiny little things that the director and scriptwriter put in there.

Like Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon in Bound.

[Jean]

Honestly, I prefer lesbianism and homosexuality in film to be more subtle overall. It's always so much more interesting when there's nothing gratuitous about it, when it gives you the chance to work it out for yourself by the tiny little things that the director and scriptwriter put in there..

As far as bears are concerned, the same could be said about all kinds of sexuality in movies, gay or straight.

[pathoftheturtle]

It's already very easy to get porn movies. Surely we don't need porn to be put in all movies.