Rate The Last Movie You Saw.

[Still Servant]

The Lovely Bones was a great book. I too was disappointed in the film, although I wouldn't give it a 1 out of 10. I do feel that it's worth a viewing for Tucci's performance. Let's not forget that his performance won him an Oscar nomination for best actor in a supporting role.

I saw 127 Hours today. I have been looking forward to seeing this film for months and was disappointed that it wasn't getting a wide release. I all but lost hope until this week when I learned it was finally getting a wide release. I was not disappointed. Franco gives an amazing performance and Danny Boyle does a great job of keeping your interest despite the entire film taking place entirely in one spot.

I hope to write a longer review soon.

127 Hours 9/10

[devo133]

You don't need to relate to ballet dancing in Black Swan anymore than you need to relate to wrestling in The Wrestler.

I felt that i needed to at least understand why people are driven to do what they do to appreciate the movie more than I did. I don't get ballet, so my loss i guess.

[Mattrick]

You don't need to relate to ballet dancing in Black Swan anymore than you need to relate to wrestling in The Wrestler.

I felt that i needed to at least understand why people are driven to do what they do to appreciate the movie more than I did. I don't get ballet, so my loss i guess.

You don't need to get Ballet, I certainly don't. All you need to relate to is dedication and passion and wanting something so so bad, which is something anyone can relate to whether they want to be Superbowl MVP or land on the moon or write a best selling novel. If you can understand anyone wanting something so bad, you can understand her need to be Swan Queen.

[Mattrick]

*-
127 Hours [2010]0


WTF I seriously just wrote a long review of this movie and then it just fucking vanished. Like ten minutes I spent WTF. I didn't even hit nothing just gone, I ain't writing another one right now, I'll repost in a few days I guess goddamnit! I worded it so nicely too. I would really like to know what happened on this one ARGGGHHHH. I hate having to rewrite something, especially when it's so worded. The second time around I feel I just want it over with and now I'll forget half the things I said.

Whatever, 9/10



Director: David O. Russell
Writers: Scott Silver, Paul Tamsay and Eric Johnson
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Mickey O'Keefe and Jack McGee


I really enjoyed this movie. It's definitely a movie that has it's detractors. According to Ebert what this movie lacked was it's main character both in essence and in acting. Frankly, I thought that is what made the movie so good. Micky Ward (Wahlberg) has been overshadowed his entire by his older brother Dicky (Bale), who once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard and in the small town of Lowell, Massachuttsets, he's a legend and an icon.

Dicky trains Micky and sends him into fights he can't win where he gets beat up. His mother manages his career but not very well. They don't want Micky to leave the family. Mostly because they don't want Dicky to be outshined. His mother loves Dicky too much, definitely more than Micky. Dicky doesn't want his brother to succeed so he remains the pride of Lowell. Micky also has 7 sisters (some half sisters), which serves to immasculate him further. He feels be cannot be a bigger man than Dicky and thus doesn't fight back.

It isn't until he meets Charlene (Adams) who forces him to confront his family and not live through them but for himself. Dicky is a crack addict, a pretty bad one at that. He has delusions about them making a comeback documentary about him but it's really about his addiction. Micky's entire family dislikes Charlene because she went to college and they refer to her as an MTV girl. They also hate her because she challenges Micky to go for it himself and fight against his family. Micky wants something for himself but also wants to keep his family happy and proud of him.

The performances are all terrific. Mark Whalbergs performance doesn't look like much on the surface but below the surfact there is quite a bit. He's soft spoken, has little to no ego and all he wants is to make his mother proud. His father believes in him but all he really cares about is his mothers approval and love, that of which was always directed at Dicky no matter how much of a screw up he was. Bale is was simply fantanstic and it's my favourite role I've seen him in. Amy Adams and Melissa Leo both deserve their oscar noms but if either of them get it, I think it will be Leo. You really saw that she sunk her teeth right into that character, a mother who doesn't understand why the sun she neglected wants to abandon her and the family, she blames the girl because he'd never batted an eye before.

The direction in the movie was solid and there were some real excellent shots, a couple that moved me. One shot in particular was Dicky in the gym, after getting some bad news, punches his locker a few times. His son then gets up and punches the locker too. considering his fathers addictions and personal problems, I felt that image was very sad. The other shot also contained Dicky but I don't want to spoil why it's so good. I'll post it in spoilers.

Spoiler:

After Dicky is told he can no longer train with Micky, he takes the cake his mother and sisters made for him and hsi get out of jail party. Micky is training for the title match and the family is more concerned over his junkie, convict brother. Bale in a fit grabs the cake and walks away with it under his arm, it then shows the cake says The Pride of Lowell on it. Very sad.

8/10

[Heather19]

I loved The Fighter. Such a great movie. And Bale just blew my mind in that role. He was absolutely phenomenal. I didn't even see Bale, all I saw was Dicky. And it's not all that often that you can completely forget the actor that's playing the role and just strictly see the character (at least for me anyways).

As for the latest film I saw:
Buried 7.5/10
I thought the film started off extremely slow which is the only reason why I didn't rank it higher. But towards the end, does the tension build! I don't think I've ever been so emotionally drained by a film before. The credits started to role and I think I literally just sat there for a few min in shock of what I had seen.

[Mattrick]

I want to add how much I loved the title, The Fighter. Besides being a boxer, he constantly fought for recognition even without directly asking for it but at the same time, he was very timid and hardly had the strength to fight his family. Pretty oxymoronical.

[Ricky]

Buried - 7/10

I wanted to see it when it was releaased in October, but of course, none of the theaters by me were playing it. I was eager to see it, wondering how much a director can do with a guy, a coffin, and 95 minutes. I was pleasantly suprised with the film as a whole. Ryan Reynold's performance is solid and you can really feel the emotion of his struggles, especially as the film nears and passes the climax.

It did start off a little too slow for my tastes, and I did sit for awhile wondering if I had a bad DVD since the first 5 minutes or so are in total darkness without much sound. However, the pacing did get better as it progressed and the intercutting of Paul's struggles inside the coffin with the different people he spoke to on the phone was an interesting twist to the often stereotyped "buried alive" type of film.

One thing that I really want to stress on is the phenomenal use of lighting in the film (I know, lighting? In a movie taking place in a coffin underground?) I rarely notice things such as lighting unless it's exceptionally good or terribly bad, but in this case it was the former. The cell phone light, glowstick, flame, etc. are all wonderfully used and are great personifications of the different stages of Paul's struggle inside the coffin. I thought it was terrific.

There's a lot of pluses that I felt the film had, but the slow opening and some insufficient answers (at least, to me) knocked it down a couple points. Though, it's a sign of a great film when it reaches the end point and you find youself connecting and sympathizing with the character on such a high level. And Buried did just that.

[Still Servant]

127 Hours 9/10

127 Hours is an intense, edge-of-your-seat film that never fails to capture your attention even though most of the movie revolves around one person. Just in case you’ve been living under a rock (pun intended), 127 Hours tells the true story of Aron Ralston, played by James Franco, a free spirited adrenaline junkie who literally finds himself trapped between a rock and a hard place while exploring the Blue John Canyons in Utah.

Although most of the film centers around Ralston, it never lags and this is mainly attributed to director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire). As if we didn’t already know, Boyle proves that he is one of the most impressive directors working today. By using flashbacks, dream sequences and hallucinations, 127 succeeds in holding your interest the whole time. Also, his use of multiple split screens help keep the film visually interesting.

Another credit goes to James Franco, who gives the performance of his career as Ralston. It’s not an easy task to be the only actor on screen, but Franco triumphs in every way possible. Franco portrays every emotion Ralston must have gone through while trapped; anger, sadness, and guilt, sometimes all in the same scene.

Ralston also manages to keep his sense of humor, mainly as a defense mechanism to keep from going insane. While trapped, Ralston keeps a video diary of his every move and thought. Often telling us what time it is and how much water he has left. He also records messages to his family, and this is where much of the heart of the film really is.

Although I knew the outcome of the story, I never felt that Ralston was safe. His life constantly feels in peril and it’s not until the camera zooms out from Ralston’s place of captivity, that we truly realize how alone he really is and how there is zero hope of anyone finding him. If he is to survive, he must do it on his own.

This is one of the main themes throughout the film, Ralston’s yearning to be by himself. The beginning of the film opens with images of crowds of people at various events. Ralston wants to escape this hectic lifestyle so bad that he doesn’t even tell anybody where he’s going.

Many people would compare 127 Hours to films like Castaway and Open Water, although it doesn’t really fit. In Castaway, Tom Hanks had a whole island to explore. In Open Water, there were two characters. 127 Hours can most closely be compared to Buried (also released this year) staring Ryan Reynolds who is trapped in a coffin.

I don’t really see why 127 Hours isn’t a film for everybody to enjoy. Sure, there is a particular scene that is hard to watch. It’s handled with the perfect amount of screen time without making it seem gratuitous, but at the same time, giving it the treatment it deserves in order for it to feel real. During this seen, I could feel the audience squirming in their seats, accompanied by audible groans. The music in this scene is loud and pulsing and many times screeches to deafening decibels in order to convey the anguish that Ralston is going through.

We are lucky to have a film like 127 Hours get a wide release, unlike the aforementioned Buried, which never really saw the light of day. Hopefully people will go see it, proving to studios that people don’t mind watching a film that is basically carried by one actor.

[Mattrick]

Some of my favourite releases lately have been carried by a single actor; Buried, 127 Hours and Moon.

[pathoftheturtle]

Very often , the films I love are the ones that critics hate. ( even you guys) Just saying....

yes my love, I am sorry but I have to give The Lovely Bones 1/10... and this 1 is only because the bad guy was killed with an icicle, which vividly reminds me of the current conditions in our city.

Otherwise, it is unbelievably cliched, tirivial, predictable, - I've seen all this many times before, and better - and unbearably boring. Also - without any sarcasm - was the girl supposed to be mentally retarded? I am not implying any mental-ism or whatever it may be called nowadays; only that I haven't read the book and don't know if it was intended. They say she is 14, but all her mannerisms, the way she smiles, talks and makes faces, all her facial expression and the look in her eyes, let alone what she says and does, belong to a 6 to 8 year old. I mention it only in brackets, as it were, - because all the rest sounds just as false as this, and there are topics where you just can't afford falsehood. Be true, or shut up. Or else make it a genuine genre picture, without false pretenses.

The "other world" sequences are just plain indecent. I realize that it is easier to borrow than to create, but I have watched too many horrors and mysticals to close my eyes on this shamelessness. On the one hand, one doesn't really have to be original, all one has to have is a little talent; lack thereof always tells.

And I have yet to see an American movie where the mother character wouldn't be begging for a swift kick in the pants. It too ruins for me the atmosphere of all-encompassing Luvv, say sorry.

Didn't mean it personal in any way... as I said before, bears' tastes are not the same as people's...

Well, that's valid. Kinda harsh, but you make some good points.

[CoolhandLocke]

Valhalla was definitely different and not for everyone, not alot of dialogue in the movie at all. When there is action it's fast, brutal & bloody. Basically about a mute Warrior named "One Eye" who is a slave kept by Norsemen i believe around 1000 AD. It's broken into 6 parts with names like Hell, Wrath & Men of God to name a few. I liked it although I don't think alot of people did, they probably saw the trailer and expected something totally different. You have to think of this flick as a Terrance Malick movie on a bit of an Acid trip set around 1000 AD lol. Beautifully shot film, the visuals were outstanding and i think most of it was shot in Scotland which i want to visit after seeing this. It was also done by director Nicolas Winding Refn who did the "Pusher" movies along with Bronson. Only star i recognized was Mads Mikkelsen who was outstanding being as he never spoke a word, would like to see him in the DT movie somewhere lol...trailer link below..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQgoG...eature=related

[Still Servant]

Valhalla was definitely different and not for everyone, not alot of dialogue in the movie at all. When there is action it's fast, brutal & bloody. Basically about a mute Warrior named "One Eye" who is a slave kept by Norsemen i believe around 1000 AD. It's broken into 6 parts with names like Hell, Wrath & Men of God to name a few. I liked it although I don't think alot of people did, they probably saw the trailer and expected something totally different. You have to think of this flick as a Terrance Malick movie on a bit of an Acid trip set around 1000 AD lol. Beautifully shot film, the visuals were outstanding and i think most of it was shot in Scotland which i want to visit after seeing this. It was also done by director Nicolas Winding Refn who did the "Pusher" movies along with Bronson. Only star i recognized was Mads Mikkelsen who was outstanding being as he never spoke a word, would like to see him in the DT movie somewhere lol...trailer link below..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQgoG...eature=related

I remember seeing the trailer for that film a while back and I thought it looked interesting. I will have to check it out.

[Merlin1958]

The Mechanic was very good, at least IMHO. Great action flick!!! Plus a good "remake" of the original IMHO

[Mattrick]

The King's Speech [2010]
Director: Thomas Hooper
Writer: David Siedler
Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffry Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pierce

I was expecting to like this movie and feel coming out of the movie that it was a very well made movie and that it was. But what I wasn't expecting was how entertaining the movie actually was. It never dragged, it had some good comedy as well as good drama and as a period piece it was very well made. It deserves every Oscar nomination it was given.

The movie tells about the coming of King George VI who was a very important King to England. As Prince Albert he had all the makings of a king, of a very good King. However, he's in the wrong centure. Albert's problem with eventually being the king is that he talks with a stammer. Public speaking is impossible for him. His father in an early scene tells him that in his day a King didn't have to sound good he just to look good. Now with radio and the film he also had to sound good. Public appearances were becoming more important than the actual acts of being a King.

In order to help her husband, Elizabeth (who would become Queen Elizabeth the First) found out about an austalian named Lionel Logue (Geoffry Rush). His methods are somewhat unorthodox as a practicing speech therapist and he feels it's just as necessary to help with the physical problem of a speech disorder as well as discover the mental problems that contribute to the problem. Rush is splendid in this role as a man who is not intimidated by power and royalty. He tells then Prince Albert that when he's in his office having therapy, there are no titles and decides to call him Bertie, much to Albert's chagrin. Some of these lessons are heartfelt and some are rather comical (a scene where Firth swears his royal face off contributed to the films R rating) and they really help to us humanize royalty as well understand the bond these two form.

The conflict in this movie is primarily time. Albert wants to learn to speak normally on his own accord, but as his father falls ill it's obvious someone must take the throne. Due to the public speaking aspect, Albert is not chosen and his womanizing and selfish brother Edward is chosen to be King. To anyone who knows the history behind the movie, they would know Prince Albert takes the throne at his brother's behest. Hitler is rising in Germany and war is diclared. England is at war with Germany. It's up to King George now to make a speech to entire empire that will unitend give hope to his people.

The movie is simply wonderful. Firth is shoe in for best actor as far as I'm concerned. Much like before watching this, I felt that Rush was the only threat to Bale to win the Oscar and I still feel that way now.

10/10

[Yeah Sure Whatever]

Some of my favourite releases lately have been carried by a single actor; Buried, 127 Hours and Moon.

Moon was really good and hardly anybody even knew about it

[Mattrick]

Yeah tell me about it. I wanted to see in theatres so bad...I had to buy it when it was released on DVD like almost a year after I heard about it

[Yeah Sure Whatever]

Have you seen or heard about Brick? I must confess that I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt already, but it was so well done (Indie) its hard not to like!

[Mattrick]

Yeah, I was going to watch it netflix but I couldn't afford to keep it because of my internet usage was going over and costing me big money (my 8 bucks for netflix turned into 80 dollars in internet). Yes, been wanting to watch it for years and have been a fan of Gordon-Levitt since seeing The Lookout which also flew under the radar.

[Yeah Sure Whatever]

Oh yeah The Lookout was good too and yes indeed flew right under everyone's noses. I actually wasnt interested in seeing Inception until I found out he was in it! YIKES you need unlimited internet and stat!

[DoctorDodge]

Oh yeah The Lookout was good too and yes indeed flew right under everyone's noses. I actually wasnt interested in seeing Inception until I found out he was in it! YIKES you need unlimited internet and stat!

Ditto. Even though I knew Inception had been directed by Christopher Nolan, and there were a couple of nice effects i saw in the trailers for it, I was incredibly skeptical that anything new and interesting on dreams could be done in film. Then I found out JGL was in it, and yep, saw it as soon as I could. Loved Brick. Also, (500) Days of Summer? One of my favourite US films of the past ten years. The Lookout sounds good! I need to keep a look an eye out for that!

[Yeah Sure Whatever]

hahahahahaha we have 500 Days of Summer but havent watched it yet. I got a little wrapped up in Spartacus Blood and Sand. Its even on my dresser by the DVD player begging to be watched.

As far as Inception goes I was very pleased with the whole cast. We tend to steer clear of blockbuster movies especially ones with DiCaprio in it. Nothing against him I like him but some of his movies are just not that appealing to us. I've seen Inception 3-4 times now and its in my top 5 films of its genre

[Mattrick]

500 Days of Summer is an excellent, excellent movie. Watch it about immediately. Yeah, immediately sounds about right. Wait, no it doesn't. Five minutes before you read this sounds about right.

[Still Servant]

The Lookout is one of the more underrated heist films out there. A very entertaining film. It's a shame more people haven't seen it.

[Yeah Sure Whatever]

500 Days of Summer is an excellent, excellent movie. Watch it about immediately. Yeah, immediately sounds about right. Wait, no it doesn't. Five minutes before you read this sounds about right.

I'm convinced and will watch tonight!

[pathoftheturtle]

Changeling ( 2008 )
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Cast: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Colm Feore, Jeffrey Donovan, Jason Butler Harner, Amy Ryan

This is very good. I put off watching it for a long time; didn't look so interesting to me, but now I wish I hadn't. Moving Hereafter up on my to-see list.
Like all Eastwood's pictures, it's got a bit of a commercial movie feel about it, yet no shortage of depth. The story is incredible, and I didn't expect so fascinating a telling.
Angelina Jolie's acting has never impressed me so much as what she did with this role.

8/10