What I've Been Watching: The Catch-All Film Thread

Oh, Sammy. You didn't like Princess Bride??? I'll miss having you as a friend.

Originally Posted by dteowner
Oh, Sammy. You didn't like Princess Bride??? I'll miss having you as a friend.

It is so sad … used to like him, too.

It's inconceivable!

Originally Posted by xSamhainx
didnt really like it that much, tho it did give me an idea for a good halloween costume, westley's black masked outfit was kinda cool.

You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you.

Come here, Sammy, I'll protect you from the hordes. It wasn't my type of movie, either.

The dread pirate Roberts is here for your souls!

**peeks around corner**

wow, i had no clue it had such a following. Seemed a pretty mediocre film at best!

chalk it up to 'missed the boat' syndrome. with anything that has a rabid cult following, people who pick it up much later tend to approach the movie, game, with expectations that bend to their own notion of greatness, ie their favourites. that's some of the beauty though of though of cult material in the first place; it was never marketed to the mainstream but it uniqueness and quality material soon spread through word of mouth, not flying blurbs. and all those mouths can make something much less pristine after a while.

on a fitting note though there is a new game out for the movie that has some of the actors doing voice over work, including the clever sicilian.

the demo actually lets you play a good chunk of the game, its time based, don't go in with 'great expectations' though.
it is all ages friendly though so that's a plus.
http://www.princessbridegame.com/free_trial

oh and sammy hopefully you didn't let the tigress see too much of your dissatisfaction with the movie. i know both male and females who have used that movie as a romance litmus test so to speak…

also i would wager anyone who saw this movie after forrest gump is less likely to enjoy it as they would have already seen robin wright in a memorable romance. the only known actors at the time really in princess bride are the ones in 'reality'

Hm… I saw Princess Bride when it came out, yet I was not impressed. It was good for a few laughs, and I fear my then boyfriend enjoyed it a lot more that I did. But I didn't fall for Blues Brothers, either… didn't find that one very funny when I saw it way back, and I still don't think it's funny. Perhaps these movies were not quite trashy enough for my liking *scratch scratch*.

I got a DVD of Logan's Run for my birthday. Didn't have the time to watch it yet, but I'm so looking forward to seeing this movie again. Have seen it several times since the 70s, but not in the last ten years…

personally i've never seen blue brothers…dan akroyd is really hit and miss with me though anyhow just like chevy chase. john goodman has great range as an actor.
hopefully they never make a princess bride 2…might be worse than neverending story 2.

logan's run, there's one i've been meaning to see for years. on a tangent has anyone seen cloak and dagger. i bought the vhs last year, and i remember having fond memories of seeing it as a kid so hopefully when i watch it with the wife it lives up to my hype. explorers though was probably my favourite movie as a kid if i had to pick.

Princess Bride had some cool quotes in it, but like CU said - i think that missed the boat on it. Stuff from the 80's can be a chancy watch.

The "Battle of Wits" was cool tho!

Does anyone else not want to see "Hancock", and hate the constant Hancock barrage everywhere they friggen look? Good Lord of the Tigers! Hancock this, Hancock that, Ive havent wanted a movie to bomb this bad since "the day after tommorrow"!

Not to mention (but i'll mention it anyway) you can tell it's one of those films that all the real funny parts have already been beaten to death in the trailers, so by the time you do see it, it's no suprise - it's the 20th time youve seen the goofball throw the whale. Go away already!

Seen a lot of crap lately, but there was one movie called "In Bruges" which was really great. I usually don't like Collin Farrell and I also don't like gangster movies, but this one was just extremly entertaining. So if you've got the chance go and watch it…

http://http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780536/

I was debating over renting that one, ISS—I think my husband might like it.

Question to all the horror buffs(because I'm too lazy to search through this 36-page thread)—Has anyone seen The Reaping? I can usually pick up a sense of whether I'd like a movie by the user reviews, but these are all over the map.

Average movie with a fair misdirection at the end. Worth a rental, but probably wouldn't have been thrilled paying theatre prices to see it. As a heathen, I probably missed a less-than-obvious biblical reference or two that might interest some (or there might not be anything deeper there at all, I wouldn't know).

Originally Posted by Ionstormsucks
Seen a lot of crap lately, but there was one movie called "In Bruges" which was really great. I usually don't like Collin Farrell and I also don't like gangster movies, but this one was just extremly entertaining. So if you've got the chance go and watch it…

In Bruges was cool.

I'm really glad I'm not the only one who liked "In Bruges". I think it's a fairly strong movie, I guess… well anway I had fun watching it.
When it comes to "The Reaping" I can only agree with dteowner - it's pretty average.

I recently saw the new Indy Jones movie.

I rarely go into a cinema, but I enjoyed it.

Someone had somewhere made up the term "popcorn cinema", which this movie in my eyes is. It's to me rather harmless fun, and in parts more "silent" than the three imho rather action-based movies.

The style of the new one rather reminded me of the TV series (Young Indy Jones).

Now, I'm seriously thinking about watching "Happy-Go-Lucky", which is quite odd for me.
But even more strange & weird, something inside of me (I think it's my intuition ) tells me that I'll most likely enjoy this film !

Been a while … here are some recent views in our household …

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising (2007)
Rated: PG
Score: 3.5/5
We happened on this one on 'On Demand' because we wanted to watch a movie but all we had from Netflix was Firehouse Dog and nobody wanted to see it …

We had heard only bad things, and my son loved the book … so we decided to give it a try, with very low expectations. It actually played out fairly well. Early on my son basically said 'stop asking how that worked in the book, I have to just forget the book exists to enjoy this'. And that seems the way it plays out - if you focus on the book you will surely hate it, but as a light entertainment treat it is not too bad.

Juno (2007)
Rated: PG-13
Score: 4.5/5
Summary: This was hilarious and touching and thoughtful all at once. Nice acting and I like the way the whole thing has enough depth to keep you talking about it for a while.

Dilbert: The Animated Series (1999)
Rated: PG-13
Score: 1/5
Summary: I wondered why, despite being a huge Dilbert fan in the 90's, I had never hooked into this show. My kids wanted it on Netflix, and I got to find out … the show completely misses what made the comic and the characters funny and engaging.

An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Rated: PG
Score: 4/5
Summary: Why the heck didn't THIS guy run for president in 2000? Nice documentary that really lays things out in a good way without getting condescending, nasty or preachy.

Wild Hogs (2007)
Rated: PG-13
Score: 3/5
Summary: I had low expectations, but this was a funny and entertaining ride - don't expect stellar performances or much of any depth, just some nice empty fun. Always love William H. Macy.

Close Encounters of the Third Time (1977)
Rated: PG-13
Score: 5+/5
Summary: Now *this* is why Spielberg will be remembered as one of the great masters of cinema. It is just brilliant from start to finish - the pacing, filming, plotting, suspense, performances … everything works so well on so many levels.

Amadeus: Director's Cut (1984)
Rated: R (original was PG?)
Score: 5/5
Summary: OK, we see 15 seconds of Constanze chest as she stands in humiliation in front of Salieri and hear the 's word' once or twice … and for that we jumped to R?

That aside, this remains a completely brilliant and compelling movie - and it just gets better and better from start to finish. Hadn't recognized Cynthia Nixon as Lori the main before. The kids adored the whole thing.

Big (1988)
Rated: PG
Score: 5/5
Summary: It is almost as if while we watched Josh turn 'big' in the movie, we were seeing the transformation of Tom Hanks from funny goof to major actor (ok, he still had to get through Turner & Hooch and Joe vs. the Volcano). But his portrayal in this film - paired with Elizabeth Perkins subtle way of playing off of him, just makes for a engaging and fun trip down a path that was *way* overplayed in the late 80's. A bit uncomfortable with the kids as the pair get intimate for the first time, but it is done in a very sensitive and somewhat amusing way.

Astronaut Farmer (2007)
Rated: PG-13
Score: 2/5
Summary: So we're supposed to care about 'Farmer' and be behind him and his dream, which pretty much amounts to having to leave the space program to take over the family farm because his father killed himself? We never got it, never cared, and thought it was all very ponderously paced (i.e. boring), and wondered why the wife stuck by him as he lied and squandered … and how did they manage to actually eat, anyway? Oh, who really cares …

Ghost Rider (2007)
Rated: PG-13 (UR version)
Score: 3/5
Summary: This was one the kids wanted to see, and we had really low expectations. It wasn't great, but succeeded as mindless entertainment. The whole romance was silly, and there were plot-holes galore, but it was the sort of movie that just said 'don't worry about that stuff' - and you don't.

As you can see, we've been making the most of our Netflix subscription

Nice batch of mini-reviews, Mike. I wouldn't have thought kids would get into Amadeus—I found it excellent but sad.

My spouse somehow unearthed from the depths of Netflix a bizarre samurai western entitled Red Sun, starring Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune, Alain Delon(!) and the ubiquitous big-hair spitfire bimbo of the 70's, Claudia Cardinale. One. Strange. Movie. Actually quite entertaining, though. First time I'd heard Mifune deliver lines in English.
Also watched The Brave One with Jodie Foster—pretty much a meh for me.

Did a double feature with Mrs dte yesterday.
Hancock
I saw a review that said this is a lousy movie that Will Smith makes bearable. I can see that. Will certainly does an excellent job with a trite and uninspired script. Solid rental grade mindless entertainment.
Wanted
The script is a bit schizo, but overall it works. Angelina gets to play a conniving hottie killer (does she do any other role these days?) and Morgan Freeman shamelessly mails one in. The no-name main character does the best work, with his scripted comic relief keeping the movie from collapsing. Theater ticket grade entertainment, if only just barely.