What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Neophyte]

"The Place Promised In Our Early Days"

 

[Wally_Hood]

MST3K, The Creeping Terror

 

[dhermann1]

TCM had "The Big Parade", 1925, on last night. It was John Gilbert's greatest film, and according to Bob Osbourne, the highest grossing film (with the possible exception of "Birth of a Nation") in Hollywood history before "Gone With the Wind".
It's an epic story of a regular American guy who goes to war in 1917. Fabulous movie, great battle scenes. John Gilbert is wonderful. Everyone should see this movie!

 

[John in Covina]

Kick Ass - it made me feel creepy. It seems like it's going to be a cheesy 12 year old movie, but then has as much violence as a Kill Bill movie. Seeing a 12 year old girl get beat on makes it feel very wrong. An odd mix of something cute (say, Juno), and something crazy (like Sin City). They don't pair well.

For me I was uncomfortable with the young girl's language when talking tough although it was a Dirty Harry moment each time. And I did not need the "self abuse" seen for those that know the religeous eupheimsm. Other wise it was pretty good.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I also recently saw Kick-Ass, and I liked it much more than I expected to. It's a clever deconstruction of superhero cliches, but despite it's alleged "if superheroes were real" plot, is NOT to be taken seriously, so I had no problem with Hit-Girl's extremely unlikely weapons expertise (or her rough language and high body count). There were way more unbelievable things in it than Hit-Girl (for example, that a not-so-bright teen could master flying a jet pack after looking at the manual for a few minutes)...

 

[Honey Bee]

"Cobweb" with Richard Widmark and Lauren Bacall.

 

[davestlouis]

Das Boot in German with English subtitles, 2 disc director's cut. Long film but I love it.

And, I leave Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius on all day for my dog so he has background noise. He likes Mars Attacks too, the mid 90s one with Jack Nicholson. He didn't care for Mighty Joe Young, ignored it altogether.

 

[Wally_Hood]

Das Boot in German with English subtitles, 2 disc director's cut. Long film but I love it.

And, I leave Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius on all day for my dog so he has background noise. He likes Mars Attacks too, the mid 90s one with Jack Nicholson. He didn't care for Mighty Joe Young, ignored it altogether.

Which MJY? The original with Ben Johnson et al, or the computer generated remake? If he prefers the original he has excellent taste.

 

[Tomasso]

Inception and it was really good.

Yes, it was very good, but maybe a bit too long. And I hate it when ten thousand rounds are fired at a car and only one guy gets hit.

 

[Neophyte]

Yes, it was very good, but maybe a bit too long. And I hate it when ten thousand rounds are fired at a car and only one guy gets hit.

I hate it when 10,000 rounds are fired, because even in a dreamworld, the barrels on at least one of those guns shoulda burst lol

 

[Edward]

I also recently saw Kick-Ass, and I liked it much more than I expected to. It's a clever deconstruction of superhero cliches, but despite it's alleged "if superheroes were real" plot, is NOT to be taken seriously, so I had no problem with Hit-Girl's extremely unlikely weapons expertise (or her rough language and high body count). There were way more unbelievable things in it than Hit-Girl (for example, that a not-so-bright teen could master flying a jet pack after looking at the manual for a few minutes)...

Agreed. Have you read the book yet? It has two very significant differences in plot, one of which I did notice as a bit of a glaring flaw in the film (not that it stopped me enjoying it).

Kick Ass also explores some of the same terrain as Watchmen, albeit from a very different angle.

 

[Doctor Strange]

No, I haven't read it. Is it worth it?

I found it different from Watchmen in that it's more interested in tearing down the cliches from the superhero movies of the last twenty years than the comic books of the 70s/80s. And, of course, it's just not in the same league as a work of art, nor - once again, despite its claim to be about "superheroes in real life" - anywhere near as "realistic".

Also: am I only one who thought that Mark Strong was channeling Stanley Tucci?!? (Nothing against his performance, he's obviously the go-to guy for villains these days - he's going to be Sinestro in the upcoming Green Lantern film!)

 

[Fletch]

Young Man with a Horn (1950)

Kirk Douglas as the original tortured jazzman, based very loosely on a novel based even more loosely (in fact, hardly at all) on the life of Bix Beiderbecke. Stylish fluff given some heart by Hoagy Carmichael's earthy performance and the sincere loveliness of Doris Day. Still, you can't care about the characters. When KD cranks out his favorite hot 78s in Lauren Bacall's mirrored penthouse, it's like a morality play without much of a moral, except maybe "classy dames and record collecting don't mix."

Most realistic moment: when a jam session causes the crowd at the Aragon Ballroom to gather round and go nuts cheering - but the bandleader just says, "We're a dance orchestra. Don't try that again if you want to keep working with me." Some screenwriter had evidently been reading Adorno: it ain't all about what the public wants.

 

[flat-top]

The Expendables. Dumb fun. Clunky dialogue (when you can understand any of it), subpar acting and crazy violence. It's like a trip through the mind of Sylvester Stallone.

 

[Feraud]

Yes, it was very good, but maybe a bit too long. And I hate it when ten thousand rounds are fired at a car and only one guy gets hit.

Even in a dreamstate that is quite annoying.

 

[TheFilmGrrl]

Alatriste

It's worth watching for the costuming alone. So fantastic. As if you were watching a Velasquez painting come to life. And, well, Viggo Mortenson ain't so hard on the eyes either. It is a Spanish film, with subtitles, so be forewarned that it's not one you can half-watch while sleepy.

 

[John in Covina]

I watched the recent Get Smart movie - fun romp. Also the recent John Travolta action flic From Paris With Love I was mystified at first but when it settled into the flow it got good. I still don't like the current style of the action shots are done in where it's hard to see and understand what's happening.

 

[maggiethespy]

"Waiting for Guffman"

I'm a community theater actor myself, so it was really fun to see all of those stereotypes in the film. I knew each and every one of those people in my local theater experience, they just had different names-- Dr. Pearlman's name is Alan, Shelia and Ron are named Melissa and Jon, Corky goes by Adam in the real world 'round these parts.

I love docu-comedies-- it's something about the awkwardness of the camera and the actors interacting with the camera that amps up the funny to 11. And I love me some Christopher Guest. He's a nut!

 

[Edward]

Watched Battle of Britain last night, having picked up the DVD cheap in the supermarket. Surprisingly better than I had expected it to be. I particularly enjoyed that they focussed more on the actual men on the ground rather than hammed-up Churchill and Hitler impressions. Actually, in cinematic terms I found the scenes showing Hitler speaking at rallies to be far more effective for their concentration on both the size of the gathering and the reactions of the faithful in the audience rather than the man himself.

I was also amused at my own ability to spot the inaccuracies in the Irvins being worn by the actors playing RAF pilots - many of them are 42 pattern, while at least one is a late -war, multi-panel affair. I imagine this can be put down to the fact that rather than seeking out reproductions (as would have been the case now), they would have used originals, still plentiful and affordable in the sixties, as far as I am aware.

 

[Katzenjammer]

Fritz Lang's Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933), a sequel to his 1922 film Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler. Both feature Rudolf Klein-Rogge as the titular character...best known for his role as Rotwang in Metropolis, another wild-haired mad scientist.

Reviewers seem to regard it as one of Lang's lesser efforts, but I was hooked from the beginning, and remained so until its final moments. Editing, staging, framing of shots, and delivery of dialogue all seem remarkably current. Lang seems to be having great fun experimenting with sound technology: an early scene layers pounding machine noise over the action, like a heartbeat. I could see modern general audiences watching this with minimal snickering, as long as they could deal with subtitles (and black-and-white films).

My expectations were thwarted by some of the plot developments, but that's a minor complaint.