In the Theaters

Karen_S

Predictable, but fun.

Mr_Shiftright

Biopic about the early life of John Lennon. Not bad, rather sweet and sentimental actually. Good acting but leaves out more than it tells. 7 out of 10.

Mr_Shiftright

Very interesting documentary about Pat Tillman, the football star who enlisted and was later killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. Tells of gov't deception in describing his death, but also of how the media portrayed him as something he was definitely not. They turned a very complex and multi-dimensional man into a cardboard cutout of a "hero". His family participated in the filming. Recommended.

PF_Flyer

Just saw Invictus yesterday. Very good, and Matt Damon was surprisingly good. Normally he just seems like "Matt Damon in a movie" to me.

Hard to go wrong with Morgan Freeman too

Mr_Shiftright

I might get that one on Netflix.

jipster

3 1/2 Jip"stars". Interesting and fun movie. Watching in 3-D was way cool.

Karen_S

If you're a Potter fan, it's a must see. They did a good job keeping to the story and including a lot of details I had forgotten when reading the book a couple of years ago. However, it is NOT a movie for kids under 10. Like the last book, it is very dark and intense. The PG-13 rating on this is warranted. The little ones at the showing I attended were covering their eyes in fear and leaping for a parent's lap.

Karen_S

Wanted to see this one, but haven't gotten there yet. Not sure I'll spend the extra bucks for 3-D. Went to Toy Story 3 in 3-D and decided I would have enjoyed it just as much in 2-D.

ateixeira

Big thumbs up, interesting twists and kept all 4 in the family interested. My 8 year old boy says he doesn't like "princess movies" but I think he secretly liked it and didn't want to admit it. We saw it with another family and all 3 of them enjoyed it as well, so universal thumbs up.

I could not convince my daughter to see Megamind but maybe I'll take my son, just the two of us.

ateixeira

I'm not exactly sure how to review this movie.

The movie itself is pretty bad, but it has hilarious moments. I think if you liked Hangover, you'll like this, but not quite as much. There are gross parts that may make some folks cringe.

But...there is a hilarious car scene with a Subaru Impreza, a great stunt that had me ROTFL.

Karen_S

Of the five films nominated for GG, I've seen Black Swan, Inception, and the Social Network. Hope to see The King's Speech this weekend and I have a feeling it will get the GG.

The one film missing from this line up and the one I would choose as best is True Grit. I wasn't too keen on seeing it as I hated the first one. (Sorry to all John Wayne fans.) My husband insisted, so we went. Those Coen boys sure know how to make a movie. And Jeff Bridges is once again fantastic. And Hailee Steinfield is the most impressive young actress I've seen a long stretch. If this film doesn't get an Oscar nod, I'll be a very unhappy camper. :mad:

ateixeira

The Social Network was interesting, though I wonder how accurate it really was.

Little Fockers had no surprises, but it's entertainment if you liked the first two.

Our nanny's been on holiday so I have not seen many movies lately.

Mr_Shiftright

If the entire Facebook fell into the pits of Hell, I could care less.

King's Speech was so good because the actors are so good. In most British films, even the person playing the butler or maid has probably done Hamlet or Lady McBeth 10Xs in their career. Britain certainly is a nation of actors and it shows (although the therapist in the King's Speech, Geoffrey Rush, is actually Australian-born).

True Grit was very entertaining. Even Matt Damon was more than bearable to watch.

ateixeira

This is a tough one to call. I really liked parts of it, but then it just got too strange.

My wife absolutely hated it. She said it was more horror movie vs. drama. She said it was disturbing.

And it is, but that's not what bothered me. What I didn't like was that it got TOO literal. They simply showed too much. Leave something up to the imagination, guys. What could have been a mysterious psychological thriller felt more like a blood bath at certain times, and that really took away from it overall.

They even spoiled the best part - a scene where she begins to, uh, explore her dark side.

Mr_Shiftright

It's a strange movie and I think you have to look at it through the eyes of a deranged person. But Portman did a great job with it. She really carried the entire movie by herself. The exaggerated self-mutilation was symbolic of what these dancers have to put themselves through in their drive to the top of the heap. I hope she wins, she deserves it. At least the violence was contextual not gratuitous.

ateixeira

Yeah, she was great in that movie, for sure. Very confused, and it really blurred the lines between what was real and what was in her imagination.

I still say they got too literal. At times they relied on digital effects that IMHO were not well done. That seriously detracted from the movie.

Mr_Shiftright

well modern audiences demand that sort of thing. Modern movies are pretty dumbed-down in certain ways.

ateixeira

They are, but this movie gave me hope because it didn't FEEL that way until the special effects just turned it from clever and interesting to bizarre and fake-looking.

Mr_Shiftright

fair enough, but what seemed "fake" to you exactly?

ateixeira

Some of the facial transformations, those bothered me the most. They looked digital.

PF_Flyer

This is why I'm not impressed with a lot of films now. Effects for the sake of effects. I'm old enough to KNOW that 3D was a fad then, and it's a fad now. For evidence, consider the thought that someone is thinking of remaking The Great Gatsby in 3D.

Huh????

tallman1

Hopefully, they will do a better job than the 1974 version. Great book, poor movie. I heard that Robert Redford walked out of the premier.

lemmer

3D bores the heck out of me. I was all excited when Jaws 3 in 3D came out in 1983. It really sucked. Flash forward 28 years and it still doesn't impress me.

Kirstie_H

Great Gatsby in 3D?
I guess that's so you'll get the feeling that you are genuinely right there in the room, getting drunk along with the characters.

I can take or leave 3D. Most of the movies I watch are because I'm interested in the story, not whether it can make me feel like I just got puked on, for real, by that dinosaur.

ateixeira

I don't like 3D because it's simply not as sharp as HD. I sometimes even feel a bit nauseated.

ateixeira

Quirky romantic drama about how a couple meets and how they end up.

The problem? The entire middle of the story is missing, and for me that would have been the interesting part.

Mr_Shiftright

Gatsby is a fabulous book (one of the best American novels ever written) and totally sucks as a movie. so what's new?

Actually the only movie I ever saw that was *way* better than the book was JAWS.

ateixeira

Also, One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest.

Jack Nicholson at his best.

kyfdx

I'd have to add The Godfather, as well...

Actually, the early-mid '70s was a great time for movies... The Exorcist is another movie that was better than the book..

PF_Flyer

My college roomie is a writer in LA. The studios don't want original ideas any more. Don't even want to hear about them. It's sad to think about the great films that would NEVER be made now

Mr_Shiftright

well movies ARE after all, just entertainment. It's not like you're losing Picasso or anything. :P

michaellno

The studios don't want original ideas any more. Don't even want to hear about them. It's sad to think about the great films that would NEVER be made now

So why do the Academy Awards still have a category for "Best Original Screenplay"?

From the Oscar website for 2011:

Writing (Original Screenplay)

* “Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
* “The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson;I don't Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
* “Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan
* “The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
* “The King's Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler

Kirstie_H

So why do the Academy Awards still have a category for "Best Original Screenplay"?

To give yet another person the opportunity to get on stage and congratulate a studio and the entire industry for being "brave" and having the "courage" to make this movie... pfffft.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Most of those speeches make me want to puke - they really tend to overestimate their own importance in the grand universe. The overuse of the words brave & courageous really do me in - it is not "brave" to make any movie. It is an economic calculation, and no one dies in battle.

Mr_Shiftright

And don't forget overuse of the word "genius"

Ah....no.....Mozart was a "genius". Some of them are "clever".

ateixeira

Finally, finally, a truly brilliant movie. Seems like it's been ages, but this movie was tremendous. Both the wife and I loved it.

Colin Firth is OK, but it's Geoffrey Rush who absolutely steals the show.

The dialogue (ironically) is clever and witty. Funny and insightful.

Absolutely the best movie I've seen in a long, long time.

Go see it!

ateixeira

This movie tries hard to appeal to the folks who liked the Twilight series, but it simply falls short.

Mostly the beginning is just too, I dunno, Hollywood. Where the bad guys are really bad. They use every stereotype in the book, including the ugly girl who is actually pretty.

The middle portion of the movie, when he's transformed to the beast, is actually the most believable, ironically.

The ending just doesn't produce chemistry between the two leads. I thought she was gonna dump him in the end; that's how awkward it felt.

Predictable and far too many cliches. Skip it.

ateixeira

Conspiracy theory aficionados will love it. We both enjoyed it, though I wouldn't call it great.

Damon has aged a bit and seemed to gain weight for the role, too.

ateixeira

Cheesy, but entertaining. The kids liked it. I found it tolerable, but wouldn't recommend it.

ateixeira

Far better than Adjustment Bureau or Gnomio, but not quite up to King's Speech levels, this was very entertaining. 2nd best movie I've watched this year, though.

Good action, and makes you wonder about the assumptions we tend to make.

That's all I will say, because I don't want to spoil it, and yes you should go watch it.

tallman1

Skip it.

Ditto for Rango. Simply awful. I wanted to laugh but only managed a couple of smiles. :sick:

Mr_Shiftright

Hollywood beats you to death at the end with explanations, leaving you nothing to think about. PASS on it IMO. Maybe Netflix on a rainy night.

michaellno

Hollywood beats you to death at the end with explanations, leaving you nothing to think about.

So, I take it you liked Cast Away, then? Lots of unanswered questions at the end of that movie.

I liked TAB just fine .. lots of good action and a better than average plot.

Also, not in theaters now - in fact, it may be available on DVD, Netflix or wherever - is The Next Three Days. Great story, kept the wife and I on the edge of our seat until the end -- even though we did figure out some of the major plot twists ahead of time.

Mr_Shiftright

I loved Cast Away, yeah. It ends, symbolically, with Tom Hanks standing at a crossroads. And I liked that there was really no happy ending. I don't like the obligatory Hollywood happy ending--it's just mush, and often forced and improbable.

I don't see why the wicked cannot prosper as they often do in real life, and why a person can't pay for his mistakes and never redeem themselves. Is this so hard for people to take even now and then?

But then, as one movie critic said: "Don't expect High Art in a place that also sells Jujy-Fruits."

ateixeira

Thanks, I'm taking the kids this weekend and was trying to decide between Rango and Mars Needs Moms. I think we'll go see the latter. Should be silly but my little boy loves that style of humor.

kyfdx

Cast Away is an awesome movie.. It's really amazing how they got so much of the FedEx stuff, right... (Obviously, they had a lot of help from FedEx).

When he goes to Helen Hunt's house in the middle of the night.... she jumps into the car with him.... and, he realizes that they can't go back to what they had..heartbreaking.

Tom Hank's best work...

I'm kind of bummed about The Adjustment Bureau ... previews had me thinking it was going to be good..

Mr_Shiftright

AB is okay. It's a 2 star movie (out of 4). The chase scene is good, and the acting of Damon and Blunt is professional. But the movie just kills itself out of earnestness and is way heavy on the platitudes and leaden obviousness. It's promising in premise, but very clunky indeed. You can almost hear the machinery in the background as they try to wind the film up.

michaellno

Tom Hank's best work...

Really? I thought he was great in Bachelor Party. Or perhaps Money Pit.

:P

He was nominated for, but didn't win, an Oscar for Cast Away. However, he did win them for Forrest Gump and Philadelphia.

Kirstie_H

We watched The Next Three Days this past weekend. It was pretty good, but I thought it was longer and more draggy in parts than it needed to be. A bit slow in the middle, but the last 30 minutes are definitely edge-of-your-seat material.

ateixeira

Count me in as a big fan of Cast Away as well.

WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL-SOOON!

michaellno

but I thought it was longer and more draggy in parts than it needed to be. A bit slow in the middle,

We agree to disagree .. we thought it was great that the steep learning curve he faced while acquiring skills and materials was shown.

Nonetheless, a great movie. And a neat surprise at the end with the drainage grate ....