|
Post by erik on Feb 2, 2015 15:36:01 GMT -8
BARRY LYNDONRyan O'Neal is the titular character of this 1975 costume epic from director Stanley Kubrick, based on the book by William Makepeace Thackeray, about an 18th century Irish lad who, by hook and by crook, raises himself to the height of aristocracy in Europe, only to suffer a crushing downfall because of his own hubris and pride. This is a very long film, at slightly over three hours, so nobody should expect a jolt a minute. And yet, it won four Oscars, for art direction; costume design (obviously); cinematography (many scenes shot only with candles); and music adaptation (Leonard Rosenman conducting works by Mozart and Handel, among others). 9.5/10.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Feb 17, 2015 17:42:39 GMT -8
AMERICAN SNIPER
I guess I'll wade into the breach regarding Clint Eastwood's film about Navy Seals sniper Chris Kyle. This film has been the subject of so much invective from both sides of the political spectrum, and, having seen the film yesterday, I think they get some things wrong. Kyle, portrayed by Bradley Cooper, is not portrayed as a hero, as a lot of liberals might want to claim, but as an American soldier in Iraq doing his duty in a cause he believes is right, whether or not one agrees in the rightness of our Iraq war (as I do not). The Righties, on the other hand, particularly the noxious Sarah Palin, do like to portray him as a hero for his skill at killing and to glorify what he did because he wore the uniform of the United States. But any film that glorifies killers and killing, in any war, is dishonest propaganda, and does a disservice to those who served this country with honor (even if you disagree with Kyle's own personal attitudes). Eastwood's film avoids pandering to Palin and her fellow warmongers, and just tells the thing like it was. 9.5/10.
|
|
|
Post by DCXMMXVI on Feb 18, 2015 5:21:28 GMT -8
I guess I'll wade into the breach regarding Clint Eastwood's film about Navy Seals sniper Chris Kyle. This film has been the subject of so much invective from both sides of the political spectrum, and, having seen the film yesterday, I think they get some things wrong. Kyle, portrayed by Bradley Cooper, is not portrayed as a hero, as a lot of liberals might want to claim, but as an American soldier in Iraq doing his duty in a cause he believes is right, whether or not one agrees in the rightness of our Iraq war (as I do not). The Righties, on the other hand, particularly the noxious Sarah Palin, do like to portray him as a hero for his skill at killing and to glorify what he did because he wore the uniform of the United States. But any film that glorifies killers and killing, in any war, is dishonest propaganda, and does a disservice to those who served this country with honor (even if you disagree with Kyle's own personal attitudes). Eastwood's film avoids pandering to Palin and her fellow warmongers, and just tells the thing like it was.
9.5/10. Clint himself said that it was more of an anti-war film than a pro-war film (I'm not sure how it compares to Chris Kyle's autobiography, though.) But what does he know, right? He only produced and directed the film. So clearly his opinions are not as noteworthy as Mrs. Palin's. I want to see American Sniper. Any film that causes this much noise is worth a look. Well, except for that Seth Rogen/James Franco movie. No matter how much controversy that film accumulates, it still looks like a really, really bad movie.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Feb 18, 2015 7:00:18 GMT -8
Quote by NickCave06/18/2014:
I don't know that AMERICAN SNIPER is either pro- or anti-war, but it is, in my opinion, the kind of film that shows war for the horribly, messy, awful thing it is, and what it does to people, not only in physical terms but also in psychological ones. And anybody (especially Sarah Palin and those of her ilk) who pretends otherwise is either a propagandist or a f***ing idiot.
|
|
|
Post by erik on May 24, 2015 15:25:17 GMT -8
TOMORROWLANDAlthough it is kind of a plug for the 60th anniversary of the opening of the original Disneyland (which happened on July 17, 1955), specifically perhaps its most visited section, this is a head-spinning sci-fi/fantasy adventure teaming Britt Robertson as an adamantly optimistic teen with a grumpy and cynical scientist portrayed by George Clooney in a bid to save Earth's future. The special effects are great (natch!), but it is also a very complex film in a lot of ways as well. 9/10.
|
|
|
Post by oregonchickfan on May 24, 2015 19:04:12 GMT -8
Chocolate City: 6/10.
I really only wanted to watch this for the strippers, so, it's probably no surprise there wasn't too much of a story.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Jun 5, 2015 15:38:04 GMT -8
SAN ANDREASDwayne "The Rock" Johnson does an Everyman role, that of a Los Angeles Fire Department rescue chopper pilot having to cope with saving his estranged family when the San Andreas Fault comes apart at the seams along the 400-mile stretch between Los Angeles and San Francisco. I'm willing to overlook some plausibility "faults" (pardon the pun), and consider this latest CGI sci-fi/disaster film quite good. 8/10.
|
|
|
Post by DCXMMXVI on Jun 15, 2015 13:36:30 GMT -8
Jurassic World (2015)
7/10 Kind of a mix of the first 3 movies. The theme park theme ( Jurassic Park,) a big dinosaur in an area with a large amount of people ( The Lost Word,) and kids getting lost on the island, and adults looking for them (Jurassic Park III.) It was a fun film. But it did lack some originality. The biggest positive for me would be this. You can interpret the ending any way you want to. But this is what I saw. SPOILER ALERT It was the new hybrid dinosaur vs. the old school dinosaurs (T-Rex and Raptor.) To me, it was symbolic. New Hollywood vs. Old Hollywood. The new dinosaur was an "improvement" over the old dinosaurs. It was supposed to be bigger, badder, and cooler than the others. But the T-Rex and Raptor won the fight, with the help of a water dino. Perhaps it was saying that new hollywood can never replace or improve what great things came before it.
|
|
|
Post by lvchickfan85 on Jun 15, 2015 15:03:07 GMT -8
I saw Jurassic World too. I thought while its not the best movie I've seen, its still a great summer movie.
|
|
|
Post by lvchickfan85 on Jun 15, 2015 15:03:40 GMT -8
I give it a 8/10.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Jun 16, 2015 16:51:31 GMT -8
$ (DOLLARS)Imaginative 1971 caper film from writer/director Richard Brooks ( IN COLD BLOOD), in which a bank security expert (Warren Beatty) and a call girl (Goldie Hawn) team up to abscond with three safety deposit boxes containing a combined one and a half million dollars in cash from a vault in Hamburg, Germany. Filmed on location in Germany itself, the film co-stars Gert Frobe ( GOLDFINGER) and Robert Webber ( 12 ANGRY MEN), and features an ingenious and complex music score by Quincy Jones. 8.5/10.
|
|
Ross
Teen Chick
Posts: 699
|
Post by Ross on Jun 17, 2015 0:12:23 GMT -8
I Am Divine 7/10
Good documentary about Divine who apart from his films with john waters i knew nothing about. Was a little strange for everyone to say they were shocked that he died considering he died of a heart attack and was more than a little overweight.
|
|
|
Post by myfavoritegirls on Jun 19, 2015 6:28:14 GMT -8
Jurassic Park (the new one) 9/10 Honestly, I didn't think I'd like it. My son wanted to go, so my husband and I tagged along. It was actually pretty good. I would recommend it.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Jun 21, 2015 9:55:54 GMT -8
Despite some flaws in its DNA (pun intended), I will give JURASSIC WORLD an '8' rating, out of 10.
|
|
|
Post by DCXMMXVI on Jun 21, 2015 16:44:34 GMT -8
Inside Out
8/10
Pixar is well on its way to redemption.
|
|
|
Post by eaglemaster on Jun 24, 2015 5:45:01 GMT -8
Love & Mercy from 2014: The story of Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. 8 / 10
|
|
|
Post by eaglemaster on Jun 28, 2015 3:50:48 GMT -8
Ex Machina from 2015: Artificial intelligence and what can happen... 8 / 10
|
|
|
Post by erik on Aug 10, 2015 11:17:23 GMT -8
RICKI AND THE FLASHMeryl Streep brings out the inner (if washed-up) rocker in herself in this new film from director Jonathan Demme (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS). Kevin Kline (who co-starred with her in 1982's SOPHIE'S CHOICE) and Streep's real-life daughter Mamie Gummer co-star with her in a film that could conceivably bring Streep her umpteenth Oscar nomination. 10/10.
|
|
|
Post by lvchickfan85 on Aug 10, 2015 14:09:07 GMT -8
Saw Trainwreck. I give it an 8/10. Its not perfect, but its a pretty good rom-com.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Oct 17, 2015 16:24:16 GMT -8
THE MARTIANWhat does a man do when he's stranded on Mars and left for dead? Just watch this new sci-fi film from director Ridley Scott ( ALIEN; BLADE RUNNER) and find out. Matt Damon portrays Mark Watney, the man in question who then becomes the subject of the greatest deep space rescue in history. 9/10BRIDGE OF SPIESSteven Spielberg's new film is a Cold War thriller based on the real-life saga of insurance lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks), who managed a complex trilateral prisoner exchange involving his client, KGB agent Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), downed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell), and economics student Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers). Hanks is, once again, matchless as the Everyman; and Spielberg delivers another masterpiece in this, his twenty-seventh film. 10/10
|
|
|
Post by DCXMMXVI on Oct 20, 2015 2:47:36 GMT -8
Pan (2015)
7/10
Not perfect by any means. I'm not familiar with the original JM Barrie story, only the American adaptations. In the 2015 prequel, Tiger Lily is an adult, and Hook is a good guy. Peter saved his life, and Hook saved Peter's life. The ending leaves you wondering how they end up enemies. But it's a prequel made over 100 years after the original story, so it's already hard to associate it with the original. I recommend it only to Peter Pan fans. You pretty much have to watch it at least once.
BTW, my cousin and I went into the wrong theater (it's the second time I've done that.) We finally realized it, and made it into the correct theater just in time. And after a few minutes of the 'church giggles,' I spilled my candy all over the floor. And let me tell you something, once I start laughing, it's very difficult for me to stop. The hardest part was trying to use silent laughter. Ugh, what a day.
|
|
|
Post by DCXMMXVI on Nov 4, 2015 17:56:19 GMT -8
1/10 This movie sucked. Sucked sucked sucked. I didn't even know about it until I saw the DVD yesterday at Target. And being the Tremors fan that I am, I got really excited and bought it. The first 2 Tremors movies were awesome, the 3rd one was just okay. The 4th one was a prequel set in the 1800's, and it was absolutely awful. But the 5th one was a follow-up to the first 3. And it was just as bad, if not worse, than the prequel. It wasn't funny. It wasn't exciting. Although I will say this, Michael Gross has aged really well.
|
|
|
Post by erik on Nov 13, 2015 16:50:48 GMT -8
THE 33Antonio Banderas and Lou Diamond Phillips star in this compelling cinematic depiction of the 69-day struggle of thirty-three mineworkers to remain alive two thousand feet deep in a desert mine in Chile during the summer and fall of 2010 after the mountain around them collapses. Though long and deliberately paced at 126 minutes in length, it remains compelling from start to finish, thanks to the actors, the direction of Mexican-born Patricia Riggen, and the ethnic music score by James Horner (one of his last). 10/10.
|
|
Ross
Teen Chick
Posts: 699
|
Post by Ross on Nov 17, 2015 12:45:28 GMT -8
Next Goal Wins 8/10
|
|
|
Post by erik on Dec 9, 2015 17:14:44 GMT -8
NIGHT OF THE COMETThis is what L.A. looks like after the Earth suffers an uncomfortably close encounter with a comet on Christmas Eve--as two L.A. teens (Catherine Mary Stewart; Kelli Maroney) discover to their bemusement and occasional horror in this 1984 cult sci-fi/comedy. 8.5/10.
|
|