Movies at Home

I've been on a DVD/Streaming tear, and have had NO ONE to discuss with!

The Last Station: Excellent, better than I expected. Continues Paul Giamatti's streak of only playing characters I want to punch in the face.

The Lovely Bones: A hot mess.

Crazy Heart: A hotter mess. Why, oh, why, would Maggie Gyllenhaal's character fall for the smelly old drunk? This movie made me cranky in exactly the same way As Good As It Gets did. At least Nicholson's character was loaded in the good way.

Legion: Oh, the things I will do for Paul Bettany.

The Book of Eli: Sadly, there are things I will not do for Denzel. I made it about halfway, and just couldn't look at it any more. Then I went and read the synopsis on Wikipedia. Really? So many shenanigans.

Salt: Good, but not great. Kept me guessing until the end.

Putli Bai wrote:

Crazy Heart: A hotter mess. Why, oh, why, would Maggie Gyllenhaal's character fall for the smelly old drunk? This movie made me cranky in exactly the same way As Good As It Gets did. At least Nicholson's character was loaded in the good way.

Awww, I LOVE that movie. The music really made it for me.

I still haven't seen Crazy Heart, but I feel like now I can just buy Jeff Bridges album and get the best part of it.

I was recently on two long ass cross Atlantic flights and I tried to watch Tree of Life, three times during them, each time I either fell asleep or got SUPER irritated with the pretentious whispering and the utter lack of a plot. And I mean I have an extraordinarily high tolerance for pretention, but WOW it broke me. Which isn't to say it isn't beautiful and cinematic film making, I just needed more substance.

I also saw Jumping the Broom which I wanted to like more since it was from a non Tyler Perry director, but it's really not too good. There is a nice cute moment where Robin Thicke gets to sing to his wife in character but that was about it.

And then Midnight in Paris which was mildly diverting, but wasn't quite funny enough or romantic enough to be a success.

Aw, I'm disappointed to hear about Jumping the Broom. I thought the trailer made it look really cute.

Hanna, which I really enjoyed. Intriguing story, great actors, kickass soundtrack.

We watched X Men: First Class last night and it was enjoyable enough (given that it was the first X Men movie I've watched the whole way through). Although I could have done without the HIGHLY DRAMATIC MUSIC that played over what felt like every single scene - I mean, we know it's an action movie. I think it's fair to assume we understand which parts are supposed to be dramatic on our own.

Putli Bai wrote:Legion: Oh, the things I will do for Paul Bettany.

I feel this could be an accurate subtitle for 90% of his career. But yeah, Legion especially.

blixie wrote:I was recently on two long ass cross Atlantic flights and I tried to watch Tree of Life, three times during them, each time I either fell asleep or got SUPER irritated with the pretentious whispering and the utter lack of a plot. And I mean I have an extraordinarily high tolerance for pretention, but WOW it broke me. Which isn't to say it isn't beautiful and cinematic film making, I just needed more substance.

I think though, a smallish screen wouldn't do that film justice. It was visually stunning. I really liked the movie, although I do think Terrence Malick would have benefited from tighter editing. I felt some parts were self-indulgent, and he could have made the same points more powerfully by taking out 30 minutes of the movie.

I was also on long plane flights so I watched lots of movies. I loved Midnight in Paris. I also watched Certified Copy with Juliette Binoche. It's a movie which is half in French and half in English with some Italian thrown in. It's a slow movie but I found it quite interesting. It deals with the theme of whether copies of an original piece of art are as valid as the original. Also watched The Lincoln Lawyer, which was quite entertaining. Bad Teacher was meh. Not terrible, but not as funny as it probably wants to be.

Putli Bai wrote:

Crazy Heart: A hotter mess. Why, oh, why, would Maggie Gyllenhaal's character fall for the smelly old drunk? This movie made me cranky in exactly the same way As Good As It Gets did. At least Nicholson's character was loaded in the good way.

Also, what about Maggie Gyllenhaal was so special that Jeff Bridges would fall so hard and so fast for her? I get what eventually drove him to

Spoiler:

The music was really fantastic though.

ETA: I LOVE the way spoilers work here! So great!

I think though, a smallish screen wouldn't do that film justice. It was visually stunning.

Well sure, but my issue isn't with the visual power of the film, it was still quite stunning and powerful even on that dinky little screen. I honestly would have preferred he cut all of the voice over, and had even *less* narrative because his images and actors were doing the job. And did he really have all that many "points"? I found the central question posed sort of lame in that Grace and Nature aren't strictly speaking opposing poles, so substantively I still find it a meh mess.

BreezyK wrote:
Also, what about Maggie Gyllenhaal was so special that Jeff Bridges would fall so hard and so fast for her?

The music was really fantastic though.

Exactly! I just did not buy them as a couple.

Spoiler:

The music was good, though. And, weirdly enough, I really liked Colin Farrell in this.

PS: oooh, you're right - the spoilers are *fancy.*

I have 127 Hours sitting here, waiting to be watched. Not sure if I can stand that much James Franco.

eventide82 wrote:We watched X Men: First Class last night and it was enjoyable enough (given that it was the first X Men movie I've watched the whole way through). Although I could have done without the HIGHLY DRAMATIC MUSIC that played over what felt like every single scene - I mean, we know it's an action movie. I think it's fair to assume we understand which parts are supposed to be dramatic on our own.

I loved that movie, but I do recall thinking the music was rather heavy-handed. It's like, "Tone it down, dudes. A little subtlety goes a long way." The composer probably just got too swept up in the Charles/Erik bromance and couldn't help heightening the drama though.

I had a Redbox marathon yesterday of films of varying quality:

The Conspirator: Very good. James McAvoy was excellent as always and it's not often you see a courtroom drama set in 1865.
Soul Surfer: I never thought I'd say this anything but this movie would have been so much better if it was more like Blue Crush.
Jane Eyre: Fassbender accquired. I haven't read the book and the only thing I knew about the story came from reading The Eyre Affair. It was very pretty and atmospheric but what.the.fuck. He has a secret wife and then goes blind? WHAT? This is supposed to be romantic?

I read The Eyre Affair YEARS before reading the actual book so I always figured the story really does end with Jane going to India, so I thought that book sucked and had a downer ending and couldn't believe why people actually liked it. I am the dumb.

Unlucky Bear wrote:I read The Eyre Affair YEARS before reading the actual book so I always figured the story really does end with Jane going to India, so I thought that book sucked and had a downer ending and couldn't believe why people actually liked it. I am the dumb.

There is something so adorable about your admission, UB. Can you imagine how many people out there have probably thought the same thing though from having read The Eyre Affair but never Jane Eyre? I bet you're not alone!

First post on the new forum!
Horrible Bosses was just this side of "too much" but I think I enjoyed it in the end. Though the dental hygenist's voice got SO IRRITATING after awhile.

Caught Parenthood on vacation and loved it! Just terrific from beginning to end. Steve Martin is the best dad!

I only read Jane Eyre for the first time over the summer after I watched the movie earlier in the spring =).

Horrible Bosses was just this side of "too much" but I think I enjoyed it in the end. Though the dental hygenist's voice got SO IRRITATING after awhile.

It sure did. A little of that guy went a long way, but I loved Bateman and Sudeikis. I also thought all the bosses were funny except Jennifer Aniston most of the time. She had a funny moment here and there but it seemed more like her function was to wear as little clothing as possible and that's about it.

I was so surprised when my mom came home from seeing Horrible Bosses and raved about how hilarious it is. I thought she'd find it too over-the-top and maybe too dirty or raunchy, but that was just a guess from what I saw in the trailer. Is the dental hygienist the character played by Charlie Day? He's hilarious whenever I maange to tune into It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but when he yells, I start to get irritated and sorta tune him out because his screaming hurts my ears and makes his speech rather garbled probably because his voice is hoarse to begin with.

blixie wrote:

I think though, a smallish screen wouldn't do that film justice. It was visually stunning.

Well sure, but my issue isn't with the visual power of the film, it was still quite stunning and powerful even on that dinky little screen. I honestly would have preferred he cut all of the voice over, and had even *less* narrative because his images and actors were doing the job. And did he really have all that many "points"? I found the central question posed sort of lame in that Grace and Nature aren't strictly speaking opposing poles, so substantively I still find it a meh mess.

Fair enough. I still think the whole film works as an allegory of life. Maybe I was overstating the ideas of points, but to me, I think it felt like an exploration of a theme, but the kind you would find in poetry rather than a novelistic approach. Though, I did find some parts a little too on the nose (e.g., the image of the mask falling. Ick). I was definitely engrossed in it, especially from a visual standpoint. So yeah, it may have worked even without a narrative. However, I had never seen so many people walk out in the middle of a movie so the movie would have lost even more people without any narrative!

Is the dental hygienist the character played by Charlie Day? He's hilarious whenever I maange to tune into It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but when he yells, I start to get irritated and sorta tune him out because his screaming hurts my ears and makes his speech rather garbled probably because his voice is hoarse to begin with.

Yeah, if the film had come out in 1987 his character totally would have been played by Bobcat Goldthwait.

inversed wrote:
Caught Parenthood on vacation and loved it! Just terrific from beginning to end. Steve Martin is the best dad!

Totally agree! Parenthood is one of those movies where if it's on, I have to drop everything and watch it. I get so caught up. The acting is fantastic - Steve Martin is so endearing, baby Joaquin Phoenix breaks my heart.

One of my favorite scenes, though, is with Keanu Reeves and Dianne Wiest in the kitchen after he has his talk with Gary. I'm not even sure why, because Keanu makes me cringe at how poorly acted some parts are. I think it's because I always want them to get together at the end of the scene, and even though I know it's not happening, every time I think maybe this time. There's just so much chemistry! She finally has someone back up her parenting, and you can see how differently she looks at him as she realizes he has some depth and gets how difficult and important raising a family is. It's like he goes from being her daughter's boyfriend to an equal in that moment. So of course I want to acknowledge all of this maturity with a wild makeout on the kitchen counter.

Also, repeated viewings of this movie have made me realize both how many classic movies Rick Moranis was in and how sad I am that he quit acting.

choubetcha, you mentioning Rick Moranis is making me wish I could watch Honey, I Shrunk the Kids now. Haven't seen that gem since childhood!

Putli Bai wrote:
I have 127 Hours sitting here, waiting to be watched. Not sure if I can stand that much James Franco.

Just watched it - was surprised at how engrossed I was. Especially since I a: knew what was going to happen and how it ended; and b: am not exactly president of the James Franco Fan Club. But he did a terrific job disappearing into the character, and I wanted to help him, not punch him in the smug mug like I usually do.

127 Hours was one of the most tense, engrossing moviegoing experiences that I've had in the past year. I am no longer a fan of James Franco thanks to his Oscar shenanigans, but he truly delivered an incredible performance in that movie. I'm glad you liked it, Putli Bai.

I finally got around to watching Bridesmaids last night. It wasn't as hilarious as the hype made it out to be, but I appreciated the emotional depth of the story. Kristin Wiig is SO much better and enjoyable in movies when she is playing fully realized characters than she is playing her one-note characters in sketches on SNL. Chris O'Dowd was freaking adorable. While I liked Melissa McCarthy a lot, I find the Oscar buzz around her performance to be baffling. She delivers many of the movie's most memorable moments, but an award-worthy performance? No.