Movies at Home

Next up: High Anxiety, which Carl has never seen.

"I got it ... I got it ... I ain't got it."

Watched Warrior this weekend. Wow, that movie ended up being nothing like what I expected when it started. Which was disappointing.

mokey75 wrote:50/50. It's a shame only like 10 people saw this in the theater, because it was seriously awesome.

I was one of those 10 people! And I really enjoyed this movie; it was a perfect mix of comedy and drama. Plus, JGL is amazing as usual.

We just watched 50/50 and I really liked it except for the romcom ending which I found distastefully unprofessional, I would have preferred his date to be with bulldog girl if it was an actual date it just felt like they forced them to add it to have a more "commercial" ending.

It also made me realize that I haven't actually seen a movie with Bryce Dallas Howard, so all I know her from his pap photos or from award shows.

watched PearlJam 20 written/directed by Cameron Crowe. So. Frickin'. Good. I'd classify myself as a fan--not a superfan--but I own all of their studio albums and a few live albums, and I learned so much. It did make me feel old, though, as I came of age with them and man...they have aged. Great doc. Highly recommend if you're even a casual fan.

I really enjoyed most of it. The thing I really disliked was the depiction of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. I am no way saying that Pearl Jam should be defined by Nirvana but I just didn't like how in the first 40 minutes it basically ignored that Nirvana existed in the Seattle scene and the rise of grunge and not acknowledging that while the Seattle scene while tight was also pretty divided despite the conflation in the National market. I didn't expect them to rehash the old arguments but I also thought it was sort of ridiculous for the first words in the doc about Nirvana was edited footage of an interview where Kurt was cool with PJ but stated how he used to hate them.

Anyhoo, I loved the footage of the Seattle I grew up in and the clubs that my sister and cousins got my underage self in to hear all of the bands I was to young to in some cases even understand: Melvins, Green River, Mother Love Bone, Nirvana, PJ Bikini Kill, Alice in Chains, Mudhuney etc.

I didn't expect them to rehash the old arguments but I also thought it was sort of ridiculous for the first words in the doc about Nirvana was edited footage of an interview where Kurt was cool with PJ but stated how he used to hate them.

As a someone who finds Pearl Jam entirely MEDIUM and thinks Eddie and Co. were pretty big cheeseballs, I thought that was hilarious. Especially Kurt's explanation, aka, I didn't really like them when I was talking shit about them. No kidding Kurt, thanks for making the connection. But I've only watched bits and pieces of the documentary on you tube and I watched that segment *first* precisely because it covered PJ's envy of Nirvana and quest for Kurt's approval.

I did think the segments on the late singer of Mother Love Bone said a great deal about the scene, both good and bad, that there was this tension both between and within different bands, to be both typical arena rock gods/stars and DIY alt/punk rockers.

Also Chris Cornell is still a fine ass mofo.

Saw The Help, and it was pretty good, not great. Some of the racial issues I had with the book were improved in the movie, and some were made worse. Best Picture material it is not, but all three acting nods are deserved and I hope Viola Davis wins.

Valentine's Day was the worst piece of garbage I have seen in my life. Not even enjoyably bad. Just terribly terribly unfunny all the way through. That was three weeks ago and I'm still angry at myself for forcing myself through it. What the hell was I thinking?

Kicking and Screaming (1995) was as awesome as Valentine's Day was bad and I'm eternally grateful to blixie for recommending it. So funny and emotionally affecting, and it has one of the best endings of a movie I've seen in a long time. Not in a "OMG WHAT A TWIST!" way, just perfect for THAT movie.

[quote="blixie"]

Also Chris Cornell is still a fine ass mofo.

Oh man, I had the exact opposite thought. Cut your hair again, Chris! I watched most of the documentary, and I think the saddest part was how old Stone and Jeff looked. I've been meaning to watch it again when I was a little more, umm, sober.

And biakbiak, I didn't love that part of 50/50, either. Though I guess I

Spoiler:

However, I'll still take it over the end of 500 Days of Summer, because I still lose my shit over how utterly ridiculous the last 30 seconds of that movie were.

Cut your hair again, Chris!

Huh, wasn't it only shoulder length? I couldn't be any more anti Long Hairs but Chris is one of the very few men who make it work for me. Matt Cameron still looks the relatively young, if not a Picture of Larry Mullen Jr levels. I did love seeing that my hatred of Jeff Ament and his stupid stupid hats is alive and well and reminds me how brilliantly Matt Dillon sent him up in Singles. I haven't seen Kim Thayil in the doc either, so still a douche all these yeas later, I didn't give Soundgarden a real chance for years because he was such a jerk.

I'm eternally grateful to blixie for recommending it.

I'm glad your rom-com project made me think of it. I had it on VHS for years, but did a great purge of tapes about 10 years ago and never got it on DVD which thanks to Netflix streaming I don't have to do anyway. "Go Away Cookie Man."

It may have been shoulder-length. But still. I guess I just find this way hotter than this.

But I'm with you on Jeff and his hats.

WOW, Drive was crazy intense. Ryan Gosling was fantastic. He even made staring silently at things seem tense.

He is so crazy hot in that movie.

I finally watched the new version of True Grit last weekend and liked it a lot. It was truer to the book than the John Wayne/Kim Darby version (which I saw when it came out; jeez, I'm old).

I'm still annoyed that True Grit walked away with nothing at the Oscars last year.

I watched The Tree of Life, and I really wish Terence Malick would just stop trying with any kind of narrative film at all and change his career path to making nature documentaries, since that's what the film practically was, anyway. MY GOD. I know it has a "theme" or whatever, but I don't watch movies for themes and concepts, I watch movies for STORIES.

queenofdenile that was my feeling about Cameron's Avatar. I'd rather see David Attenborough wandering around, explaining the life-cycle of the four-armed monkey than watch Sam Worthington try to act again.

So, no Wrath of the Titans for you?

jaraga wrote:Saw The Decoy Bride. I like most of the actors and I don't ask much of romcoms but this was just meh. Even at under 90 minutes it still felt like a drag

I hadn't heard of this movie and had to look it up - I love the poster which is so classic "two suitors" romcom, right down to the choice of how to do the title. Lady one looks snippy, lady two looks distressed, and Tennant is all "what are you gonna do with a decoy bride?"

Too bad it is not good, because I usually love me a well-paced romcom.

Speaking of Titans, I seriously considered buying this poster because of, "RELEASE THE KRAKEN," and I haven't even seen the movie.

mokey75 wrote: However, I'll still take it over the end of 500 Days of Summer, because I still lose my shit over how utterly ridiculous the last 30 seconds of that movie were.

The last thirty seconds, just? Where I had to avert my eyes was the song and dance number. As talented and charismatic as JGL is, that scene made me cringe so hard I'm still embarrassed for him, every time I think about it. I wish I'd never seen that movie.

I've been streaming a ton lately, but there's one movie I ran across that has stuck with me for weeks, and I've never heard anyone talk about it or mention it before -- it must have been completely off my radar when it was released. Incendiary with Michelle Williams and Ewan McGregor. I need for other people to have seen it so I can talk about it, exorcise it from my brain, or something.

Rented In Time last weekend. Couldn't even get through half of it. I don't care how pretty all those people are, it was too hard to watch.

OSS117:Cairo, Nest of Spies, a French James Bond spoof starring Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo (and written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius) was wonderful. Very, very funny and much smarter than your average spoof. The attention to period detail was so good my husband at first thought we were watching a film from the 50s or 60s. It and its sequel OSS117: Lost in Rio are both streaming on Netflix.

themis wrote:

mokey75 wrote: However, I'll still take it over the end of 500 Days of Summer, because I still lose my shit over how utterly ridiculous the last 30 seconds of that movie were.

The last thirty seconds, just? Where I had to avert my eyes was the song and dance number. As talented and charismatic as JGL is, that scene made me cringe so hard I'm still embarrassed for him, every time I think about it. I wish I'd never seen that movie.

Heh, actually the Hall and Oates dance was my favorite part of that movie. My husband and I always joke about setting our wacky montages to a Hall and Oates song. But the last 30 seconds,

Spoiler:

just made me roll my eyes so hard and made me never want to watch that movie again. Plus, Zooey Deschanel is annoying.

Here's one I've bet no one here has seen: Perfect Creature. I rented it because I'm a sucker for all things vampire (except Twilight), but it ended up being MUCH better than I expected. The main characters are Dougray Scott and Saffron Burroughs, and the film is set in a very steam-punk version of London sometime during the 20th century (its never really made clear). The vampires are called "brothers" and they're not evil at all, which was an interesting twist. Anyway, when one vampire decides to start feeding on humans, Dougray Scott is sent to help Saffron Burroughs hunt the guy down.

It's well worth the time to check it out. It actually pissed me off that more people don't make smart vampire flicks because clearly it's possible to do it, and for not a lot of money either.

I watched the Ian McKellan version of Richard III for the first time since college, and it was even more entertaining when not required watching for my Shakespeare class. McKellan, Annette Bening, and Kristen Scott Thomas were flat out amazing. I was stunned to find that none of them were nominated for Oscars for their performances. Robert Downey Jr.'s acting is pretty bad (it's probably one of those performances he doesn't remember), but his death scene is The Best.

What's Your Number? was mostly dumb and predictable, but COMPLETELY worth it for the large amount of Chris Evans near nakedness. Also, Chris Pratt's multiple appearances were very amusing.

Wild Target was silly but enjoyable. I was a little squicked out by Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt as love interests since the last time I saw them in a movie together, they played father and daughter.

jcpdiesel21 wrote:What's Your Number? was mostly dumb and predictable, but COMPLETELY worth it for the large amount of Chris Evans near nakedness. Also, Chris Pratt's multiple appearances were very amusing.

Yeah, every time it got close to annoying me enough to turn it off, Evans got naked. Well played, moviemakers, well played.

Miss Moneypenny wrote:

jcpdiesel21 wrote:What's Your Number? was mostly dumb and predictable, but COMPLETELY worth it for the large amount of Chris Evans near nakedness. Also, Chris Pratt's multiple appearances were very amusing.

Yeah, every time it got close to annoying me enough to turn it off, Evans got naked. Well played, moviemakers, well played.

*adds movie to "Must See" queue*