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*High five for Binky*

I hated that movie too! And I feel alone, so alone. Actually, I hated all three of those Batman movies. But I think this last one was the worst yet.

For some reason, I found myself watching The Lucky One. It is probably the kind of thing I might have enjoyed as a teenager after a particularly trying week at school but at this age, it was very clichéd and I ended up having it on in the background while I sorted out the Guide unit accounts for February.

I need to put up a big post-it note to myself that I don't read Nicholas Sparks novels for a reason so I'm probably not going to care for the film versions of his books either.

I almost wrote a rant-post about watching this movie the other day, so sing it QueenSix! I kept thinking they were going to throw in a plot twist or something to make it interesting but there just...wasn't.

All NSparks movies have posters with the couple embracing. My suggestion is that they should all have the tagline of, "Yup. This is exactly what happens. Don't bother."

Heh, Raksha. I did like the middle Batman, at least.

I wonder how much I would have disliked Dark Knight Rising if JGL (who I love) wasn't in it. I sought out two more of his movies:

Looper, which I really enjoyed. It's sci-fi with a bunch of genre tropes (timetravel! telekinesis!) that could have seriously been fucked up and made the entire movie terrible. And it has a wonderful child actor who was so good it made me question why so many child actors are terrible.

The only thing questionable about it was the make up they used to make Joseph Gordon-Levitt look like a young Bruce Willis. Or question the casting, I guess. These men look nothing alike. Not in stature, not in coloring, not in any way do they resemble each other. I felt like the contacts and nose were enough, the bottom facial make up was distracting at points.

But I really loved it, over all. And it surprised me how good it was.

I also watched JGL's Premium Rush, which was, cough, less good. It felt totally like a late 90's/early 00's extreme sports movie. Like, even the music and vague stabs at world building felt like they were pre-recession. But JGL is so very pretty, which is the whole reason I watched it.

Binky, have you seen Lookout? I think it's JGL's best performance yet.

QueenSix wrote:For some reason, I found myself watching The Lucky One. It is probably the kind of thing I might have enjoyed as a teenager after a particularly trying week at school but at this age, it was very clichéd and I ended up having it on in the background while I sorted out the Guide unit accounts for February.

I need to put up a big post-it note to myself that I don't read Nicholas Sparks novels for a reason so I'm probably not going to care for the film versions of his books either.

I actually DO torture myself with Nicholas Sparks novels (I have genuinely liked a few, if you can learn to sorta ignore the truly irritating characteristics of his male characters, some of the stories are decent), but I needed a similar post-it note to stop me from seeing Safe Haven this weekend, as that book is one of the worst I have ever read.

As I posted in another thread, there was a snafu with movie times so I was forced to pick a back-up movie and it was either Identity Thief or Safe Haven. Identity Thief stank, but I imagine it was still better than Safe Haven would have been. I was actually angry while reading the book because it was so lazy and so stupid that it didn't deserve to even get published, let alone be a best-seller and now a movie. (The masochist in me wants to know if the movie could possibly be as bad as the book, so I may end up catching this when I can do so for free.)

I found Dark Knight Rises almost unwatchable at home. It's like 3 different movies - Batman & Bane, Batman & Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Batman/Cat woman. And none of these three movies are related to one another. I want (and did) to fast forward through everything Bane. I like JGL and I love Hathaway's catwoman, but both these story lines are frustratingly incomplete and empty. And unconnected.

I think it's also the most comic book-y of the trilogy, and I mean that in a negative way. The story is nonsensical in the real world (and the storyline challenges the suspension of disbelief), there are virtually no female characters aside from Catwoman, and the dialogue would fit fine in a bubble. I liked it okay in theaters, but upon rewatch, I honestly think it's really bad. Or rather, one really bad movie and two okay ones, on the same reel for some reason.

I couldn't even manage to stay awake for this whole movie in the theater, I can't imagine attempting it at home. I thought it was pretty terrible too as a whole and that it was criminally long. I guess it would have to be if you're trying to jam three movies into one, but it obviously didn't work so the length is just insult to injury.

naughty zoot wrote:Binky, have you seen Lookout? I think it's JGL's best performance yet.

I have not, thanks for the suggestion! My favorite movie-watching place has it, so I'll check it out.

Raised by wolves wrote:

For some reason, I found myself watching The Lucky One. It is probably the kind of thing I might have enjoyed as a teenager after a particularly trying week at school but at this age, it was very clichéd and I ended up having it on in the background while I sorted out the Guide unit accounts for February.

I need to put up a big post-it note to myself that I don't read Nicholas Sparks novels for a reason so I'm probably not going to care for the film versions of his books either.

I almost wrote a rant-post about watching this movie the other day, so sing it QueenSix! I kept thinking they were going to throw in a plot twist or something to make it interesting but there just...wasn't.

All NSparks movies have posters with the couple embracing. My suggestion is that they should all have the tagline of, "Yup. This is exactly what happens. Don't bother."

Yeah, the thing is I actually do like overblown romantic films where I can get carried away by the story and thoroughly enjoy it. But this...this was just tiresome. When the ex husband who is a Sheriff turned up, I knew exactly how this was going to go.

Wreck-It Ralph was pretty cute, and I was impressed with how well the animators worked in video game stylings. Vanellope was juuuuuust on the edge of becoming annoying but thankfully didn't quite get there.

The Master It wasn't the remake of the Lee Van Cleef/Timmothy Van Patten 80's martial arts tv show I was hoping for.

Anyway I would rate it closer to raining frogs than "I'M FINISHED!" on the PT Anderson scale.

inversed, Vanellope really irritated me for the first few minutes she was onscreen, but then she and Ralph melted my heart.

A pair of movies of the "attractive mostly naked dude" genre: What's Your Number and Crazy Stupid Love.

The first had practically nekkid Chris Evans, and aside from that plus, was also I think a very cute romantic comedy. I would have enjoyed it even if he was clothed.

I think I probably would have hated Crazy Stupid Love, except the rational part of my brain was thoroughly distracted by Ryan Gosling's abs. And my body just starts releasing happy serotonin when I see Steve Carrell in almost anything. So, basically, on mute, this movie could be used as an anti-depressant.

Binky wrote:A pair of movies of the "attractive mostly naked dude" genre: What's Your Number and Crazy Stupid Love.

This is a genre of movies I need to learn more about.

Last of the Mohicans with 1992 Daniel Day Lewis smouldering intently and being all sexy and whacking people while he runs (smouldering and intense) and just being "phwoar!" Sorry for objectifying him like that, but my nineteen year old self was very smitten when I saw this in the cinema and I never quite recovered.

Binky wrote:A pair of movies of the "attractive mostly naked dude" genre: What's Your Number and Crazy Stupid Love.

The first had practically nekkid Chris Evans, and aside from that plus, was also I think a very cute romantic comedy. I would have enjoyed it even if he was clothed.

I think I probably would have hated Crazy Stupid Love, except the rational part of my brain was thoroughly distracted by Ryan Gosling's abs. And my body just starts releasing happy serotonin when I see Steve Carrell in almost anything. So, basically, on mute, this movie could be used as an anti-depressant.

Chris Evans was naked or half dressed a lot in What's Your Number. Bless him.

I have a Chris Evans fan on my LJ friends list, and I'd drool whenever she posted gifs of him from that movie. I was like, "Does he wear a shirt at any point during the film?"

whatthedeuce wrote:I have a Chris Evans fan on my LJ friends list, and I'd drool whenever she posted gifs of him from that movie. I was like, "Does he wear a shirt at any point during the film?"

Unfortunately he is fully clothed in a few scenes. And I enjoyed the entire film, you might want to check it out sometime.

It's enough just to look at his gorgeous smile, so I will happily put up with his shirt-wearing antics in that movie!

I think I got caught up in the whole Cheltenham Racing Festival hoopla (because my mother was watching it on TV) and I rented Secretariat. What I knew about the horse could be boiled down to "Fast horse wins by lots" so it was interesting to see the rest of the story, albeit a presumably sanitised and condensed Disney version.

Diane Lane was excellent but then she always is. And by the time the end race came and we were waiting for Secretariat for win that race, I was in floods of tears. This is exactly why I do not watch animal films as a rule. Because I need to be hydrated to do stuff.

Don't watch Seabiscuit, then. That story could not have been more perfect for a movie if Disney himself had written it.

I rented Argo last night and holy hell, that was INTENSE. Something tells me the flight out didn't exactly go down exactly as it was filmed, but I don't mind a few liberties taken for dramatic impact. Because it worked!

inversed wrote:Don't watch Seabiscuit, then. That story could not have been more perfect for a movie if Disney himself had written it.

I appreciate the warning, but it comes a few years too late. I think it was the inspiring story of the great champion horses winning and running like crazy that set me off with both those films. Other animal films where they're in peril or separated from their owners and having to find their way home again , I just can't watch. It's too much. It's why I have not and will not watch War Horse. A horse taken from its owner and made to fight in World War 1??? I'd be a wreck and an embarrassment to anyone unfortunate enough to watch it with me.

Jesus H. Christ Savages was a terrible movie. And remembered why I find Aaron Johnson so nada, it's that high nerdy voice of his, that he doesn't seem to be able to act his way out of. Travolta was it's only saving grace and he was not in it enough.

I also finally saw Pitch Perfect and loved it, super cute and funny. I loved seeing Anna Kendrick sing again since the first time I saw her was in Camp.

blixie, did you know that the "Cups" song is so popular that there's gonna be an extended 2-minute version of it playing on the radio soon? Anna Kendrick is tickled that it's been the biggest hit on the soundtrack, considering it's the shortest song on there!

I heard that "Cups" song on Radio Disney this morning.

We attempted to watch This is 40 the other day. (My husband found it on the interwebs somewhere.) Holy sweet baby Jeebus, was that movie a pile of shit. We shut it off like an hour in. I don't understand why we're supposed to root for them; they clearly have nothing in common and don't even seem to like each other very much. Bleh.
Paul Rudd better be careful, because he keeps making one stinker after another, and Adam Scott can easily take his place.

Life of Pi was beautifully done. And remained faithful to the book, from what I remember of it. I didn't like the frame story, though - it really didn't add anything to the tale itself, but I can't fault the filmmakers for that.