What movies have you seen lately? Now with reviews!Movies

[Eric.]

Went to see Sherlock Holmes tonight with a friend. Really not worth seeing. They could've cut out about 40 minutes in the middle, rather than including the slowly developing story within it. I was bored enough that I was getting uncomfortable in my seat and I could tell she was, too.

Find something else.

 

[Lucas]

Cube (1997) - Honestly, one of the worst pieces of crap I have ever seen.

Worse - they made a second one.

Worse yet - I watched both.

Even worse - They made a third one.

Even moar worse - I watched the last two in the same day, one after the other, yesterday.

Seriously, the Cube trilogy easily takes the prize as the worst trilogy I have ever seen in my life. And the acting on Hypercube just sucked.

 

[PureAwesomeness]

Went to see Sherlock Holmes tonight with a friend. Really not worth seeing. They could've cut out about 40 minutes in the middle, rather than including the slowly developing story within it. I was bored enough that I was getting uncomfortable in my seat and I could tell she was, too.

Find something else.

I just finished watching it and whilst I agree it is a little on the long side, it's still worth seeing in my opinion.

 

[Dave A]

I saw Sherlock Holmes the other night and I agree with Eric, it wasn't that good imo. Robert Downey Jnr played into his character impeccably, but if anything that's the only reason to watch it. The plot just wasn't interesting enough imo.

 

[a6m5]

Even worse - They made a third one.

Even moar worse - I watched the last two in the same day, one after the other, yesterday.

Seriously, the Cube trilogy easily takes the prize as the worst trilogy I have ever seen in my life. And the acting on Hypercube just sucked.

While I agree that acting's not great, I didn't think it was especially horrible(see next sentence). Third one, I know nothing about, so I can't really complain.

If you go in to Hypercube, or even the first one, expecting a standard budgeted movie, I think general audience could come out disappointed. But if you knew that it was a low budget, (pretty much a)straight-to-dvd flick(s), many would appreciate the effort put into the series. If you think, or thought the series were garbage, I can totally respect that. They are not for everybody, that is for sure. But I would disagree 100%, at least on the first two I have seen. The makers did put in worthy work & effort from what I saw. I wish more low budget SF/Horror were that good.

 

[Diego440]

Séraphine (a.k.a. Seraphine) (Martin Provost, 2008) -- Lately I've been looking at European and Asian film fetivals' winners, in search of movies that differ from the usual Hollywood movie and to get different perspectives... though I still watch the usual crap every now and then. This one I saw because it won 7 awards at the Cesars (most important film awards in France) as well as scoring a best acress win for Yolande Moreau in at least 5 different festivals, and it really is worth it. Based on the life of French painter Séraphine de Senlis, it also poses a few interesting questions, including where does genius end and madness begin, or are they just two sides of the same phenomenon? The movie even goes ahead and answers the question. Reradless, it's perfectly acted and the photography and sound are excellent. A definite recommendation, though it might not be up to everyone's tastes, since it's a bit slow and set between 1912 and 1935. 8/10

 

[opendriver]

Somewhat funny, some stand up comedians have cameos, such as Paul F. Tompkins, Joel McHale and Patton Oswalt. Overall, a 6/10.

 

[a6m5]

Departures/おくりびと - This film is one of the finest modern Japanese films to be released in my opinion. Basically, just the concept, and execution is simply intriguing. As some already know, Departures was selected for the Best Foreign Language Film, so I won't bore you with the details, especially I think Diego/Tom Servo already has done his review in this thread.

I would say that it is very interesting how Departures and another big name from this year contradicts; "Avatar". Avatar was criticized for story, concept that were too familiar. Little too predictable. With the Departures, while you can sense the general direction of the film, the twists and turns pop up from nowhere. Even in the very first scene! While Avatar is an excellent film, and it was worth my $15 ticket, I think Departures is an superior film. Along with the courage, and risk taken by the makers of the film.

I hope this film would encourage the Japanese to start making great films again, not just gross, or amusing flicks lacking substance. Hirosue Ryoko, who I didn't think could act average to save her own life, I actually thought she was almost good in this one. Truly a miracle. Other actors were $$$. "A+"

 

[Blitz187]

Went to see Sherlock Holmes tonight with a friend. Really not worth seeing. They could've cut out about 40 minutes in the middle, rather than including the slowly developing story within it. I was bored enough that I was getting uncomfortable in my seat and I could tell she was, too.

Find something else.

I just finished watching it and whilst I agree it is a little on the long side, it's still worth seeing in my opinion.

I saw Sherlock Holmes the other night and I agree with Eric, it wasn't that good imo. Robert Downey Jnr played into his character impeccably, but if anything that's the only reason to watch it. The plot just wasn't interesting enough imo.

I found Sherlock Holmes to be kind of a mixed bag as well... I liked the little Guy Ritchie touches.... flashbacks and foreshadowing of events was done very good, like in the movies we all know from him... Other than that it was LONG and some points it just dragged on about nothing... To give it a rating I would be at about 7.5/10

 

[Diego440]

Glad to see you enjoyed it, Shintaro... definitely a great movie by any standard 👍

 

[livemusic]

The Gathering Storm - An HBO movie about Winston Churchill's life during the years preceding WWII. I don't know much about him but I guess the movie shows the "low" period in his political career and how his instinct about Hitler's plans got him back in the game. I also have Into the Storm on queue, which is the sequel to this movie and shows the WWII period. We really liked this one so we should watch Into the Storm in the next weekend. 8/10.

 

[FoolKiller]

Paul Blart: Mall Cop (4/10)
Where is the funny? It was goofy and had a touch of slapstick to it, but that was it. It does get one point for geek credit by having a Rock Band scene in it. Overall it was just a series of fat jokes, both in vocal dialog or in visual form.

 

[DK]

The Dark Knight:
Some say it's overhyped just because Heath Ledger was in it. But I think it was totally awesome. The Joker scare factor actually made my youngest brother run out of my room when he appeared on the screen. The Lamborghini that (Bruce) Wayne drove in one scene really does remind me of the Batmobile. But I don't want to disclose any more details, in case some people here haven't seen it yet.
Score: 10/10

 

[a6m5]

Glad to see you enjoyed it, Shintaro... definitely a great movie by any standard 👍

You know.... The guy who played the President/Teacher, he's a veteran Japanese actor. I figured the director of this film must be quite a veteran, too, right? Check out his films, on or before 1986. That is embarrassing.

 

[Diego440]

Please tell me 'molester' means something completely different in Japan...

 

[a6m5]

Yeah, I was entertained, and disappointed by my discovery.

I've heard about young directors getting chance in porn first, then moving up to legitimate films. But I think this is the first time I saw filmography like that on wiki.

 

[Speedy Samurai]

You know.... The guy who played the President/Teacher, he's a veteran Japanese actor. I figured the director of this film must be quite a veteran, too, right? Check out his films, on or before 1986. That is embarrassing.

Forget what he did back then. I just noticed that he was involved with the 2003 film 壬生義士伝 　mibugishiden for those unable to read kanji. (english title 'when the last sword is drawn'). See this film!

It is probably my favourite film with the Shinsengumi as its subject.

I repeat, see this film!

 

[a6m5]

Relax Speedy, I'm just having little fun. It did not take anything away from the great film I just saw, whatsoever. I just added 壬生義士伝(I couldn't read that either! ) in the Netflix queue.

 

[Diego440]

I will, I will

 

[Speedy Samurai]

Relax Speedy, I'm just having little fun. It did not take anything away from the great film I just saw, whatsoever. I just added 壬生義士伝(I couldn't read that either! ) in the Netflix queue.

Good job! I watched this back in 2003 when it hit the japanese video stores. It was my first exposure to old school kansai ben. Yikes.

 

[Omnis]

Departures/おくりびと - This film is one of the finest modern Japanese films to be released in my opinion. Basically, just the concept, and execution is simply intriguing. As some already know, Departures was selected for the Best Foreign Language Film, so I won't bore you with the details, especially I think Diego/Tom Servo already has done his review in this thread.

I would say that it is very interesting how Departures and another big name from this year contradicts; "Avatar". Avatar was criticized for story, concept that were too familiar. Little too predictable. With the Departures, while you can sense the general direction of the film, the twists and turns pop up from nowhere. Even in the very first scene! While Avatar is an excellent film, and it was worth my $15 ticket, I think Departures is an superior film. Along with the courage, and risk taken by the makers of the film.

I hope this film would encourage the Japanese to start making great films again, not just gross, or amusing flicks lacking substance. Hirosue Ryoko, who I didn't think could act average to save her own life, I actually thought she was almost good in this one. Truly a miracle. Other actors were $$$. "A+"

Wow, I just saw it thanks to this post. What a tearjerker. I'm afraid that you have to have lost a loved one to truly appreciate it. The old bathhouse lady reminded me of my grandma, lol. (see the sig)

What a fantastic film. Probably the best foreign language film I've ever seen, and much better than any film I've seen lately as well. Thank you.

 

[a6m5]

Aww, you big softie. I don't think my eyes got watery, once. Maybe three times.

I saw it by recommendation on here as well. From Diego & Speedy, maybe there was another. It was a long movie, but I wanted more at the end. That's always a good sign. 👍

 

[Diego440]

Always good to see someone's recommendation trascend the GTP forum and reach more than someone...

I think I should get me some coffee prior to be writing such nonsense

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I just watched "What Happens In Vegas". A couple funny parts but not really that good at all. Quite predictable too.

Just started watching "Survivor man" on Netflix. Its actually a pretty good show with lots of great information. 👍

 

[Diego440]

he was involved with the 2003 film 壬生義士伝 　mibugishiden for those unable to read kanji. (english title 'when the last sword is drawn'). See this film!

It is probably my favourite film with the Shinsengumi as its subject.

I repeat, see this film!

I just added 壬生義士伝(I couldn't read that either! ) in the Netflix queue.

Good job! I watched this back in 2003 when it hit the japanese video stores. It was my first exposure to old school kansai ben. Yikes.

Speaking of 'discovering' different Japanese movies, any knowledge on a movie called Tasogare Seibei (2002)? IMDb gives it a solid 8.x and I'm particularly curious about it.

 

[NotThePrez]

After getting it in my GTPSP bundle (and waiting a week for it to download) I watched "The Italian Job(2003)" last Sunday, and I must say, It was pretty good. It was a bit more "cartoony" than action movie but I liked that. I also loved the insane stunts pulled off with the Mini Coppers! Really Show the advantages of a small car. The Napster gag was freakin hilarious!

 

[Speedy Samurai]

Speaking of 'discovering' different Japanese movies, any knowledge on a movie called Tasogare Seibei (2002)? IMDb gives it a solid 8.x and I'm particularly curious about it.

Yes! It is known as Twilight Samurai when it was released abroad. The protagonist is played by Hiroyuki Sanada, better known as the kick-ass samurai in The Last Samurai.

Sanada plays a samurai whose wife has passed on and must take care of his senile mother and two daughters.

I can't say more than that without giving too much away but the acting is top notch and the ending worth the wait.

The same director also did the well-received Bushi no Ichibun three years later.

 

[a6m5]

OK, Twilight Samurai, I've heard about. I think the critics were making a deal out of it(in a good way), during the DVD review, I believe.

And yes, Italian Job, awesome. I liked it much more than I did the original.

 

[Neal]

Watched The Exorcist (The Version You've Never Seen) for the first at the weekend. I can seen why Mark Kermode rates it as the best film of all time. It's truely shocking and that's making no allowances for that fact it was made in 1973.
It's definitely worth tracking down if you've not seen it, i think it's on the PS3 video store too.

 

[Touring Mars]

Watched The Exorcist (The Version You've Never Seen) for the first at the weekend. I can seen why Mark Kermode rates it as the best film of all time. It's truely shocking and that's making no allowances for that fact it was made in 1973.
It's definitely worth tracking down if you've not seen it, i think it's on the PS3 video store too.

👍

I noticed that too, and the Exorcist II is also on the store - although it is apparently rubbish. I really like The Exorcist, and I still rate it in my Top 10 of all time, despite the fact that it is a little dated. The Director's Commentary on the special edition DVD is well worth listening to, it explains certain parts of the film that are otherwise quite easily over-looked. (It also makes the film more watchable if you are watching it alone )