Movie Thread -- Happy Stuff (Non-Wizards)

[barelyawake]

Ahhh one other flick I forgot. "Following" was just re-released to celebrate the opening of "Inception." It's Nolan's first effort out of film school, made on a $6000 budget. The re-release of this well-written, indie, black and white film is much like a thumb in the eye to the critics -- as it almost screams, "See, I was always good, even before you knew who I was."

[fishercob]

Not a movie, but a great series....

I don't have HBO so I never saw the Wire. Directv is airing the entire series, week by week, on channel 101 and I'm 6 or 7 episodes into season 1. Wow. Might be my favorite show ever. I've been watching each episode 2 or 3 times. So hard trying to avoid spoilers though!

[W. Unseld]

A few months ago I had a rare craving for a totally mindless 80's action movie, a few weeks later I saw ads for "The Expendables" with every possible freaking action hero of the 80's or 90's thrown in but no one will see it w/me and I'm told it sucks. Since then I've been regulated to movies only with other couples so it's been pretty mainstream. I'll report back on "The Other Guys" after Saturday but as I'm sure you've already heard Inception is interesting if nothing else. There will be some plot points to look past but I found it to be fairly well done otherwise.

[pancakes3]

other guys has one quote-worthy rant in it and a bunch of throwaway lines that are loaded with funnies. solid comedy overall. funnier than forgettable movies like zach/miri make porno, knocked up, ugly truth, and other rogan and/or heigle vehicles.

[Induveca]

Unseld, go see the Expendables. It was damn fun.......whoever says it sucks is likely under 32 or so and has no memories of the unbelievable fun it was to watch Terminator 2/Rambo 2/3, all the Rocky films etc.

It's definitely a macho movie to the nth degree, but that's what makes it so fun. I've seen it twice here in Paris and both times the entire audience CLAPPED at the end, and there were tons of oohs and aahs throughout the film. Definite throwback, just don't expect an intelligent movie because it was purposely made to be 100% action. It's like a living comic book. Great stuff.

Anyone who tries comparing it to something like Inception isn't thinking straight or has zero masculinity in them. Guys need these kind of things sometimes, takes the edge off to see some crazy/exciting/mindless violence.

[jimij]

+1 on the Expendables. Definitely a great movie and one most reviewers will hate, but damn is it fun. Perfect guys popcorn movie.

[jimij]

Not a movie, but a great series....

I don't have HBO so I never saw the Wire. Directv is airing the entire series, week by week, on channel 101 and I'm 6 or 7 episodes into season 1. Wow. Might be my favorite show ever. I've been watching each episode 2 or 3 times. So hard trying to avoid spoilers though!

You should netflix it and watch all five seasons. It's not quite my favorite show of all time (although its probably top five) but it the show I think is the most well done. Everyone likes to hype the Sopranos on HBO but after the first year two but the Wire is top quality from the first episode to the last one in season five.

[lupin]

i saw "Scott Pilgrim vs The World" last week. its one hard movie to describe. i liked it and found it to be pretty funny, but my friend, who did chuckle quite a bit, thought it was too random and my wife just didn't get it. its written (for the screen) and directed by Edgar Wrigt, of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" fame, and you can see his fingerprints all over the direction. its based on an indie comic and the basic premise is that Scott falls for a girl and then finds out that if he wants to date her he has to defeat her 7 evil-exes. the confrontations play out video game style, and it reminded me quite a bit of Soul Caliber for any of you video game fans. unexpectedly good fight choreography considering the main character is played by Michael Cera of Superbad and Juno fame.

[barelyawake]

Bill Burr's latest comedy special on comedy central is easily the funniest comedy performance of the last three years. I'm trying to remember back to when the last one that topped him and I'm thinking it was Doug Stanhope's classic album. We've been quoting it and crying laughing for days now. Must see.

Oh and I just saw "The Town." Good flick. Best bank robbery movie since "Heat."

[Nivek]

Go see "Buried." I haven't seen it yet, but I've read the screenplay and it was astoundingly good. When I picked it up, I thought there was no way a story that occurs entirely inside a coffin could hold my attention. It does. It's getting good buzz from those who have seen it.

Another one to watch for when it comes out (probably next summer) -- "Source Code." It's the best spec screenplay I've read. It's about a soldier who wakes up in the body of a commuter who was in a train explosion. Picture a dramatic Groundhog Day as a techno thriller. But perfectly done. Jake Gyllenhaal is starring.

[Halcyon]

So I might be the last person to see Inception in the world, but I finally saw it on Tuesday night. Good ideas, great CG and overall flow of story, but I didn't find it too challenging to keep up with as I thought it would be. As in, the story was pretty self explanatory, and was not that confusing as I was led to believe.

Anyway worth another watch, once it comes out to DVD.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

So I might be the last person to see Inception in the world, but I finally saw it on Tuesday night. Good ideas, great CG and overall flow of story, but I didn't find it too challenging to keep up with as I thought it would be. As in, the story was pretty self explanatory, and was not that confusing as I was led to believe.

Anyway worth another watch, once it comes out to DVD.

I'm just a dumbass, I guess.

I had to confess to my date that Inception didn't make a bit of sense to me. I just wasn't feeling it. She liked it, Halcyon. Her line was "I like movies that make me think".

Machete was more my speed. (No date for that one.) I loved Machete. Hero of the film makes it both Jessica Alba and another hottie. Dude eschews guns most of the film and kills with a machete. Great cameo by Cheech Marin as his priest brother who reverts back to his street ways. Over-the-top killing. Sex. Violence. It reminded me of 70s films like Dolemite. Loved that movie.

Couple weeks back I saw a GREAT MOVIE. The Town is really good. Great story telling. Lots of twists and turns. Riveting action. Characters are very believable. Ben Affleck is from around the area in Mass where all these bank robbers and thieves hail. I can't do it justice descriptively. Just a gripping film that's part love story, part sociological study, definitely an action movie, and a cop/crook drama where you're pulled to root for the bad guys to win. But who are the bad guys. The Town is one of the best movies I've seen.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Also, just saw a kid flick, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. It was a pretty decent animated flick. My youngest two boys liked it well enough. Plot reminds me of How to Tame Your Dragon, but Guardians isn't as good. It's basically a good vs evil tale where certain owls (the Pure Ones) desire to eliminate the rest and only the Guardians can save them. The hero of the story is an owl named Soren. He and his brother are kidnapped and forced to become part of the Pure Ones. One brother chooses to be evil but Soren does not. Decent flick.

The animation is dark, but pretty good.

[Nivek]

I thought "Inception" was terrific. The altered-gravity fight scene was amazing to see. I didn't find it difficult to keep up with either. Mood matters when you see a movie, sometimes. There have been times when I've gone into movies that are supposed to be great, and my mood is all wrong for what I'm seeing. When I see it later, I wonder how I missed how good it was. The reverse happens too -- I'll like something and when I see it later I'm puzzled as to why.

[miller31time]

Speaking of "Inception", I just watched another Christopher Nolan flick, "Memento". Excellent movie and I'd highly recommend it.

[Nivek]

Memento was good. Interestingly, it doesn't hold up when watched in chronological order. While the story is told in reverse order (which mimics for the audience the short-term memory problem of the main character), the emotional intensity of the scenes escalates as it would in other movies. Watch it in chronological order and it feels like a letdown.

[barelyawake]

"Memento" is easily one of the greatest indie flicks of all time -- to be included with the likes of "Donnie Darko," "Mad Max," "Stranger than Paradise," "Blood Simple," "Resevoir Dogs," "Swingers," and "Clerks."

[Ruzious]

Couple weeks back I saw a GREAT MOVIE. The Town is really good. Great story telling. Lots of twists and turns. Riveting action. Characters are very believable. Ben Affleck is from around the area in Mass where all these bank robbers and thieves hail. I can't do it justice descriptively. Just a gripping film that's part love story, part sociological study, definitely an action movie, and a cop/crook drama where you're pulled to root for the bad guys to win. But who are the bad guys. The Town is one of the best movies I've seen.

Last week, I was stuck in the mall waiting for my car to get fixed, so I had a couple of hours to fill, and I watched The Town - expecting it be a pretty lame formulaic star vehicle for Ben. And it was - to some extent, but... the actor who played Jem (Jeremy Renner?) stole the show and I thought made it very good. That little guy scared the hell out of me and added a sense of grit and reality to the movie. And whoever the actor was who played the old man who ran the flower shop - he was great.

[Ed Wood]

Memento was good. Interestingly, it doesn't hold up when watched in chronological order. While the story is told in reverse order (which mimics for the audience the short-term memory problem of the main character), the emotional intensity of the scenes escalates as it would in other movies. Watch it in chronological order and it feels like a letdown.

Well yeah, and Citizen Kane would probably be pretty dumb if you watched it backwards.

Chronologically Memento is a movie about a man with a condition and about how he joins those around him in manipulating that condition. In reverse it's about providing the audience with his experience and uncertainty, and about how the presentation of events in film can be altered to manipulate their interpretation, which is a big Nolan theme across his movies. Same thing shows up in Inception in the idea of incepting the audience with doubt in reality throughout the film.

And is the "Indie" movie designation something that refers not just to non-studio films but also to fairly modern films? Because that's how I tend to see it used, and I don't think i would put Donnie Darko on a list of best anything, but I realize that's more of a personal thing.

[Nivek]

All good ones, BA. I'd include a few other indies like: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Juno, The Usual Suspects, and The Terminator (yes, Terminator was an independent production).

Romero's Night of the Living Dead was an indie.

Blair Witch Project did well for itself.