Sentinel
Bionic Poster
I just forced myself through 30 minutes of this movie. Could take it no longer. 30 minutes of my life wasted.
Strange how so many folks here like it. Guess tastes can vary a LOT.
What was the last movie you watched?
- Thread starter jamesblakefan#1
- Start date
Strange how so many folks here like it. Guess tastes can vary a LOT.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Have you seen the other contenders for Best Actor.
What about Trumbo ?
Personally, I did not think much of Leo's acting in The Revenant, or even Revenant the film. But yes, 12 nominations!!!
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Matt Damon is the movie. How else anyone can sit through a 2 ½ hours film listening to Matt talking to himself? He deserves an Oscar for this.
Revenant is also a beautiful movie, but Leonardo is totally unconvincing. No amount of makeup and camera work can transform him into this rough and tumble character. Every time he opens his mouth he gives it away. It’s almost comical when he tries to lower his voice and grind his teeth to sound tough. Leonardo is no Clint Eastwood. Leo gets A for effort but that’s about it.
Can’t understand the Hollywood’s love affair with actors like him or Jenifer Lawrence.
NonP
Legend
Saw Carol last week. Wish I could recommend it more enthusiastically because I'm a great admirer of Haynes' previous melodrama Far from Heaven and Blanchett is by some distance my favorite studio actress, but its politics are too problematic to be rendered secondary.
Let's set aside the highly implausible premise that an upper-class dame like Carol (played by Blanchett) would become the lover of a working-class ingenue like Therese (Rooney Mara) following a chance encounter (the very first sequence in fact). In the end whatever progressive leanings the film may claim turn out to be rather hollow, as the titular heroine (and she is indeed portrayed as such, even though she insists she isn't being a martyr during her child custody hearing) barely puts up a fight against the injustices visited upon her for being who she is and opts instead for expediency in both matters of love and parenthood. Therese hardly comes off as deserving of more respect as she possesses so little of it regarding herself, willing to go where the ride takes her (quite literally in the case of the climatic road trip West) with nary an initiative of her own. And though money isn't the movie's main concern--Therese's upward mobility from shopgirl to NYT photographer is largely glossed over and has little effect on the eventual hopeful outcome, though it could be argued, not convincingly, that it is this very upward mobility of hers that makes her a better fit for Carol in the end--one could also describe the two protagonists' relationship as transactional (there's no need to clarify who paid for the trip), or at least as one that began thus, however unknowingly.
I've yet to read the Patricia Highsmith source novel and probably never will, so it's hard for me to say who should be taken to task for such glib hedonism. Also while I vastly prefer the forcible understatement of Blanchett to the insufferable Oscar-mongering of Meryl Streep, Cate comes perilously close to imitating her colleague here, her character's constant mystery offensive of velvety voice and come-hither gaze gradually overstaying its welcome until it becomes almost a self-parody (of course most of the critics ate it up). On the plus side Mara herself shows exemplary restraint as the charming, naive and vulnerable Therese.
Still, this is the best love story I've seen in the past year (it's easily got the steamiest sex scene, gay or straight--BTW Cate remains largely hidden, if there were ever any doubt about her A-list status, which inadvertently reveals the wide gap between Blanchett and Mara both on- and off-screen) and deserves to be seen beyond the queer body politic, definitely preferable to the PC earnestness and/or schmaltz of Suffragette and The Danish Girl. I just wish it were as illuminating as it is seductive. Also an honorary mention must be made of Carter Burwell's ravishing score, shades of Philip Glass but with superior melodic invention:
Despite his association with the Coen brothers Burwell is not yet a household name, and while I'm not sure his score deserves an Oscar (the whole thing is admittedly rather repetitive, which means it doesn't escape its Glassian influence entirely) I'll be rooting for it just to remedy this situation. Recommended viewing and listening, despite said reservations.
Tarantino was right to protest the police violence, but he can't possibly pretend to be an entertainer only when he hasn't at all discouraged the depressingly widespread discussion of his films as "rewritten history" worthy of serious analysis. For his last two execrable movies (have yet to see The Hateful Eight) he takes fascism (in fact its virulent form there is) and slavery and out of these two most serious subjects weaves childish revenge fantasies that he invites his audience not only to laugh but to cheer about. And of course he peppers all his works with indiscriminately offensive language and cartoonish violence (quite literally in the Kill Bill series), both of which have earned raves from the supposedly grown-up critics. (I'm still waiting to hear what's so edifying about the on-screen brutality of Reservoir Dogs, which strikes me nothing more than an infantile middle finger to the movie conventions.)
So Tarantino indeed deserves our scorn and charges of hypocrisy, but so does the same press that bemoans the sad state of affairs which it itself has contributed to.
Given their infatuation with Meryl Streep it was only a matter of time before the Academy warmed up to DiCaprio's histrionics. And in the same year they showed Tarantino with an Oscar for the aforementioned kiddie revenge flick Django Unchained they named the almost equally repulsive and xenophobic Argo the year's "Best Picture." Unfortunately giving a fat stamp of approval to "history" and short shrift to the "others" is the Academy's stock in trade.
Let's set aside the highly implausible premise that an upper-class dame like Carol (played by Blanchett) would become the lover of a working-class ingenue like Therese (Rooney Mara) following a chance encounter (the very first sequence in fact). In the end whatever progressive leanings the film may claim turn out to be rather hollow, as the titular heroine (and she is indeed portrayed as such, even though she insists she isn't being a martyr during her child custody hearing) barely puts up a fight against the injustices visited upon her for being who she is and opts instead for expediency in both matters of love and parenthood. Therese hardly comes off as deserving of more respect as she possesses so little of it regarding herself, willing to go where the ride takes her (quite literally in the case of the climatic road trip West) with nary an initiative of her own. And though money isn't the movie's main concern--Therese's upward mobility from shopgirl to NYT photographer is largely glossed over and has little effect on the eventual hopeful outcome, though it could be argued, not convincingly, that it is this very upward mobility of hers that makes her a better fit for Carol in the end--one could also describe the two protagonists' relationship as transactional (there's no need to clarify who paid for the trip), or at least as one that began thus, however unknowingly.
I've yet to read the Patricia Highsmith source novel and probably never will, so it's hard for me to say who should be taken to task for such glib hedonism. Also while I vastly prefer the forcible understatement of Blanchett to the insufferable Oscar-mongering of Meryl Streep, Cate comes perilously close to imitating her colleague here, her character's constant mystery offensive of velvety voice and come-hither gaze gradually overstaying its welcome until it becomes almost a self-parody (of course most of the critics ate it up). On the plus side Mara herself shows exemplary restraint as the charming, naive and vulnerable Therese.
Still, this is the best love story I've seen in the past year (it's easily got the steamiest sex scene, gay or straight--BTW Cate remains largely hidden, if there were ever any doubt about her A-list status, which inadvertently reveals the wide gap between Blanchett and Mara both on- and off-screen) and deserves to be seen beyond the queer body politic, definitely preferable to the PC earnestness and/or schmaltz of Suffragette and The Danish Girl. I just wish it were as illuminating as it is seductive. Also an honorary mention must be made of Carter Burwell's ravishing score, shades of Philip Glass but with superior melodic invention:
Despite his association with the Coen brothers Burwell is not yet a household name, and while I'm not sure his score deserves an Oscar (the whole thing is admittedly rather repetitive, which means it doesn't escape its Glassian influence entirely) I'll be rooting for it just to remedy this situation. Recommended viewing and listening, despite said reservations.
Tarantino was right to protest the police violence, but he can't possibly pretend to be an entertainer only when he hasn't at all discouraged the depressingly widespread discussion of his films as "rewritten history" worthy of serious analysis. For his last two execrable movies (have yet to see The Hateful Eight) he takes fascism (in fact its virulent form there is) and slavery and out of these two most serious subjects weaves childish revenge fantasies that he invites his audience not only to laugh but to cheer about. And of course he peppers all his works with indiscriminately offensive language and cartoonish violence (quite literally in the Kill Bill series), both of which have earned raves from the supposedly grown-up critics. (I'm still waiting to hear what's so edifying about the on-screen brutality of Reservoir Dogs, which strikes me nothing more than an infantile middle finger to the movie conventions.)
So Tarantino indeed deserves our scorn and charges of hypocrisy, but so does the same press that bemoans the sad state of affairs which it itself has contributed to.
Given their infatuation with Meryl Streep it was only a matter of time before the Academy warmed up to DiCaprio's histrionics. And in the same year they showed Tarantino with an Oscar for the aforementioned kiddie revenge flick Django Unchained they named the almost equally repulsive and xenophobic Argo the year's "Best Picture." Unfortunately giving a fat stamp of approval to "history" and short shrift to the "others" is the Academy's stock in trade.
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Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Bagumbawalla
Talk Tennis Guru
We just saw Carol. We live in the sticks and it takes a while fore some movies to reach us. The movie was slow and sad and kind of dreamlike. In general I tend to avoid movies that set out to explore some aspect or segment of society, but I think, this was not that kind of realism. Reality is often repressed and subtly revealed in the symbols of dreams- it was more like that- like a glacier of sadness moving across some forbidden land. I almost enjoyed it.
Sounds great,I'll get around to it eventually...45 Years - nice movie. For adults. Recommended for mature audiences
A couple are about to have their 45th anniversary and something crops up threatening to come between them.
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
Was unaware until watching this movie there were table tennis clubs in NYC.
stringertom
Bionic Poster
Begin Again !
A real joy of a film about music, friendships and relationships, all set in NYC!
A real joy of a film about music, friendships and relationships, all set in NYC!
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Far from Heaven (2002) - Julianne_Moore, Dennis_Quaid, Dennis_Haysbert, Patricia_Clarkson
4 Oscar nominations. Enjoyed the movie.
Thanx for the recommendation.
4 Oscar nominations. Enjoyed the movie.
Thanx for the recommendation.
NonP
Legend
Why We Fight by Eugene Jarecki. Could serve as a useful primer for a complete novice (which I hope none of us are), and one could argue its frustratingly long time in development limbo alone is the ultimate validation of its thesis, but I can't see any mildly informed citizen being enlightened rather than marginally further informed by this well-intentioned but haphazard documentary. Pass.
No problemo. BTW I was going to post my contribution to your "Best Films of 2015" thread after catching Jafar Panahi's Taxi at the NGA (which I missed earlier while it was still playing in indie theaters) and some of the other titles I've yet to see, but the damn blizzard (one of the biggest ever in my area) and of course work and the ongoing AO completely ruined my plans. I'll definitely try to share my thoughts before the Oscars.
No problemo. BTW I was going to post my contribution to your "Best Films of 2015" thread after catching Jafar Panahi's Taxi at the NGA (which I missed earlier while it was still playing in indie theaters) and some of the other titles I've yet to see, but the damn blizzard (one of the biggest ever in my area) and of course work and the ongoing AO completely ruined my plans. I'll definitely try to share my thoughts before the Oscars.
Bagumbawalla
Talk Tennis Guru
Saw Brooklyn- a moody little film about another place and time- which may never have actually existed.
stringertom
Bionic Poster
Poobs' underwear?...please use protection!
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
I thought that was The Big Circus Tent !Poobs' underwear?...please use protection!
Will definitely wear a mask, and be careful not to slip on the holy skidmarks.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
A heist movie ? Wow !!!
stringertom
Bionic Poster
The garment he wears over his manbra is the Big Tent. mrs sureshs shrinks it all the time so the Vortexians can marvel at his rippling core and conscious action shoulders.
Yep,and the other day watched The Friends Of Eddie Coyle (1973) another great movie along the same lines. Now,I can't get to sleep after Angie's exciting win in the AO,so watching Cabin In The Woods (2012)
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Thanks again for the recommendation. Will be sure to watch these two perhaps after the Oscars are over.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Yes, those manly tires that shake like jelly as he glides across the court.The garment he wears over his manbra is the Big Tent. mrs sureshs shrinks it all the time so the Vortexians can marvel at his rippling core and conscious action shoulders.
"The Sexy Beast" my gorgeous wife calls him !!!
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Steve Jobs (2015) - d. by Danny Boyle. Cast: Michael_Fassbender, Kate_Winslet, Seth_Rogen, Jeff_Daniels
i saw Steve Jobs last night. Turned out to be more about his relationship with his daughter and Woz.
Became a Soap Opera by the end.
Quite a waste of time. Painted him very poorly, i almost thought it was about Bill Gates who treated his employees badly abusing them no end.
I absolutely did not recognize Kate Winslet !!
i saw Steve Jobs last night. Turned out to be more about his relationship with his daughter and Woz.
Became a Soap Opera by the end.
Quite a waste of time. Painted him very poorly, i almost thought it was about Bill Gates who treated his employees badly abusing them no end.
I absolutely did not recognize Kate Winslet !!
vive le beau jeu !
Talk Tennis Guru
at last i saw it ! 
D
Deleted member 688153
Guest
Dirty Grandpa lol
rainingaces
Legend
Grosse point blank - I thought it was going to be funny but alas, too much Cusack and Driver, not enough Aykroyd.
Hateful 8 was pitiful, the story was nowhere near good enough to sustain the 2:30 mins and an intermission. The N word was not as out of place in Django as if was here, the characters were uninteresting and unlikeable.
Hateful 8 was pitiful, the story was nowhere near good enough to sustain the 2:30 mins and an intermission. The N word was not as out of place in Django as if was here, the characters were uninteresting and unlikeable.
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
How is The Big Short a comedy?
It had some comedic moments,like when they said that Asian character couldn't speak English and then he turned to the camera and corrected it "Oh,actually I do speak English...."
The Inbetweeners Movie (2011). Never saw the series,maybe it would have helped. I didn't like this at all...
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
"And I am actually not Chinese, but Korean (or whatever)"
I don't remember if i laughed or not, but it certainly has frightened me about my investments in various funds, I am gonna call the bank reps and have my Mutual Funds and Equities moved to Fixed Deposits, and if they ask me why, I'll just ask them to see The BS.
Ronaldo
Bionic Poster
And when you see that bank statement and you are getting an annual rate of 0.05%, they show you The BS.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
I couldn't agree more.
tipsa...don'tlikehim!
Talk Tennis Guru
3 idiots - indian movie
really good and funny, kind of movie which can cheer you up
I think it is the first time I ever watched a comedy this long (2 hours 50 minutes)
Good actors too (except the mean teacher)
really good and funny, kind of movie which can cheer you up
I think it is the first time I ever watched a comedy this long (2 hours 50 minutes)
Good actors too (except the mean teacher)
stringertom
Bionic Poster
The Imitation Game...perhaps one of the best films this decade!
"Sometimes it's the very people who no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine."
"Sometimes it's the very people who no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine."
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Was this about Federer imitating Suresh or the other way round, I can never remember.
How true the bolded was. We imagined nothing of sureshs in 2005, and see where he is now. Unparalleled fame and popularity.
stringertom
Bionic Poster
Please do not belittle the heroic story of Alan Turing with comparisons to our present day Falstaff. Neither you or I would be communicating on this board without the genius of this man, who was persecuted as a boy and then chemically castrated only a decade after saving his country from the tyranny of Hitler, all because of his sexual preference.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
D
Deleted member 733170
Guest
Saw Youth with Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel. I enjoyed this quirky film enormously.
Saw the Big Short the other day too and thought the acting for the most part was superb.
Going to see Spotlight over the weekend.
Saw the Big Short the other day too and thought the acting for the most part was superb.
Going to see Spotlight over the weekend.
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
I didn't care for it either. Turned it off about 30 minutes in or so.
Of course that's better than train wreck. I turned that **** off about 6 minutes into the movie or so. That's an all time record for me as far as bailing on movies is concerned.
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
Loved The Departed, one of my favorites. I just love the scene at the end with Mark Wahlberg showing up. I dream of being that bad ass.
Prometheus I thought was really meh. I didn't care for it.
Haven't seen The Revenant yet, but it looks pretty good. Leo seldom does a bad movie.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
thanks for warning me about train wreck.
My elder bro told me that I should watch Mad Max in the theater, then i will enjoy it, it's fun. I cannot imagine how a movie I could not get through even 30 minutes of, would suddenly be fun in the theater !
