What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[captainkev]

finally got round to watching X-Men: First Class

Ive really got into the superhero films recently, and finally got time to watch this on sky movies, thoroughly enjoyed the film from start to finish, thought the characters were excellent especially kevein bacon as Sebastian shaw, he certainly gave the aura of a villain

The action scenes were good (especially liked the training part in xaviers mansions lol) and the chemistry between mcavoy and fassbender really does set it up for another couple of films

My only gripe was the inclusion of jackamn as wolverine, to me it felt like they were simply pandering to the wolverine fans as if that would change their opinion of the film, there was no need for him to be there (going by some of the history wolverine was in the army i believe at the time setting of the film)

But it was only a fleeting moment and didnt impact the film whatsoever 9/10 for me

In any other superhero reboot it might have been pandering but I felt it was a nicely done cameo and showed that the filmmakers were confident enough in the direction they were going that they could include this little scene and have it get a laugh without it derailing the film. I suppose one fairly valid argument against it though is that it means we are yet to have an X-Men film without Wolverine appearing at some point.

All in all that scene just furthers my impression that Hugh Jackman is a pretty sound guy who enjoys playing Wolverine so much that he's willing to come in just for a 20 second cameo.

I also agree with 9/10 for First Class. It's a pretty great X-Men film, especially considering their pretty much working with the lesser known X-Men outside of Xavier, Magneto and Mystique. Hell, even the villains are some of the X-Men's less well known bad guys in mainstream culture.

[DomDom]

I thought that wee scene was terrific. A funnier moment than you see in most comedies.

[Ned Nederlander]

Just back from Les Miserables 11/10 Brilliant !

[Sloop John B]

I watched Pulp Fiction again, it is probably my favourite movie ever.

10/10

[Christophe]

Safe House 9/10.

I loved it, 24 mixed up with a bit of Bourne and sprinkled alll over liberablly with Training Day. Personally I can't ge enough of Denzil, one of THE movie greats of our time. Stole EVERY scene.

Best car chase since Bullet we reckon?

[Bert Raccoon]

Killing Them Softly - Not a bad film and a decent cast but it only lasted around an hour and a half and not much happened.It also had three actors from The Sopranos in it yet I feel more interesting things have happened in single episodes of The Sopranos than happened in this film. Worth a watch but nothing special.

6/10

[The Rant 83]

Safe House 9/10.

I loved it, 24 mixed up with a bit of Bourne and sprinkled alll over liberablly with Training Day. Personally I can't ge enough of Denzil, one of THE movie greats of our time. Stole EVERY scene.

Best car chase since Bullet we reckon?

hated the film and I cant even put all the blame on ryan reynolds which is a shame - plot went nowhere and denzel looked bored throughout

[The Rant 83]

just watched Layer Cake

funny to see the future Bane,Bond,Q & Derek Branning in the same film haha

[The Rant 83]

just watched Layer Cake

funny to see the future Bane,Bond,Q & Derek Branning in the same film haha

and the future michael moon lol

[forehead7]

My only gripe was the inclusion of jackamn as wolverine, to me it felt like they were simply pandering to the wolverine fans as if that would change their opinion of the film, there was no need for him to be there (going by some of the history wolverine was in the army i believe at the time setting of the film)

I wouldn't examine the timeline of those films too much, they're all supposed to be part of the same universe (the three X-Men films, Wolverine Origins and First Class) yet you see Professor X in a wheelchair at the end of First Class as young, James McAvoy but then he's walking at the end of Wolverine as old, Patrick Stewart (with First Class taking place like 20 years before Wolverine).

I suppose one fairly valid argument against it though is that it means we are yet to have an X-Men film without Wolverine appearing at some point.

I don't see the problem with that, he's probably their biggest character (X-Men's) so it makes sense to use him in all their films and have a lot of the story revolve around him.

[The OP]

Seven Psychopaths - I thought In Bruges was brilliant but I was very disappointed by this. The funny moments were pretty rare, the meta stuff didn't really work and aside from the meta stuff it's just a poor man's version of Snatch or something. It did have its moments, and it was quirky, but it fell short of 'funny and quirky' or 'cool and quirky'. 6/10

Django Unchained - Already a thread. I'll generously say 9/10 because the performances were great, the dialogue was great and it was thrill-a-minute, but it's all about tension and suchlike so probably lacks rewatchability, and the last half hour or so bring the film down a bit.

[captainkev]

I don't see the problem with that, he's probably their biggest character (X-Men's) so it makes sense to use him in all their films and have a lot of the story revolve around him.

Agreed Wolverine is probably the most well known X-Men character but I just think there is a danger of over-using him as well. On some level I'd like to see an X-Men film which doesn't feature Wolverine at all to prove that you don't need to have him in an X-Men film. Although, his influence im First Class is so minimal that I suppose you could argue that has almost already happened.

[Dariusz]

hated the film and I cant even put all the blame on ryan reynolds which is a shame - plot went nowhere and denzel looked bored throughout

Agree with this. Denzel has made a few shite films recently, Safe House being one of them. Also, at least half an hour too long.

[forehead7]

Agreed Wolverine is probably the most well known X-Men character but I just think there is a danger of over-using him as well. On some level I'd like to see an X-Men film which doesn't feature Wolverine at all to prove that you don't need to have him in an X-Men film. Although, his influence im First Class is so minimal that I suppose you could argue that has almost already happened.

True, but they've had Professor X in all of them (maybe not Last Stand actually, can't remember when he died).

I would say that First Class was 99.9% an X-Men film without Wolverine.

[Uncle Psychosis]

I've watched a few things recently:

Back To The Future 10/10. One of the best films ever, faultless family fun.

The Bone Collector 1/10. I didn't think it would be good, but I didn't think it would be this bad either. The plot is beyond belief and there are absolutely no twists you can't guess. I knew who the killer was after about 15 minutes.

Iron Sky 7/10. A strange film, this. In many ways its utterly brilliant but in many ways its utter crap too. But not in a consistent way---its like it was written by committee. Some of the jokes are brilliant, some of them are awful. Some of the dialogue is really good, some of it is terrible. Some of the plot is really clever, other bits don't make sense at all. What I will say, though, is that its an absolutely glorious looking film. Whoever did the design work for this deserves an Oscar---seriously---because all of the Nazi sets and spaceships are utterly believable and brilliantly designed. Well worth seeing, but ultimately a bit frustrating.

[The Real Saints]

Silver Linings Playbook - Not the type of film I would expect to be a nominee for major Best Film awards. On the surface, it's just a cute romantic story with no pretensions. However, the script is highly intelligent, combining humour with darker drama and an element of sadness. It's certainly a step above your typical 'rom-com'. Considering that the main protagonists are far from normal and have many underlying issues, it is remarkably easy to sympathise with and relate to them, no doubt due to the excellent performances of Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence (the former putting in his best movie performance to date, in my opinion). It has to be mentioned that Jennifer Lawrence is also a highly attractive lady which increased my overall enjoyment of the film. It goes without saying that De Niro was great.

So.. worthy of winning the big awards? I'm not sure. I thought Life of Pi was brilliant to look at and told a nice story. It is probably a better film overall, but I would say I enjoyed Silver Linings Playbook a little bit more. If you know what I mean. I guess there's a difference between 'great' films and 'favourite' films. I will rate them both the same for bringing different things to the table. 8/10

[Christophe]

Another Earth - Indie schmindie film about a girl who kills a man's wife and son in a drunk driving incident and then after serving her sentence, goes to apologise to the man (who had been in a coma) but chickens out and they get to know each other and fall in love, all the time the dreadful secret hanging over their relationship. Set against the backdrop of the emergence of a mirror planet earth in the sky. Quite engaging. 8/10

Girl Who Played With Fire - Nowhere near as good as the first one, loads of stuff left hanging which i assume is wrapped up in the third one. Never read the books. 7/10

Duffer - The main character is a misfit and a loner. His mother died, there's abuse inferred. He's about 18, flitters between prostitute of faded glamour and an abusive older male 'lover', a sadistic artist whose abuse he rationalises. This is way more than S&M, this is what happens in squalor when mental illness and poverty and withdrawal from the normal world occurs. The lover wants Duffer to have a baby, tests him to see if he's pregnant. There is a memorable and horrific sequence that brings this scenario to a head. A small film, brilliantly shot in B&W and with a stunning soundtrack and inventive and effective sound design throughout. Recommended 8/10

[DomDom]

Dredd ( 2012 )

All sorts of fun. Some real brutality. I thought it was a little excessive at times with the gore, but given that this is pretty much a boys with toys movie, that can be forgiven. Karl Urban seemed to be trying to do his best Clint Eastwood impression under the helmet. Not much else that can be said really, other than it's a fun way to spend 90 minutes if you're looking for a big dumb action movie.

7/10

[yoda]

Django Unchained

Better than all of Tarantino's recent efforts (Kill Bill Vol.I/II, Death Proof, and Inglorious Basterds) but falling short of his first three films (we'll ignore Four Rooms). I was apprehensive about this, particularly given my reaction to Inglorious.

Definitely worth seeing and the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor (having seen 4/5) is a toss-up between Waltz and Hoffman. Waltz is terrific - once again - and Tarantino must be praised for bringing him to our attention. DiCaprio was equally as good (where is his nod?), especially when he's taken out of his comfort zone and given a new type of role. I loved both of their performances. I'm not a big fan of Jamie Foxx but he did well enough although he was overshadowed by the aforementioned duo and the hilarious Samuel L. Jackson (unlike Brad Pitt in Inglorious, he didn't grate or become annoying despite obviously having fun in the role)

The topic of violence now. I didn't mind it (certainly not as bad as Lawless IMO) and there was only one scene (I won't give anything away when I say it involves brief flashbacks) that I found a bit uncomfortable regarding the violence.

The dialogue was excellent. I like Tarantino's trademark camera shots. Soundtrack complimented the film. Very funny in parts and did what it set out to do: entertaining in a typical Tarantino style.

My only complaint was:

Django's revenge after the shoot-out at Candie Land was a bit too drawn out. After Tarantino appears (and what the f**k was that accent about?) I found the film beginning to drag. Fortunately it was at the end and not in the middle (like, for example, The Dark Knight Rises) but that whole last act could have been shortened significantly for the benefit of the film as a whole.

So, in conclusion:

8/10

[DomDom]

The Expendables 2 ( 2012 )

Another fun action romp to go along with what I watched earlier. Not without it's problems of course. Arnie isn't on screen long, and he still manages to drag things down by being utterly shit. Yu Nan isn't much better and she dominates a LOT of screen time. Thought JCVD was pretty good as the main villain, and Bruce Willis had a lot of menace about him when he was on screen too. As for the action and fighting, there's plenty of it here. Which is fine, because that's why anyone would be watching this stuff in the first place. Some horrific one liners just add to the cheese value of things.

EDIT: Oh, and while the Chuck Norris inclusion seemed a bit forced, didn't stop it being quite a lot of fun.

6/10

Edited January 20, 2013 by DomDom