[Focker]

Hey guys...glad to see the movie talk is still flowin' in here!
 
Some recent scores from yours truly: 
 
"No Escape"...critics did NOT like this, but the people did. Unrealistic as hell, but I admit, I was entertained in a big way. 7.9/10
 
"Paterson"...I'm biased. Jim Jarmusch is my favorite director. 8.7/10
 
"Love and Mercy"...Cusack was a bad choice....just could never stop thinking it was Lloyd Dobler after a medical event. Still, good film. 7.5/10
 
"Arrival"...FAR more involved and complex than I expected going in...I really enjoyed this one a lot...8.3/10
 
"Bluejay"...This is my surprise of the past month or so. Sarah Paulson is so adorable. This is the type of indy relationship film I love. 9.3/10
 
"Sing Street"...another indy surprise that I really fell in love with. The kind of film that has you cheering for the characters. 9.2/10
 
"Loving"...a film I was very eager to see, but it felt disjointed and apathetic. A disappointing 7.1/10

 

[WraithApe]

Australia day yesterday!
 
Long Weekend - 3/10
 
I'm baffled by the relatively high score on IMDb for this one. An eco parable of sorts whereby a man and his wife take their poisonous relationship into nature and nature fights back. Mainly consists of the couple shouting at each other and committing various crimes against nature (at one point the man starts hacking a tree down and when his wife asks him why, replies 'why not'?) Things take a turn for the worse on their little camping expedition and they end up being attacked by eagles, spiders and other assorted beasties until they both get their comeuppance. Two very unsympathetic characters who can't disappear soon enough make for a long hour and a half.
 
Dead End Drive-In - 5/10
 
First in a Brian Trenchard-Smith double bill. In a dystopian near future, two teens go to the drive-in only to find out it's a holding zone for the unemployed and they can't get out again. None of it makes much sense and clunky (if oddly prescient) social commentary abounds but it's also trashy and uber-80s enough to make it an entertaining watch.
 
Turkey Shoot - 5/10
 
Does exactly what it says on the tin. A group of inmates at a futuristic rehabilitation camp are released into the wild as game for the sadistic camp leaders to hunt down. It's fast-paced, though pretty terribly acted, so struggles to rise above the level of diverting trash. If you actually want to watch a good film in this mould, see Battle Royale.
 
The Marsupials: The Howling III - 1/10
 
It's quite a feat to make a film worse than Howling II but Philippe Mora and co manage to pull it off. Possibly the lamest werewolf movie ever made. Nothing that happens makes sense, the acting and editing are excruciating. It tries to find an ending about half a dozen times in the space of the final quarter of an hour, each attempt worse than the other. To add insult to injury it invents a mega-face-palm variation on the werewolf mythos: marsupial man, whereby the female of the species has a furry abdominal pouch in which she rears her young. So bad it's bad. Really bad.

 

[vwinter]

Hey guys...glad to see the movie talk is still flowin' in here!

Some recent scores from yours truly:

"Arrival"...FAR more involved and complex than I expected going in...I really enjoyed this one a lot...8.3/10

Still bummed about missing this in theaters =/

Australia day yesterday!

Long Weekend - 3/10

I'm baffled by the relatively high score on IMDb for this one. An eco parable of sorts whereby a man and his wife take their poisonous relationship into nature and nature fights back. Mainly consists of the couple shouting at each other and committing various crimes against nature (at one point the man starts hacking a tree down and when his wife asks him why, replies 'why not'?) Things take a turn for the worse on their little camping expedition and they end up being attacked by eagles, spiders and other assorted beasties until they both get their comeuppance. Two very unsympathetic characters who can't disappear soon enough make for a long hour and a half.

Anyone else picture Harrison Ford here when they read this bolded part?

Then I click on the IMDb link and from the tiny photo on my phone, in profile, the lead kind of resembles Ford.

 

[serman005]

The Great Wall, 6.5/10, starring Matt Damon and the stunningly beautiful Jing Tian. Monster movie period piece that is spectacularly beautiful to behold, but lacking in story line and plot development. One of the most amazing movies visually I've seen in recent years, but in the end, the simple story line lets the film down.

 

[Hutnicks]

Man Down (2015) 3.5/10
 
  One of those films that sat in the can for two years and got shot out to net and dvd release without ever seeing a theatre. Rightly so. Shia and Kate Mara would be starving to death now if this was thier first film What advertises as some form of sci fier psycho drama turns out to be a knock off of the zillion Crazy Viet Nam vet films that polluted the late 70's and early 80's updated for Afghanistan /Iran. Pretentiously trying to assert itself as some form of veterans advocacy film it in fact does just the opposite aided in its unintentional cause by some of the most miserable acting ever committed to film. Mara you just don't care about, the kid you don't even get to know, LaBeef is just a redneck hick with the IQ of a rotting turnip.

 

[mutabor]

  Hey guys...glad to see the movie talk is still flowin' in here!

 
You used to be pretty active on this thread.
 
Interesting documentary. Americans can't adopt Kazakh children anymore because of Putin and his anti-American politics. Kazakhstan has to play by the same rules as Russia.
 

 

[Focker]

   
You used to be pretty active on this thread.
 
 

 
Yes indeed! Good to see you  I went on a self-imposed hiatus last year when I was in the process of buying a house...the temptation was just too great and I didn't trust myself lol
 
Glad to be back, cause I really enjoy the movie talk, especially with regulars like yourself, tdock, and others. 

 

[tdockweiler]

Lion - 10/10
 
I'll be perfectly happy if this or "Hacksaw Ridge" wins Best Picture at the Oscars.
 
 
Too bad that that really unfunny "comedian" is hosting them. I'll try to mute the TV whenever he's talking.
 
PS I hope Andrew Garfield wins best actor. "Sully" also deserved more nominations.

 

[mutabor]

   
PS I hope Andrew Garfield wins best actor.

 
There is already a consensus who will win "best actor" award. It will be either Casey Affleck ( Manchester by the Sea) or Denzel Washington ( Fences).
 
Best Picture: either Moonlight or La La Land.

 

[Focker]

I get the feeling La La Land is going to be sort of similar to Birdman, in the sense that critics really appreciate the artistry and technical merit, but many will find the story sort of abstract and borderline boring. For those who have seen both, is that accurate at all? Or am I way off base? 

 

[mutabor]

  I get the feeling La La Land is going to be sort of similar to Birdman, in the sense that critics really appreciate the artistry and technical merit, but many will find the story sort of abstract and borderline boring. For those who have seen both, is that accurate at all? Or am I way off base? 

 
La La Land is a down-to-Earth musical. It is not academic or abstract. What is interesting is how the director retro style and romanticism of old musicals incarnates in modern times.

 

[Focker]

   
La La Land is a down-to-Earth musical. It is not academic or abstract. What is interesting is how the director retro style and romanticism of old musicals incarnates in modern times.

 
Oh really? Some of the criticisms Ive read seemed to indicate it was fantastical in certain aspects...maybe I'm thinking of the wrong movie

 

[Hutnicks]

  Lion - 10/10
 
I'll be perfectly happy if this or "Hacksaw Ridge" wins Best Picture at the Oscars.
 
 
Too bad that that really unfunny "comedian" is hosting them. I'll try to mute the TV whenever he's talking.
 
PS I hope Andrew Garfield wins best actor. "Sully" also deserved more nominations.

Do the smart thing.Catch a film or two and read the results the following morning.

 

[mutabor]

My bet on the Oscars winners
 
Best Picture - Moonlight
 
Actor in a Leading Role - Denzel Washington ( Supporting Role - Mahershala Ali)
 
Actress in a Leading Role - Emma Stone ( Supporting Role - Viola Davis)
 
Best Director - Damien Chazelle ( La La Land)
 
Best Foreign Film - The Salesman ( Asghar Farhadi)
 
Best Animation Film - Zootopia
 
Best Original Screenplay - Manchester by the Sea

 

[WraithApe]

Anyone else picture Harrison Ford here when they read this bolded part?

Then I click on the IMDb link and from the tiny photo on my phone, in profile, the lead kind of resembles Ford.

 
I'm sure Harrison Ford would've made it at least twice as good as it was 

 Were you thinking of him in The Mosquito Coast by any chance?