What is the last movie you saw? and rate it.

Brazil
8/10

Orwellian mystery, plus film noir, times Tom Stoppard, to the power of Terry Gilliam, equals awesome. I've meant to see this movie for years, and I finally did last night. It was very good, but Gilliam suffers from the same ailment as Tim Burton; good at visuals, bad at people-directing. They also didn't have the budget to make it as good as it could have been, and as a result some of the sets were very cardboard-y. The running theme of Brazil is never explained, either, because they didn't have the money to film the opening sequence of the Brazilian rain forest being cut down.

BUT: It doesn't have a happy ending! :banana: Leading up to the final sequence, this was me:

Me: But that doesn't make any sense.
My B/f: Shut up. It will.
Me: But I don't like her!
My B/f: Shut up.
Me: But I hate happy endings!
My B/f: Shut up.

Anyway, he was right, and I would say it's the most satisfying ending to a movie that I have ever seen, so I'm happy. :D

I just finished watching Ingmar Bergman's "Wild Strawberries".

It was not quite what I expected, having seen a good few Bergman films before - the ending was almost happy! It is one of those films that I'll need to watch again. Several agains probably. There is a lot that hasn't sunk in yet.

It's the story of an old professor, travelling to receive an honoury degree, the people he meets along the way, his dreams, and his remeniscences. There is a lot of humanity in the film. A lot of tender moments.

I especially like the interaction between the prof and his housekeeper. It is so touchingly portrayed in the film. Theirs is a master/servant relationship that keeps overflowing into (almost) a husband/wife relationship. There is a moment near the end where they almost relax with each other, but then pull back. It's beautifully staged and acted.

The bitter middle-aged couple that they nearly collide with are brilliantly drawn too. "I'm sorry, it was entirely our fault. My wife was driving.", he says. "I was about to hit him when the bend appeared", she replies.

Man / woman relationships are a central theme in the film: The professor's with his housekeeper, (long deceased) wife, and also his childhood affair with his cousin, his son and daughter-in-law, the young hitch-hiker and her two suitors.

Bergman's films often remind me of James Joyce's short stories in "Dubliners" - they are beautifully drawn sketches of life, rewarding repeat viewings/readings and full of depths and textures, but, like life itself, they leave a lot unresolved. They may not be to the taste of those acclimatised to hollywood's "satisfactory" endings. In my opinion, this is a good thing!

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Originally Posted by emily655321

Anyway, he was right, and I would say it's the most satisfying ending to a movie that I have ever seen, so I'm happy. :D

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I second that.

We can only hope that one day soon Terry Gilliam is given both as much money as he needs and as much artistic license as he needs. To my mind, he's only ever been given one or the other.

Brazil is one of my favourite films - but..... think what could have been. :(

My boyfriend has seen the producer's own cut of the film, which, thankfully, was not the one released. He chopped it up, gave it a happy ending, and, according to the boy, filled it with "bad dubbings of a Robert DeNiro impersonator saying inspirational things." :lol:

I'm not looking forward to the Brothers Grimm, myself. Not sure if I'll go see it. I know it's been years of uphill struggling to get it made, but what I've heard is that by the time they got the funding, there were too many hands in the project, and it's not at all as it was first envisioned. Very Hollywood-ed-up. The trailers I've seen seem to confirm this.

I have much better hopes for "Tideland". Apparantly a lot of the US test audience walked out - always a good sign! ;)

I've just finished The Ringer. My stomach is still aching me with loughter. I like the it.

Tristan & Isolde! Bad reviews but good performances and the most gorgeous men! For that alone my girls and I thought about seeing it a second time. But James Franco’s dark brooding smoldering looks are worth it too. Good romance, decent action, handsome men and a pretty girl to play the lead – what more could one ask for? 3 out of 5

The last movie I saw was “Rushmore” – not a very recent film but I hadn’t seen it before, very funny! I really liked the relationship between Bill Murray’s character, a chain-smoking slob, and his two super-strong athletic sons who are on the wrestling team. At one point Bill Murray says in despair/confusion, “I never thought I’d have sons who are like that” – they have nothing at all in common. This made me laugh because when I was younger I always thought that my parents were the problem – for me, it was all about how I didn’t get along with them. Then as I got older I began to realize that there were probably moments when they didn’t really think much of me either. Maybe there were times when they looked at me and thought, “How come it's grown up into this thing”.

Batman. (The Tim Burton one.)

Blech! :sick: So bad it was funny.

Chicken Little, nothing to say. I was not in a good mood yesterday when I saw it. It's a movie like many others.

Replacement Killers - I don't even remember picking this movie out, but it was my next netflix pic. It was pretty good, your usual action film. I really like Chow Yun Fat, so for him I give it 7/10.

I have just finished seeing of "Heards in Atlantis"
It's wonderful :)
9,5/10

The New World

Typical of Malick it's a meditation far more than it's a narrative. The subject this time: America.

This is probably TM's most ambitious film, even more so than The Thin Red Line (which is brilliant). He may be trying to cover too much, and I don't say that lightly because I'm a huge fan of his work.

The visuals are everything you would expect; the voiceover is used to good effect (but it will probably offend many viewers as it did in TRL). Acting performances are solid if not exceptional. Bales probaby turns in the most nuanced performance in his short time on screen.

The ideas are all those we would expect from the Great American Novel: loss of innocence, the pursuit and corruption of dreams, love and hope, even something of the search for identity.

I give it a 9.

I watched Wrong Turn. which is a horror movie and I love scary movies. It was not bad. I can fairly well remember that I was unable to have a goodnight sleep that night after when I watched it.

I will give it 7/10.

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Originally Posted by trismegistus

The New World
I give it a 9.

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Hey there, I haven't seen you in a while, good to know you're still around. :)

The MAn. Funy funy funy. I like it.

Match Point.

It's a Woody Allen thriller, set in London.

I really liked this film.

My only point of contention is the too-obvious touristy locations, chosen just so that untravelled American viewers can recognise London - no-one between the ages of 12 and 65 goes to see the changing of the guard! But that aside, the pace of the plot builds nicely. You feel the noose of deception tightening around the central character all the way through.

The acting is solid throughout with some unusual cameos from British comedy actors, all in straight roles. There are only a couple of 'obvious' Woody Allen lines in the film, the most blatant is, "They made a great couple, their neuroses meshed perfectly."

There is an obviously Bergmanesque scene towards the end, complete with ghosts and Dostoevsky quotation. But the final plot twist is excellent. I won't give anything away but I feel I should have seen it coming, but I admit that I didn't.

The question is: is this a new direction for Woody Allen? Are we going to see more thrillers? Or is this a one-off before he returns to his usual neurotic comedy outings?

Either way, I can't wait for his next.

Oh, and PS, Scarlett Johansson is just aaaaaahhhhh :brow: :brow: :brow:

Just saw "Night Watch", and it knocked my socks off. Would you believe it's a Russian vampire/supernatural thriller with a US-style budget and a really smart script (based on a series of novels by Sergei Lukyanenko, which I'll have to search out and read). The plot is fairly original (perhaps too original - it does get a bit too complicated for its own good once or twice) and I found myself thinking of Neil Gaiman more than once. Oh, and there's a Buffy reference in there too, and not even a gratuitious one; it fits in perfectly with the plot. It's gritty, original, funny and overall a very pleasant surprise. Oh, and it's the first in a trilogy, so I'm really hoping for more along the same lines... I'd rate it 8 out of 10, possibly 9.

"Memoirs of a Geisha" - Great film except for a few errors here and there and the terrible, terrible ending! A happy ending that was so out of place I couldn't believe it. So kitschy!

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Originally Posted by Xamonas Chegwe

Oh, and PS, Scarlett Johansson is just aaaaaahhhhh :brow: :brow: :brow:

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Xamonas, my boyfriend has a crush on Scarlett Johansson, too. :D And he wants to be the next Woody Allen, so we're definitely going to be seeing this one soon. Glad to hear good things!

Emily,

He's just going to love the pool table scene. Hang on to him tight!

Omen 1 and Omen 2; I liked them a lot. I will give:

Omen 1: 8/10
Omen 2: 9/10

Underworld 2, good, it's a good film.

I've just finished watching Nany Mcphee. Its a lovely movie. I don't know if there is a book about that, but anyway, I like it. It made me feel better or rather dreamy again.

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Originally Posted by adilyoussef

I've just finished watching Nany Mcphee. Its a lovely movie. I don't know if there is a book about that, but anyway, I like it. It made me feel better or rather dreamy again.

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Adilyoussef, it is based on a book and I think it's a series. The movie does look good.

Last movie I saw was:

Annapolis. The previews reminded me of Top Gun and an Officer and a Gentleman combined a bit but since I'm ex-Navy I was looking forward to this. It was an enjoyable way to spend an evening, nothing serious or deep but fun. Good fight scenes and I do like boxing. Gorgeous men with lovely bods and Jordana Brewster was simply beautiful. Overall a decent movie. No Top Gun but good. Maybe a 3 out of 5.

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Originally Posted by Darlin

Adilyoussef, it is based on a book and I think it's a series. The movie does look good.

Last movie I saw was:

Annapolis. The previews reminded me of Top Gun and an Officer and a Gentleman combined a bit but since I'm ex-Navy I was looking forward to this. It was an enjoyable way to spend an evening, nothing serious or deep but fun. Good fight scenes and I do like boxing. Gorgeous men with lovely bods and Jordana Brewster was simply beautiful. Overall a decent movie. No Top Gun but good. Maybe a 3 out of 5.

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Thank you for the information.

Caché (Hidden) directed by Michael Haneke

A strange film that leaves you rather puzzled at the end. I think Haneke uses some interesting techniques, such as the beginning of the film where you are unaware of what exactly it is you are watching. Fixed camera shots seem to contrast with the moving camera during the film, and Georges' flashbacks of his childhood are mostly seen through the 'eyes' of a fixed camera shot (this gave me the impression that movement of perspective and vision defines what is real in the film, and the fact that as an audience you are forever looking up at a screen that acts like a fixed camera shot gave me the feeling that the characters in the story are more real than the audience in the cinema). Anyway, I didn't come away from this film knowing what it was all about, and this has made think back to the film frequently.

I'd give it a high mark, maybe 8/10 but am not convinced by many of the British critical reviews, some of which rate the film as the best film so far this century.

War of the Worlds. 8/10. I like the way movies are nowadays, no classical hero.

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Originally Posted by atiguhya padma

Caché (Hidden) directed by Michael Haneke

A strange film that leaves you rather puzzled at the end. I think Haneke uses some interesting techniques, such as the beginning of the film where you are unaware of what exactly it is you are watching. Fixed camera shots seem to contrast with the moving camera during the film, and Georges' flashbacks of his childhood are mostly seen through the 'eyes' of a fixed camera shot (this gave me the impression that movement of perspective and vision defines what is real in the film, and the fact that as an audience you are forever looking up at a screen that acts like a fixed camera shot gave me the feeling that the characters in the story are more real than the audience in the cinema). Anyway, I didn't come away from this film knowing what it was all about, and this has made think back to the film frequently.

I'd give it a high mark, maybe 8/10 but am not convinced by many of the British critical reviews, some of which rate the film as the best film so far this century.

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Thanks for the post AP, I'm going to see it myself on Sunday, so I will add my views to yours after that - I'm glad you rate it so highly, it looks like I'll enjoy it.

Tristan and Isold. I love this kind of movies, romantic and ending up by death. Isn't it logic? Life is like that. Anyway, it's a lovely movie.

I watched Roman Holiday. I liked it a lot. It was very funny, interesting and light. I will give it 10/10.

I watched Erin Brockavitch, whatever the spelling is. Albert Finney is superb and even Erin herself said Julia did a stellar job with her true character.
I love David winning against Goliath. great. four out of five sparkly stars.

As I said I would above, I went to see Caché today. I agree with most of what atiguhya padma said about it. It is quite slow paced, but with a couple of genuinely shocking scenes. You are still not really sure what was going on at the end, but are left with a lot of ideas, theories and questions. The dialogues are very real and well written; the characterisation thorough; the camera work uncluttered.

I think I am going to need to see this film again. The DVD is on my shopping list.

The Transporter II. Even my magination could not conceive it. 5/10 to be nice.

The Sound Of Music - It is one of the best movies that I have ever seen. It was really nice. I enjoyed it a lot.

I will give it 11/10 :p

Titus - It was pretty good, very surreal. The only part I had a problem with was that the guy who played Saturnine was the same guy or a very good look alike to the guy that played the MC in Cabaret, and every time I saw him I was expecting him to break into song. But that might have been the intention...

8/10

He was the same actor (Alan Cumming). But I don't think that was the idea - not in the film I saw anyway. ;)

hmmm, he had that "cabaretesque" feel if you ask me - that huge chair, the orgies.....

The Chronicles of Narnia.
I loved the White Witch; though I kept thinking of the Borg Queen from Star Trek.
I think they did a wonderful job of one of my favorite childhood books. However, Aslan was a little bit too much of a pussycat.

9.5/10

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Originally Posted by Riesa

The Chronicles of Narnia.
I loved the White Witch; though I kept thinking of the Borg Queen from Star Trek.
I think they did a wonderful job of one of my favorite childhood books. However, Aslan was a little bit too much of a pussycat.

9.5/10

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Wow, Riesa, 9.5/10 is a pretty high score.

I am infuriated by this film because rather than correct the general public in thinking that The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is the first book, they enforced it! Why on earth didn't they do The Magician's Nephew first? It's a good book!

I didn't like the film. I think this is because my imagination was in overdrive while I read these books, and although they did, in fairness, do well, it's just too different from the way I saw things in my head. I read them fairly recently. I think I'll give myself a few years to forget the books; then I can give the film an honest go.