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

[qimissung]

Valkyrie I loved it. I watched it only at my son's suggestion. He is not a big Tom Cruise fan, but he was raving about this movie and now I see why. Cruise gave a very strong performance. I watched with bated breath and a knot in my stomach as these men risked their lives to stop what they perceived as a very great wrong.

Nazi Germany is always depicted as a place where everyone was complicit in the horror, so it was intriguing to another aspect of the place where everyone marched in lockstep. Cruise looks eerily like the man he played in the movie. I read that that was what interested him about the role. I'm sure some things were changed, but according to what I read the movie is fairly accurate, historically. I give it a 9/10.

[Nick Capozzoli]

I am almost embarassed to say that I loved Hangover. because the plot is so silly...three guys take their about to be married buddy to Las Vegas for night on the town that goes hilariously wrong when they all accidentally get doped with the "date rape" drug. The gags are adolescent and gross, but it all works on a more serious level. Think of a cross between Memento and Animal House.

[manolia]

knowing ---> uber-crap. two boring hours. the writers must die in a plane crash. they deserve it.

agreed

[Janine]

Valkyrie I loved it. I watched it only at my son's suggestion. He is not a big Tom Cruise fan, but he was raving about this movie and now I see why. Cruise gave a very strong performance. I watched with bated breath and a knot in my stomach as these men risked their lives to stop what they perceived as a very great wrong.

Nazi Germany is always depicted as a place where everyone was complicit in the horror, so it was intriguing to another aspect of the place where everyone marched in lockstep. Cruise looks eerily like the man he played in the movie. I read that that was what interested him about the role. I'm sure some things were changed, but according to what I read the movie is fairly accurate, historically. I give it a 9/10.

gimissung, I just watched Valkyrie a few nights ago; I even have the desire to see it agai, already. I thought it was great! I'm not a big fan of Tom Cruise's,either, not in recent years; but, I thought he did a superb job with this role. He does indeed resemble the real man. I read up on him online and also saw some clips on Youtube. This role suited Cruise well. I too, sat with bated breath and a knot in my stomach, as the story progressed. Of course, we all know the outcome pretty much from the beginning, because we know Hitler was not assasinate; it's the plot and how it all developed which is fascinating. It was really tense throughout, wasn't it? I found the whole intrigue wonderfully presented by the director, Brian Singer. The cinamatography was right-on and the cast was top-notch, just to name a few: Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkenson, and many other fine British actors I recognised by face and not necessarily by name. I won't fail to mention one prominent German actor; now his name eludes me, but he was in "The Pianist".

Everything you wrote in your second paragraph I fully agree with. It was interesting to see those in the military who did NOT subscribe to the Nazi way of thinking. There were some very brave men who fought to change the system and they died trying to; their efforts and memories should not go unknown or forgotten. I am glad they made this film; it showed me something I was not previously aware of.

[qimissung]

You always give such thorough reviews, Janine. I agree, the cast was absolutely top-notch. It was surprising how taut the script was given that we do know the outcome. It was such a huge undertaking. Apparently it's true that the briefcase was moved only moments before the bomb inside went off, and that the move, only a few inches, was enough to save Hitler.

Spoiler:I got chills at the end when Cruises' character shouts out "Long live sacred Germany" as he was executed.

[grace86]

I rented Valkyrie and Traitor the other night.

Valkyrie I agree was awesome 10/10 for me. I think Tom Cruise did an awesome job.

Traitor was a good movie too, though at some points I wish there was a little more. 9/10.

In the movie theater I saw The Proposal. I thought it was really good. And I love Sandra Bullock. Pretty clean movie too. 10/10.

[Janine]

Thanks, gimissung. You are always so complimentary towards me. I like to read your reviews, too. I have a few other movies I recently watched and will be commenting on. I am going to add this to what you wrote:

SPOILER, so we don't give too much away for those who wish to see the film. Hope you don't mind my stepping in here. 'taut' is a good word for the script. Unfortunately, my library's copy of the DVD didn't have any extras on it. I may eventually buy the film and get the one telling the whole story in documentary. I have seen some of that on Youtube. It's highly interesting.

You always give such thorough reviews, Janine. I agree, the cast was absolutely top-notch. It was surprising how taut the script was given that we do know the outcome. It was such a huge undertaking. Apparently it's true that the briefcase was moved only moments before the bomb inside went off, and that the move, only a few inches, was enough to save Hitler.

I got chills at the end when Cruises' character shouts out "Long live sacred Germany" as he was executed.

We better write SPOILER here. I didn't want to give away the ending, but it's hard not talk about it, right? I can't believe either that Hitler survived 15 assasination attempts and what you pointed out here about the brief case. The man really was evil personified, perhaps even the devil incarnate. I thought his depiction in the film was just great; showed just enough of the man to give one chills. I found he looked so entirely like him. Do you know who played his role? I didn't recognise that actor. I think this film deserves more attention than it apparently got. I was wondering about that brief case and how they knew it got moved. I found that whole scene tense and spellbinding. The time limit also, the slowpoke guard checking his credentials, before he could proceed to the conference room and not the bunker as planned, more time wasted. "Nothing ever goes exactly as planned"; interesting someone said that earlier in the film. Yes, those last scenes were hard to take. Even more stirring for me was the point at which the younger officer stood in front of Cruise at the firing range. How touching was that? I also loved the way they filmed Branagh walking up to those trees overlooking that open field; the rest I won't disclose, but I found it perfect acting, and emotional without going over the top. I think I wanted to applaud Ken for that moment. It was a film great and one of the great ending scenes; the cuts were perfect, showing just enough; same applies to the whole film; very well edited. I had to watch Ken's moment twice, since I am a big fan of his, even though it's another one hard to bear. I don't think the film a totally 'downer' in mood either; at least, one knows these men did not die in vain, by those last closing lines with the voice over. It was pretty amazing.

[qimissung]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus_von_Stauffenberg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_July_plot

SpoilerThis post is in reference to the movie Valkyrie.The above links are to Wikipedia pages concerning the July 20 plot, as it is called, and General Stauffenberg. If you scroll down to the section under Stauffenberg to the July 20 plot, read the last three paragraphs of that section. It tells what happened the day they set their takeover attempt in action. The plot of the movie follows this almost exactly.

Yes, the scene with Branagh gave me chills, too. He hadn't been seen in the movie since he recruited Stauffenberg. I, too, thought he did a superb job. And yes, I felt so much for Cruises' aide de camp. It was touching. What loyalty.

[jinjang]

I saw last Saturday the movie, Across the Universe, with all the songs by Beatles sung by actors and actresses. One of the best I have ever seen!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Across_the_Universe_(film)

[Janine]

SPOILER

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus_von_Stauffenberg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_July_plot

SpoilerThis post is in reference to the movie Valkyrie.The above links are to Wikipedia pages concerning the July 20 plot, as it is called, and General Stauffenberg. If you scroll down to the section under Stauffenberg to the July 20 plot, read the last three paragraphs of that section. It tells what happened the day they set their takeover attempt in action. The plot of the movie follows this almost exactly.

Yes, the scene with Branagh gave me chills, too. He hadn't been seen in the movie since he recruited Stauffenberg. I, too, thought he did a superb job. And yes, I felt so much for Cruises' aide de camp. It was touching. What loyalty.

gimissung, I read the story from the links you provided; thanks so much. I had read some of the history online before. I found this all very interesting; the photos make it all so real; the area of the blast was incredible - how did anyone survive that? Yes, the movie seems very true to the story. The only thing which seemed to be changed, and it may be a wrong fact, is that Treschov seemed to hatch the original plan. I am not sure that was made clear in the film; I think I am going to have to watch the film again. I wish the library DVD had the Extra Features on it. I would have liked to watch them. They may be on Youtube. If I find them, I will forward them to you. I think the most poignant thing for me now, in reading this history, is to know that is actually how Treschov killed himself. I found the passage he left behind truly stirring, chilling as well. They all were great heroes in the end. God rest their souls.

Branagh did a fine job with this role. I wondered when he left the film, if he would return again. Treschov's brief appearance at the very end was quite effective, I thought. I applaud the director. He picked a fine cast and he stuck to the history and presented it well.

[papayahed]

I saw three movies over the weekend, which must be some kind of record for me.

Birdcage - Love it! I could watch this movie every day. The crying and carrying on can be a bit much but I think Hank Azarria's character makes up for any flaw the film may have. 9.5/10

Milk - The true story of Harvey Milk the first openly gay person eleceted to a major office. Another great flick. The original footage and news reports blended so well with the actual film it was very hard to tell the difference between the two. I still have to figure out who Anita Bryant is and how she held so much sway. 8.5/10

Religulous - This rounds out the anti-conservative trifecta. Bill Maher discusses religion with several people of differing faiths. I thought it was a pretty good flick but the faithful might not be so entertained. 8.0/10

[qimissung]

I had forgotten Anita Bryant. She is a 50's beauty queen, I forget her stance, exactly, but she was against something, very conservative.

[qimissung]

Spoiler
Thanks, Janine; I'm getting ready to go out of town, but I will check youtube when I get back I love Extra Features.

I'm glad you enjoyed the reading material. I myself will have to read further on Treschov. He was the one who hatched the plan, and I think they deliberately changed that in the movie since they were already focusing on Cruise's character. I found it a very touching scene. In fact I wish they had made his part a little bigger; I guess they felt they had to be careful about focusing on too many characters, but it is a little harsh that his character got so little credit. I, too, want to know how he died. They showed how the others did in a fairly accurate way; now I wonder if they changed anything else about his character.

[Janine]

Spoiler
Thanks, Janine; I'm getting ready to go out of town, but I will check youtube when I get back I love Extra Features.

Oh,gimissung, have a great time wherever you are headed.

I love the Extra Features, too. I just eat them up. I usually end up watching more those than the actual movie. One learns so much. I watched a date chic sort of flick last night; it was so-so, but the extras were better. They showed how they filmed in very frigid weather in Winnipeg, Canada. One of the days it was 46 below. I don't know how people deal with that cold a temperature. I would die. You have to hand it to the actors having gone through that. They all kept saying 'it was really really cold'...it was neat learning about Winnipeg. My former dentist was from there. Now I know why he didn't want to move back...brrrr....

I'm glad you enjoyed the reading material. I myself will have to read further on Treschov. He was the one who hatched the plan, and I think they deliberately changed that in the movie since they were already focusing on Cruise's character. I found it a very touching scene. In fact I wish they had made his part a little bigger; I guess they felt they had to be careful about focusing on too many characters, but it is a little harsh that his character got so little credit. I, too, want to know how he died. They showed how the others did in a fairly accurate way; now I wonder if they changed anything else about his character.

I was going to do that, too...dig up more on Treschov, probably since Ken Branagh played that character; I have a weakness for Ken. Ok, I am now thinking Treschov did change the Valkyrie directive; he altered the text. I guess it implied in the film, that the original idea did come from Stauffenberg; who knows, perhaps it did; Wikipedia is not always accurate either. It might be something to look into further and investigate. I would have liked Ken to have a little larger role, but the screen time he had, I thought was superb. That beginning scene, with the undetonated bomb in the case, was really tense when he had to go and get a presumed bottle of port or wine. The looks between the two men were priceless...very well nuanced. I had seen that on Youtube and it made me want to see the film. I think bringing Ken back at the end was just the right touch and just the right amount of screen time, to create a really fine moment of impact, driving home the whole idea of the resistence and the assination plot, not being futile is further conveyed to the audience. I really liked the way that scene was shot. According to Wikipedia, two articles, he did really die that way and probably in a forest like that. I can't imagine it. It was a first, for me to see on the screen, which made it have even more impact personally. Also, they cut at the right time to the other executions, perfect. One's own imaginings are better than showing too much detail. I liked that about the end.

[rtc143]

UP haha totally amazing!