Rate the Last Movie You Watched

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. A lovely movie, hitting just the right tone, and very much reminiscent of "Forrest Gump" (for which Eric Roth also wrote the screenplay). Cate Blanchett (along with Tilda Swinton) is one of the best actresses of this decade and the Fincher/Pitt combo proves to work well a third time. My favourite parts: the build-up leading to Daisy's accident and all the small insights into the lives of the minor characters, especially those within the old people's home. 10/10

Les Carabiniers. A surprisingly straight-forward anti-war movie. It's about as unreal as war is in reality, complete with intentionally bad acting, sound editing and logical lapses. 7/10

3:10 to Yuma (2007). This was a bit of a letdown to me, having wanted to watch the film since it came out. I haven't seen the original but one can only hope that the characters act more believable in it - they simply don't in this version and not just in the contrived ending. Coupled with a big load of other unbelievable bits, this really detracts from what could have been an (especially visually) interesting modern take on classic westerns. 6/10

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956). Yet another remake I haven't seen the original version of. This didn't grip me as much as other Hitchcock movies and I also found Jimmy Stewart's performance to be one of his more unimpressive - none of the other actors besides Doris Day stood out very much either. Make no mistake though, this is still a very solid thriller with a great climax at the Royal Albert Hall that alone makes the flick worthwhile to see. 7/10

Jacks:SmirkingRevenge said:

why?

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because he played his roles as uber emo junky idiot very well... and he touched Claire

Balton said:

because he played his roles as uber emo junky idiot very well... and he touched Claire

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hey everybody knows that Claire's just a hussy.

Howl's Moving Castle: (better than the last time)/10

I think I finally get this. It is relatively weaker than other Studio Ghibli productions but not as weak as I first thought (not that it was ever less than enjoyable). It's reasonably faithful to the book and though it teeters on a fine line between distinct style and mere self-plagiarism there is much to enjoy.

The Matrix 8/10

Doesn't really require any explanation. You either enjoy it or you don't. You either forgive its substantial debts or you don't. Me? I enjoyed it.

Jacks:SmirkingRevenge said:

hey everybody knows that Claire's just a hussy.

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Every guy dreams of a girl that's a saintess in public and a hussy in private

Blow: Ending is sad ;[ Is he still alive? It'd be cool to visit him if he doesn't have Alzheimers.

Speed: Diehard on a bus, I liked it.

Catch Me If You Can: Really liked this movie, kind of similar to blow in some ways. I think I'd be cool to visit and talk with the real guy in this too.

Gone Baby Gone - 8/10
Wolverine Origins - 8/10

Ugghhh Gone Baby Gone is soooo good. It still baffles me how it's a Ben Affleck film.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - 8/10

I really liked it. Ok, so they messed up Deadpool a bit, but who cares? I'm a huge fan of him, btw. The movie is about Wolverine, so that's all I care about. When the Deadpool movie is released and they still mess him up, that'll be the time to complain. I'm pretty sure they'll get it right, though.

First Contact was good. Certainly the best of the Gen crew movies (which isn't a close race). But I always thought the old crew translated better to the big screen. Undiscovered Country, Khan, and Voyage Home really were the series peaks for me.

That being said, I have very low expectations from anything with JJ. Abrams attached to it. But I'll watch it this weekend.

Mister_Prophet said:

First Contact was good. Certainly the best of the Gen crew movies (which isn't a close race). But I always thought the old crew translated better to the big screen. Undiscovered Country, Khaaaaaan, and Voyage Home really were the series peaks for me.

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You have to emphasize the Khan. Its mandatory

...so not really Star Trek, you mean?

Capt.Toilet said:

You have to emphasize the Khhaaaaaann. Its mandatory

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You messed up your fix. Fixed.

Manticore said:

The Day the Earth Stood Still (The original one not the remake)-7/10...

I haven't seen the original in years so revisiting it was great.

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I picked up a copy of the DVD last week (super cheap in the local supermarket) - must get round to watching it.

Unforgiven: Monumental western. Especially because it portrais real, vulnerable, flawed people instead of cardboard gunheroes.

Solid 10.

All The King's Men. Third remake I've seen in a row, and the worst of the lot. While the cast looks very promising on paper, it doesn't really add much to characters whose evolution is all too sudden and inexplicable. Why does Willie Stark turn from an idealistic man out to change his state's politics to someone that outdoes even his opponents in his obsession for power from one moment to the next, seemingly the same instant he is elected? What motivates Jack Burden to compromise his foster father? On top of all that, Sean Penn delivers an annoyingly overdone acting performance - very much contrasting his almost equally extrovert, but convincing portrayal of another politician in "Milk". 6/10

Le Mépris. Just when I thought I had seen all of Godard's more accessible and... well, entertaining films, this gem comes along. The characters are very well-constructed (and the actors personating them delivering truly remarkable performances, including Fritz Lang playing himself) and as in "Vivre Sa Vie" and unlike many other of his movies, their emotions are realistic and believable. The photography (particularly in the second half of the movie that takes place on Capri) is outstanding and for once none of the "trademark features" of the director appear inappropriate or forced - as a matter of fact, the back-and-forth-panning shot of Camille and Paul arguing at a table goes down as one of my favourite scenes I've ever seen. 10/10

Se, Jie (Lust, Caution). I have always regretted missing this one when it came out on the big screen two years ago, and I'm very glad I finally got around to see it now. A tale of love and danger (or if you will, lust and caution) set in Hongkong and Shanghai during the Japanese occupation in the Second World War featuring two amazing main actors: Tony Leung (in my favourite role of his besides the one from "2046") and Wei Tang (who was completely unknown to me before and - at least according to IMDB - has not appeared in any movie since). The movie is worth seeing for these two alone, but additionally also offers beautiful photography and contrasting views of the life of the rich (and collaborating), the middle-class (and resisting) and the poor (and suffering) Chinese during the war. 9/10

Birdy. Hair-crimes! - was one of my first thoughts upon watching this movie, but don't let the 80's-ness of it turn you off a compelling study of the friendship of two unlike-in-many-but-not-quite-all-ways boys. The movie tackles several different subjects such as father-son-relationships, the Vietnam War, mental disease and poverty, yet manages to combine them very well without feeling overloaded or in-your-face with issues. My only real big gripe with it is the unconvincing happy ending, that feels totally out of place and unfitting to the later parts of the film (although admittedly is in the spirit of the beginning and thus could be perceived as suitable by others). 8/10

The day the earth stood still (2009): 5/10

Nice digital effects, the robot looked menacing. But otherwise...I didn't enjoy this movie.
Sure, the original is also preachy but it's different. For those days, it was actually quite a good movie!
This one however, well it's just one big nag. And silly. Heck, keanu reeves was perfectly casted for his part. The ending dissapointed me, whereas the original didn't.

1951-2009. World of difference, of course.

But do watch the original. Sure, no super special effects (although ... it wasn't actually bad for a movie of those days), but it feels more solid. That's the word I'm looking for. Solid.

Maybe it's just me