Rate the last movie you saw

[gourimoko]

I've always thought it was overrated overall, though the combat scenes are as good as it gets.. The first 25 minutes is fantastic, and will always earn the movie a good overall grade. And the last attack is very good as well. But in between are what seemed to me as some rather ham-handed, moralizing speeches, and the very end of the movie -- "earn this" -- ruins it completely for me. Can't really imagine anything more cruel you could to do a fellow soldier than to place a life-long guilt trip on them.

It's not WW2, but for a modern combat movie, I thought Blackhawk Down (especially) and We Were Soldiers were more consistently good.

It's doesn't have the modern realism, but The Longest Day is a fantastic movie.

Black Hawk Down > Saving Private Ryan?

Lol....

 

[Chris]

Black Hawk Down is pretty damn good though.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

This sounds kind of nitpick-ish. But yeah, the stuff outside the combat is pretty standard war movie shit.

LIke I said, the "earn this" line, coming as it did at the end of the movie, and followed by old Ryan breaking down and showing the burden he carried all those years from that phrase, just left a bad taste in my mouth in a movie that I otherwise thought was great. Revolutionized war-movie making.

We Were Soldiers was pretty fresh and I like that film as it's pretty damn powerful but out of these three war films WWS has the most eye-rolling moments IMO (all the stuff with the wives, and delivering the letters etc should have been cut). I read both books that go with BHD and WWS too, though. Great non-fiction.

The wife stuff didn't bother me as much as did those pointless love stories that used to be inserted in most war movies (ruined "Midway"), because it seemed realistic and didn't detract from the overall dark tone of the movie. But at least it was dispersed throughout the movie so you didn't have an entire slow middle section. BHD was a train that never stopped once it got going,.

One thing I really admired in WWS was how they showed everything from the Battalion Commander's perspective realistically. War movies tend to compact artificially the troops so as to present a cleaner image of the battle, and they usually use pretty distinct terrain features to help frame it. Battles are generally set-piece. But in WWS, you got a real sense of how spread out things were, how you really can't see everything, how the terrain doesn't always cooperate visually, and the fog in which officers may operate. And the battle just kind of crept up on them instead of a "hear they come" announcement that it is about to start. Except for the last attack, which was Hollywood all the way.

Of course, they also (typically) aged up the officers. Hal Moore was in his mid-30's when that happened, but Gibson was 20 years older. In contrast, one (of many) things I liked about Glory was Broderick's portrayal of Colonel Shaw. He's been criticized for looking too young, lacking gravitas, seeming amateurish, etc., but he was 27 at the time he filmed that movie, while the real Colonel Shaw was only 25 at the time he died, and only 23 at the start of the war. Seeing such a young and inexperienced guy leading an entire regiment was realistic. And just as a historical note, it was barely four months from the time that regiment was formed until the attack on Fort Wagner. Damn.

 

[Chris]

Agree on all that. And Glory is a great movie.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Agree on all that. And Glory is a great movie.

Suppose I should go into that EAYOR thread and admit I cry throughout the entire final scene of Glory. As soon as the Harlem Boys Choir starts with that last bit of O Fortuna-ish choral music, I'm done.

 

[Chris]

Suppose I should go into that EAYOR thread and admit I cry throughout the entire final scene of Glory. As soon as the Harlem Boys Choir starts with that last bit of O Fortuna-ish choral music, I'm done.

I want to say that part is so cheesy, but it's actually just fucking epic. Once Broderick gets shot and all hell just breaks loose.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I want to say that part is so cheesy, but it's actually just fucking epic. Once Broderick gets shot and all hell just breaks loose.

Wholly apart from the racial aspects of the story, Glory just does an incredible job humanizing those soldiers and making them more than just stereotypes. It shows just enough of the guy who stutters, Andre Brougher's character, Denzel, etc.,, that you really care about them as individuals more so than in a lot of other war movies.

Well, I suppose Denzel's character was a bit of a stereotype, but he was so damn good it didn't matter.

 

[Chris]

Goddam I just went and watched that ending battle from Glory because you reminded me of it. So damn good. Easily in my top 5 war movies.

 

[brownindian]

Dracula Untold - 6/10
This movie tells the "origins" of how Vlad became a vampire. Good story, subpar CGI and fast paced - This movie kept me interested enough to keep watching it without being amazed. IT is worth a watch if you have no expectations. Think of this more like a poor mans Van Helsing.

Horrible Bosses - 6.5/10
Enjoyed this movie. The combo of Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman and Charlie day really seems to work and this movie has many funny moments.

Gone Girl - 7.5/10
This movie is so much about the drama and the performance of the actors. After hearing the hype I started watching the movie and It was interesting. Until the mystery disappeared and the she was found out to be alive. The whole Neil Patrick Harris part only served to extend the movie it seems and by then my interest was waning. Dont be like me and watch the movie expecting a great mystery - but watch from the performance perspective which is truly impressive.

Night Crawler - 7.5/10
This movie is one of the most unique perspective I have seen on crime movies. No one ever thought of this angle. It was always about the participants- The criminals or the cops or the ER or someone who is a participant in the action but never someone who wants to capture it on camera and sells it to news networks. This is what Jake G is and his performance is really really good. This is a must see for someone who is looking for something different to watch that is fast paced. My one issue with the movie was that it just ended - So be aware of that one.

Big Hero - 4 /10
I was bored. This movie is not as funny as the trailer shows. I was expecting like the Lego movie but nope. Not even close.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Taken 3

It was better than the second one but not as good as the first. If you like Liam Neeson kicking ass and destroying shit, you'll probably enjoy it. It's a typical dumb, fun action/revenge movie. The end is ridiculous though. By my count, Liam Neeson assaulted at least half a dozen police officers, fled police custody, caused a massive traffic accident that probably cost at least a couple of lives, stole a police car, had his friends hold up other police officers at gunpoint, held up a guy at gunpoint for a ride, killed at least a dozen Russians, wrecked a liquor store, drove onto the tarmac of an airport and caused a plane to crash, and then shot a guy in the chest before the police arrived. Then the main detective just shakes his hand and lets him walk away. Dude should be in jail for the rest of his life.

 

[Hurl Bruce]

Avengers: Age of Ultron Trailer #3 is out. I just bought my tickets for an Avengers double feature on April 30th at Ridge Park Square.

There's a super marathon in a few cities playing all Marvel movies from Wednesday through the night and up to the debut of Avengers 2. Too bad Cleveland isn't doing it.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAUoeqvedMo

 

[brownindian]

I may be in the minority here but when are they going to improve the CGI for Hulk to make him look more realistic ?

 

[gourimoko]

I may be in the minority here but when are they going to improve the CGI for Hulk to make him look more realistic ?

You're not in the minority at all...

These Marvel movies rely way too much on CGI.. It's overdone and really makes it hard for me to pay attention.

It's why I actually prefer the Captain America movies over the others because those have the least amount of CGI.

 

[Ohio]

Blood Diamond - 8/10

Hadn't seen it in a few years so decided to watch again the other night. Great movie.

 

[brownindian]

You're not in the minority at all...

These Marvel movies rely way too much on CGI.. It's overdone and really makes it hard for me to pay attention.

It's why I actually prefer the Captain America movies over the others because those have the least amount of CGI.

Yeah - It almost feels like a cartoon intervention at that point.

Also, Having seen Chris Evans as Johnny Storm Does it feel a bit odd seeing him as Captain America? I mean I thought his appearances and mannerisms suited the Human Torch although the movie was not as interesting as Captain America.