[Closed] Recent Viewing Part III

As some of you know I've been watching the 'B' movies from the 30's and 40's. Most of them fall into the category of http://bmoviebest.wordpress.com/2013/02 … quad-1941/ of failed to make the list of 250 watchable films. Last night was an exception and what I saw was poor production standards but excellent dialogue and a plot so convoluted I had to stay until the end of the film to see it. It starred Milburn 'Doc Adams' Stone of Gunsmoke fame. I'll post a review on it and it will make the list of watchable at #245.
Tom

I saw this movie today, as a limited theatrical re-release, cheaper than usual.

The Dark Kinght Rises

I was waiting for Catwoman to burst out singing... oh was I in a wrong theater?

Seriously, this movie didn't bore me but in the end I was like "so what?". It's not as entertaining as Batman Begins, and not as interesting as The Dark Knight. I could have waited for DVD release.



And actually, I saw Les Miserables last week, and liked it except too many close-ups (I like to see musical actors acting with whole body while they sing).

I loved Samantha Barks as Eponine. She's no Lea Salonga but I wish she had more scenes.
(Lea Salonga! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjfmP7h3gBw )

And I think I should read the book.

Actually I wanted to read it since years ago, but I didn't... I also wanted to read it before watching the movie. I prefer to create the vision of the story in my own mind.

(I'm glad that I've read the all Tolkien books before Peter Jackson filmed his versions!)

There's a book? Do they sing in the book too???

Not for me man, Hugo first, there can be only one victor.

Hopefully I'll get around to it one day Alan, I'm a voracious reader albeit a slow one.

Decades is the sort of timeframe required to read it.

Finished watching the last two seasons of The x-files. I actually thought that the 8th season was pretty decent; rather better than the last episodes of season 7 with Mulder, which were just terrible. But season 9, I found rather poor.

Anyway, I found it a bit annoying that they had to introduce romance betweeen the main characters into the show. First with Mulder and Scully, and when Doggett came aboard he immediately developed feelings for both Scully and Reyes, which seemed calculated, rushed and vacant.

Sure, we all on some level want to see male and female main characters kiss and all that, but while it lasted I thought that it was great for once with a show where a man and a woman worked together and even developed a close relationship without ending up in bed. Apparently American TV and movies seem convinced that men and women can't work professionally together or be close friends without them sooner or later exchanging bodily fluids. It reminds me rather of porn movies, where a man and a woman can't even be in the same room for 5 minutes before they throw off their clothes. Of course I wouldn't watch a porn flick if all it had was a man and a woman sitting around fully clothed having an intellectual discussion about economics. But with non-porn, some realism can be very refreshing.

Now that I've watched that show, I've started watching Dexter. It's not a bad show, and it has an interesting premise, but I am 5 episodes in and I haven't really fallen for it yet. I wonder if that will change. Perhaps the latter seasons will be better.


Some movies that I've recently watched:

Argo

Despite being distracted by the HUGE glasses the characters in this movie wore, I found it to be very tense and a fascinating story.

My rating: 8 out of 10


Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

The boy actor was decent for a kid. That said, kids are very rarely as good as adults, and this boy wasn't a 1 in a million (like Haley Joel Osment for instance), so it did take away some of my enjoyment. Sad but also uplifting story though and Max von Sydow was great.

Rating: 7


Gone Baby Gone

Found it a bit slow in the beginning, but towards the end it got interesting. A second viewing might increase my appreciation.

Rating: 6


The Cabin in the Woods

Rather entertaining. The [spoiler]monster mayhem[/spoiler] ending was great, though I found it disappointing that [spoiler]the ancient one rising at the end wasn't some horrific Lovecraftian creature beyond human comprehension but just some boring giant. I've always found giants to be just about the most unimaginative and mundane kind of monster possible.[/spoiler] Oh, and the [spoiler]merman[/spoiler] scene was bloody hilarious.

Rating: 7


Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

This documentary detailing the life of Abraham Lincoln was an eye opener. History is certainly more interesting than what I remember learning about in school.

Anyway, hilarious and ridiculous premise. The story was told in a more or less serious way, which to me only made it more funny.

Rating: 7


Warm Bodies

I like the premise of a zombie apocalypse from the point of view of a zombie, but other than that it was rather unoriginal and predictable. Still, worth a watch.

Rating: 6

Peter

So now I finally saw Skyfall. I'll keep it brief:

- It ranks with the best films of the series!
- Lightning and camera work are mesmerising!
- Newmans score in context is a triumph, even more than it is on CD.

An evening well spent.

Volker

There are two kinds stupid films:

There are stupid films that are involuntary funny. These are great to watch with friends. A bit of ethanol helps in the process.

There is anonther kind of stupid films that are just - infuriatingly stupid.

I had the misfortune of watching Battleship last night. I very clearly belongs in the latter category.

To think that this director was linked once to a new adaptation of "Dune" gives me the creeps.

Battleship is abysmal.
Don't watch it!
Ever!

Volker

It looked rubbish from the trailers. I'll never watch it.

I thought Battleship was good. Rather entertaining, with cool effects and indeed very stupid. I found it to be good stupid, rather than bad stupid though.

Peter

Dexter, season 4 finale.

Richard Ayoade made a very good host on Never Mind The Buzzcocks tonight.

It's an irreverent and (usually) very funny pop quiz on BBC 2, well worth it if you can somehow see it?

Richard Ayoade is best known from sitcom The IT Crowd, well worth it if you can somehow see it?