Now Showing - What We Watched

Excellent thread!

I agree with the Bourne ID and David Gale. Kevin Spacey is so easy to watch in almost any movie.

And Mr. Mom is a classic!

This weekend we rented 3 to give our Saturday visitors a choice. Sweet Home Alabama, Dark Blue, and Blood Work. They chose Blood Work. It's a well acted and written movie, even if the racial undertones smack you in the forehead once or twice. It has some twists and turns, but it's easy enough to figure out what's going to happen by the end of the first half hour if you're a good detective. I'd give it a 3 out of 5. Stars Clint Eastwood and Paul Rodriguez.

Last night we watched Sweet Home Alabama. Being a transplanted New Yorker living in the deep south for almost 40 years now, I could identify with the stereotypes from both sides. (The deep south parts of the film were made less than 70 miles from here) The cliches were a little over the top, but the movie overall was very well written and acted. I'd give it a 3.9 out of 5. Stars Reese Witherspoon, Candice Bergen, and many other recognizable comedy actors.

We didn't have a chance to see Dark Blue. Maybe we can fit it in tonight, or re-rent it again later. Has anyone seen it?

Az

Well, this weekend we screened the Sam Jackson, John Travolta flick "Basic". I'm really not sure what to say about this movie... I consider myself a pretty smart guy, and quite capable of following almost any plot line.
But... after watching this I'm really not quite sure what the point was. I just think that the movie tried to be a little _too_ clever for its own good. With more twists than a bag of pretzels - this one really keeps you guessing. Unfortunately, it doesn't keep you guessing _until_ the very end... it keeps you guessing _past_ the very end. I can only give it 2.5/5 stars.

I'm sure that a second viewing would clear things up a bit, but should I really need to do that? I think not.

This weekend I witnessed a first-my wife usually does not get into movies that much but she requested a movie from netflix (divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood) and watched it TWICE once with the commentary. I was quite pleased that she finally got the enjoyment out of it that I always do.

The other was X-Men (which she watched also) I have heard that x-2 is supossed to be really good so I wanted her to se the first one.

According to my wife Ya-Ya is very good and x men is a well done par for the course superhero type movie that is well acted with a good soundtrack.

Well i'm just finishing my theater. So after three months of working on it every weekend my three year old wanted to come down and watch a movie with daddy. So there we were sitting on the floor with no furniture watching , you guessed it Toy story 2 and Monsters Inc. I wont review these I think they stand on their own. Cant wait to add more to this thread down the road.
P.S. The wife who has been supportive but didn't really see the attraction to home theater was very impressed .

We watched that one last weekend. I agree completely... they tried way too hard to come up with the twists, and most of them made no sense. I also hate when they do that "Here's the plan... " stuff in a suspense movie. That stuff is fine in cartoons, but not a major motion picture trying to be full of suspense.

I also found the film to be visually so dark and gloomy that it was annoying. It was probably meant to be depressing and mysterious, but it just made it difficult to make out the action and the characters, especially since several of the main characters were black.

I'd give it a 1.75.

Az

Friday Night we watched "Catch Me if You Can" with Tom Hanks and DeCapprio... I thought it was a good movie...I had never heard the story before.

Saturday Night we watched "Dare Devil" with Jenifer Garner and Ben something ;-) ... some good action and surround effects...little long....but good flick.

Steve

This weekend was a "catch-up" comedy weekend, movies we missed on release date. Friday Night: National Lampoons: Van Wilder Saturday Night: Old School
It is ironic how similar these movies are, full of sophomoric humor. Both are worth watching if you want to laugh and veg-out, we are remodeling the office so sheer exhaustion dictates light movies for the next couple weekends. Both are probably a solid 2.5 out of 5 - rent don't buy.

Great thread Capt Randy. I'm just starting the build out of my theater and it is easy to forget why I am going through the hassle. So even though its not finished, I did manage to catch a couple of movies.
the first movie I watched was the Matrix. It was the first time I had seen it and now I understand what the fuss was about. I'm not a big Keanu Reeves fan but he did a good job in this movie.

The second movie I watched was An Affair to Remember. I like the old stuff but it was the first time I had seen this one too. A must see movie for film buffs.
both movies put me in the"theater building mode..."

Steve

David is right, Basic is good, but not great. I watched it Friday night. I am big fan of adult movies--no! not those kind of adult movies, I mean mature films for adults. I can't watch a movie that doesn't have that kind of depth. In other words, you won't find me watching Disney. So with that in mind, I thought Basic was an interesting film, in that it brought up adult issues, sometimes in a subtle way.

And seeing as how this is a forum about A/V gear, let me tell you, I was very pleased when this movie started, and the words "Dolby Digital EX" scrolled across the display of my Rotel preamp/processor. I love 6.1/7.1, and don't watch nearly enough movies with /EX or /ES soundtracks.

Sunday, Some friends brought over the extended version of Lord of the Ring. I nearly popped when I saw that the soundtrack was 6.1 discrete. This was one that I saw at the local cineplex, and my big question is: Why did they chop this one all to hell and leave Gangs of New York at over three hours? The extended LOTR is much better than the theatrical version; it is better paced, and it better sets up the next movie. It really deserved more from the theatrical release.

Thursday afternoon - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Friday afternoon - Monster's Inc.
Saturday no power til 3 AM
Sunday evening - Trading Spaces HD (just got Discovery HD Theater)
Carolina Preserves HD ( just got PBS HD - no loop anymore!)
X Men 1.5

Glad to have the power back on - thirteen hours is a long time - especially when you are trying to use power tools to complete your HT!

Pam

The Zero Effect --- Great flick IMO relitively unknown by most give it a shot if you're in the mood for "something different".

I agree...Zero Effect is a great movie.
I actually bought two copies, my first copy was loaned to a "friend" who moved away. It was easier to buy a new copy rather that try to get him to mail it to me.

I wanted to hear my sound system go for it, so I threw in Apollo 13 yesterday. I wasn't disappointed.

On Thursday night we watched DareDevil and I thought that was great also. The wife liked it very much as well.

We saw Basic a couple of weeks ago and I think it sucked out loud. The only thing I enjoyed was the big tidal wave clip at the intro.

Gus

PS: Awesome thread Captain!

Wow, I can't believe so many of you didn't like Basic. It was very similar to The Generals Daughter. I thought the movie was creative how it led you down the road of just another who done it flick, to posssibly think that she did it. Then out of left field it was all planned to bring her into the fold. Ooops did I spoil it for some of you, Sorry . Anyway, John Travolta is a great actor and is probably the only one who could pull it off. I liked it and was pleasantly surprised with the ending.

Now Star Trek Nemisis was ho-hum. I am a star trek fan and I like this particular cast but the film was not to exciting and somewhat tedious.

I broke in my new HT this weekend with "DareDevil"....good surround effects. Not a gad movie...3.5/5. Had my wifes sister come over to watch and she was blown away by the sound....you can never hear enough " It's just like at the movies". Then we put in T2...just awesome.

I agree with TripleE....need more movies with the EX or ES channel.

PB

Nice thread..

Monday - Ice Age
Tuesday - Drumline
Wednesday - The Big Hit & Equilibrium
Thursday - Who knows yet =)

Ice age started a tad lame, but ended up being pretty good. If you like monsters inc, toy story etc.. You would like it.

Drumline was Looooong. But was decent. rent not buy.

The big hit just rocks. Very bassy music, tons of gun play/explosions/chases. A very underrated film. I think it's Mark Walbergs best. Also stars Lou Diamond Phillips as a g-dog hehe. Great flick for the big screen. 16x9 also.

Equilibrium - The movie is a tad slow, but the action scenes are better then the Matrix. There just isnt enough of them. The main guy in this film is incredible. He is trained to take on large groups of people with an interesting fighting technique. Every time an action scene came on, gunplay, swordplay, or melee, I noticed everyone sitting up straight and in total AWE.

I recommend this film highly, a hugely under marketed film. Watch it for the action.

Tonight might be Zero Effect, or a chick flick like how to lose a guy in 10 days. (Very good chick flick I might add)

Saturday night - Jaws (4.5/5 movie; 4.5/5 presentation)
Sunday day - Bourne Identity (3.5/5; 4/5)
Sunday night - Punch Drunk Love (4.5/5; 4/5)
Tuesday night - Dangerous Liasions (3/5; 2/5)
Wednesday night - Adaptation (3.5/5; 4/5)

Jaws on the big screen was fantastic. Parents who took me to see it when I was 5 were forced to shiver through it (gotcha back). Bourne Identity is a pretty good action flick with some great scenes but a sketchy plot (nowhere near as engrossing as the book). Punch Drunk Love - a joy. Dangerous Liasions is my wife's fav movie so we watched it on DVD for the first time and boy was it a labor. Great acting and great story that got old after 1.5 hours. The transfer quality was shite. Adaptation was a movie I expected to LOVE so I was a bit disappointed. Better than most Hollywood drivel but nowhere near the experience of Being John Malkovich.

So far in August:

Aug 1st : Starship Troopers ... A Masterpiece

Aug 3rd : Pee-Wee's Big Adventure ... Hilarious for kids & adults. An all-time favorite

Aug 3rd : Narc ... Gritty undercover police drama. Not bad.

Aug 5th : Super Mario Brothers ... Absolutely Horrible. Worse than Master of Disguise(!)

Aug 5th : Chris Rock-Bigger & Blacker ... Funny HBO special from '99

Aug 6th : Spider ... Great acting. Bizarre movie.

Last Night's feature was "The Life of David Gale". Kevin Spacey is a wonderful actor. The female lead in the film was also quite good. The movie had a good plot as well. The video and audio quality were good also.

Planned for this weekend:

Friday Night: RAMS 1st Pre-Season Game !!!!

Saturday Night: Das Boot

Sunday Afternoon: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Sunday: Waiting for Guffman (hadn't seen it yet and I liked it. Netflix rental but I accidentally mailed them back a cdr in the envelope so I still have the movie).

Monday: Shadow of the Vampire (marvelous as usual).

From Tuesdays DVD release bounty:
Tuesday: The Sure Thing (always good when you need a Cusack fix).

Last night: Valley Girl (it's like, totally one of my all time favorites).

Tonight: either Soylent Green or Omega Man (haven't decided yet). Who knows.. maybe I'll go *really* crazy and throw in Casablanca.

Hmmm... a Heston triple feature might just be the thing, but then I'll have to watch the rest of the POTA movies after that, and then the TV show, and I'll probably have to call in sick tomorrow .

Tonight: Redsox vs Anaheim (Redsox currently spanking Angels 7:2)

Friday: Mulholland Drive (Have to take advantage, 7 y-o is on vacation in Florida with his aunty)

Saturday: Life Of David Gale

Sunday: Soylent Green??


I didn't know Soylent green was out on DVD. I've never seen it, but sounds like my cup of tea. Is the PQ any good?

Gus

Man, I've rented some sucky movies lately. I only liked 1 out of the last 4.

War wagon - John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. GOOD
Darkness Falls - Best part is the name of the film.
Frighteners - Was that the same Peter Jackson as in LOTR? 'cause that movie was just plain lame.
Dog Soldiers - I think they got the werewolf costumes at K-mart.

this week we watched daredevil (with my 5 yr old) terrible movie - great soundtrack and (myself) clerks (great mindless diversion)
want to watch soon (over next two weeks) phone booth, punch drunk love , and the pianist

This week so far:

Super Troopers (funny, intoxicants suggested while viewing)
Read my Lips (interesting premise & camera work, decent film)
Legend of Drunken Master (classic Jackie Chan)
Better off Dead (The best 80s coming of age movie - fast cars, french women, skiing, claymation, good one liners)