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A lot of truth to this notion of one's enjoyment of movies being influenced by who we are watching with.

Years ago when my then 12 year old son kept wanting to watch ridiculous juvenile "comedy" movies, I invited him to instead watch some "classic" juvenile comedy movies that were actually clever and funny, so we rented The Jerk. Before you know it Steve Martin's character is discovering what his "special purpose" is for, thanks to his new girlfriend in the circus, including direct references to BJs and related activities. My son just looked at me as he walked out, saying, "This movie is gross!"

As funny as it was in a certain sense, I had to agree that what I fondly recalled as funny from my wayward youth did not exactly fully translate to what was funny to watch with my impressionable kid. Still some classic hilarious lines, but as a movie, not quite so great.

I learned from that to preview "favorite old movies' from my younger days before watching them with the kids, and that my then kid had better judgment than I thought he had.

Plus, I learned that I don't need anything! Just the ashtray, this paddle game, and the remote control, and the lamp, and that's all *I* need. ...

Hanes! Good to hear from you. It's been awhile. I was wondering where you were. Great post.

I also did not enjoy Sucker Punch.
I saw it alone, therefore neither your wife nor my girlfriend were present with me while I watched it.


A movie I really enjoyed in the theatre was Undercover Blues (1993). The audience laughed and participated and had a great time. The director had the audio track do a Mexican classical guitar strum announcing the arrival of the comic evil character Muerte resulting in the Pavlovian viewing audience doing a cheer. No one, not a single person, I've ever met outside of that one presentation who's seen the film enjoyed it.

That was my take on Sucker Punch. I found a good deal and bought it on BR. I liked the story, but it truly is a reference disc as well so that was another reason I bought it.

I too totally agree who you watch a movie with makes all the difference in the viewing experience. I know Mrs RTROSE would not like say Sucker Punch, 300, or Zombie Land and I could not imagine sitting with her while watching said movies, just not her cup of tea. Like you Tony I too have a wonderful wife, she would not even sit though these movies to give me the ol evil eye. I end up watching these types of movies alone late at night when the rest of the family is asleep.

I enjoy all types of movies and don't limit myself to one particular type of movie. I get movies that I don't think I'll like, that I enjoy, and vice versa. I also see movies with several different types of hats. One of those hats is looking purely at the visual or aural impact of the film. It may be a crap film with a so so story line but have great visuals and and awesome audio track (Tron Legacy for example) so when I watch a movie I am evaluating it on several different levels.

Now speaking of movies up next the original Tron.

Regards,

RTROSE

re: Sucker Punch - it wasn't what I expected exactly, but I enjoyed it - in fact, I've watched it three times. Loved the audio and video, and I love heavy "suspension of disbelief" fantasy stuff, so right up my alley. Definitely a dark theme to it, but I'm OK with that - but certainly not everyone likes that.


I enjoyed Tron Legacy a lot too - the story was a little cheesy, as was the CGI of the young version of Jeff Bridges - but the visuals were otherwise great, and the soundtrack is AWESOME.

I haven't watched the original Tron on the big screen HT - but in previous airings on the little screen, it just didn't hold up to the passage of time very well. Same with Logan's Run - although the wet girl in the cave and Farrah sure still looked nice.

Oh, and one more thing:

He hates these cans!!

Watched Sanctum (2011)
2.9/5 (amazon 3.1/5, imdb 5.7/10, rotten tomatoes 30%, Decent Films F)
I found it quite watchable, but apparently most did not.
This is the fictionalized story of Andrew Wight, who was leading an expedition into an underwater cave system in western Australia in 1988 when a cyclone struck, trapping 15 people underground. In real life most survived and got out in a few hours, in the movie most died and not well.

Watched Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
3/5 (amazon 4.8/5, imdb 8.2, rotten tomatoes 100%, Decent Films A-)
This is the one where Alec Guiness (Star Wars Obi Wan Kenobi) plays 8 parts.
I found it watchable, but a lot slower than many films these days.
It's a British crime comedy, where murder itself is a trivial offense compared to punctilious observance of the highest standards of Edwardian social rectitude.
Many find the main character witty, and the ending amusing (there's an american ending, and a british ending -- pretty much the same).

Watched Dark Fury - The Chronicles of Riddick (Animated)
2.7/5 (amazon 3.7/5, imdb 6.7/10)
This bridges the time between the end of Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick.
The same actors that escaped from Pitch Black (Vin Diesel, Rhiana Griffith, Keith David) return to voice the parts.

"After escaping from a desert planet, Escaped convict Richard B. Riddick and his two companions, Jack and Imam are captured by a crew of bounty hunters of the vessel "Kublah-Khan" commanded by a imperial woman named Antonia Chillingsworth and her chief henchman Junner. Riddick discovers Chillingsworth has her own museum on-board and she collects the galaxy's most-wanted criminals and instead of delivering them to penal colonies and claiming the bounty, Chillingsworth turns them into living statues and Riddick is to become the latest addition to her collection."


Watched Anonymous (2011)

2/5 (amazon 3.8/5, imdb 6.9/10, rotten tomatoes 47%)
I found it kind of dull even with the Elizabethan sets, and the phony Shakespearean premise (that the collected works of Shakespeare were written by the Earl of Oxford) was too hard to swallow.

What hat do you put on to like that one !?!?!?

Watched

I think this one would work!

I'm always amazed at the resources of the folks on this forum! I think you found the perfect hat! LOL

Sadly, the hardcore Tron fans will probably recognize the hat, but that was the first thing that came to mind when I read your post. I just couldn't resist.

Tron - Netflix DVD - It had been many years since I had seen Tron. Sadly even though it was technically on the cutting edge in 82' when it debuted it has not aged well. I think the acting and plot in the original is even weaker than the follow up offering. I know the audio and video are leaps and bounds different. Truly a different world we live in as my kids can't appreciate these "Classic" films like I can, they have been spoiled by modern day CGI and special effects and can't get past that to actually watch the film. I was hoping for a trip down memory lane, but I was actually on a journey to disappointment. I had thought about buying this on BR to complete the set, but I'll just have to pass on this one. The one thing I did really like though is all of the nods to the original in the latest offering. That was pretty cool to see all of those. Sadly 2.5/5

Revenge of the Nerds - Netflix streaming - It had also been many years since seeing this movie as well. This was also a trip down memory lane. This one though aged pretty well and still was very funny and entertaining to me. Forgot about a lot of the nudity and a full frontal shot as well. Aside from that it was a fun trip and had lots of memorable moments. I remember my favorite part was the musical they put on to win the home coming fair, and it still is actually. There is even a positive message at the end as icing on the cake. 3.5/5

Regards,

RTROSE

Tony, just for the record I switched hats several times watching Tron, I pretty much kept the "dunce" hat on for "Nerds"!

Watched A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)
1.2/5 (imdb 6.6/10, rotten tomatoes 69%)
Tasteless 'jokes' (language, sex, drugs, whatever). Baby exposed to all of it.
I watched in in 2D, most of the 3D I hated -- but the beer pong was good.
This time the pursuit is for a christmas tree.
Jordan Hinson (Eureka's Sherrif's daughter) makes an appearance.
Fortunately I didn't spend $24 to see it in the theatre; instead I spent $30 for the bluray, saving myself $-6.

Revenge of the Nerds- that takes me back too! I think the Halloween it came out, I was dressed as a nerd. Or was that all the other days of that year?

Bob, I figured as much with Harold and Kumar. That's one I'll be skipping! Thanks for the verification. LOL

Drive- I really liked Ryan Gosling in "Crazy, Stupid, Love". In this one, they took him back to that "man of few words but a charming smile" sort of character. I'm tired of them playing him this way. HOWEVER, I was tired, and this one did keep me awake! It was a bloody, show you everything, gangster type film. Almost on the graphic novel level with the violence. Somehow, it worked for me despite not being my usual thing. The audio track was very effective for me. Mostly dialogue (or lack thereof) but when the car chase and gun shots happened, they hit hard and were lots of fun. There were several gunshots that sent my wife to her feet! Fun!

Later today we have company coming for "Real Steel". We invited the Cub Scout group, and some of the parents said, "No way!". I'll write more on that one related to our recent conversations.

Tony I had been wondering about Drive, looked like it would be a pretty good flick, but was one of those I get with a little hesitation, but I will give it a shot.

As for Nerds, when I first watched it lets say that I could identify much better with the Tri Lambs than I did with the Alpha Betas!

@BB

I pretty much stay away from the Harold and Kumar films, but thanks for confirming my decision of not venturing into that franchise.

Regards,

RTROSE

Yo Tony!

If you're tired of seeing Ryan Gosling playing the same role, have you seen him in Lars and the Real Girl? Surprisingly good, and definitely not the same old role.

Oh, and no gratuitous sex at all.

Hanes, I never knew about that one. Just watched the trailer and it looks really good. I've added it to the list. Thanks.

The first Harold and Kumar (Whitecastle) was good, despite the excessive use of drugs and profanity that makes it impossible to show to the family. I enjoyed it.

This latest one (Christmas) just never really got out of disgusting/offensive which were excessive. I could sit through it, I didn't take it out, but I can't recommend it, nor will I watch it again. More implied drug use than Cheech and Chong's Up In Smoke (1978), multiplied by our free-er movie industry norms than 1978, but the kind of abuse of the freedom of speech of the kind that burned out the audience's willingness to sit through Andrew Dice Clay's performances. The bit with Jesus Christ as spoiled and vengeful rich kid was offensive, and drug abuse of an infant is not funny. Neal Patrick Harris was unexpectedly dull in this. And to suggest that Santa Claus brings babbies when everyone knows they come from Storks, well it's something with which I simply can't abide. If they'd scaled back a lot it could have been a Disney movie, and you're happy that Harold and Kumar are still good friends that look out for each other when the going gets tough -- I could still root for them, I just couldn't abide anything else.


Not the worst film I've ever seen by a long shot. But certainly a let down.
If you must see it, consider waiting for it to be on television (HBO or something). I watched the unrated version, which presumably has something more offensive than the R rated theatrical.

Saw this "Swarm of Nano Quadrotors"

hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQIMGV5vtd4

And watched The Last Starfighter (1984)
because the Quadrotor formations reminded me of the Kordon fighters being deployed and controlled by the mothership at the frontier.

Watched Ice Age 1,2 and 3. Embarrassed to say that I have seen none of these before and at 20 bucks for all three on DVD they were great value. To be honest, it took me a while to get past the voice of Ray Romano as the main character as I kept seeing him in his sitcom. However, I was pleasantly surprised by all three of these movies. The second and third installments were of the same high quality and these were great films to watch with my young boy. Animation is great, there are enough adult references to keep us older viewers interested and enough other stuff going on for the kids. Would I watch these movies again by choice.... Absolutely.

I too agree that this franchise is pretty good. The DVD transfers are really good and the snippets I've seen from the BR look even better. I do enjoy watching these films as well.

@BB

Those little quadrotors are very cool, thanks for sharing.

I really love The Last Starfighter. I know that the CGI shows it's age, but for me this will also be a classic that I'll enjoy for years to come.

Regards,

RTROSE

Ok, this is where it gets embarrassing. I'm on holidays at the moment, and as a bribe/incentive to get my 4yo out of the pool in the heat of the day (it's summer here in Oz) I purchased a few movies to watch on the ps3.

So, without further justification, staring at shoes, Rationalization or just plain red faced explanation, we have watched....

Alvin and the Chipmunks (bluray)
Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 (bluray)
G-force 3d (bluray)
Meet the Robinsons 3d (bluray)

After watching the Ice Age trilogy, which I absolutely enjoyed, I had little expectations with either of the chipmunk movies. The first one was not as bad as I thought it would be. The 'squeakwel' was considerably less entertaining. What can I say? My son loved them both so I guess they are not aimed even close to my demographic.

G force was actually pretty good. I imagine the 3d is good as well but the apartment tv is not compatible. Kinda reminded me of the rodent version of Cats and Dogs.

Meet the Robinsons was an unexpected gem. Really enjoyed this one. Animation, story and audio were first rate. I am actually looking forward to watching this in the home theatre. it's amazing the quality of animation these days.

Well, hopefully this marks the end of my kids movie reviews.
Cheers all.

No need to feel as I have two grown 13 and 16 year old boys (who could care less about those movies) and I still watch them. Films like Cars, The Incredibles, among others are reference quality and are good demo material for the HT. Or that is the excuse I use when I watch them on a regular basis.

Regarding Meet the Robinsons, Mrs. RTROSE and I were both pleasantly surprised by this one as well. It is a very good movie with excellent visuals and audio.

As you will see, many of these films will endure with you even after your little one outgrows them.

Regards,

RTROSE

A Shine Of Rainbows

http://www.amazon.com/Shine-Rainbows...8697793&sr=8-1

If you have not seen this movie it is a great one for the whole family. Really enjoyed it.
Will not do much for your speakers but the beautiful Irish country side and bright colors were gorgoues on the Panny.

Got to love that Irish accent!

Watched Snowtown, a true Australian story of multiple murders in South Australia and what became known as the 'body in the barrel' murders. As you can guess, the story is not a pleasant one. It deals with some shocking topics including molestation, desperate poverty, homophobia and some truly sickening sequences of sexual assault and violence. I guess I watched this as I remember when this story was reported and had an interest in finding out what really happened 'behind the headlines'. It's a chilling, gritty and shocking movie and whilst I found it pretty heavy going and I didn't necessarily enjoy the time watching, on a cinematic level, this movie is truly worthy of the many accolades it received. It's certainly not a movie that should be viewed by under 18s but for those who enjoy powerful and intense story telling, Snowtown should be on your list. Consider yourself warned however.

Watched Real Steel. The movie is a great family movie and the audio and video are good quality. Great father and son movie, I would highly recommend this movie to all.

I am really looking forward to this one. It's winging it's way down under as we speak from Amazon. I had to buy it. Us Aussies are a pretty parochial bunch and Hugh is a very good actor (and performer). glad you enjoyed it.

A few Richard Attenborough films

Played: The Great Escape (1963)
Played: The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
Played: Doctor Dolittle (1967)
Played: Jurassic Park (1993)

It never occured to me that Big X from Great Escape


was the same actor as Jurassic Park's

I'm trying to remember his character on the '65 flight of the Phoenix (not the German model designer)??