Now Showing - What We Watched - Page 224

Watched Johnny English Reborn (2011)
3/5 (amazon 4.2/5, imdb 6.2/10, rotten tomatoes 37%)



Lots of fun. A little better than the last one I think. Certainly exactly what I was hoping for, and more than I was expecting.

Watch till the end of the credits.

Scorpian King 3 - Your guess is probably accurate.

Twilight- Breaking Dawn - For me, this franchise isn't so bad. The first was the best by far. This one is just a transition in the story really. I don't understand the love triangle though....if I were either of the guys I wouldn't tolerate it.

Watched Rum Diary (2011)
1.7/5 (amazon 3.1/5 even split 1-5, imdb 6.5/10, rotten tomatoes 50%)
Blech
I was hoping for any of -- comedy, action, journalistic hunt -- and it didn't deliver those, nor did it deliver anything else.
What a disappointment, all of the best parts were in the trailer.
"It's colorful and amiable enough, and Depp's heart is clearly in the right place, but The Rum Diary fails to add sufficient focus to its rambling source material"
Sony continues to put out blu-ray releases that have lossless audio tracks corrupted with cinavia (Sony PS3 Playstation has software to handle it).



Watched Age of Heroes (2011)
2.6/5 (amazon 3.2/5, imdb 5.5/10, rotten tomatoes 40%)
More of a Saturday Afternoon Television Movie than anything else.
British action-thriller based on the real-life events of Ian Fleming's 30 Commando during World War II. It's no "The Heroes of Telemark", and Sean Bean tries in the first 80% of the film, but there's just not quite enough in the script/budget for anyone to work with to get it over that B/C-movie hurdle.
I bought it to see Ian Fleming portrayed, and he does make an appearance starting about half way through, although it wasn't the role I was anticipating based upon the advertisements.
Watchable, but I don't think I'd make any of my friends sit through it.

Watched: Gotham (1988)
2/5
Strange little private detective story with Virginia Madsen as the living breathing 10-year-dead ghost, and Tommy Lee Jones as the detective.


And then I went on another Invasion From Space movie bit:
Played: It came from Outer Space (1953)
Played: Target Earth (1954)
Played: This Island Earth (1955)
Played: Kronos (1957)
Played: The Blob (1958)
Played: Teenagers from Outer Space (1959)
Played: Lifeforce (1985)
Played: They Live (1988)

If you haven't seen They Live, well, get out there and consider it man. 3.4/5

Lifeforce is one of those films you can stand to watch every ten years. Sort of a vampires/zombies/beauties from space with terrible acting/direction. 2.7/5

Teenagers from Outer Space I thought would be more of a rebelious teenager story, perhaps in a Beach Blanket Bingo style's Motorcycle Gang, but it turned out to be more of an invasion sort of story which brought the score up to: 1.7/5

In the span of only a few hours The Blob killed and devoured more than 50 people, growing from the size of a softball to larger than a school bus. There is no known way to kill The Blob. Officer Dave of the Downington Police Department, who confronted the monster in 1957 stated, "I don't think it can be killed," pointing out that high voltage electricity, bullets and acid were useless in destroying it. The Blob was stopped only by freezing it with CO2 fire extinguishers for long enough to allow the military to fly it to the Arctic. Downington resident Steve Andrews, who was nearly killed by The Blob explained that the monster could only be contained, "as long as the Arctic stays cold". Global Warmists take note.

Kronos I played twice, first with the sound off and it was really good. Then I played it again with the sound on and it wasn't nearly as exciting -- basically the script trashed what were some interesting 1957 special effects. 2.2/5

This Island Earth shows up on regular television every few years so you've probably seen this one. Rex Reason's voice is memorable. It's an aliens-have-high-forheads movie. 2.2/5 "Dr. Meacham is chosen along with others by the inhabitants of the planet Metaluna to do research that will help save their dying planet. However, an evil scheme is uncovered by the suspecting Dr. Meacham when he discovers the Metalunan's plan to take over Earth. Dr. Meacham then escapes an exploding Metalunan built Earth lab along with Dr. Adams only to be kidnapped while flying away in a small plane. A flying saucer wisks both the scientists off to Metaluna where they are held accountable for blowing up the Metalunan Earth lab during their escape. They later escape there with the help of Exeter the friendly Metalunan. Metaluna then self destructs and the Doctors make it safely back to Earth"

Target Earth involves robots running around earth taking over, a couple that doesn't evacuate an occupied city, and Whit Bissell as a scientist. I don't know if this movie typecast Whit Bissell for sci-fi for most of his future memorable roles, but it's early enough in his career to have done it. 1.9/5 Watchable for enthusiasts.

It came from Outer Space actually has a bit of a plot and characters. The aliens look alien, and unlike The Puppet Masters (1994), they spent some money on a spaceship with a rather solid looking door. 2.7/5

The 5th Quarter- Recommended on this thread by David. Great story! Great movie! However....it was too much emotion for me to handle. I had to take myself out of the movie several times so I wouldn't drown in tears right in front of my family. It did serve as great illustration to our boys as to why they will receive a sharp "NO" when they want to ride in a car with their buddies.

The trailers on this disk showed several other interesting movies with positive messages. Why is it that the only place you see these sorts of films advertised is on these discs? Marketing budget? positive messages don't sell? Two I can think of that break that mold are "We are Marshall" and "The Blind Side".

Watched Lady and the Tramp on Bluray. This is the Diamond Edition with 7.1 sound, fully restored. For a picture of so many years, Disney have done an excellent job in bringing the PQ way up to scratch. The last time I saw this was on Videotape so the BD is a revelation. As you would guess, the 7.1 is hardly going to rock the house with its dynamics but it's not that type of movie. This is a movie that I enjoy each time I see it. A timeless story of a pedigree pampered pooch falling for a scruffy mutt from the other side of the tracks. This is still a great family movie and the introduction at the start from the great Walt Disney's daughter is very interesting. This is definitely a keeper.

Watched Immortals (2011)
2.8/5 (amazon 3.3/5, imdb 6.3/10, rotten tomatoes 36%)

An ok addition to the various 'Zeus helps mortals' movies we've had through the years. Certainly lots of action and violence. Quite watchable, but not riviting. Moderately entertaining. Oracles, bows, titans, battles, revenge, Greek gods and impending wars, but predictable. Might be better in 3D. A lot of it is at night, so turn the lights out.
And as per hollywood tradition, they re-wrote greek myth because apparently it wasn't good enough to endure. And the Minotaur, oh come on. The bad guy is not the titan Hyperion, but just a guy named Hyperion. Noble-born hero Theseus, wasn't.

last pm, 'IRONCLAD', a middle ages swordfight fest.

Watched The Buccaneer (1958)
3.4/5 (amazon 5/5, imdb 6.3/10)

Good film. I thought it was well directed.
Yul Brynner, Charlton Heston, Inger Stevens, E.G. Marshall, Charles Boyer,
and I almost missed her, Majel Barrett (Star Trek TOS's Nurse Christine Chapel) as Townswoman!

Watched Electric Dreams (1984)
2.4/5 (amazon 4.5/5, imdb 6.0/10)
An artificially intelligent PC and his human owner find themselves in a romantic rivalry over a woman (Virginia Madsen).
The cello computer duet is the highlight of the film.

Watched Star Command (1996)
3/5 (imdb 5.1/10)
It has that certain something. A lot of the story is pure fluff, feel-good TV with formulaic text, but the actors and actresses who are playing the roles manage to bring a degree of feeling to the proceedings.
A crew of space navy cadets on a training mission find themselves forced to fight an enemy fleet for real. They lose their senior officers (Morgan Fairchild, Chad Everett) in the opening battle, then through luck and guile try to defend a helpless colony. One little corvette (advantage speed, maneuverability) against five big cruisers (advantage armour, firepower, sensors).


Watched Starship Invasions (1977)
3/5 (imdb 3.9/10)
Nobody on the planet seems to like this film but me.
To my mind, it's the ONLY film where the flying saucers fly correctly. When I was growing up, the reports of flying saucers constantly talked about how they turned without regard for physics, inertia -- instantly changing velocity, instantly changing direction.

Watched We Are Marshall (2006)
3/5 (amazon 4.5/5, imdb 7.0/10, rotten tomatoes 49%, Decent Films B+)
I'd seen this before.
The scene in the film library of the opposing team, where they offer everything they know to the new Marshall coach, is always touching -- and to my mind more important than the ending.
Emotional, uplifting, and enjoyable.

Not to mention you would either be a Ware-wolf or Vampire!

Last week I watched:
Ned Kelly (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113749/)
Mallrats (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0277941/)
Mad City (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119592/)
Killer Elite (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1448755/)
Footloose (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068242/) I haven't seen the original (1984)

Yesterday:
Annapolis (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417433/)

You, sir, are too kind with your Rum Diary review. I thought it was going to be a funny, quirky, something movie. The only saving grace was Amber Heard . . .

I really enjoyed this one. It was also Matthew McConaughey's finest piece of acting. I really dislike him in everything else he's done. But, he did such a fine job here that I wonder why he doesn't strive for better roles?

In Time- Great movie...no. Fun, yes! Justin Timberlake isn't half bad. It had the most "Sci-Fi" feel to it of anything I've seen recently. Maybe not a purchase movie, but definetely worth a rent!

I didn't really notice any great acting in that one. I don't think he really changes much from film to film, but the films certainly change (better/worse scripts, better/worse direction/production, better/worse co-actors). In each film he does, he starts by picking an emotion, and sticks with it throughout.

The main difference in my favourite 3 Matthew McConaughey films is hair:
- We Are Marshal (2006) - messy hair
- Sahara (2005) - nice hair
- Reign of Fire (2002) - no hair

Honorable mention
- A Time to Kill (1996)
- U-571 (2000)
- The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

I don't think Matthew McConaughey has ever won an oscar. He's acted with oscar winners. He's been directed by oscar winners. He's handed out oscars.

Matt Damon on Letterman impersonates McConaughey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qv9sixrdMU

LOL. By "his finest piece of acting", I was rating him against himself! No, I wouldn't give him an Oscar nod in the grand scheme of all acting. But "We are Marshal" and "U571" were respectable for me.

And that's a funny video! That was the first thing that struck me with WAM....he left his shirt on.

Have been watching Sons of Anarchy series 1-3 on Bluray. Riding a bike, I really enjoyed the series' on that level but it's a fascinating, yet dramatized insight into the goings-on of an outlaw motorcycle gang. Katey Segal (Peggy Bundy from married with children fame) plays the matriarch of a highly dysfunctional group who live life on a knife's edge, where competing gangs and alliances pose more of a threat than law enforcement. Ron Perlman, a genuinely intriguing actor who played Hellboy brings a strange mix of code, humanity and ruthlessness to his character. Much like the Sopranos, you know the main characters are crooked and ultimately amoral in their behavior yet you still feel an affinity for them. Says a lot for the quality of the writing. Takes a little while to get into it but the payoff is worth the effort. IMHO, one of the finest TV shows in a long time.

Watched the 2011 version of Footloose. Rented this with some reservation as I grew up with the 80's version and this was the cool movie way back when as a young teen. I was pleasantly surprised. Just different enough to make it interesting but adhered to the original enough to maintain it's integrity as a remake. Really enjoyed the soundtrack.... but prefer the original. It's in DTS 5.1 Master so the audio is certainly much better than the original. Picture is way better too. This doesn't pretend to be grand cinema but as a feel good movie experience with great music, some interesting reworking and pretty capable acting, this is a pretty good effort. I liked it. Solid 7.5 /10.

Also saw Mr Poppins Penguins. This was actually also pretty good. Jim Carey plays his usual character, just looking a little older. The penguins are great and the CGI really impressive. It has a nicely inoffensive storyline of a separated couple finding their feelings for each other again, set amongst property development, teenage kids and 6 pretty cool penguins. Worth a rental and probably a hit with the kids. Enjoyable. 6.5/10

Why cant i find this on Netflix to rent?

Ignore this as i justfound it.

I watch Sucker Punch and have to say that i found the dialogue parts to be too soft but the rest of the Audio and Picture quality was top notch. I really enjoyed hearing my system 'sing'!

However as dream like as the story was it put me to sleep about1/2 way through. I just didnt have any connection to most if not all the characters. I felt like iwas watching hot chicks playing some fantasy Call of Duty game.

I was hoping for more but this one was underwhelming for me. On another note, the visuals were fun, spectacular at times and the girls all were hot, especially Carla Gugino!

Puss in Boots - 2/5

This movie just wasn't as funny as I had hoped it would be. It may be that I'm not a cat person (you would have to meet the vicious beast that lives with us to understand), but I only found myself laughing a handful of times throughout the movie. It may have been that I set my sights a little too high as I was hoping for another Shrek, but I found myself bored enough that I was checking the forums for updates during the movie. It also may have been that I just wasn't in the mood for a comedy (i did have to convince myself to watch a movie last ight instead of going to bed early ).

YMMV, but I was not impressed by this one.

EDIT: BTW, I love animated movies. Toy Story is one of the few movies I would give a 5/5.

Have this ordered on Amazon. Can't wait. Sounds like Hugo is one of those special movies you keep coming back to.
Cheers.

Watched Finding Nemo on DVD. We bought this for my son about two years ago and it's been missing for almost that long. Had cause to open up the casing on one of my old DVD players and found about 6 discs stuck inside. Long story short, have Nemo and a few other movies and they survived fine. I think little fingers were to blame. Needless to say, the DVD player went to electronics heaven.
This is still a great movie. On a 145 scope screen the picture on DVD is understandably soft.... Can't wait for when Pixar finally release the Bluray of this movie. Dynamically, this disc is awesome. Some of the bass gave the system a good workout, particularly the shark chase scene and when the submarine shifts. Really shook the room. If Pixar continue with the 7.1 DTS Master Audio transfer of late, this will be amazing. Really happy I watched this again. Still a favorite. 9/10

Watched Hugo and wasn't impressed at all. Besides the image quality of the film, i felt it was a bit dissapointing. I think that all the great reviews had me expecting much. Sorry to say maybe a 2/5 rating for me.

I survived The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
2.6/5 (amazon 3.3/5 even split, imdb 3.6/10, rotten tomatoes 6%)

By far, the best lunar film on August 16 2002 staring Randy Quaid and John Cleese with assistant director Frank Capra.
It has little to do with the 1966 novel "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert A. Heinlein or "The Long Run: A Tale of the Continuing Time" by Daniel Keys Moran -- I may be the only person to ever mention them in conjunction with Pluto Nash, but I think it's clear that all three have the moon in them.
Just put your expectations of aside and watch the movie, it's actually better than just about everything on television these days. Despite the staggering amount of money lost, this is not one of the all-time cinematic disasters.

Hillary Clinton, often a fan of Sci Fi writers, makes her appearance on the $10,000 dollar bill. And space suits look even dorkier than they did in cheap sci-fi films that get laughed at on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

It's Quaid who almost steals the show as the out-of-date robot. His wacky facial mannerisms and gigantic, perpetual grin (we're told he's high on a happy chip) are simple fun. It's just one of the strangest pieces of acting anyone's ever seen.

Alissa Kramer and Heidi Kramer (twins), also known as Star Trek Voyager's Delaney sisters, make an appearance.

Budget: $100,000,000 (estimated)
Gross: $4,420,080 (USA)









Rosario Dawson, Randy Quaid, and Eddie Murphy
watching the movie "The Adventures of Pluto Nash"

last pm watched, 'the lazarus project'.

Watched 'Driver' with Ryan Gosling. Had heard good things about this movie and wasn't disappointed, although it was not as I had expected. Had expectations of another chapter of Fast and the Furious but this was exactly the opposite. A slow burning, brooding film in which Goslings character really says very little. There was a romantic interest that never really went anywhere and some violence that was so sudden and graphic that I had to look away on a couple of occasions. no, I'm not a prude but seeing and hearing someone being stomped to death was confronting. Great supporting roles from Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks make this movie an interesting experience. I enjoyed it but not in a hurry to see it again just now. 7.5/10