Rate the Last Movie you saw.

[Psychotic Ninja]

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Grumpy Cat's worst Christmas ever

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THERE WAS NOTHING ON, OKAY!?

 

Anywho... this is the only rating I can give it:

 

 

vhe3vSe-mmw

[Dont_Tell_Taco_Tyrant]

I saw "Once Upon a Time in Shanghai" the other day on Youtube, a latter-day wushu film. I'm going to spoil pretty much everything to make my points:

 

I'd say it was a pretty standard urban-cowboy wushu story; Ma Yongzhen is a country bumpkin who immigrates to Japanese-occupied Shanghai, bringing with him nothing but his homespun values and superhuman strength. He settles into a worker's hospice and quickly learns about all the injustices and suffering caused there by the local crime syndicate. A year of fighting for the little man but showing kindness to his enemies turns Yongzhen into a folk hero and wins him a colorful cast of allies...who are promptly lost in a massacre while he isn't looking. Driven over the edge with grief, he throws his burdensome notions of mercy to the wind and unleashes his full lethality on the remaining antagonists in a final showdown. It even uses that same "Town Square" set that you've seen in every other wushu period piece--Ip Man, Invincible, and so on.

 

There were some nuances that I appreciated. For one, the movie doesn't hesitate to poke fun at Yongzhen for his naivety or put undeserved shine on his actions--there is one point where the corrupt Shanghai justice system lets a bunch of Japanese opium smugglers walk free, so he does his vigilante thing and after handing out beatings like its Fistmas Eve, he attempts to burn the truckload of contraband...only to be answered with a torrent of laughter, because opium doesn't burn (...'obviously'? That's really weird). Also at the end, the movie still keeps Yonzhen's victory in perspective by having him walk into a wall of police and paramedics, who are none too thrilled by his afternoon of binge-murdering.

 

My personal opinion is that movies are a different form of escapism than books, and should be judged differently. To me, the biggest distinction is that books communicate thoughts, while movies communicate feelings. Movies are more efficient with your time, but reading books are more valuable experiences.

 

All that is to say, I'm not necessarily put off by a movie with a shallow story because it can still do its job well and communicate emotions; there's no point in dismissing everyone's hard work just because the screen-writer got strongarmed into a conservative plot. For example, I will never forget Avatar because I had a disabling injury at the time and seeing a guy "escape" from the confines of his ruined body and excel was a welcome pick-me-up--for all of Avatar's faults, the movie was very eloquent when it was conveying inspiration (not so much romance or humor).

 

In light of that, Once Upon a Time in Shanghai is a pretty flat movie. I think the best acting was from Long Qi, who did a good job of conveying his character's charm and ruthlessness--the fact that he never shouted or got abusive actually made him seem more scary as a kingpin. Great anti-villain. Other than that, I think the best feeling that came across was from the extras, who did a good job at being speechless with terror at the appearance of ___________ dangerous guy. Other than that, though, I didn't feel much. The movie is very pretty, though, and the lighting guys did a great job establishing what mood there is.

 

The choreography was generally down to earth, with limited wire-fu and no high-fantasy shenanigans. Yongzhen does have this magic jade-bracelet thing that wigs out when he's about to giga-punch a fool, but its done in a tasteful, Bagger Vance sort of way. I liked their emphasis on tearing up the set and making a mess as they fought, particularly the sequences between Yongzhen and Long Qi. The fights without Long Qu him aren't as good.

 

All in all, 6/10

[Blightmare]

X-men: First Class : 7/10

 

I woulda given this a 9/10 because it honestly was fun to watch, but

 

 

it lost an astounding 2 points due to the bullshit that was Darwin's death. His power is adaptive fucking evolution, giving him the ability to survive just about anything and they killed him by making him suck in a small amount of stored energy? Seriously? He can TURN into pure energy if that was an ideal method of survival, and it's not a conscious thing either. If turning into energy woulda saved him, which would make sense given that it was energy itself killing him, then it would have been an automatic adaptation. It shouldn't have been "Adapt to this" *death*, it shoulda been "adapt to this" "alright fucker, CAN DO."

 

[rairii]

Big Hero 6, for the second time

It was even better the second time

10 out of

 

10.01

 

[BTGBullseye]

The Fifth Element

 

9.5/10

 

Old, but fun.

[Zaraki]

Interstellar

9/10

Not exactly perfect,but a DAMN good movie.

[Wasted_Hero]

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Perfect score!

 

I've actually owned it for a while as it is my favorite movie of all time. My kid just wanted to watch it again the other day so we did.

 

It actually took a couple of years for me to admit to myself that it was now my favorite movie. Monty Pythons Quest for the Holy Grail had occupied the number one slot for so long it was hard to admit that it was now at number 2.

 

1st world problems LOL!

[Psychotic Ninja]

Big Hero 6...

 

This sums up my thoughts very well:

 

http://channelawesome.com/disneycember-big-hero-6/

[BTGBullseye]

Guardians of the Galaxy

 

9.2/10

 

They better make a sequel... With pizza...

[Blightmare]

Silent Hill

 

5/10

 

Having played the games I was thoroughly disappointed by this. I'd rate it lower but I do admit that after numbing myself to the insults to the original, it was kinda fun to watch. From a purely popcorn munching, time passing perspective.

 

Edit:

 

New one: Ender's Game. As I haven't read the book, I'm rating this based off the enjoyment I got out of this as a standalone movie.

 

8/10

 

I hold a certain level of doubt when it comes to movies made off of books, even one's I haven't read(more subconscious than anything). This one was a little rough around the edges in terms of acting, a few characters feeling a little stiff, but the story held strong and even now I'm gonna be left wide awake thinking about that ending. Judging by how glued I was to watching it, I'd say I enjoyed it.

 

I need to read that book. O_O

[Vapymid]

I watched all 13 episodes of the Last Resort over the holidays...

 

Wow. Especially the first half or so cuts pretty deeply into the hypocrisy of politicians and the behind-the-scene machinations within the political and military establishment.

 

The second half is a bit tangled up but it still conveys well the feeling of growing desperation among the stranded crew and the finale is actually final, unlike many other series which get cancelled mid-run.

 

Some liberties have been taken with the way how technology (especially the comms) works on submarines but that just gives it a bit of a sci-fi flavour, IMHO.

 

Overall - highly recommended.

 

Regards

[BTGBullseye]

and the finale is actually final, unlike many other series which get cancelled mid-run.

Check out 'Life on Mars'... The writer refused to make a second season, despite the studio trying to get him to extend the series.

[Vapymid]

That one was quite good, I agree. I saw the original BBC version (it was set in Manchester, England, England instead of NYC as in the US adaptation) a few years back.

 

Regards

[Blightmare]

The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

 

9.5/10

 

Not the traveling journey the other 2 were but epic none the less.

[Doublenature]

Resurrection of half-old thread!

 

The Babadook

9/10

This is by far, the best modern horror movie Ive watched. Im easily scared, so this might not say alot, but during one scene I almost cried because I was scared.

[Binky The Rabbit]

Kingsman: The Secret Service.

 

7.5/10.

 

It's not groundbreaking, and doesn't really being anything new to the table. HOWEVER, what it does, it does brilliantly. Think KickAss meets James Bond via V For Vendetta and Men In Black, with some coming-of-age thrown in too.

 

Essentially, it's the polar opposite of Abduction, which is as memorable as the urination I undertook half an hour ago. Would definitely recommend if you like Samuel L. Jackson and English accents. It reminds me slightly of the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horrowitz (the Stormbreaker film doesn't actually exist. No, it DOESN'T).

[Blightmare]

The Imitation Game.

 

9/10

 

I can't really say much without spoiling anything but this movie really gives a new perspective on WWII and what the German Enigma actually was. It's not a war movie mind you; no scenes of battle.

[BTGBullseye]

Starship Troopers - 8/10 - A classic. B+ or A- movie that gained a cult following.

Starship Troopers 2 - 5/10 - It had some very good actors that were severely hampered by the script. Appeared to be an attempt to turn Starship Troopers into Pitch Black.

Starship Troopers 3 - 3/10 - Nothing but making fun of, and dissing religion from what I can tell.

Starship Troopers Invasion - 7.6/10 - Much better writing than 2/3, but the animation left quite a bit to be desired. (the voice acting was decent though)

[Binky The Rabbit]

Did you have a marathon BTG, perchance?

 

OT: A Million Ways To Die In The West. I never know what to make of Seth McFarlane. It was generally ok, but very much a Family Guy sort of humor, if less crass. Some great cameos tho.

[BTGBullseye]

It was just that all 4 were available on Netflix, and I was curious. (I've always liked the original, and the idea that in order to gain the right to vote you have to have some military service)