Recently Watched

For those who couldn't catch the movies in the theatres but waited for it on DVD, here's a topic for you!

I watched Into the Wild last night with Emile Hirsch. The movie was a true story about a man, just recently graduated from college, who was determined to take his Alaskan adventure. During the movie, you find out why it was important to him to take this trip without money or extravagant accomodations. He meets a lot of interesting people during his journey from Georgia to Alaska.

The narration in the movie was a big part. It was both from his and his sister's perspective. It was OK in the beginning but it became rambling towards the end. The original music was from Eddie Veder and I didn't really care much for it. Emile Hirsch played the role of "Supertramp" very well in this movie especially towards the end (I don't want to give any spoilers). Overall, the movie is a good watch when you have time to watch a movie but other than that don't waste your time. However, if you are "one with the outdoors" (err, I hate bugs) then you should watch this movie.

I had mixed feelings about Into the Wild, but liked it overall. McCandless isn't a very likable person (or character), and it was difficult for me to agree with every decision he made. But at the same time, I think we can all relate to the desire to get away, to be isolated from civilization for a while and bask in nature, from time to time. It's a very romantic idea in general.

Haven't seen anything particularly new recently, as I've been out of the country for a little over a week, but I've got John Carpenter's The Thing and Kurosawa's Ikiru waiting for me at home, so those will probably be my next viewings.

I agree with you about McCandless. I couldn't really relate to his character because of the decisions he made. He should have watched a bunch of episodes of Survivorman before heading out.

I watched King of California with Evan Rachel Wood and Michael Douglas. It's a story about father and daughter with reversed roles. The father just got of a mental institution after 2 years and goes back home with his daughter. The daughter, after quitting school to work at McDonalds, was financial problems. Michael Douglas already has those crazy eyes so it wasn't really stretch for him to play some crazy old man. He started doing research about a gold bounty hidden somewhere so he tries to find it and convinces his daughter at the end. Then, the sweet story of them fighting and realizing that they have father and daughter bond..blah blah blah. The movie had funny parts and a cute ending. A good watch if you want to bond with your dad. I'm a daddy's girl but my dad is 3,000 miles away so yea...I watched it with my friend.

I also ATTEMPTED to watch The Bee Movie and as you would have predicted...I fell asleep. I never found that Seinfeld guy hilarious nor slightly funny. *hears boos from Seinfeld lovers*.....aaww, I'm sorry..he sucks.

I tried to watch Gone Baby Gone. Casey Affleck didn't fit the character. I felt like he just got casted because his brother directed it...Why Ben Affleck, couldn't afford your buddy Matt Damon? or maybe he knew that this movie is going to suck...

I also watched American Gangster. Corruption? Really? with police? You can't be serious!...I only came from the most corrupted country with its government founded by corruption and willing to stab somebody in the back when you get an opportunity. God Bless the Philippines! I couldn't stop looking at Denzel Washington's shiny pearls. I never saw anything extraordinary when it came to Russel Crowe but I think he did well in this movie.

Yes, I know. I watch a lot of movies...I'm a film geek!

Sukiyaki Western Django. Extremely retarded, but funny movie. You either think it's the funniest thing in the world, or the biggest piece of garbage. I sit on both ends I think. Even the broken English wasn't that bad part way through the film, and it served its purpose in being so outrageous. Very Tarantino.

Oh, and it's more humorous and artsy, and less meaningful in terms of plot. Rather character driven.

Is it on video already? Or did you see it in the theaters? I've been wanting to watch this for a while now.

Came out September 2007 and that's not Tarentino films, It's another Takashi Miike film.

Thanks much for the info. Netflix hasn't gotten it yet, but I've "saved" it, so I'll be looking forward to its release on DVD.

I was in the mood for something simple and fun, so I finally watched District B13 on Netflix Instant Watching. If you're a fan of parkour, or "free running," and you want some kickass action sequences, I'd recommend this movie. Its main star is, in fact, the guy who founded parkour, David Belle.

The story is not overly complicated, and you do have to suspend your disbelief a little bit to enjoy the movie, but it's a great action flick, both in terms of showcasing parkour but also in some of the well choreographed fight sequences. Here's a couple examples:

The first chase scene with Belle - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zK9nkUr-8U
Fight scene with the movie's other star, Cyril Raffaelli, who's trained in Shotokan and Wushu - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVRT0Yrm3nk

Harmless fun, if you're looking for it.

most recent thing i watched was reign over me, i enjoyed it.

So I finally got around to watching Lars and the Real Girl last night. I knew the general concept of the movie (man has a doll for girlfriend, and his town plays along with it), so I figured it would be kind of lighthearted, funny, quirky, something along the lines of Juno or Little Miss Sunshine. You know, like "Oooh his girlfriend's a sex toy! Hilarity shall presently ensue!"

By the end of the movie, though, it felt more like Punch Drunk Love or The Squid and the Whale: still quirky, still a bit funny in a dark sort of way, but not necessarily all lighthearted. There were several scenes when I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

In any case, I loved it. My sister said she believed I would like it because she saw me in Ryan Gosling's character, and after I finished the movie, I thought to myself, "Okay, she thinks I'm batshit crazy." That's a bit of an overstatement of the character, but his psychological state is explored as part of the film, and it's pretty heartbreaking in parts. His performance is great, by the way, as are most of them in this film.

Luckily, the film's not all moody and contemplative, and it is ultimately kind of inspiring. There are definitely comic moments, but for a movie about a guy convincing people a sex doll is his girlfriend, there are remarkably no sight-gags or obvious jokes about the situation itself. I really enjoyed this movie, and I would readily watch it again. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a pretty honest story about a bizarre subject.

nobody knows from hirokazu koreeda. Good film

oh that's the last one I saw too.

It could have been a bit shorter though, but it was good. You should read about the real incident that the film was based on.

I got a few here:

Finally watched The Big Lebowski; I actually thought I would hate it, assumed it was the kind of movie that was only championed by obnoxious frat boys. But I enjoyed the hell out of it. It's definitely a stoner movie, with rambling conversations, random jump cuts, and plenty of "dude"s and "maaan"s, and my favorite was probably John Turturro's hilarious cameo. I would have liked to have seen Steve Buscemi utilized a bit more, but all the characters are memorable, and there is some damn fine cinematography here. I gotta say, the Coens really know how to make a movie. For brightening up my day, making me laugh, and showing me something bizarre yet, in some parts, rather beautiful, I personally have to give it a 7.5-8/10.

Then, I also watched The Savages. I'd heard a lot about it, and critics across the board loved it, so I'd been looking forward to seeing it for some time. Like Lars and the Real Girl, The Savages was nothing like I expected it to be. Instead of a straight-up dark comedy, I got this melancholic (albeit well acted) dysfunctional family story that left me feeling a little depressed. But then, I think that's mostly because I couldn't help but see a little of myself in Philip Seymour Hoffman's and Laura Linney's characters, both struggling middle-aged writers (not that I'm middle aged) with complicated love lives and a severe case of ennui. Pretty decent film otherwise, so 7/10.

Then I had the displeasure of watching Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Why did I go see this, you may ask? Because it's sh** movie season right now, and the only other interesting movies showing at the theater I was at were Baby Mama and Street Kings. Why not Baby Mama, you may ask? Because my friend didn't care what she watched, and I felt like seeing an outrageous screwball comedy. I was disappointed. H&K had some merits, but even with a relatively packed theater, there were some conspicuously silent moments. It was absolutely ridiculous, like you would expect it to be, but my problem was that it just felt like a series of raunchy SNL skits strung together over a cliched, super-thin plot. Some of those skits were on the money, but a lot of them either went on for too long or missed the mark entirely. I'd have to give it a 5/10.

I also saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall last week (believe me, it's weird; I generally don't even prefer comedies), but I'm too tired to write anything substantial about it. Suffice it to say the women were hot, the jokes were sort of stale, and Jonah Hill's character was absolutely worthless and unnecessary. Like H&K, it had some moments, but overall I'm giving it a 5-5.5/10. A lot of people seem to be loving it though, so who knows? You might like it too.

THE BIG LEBOWSKI? One of my all time favs!! I give it a 9.5/10 (don't believe in perfection) and a 10/10 to Jeff Bridges, John Turturro and John Goodman (believe in deserved kudos)