Movie of the Moment

[mr h atom]

totally agree..i have zero problem with cgi when it is used correctly .

in too many films these days, it is used solely to create some effect that starts out as some nincompoops idea of 'ooh, won't that be neat/different'...but ends up looking stupid, insipid and, in the case of alot of these 'horror' films, definately not very scary.

i've heard alot of good things about the woman in black and the trailer was quite pleasing...i'll probably be waiting for video at this point, but is one that has piqued my interest, indeed

i'll have to check out the ides of march...i love a good bit of dramatic storytelling, especially when i'm being shown something i've never seen/heard of/realized before

[chris]

efghi...you're right...a few directors/producers are still doing it correctly...but it's becoming farther and fewer...and it isn't being missed...which makes me sad.

every year there are a handful of great movies. but they are NOT the flicks that bring in the cash (which i don't care all that much about). movie goers like explosions...and dangling from a buiding...and adam sandler...and more explosions...

if you were an artist (songwriter/director/actor/painter/sculptist) would you rather do what sells for no other reason than it sells, and have millions in your bank account...or do what your heart tells you to and be true to yourself...be respected by critics and peers...and sell...and make nearly nothing? (sounds like a great idea for a NPC thread...but who reads those?)

someday i vow to do something about those pesky run on sentences. but they're so darned fun...

[mr h atom]

interestingly enough, big c...that's a similar sentiment ( art vs. $$) that i, and many others, have oft mused about certain musical artists and recent/current setlists...

a continual artistic gordian knot, if you will ?

...'course, here, with this plague of cgi...i think it's just damned lazy work on most parts...the cgi artists are quite often not as good as they think they are...and the directors more often than not have no 'eye' on how to use this effectively: it's just a 'new toy'...and it certainly seems that they all feel the intense need to run amuk ! amuk ! amuk ! *

*now THERE'S a old movie reference !

[chris]

couple of real gems of late. rarely...i mean...rare-lee...will i recommend a romantic comedy. crazy, stupid, love with steve carrell is the best RC since when harry met sally. every role is brilliant. it's a movie i watch every time it's on. and it gets me to laugh out loud every time i see it. which i rarely do anymore.

the descendants with george clooney. invest in kleenex before you watch this and your return investment will be guaranteed. i had to be hooked up to intravenous saline solution to replace all the fluid that mysteriously fell from my optical areas. lay a plastic tarp over your couch to preserve the material. i knew what this was about, sort of. but i was not prepared for that emotional roller coaster.

and the help. very girly. very. but...in spite of that. very well told story. very well made. and just to be clear...very girly. but worth the price of admission. i promise.

[mr h atom]

just watched 'the descendants' this past weekend...fantastic movie: utterly fantastic performance by clooney...loved every moment of it: chris tells true...the weak of duct will need kleenex galore !

also watched...

'j. edgar': the only movie eastwood has directed that i simply did not get...a little too weird...a little too oddly put-together...can't say i disliked it...but was left rather ambivilent

'warhorse'...hokey, yes, but wonderful nonetheless in a nice, old fashioned movie-making kind of way: besides, right now, anything with THE MAN benedict cumberbatch (if, even, briefly) in it is just hunky dory with me (hint, fans...he's in the next Star Trek movie, too !)

'winter bone' really liked this one...what an off-beat story...i felt like it did not take enough chances...like it walked up the edge, but drifted back...could've been an all-out classic, but too much insinuated was left unfulfilled...a drame with noir pretensions, it just hit me right: great performances by all

and, as a last note...chris said : " ...laugh out loud. which i rarely do anymore."

wassup, my brutha ? hope things are well...if i'd'a known ya needed sumpin' ta laugh at...i woulda sent you a picture of what i really look like, but you'd never stop laughing...i don't need that think quasimodo on a bad day...my wife does shee-oot..the cops still pull me over fer breakin' the mirrors, never mind the law !

hang in there brutha...just remember, it could always be worse: you could've been raised to be a royals fan...

[chris]

and, as a last note...chris said : " ...laugh out loud. which i rarely do anymore."

an odd observation i recently made about myself. when i hear something...sort of...funny...i say, either out loud or to myself...that was funny. without actually laughing.

and i'm not sure the royals have it that much worse than my beloved cubbies. they have won in my lifetime...i think. i seem to recall a george brett team in the early 80's that didn't suck.

[mr h atom]

ah, yes...the '80's.... weren't we all in diapers ???

nope...shhheeeeeepdip, i'm old...i remember chief knockahoma !

just a few days until the batman rises...anyone got their sights set on visiting gotham city one more time ?

y'know...now that you put it that way...there are an awful lot of comedies, these days, that i simply do not laugh at; just sort of smirk/smile...also an awful lot that i simply don't find funny as a whole

[efghijiloveyou]

I rarely laugh out loud either, gents. Most comedy movies never seem funny to me at all, most seem too imature. As for the Royals, didn't they win the series in 1985, beating the Brewers?

[mr h atom]

had a day off and watched...

drive - i liked this one...but that is about it. ryan gosling was, at times, very interesting...then very boring...albert brooks was quite a surprise...bryan cranston, so excelllant in so much lately: wasted...

some of the editing decisons really kinda bored me...that shouldn't happen with a highly rated noir/crime/thriller/drama

and the actual driving scenes were nothing special or out of the ordinary...really don't know what all the fuss was about: average movie, seen it all done better before../looked really nice though, great cinematography

red state - wow i pretty much thought i knew what this one was about...and while i came close, writer/director kevin smith really took off in some very chancy directions quite often.
i can see why no one had the balls to actually release it: at least one political party would look really stupid and unamerican for all the bleating on it does about certain hot political topics of the moment.
as a registered (r) for over 30 years, i've been saying, quite emphatically, that this is the direction our country is being moved, by right wing extremists/rhetoric that too many find some shelter in.
i bemoan this shift: it is not the liberals, the left or the (d) that are causing all this...it's the far right and the lazy (r)'s who won't do anything about it for fear of pissing off one of their last major constituancies...end rant...great movie

buried - holy crap !! holy crap !!! ryan reynolds !!! in a box !!!! that's it !!! this one little movie, which i had not seen before...but which i'd always wanted to, was the single most terrifying, fear inducing, anxiety raising flick i've seen in, like...forever !! holy crap !!! great, great movie...see it, if you dare !!! did i mention a 100% guarenteed, perfect peformance by...ryan reynolds ?!?!?!! i don't have no finger nails left....

[chris]

about drive...brooks was great. i agree. a mostly enjoyable flick. but...it's music choices (and volume of said music) made me think i was watching something produced by mtv at times.

red state...hadn't seen it. but i love kevin smith's raunchy humor (although this seems to be a different sort of animal)