What was the last movie you watched?

Standing In The Shadows Of Motown. A documentary about The Funk Brothers, who were Motown's house band and therefor played on tons of hit records, but didn't get a lot of fame in their day. I remember seeing parts of it in a music history class once. The musicians have some enlightening and/or funny stories to tell, and there are clips of the surviving members of the original band playing songs they had recorded with different guest vocalists, which are pretty entertaining: Joan Osborne turns out to have a pretty good voice for the style, but my favorite was Bootsy Collins, who mainly worked in context because he was given somewhat goofy songs that suited his stage persona, namely "Cool Jerk" and "Do You Love Me". I have now decided that sometime when I next feel like being hammy I will attempt "Do You Love Me" at karaoke.

edited 30th Jan '16 11:25:27 PM by MikeK

Airplane, utterly hilarious.

...Kung Fu Panda 3...

Jackie Brown. The least Tarantino-like Tarantino movie, and hence one of his best.

I saw the 5th Wave on 1/23. Best film I've seen so far this year, which is thanks to the fact that this is the ONLY film I've seen this year. 3/10. How do I describe this film? Let's see... Awful, cringeworthy, badly scripted, badly acted, unintentionally hilarious, and great riffing material all sound about right.

The acting from almost every single person falls so flat that I can't believe there are professional f**king actors here. I just... wow. Most of the dialogue (especially from the main characters Cassie and Zombie) are so awkward and stumbled over that they're even worse portrayals of teenagers than the Twilight series at points!

But what pushed this film from rage-inducing to unintentional comedy has got to be the drama element, or lack there of. I swear, that Twilight Saga comparison is actually pretty close. They both attempt at sad moments but fail so miserably that you almost want to feel bad for everyone involved with making this rotten mess.

The one thing that did manage to piss me off was how underdeveloped the aliens were. I have no idea if the book is the same way, so I don't know if it's the filmmakers' fault. HOWEVER, the aliens are hyped up as these insane and diabolical monsters, yet we only see them impersonating humans! Did the writers even care?!

My final issue is how predictable everything in The 5th Wave is. For example, the aliens have the first wave be an EMP-like pulse that takes out all electrical power around the world. Even cars and cell phones don't work. Yet, we then see the military roll in on tanks and vehicles of their own, which makes zero sense. So for the next hour, you're just waiting for them to reveal what you already have figured out - that the military is impersonated by the aliens- I'm sorry, I meant the "Others." What is this? Lost?!

I recommend this film, though. I recommend it not just to my worse enemies, but also to those of you who know how to riff a film and those who put The Room as one of their favorite films ever. This is probably The Room of young adult dystopian book adaptations, but with how many other adaptations could be made soon, that could change. For the moment, though, it's an awful film that should be cherished.

Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo, which is finally out in the US after a bazillion delays. Quite a lot harder to follow than the previous two movies, but some interesting twists.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. It's just as good as my mom told me it is.

Blood Trails (2006): An odd-feeling bike chase-themed slasher film with one of the most inept final girls ever. The first death involved a man's throat somehow being slit with a bicycle, so it had that going for it, I guess.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It still has it's charm.

About half of the 2004 Arsene Lupin movie. I am kinda disappointed that the classic look◊ only appears in an early scene, and as a disguise, but I understand, since it is kind of a case of Beam Me Up, Scotty!, with the first story stating that Lupin looks different every time the author sees him, and that he doesn't have a "default" appearance.

I haven't read many of the stories it's based on, but I did pick up on a few references to the ones I have read, like "The Arrest of Arsene Lupin" and "The Queen's Necklace". Seems to borrow heavily from "The Countess of Cagliostro", which I have yet to read. I'm enjoying the movie so far, though. Lupin as played by Romain Duris is very charming and stylish, but it amuses me how much his sideburns make him look like his anime grandson. As the Countess, Kristin Scott Thomas has a seductive and alluring danger about her. I like Eva Green as Clarisse, but the fact that she seems to have a sexual realtionship with her cousin (and is referred to as such) kinda weirds me out (I'm guessing it wasn't as incesty back in 19th century France?)

It's not really seen as incest anywhere outside of the States, TBH. Cousin marriage is VERY common worldwide. As they say in the Eric Flint "1632" books, Americans are culturally "maniacally exogamist".

That I remember, Aliens, the first one. For the first time too. Man what a masterpiece.

Turbo Kid. This was a lot of fun. The main thing I liked about it is that, as the trope page points out, it's surprisingly idealistic for an incredibly gory Affectionate Parody of post-apocalyptic Exploitation Films.

edited 4th Feb '16 10:03:51 PM by MikeK

I was bored, so I decided to watch The Intern.

What can I say, I love Robert De Niro character. He is a walking personification of Good Feels Good, a message I always will approve. He wasn't preachy, but it was an example of a true gentleman.

I like the movie, is fun to pass the time. Also, according to the YMMV page, some people mistook the film as a chick flick. Is not, but I do'll admit is a pretty simple story. Then again, simple sometimes is better.

The Lost Boys. Someone should've told me that the plot moves pretty fast. But, it was entertaining and funny. It has the charm and humor of The Goonies, with some horror bits.

The Mummy Returns, the Brendan Fraser/Rachel Weisz/John Hannah version. As good as I remember it being, even though ITV 2 cut it to shribbons for the early evening television showing. Followed by the last fifteen minutes of Escape from New York.

Alien 3.

It does not hold up well against the other two.

Hell's Highway (2002): Entertainingly cheesy, despite the numerous drawbacks. Also, weird twist ending.

RED 2. Pretty good film. As good as the first, in fact. Helen Mirren continues to look gorgeous wearing a mink coat and an Accuracy International .338 sniper rifle.

You Can (Not) Redo. Finally!

The Revenant.

I didn't realise the bloody thing was in real-time.

The Long Kiss Goodnight. Why this wasn't a much bigger hit escapes me.

Davis, Jackson and the lassie who plays Charlie Baltimore's kid are fantastic.

• Terror Toons (2002): It's... what you'd expect, I guess.

SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion

edited 11th Feb '16 1:07:31 PM by Teemo

Lincoln.

A surprisingly good movie based off of Abe Lincoln.