Amph What was the last movie you saw?

Drive
I liked it. Ryan Gosling gives a great stoic and muted performance. Very brutal and raw in its depiction of violence. Not like your typical action flick that glosses over it. Then again, this isn't an action flick. It has very little of it, in fact. My only complaint about it is that there wasn't any gratification for me in the ending. But on the other hand, I don't think that was the intention either. 4 out of 5.

 

Finally saw Cloud Atlas. Even at three hours, it was impossible to do the book justice. Despite the bleak elements retained in the movie adaptation, they poured a lot of syrup over the whole narrative in what was obviously a failed attempt to make the project palatable to the adult audiences likely to see a Tom Hanks movie. In retrospect, casting Hanks was probably the worst mistake of the whole production. Also, all the prosthetics on the facial makeup made many scenes seem a bit more ridiculous than they had to be. Also, they omitted or drastically abbreviated elements of the story that seemed critical to me, in particular Soni's effort to educate herself. Without an understanding of how she became fully self-aware and acquired the knowledge to become a revolutionary philosopher, we can't really appreciate her story.

 

"The Fellowship of the Ring". Amazing to think it's almost eleven years old.

 

Seven Psychopaths... it was really, really funny, well acted & interesting throughout. Sam Rockwell & Christopher Walken stood out in their roles, and given the nature of the title, the film didn't hold back on the violence. And the dialogue/situations seen throughout were greatly done in their quirkyness.

 

Crazy Stupid Love
Charming, but highly clichéd rom-com that follows a set of characters as they struggle with their romances. We've seen many like this before, but the slightly unique aspect of this one is that all the characters it follows happen to be members of the same family, or in some way connected to said family. There's the parents going through a divorce after admissions of cheating, there's the son who has a crush on the babysitter, the babysitter who has a crush on the dad and so on and so forth. In the end, it irrevocably remains one of those feel-good flicks, but one needs them once in a while, doesn't one? It's allowed. In its defence, not everyone got what they wanted in the end, so there is that.

It doesn't have any hilarious moments, in my opinion, but there are some nice laughs to be sure. Probably the funniest moment in the film is the clichéd "all of the players of the different stories coincidentally meet up for a big brawl in the garden" - moment. You'll spot the moment coming from miles away. Overall, a very average film in my opinion, but as mentioned, it does have charm. And Ryan Gosling. 3 out of 5.

 

Ep. I.

Is it 2015 yet?

 

^Oh geez, it is! Makes you feel old, huh?

In the middle of Sherlock Holmes

 

Gone With the Wind
This was actually my first time watching this. I was surprised to find that, contrary to my experience with classic movies, this film was well edited and paced. Not once did I feel that a scene was superfluous or needless, or that the narrative was too slow. And this picture was produced in 1939! With a runtime close to four hours, no less. It is quite an achievement to produce a four hour long film that doesn't feel slow. Even more so when considering its age. Compare with Ben Hur, for instance, which could use plenty of trimming down in my opinion. Apart from that, I think the only thing that needs to be said about this flick is that it is a classic for good reason. 5 out of 5.

 

District 9

 

The Invisible War. It was good, though I already knew a fair bit about the subject it tackles. It is a documentary about sexual harassment and (mostly) rape in the U.S. military. 20% of women in the military get raped and 1% of men, and the culture of masculinity and fraternity and keeping things in-house make it even harder for victims to pursue their cases than it would be in civilian life. Yay.

 

"True Friends"

It was a Mix of "A Bronx Tale," "The Body," and some type of semi-depressing movie. I'd give it 3/5 stars.

 

Watched Ep. III last night and Ep. II the night before.

 

The Artist
A silent film about the end of silent films. How is that for meta? It was fun. One would think watching a silent movie would be boring, but it wasn't. Cheerful, funny and charming. It was well made, and I had a good time watching it. 4 out of 5.

 

Why would anyone think that?

 

The Man with the Iron Fists. Fun popcorn flick and great soundtrack. Before that, Seven Psychopaths. Liked it, and definitely not what I suspected.

 

Casino Royale. I loved it. Second favorite Bond film, below From Russia With Love.

 

Crimson Tide. Forgot how good it was.

 

Safety Not Guaranteed

It was good.

 

Started watching all Bond movies in chronological order, because I'm all Skyfalled up. Currently up to Live And Let Die.

 

'The Amazing Spider-Man'

 

Meditate on this, I will.

 

If you let us regulars in the Bond thread know when you reach Moonraker, we will endeavour to be there for you to help you through this bleak period.