Amph What was the last movie you saw?

i took my kids to see monsters university. i thought it was ok. not great, but consistently amusing. my kids however apparently thought it was torture, because they had to spend two hours away from the ever-exciting world of warcraft.

 

World of Warcraft? Kids are still getting into that?

 

they've been into it for years. now they are in some super cool guilds or something. i don't know the lingo. if i try to talk to them about it they mostly just roll their eyes.

 

The Runaways (2010) -- Kristen Stewart rocks! Literally! In this eyebrow-raising adaptation of lead singer Cherie Currie's bio Neon Angel, Kristen as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie star in every parents' nightmare: unsupervised, underage girls getting liquored up, doing a smorgasbord of drugs, and making out with grown men (and occasionally, each other). It's terrific! Some of the film's quiet scenes are filled with tired mumbling, but by and large the performances are vibrant and dynamic. The stage performances feel accurate to the period, and the fashions and hairstyles of late-70s California are artfully realized. Kristen channels Joan Jett -- whom I have met in person, and once pinched her butt -- ably.

Also, the whole thing reminds me of my sister, who had a Runaways record even before Joan hit it big with I Love Rock-N-Roll (which was the first video I ever saw on MTV in September 1981).

 

The Lion King.

 

This pretty much demanded to be selectively quoted.

 

I'm watching Blue Collar with Richard Pryor and Harvey Keitel from 1978.

 

Her heart was in it, I understand it was a labor of love for Kristen to learn to emulate Joan. And I rather thought she acquitted herself nicely in Snow White. It's a very good movie, and she's very good in it.

 

Kristen Stewart is terrible imo.

 

I watched the amazing music doco movie "Who Is Harry Nilsson?". I only really thought I knew Without You. Wrong. Fantastic movie.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/who_is_harry_nilsson/

 

You guys saw Beautiful Jesus?

That was a terrible movie. Wasn't really that Twilight girl's fault, though. It just became ridiculous how much significance they attached to physical beauty.

 

I kinda enjoyed SW&TH, but keep in mind it only had to vault over the lowest of expectations. I can't say I'll line up to buy a ticket to the sequel, but I'll Red Box it... probably .

Safe (2012) - After a decade of indifference, I've started to come around on Jason Statham of late. He's like the McDonald's of actors. McDonald's makes Big Macs, each and every one identical in looks and taste to the other. Jason Statham makes Jason Statham movies, each and every... you get the idea. And also like Big Macs, some of his movies are fresher than others. Safe qualifies as one of his fresher efforts. - 6.5/10

 

Safe is one of his better ones. I don't mind him always playing more or less the same character, but I wish they gave him better scripts. The Transporter films, for instance, are so implausible, outlandish and over the top, especially the second one, it's like watching a comic-book adaptation.

 

Wow, outstanding! I'd really like to see this doc. "Coconut", which is on the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack, is probably Nilsson's best-known song, along with "One is the Loneliest Number" and all the songs in Popeye ("He's Large" being my personal favorite from that record/movie).

 

The Ides of March

Awesome movie.

 

I haven't seen The Transporter in ages, but it's what started my initial Statham indifference. I recall it got a lot of hype from both the media and my friends, but when I finally saw it I was like "Meh." . I can't even remember if I saw part 2.

That was clever, though I wish they'd been able to carry it out a bit more. In fact, that would've been a strong enough hook for an entire film.

Parker is on my Statham to-do list. I'm going to play a little catch-up first though; The Transporter series, Killer Elite. Not his entire catalog, but a few of the biggies. The Mechanic is actually the film that got me to take a second look at his stuff. I watched it a few months ago out of boredom and a lack of options and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. To date I think it's his best "Statham" movie.

 

JLA: Doom (2012) -- Very, very good! Based on Mark Waid's intriguing story arc Tower of Babel, a fistful of DC badguys (Bane, Cheetah, Mirror Master, etc.) join the Legion of Doom under Vandal Savage (a nice shift away from Luthor) and try to kill the Justice League members -- using Batman's database of info on his comrades' weaknesses! Movie is well-paced, well-acted and mostly well-animated. (Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern is particularly charming and believable.)

The moment of despair, when all our heroes' backs are up against the wall, is very intense, and it does seem likely that some or all of them might actually die. The sequence in which the heroes bounce back for some righteous confrontation at the Hall of Doom is brought off with cinematic aplomb. This is second best DC animated film I've seen, after Batman:Year One.

3 1/2 stars!

 

Stand Up Guys

I found it boring. I was really expecting more action.

 

Drillbit Taylor

Funny movie, Danny McBride is awesome

 

Last movie I saw was a tremendously puffy bore called Lincoln, which wasn't about Lincoln. A more appropriate title would have been The Abolition of Slavery by Constitutional Amendment. Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal of Lincoln reminded me of Reagan, actually: a meek, absent-minded uncle who, in the middle of heated discussions, suddenly starts smiling to himself before sharing a witty anecdote with his bemused audience. That's probably Spielberg, attempting to turn Lincoln into Jesus. Conundrums and conflicts are parried with parables, chances are taken, but there's no drama, no drive, just an off-screen crucifixion at the end. No stars.

I also hated Robert California, by the way. Is he always drunk?

Before this piece of old gum, I watched Django Unchained, which had its fun moments, though I didn't like Christopher Waltz rehashing his Hans Landa role. Twenty feathers. (That's roughly three stars, a bit more perhaps.)

Before Django Unchained, I saw Zero Dark Thirty. I think Jessica Chastain should have won an Oscar, she was exceptional in this. As for the rest of the film, I mainly remember war-ravaged streets and night goggles.