Amph What was the last movie you saw?

You're right, it's definitely a breezier and more accessible movie than the stuff Arnie was putting out before he left for politics (Bloated slogs like End of Days and The 6th Day). It's the sort of flick you end up watching a half dozen times once it hits cable.

For me, Arnold is now on that Jason Statham level, where he makes movies that I typically end up enjoying, but they're not the sort of thing I feel the need to rush out and see. Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier is something I wanted to see right now, and likely a second time before it leaves theaters. Sabotage is something I'm thinking will make a good rainy day diversion come this Fall.

 

Captain America 2. Awesome. Better than Thor 2, Way better than Iron Man 3, Might be better than Avengers.

 

Mean Girls (2004)

Some drug addict moves to Rachel McAdam's school and ruins everyone's lives.

 

Man of Steel

 

A Chorus of Disapproval, can birds make delicious pancakes?

 

Man of Steel No dumber than the MCU, really, but dumb nonetheless.

 

Gladiator. Maximus asks. Well, he never fails to entertain.

 

Winter soldier in theatre. Frozen on bluray.

 

The Old Man and the Sea, 1958. Spencer Tracy, Papa Hemingway, manhood, pride, endurance, will, and victory of the human spirit. Oh, and lots of sharks bleeding in the water.

 

Have you seen All is Lost?

 

Great film.

 

Not yet, but it's in my Netflix queue. Reviews seem very polarized; love it or hate it.

 

"Now You See Me"

Eh...I liked it. It was fun.

 

The Lego Movie. Fun, hilarious, and just plain great. I loved tie-ins, homages, various realms, and twists toward the end. It's certainly one of those movies that kids today will see watch again as adults and understand on entirely different levels. Though it did make me feel a little deficient since I usually followed the instructions as a kid and felt that my original creations sucked. I, alas, am no master builder.

 

There's almost no dialogue, but it's still a beautifully shot film with a great minimalist soundtrack.

 

I actually plan on doing a Jeremiah Johnson/All is Lost double feature on my vacation next week .

TMNT (2007) - Maybe it's because I watched it in the wake of the trailer for Michael Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja George Foremans, but I enjoyed this a lot more than the first time I watched it 6-7 years ago. It doesn't have the best plot, but I thought it struck the right tonal balance between humor and some of the darker and more serious aspects, I liked the dynamics of the four turtles (though I wasn't crazy about the voice acting), and I thought it looked great (save for some of the human characters, who look a bit wonky). I have a soft spot for the original cartoon and the first live-action film, and the 2002 and 2012 cartoons are okay, but hands down this is my favorite adaptation of the Turtles so far. - 7/10

 

Agreed. I also think they nailed the look. I loved seeing the Turtles scramble over the rooftops of New York under cover of darkness. That aspect really evokes the early comics.

That was the one scene that had stuck with me since the first time I watched it. The rain, the glowing red neon sign and the New York cityscape beyond. It's just exceptionally well done.

Unfortunately, the third act is when it starts to actually deal with the plot and you realize "Gee, this is kinda dumb.". It's still a lot of fun, and I liked the aspect of the bad guys mirroring the Turtles in terms of their brotherly dynamic, but the plot itself could've been stronger.

Hear, hear. I've seen the original live action Turtles movie a dozen times (including a few weeks ago), and I'm actually about to pop in Secret of the Ooze now for probably the fifth or sixth time. But I've only ever seen III one time, and that was more than enough.

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) - I remembered that they toned down the violence and upped the yuks from the first film, but I'd forgotten just how much. Hard to believe this came out only one year later. The first film isn't exactly The Dark Knight, but it's darker and more serious than you might remember. But this... this is almost Next Mutation level silly. Now I have to re-watch III just to see how much lower things can go... go, go, go. Go Ninja, go Ninja, go! - 4/10

 

Muppets Most Wanted

It's got some great gags, but it seems like a sequence of sketches with celeb cameos rather than a more solid plot-driven film like the previous one. It is very silly, as the Muppets always are, I like the sequel song and all the stuff with Sam the Eagle & the French detective.

Too much Ricky Gervais, but otherwise pretty good.

 

White House Down

It's an overused plot but Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx have great chemistry and can be absolutely hilarious together.

 

The Amazing Spider Man

Not as good as Spider Man and Spider Man 2 but much better than Spider Man 3. I prefer Tobey Maguire as Spider Man but Andrew Garfield was pretty good. Now that the origin story is out of the way I'm hoping the sequel will be good.

 

You and Wocky should have coffee sometime.