Amph What was the last movie you saw?

I really want to see that film... Its got some great players in this movie especially Adrianne Palicki...

 

Yeah, I kind wanted to see this movie as well.....

 

Sweet Bird of Youth. Paul Newman plays a dreamer who got run out of his hometown by Ed Begley's political boss. After years of struggling for success in New York and Hollywood, he's become something nasty and desperate, and he's returning to his hometown to get his old girl back in the one shred of idealism he's got left. But at the same time he's got with him an aging Hollywood starlet he's manipulating to try to get his big break. It's got a lot going on, with everyone having multiple balls in the air, and everything weaves together nicely into Newman's unconscious struggle between idealism and cynicism. He's got a really complex, damaged character to sink his teeth into, and Geraldine Page really complements him nicely as the depressed, drunken actress he's trying to take advantage of. And Begley is pretty fantastic as the boss, a wicked little man who pretends to be decent, even to himself sometimes. And he's got a great dynamic with Rip Torn as his thuggish son, who has all his wickedness and viciousness but none of his subtlety nor attention to appearances; he doesn't understand that the mask his father wears is the key to keeping the power he enjoys throwing around so much. I thought it was excellent.

 

Sweet Bird of Youth. Paul Newman plays a dreamer who got run out of his hometown by Ed Begley's political boss. After years of struggling for success in New York and Hollywood, he's become something nasty and desperate, and he's returning to his hometown to get his old girl back in the one shred of idealism he's got left. But at the same time he's got with him an aging Hollywood starlet he's manipulating to try to get his big break. It's got a lot going on, with everyone having multiple balls in the air, and everything weaves together nicely into Newman's unconscious struggle between idealism and cynicism. He's got a really complex, damaged character to sink his teeth into, and Geraldine Page really complements him nicely as the depressed, drunken actress he's trying to take advantage of. And Begley is pretty fantastic as the boss, a wicked little man who pretends to be decent, even to himself sometimes. And he's got a great dynamic with Rip Torn as his thuggish son, who has all his wickedness and viciousness but none of his subtlety nor attention to appearances; he doesn't understand that the mask his father wears is the key to keeping the power he enjoys throwing around so much. I thought it was excellent.

 

The Runaways (2010)

I actually quite liked it. It showed that Kristen Stewart can act (to an extent) and how awesome Michael Shannon always is.

 

St. Vincent (2014) - Theodore Melfi



I was definitely looking forward to this movie. It appeared to be Bill Murray back in a role he could really sink his teeth into, playing, not a supporting role or a Wes-Andersonian cameo, but a cantankerous old man that’s the lead of the film. I was, however, deeply disappointed. I think a lot of this can go down to director Melfi because, basically, all of the actors are dreadful. Murray is saddled with some sort of weird accent that comes, goes and morphs enigmatically. Melissa McCarthy is the best of the bunch, but even she only gets a couple of laughs. The less said about Naomi Watts the better. (“A pregnant Russian stripper/hooker? Get Watts on the phone!”) And even a fine actor like Chris O’Down plays his Irish priest so broadly as to be cringe inducing. One feels that Melfi just kept telling everyone to go bigger; it doesn’t work at all. Murray, Watts and O’Dowd are probably all career worst here. And the script is just dreadfully hackneyed, so a little blame can also go to the writer (oh, it’s Melfi AGAIN!). It’s a clichéd story from the get go, of this crotchety old man connecting with his next door neighbor’s young son and finding . . . I don’t know, some semblance of kindness and love again, while also teaching the boy the wisdom of gambling and profanity. Oh, God, I forgot Terrence Howard, also career worst, as some sort of mobster who mumbles vague threats and then, hilariously, after a completely amicable relationship with Murray’s character, shows up with a gun and ATTEMPTS TO KILL HIM! And I simply cannot express my hatred for the climactic scene; as the young boy, a horrible actor of course, makes a heartfelt emotional speech about Murray’s character at school all while clicking through a photo slideshow so perfectly timed to his speech that it appears he’s about to unveil the new iPhone I just felt this black gush of rage in my heart. God, this is a bad, bad movie. Consider this a warning. 1 star.

tl;dr – stellar cast giving career worst performances across the board; awful, unfunny, hackneyed script doesn’t help matters. 1 star.

More Movie Reviews!

 

Battle of the Five Armies. It was good.

 

Terminator Salvation

 

Home Alone

 

Halloween II (2009)

 

The Imitation Game

 

Watched The Lego Movie on Blu-Ray the other night. I'd seen it when it was released but a friend just sent it to me for Christmas!

 

Currently watching The Burbs. Seen it many times before but it's a favorite.

 

next. this movie could have only been written by a 15 year old internet troll.

 

my thing about Next is that there is a fabulous story lurking under the surface, trying to get out. I've rewritten the movie in my head until is has become a sci fi classic. In my head.

 

Casino (1995)

The opening shot of DeNiro's failed car bombing attempt is superb along with the music. Otherwise, it's nowhere near as good as the first two movies in Marty's Gangster Trilogy. Joe Pesci is excellent though as is James Woods's very small roll as a spineless pimp. Sharon Stone is in "crazy Oscar Bait performance" mode which doesn't really work for her. The film is just too damn long, and I wasn't really a fan of the fact based narrative which made the whole thing feel like a mockumentary. I despise that sub-genre. The soundtrack is fantastic though.

 

i did watch a good movie recently, bernie. fascinating true story and brilliant performance from jack black.

 

This critique is applicable to a humongous chunk of Scorsese's filmography and I literally do not know why you would watch a Scorsese film if this bothers you.

Of course, I love Casino, it feels like the natural synthesis of Goodfellas and Age of Innocence given plenty of breathing room, and it's indulgent in the right ways. So I have to disagree with you vehemently and such.

 

Saw two movies yesterday:

Into the Woods - Probably the most well sung movie-musical in recent memory. Johnny Depp was the weakest link and he wasn't bad, but I was glad he has a small part. I've seen the live version a few times, but it's not a show I know super well, but as a fan of musicals, I did enjoy it.

The Imitation Game - I've had a slight obsession with Alan Turing for a little while now, and for Benedict Cumberbatch to play him was just awesome to me. The things I had heard/worried about it back when they were filming were completely unfounded. (There were rumors that they were only hinting that Turing was gay and that they were making more out of his engagement with Joan Clarke than really happened, but that was not the case at all.) I think I was the only one weeping in the theater, but having read most of the biography that the movie used as reference, this was a case of knowing what was happening made it more emotional for me.

I would definitely recommend giving this a watch if it's in a theater near you.

 

Lilla Crawford/Little Red Riding Hood did an almost perfect impression of Julie Dawn Cole/Veruca Salt from the 1971 Willy Wonka. The opening number of Into the Woods was great, but the movie went almost vertically downhill from there.

 

Just saw Imitation Man. It was released as a Independent Movie here first, so I saw it in a small theatre. Now it is getting general release in major theatres. It was really entertaining and if you don't know the story it is also informative.

 

If you do know the history of Bletchley Park, you'll be sad about how completely wrong the movie is about nearly everything.

 

I've read some of the biography of Alan Turing the movie used as reference (though I haven't gotten to the Bletchley Park part yet... the maths part at Kings College is slowing me down because it's very technical and I'm crap at math) and to where I've gotten to, they've stayed very true to who he was, since this was essentially a biography movie. I've read a bit about Bletchley Park, though admittedly not enough (After I finish reading Turing's biography and Alan Cumming's memoir... I'm apparently on an Alan --ing kick), a book on Bletchley Park is next) I'm sure they down played the other code breakers parts and there were many, many other people there, but from what I've read about the people, they hit the highlights of who's who.

Maybe I'll feel somewhat differently after finishing my readings, but I think I'll still think it was a good film. Even movies based on true stories usually embellish the facts.