Last movie you Watched....

[count_libido]

I re-watched Donnie Darko and was surprised to see a very young looking Seth Rogen in the cast. Didn't know he was in it.

[fonz]

The Orphanage

Absolutely adored it. Brilliantly directed, wonderfully creepy and gloriously acted by the actress playing the part of Laura. Mrs F was terrified and watched much of it from behind a cushion.

5/5

[Paulky]

Jumper - OK, but could have been better if they had filled out the back story a bit. 3/5

X Files - I Want to Believe - I so wanted to believe, but this was dull, dull, dull. It only really picked up when Skinner came in, then it felt more like an X File. And long, straight hair really didn't suit GA, much to my horror. Should have had werewolves in it. 2/5

[Technophobe]

The remake of The Ladykillers.
I love the original film and expected to hate this version, especially after reading the reviews, hence the fact that it had been sitting unwatched for over a year before I gritted my teeth and gave it a go.
But what I felt most of all was sadness, that so much talent should be used to so little effect.
There were things that I liked - Tom Hank's turn as a deep south snake oil salesman type was enjoyably hokey and the change of setting was an interesting one, but the main problem for me was that the lady in question never felt like she was ever in any danger, the crooks being bumbling incompetents and the dark humour of the original was replaced by four letter slapstick - fine in its place, but not in this film.
That said, I did get to see a Wayans brother get hit repeatedly round the head, so it wasn't a complete loss!

[Robin The Ripper]

The Wrestler. Wow. Such a touching and poignant film, and very hard hitting in all senses. I really enjoyed it. Mickey Rourke nails his role so well that at times I had to remind myself it wasn't a docudrama, but rather fiction, as he so totally becomes his character. The supporting cast were very good, too, especially Evan Rachel Wood, who brought her character to life and gave a very real and honest performance the estranged grown-up daughter of Rourkes character. I'm in a similar position with my father, and her performance just felt so true and familiar, it was heart breaking. I shall definitely be watching this again.

[Donald McKinney]

Sunshine (2007), Danny Boyle does a science fiction film. But, this is not your average science fiction film, reuniting with Alex Garland after The Beach (2000) and 28 Days Later (2002), they are able to create a thoughtful and suspenseful journey, it's hugely underrated and isn't for everyone, but is well worth a look. Set about 50 years from now, it has our sun dying, and a spaceship with a huge payload bomb on board heading towards the sun to restart it, and bring life back to a dying Earth. It's crew consists of Captain Kaneda (Hiroyuki Sanada), Cassie (Rose Byrne), Trey (Benedict Wong), Searle (Cliff Curtis), Harvey (Troy Garity), Mace (Chris Evans), Corazon (Michelle Yeoh) and Capa (Cillian Murphy), who have lived together for nearly 2 years on this mission. Then they receive a mysterious distress call from the ship from the first failed mission and go to investigate... Inspired by Alien (Boyle's favourite film) and The Wages of Fear, Sunshine makes for a spiritual and an ambient viewing experience, it's visually stunning with some good SFX done on it's lowish budget. It is a thinking man's sci-fi film, different from big budget sci-fi films, but all the better for being different!! 4/5

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Almost Famous (2000), after the success of Jerry Maguire, writer/director Cameron Crowe decided to do a film from the heart, and do it about his first true love. Music. Crowe had been a journalist for Rolling Stone magazine since he was 16, and here was the basis for his wonderful semi-autobiographical love letter to rock music that he grew up with and reported. It begins with 15 year old William Miller (Patrick Fugit), who in 1973 is an aspiring rock journalist, despite having an over-protective mother (Francer McDormand). After some advice from top rock journalist Lester Bangs (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), William goes out to interview Black Sabbath, but ends up interviewing the support act Stillwater (whose members include guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and lead singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee), who are on the verge of stardom. William joins them on a tour across America, and finds himself falling for groupie Penny Lane (Kate Hudson). It's lovely film, a good ensemble piece with a good screenplay. It highlights a great time in rock music, and it is a touching, warm, funny and emotional film. It's a pity more people didn't go and see it, but Crowe got an Oscar for it, so he did something right. The performances are brilliant, and the soundtrack plays like a main character throughout!! 5/5

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Napoleon Dynamite (2004), a little film that became a big cult, made for a meagre $400,000, it was the toast of Sundance back in 2004, and it even gave birth to a multitude of quotations, showing an even more offbeat side to small town America, and unleashing the most unlikely of screen heroes upon the film world. It's a weird little film, but it is also very funny. Set in Preston, Idaho, it follows gawky high school student Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), who lives with his 32 year old brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), and his Grandma (Sandy Martin). When Grandma breaks her coccyx in a dune buggy accident. She sends Uncle Rico (Jon Gries), a wannabe quarterback and Tupperware-esque salesman, to look after them. Meanwhile, Napoleon makes two new friends at school, Deb (Tina Majorino), a shy girl who likes Napoleon for who he is, and then there's Mexican transfer student Pedro (Efren Ramirez), who has aspirations of running for class president, and Napoleon has a plan to help out. It's a weird film, and it does have a weird, likeable charm. Jon Heder is wonderful as the titular geek, (wait until he breaks out his shell at the end), the film goes to show what you can do with a low budget. It's a harmless little comedy, and better than alot of expensive comedies made these days. You can imagine there being people like Napoleon and others depicted in the film around the world. :P 4/5

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Juno (2007), the other pregnancy film of 2007, but while Knocked Up was a mainstream film, this one was the smaller, independent film, and it has more depth and heart to it, not to mention a quirky, offbeat tone. It became a worldwide hit, and it even went on to win an award or three. Oh, and made more money than the other pregnancy film, so it did something right. Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page), is a slighty oddball 16-year-old who becomes pregnant after a one-night stand from friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). After much thought, Juno decides to give away the baby to rich couple Mark and Vanessa Loring, (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), but as eager and excited as they seem, are they ready for parenthood?? A charming little independent gem, (made for $7.5 million, it made over $230 million worldwide, indeed it's a little film that could...) It's got a wonderful female lead from Page and Director Jason Reitman brings the best from her and the rest of the cast. Plus, it's got a wonderful tone to it which stays with you long after the film is over, it's got a wonderful soundtrack as well. 4/5

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[mashnak]

The Spirit. Very underwhelming. Badly acted, poorly scripted and very badly directed. Wont be on my re-watch list.

[Wee Little Puppet Man]

Terminator Salvation. 7/10.

[Happy-Hangman]

Four in a row at Cineworld, today.

Drag Me To Hell - I expoected to like this. I like Raimi as a film-maker, and was looking forward to his return to horror. It was, unfortunately, one of the most cliche-ridden, formulaic would-be frighteners I've seen in a long time, let down by heavy handed slapstick (which utterly destroyed any sense of tension) and a painfully bland leading-turn by Alison Lohman. Unless you are easily grossed-out by the seemingly endless streams of worms, maggots, bile, blood and sundry aged body-parts which seem to end up in Ms Lohman's mouth, and a final 'twist' telegraphed with the wit and subtlety of a Jim Davidson punch-line, this film has very little to recommend it.

Night at the Museum 2 - very silly, and lacking much of the wit of the original script, but enlivened in small measure by Hank Azaria's sibilant Pharaoh. Ben Stiller did seem, on occasion, a little less than focussed - ironically becoming the least animated inhabitant of the Museum. No real chemistry between Stiller and Amy Adams, which was a shame. Amusing, if undemanding, family fare - which, if nothing else, will do no harm to Smithsonian ticket sales (which can't be a bad thing).

Terminator: Salvation - Again, I rather wanted to like this. The mythology of the Terminator franchise (if we can ignore the shit-fest that was 'Rise of the Machines') is intriguing, after all. It has a good cast and a lavish budget, too. Unfortunately it also has McG at the helm, and becomes a relentless and tedious series of set piece chases and fights, with very little in the way of character development - a shame, as Sam Worthington tries hard to make the most of a poor script. Bale is OTT, as he always is when Directors don't stamp on his ego. All in all, a wasted oppotunity. I fell asleep for fifteen minutes, which is a bad sign in an action movie.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - now, I like a good old fashioned Rom-Com, now and again. This doesn't qualify.

[Donald McKinney]

Lady in the Water (2006), M. Night Shyamalan had found great success with The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000) and Signs (2002). However, all of his success seemed to come crashing down around him when he decided to do something that was a little bit different from what he'd done before. It's not as bad as what some critics and moviegoers made it out to be, but it remains an anomaly in his output until then. Set within the confines of an apartment block in Philadelphia, it has the caretaker Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) discovering something strange going on in the swimming pool, and it turns out someone is living in the poor, a timid young woman called Story (Bryce Dallas Howard). It soon turns out that Story is a Narf, a character from an ancient bedtime story, who is being hunted down by a weird looking beast who lives in a lawn next to the swimming pool. So Cleveland, together with a few of the tenants, decided to help her out. You can see what Shyamalan had in mind for this, but something is indeed off. Maybe it's the mixing of these weird mythological creatures and the film's setting. The performances are very good, and it's well made, there's no denying that. But, it's a puzzling piece, and Shyamalan made a rod for his own back by being nasty to film critics. :P 3/5

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Two for the Road (1967), Stanley Donen found great success with musicals like Singin' in the Rain (1952) and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). He turned to capers in the 1960's with Charade (1963) and Arabesque (1966). After that, he turned his hand to this romantic comedy-drama which has a very offbeat flair to it's name, it's benefited by two likeable leads and is likeable while it lasts. The film follows a married couple from England, Joanna and Mark Wallace (Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney), who first met on a ferry going to France 12 years previously, but now, their marriage is in the doldrums. They look back over their previous encounters, (all on road trips across France), as they look back on why they fell in love in the first place. From hitchhiking trips, to sharing a car with Mark's ex-girlfriend Cathy Manchester (Eleanor Bron) and her family. It's a sweet and breezy travelogue of a film, which does go on for a bit, but it's very well made, and has a lovely jazzy score by Henry Mancini. It's a good timepiece of the sorts of holidays people from yesteryear used to take. It has a surreal sense of humour to it's name, but it does have a melacholy undercurrent going at all times. 4/5

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