Movies you've just watched

[Mischief Maker]

Young Adult

NOBODY GETS THIS MOVIE!

It amazes me how even professional critics come away from this movie talking about how unlikable Charlize Theron's character is.

If there is one major flaw in this film, it's the fact that its twist isn't punctuated strongly enough to stand out from the shadow of its red herring. It wasn't until a couple hours after watching that the twist really sunk in for me. This is not the quirky indie version of "My Best Friend's Wedding." Once you get it, it becomes a completely different movie the second time watching.

Without getting into spoiler territory, once the twist sets in, you realize Patrick Wilson's character isn't the nice guy he initially seems to be, Patton Oswalt's character is a complete fool with more in common with the heroine than he realizes, and Charlize Theron's character is the most misunderstood and relatable character in the whole film.

[Moniker]

Antiviral (Netflix)

Movie by Cronenberg's son. Reminds me a lot of Dead Ringers, except instead of fetishizing medicine, it fetishizes illness. Beautiful photography throughout the film. Like a good Cronenberg movie, it really gets under your skin. Those with needle phobias probably should stay away.

Young Adult

NOBODY GETS THIS MOVIE!
[...]
Without getting into spoiler territory, once the twist sets in, you realize Patrick Wilson's character isn't the nice guy he initially seems to be, Patton Oswalt's character is a complete fool with more in common with the heroine than he realizes, and Charlize Theron's character is the most misunderstood and relatable character in the whole film.

Could you elaborate? My reading of the film is pretty much with the main line criticism, although I didn't really find it a problem that Theron's character is unlikable.

[Mischief Maker]

Young Adult

NOBODY GETS THIS MOVIE!
[...]
Without getting into spoiler territory, once the twist sets in, you realize Patrick Wilson's character isn't the nice guy he initially seems to be, Patton Oswalt's character is a complete fool with more in common with the heroine than he realizes, and Charlize Theron's character is the most misunderstood and relatable character in the whole film.

Could you elaborate? My reading of the film is pretty much with the main line criticism, although I didn't really find it a problem that Theron's character is unlikable.

*SPOILERZ AHOY*

The red herring is the idea that she's coming back to her home town to recapture her high school glory days. In fact, Charlize Theron's character is the least interested in high school of any of the cast. While she dated Patrick Wilson in High School, they were still together in college and she got pregnant at 20, which lead to a miscarriage and her learning that she's infertile. Presumably she and Wilson broke up after that and the film makes clear that he hasn't kept in touch. In fact she seems to be the only character in this movie who doesn't have a photographic memory of high school, (remember when I made you those rice krispie squares for your birthday that one year?) and I don't think that's a negative mark against her.

Theron is in a bad place at the start of the film, tasked with (ghost) writing a story that's the end of a series (leaving her future security in doubt) and struggling with a combination of depression and writer's block. Suddenly out of nowhere a long-silent Wilson sends her an email with a picture of his newborn baby. Already in a vulnerable state, she becomes obsessed with why he would suddenly break his silence with a message that hits her where she's most vulnerable. It becomes too much to ignore and she ships off to her hometown.

There she runs into Oswalt, who had a huge crush on her in high school but never got the courage to talk to her. Over drinks she realizes that he's "hate crime guy" who was brutally beaten and mutilated by jocks in high school who mistakenly thought he was gay. On the second viewing it becomes abundantly clear that she feels a real connection with him when he talks about how he's had to resign himself with living with broken genitals (too). She drunkenly voices her secret hope that the reason Wilson contacted her was to escape his marriage and take her back and Oswalt takes it seriously.

This sets in motion the three way dynamic of the film. Patrick Wilson's weird behavior isn't because he's a nice guy trying to be polite and true to his wife at the same time, he's trying to avoid the subject of how he dumped Theron after the miscarriage and inadvertantly sends out misleading signals ("Why did you invite me?"). Patton Oswalt's character isn't the wise jaded onlooker he thinks he is, in fact he's so wrapped up in his self pity that he completely misses all the times Theron makes a pass at him until she finally comes onto him as bluntly as possible. When Charlize Theron is writing her fictionalized self's inner monologue about how everyone misinterprets her and underestimates her intelligence because of her beauty, it isn't a sign that her character is a shallow conceited bitch, it's the exact situation happening throughout the entire movie. Nobody listens to her and everyone views her through a lens they fabricated back in high school.

Maybe I'm crazy.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Viewed Tron Legacy on Blu-Ray yesterday for old times sake and was browsing the Space Paranoids high score screen (appears after viewing the bonus Blu-Ray "Next Day" scene). If you input any of the listed ten high score initials shown listed on the Space Paranoids high score screen with your Blu-Ray remote, you can unlock some cool classic Encom tidbits from years past from their private archive vault. Try entering the high score initials of "SPC" (short for 'Space Paranoids Commercial') and check it out. Disney sure went the extra mile with plenty of hidden videos with the Blu-Ray disc version of Tron Legacy indeed. I wish I had known about these cool hidden bonus videos when the TL Blu-Ray disc was released at retail back in 2011.

There's no mention of the all the cool hidden "easter egg" video bonus content on the TL Blu-Ray disc (on the Blu-Ray + DVD combo sleeve jacket whatsoever) but just stumbled upon them yesterday. Gotta love that cool Encom Space Paranoids + Atari VCS (aka 2600) commercial tribute that hails from 1982.

One hidden TL Blu-Ray video mentions something about the ol' MCP from the orignal Tron flick still alive and well -- could be interesting if and when the Tron 3 sequel finally shows up on the big screen.

Enter the initials of "AAA" and highlight the yellow colored X to exit from the Space Paranoids high score screen and you're good to go once finished. For those classic Tron and Discs of Tron arcade fans, Disney was cool enough to use the orignal Tron arcade game fonts when selecting the various letters of the Space Paranoids high score screen motif. How cool is that?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Skykid]

The Stuff


Quite wonderfully awful 80's flick that seemed to be a metaphor for the junk food industry and its overlords. Some neat effects, weird violence, not much horror, terrible improvisation, no script at all, and a lead actor who seemed to not give a shit he was on a film set whatsoever.

There are actually creative highlights in there if you scrutinise it, but it comes with a barrel-load of crap too.

[drauch]

The Stuff is hilarious. One of my favorites. Cohen's films are often darkly comedic and usually provide some sort of commentary on society. Michael Moriarty, the main dude 'Mo,' was in a handful of Cohen's films. By no means awful!

[Skykid]

By no means awful!

Ah gawd, it depends how you define awful!

It's no Henenlotter, put it that way.

[Skykid]

Edit: Need a new PC post.

[GaijinPunch]

Okay, we get it. Once is enough.

[drauch]

Whoa. I didn't know you felt so strongly!

[Skykid]

What the fuck happened there?!

[emphatic]

And you can't delete them?

[brentsg]

What the fuck happened there?!

I bet BF is turning up the new server and it's JUST THAT FAST!

[Moniker]

Speaking of Woody-Allen-esque, have you see Metropolitan? Found it in Netflix the other night. Ending up really liking it. Sticking with me. The acting's not amazing, but the dialog is pretty fun. It's a little odd, but feels sort of like Woody Allen making a Charlie Brown movie (with the Tom T character as Charlie Brown).

Thanks for the tip - it's been sitting in the "Top 10 for Moniker" section for awhile, but I was put off by the cover art and description. Thematically, sort of a miasma of upper-crust (UC, in Nick Smith's terms) criticism and sympathy. Oddly, Tom Townsend is a dead ringer for an old friend I broke contact with since he became a quasi-hardcore drug dealer. Added to the wistfulness, I suppose . I especially liked the Nick Smith character. Definitely a study in Woody Allen's talky ensemble comedy mode, if he ever decided to parody Jane Austen. Also oddly, more down to earth than I expected. Worth a look.

[emphatic]

Flirting With Disaster is another Woody Allenesque comedy well worth your time.

[null1024]

And you can't delete them?

You can only delete the last post in a thread [if it's yours, of course].

[DEL]

Starting to watch Cloud Atlas. Its one that's gonna have to be decoded. Those guys made The Matrix after all...
EDIT:- Seems to be about the San Onofre plant.

Bought the Clint Eastwood 35 films boxset that does not include his best two - Coogan's Bluff and Thunderbolt & Lightfoot, but still...The Outlaw Josey Wales is a gem.

[Skykid]

Elysium

What a piece of fucking shit. Brain dead in every possible respect and an utter waste of possibility.

No script, no sense, no believability, no performances, no depth, no time to think, barely graced with a plot, no likeable characters.

Nothing but idiocy and superficiality of the highest order. Seriously, if you enjoyed this movie, go to a fucking library and do the world a favour.

[nasty_wolverine]

Elysium

What a piece of fucking shit. Brain dead in every possible respect and an utter waste of possibility.

No script, no sense, no believability, no performances, no depth, no time to think, barely graced with a plot, no likeable characters.

Nothing but idiocy and superficiality of the highest order. Seriously, if you enjoyed this movie, go to a fucking library and do the world a favour.

And they stole what i was thinking to name my game.... pricks.

[boagman]

Elysium

What a piece of fucking shit. Brain dead in every possible respect and an utter waste of possibility.

No script, no sense, no believability, no performances, no depth, no time to think, barely graced with a plot, no likeable characters.

Nothing but idiocy and superficiality of the highest order. Seriously, if you enjoyed this movie, go to a fucking library and do the world a favour.

Aw, that's really too bad. I was kind of wondering if I might want to see that one. It'll have to wait a while, then.

[charlie chong]

Elysium


Seriously, if you enjoyed this movie, go to a fucking library and do the world a favour.

you need to do the world a favour and get off the internet.could you be any more of a pompous twat?
you should get your narcissistic egocentric personality sorted out

[Skykid]

Elysium


Seriously, if you enjoyed this movie, go to a fucking library and do the world a favour.

you need to do the world a favour and get off the internet.could you be any more of a pompous twat?
you should get your narcissistic egocentric personality sorted out

Sorry no can do.

Aw, that's really too bad. I was kind of wondering if I might want to see that one. It'll have to wait a while, then.

Please don't pay anything for this. I'd feel like a samaritan knowing I saved someone from wasting the £20 it cost me for two tickets. The sad part is how Blomkamp's enormous potential has been dashed instantly with this half-baked, underwritten exercise in one-dimensionality and cliche, unintelligible action and cardboard cut-out characters.

The best no-brainer commercial action movie in recent years is Dredd - that's the one people should have paid for, but didn't. I beg of you not to put another penny in the pockets of the Elysium production team, I already feel guilty enough for shelling out on something that barely even qualifies as a film.

So what's your opinion/stance on viewing Elysium? It'd be interesting to read Skykid's take on it.

As requested PCEFX.

[Mischief Maker]

The best no-brainer commercial action movie in recent years is Dredd - that's the one people should have paid for, but didn't.

Seconded, except for the no-brainer part. The events of the main storyline are simple, but the setting and its implications make it the REAL modern day Robocop remake, not that horrible looking PG-13 abortion about to be dumped in our laps.

[Skykid]

The best no-brainer commercial action movie in recent years is Dredd - that's the one people should have paid for, but didn't.

Seconded, except for the no-brainer part. The events of the main storyline are simple, but the setting and its implications make it the REAL modern day Robocop remake, not that horrible looking PG-13 abortion about to be dumped in our laps.

Well everything has a category, and I'd definitely put Dredd in the smarter end of no-brainers, as opposed to Elysium, which is its polar opposite in every respect and resides in a category for people with no brains.

But please, let's not talk about that next-on-the-menu bag of shit, Robocop. Someone showed me the new trailer yesterday and I was crying into my teacup.

[CMoon]

Wow, I just came here to post about the trailer for robocop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INmtQXUXez8

Bizarre thing is that while watching it I kept saying to myself: 'Why does anyone care about this film, but ignores the awesomeness of Dredd'?

Then I look in this thread...

[Mischief Maker]

Wow, I just came here to post about the trailer for robocop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INmtQXUXez8

Bizarre thing is that while watching it I kept saying to myself: 'Why does anyone care about this film, but ignores the awesomeness of Dredd'?

Then I look in this thread...

I guess if Pacific Rim ever comes true we'll be copilots.

[CMoon]

I guess if Pacific Rim ever comes true we'll be copilots.

Even better if said copilots were our respective avatars. I'd buy that for a dollar!

[blackoak]

yeah, Dredd is the bone thrown to we of good taste, said taste extending to pulpy action too. Its been on the tip of my tongue when meaning to reply to accusations that imply there's some dividing line between people who like "those artsy films" and less "intellectual" fare.

Seen a variety of stuff lately myself, but nothing too notable. I saw Oblivion which I thought was very bad. The movie was built on a terrible contrivance: why would all-powerful robots entrust the running of their resource-extraction operations to laboriously (and apparently imperfectly) brainwashed humans? I mean, this made the cosmology of the Matrix sequels look like acts of genius. I know that fantasy and myth can ask us to suspend belief for the sake of "symbolic truth," but that can be very problematic in sci-fi where the futuristic setting itself entreats the rational mind. Silver lining: Tom Cruise's line at the end had me in hysterics.

[Leandro]

past week I saw two british movies - Attack the Block and Shaun of the Dead.
Hated "Attack...", and to my surprise didn't like Shaun of The Dead much.

Then I watched Tucker and Dale vs Evil and had a great time, much better than I thought. Balanced comedy and some heart, felt refreshing

[trap15]

I saw Attack the Block a year or so ago. Not a good movie by any means, but it's not bad enough to hate.

Surprised you didn't like Shaun of the Dead, I liked it a pretty fair bit the few times I've seen it.