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Post by Josh on Dec 16, 2008 21:13:59 GMT -8
2008 mini-movie reviews?
I've really appreciated hearing your suggestions and reactions to a variety of movies over the last 2 years. Many of the best films I've seen have been recommended here on the boards.
This time it doesn't have to be "the best"- just your thoughts on movies you've seen.
So, I'll start with three and rate them- 1-5 stars
Prince Caspian ***
I'm a sucker for the Narnia films, of course. I think this one was decent considering I think it's one of the toughest of the 7 chronicles to put into film format. I actually liked one or two of the plot innovations to boot. But it didn't wow me.
Hancock ***
Rose and I really liked the first 1/2 of this movie. There were some funny moments and I liked the 12-step group parts. But when it came to the plot twist, it just got silly.
Kung-Fu Panda****
Watched it with Justus. Totally digged it. Very funny... I actually laughed out loud a couple times (I don't do that very often with movies). Witty with some original twists.
That's all I can remember for right now.
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Post by robin on Dec 17, 2008 8:28:51 GMT -8
I have been to a number of movies in the theater this year, and two were really worth the money, and those were "Appaloosa", and "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas". I went to see Appaloosa by myself when I was recovering from my surgery back in September. After seeing it I wanted Laine to see it so ever since then, but she would prefer to wait until it comes out on video. If you liked "Open Range", and "Unforgiven", this is a movie for you. As for "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" and already review it at the link below. www.aletheia.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=movies&action=display&thread=1602I have a couple duds as well. "The day the Earth Stood still", and "Quarantine". Don't wast your time or money. Robin |
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Post by meghan on Dec 17, 2008 10:43:38 GMT -8
I will use my own rating system: atrocious, sucky, mediocre, good, really good, awesome.
The Dark Knight - awesome
The Business of Being Born - really good
Wall-E - really good
Prince Caspian - mediocre
Baby Mama - good
Leatherheads- good
Cloverfield- good
Umm. I don't go to the movies a lot, and what i rent tends to be from previous years.
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Post by Josh on Dec 17, 2008 22:52:09 GMT -8
I think I like your rating system better.
I want to see Dark Knight, but, gosh, I haven't even seen Batman Returns yet.
I kinda liked Leatherheads, but I'd probably give it a mediocre.
I heard a lot of complaints about Cloverfield, but that was from my students, so, I take it with a grain of salt.
Oh, and I have one that was really sucky: Dan in Real Life. A big disappointment. Awful writing.
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Post by robin on Dec 18, 2008 7:54:21 GMT -8
Absolutely! How could I forget? I had to turn it off about half way through. Steve Carell is fortunate that this movie did not ruin his career.
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Post by Josh on Dec 18, 2008 8:17:04 GMT -8
We couldn't even finish it either. The really lame thing is that I read a few very positive reviews praising the director.  |
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Post by robin on Dec 18, 2008 9:09:31 GMT -8
Oh yes. It's exactly the type of movie that Hollywood believes we should all love, but in all actuality it sucked, and was painful to watch. There was literally no entertainment value.
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Post by meghan on Dec 18, 2008 14:45:51 GMT -8
WOW! I really actually liked Dan in Real Life. I thought it was cute.
Anyway- as a response:
As for Cloverfield - I don't ever watch scary movies. EVER. So, maybe it was just that it was a change of pace for me. I enjoyed it.
I thought Leatherheads was good for what it was. They threw it back old-school style and made it slapsticky, which I think was the point. For a while I was like "i really don't like this", but I think it worked together. WHEN watched with the idea that it's old school, i think it is perceived better.
As for the Dark Knight - I just watched it again last night (third time), and it's still awesome. For reference, I've never seen Batman Begins, and I don't follow any sort of timeline for the Batman movies. I think I saw the old Batman movie back when I was a kid, but thats it. i STILL enjoyed the Dark Knight, and I think that's one of the great things about it. It is what so many action/adventure/comic movies should be. I don't even LIKE comic movies, but this was awesome.
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Post by michelle on Dec 25, 2008 22:44:48 GMT -8
I saw Slumdog Millionaire about a week ago and it was mediocre (thanks for the rating system, Meghan!). The people that I was with loved it, but I had an almost physical reaction to the violence, which wasn't even very much. I think the hardest part of the violence was that it was the kind of violence that probably actually happens. I can handle violence in say a martial arts film, because I know that 1 guy doesn't typically go around beating 11 people at a time. It's totally unrealistic.
I'm with Meghan, I typically watch older movies that I can rent...well, actually movies that I can get from the library.
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Post by Josh on Dec 27, 2008 17:43:35 GMT -8
Just saw Valkyrie today.
We were impressed. It was a lot better than I anticipated.
I'd definitely recommend it and give it a "really good" rating (at least after the first viewing- I wonder if it would hold up after multiple viewings?)
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Post by meghan on Dec 27, 2008 18:07:00 GMT -8
I just saw Doubt yesterday. I give it a "really good".
And I'll be seeing Tale of Despereaux next week sometime... so I'll be back!
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Post by Josh on Dec 30, 2008 10:24:02 GMT -8
Meghan,
We watched Batman Begins (2005) last night in prep for Dark Knight. I'd give it a "really good"- and if you liked Dark Knight, I think you really should watch it especially for continuity's sake.
Yes, we're watching way too many movies lately. But, hey, we're just plain exhausted every night by the constant mess-making and clean-up going on at the Coles' house that movies are a nice indulgence before life goes back to normal.
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Post by robin on Dec 30, 2008 12:12:03 GMT -8
For those of you who like to go to the theater, like Laine and I, I would recommend Marley & Me. Not quite what I thought it would be, but it was much better than I expected. It's not really a kids movie, and probably should only be seen by older children (8+ depending on the child's maturity).
Robin
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Post by Josh on Jan 22, 2009 20:35:06 GMT -8
Meghan,
We just saw Wall-E tonight. I want to echo your "really good". I really enjoyed it and I think it's laced with a lot of spiritual symbolism just ripe for a good sermon.
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Post by Josh on Feb 25, 2009 12:39:36 GMT -8
So, I'm getting a little confused by our movie review system. We've got "movies of 2007", "movies of 2008", "movies I saw in 2009", etc.. Where do you think it should be put if it was made and on screen in 2008 but I didn't see it until 2009? Well, that's the case for the movie W. Since it was made in 2008, I'm putting a link here, but the post is a separate thread: www.aletheia.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=movies&action=display&thread=1858 |
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Post by meghan on Feb 25, 2009 17:14:03 GMT -8
Sorry - I didn't want to make a ton of subcategories like "Movies of 1972".
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Post by kraigeriginal on Jun 3, 2009 8:12:11 GMT -8
I will use my own rating system: atrocious, sucky, mediocre, good, really good, awesome. The Dark Knight - awesome Wall-E - really good Prince Caspian - mediocre Baby Mama - good Cloverfield- good I agree with Dark Knight and Wall-E. I actually thought that Cloverfield was "really good" because it was semi-original for the genre. Baby Mama had some laughs but was overall stupid, IMO. I never saw Leatherheads because it looked lame from the beginning for me - but I really like the guy who wrote it (he is famous from writing for Sports Illustrated) so maybe someday I'll check it out. I also saw, and loved, Dan In Real Life - what's not to like? I think the directing was just average, nothing special. But Carrell was superb, and the story was heart-felt. I really want to see "The Boy In the Striped Pajamas" only from seeing the cover. I know nothing else about it. Man getting caught up on the movie forums is hard work... What else did I miss? |
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