What was the last film you watched?

[itsbruce]

Ah well... I like it.

Yours
An emotional simpleton 

Oh, it doesn't mean you are one.  Just means you aren't so phased by being treated like one

[Manotea]

The Long Kiss Goodnight. Sub-Bourne hokum but Davis is easy on the eye.

I'm bored silly with Samuel L. Jackson playing exactly the same role/character in every single movie he's in, though.

Also caught up with Resident Evil: Afterlife. More hokum but overall a tighter movie. At least it doesn't have SLJ in it.

[Clandy]

As for Spirited Away, a cartoon? Be serious.

You called Green Mile a fantasy, so I compared it to another one.  Green Mile doesn't show a fraction of the imagination, narrative skill, emotional honesty or respect for the intelligence of its audience.  What it does do, in spades, is ttreat its audience as emotional simpletons.

Isn't that what visual entertainment media is for? So we can switch off and just enjoy?

[Mr Larrington]

If it's any consolation, I thought both The Green Mile and Spirited Away were utter bobbins.  This is likely because I am irredeemably shallow.

[Deano]

As for Spirited Away, a cartoon? Be serious.

You called Green Mile a fantasy, so I compared it to another one.  Green Mile doesn't show a fraction of the imagination, narrative skill, emotional honesty or respect for the intelligence of its audience.  What it does do, in spades, is ttreat its audience as emotional simpletons.

Isn't that what visual entertainment media is for? So we can switch off and just enjoy?

You did describe it as "sublime", which is quite a large claim.

FWIW I thought it was OK, apart from being about an hour too long.

[Deano]

Last night, we had the marvellous double-header of Wall-E and The Men Who Stare at Goats. 

Wall-E was a lovely movie, though they did clag on the mush towards the end.  The first half hour was beautiful.  Good spork action, too.

The Men Who Stare at Goats was a bit disjointed (it was probably spoilt for me by my having read the book, so the journalist's story always felt tacked-on), but at times hilarious.  Gnarly trained killers practicing oogy-woogy new age mumbo jumbo

[andyoxon]

Last night.  I watched most of 'Priceless' (Audrey Tatou, subtitles) which was frothy but quite fun.

Also watched the first half of Slither - reminded me a bit of "Tremors", b-movie-ish.  Pretty funny, gory FX.

[Jacomus]

Last night, we had the marvellous double-header of Wall-E and The Men Who Stare at Goats. 

Wall-E was a lovely movie, though they did clag on the mush towards the end.  The first half hour was beautiful.  Good spork action, too.

The Men Who Stare at Goats was a bit disjointed (it was probably spoilt for me by my having read the book, so the journalist's story always felt tacked-on), but at times hilarious.  Gnarly trained killers practicing oogy-woogy new age mumbo jumbo

Wall-E was a brilliant film for so many reasons, here are a few:

1) I *do* like a bit of robots-who-aren't-evil sci-fi and Disney/Pixar design robots almost exactly how my imagination does.
2) It carried a strong message about looking after what we have got
3) There was a brilliant moment when the woman in the chair stopped looking at her screen and looked at her surroundings

There are more, but I have outstayed my lunchbreak

Top movie though

[fuzzy]

Last night I watched "District 9" (MoFo big Alien ship appears in the sky above Johannesburg and the aliens within take up residence in a township (District 9). 20 years later the locals are getting hacked off with the aliens (known locally as Prawns) lowering the property values etc. so embark on a programme of enforced relocation to a new camp 200 KM away.....

Peter Jackson film with a very different slant on Apartheid style policies.

I enjoyed it thoroughly.

[jogler]

I too enjoyed District 9 but couldn't help wondering how it is that aliens with technology so much superior to ours end up living in slums under our control IYSWIM.
Perhps I need to suspend belief

[mrcharly-YHT]

Because most of them were the alien equiv of unemployable uneducated thickos who can barely spell.

[andygates]

Well, there's fan speculation that they're a hive-mind separated from their Queen, either by mistake or on purpose.  Or just scum: a prison transport or somesuch.  It doesn't take much for modern humans to sink into open sewers and tin shacks, technology or not.

Last film here: National Treasure 2.  Almost delightfully stupid, but, in the end, too stupid to delight.  The first half is more Fortean trope-spotting fun.

[Manotea]

I too enjoyed District 9 but couldn't help wondering how it is that aliens with technology so much superior to ours end up living in slums under our control IYSWIM.

Because they cannot use can openers? It's the only reason cats hang around...  

[fuzzy]

I too wondered about the fine detail (though didn't let it spoil my enjoyment )

My contribution to the pot of possible scenarios were that they were all tentacledressers or telephone sanitisation engineers.

[groucho]

Frantic mainly because of Emmanuelle Seigner   and not Mr. Ford.

[geoff]

Taking a break from working through Kermode's top 2010 picks (I know - we should get out more) we are 1/2 way through "The Illusionist". It coincided (almost) with some Derren Brown repeats, all of which raised the question: how can a film-maker suspend disbelief enough to convince the filmgoer that an illusion in a story is "real" enough to fool the audience in the story?

I loved Edward Norton in "Fight Club" and elsewhere but here...I get the idea that he's smirking behind his moustache because he knows no-one will be convinced by the preposterous plot. Gorgeous cast and costumes though.

[jogler]

Windtalkers

[LindaG]

Frantic mainly because of Emmanuelle Seigner   and not Mr. Ford.

I beg to differ on that.

Very good film tho'.  There's something very edgy about it.

[Flying_Monkey]

I loved Edward Norton in "Fight Club" and elsewhere but here...I get the idea that he's smirking behind his moustache because he knows no-one will be convinced by the preposterous plot. Gorgeous cast and costumes though.

But isn't it wonderfully preposterous? I really enjoyed The Illusionist, although I thought Norton was the weakest in terms of facial hair. I am definitely going to go for that Rufus Sewell combo at some point.

[Clandy]

Tonight I will be watching all three hours of Stephen Poliakoff's Shooting The Past. A brilliant drama made in the late 90s with Timothy Spall and Lindsay Duncan.

[jellied]

Matrix 3, 2 hours of my life I won't see again .

[rogerzilla]

The Damned United (again).  I think Timothy Spall was miscast (Peter Taylor was actually quite sinister in demeanour,and rather taller) but Colm Meaney absolutely nails Don Revie.

The best bits are when Clough is in the Leeds boardroom being unbelievably obnoxious and arrogant.  They deserve it, though.

[essexian]

Normally I would avoid any film concerning the Royal Family like the plague: they do not interest me in the slightest. However, as a favour to female friend (her husband said he would rather have his legs cut off then attend….), I saw  “The Kings Speech” yesterday….

Now, I thought I would be bored but what an excellent film: funny, endearing and extremely well acted. Awards ahoy I think.

A couple of slight niggles however. I really doubt every day in the 30’s and 40’s were foggy and Timothy Spall hammed it up terribly a Churchill. 

One final thing… people of N1: please treat the cinema with some respect! The total mess (pop corn and empty wrappers everywhere) was a real disgrace.

[Wascally Weasel]

I too wondered about the fine detail (though didn't let it spoil my enjoyment )

My contribution to the pot of possible scenarios were that they were all tentacledressers or telephone sanitisation engineers.

Either way, it's a corker of a film, which someone from this forum had a hand in. Jakob?

[fuzzy]

I too wondered about the fine detail (though didn't let it spoil my enjoyment )

My contribution to the pot of possible scenarios were that they were all tentacledressers or telephone sanitisation engineers.

Either way, it's a corker of a film, which someone from this forum had a hand in. Jakob?

Did he? Well done that yacfer!