movie review

[moreluck]

I just watched Solitary Man with Michael Douglas. This was a liitle movie, pre-Wall Street 2 (2009) that I never heard of before. Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Jenna Fisher and Jessie Eisenberg were in it too.

Douglas plays a B.S.'er, loser. creep, crooked businessman...but it's all about his relationships to family & others. OK, but not great.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

This turned out to be a good weekend for movies. Yesterday was "The Company Men", which was excellent. Today was "Unknown", which was also excellent. As the commercials say, think "Taken" and "Bourne Supremacy" rolled in to one movie. Lots of action, strong cast, solid script with a well-defined plot (and a few plot twists). You have to pay attention on this one.

 

[curiousbrain]

Conspiracy, a BBC/HBO production about the Wannsee Conference.

A pretty amazing film, despite the morbid subject matter. Besides the primary narrative about the Final Solution, the film also exposes some of the discontent within the Reich itself; an example I found interesting was several of the attendee's pointing out that even then (meaning before the genocide began) Germany could not meet their war production goals, even with forced labor - so how does it make sense to exterminate your workforce?

Despite being a film, it is unnerving how the characters discuss the options before them, and how impressed most of them are when they finally settle on a tentative solution.

Great performances all around, although Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci stand out to myself.

 

[DS]

Conspiracy, a BBC/HBO production about the Wannsee Conference.

A pretty amazing film, despite the morbid subject matter. Besides the primary narrative about the Final Solution, the film also exposes some of the discontent within the Reich itself; an example I found interesting was several of the attendee's pointing out that even then (meaning before the genocide began) Germany could not meet their war production goals, even with forced labor - so how does it make sense to exterminate your workforce?

Despite being a film, it is unnerving how the characters discuss the options before them, and how impressed most of them are when they finally settle on a tentative solution.

Great performances all around, although Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci stand out to myself.

Brownbaggin,you could be a great movie critic.I have always been fascinated with the ethics of cruelty.
From Vlad the impaler to Hitler.You have a way that summarizes the movie and makes me want to see it.
Even though the subject matter is dark,it may help explain to me how anyone could do such damage and still sleep at night.

 

[moreluck]

Watched "Let Me In" last night. Vampire..... child.... it kept me entertained. It's an OK spooky movie.

 

[DS]

Saw "The social network" last night.I was not impressed by the young fast talking tech savvy Jessie
Eisenberg . I found the whole thing boring with a bad soundtrack and an old news feeling.I know facebook is huge but I really don't care.
Someone that runs a website may find it interesting ,but I thought it was ho-hum.

 

[moreluck]

We rented "The Kids Are All Right" and watched it tonight. I really liked it. Annette Bening did a great job and deserved her nomination.

 

[moreluck]

We watched Winter's Bone tonight. I liked it. Gosh, those mountain folks are really poor. The squirrel skinning was really done by the actress.

These folks could've used Da Kine Bailbonds and Dog.

 

[over9five]

Just watched "Unstoppable". Wow! Liked it a lot.

And if (like us) you're wondering who that is.......He's the new James Kirk.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I watched "The Adjustment Bureau" yesterday. This one stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, who may be best known as the assistant in The Devil Wears Prada, in a movie which debates whether our lives are planned or whether free will comes in to play. The special effects are cool, the script is solid and the movie is well cast, but it just didn't live up to the hype.

I am hoping to go see "Rango" today but may stay home as we are expecting a foot of snow through tomorrow morning.

 

[moreluck]

Watched the remake of 'The Taking of Pelham 123'. This one is with Denzel and Travolta. It was pretty good. At only 95 minutes, it wasn't a dragged out affair.

 

[curiousbrain]

Find Me Guilty, with Vin Diesel.

Based on a true story, this is a pretty good film. It won't change your life, but it is funny and entertaining - and there were several times where I had to pause the film and look up whether certain events really happened, or whether it was liberties taken by the filmmaker, which I think speaks to the quality of the portrayal of the events.

A departure from Diesel's usual roles, he is actually really good in this comedy-drama of sorts and carries the film as a goofy and quirky gangster who, dare I say, really loves his friends; I wouldn't mind seeing him play more roles like this, as opposed to Pitch Black and the like. Add in a dash of Ron Silver as a judge, as well as a lawyer afflicted with dwarfism, and it somehow works inside the courtroom.

The plot is kind of thin, in that it is mostly an expose for the first fifteen minutes or so, and the rest of the film takes place inside the courtroom - in that sense, the plot is thin; as far as the substance of the issues dealt with in the courtroom, it varies. The feel and tone of the film makes it difficult to deal with deep legal issues, so don't expect any "Isn't it true ..." scenes, but there is enough there to hold your interest.

Overall, good flick - but having seen it last week, what I remember most is that Vin Diesel didn't shoot anyone in the film.

 

[curiousbrain]

WWII: When Lions Roared

This is, in my opinion, a phenomenal movie. It charts the course of three of the most important leaders of WW2 from the 1939 invasion of Poland to the 1943 Tehran Conference. Arbitrary dates they are not; these are perhaps some of the most definitive dates that have defined the last century or so.

Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin - played by John Lithgow, Bob Hoskins, and Michael Caine, respectively, I cannot speak highly enough of the performances turned in by these three actors - especially Hoskins and Caine. I didn't recognize Caine until I looked the movie up on IMDB; Hoskins is stunning when interwoven with historical footage.

This movie is all about the diplomacy behind the scenes, and how the different leaders had to balance their relationships with each other relative to their commitments to the war. It's uncanny at times how I had to shake myself aware that I was watching a film, and not historical cutscenes.

Of particular interest is how Roosevelt balanced the interest of the U.S. before Pearl Harbor with that of his desire to help the U.K. as much as possible; another angle that I found very interesting was how Britain much desired to help the Soviet Union after Germany invaded, except that they (meaning the U.K.) had planned for them (the Soviet Union) to enter the war on the German side.

It's a global chess match, and it is a good watch; it's a tough film to find, but well worth the effort. I wouldn't pay a hundred bucks for it, but for a history buff, it is perhaps worth considering a cool fifty.

 

[DS]

Thinking of going to see rango...anyone seen it yet ?

 

[Jones]

We rented "The Kids Are All Right" and watched it tonight. I really liked it. Annette Bening did a great job and deserved her nomination.

We just watched this, I thought it was really good.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Thinking of going to see rango...anyone seen it yet ?

Saw it yesterday. I was surprised at the number of very young children in the theater as I didn't think this would be a kid-friendly film (it wasn't). There were a lot of subtle references which I laughed at which the kids sitting next to me did not get. The animation was nothing short of amazing with pain-staking attention to detail. There was a surprise cameo near the end of the movie. I thought the movie ran longer than it needed to (107 minutes) as parts of it seemed to drag. It is a very good movie and a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Today will be either "Red Riding Hood" or "Battle: Los Angeles".

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I chose "Little Red Riding Hood". I went in there with some uncertainty and left pleasantly surprised. It was a good movie but not one that I would make a point of going to see.

Look for a 3-D remake of "Conan the Barbarian" coming out later this year.

 

[stevetheupsguy]

Saw it yesterday. I was surprised at the number of very young children in the theater as I didn't think this would be a kid-friendly film (it wasn't). There were a lot of subtle references which I laughed at which the kids sitting next to me did not get. The animation was nothing short of amazing with pain-staking attention to detail. There was a surprise cameo near the end of the movie. I thought the movie ran longer than it needed to (107 minutes) as parts of it seemed to drag. It is a very good movie and a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Today will be either "Red Riding Hood" or "Battle: Los Angeles".

Exactly the reason we didn't go see this movie, thanks for the confirmation.

 

[moreluck]

Just watched Unstoppable and it was a good movie......someone else mentioned that it was too.

 

[over9five]

Just watched Unstoppable and it was a good movie......someone else mentioned that it was too.

Some very smart person.