I am a Wes Anderson fan (one of my very favorite movies is Rushmore), but really didn't care too much for GBH - don't know why, maybe just caught it on a bad day. Next up for me... Transformers. My friend with Down Syndrome is dying to see it, so we'll see it. Usually he just wants to see the good action flicks and he is the reason I get to see any movies in the theater, but he's also the reason I've seen Step Up 1 - 3D...
I'm trying to figure out how Transformers could possibly be worse than the first 3... it doesn't have Shia Lebouf, so isn't that an automatic +30% points on Rotten Tomatoes?
I'll never underestimate Michael Bay's ability to screw something up... but the man knows mainstream America. Long ago my wife and I had a layover in Houston when we missed our connecting flight due to weather, next flight to our destination in Mexico was the next morning. We had nothing to do and obviously nowhere to go in Houston so we caught a shuttle from our hotel to a local mall. After 15 minutes of wandering in the mall we decided to see a movie there. Nothing of interest but the last Timothy Dalton James Bond movie, so we decided to see that.
The theater was filled with a true cross-section of America, all races, all demographics, all ages. There is a part in the movie where James Bond is sliding and flipped over in his car on frozen lake, he opens up his gull-wing doors that contain missiles and this action flips the car back onto its wheels. My wife and I are about to get up and leave to realize that the whole theater is CHEERING like it is the coolest thing they had ever seen. We sat back down and just watched the crowd reaction to the rest of the show, endless ooo's and ahhh's and applause for the stupidest things I've seen in a movie. That part was priceless but I came to the conclusion that we are all pretty stupid, and we love our 'splosions.
Speaking of which Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was really good, one of my favorite movies of the summer.
Isn't that kind of the problem with all of them? I haven't finished one yet where I wasn't wondering what I just watched other than it seemed cool.
Like I want to look at Bumblebee and see that if you fold down his head into his crotch and fold out his shoulder armor it exposes wheels and the armor becomes fenders, you know, the way God designed the transformers and intended them to be used.
From people who have seen the new transformers it's insanely long and lacks the usual explosions and action that made the others at least somewhat entertaining..,
So the first reboot with Wolverhampton (I'm leaving that super bizarre autocorrect there it switched it to that from Walberg) was bad. My expectations were low for the James Franco one so I put it at mediocre, the new one was really pretty good.
Kind of intense and while you know the outcome you don't.
As mentioned, talking monkeys riding horses with guns... But imagine that done the best way possible.
Last week on a long flight back from Europe I watched two movies, "Prisoners" and "The Invisible Woman." "Prisoners" is the kind of suspense/whodunit (with plenty of plot intricacies) that I tend to like a lot and it hooked me pretty early on, so I stuck with it 'til the end. It is quite long and IMO the filmmakers tried to do too much -- more of this movie should have been cut. Still, I liked it. If you watch it with someone you'll be talking about it for some time afterwards. The "What would you do in that situation?" discussion is the most interesting, I think.
"The Invisible Woman" is a nice little film that I suspect was a pet project for Ralph Fiennes, who starred and directed. I'd never even heard of it -- probably that's because it was only in the art houses, and not for very long. The critics pretty much liked it. It's about the relationship between Ellen (Nellie) Ternan and Charles Dickens, told mainly from the woman's point of view. Most people who know enough about Dickens to be aware of his separation from his wife and his taking Nellie as a mistress will find that angle intriguing-- I did. I recommend the movie but before watching you should spend a few minutes reading up on that part of ol' Charles' life.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Saw "Guardians of the Galaxy with my daughter tonight, Mrs. LA Ute being out of town. (Daughter is 17 and still willing to go to movies with me. I am enjoying this while it lasts.) This is a great, fun film, and an unexpected pleasure. I couldn't believe I was watching a talking raccoon and loving it. Go see the movie and you'll know what I mean. (Bonus: If you like 70s music you'll get a lot of gags that others will miss.)
Last edited by LA Ute; 08-08-2014 at 09:46 PM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Took my 10-year-old to see Guardians of the Galaxy, he grinned ear to ear the whole time. That movie is top of his list now. I thought it was great too.
He is fun to take to movies because he always reminds me that movies are just supposed to be fun.
Catching up on one. We saw and liked Philip Seymour Hoffman's last film, A Most Wanted Man. He plays a German anti-terrorism agent. I recommend it. (Despite multiple gratuitous F-bombs.) I like espionage novels and movies anyway -- especially John LeCarre's -- and I wanted to see Hoffman's last role. I went in expecting cynicism because LeCarre leans left in his politics and his books explore the moral ambiguity in espionage work. (He is a former British spy himself.)
Anyway, it's a good psychological thriller, beautifully shot, and Hoffman doesn't disappoint. I thought Rachel McAdams did a good job in an unusual role for her.
Last edited by LA Ute; 08-10-2014 at 09:07 PM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Watched Guardians of the Galaxy and Divergent over the last few weeks. I enjoyed both for what they were.
“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
I went with my wife to see "Guardians of the Galaxy" last week.
There is a reason that marvel studios is throttling everybody else in the comic book movie "genre". Here was a story about a group of characters that I had never heard of before and I walked out of the theater wanting to turn around and go see it again immediately. That just doesnt happen often.
there was a Yahoo article the other day with the headline, "A list of all the superhero movies through 2020, It's terrifying."
I also like "Guardians of the Galaxy", but I felt like I am starting to be too old for their target audience anymore. That's a sobering thought.
Ha! I love this.
To take it one more step forward, I would say that with X-men, 1 & 2 were singles/BB and then 3 was a 6-5-4-3 triple play. 3 was terrible. "Origins" was a strikeout, swinging at three head-high pitches that were a foot off the plate. "First Class" was an 11-pitch at bat that ended in a pop out to second. Nothing great, but at least you put some pitches on the pitchers arm.
I watched the entire x-men collection in preparation for "days of future past". After watching DOFP, I saw the post credits scene which foreshadowed the "Apocalypse" movie and thought "hey, that will be cool!" since Apocalypse was my favorite villain in the 90's cartoon. In the ensuing two months, I have hardly thought further of it.
Contrast that with Marvel, where each installment leaves me counting down the days for the next one.
I need to grab Spider man 2 from Red Box here in the next couple of weeks. I don't like Sony's "release movies because we dont want to lose the rights" approach, but I liked the first one.
And I am done with DC. I was genuinely excited for Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel. I fell asleep in DKR and MoS was aggravatingly dull. When I read that Ben Affleck had been cast as Batman for yet another reboot, it was strike three.
Apparently I'm the only person who thought X-Men 2 was one of the best comic-based movies.
I dont know what the deal was. I really, really enjoyed Dark Knight. Perhaps it was because I had recently seen Avengers and (to me) Dark Knight Rises didnt measure up.
X-men movie rights are actually owned by 20th century fox. So Marvel Comics has three different studios creating movies. I really wish that Marvel had maintained the rights to all of their characters for thier own studio, but at least they have learned from the mistakes of X-men and the early-mid 2000's spider man.
Last edited by UtahsMrSports; 08-15-2014 at 12:55 PM. Reason: clarity
We saw "The Giver" tonight. I don't want to give away any spoilers but I recommend the movie, mainly because I want to see what everyone thinks of it. I liked it a lot but it didn't have the emotional impact I thought it would -- and that may just be because of what I brought to the movie. (Sorry to seem cryptic; I'm avoiding spoilers.) I suspect that you'll walk out after the movie talking and thinking about the story, and regardless of your politics, religion or worldview you'll find themes that resonate with you.
Last edited by LA Ute; 08-16-2014 at 08:09 AM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum
"And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla
I have not read the book, but probably will. One review I saw said the movie was not as faithful to the book as it should've been. The protagonist is older, for example, in his teen years and about to enter adulthood. They also added a bit of a love story, although one of the mildest I've ever seen.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
My daughter made me read the book several years ago because it was one of her favorites. It is pretty good young adult dystopian fiction. I too have read that the movie takes big liberties with the book, and you may not recognize the book from the movie. But I haven't seen it.
Last edited by concerned; 08-16-2014 at 11:09 AM.
I should add that if you see "The Giver," you need to stay past the credits. There's a short bonus feature about the making of the movie.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I haven't seen "Calvary" yet, but this review makes me want to see it:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tinselt...-from-calvary/
The trailer:
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
fyi re the Giver
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/...l?wpsrc=fol_tw
Saw "When The Game Stands Tall" yesterday. Very good message without being overly preachy. Do your kids a favor and take them to see it.
Reminded me of "Forever Strong" (its about Highland Highs Rugby program) but better.
Last edited by Damage U; 08-23-2014 at 07:30 AM.
We saw "Boyhood" tonight and we are apparently among the .001% of viewers who don't consider it a stupendous masterpiece. In fact, although the movie was very interesting, I wouldn't mind having that 2:44 of my life back. (Yes, it's almost 3 hours long.) It's technically well-done, well-acted, and beautifully shot. But for me, a movie in which it is not only a little difficult to care about the main character, but it also gets harder and harder to like him, doesn't work.
At least Kenneth Turan agrees with me:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...803-story.html
Last edited by LA Ute; 09-13-2014 at 12:33 AM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell