Spilled Popcorn and Sticky Floors: The Movie Discussion Thread

[Mukey]

Oh yeah, I also saw "Matchstick Men" this weekend with Nick Cage.

Pretty typical con-man-reforms type of movie. Has a twist that anyone who has seen a con-man movie will probably see coming. Not a bad rental, but NOT a purchase.

[mirth]

Saw Children of Men today. Good film, could be a source of interesting conversation concerning the 'what ifs' and the real world.

[Tom McManus]

Working on my second viewing of The Black Dahlia. It is a very good movie of a great fictionalized book based on a true story.  James Ellroy, who also wrote L.A. Confidential is a great writer who specializes in crime, specifically crime in Los Angeles.

This is a Brian DePalma film with lots of violence and some great camera work. His best work in a number of years.  Not as good as the book, but what film is?  But it does capture the essence of the book.  Highly recommended.

[Mukey]

Saw a classic last night: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Humphrey Bogart.

Bogart does well as a down&out bum in Mexico who dreams of making it rich and lets the greed overcome him.

Walter Huston is spot on as the aging prospector who's seen it all and really steals the picture from Bogart.

I aslo really like Tim Holt's performance as Bogart's buddy who seems to almost have the same struggles with greed but overcomes them. There are a few moments when you could see the inner turmoil in his eyes.

If you haven't seen it, & like good acting, then this is definetly worth a watch.

Oh, yeah. This movie is the originator of the "we don't need no stinking badges!" line. Funny to finally see it in it's original context.

[Tom McManus]

My Super Ex-Girlfriend is a rental bonus.  Very funny, Uma Thurman plays a great psycho girlfriend.

[WkeBrd3]

My Super Ex-Girlfriend is a rental bonus.  Very funny, Uma Thurman plays a great psycho girlfriend.

Tom, please tell me you're joking...

[Tom McManus]

My Super Ex-Girlfriend is a rental bonus.  Very funny, Uma Thurman plays a great psycho girlfriend.

Tom, please tell me you're joking...

I thought it was funny. Not joking, on the other hand I couldn't watch You, Me and Dupree I thought that was horrible.

[WkeBrd3]

My Super Ex-Girlfriend is a rental bonus.  Very funny, Uma Thurman plays a great psycho girlfriend.

Tom, please tell me you're joking...

I thought it was funny. Not joking, on the other hand I couldn't watch You, Me and Dupree I thought that was horrible.

I thought both movies were horrible. Haven't seen a good one lately. Actually, Waiting was ok. The goat!

[Mukey]

Saw "Croupier" with Clive Owen as an aspiring writer who takes a a job as a dealer in a casino, or croupier in England.

Decent film with Clive narrating over sorta like in Sin City. Does well as a dual-personality-life piece and has an ending you kinda don't see coming. 3 of 5 stars in Netflix. Worth a rental.

[distantdg]

I just seen 11:14 not to long ago, a bunch of random events that don't seem tied together but are in the end. I enjoyed this one.

[Mukey]

Not a movie, but worth mentioning:

The "Cowboy Bebop" anime series.
Space-bound Bounty hunters in the future seek bounties and encounter trouble all along the way.
Very well drawn and most of the episodes end up with the main characters no better off than before.
Music is great, done by a Japanese-jazz band . (I know! Sounded crazy to me also)

Worth renting & having someone who owns a DVD Recorder make copies of 'em for you. 

Also saw "Crank" with Jason Statham.
Guy gets poisoned & has to keep his adrenaline up in order to keep from dying.
Good hook that keeps the action moving. Lots of off-beat laughs. It is what it is, but it does it well. Kinda slows down a bit after he meets up with his girl, but DEFINETLY worth a rental.

[stpitner]

Watched the Gladiator Extended Edition last night... I did catch a good portion of the new scenes, but I didn't really get too much added value out of them like you do from watching the Extended Lord of the Rings movies.  I still love the movie and certainly am not complaining about having more added to the movie.  I don't really think that it will make me want to go out and buy my own copy of the extended edition dvd though.  The one thing that I did like is that you could watch either version of the movie from the same dvd.

[tjdub42]

I, too, saw Crank this weekend and agree with Chris's comments.  It is what it is.

This was just the start of our guys' weekend film festival, followed by:

Jack Ass 2:  Disgusting, disturbing, & hilarious.  Use the bathroom before you watch it or you'll soil yourself laughing.

Idiocracy:  By Mike Judge, who produced "Office Space", 500 years in the future the world is 100% inhabited & ruled by selfish idiots, even more than now.  Unbelievably funny.  Rent it when your wife/girlfriend sends you un-accompanied to the video store.

The Protector:  Tony Jaa kicks some butt, all because "You took my elephant!"  Cool fight seens, story sucks.

[Jon Brakel]

Idocracy could describe the studio. I saw that in the theatre when the studio tried to bury by limiting its release to like 250 screens. I think I drove about 30 miles to see it in a theatre with about 5 other guys in there. Funniest movie I saw last year though. "It has electroyltes!"

[stpitner]

My wife & I watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith over the weekend.  One of the best action movies that I've seen mainly because of the dialog.  I think someone that is married would get a lot more appreciation for this movie than someone that is single, but that's just my opinion.  Definitely worth the rental.

[Tom McManus]

Employee of the Month.  Not great but it is watchable with some funny moments.  I did think the outakes were very funny.

[Chainmeister]

Wife and I are on a mission to see all the movies with nominated actors, directors etc in the next couple of weeks.  Saw two last week.

Notes on a Scandal- great.  Judy Dench is amazing as a closeted teacher who attachers herself to a younger teacher, Cate Blanchett. The younger teacher is involved in a scandal with a student.  Little moments are amazing in this one.  I think the Best Actress race will be interesting with three Brits invovled.  I have already seen Little Children in which Kate Winslett is excellent as a mom who has an affair with a stay at home dad from her neighborhood. The Queen is on my to do list.

The Departed.  I liked it and she hated it.  We all agree its a great story of deception.  Crime boss, Jack Nicholson, deploys Matt Damon to be a cop to get inside info.  Leonardo DiCaprio is deployed by the cops to be a rat in Nicholson's organization.  However, Scorcese has a very direct way of telling the story that seems little more than a good TV crime drama.  I really like the movie but don't see why Scorcese is being mentioned for a directing award other than the fact that he is the Susan Lucci of the Oscar game. At first I defended the movie saying that it was Scorcese's choice to cut the frills from the story telling.  However, with time I agree that the story was great but the movie was just above average, not Oscar worthy.  Anthony Anderson, who is one of my favorite comedian/actors, has a bit part as one of the cops. I really liked the three main characters.  They were very beleivable. I thought Jack was the best crime boss I have seen since DiNiro in The Untouchables- "Baseball..."

[tjdub42]

I thought Jack was the best crime boss I have seen since DiNiro in The Untouchables- "Baseball..."

A man.  A man stands alone at the plate . . . .

[damonshort]

Wife and I are on a mission to see all the movies with nominated actors, directors etc in the next couple of weeks.  Saw two last week.

Notes on a Scandal- great.  Judy Dench is amazing as a closeted teacher who attachers herself to a younger teacher, Cate Blanchett. The younger teacher is involved in a scandal with a student.  Little moments are amazing in this one.  I think the Best Actress race will be interesting with three Brits invovled.  I have already seen Little Children in which Kate Winslett is excellent as a mom who has an affair with a stay at home dad from her neighborhood. The Queen is on my to do list.

The Departed.  I liked it and she hated it.  We all agree its a great story of deception.  Crime boss, Jack Nicholson, deploys Matt Damon to be a cop to get inside info.  Leonardo DiCaprio is deployed by the cops to be a rat in Nicholson's organization.  However, Scorcese has a very direct way of telling the story that seems little more than a good TV crime drama.  I really like the movie but don't see why Scorcese is being mentioned for a directing award other than the fact that he is the Susan Lucci of the Oscar game. At first I defended the movie saying that it was Scorcese's choice to cut the frills from the story telling.  However, with time I agree that the story was great but the movie was just above average, not Oscar worthy.  Anthony Anderson, who is one of my favorite comedian/actors, has a bit part as one of the cops. I really liked the three main characters.  They were very beleivable. I thought Jack was the best crime boss I have seen since DiNiro in The Untouchables- "Baseball..."

I got a good price on a copy of "Little Miss Sunshine" last week. Great satire and performances, truly an 'ensemble flick' and works fine on a small screen.

[CEValkyrie]

Employee of the Month.  Not great but it is watchable with some funny moments.  I did think the outakes were very funny.

It had some funny parts. Jessica is so darn hot!