Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Waking Life -

I know there's some fans of this here so sorry, but yeah i didn't like it much at all. I can understand why others like this but i just found it dull mostly and i hated the camera work. Seemed like all the visual problems i had with A Scanner Darkly amplified which i doubt was the case for Linklater, i think this was what he was aiming for exactly but it was extremely annoying to me. The constantly moving backgrounds and ugh, sorry it was horrible visually IMO. Was genuinely difficult to look at at times, so ugly and un-expressive.

The content could've improved my opinion of it but i wasn't convinced there either. I don't think the characters ever left the Philosophy 101 class at the start, that must be the twist because otherwise this was so dull when it really shouldn't have been. I know Linklater studied Philosophy and it is one of the main influences in his work. He is one of my favourite directors but i don't think this was a good idea personally, unless it was mainly to test out Rotoscope so he could use and improve on it for A Scanner Darkly later which was a lot better IMO.

I watched this hours ago, before i watched the Celtic game and decided to wait to post about it because i thought it may grow on me when i thought about it more but it really didn't. Not a fan, my least favourite Linklater so far.

I hated Waking Life

Same. Think my rating may be a bit generous but i don't like going lower than that unless i think it is a genuinely bad film, rather than something i just don't like at all.

I gave Waking Life a slightly higher rating than you did (-) Didn't hate it but didn't like it either, which seems to be the trend with my experiences watching Linklater.

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I love Linklater, one of my favourite directors. That was the 11th film of his i've seen and it is the only one i actually disliked. Also - is a pretty high rating in my book.

It's an apathetic rating in my book.

I'd like to cancel my pre-order of your book then

It's not like you read anyway.

The Reading Tab will get a great review soon. Been reading something from this budding author. Filthy stuff though.

War of the Worlds (2005) -

Gave me flashbacks to watching The Happening.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Elephant (2003) - +

One of the realist movies I've ever seen.

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It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.

That's pretty much it haha. Don't think i've seen many realiler fiilms than Elephant. It's pretty dull at times though.

Yeah really, I found it to be pretty sad, one of the problems in my opinion is the way people acted when these people were murdering others. If they had stronger actors who just started breaking down, I think my rating would be much higher.

I knew I could count on you to dislike that movie with me.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Superb movie. Frighteningly realistic. Close to a 10/10 for me.

I was hoping it'd be like A.I. and just be a well-made but misunderstood piece of work but I'm not exactly convinced that it is. Even trying to figure out some kind of era-appropriate 9/11-Iraq-Afghanistan subtext or liking the effects work is enough to do anything of significance.

Anyway...

Snake Eyes -

I don't know why, but for some reason I get the feeling that De Palma maybe likes Hitchcock movies a bit.

A story about the bravery of men and the struggle for survival, The Finest Hours is a ho-hum traditional rescue drama that is hurt by lack of vision from the director. In 1952 a pair of oil tankers split in half and while everyone is concerned about the one, a small time coast guard takes a crew of 4 on a small boat to rescue the other.

A true story told with laziness and modest budget. Had the film had strong talent behind it,maybe everything about it wouldn't look and feel cheesy. From badly obvious water CGI to questionable acting choices, The Finest Hours lacks the emotional punch that most rescue dramas would have. It asks too much with giving too little.

Chris Pine plays a coast guard who comes off as a little slow. At least that's how I received Chris Pine's performance. There was something off about it, everything he does feels like he's second guessing himself, even basic interactions with friends. Maybe it was Pine's attempt to put on an accent, but his constant tiptoeing around the dialogue makes the character feel dumb to me. His crew, one of which is played by Ben Foster, have zero character development. They literally could have been cardboard cutouts of people and nothing would have changed. One guy controls a light, the other sits in a hole in the boat. I'm surprised to see Foster in this role to be honest, he always seems to tackle interesting characters and deliver unorthodox performance that, at the very least, make it memorable. Here, he is given and delivers nothing.

Affleck is on the tanker that is sinking. He's the smart guy who knows everything about the ship, so much that despite the constant bickering between the crew on what to do, he manages to save their lives. This is another performance that feels dialed back. Restrained, if you will. That's the one word to perfectly describe everything about this film. The acting, the story, the budget, the action sequences...all restrained.

To make matters worse, the on land drama is stagnant. The relationship and chemistry between Pine and Holliday Grainger who plays his fiancee is stale. The Finest Hours is old-fashioned filmmaking, to a fault. It takes no chances, isn't strong enough or have enough heart to tug on any emotional strings it tries to play. I can only imagine what the film could have been like with someone with more vision behind the camera. Everything about this film wants to be better, unfortunately it's not.

It was a PHANTOM PUNCH!!!!!

I remember liking this as a kid. Don't want to know what I feel about it now.

Can't imagine it would be too good. Everything in it is stuff that De Palma and Cage have done better before and possibly after.

The least ambitious Star Trek is probably the closest to the original series. Is that a good thing though? Kirk is at a crossroads in his life, he thinks he should no longer be captain of the Enterprise due to the redundancy of the missions. Nothing exciting happens anymore. QUE EXCITING INCIDENT.

To say a lot of this film is written generically is an understatement. The destruction of the Enterprise isn't shocking due to Into Darkness which saw it almost destroyed there. 85% of the film takes place on one planet, which reduces the scope of the story. The ambition isn't there, they leave that at the door while trying to focus on a more humanistic tale. I think the film suffers a bit from that. It feels like an 'episode' not a 'film'.

The set-up for Kirk to question his leadership is eye-rolling and used as a generic character arc moment when he comes to realize he needs to be captain. The same 'arc' is used for Spock, who also wants to leave the Enterprise and continue the efforts of future Spock (Nimoy). Things wrap up neatly for the characters as any episodic show would. I give credit to them for handling Nimoy's death poetically.

Karl Urban is given a bit more to do with the character of Bones. This is a much needed improvement as he is without a doubt, a highlight in the series. Saldana and Yelchin have less to work with this time. She is ultimately the damsel in distress here where Yelchin does absolutely nothing.

There were some pretty bad parts that are used for the sake of looking cool. The Beastie Boys' Sabotage sequence comes to mind, same with the motorcycle bits with Pine. The logical aspects of the sequences are thrown out the window. Finally we have the villain, whose identity is suppose to come as a shock I guess? It's pretty obvious from the get go who he is and what his purpose is. The film tries so hard to make it a moment of realization when it's simply the audience waiting for the film to catch up.

Not a bad entry, just a forgettable one. I think the series might be done for now that Abrams has departed and Yelchin is no longer with us. I'd be okay with that, despite it meaning the series goes out with a whimper.

....at least it's not a fan service story line...*Into Darkness*.