Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Why I oughta...

Took me a couple of watches to actually enjoy this one. Kept comparing it to Shaun of the Dead which was doing it no favors. Liked it better when I stopped doing that.

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High-Rise ++ a very macabre mix of the visceral, cerebral and the surreal; and I'm still not sure if it worked or not. Or if THAT is a good thing or a bad thing. . . Some very well done acting, that's for sure.

I think that's what saved me. I thought it was just to be a straight out cop bromance kind of movie. When the reveal came I was laughing more than at Shaun because it totally took me by surprise.

I think I had a lot of trouble taking Simon Pegg as a serious, tough guy the first couple of times I watched it.

I love him in anything. He's just so good at deadpan.

Well, because it was
Compared to recent popcorn horror, it didn't abuse volume spikes or around the corner setup jumps. Compared The Skeleton Key it never took itself so seriously, using humor to ground the absurdity of it all. Sure, you can argue the racial tones as gimmick, but the characters answered that directly: "Why black people?" "Because it's fashionable." To me, that was a back-handed self-aware criticism moment of dark humor. Racism was used as an element of balance and never crossed the line to lecture and judgment. If anything, it was passively mocking racism as by the end of it all, "racism" as we know it was the farthest thing from what was playing out, though it was used somewhat as a red herring to push the audience to that assumed conclusion.

Better than the worn out black mystic voodoo zombie queen. I got a kick out of it similar to how I enjoyed The Cabin in the Woods.

Please keep in mind that I gave it a C+. It still stands apart, for all of its wewknesses IMO.

"Throwing in the ethnicity of the lead character and making the victims black, suddenly makes this a new, groundbreaking movie about slavery and /or the breakdown of race relations in modern day america."

I didn't read it as such. To be fair though, I had EXACTLY the same thought when I saw the trailer. It wasn't until a friend told who the director was did I drop my preconceived judgments. I only just last night watched the movie trying hard to separate myself from my initial feelings and from the hype of the release.

I am glad I did.

To my copy of your comment: I do not believe simply throwing in the ethnicity of the lead character as a victim was an attempt in and of itself to be groundbreaking. I do, however, believe that the viewer's perception of racism will greatly affect how that individual will react to this movie based on his or her own experience with racial encounters.

THAT can create reflection on the viewer's part to question our learned social behaviors. "Huh... I jumped to so many conclusions during this movie, cringing in my seat hoping the dad doesn't say what he's about to---oh he said it?! *hides* damn!! No!! That was SOOO racist!"

All of that because of my liberal PC white male born-and-raised in deep south Alsbama mindset leading me down that path. Then in the end? Not at all what I thought, regarding racial MOTIVES. Wow. Maybe I should rethink how I react to other social/racial conflicts?

Yeah. I'm digging deep. It was never this deep while watching. I'm only trying to separate using race arbitrarily for shtick and using race to the path of cognitive dissonance.

HIM as a serious, tough guy?! That's just wrong. Now, this I've gotta see.

Yeah, I agree. He's humorous in all of it.

I saw:

How to loose friends and alienate people - I remember when at that ceremony he told Megan he killed her dog

Star Trek, a great movie anyhow

Ice Age Dawn of the dinosaurus

Paul

Has anyone seen Scrat's continental crack-up?

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is my fave of the series, the beginning in Kremlin, Abu-Dabi (or is it Dubai), and why do I get to be Pluto? It's not even a planet anymore.

Star Trek into darkness was ok

I can't say I detected him in The Force Awakens.

Star Trek Beyond was so-so, even though I saw the last two in Real and Imax 3D, respectively.

Ah! I just learned he's Aquarius. My fave combo. Born on Valentine's day, no less.

Kill me three times he's an assassin.

Kill Me Three Times is actually on Netflix right now. I am CURIOUS to see that one.

And @Beatle, Pegg is under a ton of make up as the owner of the (market?) on the desert planet near the beginning of the movie.

Paths of Glory (1957) + No one digs at, and reveals, the underbelly of humanity with such distinction and dread like Kubrick.
One of those films where you wonder: why on earth did it take so long to finally see this?

I agree. I wasn't expecting it to be bad, because it's Mike Flanagan and the guy has yet to disappoint me. But I didn't expect it to turn out as good as it did, either. It was handled very well, especially in the effects department. I thought some of the effects used were a smart move. It was minimal, yet maintained a sense of creepiness. I really dug it.

I disagree about Mirrors, though. I thought it was pretty good.

That I will. And I am sure it is!

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

Oh great – I'll have a look at that.

What did we gain from this film? Any advancement in the story? Advancement in the war? Revenge from the initial 300 Spartans who died? I'll give you the answers; nothing, no, no and nope. 300: Rise of an Empire is a cash grab sequel, with less style than the original and more cartoon violence. I can only recommend this film if you are a huge fan of the original and want more of the same.

This battle, which happens at the same time as Leonidas is commanding his 300, is fought on ships. The battle on the ships try to be creative, but seem to fail on that aspect and push into some absurd territory. The artificial-ness of it all only takes away from the excitement. The original film felt fresh and exciting. Zack Snyder behind the camera gave us some creative visual violence. This entry tries to imitate that and it doesn't match up. The blood, the kills, the set pieces, feel fake this time around. Snyder had a cast and stakes which made the film feel a bit more real even though the stylized violence and green-screen are clearly fake. Rise of an Empire has none of this, save for a deliciously evil Eva Green as a vengeful psychotic warrior.

The film even feels like a remake. It hits the same notes at the same moments. It literally ends on the same note. Why not try and advance the story further? Aside from some insight into the past of Xerxes and a sad story attached to Eva Green's character, we are given nothing to hold onto. The film is more interested in the blood and guts it splashes on the screen than anything else. It feels like a video game where the player keeps playing the same level over and over again. the wow factor wears off early, which is not a good sign for this type of flick.

So unless you love the original, Rise of an Empire is easily avoidable. Even if you do see it, you'll most likely forget about it a day or two later. Save for one memorable scene involving Eva Green and her beautiful assets. There aren't many films these days with sex scenes that actual show the act. Sex scenes have been toned down recent years, close ups where we see nothing, or a cut away before the act. Rise of an Empire isn't afraid to go a little adult here and I have to give it some credit for that.

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Suspect's Reviews

Nice one!! Ive been meaning to watch his films for ages but never got round to it. Which one should I watch next?

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Waar (2013)


Dear o dear. This has to go down as one of the most disappointing films I've seen in a long time. Some of the action scenes are pretty good and there was definite potential there but all that was ruined by the horrendous acting and deplorable dialogue!! It was seriously that bad. The score was awful too. Totally did not fit the scene and at times I had to stick it on mute. Even the script was awful and was full of clichés.


One to avoid I'm afraid.