[Movies] Talk about the last movie you saw 2: Electric Threadaloo

Watched a bunch of nostalgia movies the other day on netflix.

Hook:

I had never actually seen this all the way. (I had only seen the reunion with the lost boys part). The story, I thought, was good fun - a way to get Robin Williams into the film, I'm sure, but still fun. I'm so glad I've finally seen this! Besides, I named my car Rufio and needed to see his namesake in full.

Thumbelina:

Oh, Don Bluth, how I love your movies! Despite the age of this movie, I think it is still beautifully animated. The colors are dulled somewhat, but the actual animation, I adored it! Lots of fun little details that get left out nowadays. And the love story, it was so...hilarious, I had a right good time watching it.

P.U.N.K.S:

Yes. I watched this willingly. It was terrible and wonderful, and perfect ambiant noise while I cleaned the house.

The Secret of Kells:

If you haven't seen this, do it. Do it right now. If you're interested in art in anyway, please watch this. Without a doubt, it is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen! Everything about it struck me as perfect. The characters were fun, the art style so vivid, and I adored the accents. The ending was..sudden, I felt - I didn't want it to be over at all. (Yes, cosplay WILL be happening...). I'll be purchasing this for sure!
 

fade

Staff member
I was a huge fan of Hook. Still love it.

The Man from Earth
My brother suggested this one. Eh. It was okay for a watch. It had a student film feel to it, and a bunch of actors that make you go, "Hey its that guy!". It reminded me of Evil Dead in tone and in acting (though not at all in story). I do give the creators kudos for pulling off an entire movie of talking heads and keeping it reasonably entertaining. If you haven't heard of it, it's about a professor of anthropology who claims he is 14000 years old. The movie basically consists of him pitching this to a bunch of other profs, who think its a game and sit around attacking various aspects of the theory and generally being inexplicably thin-skinned about the whole idea. I wouldn't suggest putting it at the top of your list, but it's not terrible.
 
Thor
Pretty much exactly what I expected. Fun, but not great. The battles were all real short and lacked any real draw to them. As Marvel movies go I'd put it on par with the Edward Norton Incredible Hulk. Maybe a step above. Doesn't live up to Iron Man or Captain America, arguable better than Iron Man 2. All ready for The Avengers now. Glad I finally watched it, and I may even buy it if I see it on discount. Its a good movie to multitask to.

Slap Shot
This is the movie people say is the greatest hockey movie ever? Really? Have hockey movies all been that bad? Don't get me wrong Slap Shot was fun, it just wasn't great. How come football gets Remember the Titans and this is what we get? I've heard people say Goon might very well be the new greatest hockey movie. Seems to me it just needs to be better than a mildly funny comedy.
 
Slap Shot was social commentary, not comedy.
IMDB:
Slap Shot (1977)
123 min - Comedy | Drama | Sport
Wikipedia:
Slap Shot is a 1977 film comedy starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean directed by George Roy Hill.
Rotten Tomatoes:
R, 2 hr. 3 min.
Drama, Comedy
BoxOfficeMojo:
Genre: Sports Comedy
A movie can be both (Canadian Bacon, Thank You For Smoking, and Shaun of the Dead are a few movies that spring to my mind as being both great comedies and offering up a heaping helping of social commentary).

"Social commentary" is not in itself a genre. Its added into films of any genre. Social commentary is laid throughout the best comedies, dramas, horrors, documentaries, even science fiction.
 

fade

Staff member
Thor was really bland. It had good visuals, but Thor was really never defined by anything. He kind of became an overcooked, flavorless meatball in a good, but not great soup. For such a big hero, it felt like Thor took place in a very tiny world. Nothing felt like it affected anyone outside of the main cast. This is what was always great about Donner's Superman. It took place in a living, breathing Manhattan. Things affected people. Superman saved Joe from Down the Block, and he stopped Luthor.
 
In theaters, the Muppets. My Satan, thank you Jason Segel and that flight of the Concords guy whose name escapes me. Though personally while I do love "Man or a Muppet" I personally thought the best song was "Pictures in my head". I mean...IT'S A SAD KERMIT SONG! THOSE ARE THE BEST! Can you believe Frank Oz didn't do this because he thought the fart-shoes joke was too cheap? IT'S THE MUPPETS! THEIR ALL ABOUT TERRIBLE JOKES! It was truly a great tribute film, and I loved every minute of it.

At home I finally watched Silence of the Lambs. Anthony Hopkins played the character of Hannibal Lecter perfectly, making him just as much threatening as he was respectable. Plus as a fan of Monk I was stoked to see Ted Levine playing Buffalo Bill. Total geek out moment.
 
Adventures of Tin Tin - This is incredibly rare for me, I give it a 10/10 perfection score.

Let me start by saying it's the best looking CGI movie ever made. No question. With the right Blu-Ray/HD-TV set up, it's flawless. It doesn't try to go into "uncanny valley" or "realisim" it embraces that it's a "Cartoon" and makes the best looking CGI Cartoon ever made. I could have watched this entire film on mute and been more impressed with it than nearly anything CGI Animated I've ever seen.

What's the other part that makes this movie perfection? It's the first time in as long as I can remember (Other than LOTR I can't think of another time in my adult life honestly) that a movie felt EPIC. I don't even think epic is a strong enough word. It felt like you felt the VERY first time you watched an Indiana Jones movie. It was enthralling, jaw dropping for over an hour without realizing your mouth was even open, every single minute was interesting and you can't take your eyes off the screen for a second for fear of missing a minute of amazing.

I can't believe what I watched, it was without words. I will be buying this movie on my way home tonight. It's now part of my all time favorites list.
 
I haven't seen Tin Tin, but looking at the trailers, commercials, and all promotional art I've seen, it sits DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP in the uncanny valley.
 
That's what I thought too, until I actually watched it. It doesn't try to be "realistic" it just is amazing crisp and well done CGI Cartooning.
 
I'll need to watch Tin Tin a few more times before I agree with your statement about it being a 'perfect' movie. I thought it was amazing (and in fact, I believe I reviewed it some pages back) with some of the best CGI animation to date.
 
For the record, it's flawless on a theater screen with a talented projectionist, not "home theater". Not to bring up that old chestnut.

This weekend I'm hoping to squeeze in John Carter (IMAX 3D), Jeff who lives at home, 21 Jump Street, and Casa De Mi Padre.
 

fade

Staff member
21 ... Jump ... Street... I suppose we're supposed to love it for the intentional kitsch factor, but it warped right past that into stupid territory, if the trailers are any indication.
 
3D is a personal preference that I don't have a really strong opinion one way or the other. But the movie theater > any home theater unless you are a multi-millionaire.
 
Slap Shot
This is the movie people say is the greatest hockey movie ever? Really? Have hockey movies all been that bad? Don't get me wrong Slap Shot was fun, it just wasn't great. How come football gets Remember the Titans and this is what we get? I've heard people say Goon might very well be the new greatest hockey movie. Seems to me it just needs to be better than a mildly funny comedy.
Give it 3 days. Slap Shot needs time to digest. Also if black comedy isn't your thing, the movie's pretty bad.
 

Dave

Staff member
3D is a personal preference that I don't have a really strong opinion one way or the other. But the movie theater > any home theater unless you are a multi-millionaire.
The film itself looks better large and the sound system is usually better, AND if it's an event like an opening it can be really fun to go to the theater. But there are several factors about going to see movies in theaters that I really, REALLY dislike.

  • The pictures are so dark and washed out that it's very hard to see some things.
  • Sound bleed. This is when you are in a movie that has quiet parts and you can still hear explosions reverberating from the shitty EPIC BLOCKBUSTER going on next door of the omniplex.
  • Loud, rude, obnoxious people who either can't or won't shut up.
  • The rise of technology. Glowing iPod screens, ringing phones, texting, etc. Fuck that shit. People have to entertain themselves while being entertained from another medium?
  • $$$. $$. $$$$$. $$$$$$.
So as much as I'd rather watch the film on a big screen, it's just not something I want to subject myself to any longer.
 
I've been to expensive theatres and never has an image looked clearer than when I watch them at home on my set-up. They're just bigger and louder. Not to mention you can't enjoy small hidden nuances at a theatre as everything is super blown up vs at home where you can see every inch of the screen at the same time. Don't even get me into the sound issues that Dave just listed too. There is in no way that the theatre "is better" than my set-up other than the screen is bigger. The end.

I disagree with your "factual opinion" so hard it hurts Charlie Don't Surf
 

fade

Staff member
Well, it's all opinion, but the fact that the screen is bigger and the sounds are louder are more than the sum of their parts. They pull you in and immerse you. That's why the things on Dave's list suck so hard--they pull you from the immersion.
 
For the record, it's flawless on a theater screen with a talented projectionist, not "home theater". Not to bring up that old chestnut.
What exactly are the requirements for being a talented projectionist? Knowing how to focus a lens? Or how to put a reel on a spindle? I never quite got that. It seems similar to making fries at McDonalds, you'd have to be a pretty big fucktard to get it wrong - I could be wrong though.
 
In the digital age, I would assume it's much easier. When it came to splicing reels and having that timing? I believe many considered it its own artform.
 
I've definitely had great theatre experiences, but for the most part I don't consider it at all worth the money, and generally speaking wouldn't say it was in anyway preferable to watching a movie at home.
In the past few years....
Watching How to Train Your Dragon in 3D on a big screen= worth it.
Watching the Muppets with a large crowd was a really great experience.
As was Toy Story 3.
Revisting Lion King in theatres was like going back in time, it was awesome.
Dark Knight also benefitted greatlly from the enhanced picture and sound.

But beyond the fact I got to see them earlier, even other movies I enjoyed seeing in theatres, I don't think were really any better seeing the theatre than they were at home.

And then you get bad experiences, like when I went to see Coraline in theatres and the picture flickerd a few times and eventually went black for a few minutes while the sound continued (Famous Players)
Or when I went to see Iron Man 2 and could hear another showing of Iron Man 2 that started 30min later, nearly as loudly as the one I was watching (AMC).

The cheap theatres are worth it, just to see a movie sooner. But the so called "nice theatres", you don't get what you pay for, at all. These are also the ones that tend to have the most annoying (loudest) audience members in them for some reason. The cheaper theatres, with the smaller screens and the lower quality images, that show more indy films and older films than the big ones, they tend to be a better experience.

This is all in my own experience though. Maybe you just have way nicer theatres than I have around here.


You know what I miss? The DRIVE-IN.
 
There's a Drive-In theatre about 25mins from my place. The EX and I used to frequent it. Maybe I'll go with Nurse Cutie sometime soon....
 
You live near a drive-in? Well, you have just earned like fifteen cool-points. Just fifteen though, I am sparse with my cool points.

You know what movie was SUPRISINGLY good. Hot tub Time Machine. The jokes were good, the plot was good, John Cusacks wrinkly face, it was amazing! Probably the best time-travel comedy/time-travel movie since Back to the Future 1/2/3.
 
Top