Last movie you watched......

Definite quote fail on my part.
And I was just giving you a hard time, or at least tried to. I get you on the cost of the movie theater and I see most of my movies these days at the theater for free thanks to some advanced screenings I'm fortunate enough to receive. That movie theater experience, though, is quite nice - especially with the blockbuster movies. And I totally agree with you on seeing a movie more than once in the theater. Do it once, then wait for DVD, or Blu-Ray.

 

The Other Woman - an attempt at comedy and sentimentality that failed because it was neither funny nor emotional. It was an over-the-top, predictable deluge into stupidity.
While Kate Upton was awesome to look at, and I love Leslie Mann, Nicki Minaj should never, ever, attempt a career in acting.

 

Did a double-flick last night.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles -- Admittedly not my cup of tea (then again, neither was Guardians of the Galaxy and I really enjoyed that one), but average, at best. My companion, a fan of the whole story, was not impressed, either.

Into the Storm -- Much better than I expected. Laurie from The Walking Dead has the lead female role. This one should have been in 3D instead of Turtles as the visuals are spectacular.

 

Into the Storm looks dreadful.

Watched Need for Speed for the other night and really enjoyed it. It wasn't anything new in terms of plot and Aaron Paul was doing his best impression of Ryan Gosling in "Drive" and Bale's Batman, but it was surprisingly fun.

I think it really benefitted from the director trying to do as much as he could practically, instead of relying on CGI for the driving sequences. The driving seemed "real," compared to something like Gone in 60 Seconds which relied on camera shake and CGI to simulate high-speed driving.

 

I laughed at the Into The Storm trailer the first time I saw it because of what you said, it looks dreadfully bad.

I had a similar reaction to the Need For Speed trailer and have not seen the movie.

 

"Guardians of the Galaxy" tonight. Man, what a fun flick. I'd recommend it even for non comic book fans. Great mixture of camp and edge.

 

Those were my thoughts, exactly! I'm not a comic book fan, but had a blast seeing this one. Reminded me of the original Star Wars, though I felt I laughed more with Guardians. Most fun I've had at the cinema in years.

 

Caught Boyhood tonight.

While it's a very long movie, it was a good story and the concept of filming the same set of actors for a 12-year period really makes you grab the characters.

Reminded me a bit of one of my favorite books, "A Boy's Life."

 

There's no way I'd ever see it, but apparently "Step Up All In" is an actual movie, not a Funny or Die video.

 

The Place Beyond the Pines (d. Derek Cianfrance)

A true three-act movie, which is rare. The second act rung false to me. Belonged in a different movie and I didn't buy it anyhow. The other two were strong, almost a riff on Crime and Punishment. You could cut out the second act and have damn near the same movie, in terms of emotional arc.

And if you want to see one actor crushing hard on another actor, check out Eva Mendes with Ryan Gosling. Mendes isn't a particularly skilled actor -- she's gotten by mostly on beauty and street cred -- but she can barely control her emotions around Gosling in this movie, and their 45 minutes together really sets the hook in. You know it in the two scenes where she starts to cry when you wouldn't expect it. One scene in particular, an in-bed scene, the director framed it so she's at the bottom of the shot, and when she cries, she turns away from Gosling and her crying is only half in the frame. But you can see just enough of it, and whatever that reaction is -- I suspect it's love - it's natural and powerful. Quite a scene. Might be five seconds.