Last movie you watched......

Winter's Bone: Well acted by Jennifer Lawrence and the rest of the cast. Kind of slow but loved the atmosphere and how insane the people were, especially knowing that there are people actually like that there.
The Mechanic: Pretty throw-away but decent action and Ben Foster is always entertaining.
True Grit: Outstanding, top-to-bottom. Great acting, great cinematography, great dialogue.
Cyrus: I like John C. Reilly and Marisa Tomei, find Jonah Hill kind of annoying. It wasn't as funny as I thought it would be.

 

I think that there is some criticism, and I think it's pretty valid, that they cheated with the plot twist. A plot twist done correctly leaves some clues along the way that make you slap your head and say, "Damn! How did I not see that coming?" Here, the writers and director hid it. They offered absolutely no clue. I suppose in real life that might be how it happens - a total bald-faced lie by the other person, hidden well. But in a movie, you have to leave some clues along the way so it makes sense later, or else it really feels like a contrivance in service to the plot, and that's what a lot of people felt about "Up in the Air."

Last movie I watched: "Baby Mama" this weekend. It was OK for a comedy. Hit and miss. Would have probably expected a little better with the two main characters, but knew coming in that Tina Fey didn't actually write it, so that lowered my expecations somehwhat. Thought the Greg Kinnear character was severely, severely underdeveloped.

 

The fact that we were as gobsmacked as Clooney was made it more effective, not less.

 

Really? It doesn't seem like nit-picking at all to me, and certainly not a "new level" of it. Stuff like that can take you right out of a viewing experience. The on-screen events should feel organic, even though intellectually we know that every plot is contrived by definition.

They cheated, simple as that. Screenwriting 101. It bothered some more than others, but they definitely cheated, and I think it's totally valid to take issue with it.

 

Right, but the trick is to gobsmack the audience while the audience also says, "Why didn't I see that coming!" I know it's a cliche to say this, but think "Sixth Sense." Or "The Others."

In this case, it is pretty unrealistic that she would rack up those kind of miles and live that kind of life - taking off for Wisconsin for a wedding on a whim? - with a family at home.

 

She did say she didn't want anything more and it was only an on-the-road thing, didn't she? That's about all we need in that regard. Although not as usual any more, men have led similar business-travel-type lives for eons and still had families. Probably acted the same way on the road, too. And as much as she's on the road, probably not that hard to pull off the wedding in Wisconsin.

Obviously she's not totally content at home or this wouldn't be so easy for her.

Once out there, the plot twist wasn't really all that shocking, was it?

 

I'd like to watch it again to make that determination.

 

Yeah, I mean, I didn't see it coming in the MIDDLE of the movie. But when he walked up to the door, before he rang the doorbell, I was like "OMG, she's completely married." And then I thought about it and the only part that really bugged me was her willingness to meet his family. On the road beef, fine, whatever. But that's a level of involvement that HE'S going to have to explain, especially with as lovey as they were at the reception. And THAT seemed out of line to me.

The actual home life? Not at all.

 

I saw two movies:

Taken- surprisingly really good. Liam Neeson was awesome in this movie and wanted to watch it until the end.

Analyze This- "Deniro and Crystal!" DO I need to say anything more?

 

I know I mentioned the home life as not being believable, but I guess what I mean by that is that it wasn't believable since we didn't get any other clues. I think if they dropped in a clue or two along the way, I could certainly buy that she would lead that kind of life. Although perhaps not to the degree that Clooney's character did. I mean, wasn't the whole point of him not getting married because he liked to be free to do what he wished, i.e. the flying was basically just a metaphor?

You can't just blind side your audience with something that you didn't foreshadow at least a little bit. I caveat this statement with the admission that I've only watched the movie once, although the criticism is pretty out there among critics, as well.

 

Captain America.

Not very good, especially after the first act. The villain sucked. The final fight was a huge disappointment. The love story was heavy-handed and contained some incredibly cheesy parts.

 

I still don't think it was THAT out of the blue. I mean, they didn't show her sneaking off to take private calls or anything, but it's not like she ever said "I live alone" either.