Last movie you watched......

[Alma]

"The Master."

More thoughts to follow at some point, but I'd like to watch it again and completely try to watch it as a father-son movie, metaphorically, rather than one about religion. Because the more I think about it, the more I think it was a father-son movie.

Man's nature vs. Man's intellectual self. I'd argue it's the wrestling match between nature and conscience, but not everybody believes in that, and PTA's answer, based on the last two movies, appears to be: Conscience is futile in its resistance anyway.

People have an impression that it'll blow the lid off of Scientology, and it probably does in some ways, but the movie is so insistently peculiar about its mission that it's destined, at least for now, to live within a larger catalog of movies easier to digest and explain to others without having to muddle through the nudity and telegraphed violence. That doesn't affect the quality of it, but it does change how it's perceived by people who don't know what to do with it.

 

[Alma]

Prometheus - This time on the TV. I thought the visuals were amazing in the theater. On the small screen it's just not the same and the result is the stupid script gets magnified. I chance my opinion from pleasant surprise to mostly awful.

Ridley Scott's lost his sense of what makes great cinema, or he simply doesn't care and wants to make money. 30 years ago, this movie has 60 percent fewer words. They aren't necessary.

 

[Tom Petty]

just watched the avengers on pay per. wow. it was terribly good.

 

[NDub]

"The Master."

More thoughts to follow at some point, but I'd like to watch it again and completely try to watch it as a father-son movie, metaphorically, rather than one about religion. Because the more I think about it, the more I think it was a father-son movie.

Man's nature vs. Man's intellectual self. I'd argue it's the wrestling match between nature and conscience, but not everybody believes in that, and PTA's answer, based on the last two movies, appears to be: Conscience is futile in its resistance anyway.

People have an impression that it'll blow the lid off of Scientology, and it probably does in some ways, but the movie is so insistently peculiar about its mission that it's destined, at least for now, to live within a larger catalog of movies easier to digest and explain to others without having to muddle through the nudity and telegraphed violence. That doesn't affect the quality of it, but it does change how it's perceived by people who don't know what to do with it.

In simpler terms, and probably some labeling going on here, but film/cinema buffs will like (maybe even love) it. Standard moviegoers will not.

 

[Dick Whitman]

"The Master."

More thoughts to follow at some point, but I'd like to watch it again and completely try to watch it as a father-son movie, metaphorically, rather than one about religion. Because the more I think about it, the more I think it was a father-son movie.

Man's nature vs. Man's intellectual self. I'd argue it's the wrestling match between nature and conscience, but not everybody believes in that, and PTA's answer, based on the last two movies, appears to be: Conscience is futile in its resistance anyway.

People have an impression that it'll blow the lid off of Scientology, and it probably does in some ways, but the movie is so insistently peculiar about its mission that it's destined, at least for now, to live within a larger catalog of movies easier to digest and explain to others without having to muddle through the nudity and telegraphed violence. That doesn't affect the quality of it, but it does change how it's perceived by people who don't know what to do with it.

In simpler terms, and probably some labeling going on here, but film/cinema buffs will like (maybe even love) it. Standard moviegoers will not.

I wouldn't say I love it, though I might grow to love it. I applaud P.T. Anderson for having the courage to make it, and to make it the way he did. It's been two days, and my wife and I continued this morning to talk about it. I watched a making-of-"Magnolia" documentary some time, probably one of the extras on the DVD, and at the end of a table reading or something Anderson stands up and gives a locker room speech to his cast. I remember it clear as day: "OK, now let's go out and make a great movie." His ambition is so admirable. He explores big, bold themes in big, bold ways. I think "The Master" has more in common with the best literary novels than it does 99 percent of commercial, wide-release movies.

 

[bigpern23]

Finally saw "Into the Wild" on DVD.

The film was well-made, but I'm torn about how they portrayed "Alex Supertramp." Maybe a little too much hero treatment for a very flawed character.

Mrs. Coco has read the book, and she said the movie takes quite a bit of liberty with it. Of course, that's why they make a movie ...

Also, perhaps the ultimate example of the SportsJournalists.com line "You Can't Eat the Scenery."

I wouldn't look at it as Penn "taking liberty" with the book. I felt that the movie supplemented the book quite well and told the story from a different perspective. I loved them both.

 

[Greenhorn]

The Five-Year Engagement. Considering how much I liked Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I found it hugely disappointing. A predictable and maudlin misfire.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Just saw Looper... Well-acted by JGL, Willis and Blunt, but I left feeling disappointed, not that it was bad, but that it could have been a lot better...

 

[Liut]

"Barry Lyndon."

Is it just me, or was Kubrick really into the idea that people can't really change in the early '70s? Thematically, there were a lot of echoes of "Clockwork Orange" as far as that goes.

I've never made it through "Barry Lyndon." Been years since I've seen it on. IIRC, it seemed REALLY long.

 

[bigpern23]

The Five-Year Engagement. Considering how much I liked Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I found it hugely disappointing. A predictable and maudlin misfire.

It would have been fine at 90 mins. 130 was way too long.

 

[bigpern23]

And now to explode the Internet:
Battleship was pretty awesome. And it would have been even better if directed by Michael Bay. And, yes, I'm serious.

 

[Amy]

Saw "End of Watch" yesterday. I liked it.

A first for me - I was the only person in the theater.

Based on the trailers I will want to see "Django Unchained" and "Seven Psychopaths."