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[ViewtifulJC]

Can't imagine the cold, black, Femmeworth-esque heart of the person who actively disliked The Martian. Its so goddamn humanistic you want to hug the stranger sitting next to you. Its not even as rah rah USA as I feared, since it (major spoilers)

Spoiler

required cooperation with China, and Watney's rescue was celebrated across the world.

This is a tribute to human ingenuity and our capacity to overcome impossible challenges with a little luck and a lot of hard work. Damon holds the center, proving his Hollywood leading man bonafides in case anyone forgot. The other characters are thin, but you couldn't ask for a finer cast of actors to fill them out. Michael Pena, Jessica Chastain, AND Chiwetel Ejifor are in this movie, b. I even like the Donald Glover character; you seen him before, that weird nerd in the weird clothes who sees something the suits don't and comes up with a plan to save the day.

Drew Goddard, a Whedon acolyte, appropriately nails that crowdpleasing mix of pathos and punchlines. Just when the tone gets to light, something fucks up and your heart sinks a bit. There's plenty of science to explain to the audience, but its often accomplished by the film actually showing Watney doing it as well. There are a few charming montages set to 70s disco hits, extra points for using Bowie but resisting the temptation of "Life on Mars". It even has that thing I love that I always give extra credit for; the montage with the actors with their names next to them. You know, like the credits to Predator? Love that shit.

The climax, even though in your head the result isn't in question, is really tense spectacle. Ridley Scott and his collaborators have such an assured vision for translating this story to us. My particular favorite bit besides the end was near the beginning, with the storm that separated Mark from the crew. Its a dark storm of black debris, which could have been very confusing with the crew turning back and forth for Mark. But the ship they have to go back for is tall, with a lighthouse beacon, and Ridley's compositions uses that. When we see it in the background, we know where the characters are in relation to it, and when we don't see it we know we're facing the other way. Seems obvious when I explain it here, but its such an effective shorthand for keeping the audience engaged in a scene that's very chaotic to the characters.

Just one of the movie's where everybody involved did a damn fine job, which couldn't be more appropriate for the movie's theme of cooperation.

 

[Secret Fawful]

Jennifer's Body

First of all, I really like this movie. Second of all, I'm watching this guy (the emo guy) walk into his death scene, and I'm like "Yep I would do the exact same thing. Nothing unusual here." Not that common for a scary movie.

Edit: aaand I have a chub lol. Forgot about that part. And now my chub is weird.

Edit: Key and Peele voice "How many times do I have to tell you, we gotta sacrifice the virgin, gah!"

Meeghan: "No!"

Can't imagine the cold, black, Femmeworth-esque heart of the person who actively disliked The Martian.

That peer pressure.

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

Have you missed out on Predator and First Blood, too?

Nah, seen those

Haven't seen Lethal Weapon movies though.

Can't imagine the cold, black, Femmeworth-esque heart of the person who actively disliked The Martian. Its so goddamn humanistic you want to hug the stranger sitting next to you. Its not even as rah rah USA as I feared, since it (major spoilers)

Spoiler

required cooperation with China, and Watney's rescue was celebrated across the world.

This is a tribute to human ingenuity and our capacity to overcome impossible challenges with a little luck and a lot of hard work. Damon holds the center, proving his Hollywood leading man bonafides in case anyone forgot. The other characters are thin, but you couldn't ask for a finer cast of actors to fill them out. Michael Pena, Jessica Chastain, AND Chiwetel Ejifor are in this movie, b. I even like the Donald Glover character; you seen him before, that weird nerd in the weird clothes who sees something the suits don't and comes up with a plan to save the day.

Drew Goddard, a Whedon acolyte, appropriately nails that crowdpleasing mix of pathos and punchlines. Just when the tone gets to light, something fucks up and your heart sinks a bit. There's plenty of science to explain to the audience, but its often accomplished by the film actually showing Watney doing it as well. There are a few charming montages set to 70s disco hits, extra points for using Bowie but resisting the temptation of "Life on Mars". It even has that thing I love that I always give extra credit for; the montage with the actors with their names next to them. You know, like the credits to Predator? Love that shit.

The climax, even though in your head the result isn't in question, is really tense spectacle. Ridley Scott and his collaborators have such an assured vision for translating this story to us. My particular favorite bit besides the end was near the beginning, with the storm that separated Mark from the crew. Its a dark storm of black debris, which could have been very confusing with the crew turning back and forth for Mark. But the ship they have to go back for is tall, with a lighthouse beacon, and Ridley's compositions uses that. When we see it in the background, we know where the characters are in relation to it, and when we don't see it we know we're facing the other way. Seems obvious when I explain it here, but its such an effective shorthand for keeping the audience engaged in a scene that's very chaotic to the characters.

Just one of the movie's where everybody involved did a damn fine job, which couldn't be more appropriate for the movie's theme of cooperation.

I haven't liked a Ridley Scott movie in a long time, but since I saw the trailer and read (listened to) the book, I've had a good feeling about it. I don't know if I'll see it in theaters, but I'm looking forward to it. Nice review.

 

[sCHOCOLATE]

Can't imagine the cold, black, Femmeworth-esque heart of the person who actively disliked The Martian. Its so goddamn humanistic you want to hug the stranger sitting next to you. Its not even as rah rah USA as I feared, since it (major spoilers)

Spoiler

required cooperation with China, and Watney's rescue was celebrated across the world.

This is a tribute to human ingenuity and our capacity to overcome impossible challenges with a little luck and a lot of hard work. Damon holds the center, proving his Hollywood leading man bonafides in case anyone forgot. The other characters are thin, but you couldn't ask for a finer cast of actors to fill them out. Michael Pena, Jessica Chastain, AND Chiwetel Ejifor are in this movie, b. I even like the Donald Glover character; you seen him before, that weird nerd in the weird clothes who sees something the suits don't and comes up with a plan to save the day.

Drew Goddard, a Whedon acolyte, appropriately nails that crowdpleasing mix of pathos and punchlines. Just when the tone gets to light, something fucks up and your heart sinks a bit. There's plenty of science to explain to the audience, but its often accomplished by the film actually showing Watney doing it as well. There are a few charming montages set to 70s disco hits, extra points for using Bowie but resisting the temptation of "Life on Mars". It even has that thing I love that I always give extra credit for; the montage with the actors with their names next to them. You know, like the credits to Predator? Love that shit.

The climax, even though in your head the result isn't in question, is really tense spectacle. Ridley Scott and his collaborators have such an assured vision for translating this story to us. My particular favorite bit besides the end was near the beginning, with the storm that separated Mark from the crew. Its a dark storm of black debris, which could have been very confusing with the crew turning back and forth for Mark. But the ship they have to go back for is tall, with a lighthouse beacon, and Ridley's compositions uses that. When we see it in the background, we know where the characters are in relation to it, and when we don't see it we know we're facing the other way. Seems obvious when I explain it here, but its such an effective shorthand for keeping the audience engaged in a scene that's very chaotic to the characters.

Just one of the movie's where everybody involved did a damn fine job, which couldn't be more appropriate for the movie's theme of cooperation.

Couldn't have said it better myself.
Woo-hoo! [BOOOOM!!!]

 

[~Kinggi~]

Couldn't have said it better myself.
Woo-hoo! [BOOOOM!!!]

good laughs were had.

 

[Arkos]

Is Tom Cruise still forced to relive the same day over and over again at the end of Edge of Tomorrow?

stonedguyincrowd.jpg

 

[Currygan]

no, but it would be Gaf's wet dream, having Tom Cruise doing shit for all eternity


too tired to write about Sicario, just a few words: money well spent. Movie delivered, oh yes

 

[Cipher Peon]

I saw 2 horror movies today! Wooooooo!

Movie #1
The Taking of Deborah Logan

This film was frankly excellent. I love found footage movies, possession ones especially. The failings of the genre that break it for others are completely ignorable for me and I love myself a cheap thrill. And Deborah Logan might be the best found footage possession horror movie I've seen.

It's helped with genius pacing and surprising large scope. The setting shifts often and the world of the movie opens up and provides new angles and approaches to the scares. The film reminded me a lot of The Blair Witch Project with its genius use of nature horror and the unknown, with the standout scene being a chilling scene of a series of portraits involving a window. It was built up to perfectly and more horror films need to take note. Also the film's money shot was excellent. Creepy and memorable stuff.

The film took a few one too many breaks though, and let me catch my breath a bit too often. Also, there were scenes were I felt the budget was woefully under what they wanted to do, leading to some embarrassing night effects. Also, the film thinks contextless snakes are scary, which in the context of these film they really weren't. It reminded me of The Conjuring's fascination for nooses, and while I'm happy it has a distinct style and I'm sure someone would be terrified of it, that someone wasn't me. Found both to be pretty silly.

Anyway, as a huge fan of this schlock, I ate this up completely and have an appetite for more. It was an incredible film and it sits comfortably as my 8th favorite film of 2014.

8/10

Speaking of 2014, the second movie I saw was
A Girl Walks Give Alone At Night

The film is a gorgeously shot black and white Persian horror romance movie. And I hated it. The film has a very distinct and stylized aesthetic that did not appeal to me in the slightest. A work of art that I have no use for. Pretty but for someone else's eyes.

That's not too mention its horribly slow burn story, which didn't pay off in the slightest. It felt like nothing happened the entire film and when vampire shenanigans or romance shenanigans happened, I was so bored I felt it was impossible to care. It was like watching paint dry.

If there's one thing that I liked, it was the film's soundtrack. Some of its tracks worked really well with the style and gave the film an artsy music video look to it. Which I thought was alright.

The film was a waste of my time, frankly. It wasn't for me and I don't hold it against it. I'd rather never watch this movie again.

2/10

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

The Thing (1982). It did a fantastic job with the sense of paranoia and great atmospheric music. An awesome, awesome experience.

Better than the 51 version (which I really liked). I also appreciated just how different it was to it. 8/10

 

[Net_Wrecker]

CFK, I think you accidentally typed 8 instead of 10

Fix it.

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

Hey, an 8 is pretty high for me. I use the whole scale . I have to really love a movie to give it anything above 7.

Very good movie. I loved it.

 

[Count Dookkake]

Speaking of 2014, the second movie I saw was
A Girl Walks Give Alone At Night

The film is a gorgeously shot black and white Persian horror romance movie. And I hated it. The film has a very distinct and stylized aesthetic that did not appeal to me in the slightest. A work of art that I have no use for. Pretty but for someone else's eyes.

That's not too mention its horribly slow burn story, which didn't pay off in the slightest. It felt like nothing happened the entire film and when vampire shenanigans or romance shenanigans happened, I was so bored I felt it was impossible to care. It was like watching paint dry.

If there's one thing that I liked, it was the film's soundtrack. Some of its tracks worked really well with the style and gave the film an artsy music video look to it. Which I thought was alright.

The film was a waste of my time, frankly. It wasn't for me and I don't hold it against it. I'd rather never watch this movie again.

2/10

Yay!

I die a little every time someone says they like this swindle.

 

[Akahige]

The Martian (2015) - Pretty easy going Sunday morning experience, the film possibly lost some tension do to me reading the book but I had an enjoyable time. The pacing in this rarely stops once

Spoiler

they discover Whatney is still alive, the earth set scenes like in the book don't interest me as much as the Mars set scenes but they move at a ridiculous fast pace that I didn't mind it as much on screen. The acting in this is all above the board, people fit the roles well, it becomes an ensemble piece by act two due to the shear number of people and all the shit happening so not even Matt Damon has much of a chance to shine.

The direction, cinematography, and all that other jazz stand out, the film looks good by all accounts, maybe the CGI during the climax didn't look as expensive as it could but it looked serviceable during 95% of it. Speaking of that climax,

Spoiler

they somehow made it ten more times ridiculous than the book was with the Iron Man shenanigans. The ending was a little cheesy with Mark back on earth teaching but the end credits were cheesy in a good way.

 

[Fallout-NL]

Can't imagine the cold, black, Femmeworth-esque heart of the person who actively disliked The Martian. Its so goddamn humanistic you want to hug the stranger sitting next to you. Its not even as rah rah USA as I feared, since it (major spoilers)

Spoiler

required cooperation with China, and Watney's rescue was celebrated across the world.

This is a tribute to human ingenuity and our capacity to overcome impossible challenges with a little luck and a lot of hard work. Damon holds the center, proving his Hollywood leading man bonafides in case anyone forgot. The other characters are thin, but you couldn't ask for a finer cast of actors to fill them out. Michael Pena, Jessica Chastain, AND Chiwetel Ejifor are in this movie, b. I even like the Donald Glover character; you seen him before, that weird nerd in the weird clothes who sees something the suits don't and comes up with a plan to save the day.

Drew Goddard, a Whedon acolyte, appropriately nails that crowdpleasing mix of pathos and punchlines. Just when the tone gets to light, something fucks up and your heart sinks a bit. There's plenty of science to explain to the audience, but its often accomplished by the film actually showing Watney doing it as well. There are a few charming montages set to 70s disco hits, extra points for using Bowie but resisting the temptation of "Life on Mars". It even has that thing I love that I always give extra credit for; the montage with the actors with their names next to them. You know, like the credits to Predator? Love that shit.

The climax, even though in your head the result isn't in question, is really tense spectacle. Ridley Scott and his collaborators have such an assured vision for translating this story to us. My particular favorite bit besides the end was near the beginning, with the storm that separated Mark from the crew. Its a dark storm of black debris, which could have been very confusing with the crew turning back and forth for Mark. But the ship they have to go back for is tall, with a lighthouse beacon, and Ridley's compositions uses that. When we see it in the background, we know where the characters are in relation to it, and when we don't see it we know we're facing the other way. Seems obvious when I explain it here, but its such an effective shorthand for keeping the audience engaged in a scene that's very chaotic to the characters.

Just one of the movie's where everybody involved did a damn fine job, which couldn't be more appropriate for the movie's theme of cooperation.

Damn, I would have really liked to hear Bowie's 'Life on Mars' in this, though I understand why they couldn't do it.

 

[Akahige]

The lyrics of Life on Mars? don't fit with the film at all.

 

[MikeMyers]

Heyyyyy we saw the same movie at around the same time! The atmosphere and suspense was on point, and I'm surprised it was! But yes I noticed what you said. I just assumed he failed since he's like 25 years too late for the spell. I'm also mad that Netflix didn't have the post scene. I had to find out through Wikipedia and looked it up on YouTube.

Yeah, he probably failed. I mean, it woulda kinda destroy the whole niche of the series if he succeeded, lol.

 

[Peru]

Yay!

I die a little every time someone says they like this swindle.

One of my favorites of the year. Hope you die a lot.

 

[True Savior]

Mystic River - I feel like an horrible person laughing at the face Penn makes when Bacon tells him they caught the guys. Always had an hard time understanding this and Million Dollar Baby accolades , two melodramatic tragedies that pamper the audience with its unidimensional characterizations . It's even more absurd here where a flimsy police case is actually explored way too much in detriment of characters. When Laura Linney compares her husband with a King (a scene i like very much ... at this point of the movie criticizing the scene for being too on the nose is amusing) you would think their relationship and his involvement with the family would be a central aspect of the movie..but there's hardly any interactions in the previous 120 minutes.

I might be the only person on the planet who thinks Hereafter is the best movie Clint did since Madison County

 

[daydream]

Yay!

I die a little every time someone says they like this swindle.

why would you encourage that

 

[SpaceHorror]

Django Unchained - 3/5 - Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson made it.

In Bruges - 4/5 - Hilarious. Ralph Fiennes steals the show, but Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are great, too.

 

[UrbanRats]

why would you encourage that

? That was a fair review, i don't think that movie was particularly good either.

 

[FUBAR McDangles]

San Andreas - Fun to watch with some absolutely hilariously brutal death scenes.

Spoiler

When the Rock's ex opens the door to see that half the building collapsed, and there is one dude holding onto a piece of rebar, only for it to snap and he tumbles down

I think I laughed for at least three or four minutes. I had to rewind the movie to figure out what I missed. And that was just the first time. Very fun and I recommend to everyone. The Rock is a monster. 4/5

Fantastic Four (2015) - I thought the story was interesting, the group dynamic was good, and the characters were alright. I have a soft spot for Michael B Jordan, Miles Teller, and Kate Mara. The special effects were fun. All that said, I thought the movie was lackluster. It was just not very fun to watch. Definitely worth a viewing, but nothing more. 3/5

Sleepy Hollow (1999) - I'm not the biggest fan of Burton, and Depp isn't much better, but I thought this was fun enough. The story was interesting, the acting was good, the special effects were fun, and overall it was a decent enough movie. It's definitely a good October/Halloween movie. 3/5

 

[Fancy Clown]

The Martian was great for the first 2 minutes and then the power went off at my theater and I had to get a refund. Yay.

Dazed and Confused was brilliant. Can't believe I haven't seen this sooner. Linklater was firing on all cylinders, and its just a concentrated dose of his brand of entertainment and his ability to write believable young people. It's a really interesting view of the time period too, because it's like a mix of nostalgia and "holy shit how did we think this was ever okay" and derives a lot of humor and pathos from it.


And from my late start on 31 days of horror:

Well of course life has gotten in the way and I'm way behind schedule here. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up later in the month, but here are my first two watches. I don't have a set list, and am planning on watching whatever catches my fancy any given night.

1. The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. This is a rewatch for me. It's not my favorite silent german expressionist film due to some pacing issues and I the dual storyline I think ends up softening its blow, but the marvel of its sets and the off-kilter atmosphere it creates are still second to none. It really makes you feel like trapped in a fevered mind, and historically its a great starting point for my 31 days of horror watch list. I may jump back to the Silent era a little later to rewatch Nosferatu to compare.

2. The House on Haunted Hill. This was great fun. It's very campy and not scary, but it has that spooky charm and is very briskly paced at only 75 minutes. The setup (a millionaire invites several guests to a haunted mansion and will pay them $10,000 each to survive the night) is a lot of fun and leads to all sorts of shenanigans and ridiculous twists. And Vincent Price is great of course, and the rest of the cast is lovably over the top.

 

[Cipher Peon]

Yeah, he probably failed. I mean, it woulda kinda destroy the whole niche of the series if he succeeded, lol.

Personally speaking, the thought of Chucky winning is pretty damn scary. I wouldn't mind if they blew any chance for a sequel for that kind of ending. Which is pretty unrealistic. That's why I thought an ending where Chucky would enslave the protagonist would have been a lot scarier than what we got. Probably leftover feelings from the Goosebumps days!

why would you encourage that

Jeez dude, I'm like right here.
Have we thrown all pretense away? Not asking you to like me or my opinions. Just to not be pointlessly cruel. Uncool, man.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

The Martian was great for the first 2 minutes and then the power went off at my theater and I had to get a refund. Yay.

This happen to me once a long ass time ago. Back when Disney's Hercules came out, we went to this discount theater. 30 mins in the power just went out in the whole building. Lil niggas screaming and shit. One of the moms told my mom that this has been happening from time to time at this place. It closed down before the year was over.

Shame, cuz it was not only the closet to my family's current home, but it was also the cheapest(like $1 for kids). We saw Space Jam and Toy Story there b, lot of nostalgia invested in that old place.

 

[Akahige]

So Hausu (1977)...

Weird film, weirdly erotic, weirdly funny, weirdly sort of scary in it's so fucking strange what am I watching kind of way.

 

[Fancy Clown]

This happen to me once a long ass time ago. Back when Disney's Hercules came out, we went to this discount theater. 30 mins in the power just went out in the whole building. Lil niggas screaming and shit. One of the moms told my mom that this has been happening from time to time at this place. It closed down before the year was over.

Shame, cuz it was not only the closet to my family's current home, but it was also the cheapest(like $1 for kids). We saw Space Jam and Toy Story there b, lot of nostalgia invested in that old place.

Same exact thing happened to me when I tried to see Nightcrawler in theaters. And it wasn't even the same theater. I think I'm cursed.

;__; that's how I felt about this grungy video rental store that used to be near my house, Rocky's Video. Had the sketchy adults only section in back with the beaded doorway, and a great selection of classic and cult movies. And then it went out of business and got replaced by the soulless Hollywood Video. And then that shut down too and there's a liquor store there now.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

tragic watching all the video rental stores just disappear in this town. Went from half a dozen Blockbusters, couple of Hollywood Videos, and a dope specialty store one of my best friends worked at...to just jack shit.

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

The Thing (2011). With that I think I've seen all the things. Pretty pointless, but mostly harmless. No strong feelings against it; it's just one of those cases where there was no need for any of it, but that's not really a negative. It's just a meh type of movie that lacks most of the tension of the 82 version. 4/10

I liked Winstead though. Thought she was alright.

Oh, and some iffy cgi.

 

[thenexus6]

American Gangster
This has been on my list of films to watch for ages and I finally watched it last night. It was the Director's Cut so just under three hours long. I don't know what the additional scenes were - I suspect the end when

Spoiler

Frank gets out of prison maybe some of them

I thought it was pretty good, never really felt the length. Great cast too. Maybe not a film i'll revisit much in the future though.

The Martian

Ridley is one of my favourite Directors, he's pretty hit or miss. This movie was definitely a hit. I thought it was really good - a very fun watch. The character of Rich was a little lame, but luckily he only had like two scenes.

 

[Cipher Peon]

The Thing (2011). With that I think I've seen all the things. Pretty pointless, but mostly harmless. No strong feelings against it; it's just one of those cases where there was no need for any of it, but that's not really a negative. It's just a meh type of movie that lacks most of the tension of the 82 version. 4/10

I liked Winstead though. Thought she was alright.

Oh, and some iffy cgi.

I want to watch it because I adore Mary Elizabeth Winstead and I liked horror movies. I know it won't be good, but might as well.

 

[SpaceHorror]

The Thing (2011). With that I think I've seen all the things. Pretty pointless, but mostly harmless. No strong feelings against it; it's just one of those cases where there was no need for any of it, but that's not really a negative. It's just a meh type of movie that lacks most of the tension of the 82 version. 4/10

I liked Winstead though. Thought she was alright.

Oh, and some iffy cgi.

iirc they used a lot of practical effects during filming and then replaced most of it with the dodgy cgi of the final film.

So bizarre.

 

[Rogan]

Southpaw

Good flick but a bit predictable. The movie is very emotional and has some good acting.

Jake is great like always and 50 Cent looks like he has taken some acting lessons.

I feel Warrior is in the same league but the better movie.

 

[Akahige]

iirc they used a lot of practical effects during filming and then replaced most of it with the dodgy cgi of the final film.

So bizarre.

Sounds like a good use of money, I remember that the effects company kickstarted a movie with practical effects after that.

 

[Infernostew]

The Thing (2011). With that I think I've seen all the things. Pretty pointless, but mostly harmless. No strong feelings against it; it's just one of those cases where there was no need for any of it, but that's not really a negative. It's just a meh type of movie that lacks most of the tension of the 82 version. 4/10

I liked Winstead though. Thought she was alright.

Oh, and some iffy cgi.

It's a shame such a film shared it's name with one of my favorites. Well, at least you're watching movies again CFK.

 

[TheKaeptain]

tragic watching all the video rental stores just disappear in this town. Went from half a dozen Blockbusters, couple of Hollywood Videos, and a dope specialty store one of my best friends worked at...to just jack shit.

Stay losing bro. LA has nice video rental stores.

 

[UberTag]

Hey, an 8 is pretty high for me. I use the whole scale . I have to really love a movie to give it anything above 7.

Very good movie. I loved it.

I fully approve of using the full IMDB 10-point user rating scale. One of my movie junkie co-workers will share how much the latest flick he watched was disposable trash and then I'll guess that he gave it a "6" and he'll grudgingly acknowledge that I'm right.

My scale tends to be...
10 - personal favorite; I give this score out once or twice a year at most (Mad Max: Fury Road being my latest recipient)
9 - film that I personally really enjoyed and can find no flaws with
8 - flawless film that I thought was fine or flawed film that I really enjoyed
7 - technically solid movie with one or two things that didn't work right for me
6 - technically solid film that underwhelmed or deeply flawed movie that I really enjoyed (my go-to "guilty pleasure" score)
5 - meh
4 - disappointment
1-3 - varying degrees of reprehensible trash

I don't see any problem with giving John Carpenter's The Thing an 8. I'd give it a 9 myself but both are favorable scores.

 

[TheSlySoul]

I hear a lot of people, including yourself, say they like A Ride In The Park the most and I'd love to hear why. I thought it was very mediocre and that I've seen the exact thing a billion times before. Just the token zombie short. But please, do explain!

Mostly because the idea of a POV Zombie to me was a unique spin on a movie. It is why I enjoyed U for Unearthed in the original ABC. I felt for the main protagonist when he started to realize that what happened and felt the best course of action was

Spoiler

to kill himself because he knew that he could not control his actions

Granted zombies is an idea that was done 1000 times over, but I felt it was a unique spin on it.

Interesting how you liked Safe Haven. I liked the idea, but the POV logic was a bit much for me since

Spoiler

they only had one camera man, how did each person get a camera?

Granted though the director really did good work. The only segment I hated in 2 was the first one because the logic was all over the place. V/H/S I wanted to like more, but I had a few issues with each story. None of them bad though. I recommend the first 2. Honestly 4 of the movies are on Netflix and ABC 2 is really cheap, so it is worth checking out overall.

 

[Charles Foster Kane]

I fully approve of using the full IMDB 10-point user rating scale. One of my movie junkie co-workers will share how much the latest flick he watched was disposable trash and then I'll guess that he gave it a "6" and he'll grudgingly acknowledge that I'm right.

My scale tends to be...
10 - personal favorite; I give this score out once or twice a year at most (Mad Max: Fury Road being my latest recipient)
9 - film that I personally really enjoyed and can find no flaws with
8 - flawless film that I thought was fine or flawed film that I really enjoyed
7 - technically solid movie with one or two things that didn't work right for me
6 - technically solid film that underwhelmed or deeply flawed movie that I really enjoyed (my go-to "guilty pleasure" score)
5 - meh
4 - disappointment
1-3 - varying degrees of reprehensible trash

I don't see any problem with giving John Carpenter's The Thing an 8. I'd give it a 9 myself but both are favorable scores.

Mine:

★★★★★ - Masterful
★★★★½ - Great
★★★★ - Very Good
★★★½ - Good
★★★ - Decent
★★½ - Meh
★★ - Mediocre
★½ - Bad
★ - Awful
½ - Shit

1 to 3 is also different levels of bad.

I've only given a 10 (or 5 stars) to 56 movies so far (Day For Night being the latest). I gave a 9 to Fury Road (my favorite movie from this year so far).

 

[Window]

I fully approve of using the full IMDB 10-point user rating scale. One of my movie junkie co-workers will share how much the latest flick he watched was disposable trash and then I'll guess that he gave it a "6" and he'll grudgingly acknowledge that I'm right.

My scale tends to be...
10 - personal favorite; I give this score out once or twice a year at most (Mad Max: Fury Road being my latest recipient)
9 - film that I personally really enjoyed and can find no flaws with
8 - flawless film that I thought was fine or flawed film that I really enjoyed
7 - technically solid movie with one or two things that didn't work right for me
6 - technically solid film that underwhelmed or deeply flawed movie that I really enjoyed (my go-to "guilty pleasure" score)
5 - meh
4 - disappointment
1-3 - varying degrees of reprehensible trash

I don't see any problem with giving John Carpenter's The Thing an 8. I'd give it a 9 myself but both are favorable scores.

That is pretty much how I rate films on criticker.

 

[Blader]

Atonement
This caught me by surprise. Thought it was going to be some stuffy period piece, but it was a lot more interesting than I expected. For a while in the beginning I kept thinking, "Saoirse Ronan's character is a bit of shit, isn't she?" Then it turns out

Spoiler

she's actually kind of the bad guy of the whole thing (to put it reductively).

The ending made it for me.

Sicario
Pretty good, though it doesn't top Prisoners for me. Tense as fuck and Deakins kills it as usual (though I think Prisoners was better in this regard too). Blunt and Brolin put in good work, and Del Toro steals the show (but maybe a little too much --

Spoiler

not sure how much I like how the story shifts focus from Kate to Alejandro in the last act; the sudden detour to Alejandro getting revenge feels like a little too simplistic and off-track from the bigger conflict being sketched out

). Maybe I got caught up in my own hype too much, but I came away liking, not loving, it.

 

[Meliorism]

Sicario - Villeneuve is so much better when he's not doing his stupid heavy-handed moralizing (aka the garbage known as Prisoners) Kinda disconcerting how Emily Blunt is used in the movie, but she's at least good with what she's given to do. Structurally, it's taut, very little wasted space in its two hours. Deakins' images and Johannson's score a nice complement. 8/10

3 Bad Men - My introduction to John Ford and one that's made me eager to check out more. I'm likely watching Stagecoach today at some point. I think we could all do well to brush up on our silent cinema, where we can focus more on the image and not get so bogged down on dialogue progressing banal narratives. 8/10

Vortex - Part of an avant garde series put together by the film society here, can't really say I grasped much going on here, but the goofy cutting present in certain sections (intentional or not) and the rad music by Aphrodite's Child kept me entertained throughout. 6/10

 

[Window]

Sicario - Villeneuve is so much better when he's not doing his stupid heavy-handed moralizing (aka the garbage known as Prisoners) Kinda disconcerting how Emily Blunt is used in the movie, but she's at least good with what she's given to do. Structurally, it's taut, very little wasted space in its two hours. Deakins' images and Johannson's score a nice complement. 8/10

While I don't think it's garbage (a 6/10), I agree. Enemy was the superior Gyllenhaal/Villeneuve film of 2013.

 

[Cipher Peon]

Ooooooooo the rating conversation!
I love rating things out of 10! I try to use the whole scale, but statistically I lean positive (because I'm so happy and I want to love things!

Here is my scale with some examples of each!
10 - Masterpiece (ex: Scream, The Dark Knight, The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
9 - Amazing (ex: [REC] 2, Halloween 3, Army of Darkness)
8 - Great (ex: Interstellar, Shutter Island, The Poughkeepsie Tapes)
7 - Good (ex: Princess and the Frog, Psycho, V/H/S)
6 - Decent (ex: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Alien)
5 - Mediocre (ex: District 9, Star Wars Episode IV, RoboCop (2014))
4 - Bad (ex: Evil Dead 2, X-Men: First Class, Aliens)
3 - Awful (ex: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Cloud Atlas, Shaun of the Dead)
2 - Terrible (ex: Super, Amazing Spider-Man, Invasion of the Body Snatchers)
1 - Garbage (ex: Man of Steel, The Fifth Element, The Final Destination)

 

[Reckoner]

Badlands

You start off with a great one, and then make a masterpiece right after. That's Malick, boys and girls.

Felt like his most grounded movie though, but really absorving. My first time watching it, finally.

 

[Fancy Clown]

I liked Prisoners, Enemy, and Sicario all quite a bit and fairly equally. Prisoners has the weakest third act, but is probably the most engaging up to that point (and the best looking), Enemy is all around the most cohesive piece of storytelling, and Sicario has the highest highs, but is overall more uneven.

 

[phoenixyz]

5 - Mediocre (ex: District 9, Star Wars Episode IV, RoboCop (2014))

 

[Discotheque]

Sicario > Enemy > Prisoners

I think the Melissa Leo finale in prisoners irked me the most. They're all enjoyable thrillers though. With me putting sicario ahead because it has the most interesting subject matter and benicio del toro is the best actor and performance he's gotten so far

 

[Cipher Peon]

I would reference a particular Queen song, but I don't like that song either

 

[Brakke]

I'm visiting my folks this week in the sleepy suburb they live in. They both had stuff to do today so I figured I'd catch a matinee. I'm literally the only person in this ~200 seat theatre for this Green Inferno showing. I've been in real sparse theatres before but never empty. This is surreal. Anyway will report back after the show, I expect this will be awful.