Let's Talk Movies! #21...Oscar Bait, Christmas Movies, "Bad" Movies You Loved......)

[Artemis@BC]

^ I agree wholeheartedly on Oranges and Sunshine and Young Adult -- two very entertaining films (though Oranges and Sunshine suffered just a tad from being too faithful from the real life story iykwim). And I too was let down by Hugo -- I didn't hate it, but I didn't think it was rave-worthy. It was just okay in my book.

Gotta disagree big time on Like Crazy, though. I pretty much hated that one. It's feels like a bad film school project, particularly in the writing and directing. It's been a while since I've seen a film where I wanted to slap some sense into the characters so much. All of their troubles are of their own making, so it's impossible to have any sympathy for them -- or even to care one way or the other what happens to them. If I were a narcissistic and entitled 20-something I might have a different reaction, but as I'm not ... There are some nice filmic moments (particularly if you like verité), and the acting is far from the worst I've seen, but that's not enough to make a movie worth watching.

And I also have to disagree on The Avengers. I found it highly entertaining from beginning to end. Yeah, the plot is a bit thin ... but I don't expect a superhero movie to be terribly plot-driven. More importantly, though, it's more than made up for in character development. The character backstories, motivations, and interactions are what make this film. (Well, the male characters that is. The female characters not so much. But I've griped about that before.)

[emason]

Well, I am definitely riding on the other bus. I thought Hugo (3D version) was the best movie I saw in all of last year. Loved every minute of it and thought it should have won the Oscar over The Artist, which I also loved.

[Anita18]

I have a bad feeling about the upcoming Superman from looking at the trailer. It looks like Snyder is going for a grittier, psychological study of the character as in Nolan's The Dark Knight. It potentially could make Superman a big bore to watch.

Well, the last Superman movie (Superman Returns ie Superman Lifts Things) was such a bore that the fans suppose they couldn't get any more boring-er.

Snyder has great skills in shooting action, so hopefully it won't be boring. But I loved Nolan's Batman movies so YMMV.

The Avengers. Double-yawn. What happened??? I liked the Iron Man movies. I quite liked Thor. Was expecting something great with this movie. But it was like The Lord Of The Rings (walk, fight, walk fight, etc. ad nauseum) except that "walk" should be replaced with "fly". And it was directed (and co-written) by Joss Whedon...I should have loved it! But the story was so lacking. And like Hugo, the last hour...which was just one looooooooooooong, drawn-out fight - I watched at triple time only stopping to see if anything of importance happened. I went to check out the message boards at imdb.com...and the movie has an 8.4 rating, perhaps the highest I've ever seen! And the uberfans have created ten pages (another ) of threads about how much the looooove this movie. WTF???

Avengers was fun, and its greatest achievement IMO is that it put 5 superheroes in the same movie and wasn't an utter trainwreck. It's really hard!

And I also have to disagree on The Avengers. I found it highly entertaining from beginning to end. Yeah, the plot is a bit thin ... but I don't expect a superhero movie to be terribly plot-driven. More importantly, though, it's more than made up for in character development. The character backstories, motivations, and interactions are what make this film. (Well, the male characters that is. The female characters not so much. But I've griped about that before.)

Mleh, I wasn't convinced at all by the character development in Avengers. It seemed like a box to check off, not some undercurrent that I felt was driving the film. Each character got like, 3 lines max about their "motivation."

That said, because the screentime is shared between 5 major characters and fans want to see every superhero's abilities featured, it was a delicate balancing act. There simply is no time for real character development. And it was super-cool to see a comic book movie made by someone who really respected the characters. It felt genuine, and fans really respond to that. I feel the same way about Nolan's Batman movies as well.

[Anita18]

I FINALLY saw Wreck-It Ralph over Christmas with my family, and I did NOT expect it to be so good. Even Alf had fun, and he normally dislikes movies. Didn't hurt that he used to play all those old videogames as a kid. Again, a movie made by true video game fans, and I could t help but be swept up in their excitement even if I wasn't as familiar with the subject matter as many were.

[Nell411]

^ My only complaint with the movie was that Bradley Cooper appeared to be "trying" in just about every scene. To be fair, it's hard to be up against Jennifer Lawrence who is just so darned natural in every performance she does ... but still. But I did like the film very much, and thought it was a refreshing change from how mental health issues are usually depicted in movies.

This is true. I had only seen Jennifer Lawrence in X-Men: First Class and The Hunger Games. While she was very good in those, she really shines in Silver Linings Playbook.

The Avengers. Double-yawn. What happened??? I liked the Iron Man movies. I quite liked Thor. Was expecting something great with this movie. But it was like The Lord Of The Rings (walk, fight, walk fight, etc. ad nauseum) except that "walk" should be replaced with "fly". And it was directed (and co-written) by Joss Whedon...I should have loved it! But the story was so lacking. And like Hugo, the last hour...which was just one looooooooooooong, drawn-out fight - I watched at triple time only stopping to see if anything of importance happened. I went to check out the message boards at imdb.com...and the movie has an 8.4 rating, perhaps the highest I've ever seen! And the uberfans have created ten pages (another ) of threads about how much the looooove this movie. WTF???

I loved The Avengers the first two times I saw it in theatre. But after it came out on blu-ray I watched it again and found myself picking up all the plot holes and just how ridiculously drawn out the ending was.

[Buzz]

This is true. I had only seen Jennifer Lawrence in X-Men: First Class and The Hunger Games. While she was very good in those, she really shines in Silver Linings Playbook.

I loved The Avengers the first two times I saw it in theatre. But after it came out on blu-ray I watched it again and found myself picking up all the plot holes and just how ridiculously drawn out the ending was.

To me the ending seemed a bit rushed. I loved the Avengers but the suddenness by which the big bad enemy dropped dead once the mother ship blew up just had me rolling my eyes. It was as if someone flipped a switch and even the living aliens themselves died. Too easy and silly but then again I so love the rest of the movie I gave them a pass on it.

[Cachoo]

Well, I am definitely riding on the other bus. I thought Hugo (3D version) was the best movie I saw in all of last year. Loved every minute of it and thought it should have won the Oscar over The Artist, which I also loved.

I'm on your bus: I loved "Hugo" enough to make it my top movie last year too. I though there was tlc in with every aspect of every scene in that film and was thrilled to see that Epix is showing it as that is one channel I have now. And I want to go hang out in that train station and the bookstore and that glass movie studio.

[Nell411]

To me the ending seemed a bit rushed. I loved the Avengers but the suddenness by which the big bad enemy dropped dead once the mother ship blew up just had me rolling my eyes. It was as if someone flipped a switch and even the living aliens themselves died. Too easy and silly but then again I so love the rest of the movie I gave them a pass on it.

This is true. But at the same time I was just kind of glad it was finally over. PeterG is right, the end fight scene is way to long. But then they spent to much time on the helicarrier too. It bugged me from the beginning that no one else picked up how Loki didn't seem to care that he was imprisoned.

[michiruwater]

I loved The Avengers and loved Hugo, and thought Like Crazy was totally meh but I mostly just rented it because Jennifer Lawrence is in it. And I liked her character a lot more than the female lead, even with her limited screentime, and thought the character got totally shafted.

Speaking of whom, Nell411, you should check out Winter's Bone, Jennifer's first big role that landed her her first Best Actress nomination at the ripe old age of 20. She's phenomenal in it. It's hard to take, at times, as it is a very bleak movie, but her absolutely powerhouse performance is just... words cannot describe it. And I also highly recommend The Burning Plain, which also stars Charlize Theron (in, IMO, a more forgettable role) and Kim Basinger (who shocked me with how good she was in it), which is possibly my very favorite Jen role (because I'm in China and therefore cannot see Silver Linings Playbook, which seriously might make me cry).

I can't believe I'm going to have seen fewer than half the Best Picture nominees when that list comes out. It's been a while since that happened. This might be the absolute hardest part of being in China for me. I normally go to the movies like once a week and I've only been to the theater once since I got here (though Skyfall is finally coming out shortly and I am so excited!).

[Nell411]

I loved The Avengers and loved Hugo, and thought Like Crazy was totally meh but I mostly just rented it because Jennifer Lawrence is in it. And I liked her character a lot more than the female lead, even with her limited screentime, and thought the character got totally shafted.

Speaking of whom, Nell411, you should check out Winter's Bone, Jennifer's first big role that landed her her first Best Actress nomination at the ripe old age of 20. She's phenomenal in it. It's hard to take, at times, as it is a very bleak movie, but her absolutely powerhouse performance is just... words cannot describe it. And I also highly recommend The Burning Plain, which also stars Charlize Theron (in, IMO, a more forgettable role) and Kim Basinger (who shocked me with how good she was in it), which is possibly my very favorite Jen role (because I'm in China and therefore cannot see Silver Linings Playbook, which seriously might make me cry).

I can't believe I'm going to have seen fewer than half the Best Picture nominees when that list comes out. It's been a while since that happened. This might be the absolute hardest part of being in China for me. I normally go to the movies like once a week and I've only been to the theater once since I got here (though Skyfall is finally coming out shortly and I am so excited!).

I do want to see Winters Bone, but there's only one movie place in my town, and it's selection sucks. So I'd either have to buy it or convince my brother to let me use his Netflix account to see if it's on there.
I did want to see Like Crazy when it came out, because I heard Alex Kingston was in it, before I really knew who Jennifer Lawrence was. But then I finally saw the trailer and it didn't really catch my interest.
This year was probably the first year where I actually saw a movie with a Best Actress contender before the Oscars. Usually I don't have time to go to a lot of movies in theatre because I work a lot of evenings. But our theatre was running matinees this week and I really wanted to see Silver Linings Playbook so I went. I usually manage to catch roughly half of the Best Picture movies before the Oscars.

[Buzz]

Avoid Texas Chainsaw 3D! There is a reason I was the only person in the cinema. It is supposed to be a continuation of the original 1974 movie but of course it ignores all the other movies made afterwards, and a few decades. There is also a reason they left out the word "massacre" from the title.

Spoiler

They went to far in painting the cannibalistic family in a sympatic light by pushing their massacres into the background.

http://www.film.com/movies/texas-chainsaw-3d-review

[Artemis@BC]

I did want to see Like Crazy when it came out, because I heard Alex Kingston was in it, before I really knew who Jennifer Lawrence was. But then I finally saw the trailer and it didn't really catch my interest.

Jennifer Lawrence has a very small part, and Alex Kingston's part is even smaller. Neither apperance is enough to waste any time or money on this film.

[Vash01]

I do want to see Winters Bone, but there's only one movie place in my town, and it's selection sucks. So I'd either have to buy it or convince my brother to let me use his Netflix account to see if it's on there.
I did want to see Like Crazy when it came out, because I heard Alex Kingston was in it, before I really knew who Jennifer Lawrence was. But then I finally saw the trailer and it didn't really catch my interest.
This year was probably the first year where I actually saw a movie with a Best Actress contender before the Oscars. Usually I don't have time to go to a lot of movies in theatre because I work a lot of evenings. But our theatre was running matinees this week and I really wanted to see Silver Linings Playbook so I went. I usually manage to catch roughly half of the Best Picture movies before the Oscars.

I saw Winter's Bone on DVD from Netflix. I highly recommend fixing your Netflix problem, unless you can get the movie elsewhere. I don't think it's worth buying, even though it's a good movie.

[michiruwater]

Winter's Bone is on Netflix instant. I think The Burning Plain is, too, but I know WB is.

[Nell411]

Jennifer Lawrence has a very small part, and Alex Kingston's part is even smaller. Neither apperance is enough to waste any time or money on this film.

That's what I heard. Which is in large part why I hadn't bothered in watching it yet.

Winter's Bone is on Netflix instant. I think The Burning Plain is, too, but I know WB is.

Winter's Bone is. I'm in Canada so I had to double check. My brother gave me his password. I have a lot of time off coming this month so I'll be able to catch up on all the movies I need to watch.

[Artemis@BC]

Watched Ted last night. Meh. The "raunchy humour" was all raunch and no humour (maybe if I were a guy? ...), and the sweet & poignant part of the story was inconsistent. Maybe if they'd gone more in one direction or the other it would have worked, but the combo just didn't fly in my view. I also didn't see any chemistry between the Kunis & Wahlberg characters -- two actors I like a lot on their own, but they didn't seem to fit here. Not a terrible movie, but pretty flat overall.

[PeterG]

Okay, I'm joining the chorus of those who have seen Silver Linings Playbooks. I loved, loved, loooooooved it! What a brilliantly made movie. The cast is wonderful and I don't know if anyone has singled out Jackie Weaver yet. Is this really the same actress who played the mother in Animal Kingdom??!! I'm still trying to wrap my head around this!! And of course Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence were incredible. I did find myself distracted by the beauty that is Mr. Cooper's face. I had -like thoughts while admiring his movie-screen sized mug. Yum!!!

"Bernie"-YES YES YES whee!

I'm reading Shirley MacLaine's book "I'm Over All That" right now, so I'm glad to see you liked her movie so much. It's on my To See list, perhaps I should boldface it!

"Obama's America 2016"-???? Wut? I don't get it, whatever it was

This one sounded like a pity party for the sore losers before the election even took place. Strange piece of film-making from what (little) I've heard.

I have absolutely zero desire to see Zero Dark Thirty. What's supposed to be so amazing about something we've heard all about already? Do they personalize the story or what?

But can't that be said about any historical drama? I suspect it will have a suspense/thriller feel to it, so it'll feel a bit like Argo, but with higher stakes and more dire consequences.

[DarrellH]

Had fun with some friends. We were trying to name movie sequels, then guess future sequel names. When on the Bourne series, we soon ventured off to "Bourne Yesterday", and "A Star Is Bourne". Perhaps he escapes from prison..."Bourne Free"?

[Buzz]

Had fun with some friends. We were trying to name movie sequels, then guess future sequel names. When on the Bourne series, we soon ventured off to "Bourne Yesterday", and "A Star Is Bourne". Perhaps he escapes from prison..."Bourne Free"?

Brilliant!!!

[olympic]

I saw 'The Impossible' last night. Theater here in Miami was packed!

I think Naomi Watts could take Best Actress honors. She had to portray a woman in a perpetual state of drowning / gravely injured / on the verge of death for nearly the whole movie. If that isn't Oscar bait, I don't know what would be!!!