Recent theatrical viewings

[Rev. Powell]

Midnight in Paris

I may see this if it stays in town for more than one week.  As it is next week Takashi Miike's latest, 13 ASSASSINS, is coming to town for one week only and I'm going to be sure to catch it.

[Rev. Powell]

13 ASSASSINS (2010): The Shogun's brother, Naritsugu, may inherit rulership of Japan, but he's sadistically unhinged (think a Japanese Caligula); outnumbered ten-to-one, a band of samurai try to ambush and kill him in a town in a mountain pass.  This is a true epic; you may be confused trying to follow the dozens of characters and their complicated relationships.  Once the swords are unsheathed and the battle begins, confusion will turn to wonder.  The final battle is mythological in scope; it's one of the longest most elaborate martial sequences ever filmed.  It runs at least a half hour.  The Japanese cut is 15 minutes longer than the version touring the US, so that we'll have a reason to buy the DVD when it comes out.  I'm extremely stingy giving out 5 star ratings, but this comes very close.  I may bump it up in the future.  Definitely a must see if you like samurai movies.  4.5/5. 

[Pilgermann]

I've decided to start applying ratings to my viewings.

Rango (2011) - This may wind up as my favorite film this year.  In spite of being in an auditorium full of horribly-behaved children and inconsiderate parents, this was great.  You basically get Western with animals that utilizes part of the plot of Chinatown and some other weird and clever bits thrown in.  The animation is impressive, and it's really a breath of fresh air seeing a film that's far from the norm in the world of modern animation.  Heck, it's far from the norm in general.  I wish I'd seen this sooner. 9/10

13 Assassins (2010 [2011 for the US]) - I was a little bit underwhelmed overall, with part of the greatest thrill being able to see the Toho logo on the big screen, but it was a nice film, and the big battle at the end was certainly something!  I haven't seen any of Miike's other films in their entirety, but this seems pretty restrained for him excepting a scene of a naked woman missing her limbs, but the tone keeps the unpleasant moments from seeming cheap.  Very professionally made, but I wasn't thrilled.

I didn't realize that the US release was shorter; I'll be looking forward to checking it out on video and maybe I'll like it more. 7/10

[Doggett]

I'm not at all into cars so another thing that makes me laugh is when car enthusiasts say that they are the best films ever made and try to modify their car and hang out at a McDonalds car park.

You should visit Lancashire!

Or any Sainsbury's car park after 10pm...
Putting neon lights under your car and listening to drum and bass thats so loud it causes the whole street to shake does not make you cool.

[Rev. Powell]

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (2011): A nostalgic writer romanticizes Paris in the 1920s; on a visit to the city with his fiancee, he discovers that at the stroke of midnight he can travel back in time to party with Hemmingway, Gertrude Stein, Dali, and other intellectuals of the Paris circle. Owen Wilson puts a nice shine on Woody Allen's old neurotic, and there are fun cameos throughout (both in terms of the actors and the historical figures they portray). It's sort of frou-frou, but also like a pleasant, witty conversation with a sharp old friend. 4.5/5.

I like the bit where Gil, who's from the future, meets Luis Bunuel and gives him an idea for a movie.  Bunuel says, "I don't understand---why don't they just leave the party?"  Film fanatic joke there.  

Also I think Woody took extra care to make sure he got some nice shots of Rachel McAdam's hinder.  I appreciate that kind of attention to detail.

[Flick James]

Also I think Woody took extra care to make sure he got some nice shots of Rachel McAdam's hinder.  I appreciate that kind of attention to detail.

Agreed, Rev. I appreciate Miss McAdams in her fairer complexion form, but it was nice to see her with some color. Maybe it was just the blonde hair that created the optical illusion. In either case, she was hot, despite her character being an absolute shrew.

[InformationGeek]

Gees, I keep forgetting to add what I see.

This summer, I have seen Thor and Green Lantern.  I give Thor a 4 out of 5 and Green Lantern a 3 out of 5.

Soon, I hope to see X-Men: First Class, Harry Potter 7.2, and Captain America.

[WingedSerpent]

X-Men: First Class. Thor. Preist. Green Lantern are the most recent.

Will most likely see Captain America, and I can't think of any other summer movies I might go to off the top of my head.

[Pilgermann]

The Tree of Life (2011) - My favorite film of the year, and it'll probably remain so.  I have difficulty explaining it, but I felt overwhelmed while exiting the building, and I sat in my car for 10 minutes while intermittently sobbing and shedding tears.  I think reactions in the crowd were varied.  Some people gave out little bemused chuckles, a guy in front of me was leaned over holding his head and either crying or praying, others looked very serious and contemplative.  It's an abstract film but beautiful and spiritual if you just let youself go with it.  10/10

[BoyScoutKevin]

Cars 2

I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the previous Pixar films. But, of course, it is the little things that make a film.

In 2-D not 3-D, but it might be one of the few films that might actually look better in 3-D.

The Rating
Having seen all the previous Pixar films, this is probably the most violent since "The Incredibles." And there were some scenes in it, that I thought were even more shocking than any of the scenes in "The Incredibles," such as the death of the first British agent in the film. Actually, Pixar wanted a rating of PG. Why it got a G rating is anybody's guess.

Sophia Loren
Not in this one, but in the Italian language version she voices the character of Mama Topolino.

Pizza Planet Truck
Anybody see it in the film? I missed it.

Paul Newman
But, did anybody besides myself catch the tribute to the late Paul Newman in the film?

John Ratzenberger
Voices a character in the film, as he has in every previous Pixar film.

Production Babies
And they continue to be listed at the end of the credits. Every baby born to someone working on the film.

Fritz Feld
This is really obscure, but before the film there was an animated short subject featuring the characters from "Toy Story." Did anybody catch the tribute to character actor Fritz Feld in the short subject.

The Muppets
Before the film or the animated short subject there was a trailer for the Muppets film coming up in November. The film looks promising, if only because it features that Muppet humor were are familiar with, as the trailer starts out being a very un-Muppets type of film, changing to a Muppets film half way through the trailer.

[Rev. Powell]

THE TREE OF LIFE: Recalling the death of a brother, a man unleashes a flood of memories from his childhood, and even primal memories going back to the dawn of creation.  Grandiose, poetic, and spiritual, with scenes of ordinary family conflict alternating with amazing depictions of the birth of the universe, all set to sacred music.  Even if you don't actually like the movie, you're going to be leaving the theater fairly impressed by what you've seen.  I agree with Pigermann; there's not likely to be a better movie this year, and I think this already has Best Picture and Best Director sewn up, with a possible win for Brad Pitt, too. 5/5.     

[Rev. Powell]

BUCK: Documentary glibly but accurately described as profiling "a real-life horse whisperer."  The story is how a gifted cowboy overcame childhood abuse and applied the lessons he learned to training horses.  It's an inspirational movie, with all the lack of conflict or subtlety that word implies, but it holds your interest and is definitely worth a watch if you're interested in either horse training or child abuse.  (Newt should put this on her list for sure).  3/5. 

[Psycho Circus]

BRIDESMAIDS (2011):

Excellent film! I was really worried going into this, thinking that it would be some really boring by-the-numbers chick flick that would sap 2hrs from my life like Sex & The City did about three years back. Not the case at all, as I was pleasantly surprised by a hilarious and heartfelt film that kept my attention fully. I wasn't familiar with any of the main actresses but they all did a stellar job. The best comedy film I have seen in a very, very, very looooong time and my best film of the year so far. I highly recommend this film, even to guys and I'm glad to see it has received many positive reviews.

5/5

[Rev. Powell]

THE LAST MOUNTAIN: Documentary on the environmental effects of mountaintop removal coal mining in Coal Mountain, West Virgina.  The mountaintop removal process has little to recommend it, but unfortunately so does this suprisingly dull and disorganized polemic.  2.5/5. 

[Criswell]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 - Pretty good end to a franchise that was a major part of my childhood. Was pretty cool for my first every midnight showing. Oh and I got to see the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises which looks great!