[Reaper]that I don't recall the specifics of the movie is testament to it's suckiness[/Reaper]

;)

Welp, I was wrong. Damn; Juno was some forgettable shit. I would watch it again so as to make a proper assessment but there are cheaper and faster ways to annoy myself.

You KNOW I had to quote that for posterity. ROFL ROFL

You KNOW I had to post that after your post specifically for the lulz.

Fair enough, LOL

Watched Inglorious Bastards tonight. I really, really enjoyed it. I'm glad for the mixed reviews, because it lowered my expectations quite a bit to the point that I wasn't even sure going in that I'd like the movie. As such, I ended up loving it.

I'd probably rate it in the top tier of QT movies for my personal tastes. Take out all of his QT film-geek homage nerdiness and soundtrack brilliance and all of the other artsy shit that make him great, and one fact remains: QT can just spin a good ****ing yarn.

Also saw District 9. I enjoyed it, but the cinematography bothered me. They tried to keep the mockumentary roots of the youtube short by splicing in little documentary pieces and surveillance video footage. But that made no sense, because other parts of the movie were just conventionally shot. As such, it made from a completely inconsistent point of view for the movie. I still liked it, but that kept bothering me. I'd just as soon they completely scrapped the mockumentary roots of the movie and just shot it conventionally as trying to make some kind of hybrid mockumentary.

Unlike any other QT movie, this one has intellectual shit going on. Take the climatic theater scene for instance. The Germans are watching a propaganda flick in which dozens upon dozens of enemy soldiers are killed. The crowd hoots and hollars and cheers wildly each and every Allied forces death. Then the twin plans of the Basterds and Ms. Mimeuix come to fruition and the Nazi elite are mowed down with gunfire as the theater burns to the ground. And we, the audience watching a movie, cheer with relish each and every one of the German deaths. In effect QT turned us all into what we so wish violence upon -- our reaction to the Nazis dying is the exact same as the reaction of the Nazi audience watching Allied soldiers die! It harkens back to the speech in the film's first, tremendous scene where Landa remarks that people hate Jews for no real reason, that people just know deep down that they don't like rats/Jews. Well we obviously don't like Nazis; we throw justice overbpard in favor of fiery, bloody revenge.

Think about it: QT could cast any actor he wants. For the role of The Bear Jew, in a film that is largely about violence (and propaganda) in movies, he casts the director of films whose audience adores the "torture porn" of it all. It is not a coincidence.

So I was in Wal-Mart late the other night, found Munich for $4, had seen it in forever so I picked it up.

Forgot how good of a movie this is, love it...one of Spielberg's most underrated flicks.

Though I didn't really think that much into IB, this makes a whole lot of sense. However, I have one nitpick. I consider there to be a difference between an audience laughing at a revisionist, caricature history and Hitler and the Nazi army and an audience laughing at troops killed in war. In other words, QT's audience hates the Nazis for a reason - not "no reason". If it was simply the German people with no affiliation to the Nazis, Landa would be right on the money. But I doubt any audience would be laughing at the German people getting mowed down. Just as I doubt there mainstream Americans despise today's Germans and Germany.

Got around to watching District 9. I found the beginning of the movie to be outstanding and then the same old story of the out of luck guy does something amazing for someone else crept in like almost every other movie. It was like Bruce Willis detonating the asteroid all over again. If you can get over the same underlying story its entertaining, I appreciated the look of the aliens and their pitch shifted voices. Every time they spoke I found myself yearning for a devastating guitar riff and a blast beat.

Sure. Revenge is a reason to hate, though not a good one but perhaps an inherently human one, and this film is certainly a revenge fantasy.

I'd wager that nearly everyone who saw the film would agree that they would prefer the IG defeat of the Nazis to the real-life way that the Nazis were defeated. The revisionist fantasy history is actually preferable. I see IG making a case for movies with this movie. The cinema has the power to make real the precise kinds of delusions that we crave. We long for story, for emotion, for propaganda to give us direction. Movies give us all of these. Movies are at the very center of IG; one could say that IG is all about the movies. IG makes a case for movies as a vital, necessary part of our lives.

I saw "The Hurt Locker."

Its sort of a mind-**** movie, in that it just depresses the hell out of you.

The Hurt Locker, huh? Is that what they're calling the Chargers/Jets game out in San Diego this morning?

Sorry to kick you while you're down, but I couldn't resist.

I'll be watching The Bourne Identity later today. Figure out something for that.

I'd give birth to a new identity too, if I had "Big Game" Nate's last name in my username. :p

I saw the Hurt Locker last night. If you're a fan of Jar Head then you'll like this film even more. Most films can never reach this level of suspense, I was on the edge of my seat for almost the entire two hours.

http://itpworld.files.wordpress.com/...locker-pic.jpg

Over on the move site (IMDB) some of the Iraqi veterans were criticizing the film for making them look too blood thirsty and ruthless. Heck, about half way through this film I was wondering why they didn't blow more people away, I thought just the opposite, they showed way too much restraint.

It was weird how it was just a sampling of a few days of those soldiers lives. Not really any kind of cohesive story til the end.

I guess that was for several reasons, maybe because it was only 2004 and not that much has changed. However, I think it was more a case of just showing the most dangerous job in the world.

I also know from firsthand, when I was 20 and was in the army and was overseas in Korea, and I didn't even have anyone trying to blow me up, I never really thought much further than tomorrow. We were all just here for the moment. Which was kind of the way the sergeant thought, he didn't want to take family and life seriously, he just wanted to live more for the moment. He couldn't even call his wife on the phone, and when faced with returning to the world, he chose another tour of Iraq.

I saw Babylon AD today (most of it, I missed the first few minutes). There were some cheeseball scenes, and overall it was pretty "meh". However, Mélanie Thierry is hawt.

Hurt Locker was 10 times the movie Jarhead was. I read the book and saw the movie, and about the only thing I can remember about it his how whiney the author came off.

Jarhead sucked imo

Loved The Hurt Locker, its a must own imo

Loved Hurt Locker.

I hope Renner gets nominated.

He was great in it, only thing i remember him from before this was various tv shows and North Country

In Hurt Locker, I was surprised that....

That wasn't him...

Just watched "Pandorum" which I picked up from Redbox without knowing anything about it prior to checking the new releases this week. A bit derivative but it ended up being fairly enjoyable. Well Worth a look if you are into sci-fi flicks.

Watched Gamer tonight. Pretty good flick.

Are you easily amused?

i heard it was craptastic...but its still in my netflix que

I'm not a harsh movie critic. If I'm entertained, I'm entertained. I just don't overthink movies.

I don't overthink movies either. I think the right amount.

I watched Gamer with a buddy of mine. It's basically the Idiocracy of action movies. Cool premise, nice social commentary, but the narrative is disjointed and the talents of Michael C. Hall are totally wasted.

That said, it's a good guy flick, and it skewers the hell of the gamer generation, particularly the syrup-dipping "Society" player. However, the build to the climax is relatively unsatisfying, and the action scenes are too concerned with looking cool (with all the disjointed digital "dropouts") to really make it an "action" movie.

The filmmakers could have learned something from another few viewings of The Running Man.

I also watched The Hurt Locker last night.

A couple of things

1) I didn't know who directed it. As soon as the credits flashed and I saw Kathryn Bigelow, I instantly knew why Sgt. James was the way he was. He was basically the Bodhi of EOD soldiers.
2) My wife used to work with the sister of Anthony Mackie, the guy who played Sgt. Sanborn
3) There were some awful anachronisms. Xbox 360s and YouTube in 2004? :facepalm:
4) The sniper standoff was one of the most ridiculous scenes ever filmed

That aside, I thought it was a very good movie that was able to move flawlessly between the genres of war movie and documentary (especially w/ the cinematography).

7.5/10

That Bigelow directed it is the main reason I haven't seen it yet.

What else has she done that would make you not want to see it?

Point Blank and Blue Steel are the only ones I've seen. Neither was very remarkable, good or bad, IMO.

Point Break.

sssshhh, patteau's gone Asian. It's quite amusing.

Ahhh...Hans Brix....

Brue Steer!!

Doh!

ROFL

Moon was pretty cool. The first 7/8 of the movie is great...I was really into it. Then a lot happens in the last 1/8. I was like, "wait, why is he doing that?" "what is he doing?".

Recommended though.

Never seen point break, but have it on dvd...

i want to see 'moon' as well...i have public enemies, 500 days of summer and my sisters keeper from netflix this week

I liked it. It reminded me of the Twilight Zone, which to me is a good thing because I love that show.

Extract was mildly funny.

Jesus Christ, people. Just put In the Loop at the very top of your Netflix queue already. I've seen it seven times since July and it cracks my shit up every time.

I saw Hurt Locker and thought it was great, gave it an 8. I don't get your complaints about the internet jargon. Maybe it's because I've never used a Play Station or XBox. I really don't remember when You Tube started, if that is the complaint, that it wasn't around in 2004?

As far as the sniper standoff, I'd have to see it again, because that film was so intense I have a hard time remembering one action sequence from another. I didn't find any of anything ridiculous, except maybe when the two sergeants got drunk and fought in the barracks and the one pulled a knife on the other. Seemed a little over-the-top, but it didn't ruin the film.

The 360 was released in November of '05, Gears of War came out a year later, and YouTube debuted in '05. I didn't have to research any of that. That's just lazy filmmaking

I watched a few movies the past week

District 9 - I like that it was original. I get the point of the movie and how it's in South America and it had a hidden meaning. I should probably re-watch it, but I didn't think it was great or anything.

Redbelt - caught this on netflix instant watch, really good. I would recommend that you watch it. Written and directed by David Mamet, who is a really talented writer IMO. Good flick and I loved the ending because most writers would have went with something really cliche. Rent it or those of you with netflix and a 360, watch it instantly.

The Cove - a pretty solid documentary about the dolphin killing in Japan. I liked it and I think there was a thread about it a while back here.

A perfect getaway - fun movie, predictable but enjoyable. Don't expect a brilliant masterpiece and be in a mood to just be entertained and you might like it.

Push - meh

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard - not great, but worth a rent for a few cheap laughs.

Taking Woodstock - boring, I was expecting a comedy with funnyman Dimitri Martin. But it was a boring ass drama and it wasn't very good at that. Avoid unless you feel like taking a nap.

Green Street Hooligans - it was pretty good. I loved the concept of their gangs, or firms as they call it. Decent acting, worth a watch.

Big Fan - wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it's on netflix instant watch and it was ok. A solid drama, I like those films that only require a few people to act in it. I liked the story, the writing was pretty good. Don't expect to laugh though because it stars a comedian.

regarding your spoiler - that is a makable shot. I watch a lot of sniper documentaries as it fascinates me. Just last night they had a show that showed a Marine in Iraq who made a killshot on a mujahadeen sprinting across an alley at 1000yds with an M24 rifle who's effective range is only 800yds. It happens, but at the edges of the effective range and beyond it really becomes more about luck than precision, as they are exceeding the capabilities of the sights and using their experience to guess where to shoot.


As for the above comment that the Hurt Locker sniper "dogfight" was ridiculous, you're wrong. The rifle being used was a Barrett M82 50 cal. It has an effective range of 1800 yards (over a mile). At that range it takes over 4 seconds for the round to hit target. The only questionable part was what weapon the mujahadeen was using, but I'm not familiar with their weaponry. It is quite plausible though that they had a capable weapon. For example Barrett 50 cal rifles can be bought civilians.

EOD teams have sniper training, as they may use the 50 cal rifle to detonate IEDs with incendiary and explosive armor piercing rounds. The 50 cal sniper rifles are used against soft targets at times, but their primary use to disable non and lightly armored vehicles. The so called Raufoss rounds have a round very much like an anti-armor missile, with an explosive core that drives a tungsten sabot through the armor where it becomes like molten shotgun pellet bouncing around the interior of an armored personnel carrier. Awesome stuff. These rounds are also effective through masonry walls.

If you can tolerate indie flicks the best one I've seen in quite a while was Ink.

The first 20 minutes or so you think "this is cheesy and cheap, yet with better cgi etc. than a film of this low a quality should have."

Then, as the film goes on it grows on you. Once you figure out the "timeline" (think of movies like the Matrix, Primer, Momento) it makes a lot more sense.

It's the type of movie that makes you wish someone would have given the director about $10 mil just to get 1 big name actor. That in mind the acting was still above what I'd expected and had one of the few child performances that didn't drive me up a wall.

VERY original concept...

Loved Ink.

When I went into the Army I was 19 and had never fired a gun of any kind. Six weeks later in basic training in the hot and muggy middle of Lousiana, I had to hit a half human size target at 300 yards with an M-16. No scope, just a barrel sight, and that was to graduate with at least a Marksman badge. That's not easy, that's 900 feet, I remember aiming a good 3 or 4 feet above the target. Hitting a stationary target at 850 yards with a much more powerful rifle and a nice scope doesn't seem impossible, then again, it's the movies.

The XBox, Gears of War and You Tube being one year off, don't you think that is nick-picking? I wouldn't have a clue, in fact I would of thought they all much older. Then again I'm 59 and the last video game I played was Atari tabletop game with Space Invaders at a bar in Pensacola, Florida in 1981.

Took over a small theater my friend works at and watched some Oscar contenders: Precious, Up In the Air, and A Single Man.

Precious was pretty bad. It is the kind of heavy handed filmmaking that I so loathe. Mo'nique was pretty darn good playing the only character in the movie with even a hint of a second dimension. The lead actress, whatever her name is, wasn't good. I actually like a lot of movies with first time actors giving a naturalistic performance but director Lee Daniels doesn't lead his lead actress to one. The film goes all Dangerous Minds halfway in, which is annoying. There are also these terrible dream sequences that are jarring and don't do anything to further the character of Precious. Beyond all of that the film is offensive for its content. It takes the most extreme example of a hood life poverty story and tries to make it representative. Shameful. It takes all of the Reaganesque fear of welfare queenery and amps it up to ridiculous levels. Bad stuff.

Up in the Air was pretty damn nice. Best Picture-good? Nah, the pacing gets muddled in the third act along with some trite scenes. Overall though it is a delightful film propelled by Clooney's marvelous, charismatic performance. It gets kudos for being one of the few 2009 films to discuss the economic state of things.

A Single Man was perplexing. First time director Tom Ford (an ex-fashion designer!) has made a visually beautiful film though one with rookie mistakes. The film is gorgeously drab in a sort of sepia tone, except for moments where Colin Firth's George Falconer thinks about something happy. Then the colors get super saturated and bright. It is a stupidly obvious way to show emotion and it really gets to be grating the 40th time Ford uses it. George isn't a deep character but Firth acts his ass off in this movie. It is fine enough aside from the self-defeating ending. It will probably be one of the 10 nominees for the Best Picture Oscar.

And because I'm a movie-watching mother****er, I went home and watched Sin Nombre, a Spanish-language film that tackles the subject of illegal immigration while also dealing intently with gang culture (specifically MS-13). It was pretty damn good; a sparkling debut effort by writer/director Cary Fukunaga (Japanese father, Swedish mother).

On the docket for tomorrow: two foreign language films from '09 -- Summer Hours (France) and Still Walking (Japan).

Netflix has really opened up opportunities for exercising a global palette.

Yup. That and I live in KC, so I can see good foreign films that come to the Tivoli.

Pretty much my thoughts on it. Clooney really was outstanding and I really enjoyed some of the subtle humor during the 1st half or so.

I'm guessing that's only slightly more than a regular AMC deal.

I remember going to a few small theaters in NYC, watching a 1950s French film. Pretty fun. I might go to school in Minneapolis next year, and they have some good theaters. Definitely a plus.

Way better than AMC. This week the Tivoli has screened Still Walking, A Single Man, Crazy Heart and Broken Embraces.

I'll be starting grad school in the fall and one of the places I want to go to most is the University of Minnesota. So we might both be in Minneapolis next year. ^_^

That'd be cool. Throwing back rich alcohol with the one and only Reaper. Though I'd be going to St. Thomas, where all the ultra-conservatives hang out. God help me, if I choose it. I'd need a good liberal like yourself to keep me in check.

Up in the Air's soundtrack should win an Academy Award.............................NOT.

Jeez, this post is 11 months old, and no one responded to it.

Did anyone end up catching this film? I just received it (2 disks) from Netflix, I have class all day tomorrow, but hope to have the time to watch it on Thursday or Friday.

I've got it on my instant queue, but geez, the time committment is (in the parlance of an inside joke of mine) too much daunting.

Yeah, I'm not the type that can watch Part I and then watch Part II another time. I have to watch it all together, or not watch it at all.

I'm thinking I can pull it off on Friday.

If not, definitely Sunday, since there are no games.

I'm not sure how another film could beat out Japan's Still Walking for the best foreign language film Oscar. It is in the top 5 movies I've seen for the 2009 year. It is like Rachael Getting Married in that it deals with a family interacting in a single home for the whole picture, only Still Walking has nothing to do with a wedding or addiction and everything to do with the deceased sibling.

Das weiße Band

Der Untergang

Revanche

Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas

just a few I have recently viewed. I would consider all of them stunning films.

Saw Up in the Air last night.

How many St. Louisans recognized many of the areas where they shot? I didn't realize until after reading the Wiki article on the film that they did so much filming around St. Louis.

I stayed at the Renaissance Grand last April, they shot scenes there, and didn't even recognize it.

Just watched this and it was hilarious. One of the rare movies that had me cracking up consistently throughout.

Do you want ants, because that's how you get ants.

Watched the animated movie 9 last night (BTW -- it is unfortunate that 2009 saw the wide release of films with the titles District 9, Nine and 9). It was pretty mediocre stuff, though fairly cute and fun. It felt like a late 90's videogame in that the movie was all 1.) exploration, 2.) boss battle, 3.) learn some story about the past and such 4.) repeat.

I was psyched going in and then came out feeling it had less story than Transformers 2.

That's quite a feat, too.

It has more merit being a Best Picture contender than Avatar. Avatar can nab every nomination in the technical field but Best Picture? No ****ing way.

I'm with you there. Up In the Air is a fine candidate.

I finally watched (500) Days of Summer a couple nights ago. It lived up to the hype.

Finished Public Enemies....boring and long. The beginning was kinda cool but thats about it. Rental only imo

I'll probably watch that tonight, got that from netflix this week