The Taking of Pelham 123 73/100

This is the 70s version. Solid unfussy thriller about the taking of hostages for cash. The robbers calling themselves "Mr Blue" etc will remind you of Reservoir Dogs.

Grows throughout.

Anyone going to TIFF?

Selected my movies today.

Dallas Buyers Club
Labor Day
The Grand Seduction
Can A Song Save Your Life
Therese
Dom Hemingway
Bad Words
Gravity

Will probably pick up a couple more once single tickets go on sale. Hopefully including Jason Reitman's Live Read of Boogie Nights.

I'll try to remember to post reviews here afterwards.

X-Men: First Class

I usually have a soft spot for the X-Men series and thus enjoyed this. Having said that, I am disappointed given the rave reviews at the time, I expected something with a bit of creativity or originality and didn't see any of that. I like McAvoy and Fassbender and they did their usual performances in this so that was fun, but there's nothing special from any of the cast in this. The plot is relatively predictable but that's to be expected. I liked the new characters and powers, these always fascinate me, and the back stories were also good. What I didn't like was the awful script, it felt unnatural and inappropriately over the top and it spoiled things for me.

Anyway, if you missed it the first time round, don't worry about it, it's very forgettable.

3/5.

Please come back with a non-spoiler review of Gravity.

of course... great crime drama. the 70's were a great time for the crime drama, just like the 40's.

Have you seen charley varick?

No, but I intend to watch it soon.

Catching up on movies - mostly those with the main character's name in the title, and a whole lot o' McConaughey.

Magic Mike: I really liked this film, and wish they focused a little bit more on Mike's aspirations outside of dancing (e.g. did he ever get the money?) Wasn't a huge fan of one implication made at the end of the movie (see below), though overall very satisfying.

Must say, as much as I try to hate Channing Tatum, I cannot help but like him. And Matthew McConaughey does sleaze very well.



Django Unchained: Entertaining, though with a few scenes that I thought were more cringe-inducing than other Tarantino films. However, I ultimately feel this doesn't have the re-watchability of other Quentin masterpieces.

Pitch Perfect: I must be an eighteen year old girl, because I liked it a lot, and I've watched it again since. Kendrick can be irresistible.

Killer Joe: Wow, I still haven't figured out what I just saw, but I do know that McConaughey was awesome, thought Haydn Church was excellent in an understated role, and I want to see more of Juno Temple.

I haven't seen this yet... but I am VERY interested in seeing it.

Side by Side
Keanu Reeves

Side By Side is really interesting. I rated it 9/10 on IMDB.

This is on UK channels next week, on Film4 on 5th at 1.25 in the morning (ie very late Wednesday night!)

wow, Mark Kermode finds a movie he hates more than Sex in the City 2!




Favourite line: "This is like swimming in a sewer, and not in a good way."

however, his Sex in the City 2 review is still my favourite, and one I totally agree with

Here it is again, listen to it and treat yourself

^I don't know... now I want to see it(pain and gain).

IYKWIM

A guy who does not even lift doesn't like a movie about guys who lift? Shocking.

The book talks about some stuff that goes way over a 13 yo head. For me, the book/ movie was about what kind of person you want to be... want you want your kids to be.

Are you the type to come up with rational explanations for everything? Even the unexplainable? ie rely on science/logic to guide you.

Or are you the type to take a leap of faith, to let yourself believe, and imagine, and kinda take a ride. Mix fact with fiction.

And there's parallels between Pi's god/ religion talk at the beginning and his story of the time spent at sea. What are you willing to believe? What does your heart tell you to believe?

Unfortunately, the movie ending doesn't do a good job with blending fact with fiction. They leave it up to the viewer which kinda slants towards the second story. In the book Pi is actually annoyed that he has to tell the second story, very different than from movie.

Another movie similar to Life of Pi is Big Fish, except they did a wonderful job with their ending

I can't comment on the book as I never read it. The movie was pretty good for one pass but won't leave a lasting impression.

Funny you mentioned Big Fish because that came to mind. I felt about the same with that movie. Sucker Punch was another one of similar theme. For these sorts of films you need that magical spark put it over the top and they don't. But still a respectable effort.

Now compare these to Pan's Labyrinth or Wizard of Oz, which did have that special something extra and worked beautifully.

Saw the first half of Now You See Me and was tired so I went to bed. I have no interest in seeing the second half.

The Conjuring was just an average, typical horror movie to me. I don't know why it's so highly rated. It had a few creepy moments but it was nothing we haven't seen before. I guess the fact that it didn't suck ass makes it a decent horror film. Overall it was pretty boring and predictable.

Side by side was on pbs tonight... good solid documentary. I am glad I caught it.

Although I did appreciate Big Fish and Life of Pi, I agree with your opinion that Pan's Labyrinth and Wizard of Oz has that extra touch of finesse. Also want to include Beasts of the Southern Wild which is one of my favorite movies seen this year. It has that schizophrenia-fantasy side to it, the same as seen in Pan's Labyrinth. And both are about a little girl having a hard time coping with her life and surroundings, so she escapes in a fantasy land. Both the fantasy become intertwine, revealing her inner fears and hope.

I do not like cartoons. But I did like "who killed roger rabbit" so the other night I watched "Ted". I will say that I laughed a lot. The fight between Ted and Mark Walburgs character was hilarious.

I tried to like TED... came away with glad I saw it but there is probably not enough there to see again.

+1 i like this eval. Although I didn't try to like it. I thought McFarlane did a good job with the Ted voice and dialogue.

I liked Life of Pi, it was a spectacle, but the ending was the opposite of what was assumedly intended. Which story do you believe? Well the one that happened ldo...they needed to give far more of a reason to believe the fanciful tale for it to work properly. But the fanciful tale was a good one so I still enjoyed even if the ending made it like a cop out "its all a dream" ending.

Yes they needed an ending like Big Fish. Or they could have just gone with the books ending ffs. I think they ended Life of Pi the way they did because they were scared of viewers feedback. I feel like they went for an ending that would kinda be "ok" for everyone (gotta get those high ratings lol). I think some of people who don't enjoy a good story/ closure/ concrete facts would have left puzzled or annoyed with the ending which is kinda sad, cuz it takes away from the story.

which story do you believe... puzzled or left annoyed...

did you guys watch the same movie I watched?

I thought it was pretty straight forward as to what happened, or maybe I missed something.