Last Seen Contemporary Movie

[adamhenderson]

You’re Next—Liked it a lot, although I thought the twist was predictable. The blender scene caught my interest, though.

The twist caught me by surprise! What did you think of the dialogue between the family? I think they rushed the family fight a little bit during the dinner scene. It would have been better if the run time was a bit longer and they developed the characters a little bit more.

Agreed.

It's just not a very good story. The incestious relationship was the only believable part in it.

Flowers in the Attic is sort of universally known as a poorly written novel. I haven't read it myself, and have sworn that I will get around to it one day. Is it a horror movie?

---

Just about to watch the remake of 'Carrie'. Will post here with my thoughts.

[Angra]

Originally Posted by adamhenderson

Flowers in the Attic is sort of universally known as a poorly written novel. I haven't read it myself, and have sworn that I will get around to it one day. Is it a horror movie?

No, it's a depressing drama.

[ChronoGrl]

Looking forward to A Single Shot - Thanks for the rec, EC!

I'm curious about Flowers in the Attic... I'll have to see if the remake is On Demand...

...

Originally Posted by Angra

"Whip It" 7/10

The womens "Dodgeball" starring Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis and a Zakk Wylde look-alike as the coach (he was funny).

An entertaining feel-good movie.

If only the director had edited out the hipster boyfriend. God what a douche..

I love that movie! And I agree about the hipster boyfriend, though I like that they didn't make the movie about her finding love - He wasn't the end-all-be-all of her self-discovery and happiness - She was finding herself.

And MAN that was cheesy!

...


Funny Ha Ha (2002)





Not my favorite of the mumblecore genre. Also, I had decided that Mark Duplass was going to be in it so I spent about half of the movie waiting for him to appear and was disappointed when he didn't.

The acting and directing was fine, definitely amateur, but I just didn't connect with the characters.


...


Would You Rather? (2012)





Yeesh. I'm really not much into the torture, Saw-like movies, but this is definitely a well-done movie for that genre. The cast is fascinating and eclectic, from My Name is Earl's Crab Man to Trailer Park Boy's Ricky to Jeffrey Combs! Combs, by the way, was just a blast to watch. I want to see him in more movies. He seemed to be having fun and he was certainly a despicable host.

But back to the movie - Well... Definitely gruesome and cringe-worthy at times (I had to cover my eyes more than once, I'm ashamed to say), I was impressed by the movie's ability to keep me interested when it's just not my kind of movie. I'd say it's a recommendation for fans of Saw and the like.


...


The Spectacular Now (2013)





This movie is getting a LOT of buzz in the dorky Pop Culture podcasts that I listen to so I probably went into it with high expectations - It's a good, solid, coming-of-age movie, but I just didn't connect with it. Could be that our main character isn't very likable (which is on purpose; we find him at a pivotal moment in his young life as he graduates high school - he's the sad side of the partyer - Someone who at 18 is already showing signs of being an alcoholic) - I appreciate that the movie definitely makes its characters more realistic and not just teenage archetypes... I also loved Brie Larson in her smaller role as his ex - But the movie left me feeling sort of empty. It might have been that when I look back to my high school years I mostly see my time wasted on a loser boyfriend and struggling with undiagnosed bipolar - Not a great time for me -

Anyhoo - I do think it's a good movie; I just didn't connect with it as much as I was hoping to. More melancholy than I was expecting. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I think I needed something more uplifting (after watching Would You Rather?!). Ahhh, well.

[metternich1815]

I am going to presume that I can post about non-horror films here as well. Yesterday, I watched several films (not really horror though except possibly one):

Titanic (1997): 10/10

This is actually one of my favorite films. If somehow you have never heard of this film or its (basic) plot here it is:this film is about two star-crossed lovers (think Romeo and Juliet) falling in love on the fated ocean liner known as the Titanic. Of course, it is so much more than this description depicts. It is an excellent period piece. Additionally, it was one of the most, if not the most, accurate portrayals of the event. Furthermore, it featured an excellent score and some pretty good performances, especially by the supporting actors and actresses. The drama prominently featured in the second half is perfect. I am not a fan of the romance aspect, but despite that it remains one of my favorite films. If, somehow, you have not managed to see this film, I highly recommend it.

Note: I have seen this before. I would say 150+ times.

Dante's Peak (1997): 6/10

I was expecting it to be alot better. The film was about a volcanologist who goes to a small town named Dante's Peaks that is located near a dormant volcano that is about to become active. Pierce Brosnan (although it is hard to picture him as a volcanologist) played a pretty good role and Linda Hamilton was not bad. Other than that, the acting was pretty bad, in my opinion. The story was okay, but it was definitely lacking. It seemed like a big ripoff of Jaws. There were some unintentionally funny scenes. The "bridge scene" cracks me up. The look on the character's face is hilarious. It was entertaining, but it could have been alot better. I feel ,although many disagree, that Volcano (1997) was a much stronger film that dealt with this theme that came out the same year, despite its scientific inaccuracies. I would not recommend this film myself, but, if you do wish to see it, at least it is entertaining. By the way, I seem to be in a minority on my opinion of this film.

Note: This was my first viewing.

Inception (2010): 10/10

This film was nominated for Best Picture in 2010 and it definitely deserved it. The film is about someone being contacted to see if he could place a thought in someone's head, via their dreams, in exchange for a complete forgiveness of their crimes in their hometown. The story was quite interesting and the film featured some strong performances especially by Leonardo DiCaprio. The premise, being able to enter people's dreams and manipulate them, was very interesting. In the way it was done, it also appeared to be pretty unique (although I am sure there might be some obscure movie it is similar to). The direction was also very well done and the dream sequences are very surreal. Definitely an excellent mind-bender. The ending is a topic of hot debate with, I am sure, hundreds of different interpretations. I would definitely recommend this film, one of the best films of this decade, so far.

Note: This was my first viewing

Argo (2012): 10/10

This film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2013. While it was not my first choice for that year, it is an excellent film nonetheless, in my opinion. The story was based off a real CIA operation to get six individuals, who escaped the embassy in Iran in 1979, out of Iran safely. In order to do this, the CIA pretends to make a fake movie named Argo. This film is well made. It is filled with plenty of emotion. The appropriate scenes are quite tense. Furthermore, there are some terrific performances especially Christopher Arkin and Ben Affleck. John Goodman was really good as well. The atmosphere was also perfect. Anyway, I would definitely recommend that you see this film, if you have not already.

Note: This was my second viewing.

Donnie Darko (2001): 10/10

Donnie Darko is about a troubled teenager who believes that he can see the future through a figure in a bunny suit and this bunny says that the world is going to end soon. I have to say that I absolutely love this film. I would honestly put it in my top ten-15 movies of all-time. There were some terrific performances, in my opinion. The best, by far, is Jake Gyllenhaal who was brilliant as Donnie Darko. His character is very well-developed character and I, personally, can identify with him even better because I have my own psychological problems. While the others are not as good as Gyllenhaal, the delivered some solid performances, in my opinion especially Drew Barrymore and, I will admit, that Swazye was perfect as the "motivational speaker" (it seemed to be quite different than his roles in other movies I have seen him in). I will say that all of the characters, from the most to the least developed, were pretty well-developed, overall. I found the story and premise to be quite interesting and well-paced as well. On that note, I thought the atmosphere, which was dark, was perfect. The music, which was from the 1980s, complemented the film quite well, especially Mad World (originally performed by Tears for Fears). This film is definitely a must-see, in my opinion.

Note: This was my first viewing.

[urgeok2]

You're Next

i dug it..
I know that i would

[roshiq]

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)



**SPOILER ALERT**
It succeed to give me chills several times as it's been more than a month since I last saw a solid horror flick. As a James Wan film there's some regular good, creepy set-pieces but I think instead of the plot's 'Jack Torrance' take on Josh Lambert character it'd be better & more interesting if they could further explored The Further world here more twistedly or kinda bizzaro way. And just like the first one, it also ended with a rush & disappointment, IMO. Thought it was kinda lame that in a world like The Further, a spirit like Elise could beat such a wicked ghostly entity Mrs. Crane with a rocking horse and kills her!!

Anyway, overall it's not a bad sequel at all, a decent time passing horror flick but could have been more interesting & better.

>>: B

[urgeok2]

Originally Posted by roshiq

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)



**SPOILER ALERT**
It succeed to give me chills several times as it's been more than a month since I last saw a solid horror flick. As a James Wan film there's some regular good, creepy set-pieces but I think instead of the plot's 'Jack Torrance' take on Josh Lambert character it'd be better & more interesting if they could further explored The Further world here more twistedly or kinda bizzaro way. And just like the first one, it also ended with a rush & disappointment, IMO. Thought it was kinda lame that in a world like The Further, a spirit like Elise could beat such a wicked ghostly entity Mrs. Crane with a rocking horse and kills her!!

Anyway, overall it's not a bad sequel at all, a decent time passing horror flick but could have been more interesting & better.

>>: B

a lot of people like this one but I was turned right off from the beginning
the movie didn't take two seconds to breathe before it started with all the little creepy moments .. it seemed forced and desperate.

I'm not settled into any one style but I appreciate films that have a more subtle approach - at least in the beginning...

[Angra]

"Carrie" (2013) 7/10

The only reason i could see for this remake was to make the ending more spectacular. And it was pretty good.

All in all i thought it was one of the better remakes, that i might even like better than the original. Of course, it lacked John Travolta and William Katt who was replaced by two standard forgettable teens. But i prefered Chlo� Grace Moretz in the lead role. Especially because she was 16 when she played the role as a teenage girl and not 26, as the case was with Sissy Spacek in the original.

[newb]

FLUKT

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2076850/?ref_=nv_sr_1

From the director of "Cold Prey"

excellent movie

[roshiq]

Originally Posted by urgeok2

a lot of people like this one but I was turned right off from the beginning
the movie didn't take two seconds to breathe before it started with all the little creepy moments .. it seemed forced and desperate.

I'm not settled into any one style but I appreciate films that have a more subtle approach - at least in the beginning...

lolz! Agree but I guess they did that because of it's a continuation story of the 1st installment & starts right after the events of that "chapter 1" with almost zero subtle approach & straight jumps into the creepy business...cause there's also a good or even larger number of people out there ("target audience") who just expects lots of jump scares all over (from the beginning to end) in a haunted house flick.