What MOVIE(s) have you been....seeing? watching? ARCHIVE

Watched Deathtrap on Vudu. I'd seen it years ago, but it holds up really well as a play-within-a-play thriller with several twists. Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve are both outstanding, and Dyan Cannon was great as Caine's wife... Damn, what a shame about Reeve. Of course he seemed typecast as Superman, but he had really great acting chops in general, as evidenced here.

Caine was also in the similarly twisty Sleuth with Laurence Olivier (and later Jude Law in the remake). Anyone know other good films in this genre? Murder/thriller/mystery with plot twists?? I like that type of thing when done well, but can't think of any other titles that quite compare... some of the mid-years Hitchcock, like Dial M for Murder, were in that vein, I suppose.

Black Barney wrote: He wakes up in bed soaking with sweat and realizes it was all just one big fucking dream.

No comment.

Grudunza wrote: Anyone know other good films in this genre? Murder/thriller/mystery with plot twists??

The Secret in Their Eyes is excellent.

My ex-wife says that's one of the three best movies I've ever brought her to. That movie is sooooo good.

Gregarius wrote:

Grudunza wrote: Anyone know other good films in this genre? Murder/thriller/mystery with plot twists??

The Secret in Their Eyes is excellent.

Never heard of it. Will definitely watch it, though. Thanks!

Gone Girl is another one in that general vein... "Psychological thriller" is probably the term for it.

I think Gone Baby Gone should qualify in that vein as well.

Watched What We Do in the Shadows recently, it was really funny! Kind of a faux-documentary in the vein of This is Spinal Tap, but instead of a band you're watching four vampires living as housemates in a New Zealand flat. I love how they mixed in a lot of the classic vampire lore throughout the movie. Highly recommended!

Never Cry Wolf. Should have included that in my all-time favorite film list, but I hadn't seen it in a long time. Such a great trip into another world, in essence. Not surprising that Disney has all but disowned this, with the nudity and alcohol and the far from tied up in a happy little package ending, but I give them credit for green-lighting a film like this to begin with. The cinematography is terrific, with many interesting camera shots, and this time I particularly appreciated the nature of the voice-over and the visceral feel of that initial plane ride, among other things.

Saw Chappie with my wife. We both liked it.

It seems Die Antwoord's presence in the film has been somewhat polarizing. They are the main characters, which the press stuff doesn't really indicate. As one reviewer put it, "The rest of the film is basically 'Die Antwoord hang out with a childlike robot and teach it about the world.' Your tolerance for the movie will depend on how much that appeals to you—which probably explains the lousy reviews." While I don't listen to their music and mostly see them as an absurd curiosity, I didn't really find them out of place in the movie.

Die Antwoord are fine as long as they're not making music. If their "music" is involved, I'll never see it. They actively revolt me. After hearing Enter the Ninja and Evil Boy, knowing they are their big hits, no, never see this film if they so much as rhyme 2 lines.

SuperflyTNT wrote: Die Antwoord are fine as long as they're not making music. If their "music" is involved, I'll never see it. They actively revolt me. After hearing Enter the Ninja and Evil Boy, knowing they are their big hits, no, never see this film if they so much as rhyme 2 lines.

Their music is present on the soundtrack so you do hear some stuff in the background a few times, but they don't do any music related stuff in the movie.

Big movie watching weekend for me, which is strange because I also did a ton of other chores and outdoor activities.

Nightcrawler - Loved it! Jake Gyllenhaal plays this low-life sociopath who decides to become a video news stringer, chasing crimes and ambulances in L.A. Beautiful cinematography, great acting, and an intriguing plot. Highly recommended.

Foxcatcher - Pretty dull. Based on the true story of John Dupont's strange obsession with Olympic wrestlers Mark and Dave Schultz. I appreciated a lot of what they were trying to do, but the film moved very slowly. It also gave the impression of trying too hard to be "important."

Love is Strange - A character study of longtime companions but recently married old gay couple in Manhattan as they cope with new challenges when they lose both a job and apartment. Lithgow and Molina are pretty great in it, but the script just isn't strong enough. It's a pleasant film, but not great.

Saw Chappie last night and loved it. I can take or leave Die Antwoord's music, but my wife really likes them -- has gone to see them twice. I though the film was great, and the fact that Ninja and Yo-Landi were just playing alternate universe versions of themselves was very unique and fun. 50-60% of the film is them talking in Afrikaans-accented English, which I can see could confuse and turn off middle American audiences. The parts with Sigourney Weaver and Hugh Jackman were much more traditional, less frenetic.

It was like two films in one, and I enjoyed them both.

Has anyone seen Monsters:Dark Continent? Love the director and loved Monsters, but this seems like a Starship Troopers knockoff.

After binge-watching a show last week, I went into withdrawal symptoms last night and decided to watch Blade: Trinity. It isn't a good movie, but I enjoy it anyway.

Snipes was supposedly stoned out of his mind during the making of this third installment of the Blade series, and that probably explains his wooden performance here. Jessica Biel has no excuse for her flat performance, but she looks good while going through the motions. Ryan Reynolds seems to be having fun smirking his way through the movie, stealing every scene except when Parker Posey is in the room. Parker delivers a wonderfully quirky performance as a sadistic vampire with an arch sense of humor. I wouldn't mind seeing a really dark rom-com featuring just her and Reynolds, riffing off each other's improvised lines. Dominic Purcell was also decent as a bad guy, though nowhere near as memorable as he was on Prison Break. Kris Kristofferson was just barely there, and I'm not even sure that Francoise Yip got a single line. Triple H was a reasonably entertaining bad guy.

The story is okay, standard Hollywood three-part formula: introduce the hero, throw him down a well, and let him climb out of the well. I appreciated the new good guys, but it seems obvious that Snipes resented their presence. It's funny listening to his co-stars talk about Snipes cautiously on the commentary track. Respectful, but clearly tip-toeing around his bad attitude on the set.