Last movie you saw.

[George]

Saw The Phantom Menace 3D. I liked the move a lot when it released in '99, and over the years I didn't let the haters get to me. Yes, it has it's problems, but I think the greats totally outweigh the weaknesses. The podrace and the lightsaber duel are awesome movie moments.

The improvements to the movie include a digital Yoda and an extended podrace, and both REALLY help the film.

The 3D was well implemented. Not in your face, but not invisible. The effect created a cool window into the Star Wars universe.

Nice, I might give the film a see. The only thing that bothers me in the Phantom Menace is how boring the characters seem. But I liked the visual effects, it was insane in 1999 standards.

[Barry the Nomad]

going back and seeing the movie after eps 2&3 (and the Clone Wars series, if you're into that) gives a lot more depth to the characters. qui-gon is probably my favorite. shame Mace and Yoda didn't get more screen time in the first one.

Palpatine is great to watch, because the actor gave him all these little smirks and nods towards the fact that he's behind it all (spoiler alert). I like how cocky he is: "I will be Supreme Chancellor..." (gives a wink to the camera).

[max_cady]

I saw The Phantom Menace today and I gotta say, while some of the problems still remain, ie Jar Jar Binks (which honestly he's not as annoying as he seemed), the whole political aspect, which was boring as hell in 1999, but looking at it today it doesn't feel like it drags on all that much and few other questionable issues, such as Jedi Knights having technology to accurately measure (in actual units) how strong one person is with The Force. Some of dialogue can be a little weird, but weird as in, it's dialogue that seems to be as if someone is reading a book rather than actual spoken lines of dialogue.

But during the two and a half hours, none of that actually bothered me. And I think I know why, you see, for years, many fans have dogpiled on the movie, as well as many of the mainstream press and popular culture in general, pop culture in general has lived off as essentially making a parody of Episode I and as such the caricature has lived much longer in the zeitgeist, more than actual movie, when people refer to The Phantom Menace, they don't mean the actual movie, but more the caricature that has been made of it.

Hence, Episode I is just not that bad, quite honestly, it's actually good.

[Barry the Nomad]

George Lucas is a visionary and is one of THE most influential people in Hollywood. People give him shit for writing poor dialogue and altering scenes in his own movies, but they fail to mention that he founded ILM, Skywalker Sound, gives millions to charity, puts just about everything he earns back into the industry. I mean, without the money he invests in film, visual effects would not be what they are today, digital editing would not have been developed as quickly as it was and the concept of a summer blockbuster would not exist.

A-hem. Anyway, that's what I say to anybody who talks shit about Lucas.

But yeah Max, I agree, Phantom Menace gets better with age. The political stuff, which went over my head in '99 makes perfect sense to me now and really doesn't take up as much of the movie as I thought. What confuses me are people who say politics have no place in Star Wars. What the hell? I mean, the title itself has the word "Wars" which by definition is a political conflict. Plus, fans always knew the prequels would chart the creation of the empire and the fall of the republic. A New Hope speaks about both the empire and the fall of the republic. So of course, politics would have to come into play in the prequels. It may not be exciting politics at first, taxation and blockades, but those a smokescreen for the bigger problems to come: the Sith and the Clone Wars.

Really, if it were a drama, it would fail based on the acting and writing, but it's not a drama, it's a space adventure, so the downsides really don't take away from the action. In fact, TPM has some of the best action in the prequels IMO.

[George]

Batman: Under the Red Hood

I won't be posting plot spoilers, but if you have a chance check this out. Seriously, check it out. It was pretty damn good and one of the better DC produced straight to video cartoons. If you haven't checked out Red Hood comics or know his history, you will be in for a treat. Sadly no Netflix streaming. But its pretty cheap on the Amazon.

It is also a graphic novel, if you rather not watch but read.

[CosmicCastaway]

*gives Barry a high five*

You are awesome sir.

[SOUP]

I just watched The Phantom Menace in 3D last night, and I'm right there with Barry on most points.
The movie's strengths really do outweigh the weaknesses. Aside from the podrace, and the best lightsabre fight of the series, the whole political angle is really interesting in retrospect. The set design on Naboo is prett gorgeous too.
I didn't really find the 3D all that effective or noticable though.

Jar Jar still isn't funny, and a few of the CGI effects haven't aged that well (Jabba), but it's a good time at the movies. Even it's flaws aren't as bad as the ones in Attack of the Clones (rocket powered R2-D2, and headless C3PO.

[max_cady]

Wow. I must be going crazy, I saw two movies. One yesterday and one today. And both of 'em are very, very good.

First off, was The Artist.


The Artist

I can see why it's an Oscar contender. As a recreation of the old 1930s silent film it is nearly perfect. It helps in driving the movie's fairly simple plot along. The plot could be pretty much sumarized in one single sheet of paper, but what helps it, is the pitch perfect recreation of that era, you just want to stay in that world regardless of how the plot is going to work out. It is escapism, more... it is an Oscar-worthy one.


Chronicle

20th Century Fox had ventured into the realm of morally confused super-powered characters before. They tried it with Jumper and it failed miserably. Chronicles, on the other hand, is what Jumper should've been. A trio of kids who gain super powers by some sort of freak accident and spend the movie discovering, testing their powers and then starting to figure out, for better or for worse, what to do with them. It's found-footage style approach, is a step-up from other films in this category, the only major downside, is that near the end of the movie, the dreaded shaky-cam starts to take it's toll amid the frenetic action. I strongly advise this one.

[Chaosmaster8753]

Damn, I really wanna see both Chronicle and Arriety... Anyway, I just saw this yesterday:



Might seem a bit standard, but it still has some pretty neat animation and art and might be a better watch compared to the live action Street Fighters (though I haven't and don't really wanna see them.)

[SOUP]

I watched The Woman in Black last night with my girlfriend. She's a big Harry Potter fan, so a new movie with Daniel Radcliffe was pretty much a must see.
It slips into horror movie cliche quite a bit, but still delivers some genuinely creepy moments. People seriously need to avoid haunted houses.

[CosmicCastaway]

I was in the mood for another Bollywood film and I watched Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. It's a really fun film and unlike a lot of Bollywood movies I've seen it isn't an emotional roller-coaster ride and instead focuses on comedy. 
Here's my favorite song from the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m66aEQ3Ssdw

[Barry the Nomad]

Finally got around to seeing Arrietty today!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp2nb9Vq0yY[/youtube]

I enjoyed it. It was a very quiet, slowly paced movie. But that didn't detract from it at all. I really liked the layout of the house, and seeing the same environments from both the real world perspective and the Borrower perspective. The animation was amazing, the backgrounds were beautiful. I wish Dreadful Spiller had more screen time. Heck, I'd watch a spin-off movie starring him being a little hunter killing crickets. Music was excellent, but I didn't like hearing the lyrics in English. I prefer the Japanese version. The instrumental stuff is great no matter the language. Compared to other Ghibli movies, I'd say I liked it more that Ponyo and Howl. It felt like it had much more direction to the story and I really liked the little world it established. Looking forward to the home release so I can see it in Japanese.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7q07dyIsX8[/youtube]

[max_cady]

I'm shocked to find out that John Carter is actually a pretty good movie! Seriously, if nothing, it'll distract you from life's less pleasant moments for a couple of hours.
I liked everything about the story and the mythology, without feeling overwhelmed. It's got some great set-pieces, the music's awesome and John Carter himself is a pretty cool character.

Give it a try, seriously.

[mylifewithsega]

Sadly, the last movie I saw was Red State. Damn good movie. I was shocked to see it was written and directed by Kevin Smith. In the theatre, sadly, it was The Vow. It was entertaining, but nothing special.

[SOUP]

I'm shocked to find out that John Carter is actually a pretty good movie! Seriously, if nothing, it'll distract you from life's less pleasant moments for a couple of hours.
I liked everything about the story and the mythology, without feeling overwhelmed. It's got some great set-pieces, the music's awesome and John Carter himself is a pretty cool character.

Give it a try, seriously.

Thanks for the impressions. I'm hoping to check it out tomorrow night .