Movie Talk

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Want to talk about movies? Do it here. (Though most likely it’ll just be me talking to myself the whole time.)

MOVIE TALK

Mini-reviews of 4-star movies may appear once in a while, but for the most part, anything to do with movies (and some TV shows) will show up in the comments of this post.

About Phillip

Phillip Cairns is a beekeeper in St. John's, Newfoundland, who writes about beekeeping at mudsongs.org.

43 Replies to “Movie Talk”

  1. I just saw The Last Station with Christopher Plummer playing Leo Tolstoy and it’s in my top 10 of 2009 releases. It might not be an epic movie, but by the time you get to the end of it, you know and feel for all the characters and the final scene brings it all together so potently — what a good movie. I don’t see many stories out of Hollywood that are as thoughtfully written and down to earth.

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  2. We finally watched “Word Play”. John Stewart and Bill Clinton doing crossword puzzles in ink! Since we are both puzzle nerds we enjoyed it immensely. I can understand why most people would rather have their teeth drilled but I would watch it again. We do the Universal puzzle to warm up and then the NYTimes puzzle every morning of our lives. We finish with a sudoku of 3-star or above.

    Wednesday I did the NYTimes puzzle in 10 minutes. Today it took 53. I will say in our defense that we are eating breakfast, drinking coffee and sometimes answering the phone while we work on them. We are not just trying to beat the clock. We are just trying to fill in all the blanks without resorting to google. NYTimes puzzles start out easiest on Mon. getting more difficult through the week with the hardest one being the Saturday puzzle. The Sunday puzzle is a long Wed. puzzle.

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  3. Funny (odd), I usually love period movies. I didn’t like “Last Station”. I thought they took short cuts with minor details that, to me, make or break this type of movie. See “Gosford Park” to see period piece as art form. Every person doing some business is actually DOING THAT BUSINESS.

    Last Station showed some reapers…standing in one spot and swinging their scyths back and forth with no result to vegetation and they weren’t moving. Reapers walk slowly, grass falls. The scene where two old women were doing laundry in the yard rang very false. The scene where the Missus broke all the plates. When it opened I thought “why are they sitting where they are, why are all the places set”. The answer of course was so she could break the damn dishes. And you know that the movie is not achieving its goal if you are parsing the scene set-up and not lost in the story.

    I didn’t start to care about the people until the last 15 minutes of the movie. I thought the death scene was very moving.

    After thinking and talking about it, I think the movie failed in that it didn’t make clear to us Tolstoy’s past and the way he was revered in Russia and the dramatic change that came over him as he faced his last years. I knew these things, but it still seemed to cheap a shot to concentrate on the young lovers and focus on him. The lovers had no chemistry so I didn’t buy their story. Give me more about why his daughter was willing to go along with the scam, why his wife was so upset…

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  4. The most interesting parts of “Wordplay” for me were the non-celebrity interviews. Using famous people to make at topic more compelling is lazy filmmaking. I don’t do crosswords. I enjoyed the doc, but it didn’t strike a chord with me. (I love watching spelling bees though.)

    I didn’t know anything about Tolstoy’s life, the Tolstoyan movement, that period in time, etc., so all the inaccurate details in “The Last Station” didn’t make any difference to me. Whenever I start noticing flaws in a film within the first 10 minutes, it’s all downhill from there. My mind gets into nitpicking mode and it’s game over. I didn’t have any problem believing what I was seeing in “The Last Station” though. The cast was excellent all around and the story was well-constructed. It worked on me, though I don’t entirely disagree with your comments. I see where you’re coming from

    The opening titles told us about Tolstoy’s past and what was happening in his life at that time, so they didn’t have to cover that ground. And I can see why; it’s all in the quote from the Tolstoy at the beginning: “Everything that I understand, I understand only because I love.” That’s the core of the story. Then we’re presented with young love next to Tolstoy’s relationship with his wife, and his wife is so eager to encourage the love affair because she knows what joy it brings to living. She’s just in love with love. The relationship between the young lovers was rushed and not fully developed, but they got naked and the point was made. Good enough.

    And then that final scene at the train station. Bam. What a hit.

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  5. I watched Magicians last night and laughed out loud all the way through it. It stars the two guys from the BBC comedy Peep Show who have such an unusual sense of humour that sometimes they don’t hit the bullseye (but at least they try) and the rest of the time I have to press the pause button because I’m laughing so hard I don’t want to miss anything. The movie about two rivalling magicians may not be filled with wall-to-wall jokes like Peep Show, but anyone who likes the TV show will probably like the movie too.

    I also watched Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown starring Sean Penn as a Django Reinhardt styled guitarist during the Depression. It’s not as boring as I thought it was the first time I saw it 10 years ago, and it’s not all that bad, but you might have to appreciate Woody’s Allen sensibilities to get into it. It plays more like a straight bio than a comedy, so it’s kind of funny and kind of not, but as with all of Allen’s period movies, it’s got a great look.

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  6. I said, “Of the 6 nominated movies I managed to see, “The Hurt Locker” shook me the most. It gets my vote for best picture, directing and editing.” And for the first time ever, something I said actually happened on the Academy Awards. I also said, “I’d like to see “Avatar” win for special FX and nothing else. It looks great, but it’s so dumb, that lack of respect for a good story shouldn’t be rewarded.” And I was pretty much correct about that too. It somehow won the cinematography award, which seems wrong for a movie that’s 95% CGI, but at least James Cameron didn’t get to hold the award for best picture and tell us, “I see you.”

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  7. I have to agree with about the best picture/best director. I would have been happy had “Precious” won. Sandra Bullock gave the best speech. I enjoyed Steve/Alec. Can we just do away with big production numbers at the Oscars? What did Sean Penn say at the end and does anybody care?

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  8. I finished the 10-part HBO mini-series Band of Brothers today after watching an episode every day for about two weeks. I didn’t think much of it during the first episode that features “Ross” from the TV show “Friends” (and that’s my only complaint), but it gets better after he leaves. The show follows a bunch of guys through basic training during WWII, their deployment on D-Day and all the battles they went through until the end of the war in Europe. It’s intense, and for me, educational. It made the soldier’s perspective on the war experience more vivid than anything I’ve seen before. I felt scared for them. I would have been a Section 8 after D-Day.

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  9. I am a HUGE “Band of Brothers” fan. I just started watching it about 2 months ago and I’ve read all about them on the internet after watching the show. Winters is still alive! He’s 92-3 and lives in Pennsylvania. This series is so good and, as you say, educational that I think it should be required viewing in HS history. Speilberg’s “The Pacific” debuts next week.

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  10. I saw Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and began to fall asleep 15 minutes into it. Some of the CGI creatures and landscapes are visually impressive, but that’s it. And the 3-D effects are unnecessary (I would have preferred a regular screening). I might have walked out (or at least taken a good nap) if I’d gone to see it alone. Jenny liked it, but it didn’t grab me at all.

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  11. I attempted to watch Man From Earth but had to give up after five minutes. It features some ex-Star Trek and TV actors, and looks and feels like it was shot over a weekend on video with no lights and no rehearsals. Even though the guy from Greatest American Hero is in it, and I had low expectations, I had to pass. So I watched 3 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers instead.

    The 1956 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a B-quality movie that’s creepy and fun. Fall asleep and your body is cloned in a big pod outside your bedroom window or down in the basement. Then you’re dead and replaced by the clone with no emotion. “Come on and join us.” No, run! I saw this movie about 20 years ago and thought it was boring, but I got into it this time, relating to it as a story about non-conformity (originally it was supposed to scare Americans into not becoming Communists).

    I almost fell asleep watching the 1978 version starring Donald Sutherland. Compared to the original, it’s boring. It doesn’t develop the story as well, and the ending is silly. It could have worked as a movie that’s so bad it’s good, but it doesn’t.

    The 2007 version, however, is so bad that it’s good. It stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig and it’s the same story: don’t fall asleep or you’re a goner. I had a lot of fun watching it. It’s one scene after another of Nicole Kidman and her son running all over the place trying to blend in with all the other clones while doing everything they can not to become one. And it has a much better ending than the lame ’70s version.

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  12. Green Zone (aka Freddy’s Revenge) is a seen-it-all-before action movie with Matt Damon that has him looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and not finding any. Shaky camera, fast edits, fast pace — nothing wrong with any of it, but it’s forgettable.

    I also watched Slugs about 10 minutes at a time during my lunches for the past week or so — and I enjoyed it. It’s one of the B-est of B-movies I’ve ever seen. Killer slugs terrorize a small town. Total camp.

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  13. I re-watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid last night. It may not be a great movie, but it’s a fun and playful western that’s well-directed, well-acted and looks great. Robert Redford and Paul Newman are a couple of wise-cracking train & bank robbers who end up spending half the movie running from a posse, trying not to get killed or arrested. It’s not fast-paced, the soundtrack is dated and the story is pointless, but there’s lots of swashbuckling fist fights, gun fights, explosions and chase scenes on horseback — what the old folks call a delightful entertainment. The dialogue and chemistry between Newman and Redford keeps it all afloat.

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  14. A few movies I’ve seen recently:

    Tampopo (Dandelion) — It’s a bizarre, uneven but funny Japanese movie about some guys helping a woman in Tokyo create the best noodle stand ever. There are about a dozen side stories that have no connection at all to the main story except they’re about food: people using food creatively during sex; a wife who dies while preparing the family meal and the father insists everyone finish the food while it’s still hot; another guy gets shot in the street and tells a story about eating wild boar just before he dies. And it’s all mixed together in various films styles from westerns to musicals. I’m not sure what to think of it, but it’s entertaining.

    Léolo is another odd movie that’s charming and tragic and beautiful all at once. It’s a nostalgic / anti-nostalgic look at a boy growing up with his strange family in Montréal. I’ll just quote Roger Ebert: “Leolo is an enchanting, disgusting, romantic, depressing, hilarious, tragic movie, and it is quite original — one of the year’s best. I have never seen one like it before. It cannot be assigned a category, or described in terms of other films. I felt alive when I was watching it. If you are one of those lonely film lovers who used to attend foreign films, who used to seek out the offbeat and the challenging, and who has given up on movies because they all seem the same, crawl out of your bunker and go to see this one. It will remind you that movies can be wonderful.”

    I also saw On the Waterfront with Marlon Brando playing a washed up boxer working on the docks, a tough guy but a good guy who wants to do the right thing, but doing the right thing means he’ll get the crap beat out of him by the guys in the corrupt longshoremans union. Excellent performances and a compelling story. The kind of movie that can be viewed every couple years and get better with each viewing.

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  15. I saw my first Marx Brothers movie a few days ago, A Night at the Opera, and I liked it. It was more like watching a show than a movie — it has funny acrobatic scenes, musicals segments and lots of silly and clever dialogue. Even when they’re not telling jokes, it’s funny just to look at them.

    I also watched the first 3 episodes of “The Pacific,” from the same people who made “Band of Brothers.” So far, it’s not as good. It’s almost the opposite of “Band of Brothers” in that it’s predictable and sentimental and feels more like fiction. The production values are excellent, but I’m just not buying into it like it did with “Band of Brothers.”

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  16. I’ve only watched the first 3 episodes of Treme (pronounced Tremé) and I know it’s going to be the best series I’ll watch this year. It’s about some musicians and other residents of New Orleans trying to get on with their lives 3 months after Hurricane Katrina — produced by the same people who created “The Wire” and man are they good. It’s worth watching just for the music. I thought I’d wait for the DVDs and watch the series all at once like I did with “The Wire,” but once I saw the first episode, I couldn’t stop. I’ll be watching it every week until the season ends in June. I’ll say more about it then.

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  17. It’s Complicated stars Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin as a rich divorced couple with grown kids who after 10 years of separation have an affair with each other that seems wonderful but inevitably complicates their lives. I usually can’t stand these stupid romantic comedies, and had I gone to a theatre to see this one, I would have walked out after the first 30 minutes. It was like watching that inane Sally Field and Ally McBeal show where they all sit around the supper table in their beautiful house and share their shallow thoughts with each other. There are a couple scenes of Meryl Streep gabbing with her girlfriends that should have been cut from the movie. Those were the worst. But anyway, as much as I hated everyone in the movie for the first half hour, once the story got going and Alec Baldwin had a chance to be Alec Baldwin, it was fun because he’s funny. So as a rental, or a movie you can watch while doing something else, it’s fine. It’s entertaining. And it’s a “Mom” movie. My mother-in-law would enjoy it.

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  18. I watched the last episode of the HBO mini-series, The Pacific, yesterday. I’ll stand by my initial impression: It’s not on the same level as Band of Brothers. The production value is fine, but it lacks the visceral, emotional connection to the characters and their experiences that made “Band of Brothers” feel so real and immediate.

    “Band of Brothers” is essential viewing for anyone who wants to see what WWII foot soldiers went through in Europe. “The Pacific” aims to achieve the same kind of realism, but it falls short because it focuses on two main characters, and the first guy isn’t all that interesting and the actor can’t carry the role. It felt like a made-for-TV special, too nostalgic and melodramatic. It’s still worth a look, I suppose, as a history lesson. It’s just not as memorable as “Band of Brothers.”

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  19. I just got back from seeing Splice, a science fiction movie about two of the dumbest scientists in movie history who create a human/who-knows-what hybrid that walks on hooves, has a stinger in its tail, sprouts wings and then tries to kill everyone. It’s a freakish, unpleasant, torture-porn type of movie. I can’t think of a single reason to recommend it, unless you like that kind of crap. What a waste of time. ZERO STARS.

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  20. A couple DVDs I recently purchased and watched again after seeing them in the theatres this past year:

    Fantastic Mr. Fox — I’m still only giving this one 3 out 4 stars, but it’s probably going to go up to 4 someday because, although I don’t love every minute of it, it’s worth watching more than once (like most of Wes Anderson’s movies) because there’s nothing out there like it. The stop-motion animation is fantastic. All the animals are perfectly voiced; they establish more character in the first few lines of each character than most movies do in an hour. I don’t know if it’s a kids movie, but it’s funny. And the DVD bonus material is fun and fascinating too.

    Where The Wild Things Are captures much of the spirit and look of the original illustrated kids book by Maurice Sendak, but all the characters are deeply unhappy, even the wild things — they have a lot of unresolved issues. That aspect of the movie is done well. You feel so much for these poor guys, and the movie doesn’t offer any lame only-in-the-movies resolution. The movie ends and everyone still has a lot problems they need to work out. And because of that unhappiness that pervades every scene in the movie, I’m not sure how many kids are really going to dig it. When everyone’s having fun, it is a blast. Great fun. Eat it up. Rejoice. But anyone expecting it to be exactly like the book will be disappointed. I’d watch it alone to see if it’s appropriate for small kids (it might not be). The movie is also similar to “Fantastic Mr Fox” in that there’s nothing out there like it. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’ll probably give it 4 out of 4 stars some day.

    20 years from now, people will still be watching these movies and loving them.

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  21. I finished watching the first 10-episode season of Tremé and it’s excellent. Not much of a story, but just hanging out in the Tremé neighbourhood of New Orleans is fun.

    I also saw Toy Story 3 in 3D at a theatre and was moderately entertained, which is what I can say about the first two movies in the series. And don’t waste your money on a 3D screening if you don’t have to. It’s not worth the extra cash.

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  22. I saw two movies in a theatre today.

    Inception — One of the few science fiction movies from the past 20 years that isn’t ruined by a stupid ending. That alone is an accomplishment. It feels somewhat like a heist movie that takes place in people’s dreams. I’ll watch it again when it comes out on DVD and probably appreciate it more and give it a 4 out of 4 stars rating. It’s not epic science fiction, but it doesn’t fall into “sci-fi” silliness — it’s worth checking out.

    Predators — A worthy sequel to the original “Predators” from 1987. It’s an entertaining, not-too-gory B-movie that should satisfy most fans of the original movie.

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  23. Despicable Me — A CGI kids movie full of goofy gags kids will enjoy. Most adults will be bored.

    Predator — I rented this after watching the recent sequel. The sequel is better, but the original’s over the top cheese and bravado does hold some entertainment value.

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  24. The Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man is about a physics professor in 1967 who’s life is going down the toilet one piece at a time. Everything in the movie is so well done, any random 2 minutes of “A Serious Man” is more interesting, intelligent and entertaining than most entire movies I’ve seen in the past year. This is filmmaking. And it’s fun.

    Greenberg is directed by the same guy who did “The Squid and the Whale.” He specializes in awkwardly realistic characters who have so many personal issues that they’re just jerks. I liked seeing Ben Stiller in a dramatic role, but I was underwhelmed by the movie. I didn’t love or hate it, but I probably won’t watch it again.

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  26. I snuck off to inception…as I do enjoy science fiction….you hit it right on phillip…I felt more like I was in a heist movie and despite trying to get over leinardo…and page.. I just could not…in terms of casting they did not work for me…although alwasys delighted to see mr. caine…I know this is going to sound silly but I walked out of the theatre pining for bladerunner…of course I was in a science fiction mood this week as i was reading some ellison short stories jody had sent me…I think that having seen so many movies I just expect too much…the ending while predictable..and okay..simply screamed cynically to me..sequel…

    I must admit I am suprised by the predator rating…I had not even considered this with my limited time left here on the planet…

    I really liked Mr. Fox…was fun to watch with the kids…speaking of which..I may watch empire of the sun with them…I have to go re watch it…I remember liking it..and really enjoyed the book…I am trying to find a copy of the chocolate war…my kids will be tired of all these quirky movies….

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  27. “Inception” is the first movie I’ve seen in theatres this summer that I’ve had any interest in. Everything else I went to because I had nothing better to do — escapism. “Inception” is also the best science fiction movie I’ve seen since Moon. It’s not sci-fi garbage or even hard science fiction that turns stupid in the last act like “Sunshine.” So by default, if you like science fiction, it’s worth a look. And the ending doesn’t set up a sequel. It could, but come on, I don’t think that’s what they’re going for.

    Ridley Scott’s prequel to “Alien” will be coming out in a couple years. If that movie sucks (and it might, because although Ridley Scott is a big time successful director, he’s never been able to match “Alien” or even “Bladerunner,” which is flawed but still pretty damn good) — then it’s going to be a sad day for science fiction movies. Not many people know how to do them right.

    “Predators” is the kind of movie that benefits from running commentary — that is, people should yell out at the screen at all the stupid things the characters are up to. You have to laugh out loud at that kind of silliness, but I enjoyed it more than say “Toy Story 3”

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  28. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a Swedish thriller about a reporter who’s hired to investigate the mystery of a girl who went missing 40 years ago. With the help from a girl with a dragon tattoo, he uncovers some seriously sinister happenings. Anyone disturbed by something as light as “Silence of the Lambs” might want to steer clear of this one. It contains more than a few unpleasant scenes that are unsettling because they seem so plausible. But the mystery is well-plotted and engaging because the clues aren’t just a bunch of red herrings that could lead to anything. The movie builds to a finale that’s worth the wait. Well done.

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  29. I saw Piranha 3D last night because a friend who is in town for a short time wanted to see it thinking it would be a fun B-movie along the lines of Deep Blue Sea, but it’s not. Instead of a parody of dumb sea monster movies, it’s just another dumb sea monster movie, one that’s not even so bad it’s good. Deep Blue Sea is a masterpiece of modern cinema next to this.

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  30. REC is scary through-the-video-camera type movie about a reporter following some fire fighters on a night call to an apartment building where it turns out a virus is turning the tenants into man-eating zombies. Not exactly original but it works. Remade in America as “Quarantine.”

    I don’t know how, but I managed to watch all 6 seasons of the TV series, Lost — twice. I enjoyed the series more the second time because I knew I could fast-forward through all the flashbacks and any scenes that take place off the island (with the exception of scenes that involve Desmond and Daniel and maybe the last few episodes of the series). I don’t highly recommend watching “Lost.” It’s disposable entertainment that could have been great had it been on HBO where they could have made every episode count (at least 50% of the storyline is irrelevant, as are many of the characters, even some characters who make it to the very last episode). Seriously bad soap opera level acting kills much of the drama, too much is left unexplained for no other reason than to create tension (which gets annoying after awhile), and half the people look like Calvin Klein models — the show is far from perfect. But it’s fun trying to figure out what the hell is going on half the time. Don’t expect all to be explained in the end, and pay attention to Desmond the most. His story is the best anyway.

    BBC’s “Life” is “Planet Earth – The Sequel” and almost just a good and worth watching. One or two episodes are sort of ho-hum, but most of it will blow your mind.

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  31. Taxidermia is grotesque and sickening, which may be hilarious to some viewers, but the novelty doesn’t take long to wear off as one gets older. Here’s the IMDb summation: “Gyorgy Palfi’s grotesque tale of three generations of men, including an obese speed eater, an embalmer of gigantic cats, and a man who shoots fire out of his penis.” A wonderful date movie.

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  32. I re-watched Martin Scorsese’s 1991 Cape Fear re-make while eating supper in the living for the past couple nights. A brief shot of someone getting a piece of their face bit off goes a bit too far, but that’s as gruesome as it gets. Otherwise, it’s a creepy but never-too-creepy thriller about an ex-con stalking the family of a lawyer who cost him 14 years in prison. Scorsese has a lot of fun with swinging, twisting camera movements and other unusual shots. Robert DeNiro as the stalker gives an over the top performance that makes the movie more entertaining than unsettling. The Simpsons parody is dead-on.

    I also saw the action movie Salt starring Angelina Jolie as a super spy on the run who jumps off bridges and moving cars three or four times, easy, blows stuff up, punches and kicks the crap out everyone and doesn’t stop running ever, not even at the end. Everything happens too fast to notice the plot, but there’s enough to keep it moving. I wish I’d seen it in a theatre. Angelina Jolie can act, too, and manages to bring credibility to the character in the most unbelievable situations. It’s the best action movie I’ve seen for a long time.

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  33. The American may superficially seem like another quiet and contained George Clooney Oscar contender like “Michael Clayton” and “Up In The Air,” but those movies were just practice runs for “The American.” Clooney has striped his performance down to the bare essentials. The effect is intriguing and at times startling. It took me for a ride from the beginning to the very last frame. “The American” may be the most well-crafted movie I’ve seen in the past decade. That’s all I’m going to say about it. That’s all you need to know. It’s a good movie.

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  34. The Town is Ben Affleck’s second time in the director’s chair. It’s a good movie but it’s not on the same level his first movie, Gone Baby Gone, which is one of the best movies of 2007. It’s about a bank robber in Boston who wants to get out of the business but can’t — the kind of story that’s been told many times. It could have been better if the story wasn’t so predictable and if Affleck wasn’t the star, but it’s still a half-decent movie that shows that Affleck knows how to make intelligent, gritty dramas. If he keeps at it like this, he’s only going to get better as a director.

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  35. The Pillars of The Earth — I watched this TiVo recorded 8-part mini-series over 3 days just before going to bed (in bed on my netbook) and enjoyed it more than Lord of The Rings. It’s not fantasy, but it’s full of knights in armour, sword fights, battles, corrupt kings and queens — that whole scene. It’s about a guy who tries to build a cathedral in a small town in England during the 12th century, but the powers that be keep getting in the way. 8 episodes is the perfect length for a series. It doesn’t drag on, all the scenes are significant, and there’s not much to take track of. Great story of good vs evil. Characters are introduced and you know BAD GUY or GOOD GUY. At times the politics and back stabbing can seem convoluted, but it always boils down to, “They don’t like that guy, so they’re going to attack him.” Some blood, but no gore. It’s dramatic and engaging to the point where you want the bad guys to get it and the good guys to live happily ever after. And it’s only 8 episodes, so go for it.

    I’ll put this comments up as post too, because I know nobody ever reads these comments.

    Tron — I’ve only seen bits and pieces of “Tron” over the years and I always thought the video game was the lamest game ever. I read a review from TimeOut that stated the video game is better than the movie. It is. What a piece of junk, though I’m sure 12 year old boys in 1982 loved it, then went home and played their Ataris. (The smart kids when home and played their VIC-20s.)

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  36. The Social Network tells the story of the guy who created Facebook. He’s a computer geek who would never have a girlfriend if he wasn’t a billionaire, and he knows it. Did he steal the idea for Facebook or was it his own creation? Who cares? “The Social Network” may be well directed and well acted, but I wasn’t engaged by it.

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  38. Unstoppable is a waste of time. I nearly fell asleep in the theatre. An insult to half decent popcorn action flicks like Salt. Rent “Speed” instead. That’s about a bus that’s out of control instead of a train, but it also have plenty of other explosive action scenes and it’s silly enough to enjoy and not take seriously. I’m not sure if “Unstoppable” has any action scenes. It has some fast editing, but quick cuts and jerky camera moves can’t make up for a lack action.

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  39. 127 Hours is a true story about a rock climber whose arm gets stuck under a rock and he eventually has to cut it off with a dull knife. A well made tension-filled movie with about 5 minutes of the most realistic gore of a guy cutting his arm off that made the person I saw the movie with feel a bit nauseous.

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    • I have no interested in any of the Saw movies either. “127 Hours” ain’t even close to crap like that, though. It only has those few minutes of gore, but within the context of the story, as simple as the story is, the gore isn’t exploitive — but it’s hard to look at. Overall, it’s not a bad flick, though I’m not sure what I got out of it. I suppose it’s an inspirational story. The guy didn’t lose his mind or panic the whole time. The filmmakers do a good job of making us feel for the guy. It’s a such a serious situation and for most of the movie you feel like you’re stuck down in the rock crevice in the desert with him, lonely and cold and totally screwed.

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  42. I have a soft spot for the old sci-fi. I loved blade runner. It’s the the “Gone with the Wind” of sci-fi movies, and it’s fun to watch again to see where the story writers thought we would be in the year 2019.

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