What Movie Did You Just See?

[lucylew]

My hubby and I are doing dinner and movie date night tonight - and seeing Cabin in the Woods!

[ManNamedTruth]

Big fan of Moon here. Check out Source Code as well, not quite as good but pretty solid.

Here's one to avoid - Running Scared - It was like a bad Tony Scott film (True Romance is good but haven't liked anything else by him). Not really a fan of Paul Walker either.

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

I have no desire to see the movie version, but War Horse the play is excellent. Saw it last month and totally recommend it.

Moon is a near-masterpiece (from David Bowie's kid) and should be mandatory viewing for all fans of cerebral sci-fi.

I can't fucking wait to see The Cabin in the Woods.

I seriously have no idea how war horse was nominated for an oscar.  sure it was kinda pretty but the movie was so fucking cheesy overall.  have no idea why people liked it as much as they did, but that's just me. 

The Divide - nuclear apocalypse, a bunch of people trapped in a bunker, they go crazy and shit.  it was kinda stupid.  it had that peter dude from heroes in it and the original kyle dude from terminator 1.  had potential but went way too far off the deep end for me.  went beyond believable.   

Battle Royale - pretty good, kinda repetitive after awhile tho.  seems like it'd be sweeter than the hunger games, haven't seen it yet tho.

Game Change - Solid HBO flick.  thought the acting was good, didn't think I'd like it but it kept my attention the whole time.

Humans Vs Zombies - I forget what happened in it but there were some zombies and shit.  fairly forgettable.

Mission Impossible 4:  so horrible.  it was sorta fun at first but it was the ultimate mission impossible cliche.  thought the dude from shaun of the dead was funny and the dude from hurt locker was good.  they made tom cruise look like a horrible actor imo. 

[Jaimoe]

I have no desire to see the movie version, but War Horse the play is excellent. Saw it last month and totally recommend it.

Moon is a near-masterpiece (from David Bowie's kid) and should be mandatory viewing for all fans of cerebral sci-fi.

I can't fucking wait to see The Cabin in the Woods.

I seriously have no idea how war horse was nominated for an oscar.  sure it was kinda pretty but the movie was so fucking cheesy overall.  have no idea why people liked it as much as they did, but that's just me. 

The Divide - nuclear apocalypse, a bunch of people trapped in a bunker, they go crazy and shit.  it was kinda stupid.  it had that peter dude from heroes in it and the original kyle dude from terminator 1.  had potential but went way too far off the deep end for me.  went beyond believable.   

Battle Royale - pretty good, kinda repetitive after awhile tho.  seems like it'd be sweeter than the hunger games, haven't seen it yet tho.

Game Change - Solid HBO flick.  thought the acting was good, didn't think I'd like it but it kept my attention the whole time.

Humans Vs Zombies - I forget what happened in it but there were some zombies and shit.  fairly forgettable.

Mission Impossible 4:  so horrible.  it was sorta fun at first but it was the ultimate mission impossible cliche.  thought the dude from shaun of the dead was funny and the dude from hurt locker was good.  they made tom cruise look like a horrible actor imo.

War Horse the play has stunning puppetry and performances, plus they nailed the look of WWI.

Since you've seen Battle Royale (one of my favs of the 2000s), now you must invest more into the greatness and badassedness of Takeshi Beat Kitano (he was the teacher in BR). Tarantino worships him. He has a new gangster film out now called Outrage. Check it out, along with Violent Cop, Sonatine and so on: http://www.allrovi.com/name/takeshi-kitano-p69645

[capt. scotty]

I have no desire to see the movie version, but War Horse the play is excellent. Saw it last month and totally recommend it.

I seriously have no idea how war horse was nominated for an oscar.  sure it was kinda pretty but the movie was so fucking cheesy overall.  have no idea why people liked it as much as they did, but that's just me. 

We seem to agree on a lot of things, I know I was longwinded in my post(s) earlier, but exactly man, what do I say below that is wrong or far off?!

War Horse
So a Spielberg-directed film set in WWI Europe has got to be good, right? Wrong. If you are a 10-14 year old boy you will probably love this movie, if not, there are very few reasons I could recommend seeing it. It starts out slow about a struggling family trying to keep their farm, alongside headscratching actions and over the top dialogue, that is only saved by some nice acting from Peter Mullan. In retrospect, this was probably the strongest portion of the film somehow. After this half hour or so start where the bond between horse and boy is formed, the war starts and the horse is sold to a British Army officer and from there, it is basically about the horse bouncing around Europe during the war from pseudo-owner to the next. The horse is never in one place long enough to provide any connection to the human characters, and that felt like a blatant error to me and made it hard to stay interested in the movie. The middle 60-90 minutes is somehow just as slow as the beginning, except with no character development, and surprisingly little action. When the battle scenes did come late, I found them frantic, poorly shot, and not all that suspenseful. Considering this is a Spielberg movie, that may have been the most surprising disappointment of War Horse. After this, the horse somehow is granted miracle after miracle in a storyline that one would expect in an animated Disney movie, although I did still think it achieved some emotional impact late, as unbelievable as the circumstances may have been. That said, overall this is a movie that provides subpar acting, a wandering storyline, battle action as satisfying as an appetizer at Applebee's, and leaves little for the viewer to really enjoy. This felt like a made for TV movie that was about an hour too long in it's near pointless 2nd Act
1.25/5


Its easy for me to be entertained by a lot of movies, but War Horse getting nom'd for best pic is like the Academy enjoying eating Spielberg's taint.

[capt. scotty]

The Cabin In The Woods
After reading and hearing the early reviews, I was convinced I had to see this now. It only needs 1 word, Awesome. Glad I saw it without seeing the trailer. While Im not sure how much that gave away (heard its more than you'd expect), the few commercials I saw kept it very minimal all things considered. The slow reveal of reasoning behind the organization is timely, and the end result was still surprising and great. Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford were cast perfectly, and after seeing it, I dont think I can picture anyone else in those roles. At first I wasnt sure if I bought into the stoner guy (seemed over the top at first), but he was a great character. Only complaint is that when shit gets chaotic in the end, I wish they extended it an extra 10 minutes somehow, but Im probably getting greedy there. Time will tell if this becomes the horror movie of this era or remembered as much, but it deserves to be. I highly doubt it will be huge on a Saw or Scream level, but it should be. An undoubtable cult classic that I hope gets more recognition now/early. The humor might even outshine the gore/scares...As far as horror goes, an easy...
5/5

[Jaimoe]

You've said nothing wrong and I don't want to see the movie. However, it is based on the Tony-winning play, which is well worth checking out. I know folks that have seen both and the play wins hands down.

[capt. scotty]

You've said nothing wrong and I don't want to see the movie. However, it is based on the Tony-winning play, which is well worth checking out. I know folks that have seen both and the play wins hands down.

I was more responding to Sticky in that post, but regardless Im not a play type of person, and its hard to even imagine how it could translate to a play...The only thing that comes to mind is that a horse wouldn't be involved in an actual play (right?) so in that frame of reference I can see how it would be good/better because it would focus more on the people in the story, which was a big complaint I had with the movie.


Enjoy Cabin In The Woods, I made sure I didnt post any spoilers 

[Jaimoe]

You've said nothing wrong and I don't want to see the movie. However, it is based on the Tony-winning play, which is well worth checking out. I know folks that have seen both and the play wins hands down.

I was more responding to Sticky in that post, but regardless Im not a play type of person, and its hard to even imagine how it could translate to a play...The only thing that comes to mind is that a horse wouldn't be involved in an actual play (right?) so in that frame of reference I can see how it would be good/better because it would focus more on the people in the story, which was a big complaint I had with the movie.


Enjoy Cabin In The Woods, I made sure I didnt post any spoilers 

The horse is the co-star and the emotional focal crux. The puppetry is incredible. The props and puppeteers also nail a German WWI tank. Incredible. I'm only ok with the story, but the overall visuals and the acting in the play make the whole experience pretty rewarding.

[capt. scotty]

You've said nothing wrong and I don't want to see the movie. However, it is based on the Tony-winning play, which is well worth checking out. I know folks that have seen both and the play wins hands down.

I was more responding to Sticky in that post, but regardless Im not a play type of person, and its hard to even imagine how it could translate to a play...The only thing that comes to mind is that a horse wouldn't be involved in an actual play (right?) so in that frame of reference I can see how it would be good/better because it would focus more on the people in the story, which was a big complaint I had with the movie.


Enjoy Cabin In The Woods, I made sure I didnt post any spoilers 

The horse is the co-star and the emotional focal crux. The puppetry is incredible. The props and puppeteers also nail a German WWI tank. Incredible. I'm only ok with the story, but the overall visuals and the acting in the play make the whole experience pretty rewarding.

In all honesty, you make it sound good but my mental imagery cant process that. When you say puppetry and associate it with War Horse, all I can picture is the horse from that show Lamb Chop with Shari Lewis and its even harder to process. Hard for me to picture a play with puppets and me personally enjoying it.

[Jaimoe]

You've said nothing wrong and I don't want to see the movie. However, it is based on the Tony-winning play, which is well worth checking out. I know folks that have seen both and the play wins hands down.

I was more responding to Sticky in that post, but regardless Im not a play type of person, and its hard to even imagine how it could translate to a play...The only thing that comes to mind is that a horse wouldn't be involved in an actual play (right?) so in that frame of reference I can see how it would be good/better because it would focus more on the people in the story, which was a big complaint I had with the movie.


Enjoy Cabin In The Woods, I made sure I didnt post any spoilers 

The horse is the co-star and the emotional focal crux. The puppetry is incredible. The props and puppeteers also nail a German WWI tank. Incredible. I'm only ok with the story, but the overall visuals and the acting in the play make the whole experience pretty rewarding.

In all honesty, you make it sound good but my mental imagery cant process that. When you say puppetry and associate it with War Horse, all I can picture is the horse from that show Lamb Chop with Shari Lewis and its even harder to process. Hard for me to picture a play with puppets and me personally enjoying it.

The horse(s) in the production take around 4 puppeteers each to make them come to life. The horses in question look and act real and are actual sized. Amazing.

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

I have no desire to see the movie version, but War Horse the play is excellent. Saw it last month and totally recommend it.

I seriously have no idea how war horse was nominated for an oscar.  sure it was kinda pretty but the movie was so fucking cheesy overall.  have no idea why people liked it as much as they did, but that's just me. 

We seem to agree on a lot of things, I know I was longwinded in my post(s) earlier, but exactly man, what do I say below that is wrong or far off?!

War Horse
So a Spielberg-directed film set in WWI Europe has got to be good, right? Wrong. If you are a 10-14 year old boy you will probably love this movie, if not, there are very few reasons I could recommend seeing it. It starts out slow about a struggling family trying to keep their farm, alongside headscratching actions and over the top dialogue, that is only saved by some nice acting from Peter Mullan. In retrospect, this was probably the strongest portion of the film somehow. After this half hour or so start where the bond between horse and boy is formed, the war starts and the horse is sold to a British Army officer and from there, it is basically about the horse bouncing around Europe during the war from pseudo-owner to the next. The horse is never in one place long enough to provide any connection to the human characters, and that felt like a blatant error to me and made it hard to stay interested in the movie. The middle 60-90 minutes is somehow just as slow as the beginning, except with no character development, and surprisingly little action. When the battle scenes did come late, I found them frantic, poorly shot, and not all that suspenseful. Considering this is a Spielberg movie, that may have been the most surprising disappointment of War Horse. After this, the horse somehow is granted miracle after miracle in a storyline that one would expect in an animated Disney movie, although I did still think it achieved some emotional impact late, as unbelievable as the circumstances may have been. That said, overall this is a movie that provides subpar acting, a wandering storyline, battle action as satisfying as an appetizer at Applebee's, and leaves little for the viewer to really enjoy. This felt like a made for TV movie that was about an hour too long in it's near pointless 2nd Act
1.25/5


Its easy for me to be entertained by a lot of movies, but War Horse getting nom'd for best pic is like the Academy enjoying eating Spielberg's taint.

yeah that's on point for sure.  when those soldiers go out to help it in the tangled fence, it's like "wtf?" there's no way those guys wouldn't have gotten blasted immediately after stepping out of the bunker.  fuck that white flag.

[capt. scotty]

I have no desire to see the movie version, but War Horse the play is excellent. Saw it last month and totally recommend it.

I seriously have no idea how war horse was nominated for an oscar.  sure it was kinda pretty but the movie was so fucking cheesy overall.  have no idea why people liked it as much as they did, but that's just me. 

We seem to agree on a lot of things, I know I was longwinded in my post(s) earlier, but exactly man, what do I say below that is wrong or far off?!

War Horse
So a Spielberg-directed film set in WWI Europe has got to be good, right? Wrong. If you are a 10-14 year old boy you will probably love this movie, if not, there are very few reasons I could recommend seeing it. It starts out slow about a struggling family trying to keep their farm, alongside headscratching actions and over the top dialogue, that is only saved by some nice acting from Peter Mullan. In retrospect, this was probably the strongest portion of the film somehow. After this half hour or so start where the bond between horse and boy is formed, the war starts and the horse is sold to a British Army officer and from there, it is basically about the horse bouncing around Europe during the war from pseudo-owner to the next. The horse is never in one place long enough to provide any connection to the human characters, and that felt like a blatant error to me and made it hard to stay interested in the movie. The middle 60-90 minutes is somehow just as slow as the beginning, except with no character development, and surprisingly little action. When the battle scenes did come late, I found them frantic, poorly shot, and not all that suspenseful. Considering this is a Spielberg movie, that may have been the most surprising disappointment of War Horse. After this, the horse somehow is granted miracle after miracle in a storyline that one would expect in an animated Disney movie, although I did still think it achieved some emotional impact late, as unbelievable as the circumstances may have been. That said, overall this is a movie that provides subpar acting, a wandering storyline, battle action as satisfying as an appetizer at Applebee's, and leaves little for the viewer to really enjoy. This felt like a made for TV movie that was about an hour too long in it's near pointless 2nd Act
1.25/5


Its easy for me to be entertained by a lot of movies, but War Horse getting nom'd for best pic is like the Academy enjoying eating Spielberg's taint.

yeah that's on point for sure.  when those soldiers go out to help it in the tangled fence, it's like "wtf?" there's no way those guys wouldn't have gotten blasted immediately after stepping out of the bunker.  fuck that white flag.

That and so many other instances where you have to suspend belief. Honestly might be Spielberg's worst movie to date.

[wolof7]

Cabin in the Woods....4/5 stars.

Saw this last night with some of my college buds and 1 other Joss Whedon fan (JW co-wrote and produced). The movie is definitely an homage to the horror genre and is a metacommentary of sorts. It's really funny, funnier than I would have suspected which takes a bit of horror edge out of it but seeing this movie is well worth it and fun, especially in the final act. To give plot points would pretty much give it away so I'll refrain but let's say if you like Evil Dead, Scream, Tucker and Dale Vs Evil, HP Lovecraft, you'll like this movie.

[capt. scotty]

Never thought Id be turned on by watching a wolf makeout session  ;D

[wolof7]

Scotty, totally agree, hot taxidermy makeout scene!

Just saw ur review above. R. Jenkins and B. Whitford were great, as was the stoner-guy who played Topher in JW's 'Dollhouse.' At first his character in that show came off annoying but he definitely stepped it up during the second season. in TCITW he plays the same paranoid nuerotic guy but with weed.

btw, Moon was a great movie, one of the better sci-fi's in a long while.

[lucylew]

The Cabin In The Woods
After reading and hearing the early reviews, I was convinced I had to see this now. It only needs 1 word, Awesome. Glad I saw it without seeing the trailer. While Im not sure how much that gave away (heard its more than you'd expect), the few commercials I saw kept it very minimal all things considered. The slow reveal of reasoning behind the organization is timely, and the end result was still surprising and great. Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford were cast perfectly, and after seeing it, I dont think I can picture anyone else in those roles. At first I wasnt sure if I bought into the stoner guy (seemed over the top at first), but he was a great character. Only complaint is that when shit gets chaotic in the end, I wish they extended it an extra 10 minutes somehow, but Im probably getting greedy there. Time will tell if this becomes the horror movie of this era or remembered as much, but it deserves to be. I highly doubt it will be huge on a Saw or Scream level, but it should be. An undoubtable cult classic that I hope gets more recognition now/early. The humor might even outshine the gore/scares...As far as horror goes, an easy...
5/5

Yep.  Agree with pretty much every word.  Great movie! 

[Tired Eyes]

I saw The Cabin In The Woods on Friday night.  I liked it so much that I saw it again last night.  I will probably see it again before it leaves cinemas.  Fran Kranz (as Marty the stoner) and Kristen Connolly (as Dana the "final girl") were both superb.  Jenkins and Whitford were great too.  This Joss Whedon fan also enjoyed Tom Lenk and Amy Acker (if you ever wondered what evil Fred would be like...now you know).  The cameo near the end by a big star was particularly fun since I wasn't spoiled for it. 
There are interesting threads with people's responses to the film at the following links (spoilers galore...don't read until you've seen it).
First Thread:
http://whedonesque.com/comments/28476
Second Thread:
http://whedonesque.com/comments/28492
This is my early frontrunner for the best film of 2012.

[capt. scotty]

I saw The Cabin In The Woods on Friday night.  I liked it so much that I saw it again last

This is my early frontrunner for the best film of 2012.

I loved it but Im not going that far.

I do think its the best horror/comedy since Scream though, which is saying a lot. a lot.

[dragonboy]

Joss Whedon/Chris Hemsworth double bill this week - Cabin In The Woods last night, Avengers tomorrow...