All Things Movie/Documentary Reviews/Recommendations Thread

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We watched The Magic of Bell Isle with Morgan Freeman last night. Nothing spectacular but a fun coming of age and family movie.
 

Anyone seen Fruitvale Station yet? Really powerful. The featurette in the special features is also worth it.
 

We watched American Hustle last night and really enjoyed it-as others have said, it's a slow build, but I got pretty wrapped up in the acting-bravuro performances all around and even though I don't think Lawrence was on screen enough to warrant Best Supporting Actress, wow, is she a talent. Beautiful, but also can act her wonderful a** off. Amy Adams was equally superb-ahh, let's just say all of them were great-Bale, Cooper, Louis CK, Jeremy Renner. Fun film to watch and more full than Wolf of Wall Street, IMO.

Also caught Enough Said recently-really quite enjoyable, adult movie (no, adult doesn't mean porno). Gandolofini is solid, but Julia Louise Dreyfus is a marvel to me-she's in a role that played by just about any other actress I believe I'd find grating and unlikeable, but she pulls it off quite adeptly.

Fruitvale Station is cued and ready to go soon WAG; also have got The Way Way Back on my "watch soon" list.
 




Anyone see Lone Survivor yet? We're thinking of seeing it tonight.
 



Last night we watched Lee Daniels' The Butler and really enjoyed it. Coolhand, I know we've discussed a few times that we both are interested in movies/books about the Civil Rights era in the U.S. in the 60s and that is a fascinating backdrop to this movie, which is loosely based on a true story. I thought Forest Whitaker was fantastic and there were quite a few cameos throughout.

We have "Fruitvale Station" next on our Netflix queue and am really looking forward to watching that.

Go Gophers!!
 



WilliamsArenaGuy said:
Anyone seen Fruitvale Station yet? Really powerful. The featurette in the special features is also worth it.
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We just watched Fruitvale Station - powerful indeed. Really tragic story.

Michael B Jordan is turning into a really good actor.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Anyone see Lone Survivor yet? We're thinking of seeing it tonight.
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I'll respond to my own thread as no one else did.

We went to see Lone Survivor tonight and it was well worth it. Very powerful movie.
 

Just watched Rush. Liked it. Niki Lauda and James Hunt on the Formula One circuit in the mid 70's. Directed by Ron Howard. (Chris Hemsworth really reminds me of Pierce Brosnan.)
 




My wife and I just completed watching the ninth movie of the nine Academy Award Best Picture Nominees, the first time either of us have completed the entire ouevre for a particular year (the perks of limited options and easy pirating in Bangladesh :)). Here's my ranking, FWIW:

1. 12 Years a Slave (No doubt about it-I imagine it'll land as one of the greatest movies ever, it feels like it will live similarly as Schindler's List has. Standout acting, but the cinematography was what stood out for us-the juxtaposition of such natural beauty against the brutality of slavery continues to bounce around in my mind).

2. American Hustle (As I said to my wife, it could have been just another caper movie, but the acting on screen was so sizzling-Cooper, Lawrence, Adams, Bale all knocked it out of the park, with the first three legitimate contenders for their respective acting nominees)

3. Dallas Buyers Club (I understand why McConaughey and Leto are sweeping the best actor/supporting categories leading up to the Oscars. Very interesting story that's made special by the acting/screenplay; similar to AH in that vein).

4. Nebraska (Really surprised that this movie landed here, but has it ever grown on me since we watched it a week ago. It captures a very depressing side of life in the Midwest, yet at the same time it has one of the most satisfying finishes to a movie that I can recall. June Squibb as the mother rocks the screen-I could get behind her winning Best Supporting Actress)

5. Philomena Really well done tearjerker that rises above the fray due to Dame Judi whose character had her child forced into adoption while she was a teenager living in a convent. The underlying subplot around journalism (why we need them and why we hate them) offers a strong subtext to the movie.

6. Captain Phillips (For a long time it was solidly in position #4, but the long arcing storylines of Nebraska and Philomena pushed this down to #6 for me. Standout performances by Hanks and the Somalian actor from Minneapolis up for Best Supporting, Barkhad Abdi propel the movie through the tension of the hijacking of a cargo ship by pirates in 2009.

7. Her (The world needs more Spike Jonze movies-he makes such interesting and thought provoking movies, and Her is certainly no exception. We really enjoyed this movie which presents a world where relationships are able to be replaced by technology. There were several scenes in the movie where I thought, 'we're not that far away from this being reality'.)

8. The Wolf of Wall Street (I really enjoyed TWOWS, but Best Picture? Nah, no way. DiCaprio's great and Jonah Hill is creepy fun, but in comparison to the other contenders, it resembles Gertrude Stein's appraisal of Oakland-there's no there there. We all knew what was coming as soon as DiCaprio's character shows up on screen-he'll hit great heights and then bottom out. Good companion piece with GoodFellas. Too too long at 3 hours-how many scenes with drugs and prostitutes were necessary to get the point across?)

9. Gravity (The only movie we disliked; no, dislike is too mild, we despised this movie. An hour and a half of nothing. I don't have a good track record with space movies, they're just not my thing, but my goodness I'm trying to figure out how this movie was so critically acclaimed.)
 

Saw Nebraska yesterday. Loved it. I have not seen 12 Years or Philomena. I'll rank mine later!
 

I tend to like quirky independent movies. I just saw "Safety Not Guaranteed". It's a fun, goofy movie that reminded me just a little bit of Napoleon Dynamite in its style.
 

coolhandgopher said:
My wife and I just completed watching the ninth movie of the nine Academy Award Best Picture Nominees, the first time either of us have completed the entire ouevre for a particular year (the perks of limited options and easy pirating in Bangladesh :)). Here's my ranking, FWIW:

1. 12 Years a Slave (No doubt about it-I imagine it'll land as one of the greatest movies ever, it feels like it will live similarly as Schindler's List has. Standout acting, but the cinematography was what stood out for us-the juxtaposition of such natural beauty against the brutality of slavery continues to bounce around in my mind).

2. American Hustle (As I said to my wife, it could have been just another caper movie, but the acting on screen was so sizzling-Cooper, Lawrence, Adams, Bale all knocked it out of the park, with the first three legitimate contenders for their respective acting nominees)

3. Dallas Buyers Club (I understand why McConaughey and Leto are sweeping the best actor/supporting categories leading up to the Oscars. Very interesting story that's made special by the acting/screenplay; similar to AH in that vein).

4. Nebraska (Really surprised that this movie landed here, but has it ever grown on me since we watched it a week ago. It captures a very depressing side of life in the Midwest, yet at the same time it has one of the most satisfying finishes to a movie that I can recall. June Squibb as the mother rocks the screen-I could get behind her winning Best Supporting Actress)

5. Philomena Really well done tearjerker that rises above the fray due to Dame Judi whose character had her child forced into adoption while she was a teenager living in a convent. The underlying subplot around journalism (why we need them and why we hate them) offers a strong subtext to the movie.

6. Captain Phillips (For a long time it was solidly in position #4, but the long arcing storylines of Nebraska and Philomena pushed this down to #6 for me. Standout performances by Hanks and the Somalian actor from Minneapolis up for Best Supporting, Barkhad Abdi propel the movie through the tension of the hijacking of a cargo ship by pirates in 2009.

7. Her (The world needs more Spike Jonze movies-he makes such interesting and thought provoking movies, and Her is certainly no exception. We really enjoyed this movie which presents a world where relationships are able to be replaced by technology. There were several scenes in the movie where I thought, 'we're not that far away from this being reality'.)

8. The Wolf of Wall Street (I really enjoyed TWOWS, but Best Picture? Nah, no way. DiCaprio's great and Jonah Hill is creepy fun, but in comparison to the other contenders, it resembles Gertrude Stein's appraisal of Oakland-there's no there there. We all knew what was coming as soon as DiCaprio's character shows up on screen-he'll hit great heights and then bottom out. Good companion piece with GoodFellas. Too too long at 3 hours-how many scenes with drugs and prostitutes were necessary to get the point across?)

9. Gravity (The only movie we disliked; no, dislike is too mild, we despised this movie. An hour and a half of nothing. I don't have a good track record with space movies, they're just not my thing, but my goodness I'm trying to figure out how this movie was so critically acclaimed.)
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Only seen the last two......but I agree with their placement. The Wolf of Wall Street was entertaining, but it was far too long. Scorsese really didn't need three hours. The drug scenes were borderline ridiculous. Didn't need three hours of that.

Gravity........I was really excited to see this. Boring as all hell. Bullock talking to herself basically the entire movie. It was critically acclaimed because it WAS a pretty film. If you had seen it in the theaters, in 3D, you'd agree. The scenes of the shuttle being destroyed were great. Unfortunately, that was only a small part of the movie. The rest was nonsense.
 

Yikes, I've only seen one of those! I thought Captain Phillips and Tom Hanks were good but overrated. Abdi deservedly stole the show.
 

coolhandgopher said:
My wife and I just completed watching the ninth movie of the nine Academy Award Best Picture Nominees, the first time either of us have completed the entire ouevre for a particular year (the perks of limited options and easy pirating in Bangladesh :)). Here's my ranking, FWIW:

1. 12 Years a Slave (No doubt about it-I imagine it'll land as one of the greatest movies ever, it feels like it will live similarly as Schindler's List has. Standout acting, but the cinematography was what stood out for us-the juxtaposition of such natural beauty against the brutality of slavery continues to bounce around in my mind).

2. American Hustle (As I said to my wife, it could have been just another caper movie, but the acting on screen was so sizzling-Cooper, Lawrence, Adams, Bale all knocked it out of the park, with the first three legitimate contenders for their respective acting nominees)

3. Dallas Buyers Club (I understand why McConaughey and Leto are sweeping the best actor/supporting categories leading up to the Oscars. Very interesting story that's made special by the acting/screenplay; similar to AH in that vein).

4. Nebraska (Really surprised that this movie landed here, but has it ever grown on me since we watched it a week ago. It captures a very depressing side of life in the Midwest, yet at the same time it has one of the most satisfying finishes to a movie that I can recall. June Squibb as the mother rocks the screen-I could get behind her winning Best Supporting Actress)

5. Philomena Really well done tearjerker that rises above the fray due to Dame Judi whose character had her child forced into adoption while she was a teenager living in a convent. The underlying subplot around journalism (why we need them and why we hate them) offers a strong subtext to the movie.

6. Captain Phillips (For a long time it was solidly in position #4, but the long arcing storylines of Nebraska and Philomena pushed this down to #6 for me. Standout performances by Hanks and the Somalian actor from Minneapolis up for Best Supporting, Barkhad Abdi propel the movie through the tension of the hijacking of a cargo ship by pirates in 2009.

7. Her (The world needs more Spike Jonze movies-he makes such interesting and thought provoking movies, and Her is certainly no exception. We really enjoyed this movie which presents a world where relationships are able to be replaced by technology. There were several scenes in the movie where I thought, 'we're not that far away from this being reality'.)

8. The Wolf of Wall Street (I really enjoyed TWOWS, but Best Picture? Nah, no way. DiCaprio's great and Jonah Hill is creepy fun, but in comparison to the other contenders, it resembles Gertrude Stein's appraisal of Oakland-there's no there there. We all knew what was coming as soon as DiCaprio's character shows up on screen-he'll hit great heights and then bottom out. Good companion piece with GoodFellas. Too too long at 3 hours-how many scenes with drugs and prostitutes were necessary to get the point across?)

9. Gravity (The only movie we disliked; no, dislike is too mild, we despised this movie. An hour and a half of nothing. I don't have a good track record with space movies, they're just not my thing, but my goodness I'm trying to figure out how this movie was so critically acclaimed.)
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Of your list, I have seen 2, 3, 6, and 8 and I would rank them almost exactly as you have, might even flip 2 and 3. Dallas Buyers Club was really really good, as was American Hustle. Mathew M has become one of my favorites in recent years and he was phenomenal in DBC. Awesome.

I'm not sure I could get the wife to sit through 12 Years or Nebraska, and even I would have to be in the right mood to sit down for them. I'm sure they're very good. Not sure I'll ever have the patience to sit down for "Her"; I'm sure it's decent but the plot seems odd and perhaps more importantly, I've never been a J Phoenix fan really.

The wife and I were both underwhelmed with Wolf of WS. It just didn't really resonate with us. Fairly entertaining, but not close to spectacular.

Not really interested in Gravity and I know nothing about Philomena. We may give it a shot on Blu-Ray.
 

Need to see 12 Years a Slave, obviously. But here is my list so far.

First of all, The Way Way Back was my favorite movie of the year and it is a crime that Sam Rockwell hasn't received any awards love. But oh well...

1. Nebraska. I really liked this movie. I related to so much of it growing up in a small town.

2. Wolf of Wall Street. I liked it better than you guys. Too long, yes, but fabulous entertainment.

3. American Hustle. Saw this the same night as Wolf as a double feature. Liked it a lot, but Wolf is the one that stuck in my head more.

4. Her. I liked it for the uniqueness of it. And it was nice to Jauqiun back again.

5. Captain Phillips. Liked it, but couldn't get into it as much as others I know.

6. Dallas Buyers Club. Saw this when I was just too tired and I kept falling asleep. It's not a fair review because of that, but I don't know that I'd move it up anyway.

7. Gravity. Huge disappointment. Didn't get the hype. Unfortunately, the wife can't handle 3D, so we saw it regular sized, but if that is necessary to enjoy it, the movie must be lacking in too many other areas.
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
Need to see 12 Years a Slave, obviously. But here is my list so far.

First of all, The Way Way Back was my favorite movie of the year and it is a crime that Sam Rockwell hasn't received any awards love. But oh well..
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Haven't seen "The Way Way Back" yet.....but I've heard nothing but good things. I'm going to try and watch it sometime this week. Oh, and if you are a fan of Sam Rockwell, and I'm sure that I've mentioned this movie somewhere in this thread, check out "Moon". There is absolutely no excuse for Rockwell not even being nominated for an Academy Award for his role in this movie.
 


stocker08 said:
Haven't seen "The Way Way Back" yet.....but I've heard nothing but good things. I'm going to try and watch it sometime this week. Oh, and if you are a fan of Sam Rockwell, and I'm sure that I've mentioned this movie somewhere in this thread, check out "Moon". There is absolutely no excuse for Rockwell not even being nominated for an Academy Award for his role in this movie.
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I loved "Moon." For people who think science fiction is a bunch of explosions and murderous hideous aliens, "Moon" might not appeal. But I was glad to see this example of true SciFi. Maybe it helps start a trend.
 

coolhandgopher said:
My wife and I just completed watching the ninth movie of the nine Academy Award Best Picture Nominees, the first time either of us have completed the entire ouevre for a particular year (the perks of limited options and easy pirating in Bangladesh :)). Here's my ranking, FWIW:

1. 12 Years a Slave (No doubt about it-I imagine it'll land as one of the greatest movies ever, it feels like it will live similarly as Schindler's List has. Standout acting, but the cinematography was what stood out for us-the juxtaposition of such natural beauty against the brutality of slavery continues to bounce around in my mind).

Just finished 12 Years A Slave. The despair and hopelessness is portrayed well.

Nebraska is next on my viewing list.
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Watched "No Escape" last night. Why? There's no good answer.
 



Just got done watching The Way Way Back. Good coming of age movie. Really liked the character Sam Rockwell played. Also thought Allison Janney played her role well. Hard for me to take Steve Carell seriously. (I'm posting way too much on this thread.)
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Just got done watching The Way Way Back. Good coming of age movie. Really liked the character Sam Rockwell played. Also thought Allison Janney played her role well. Hard for me to take Steve Carell seriously. (I'm posting way too much on this thread.)
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Carell's versatility amazes me. He's a true actor.

I'm posting way too much on this thread, too.
 


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