MOVIE'S 2014

@frimmel:

I am Groot.

Yeah… did Vin Diesel do one take over the phone? Advertising him as a cast member is somewhat disingenuous.

I am in total disagreement with you. GOTG was the most fun I’ve had at the movies in quite awhile. It was funny, and scary, and touching and spoiler

I like stories where the good guys win.

I don’t know how “good” it was because I was too busy enjoying myself and having fun to care and that’s a rare thing for me at the movies these days. (I thought the new “Apes” movie was good and I enjoyed it but fun isn’t really a word I’d use to describe it.)

Diesel did not just give one reading of that line and while it might be tough to hear the difference that’s kinda on you if you didn’t. It had lots of great effects, hot alien chicks, and a minimum of shaky-cam for these days. The soundtrack was really “awesome.”

If you don’t have a stick to far up your bum you’ll probably find it a good time.  :mrgreen:

I am Groot!

@frimmel:

I am in total disagreement with you. GOTG was the most fun I’ve had at the movies in quite awhile. It was funny, and scary, and touching and spoiler

I like stories where the good guys win.

I don’t know how “good” it was because I was too busy enjoying myself and having fun to care and that’s a rare thing for me at the movies these days. (I thought the new “Apes” movie was good and I enjoyed it but fun isn’t really a word I’d use to describe it.)

Diesel did not just give one reading of that line and while it might be tough to hear the difference that’s kinda on you if you didn’t. It had lots of great effects, hot alien chicks, and a minimum of shaky-cam for these days. The soundtrack was really “awesome.”

If you don’t have a stick to far up your bum you’ll probably find it a good time.  :mrgreen:

I am Groot!

Fair enough. It was enjoyable, certainly. Still, I could not help but compare it to my experience seeing the Avengers… the format is very, very similar and intended to be so. Avengers was incredible, very easily the most enjoyable film I have ever seen in a movie theater. It was a unique turn in the bland or dead-serious superhero genre.

Guardians was a deliberate copy of that format, but strung out even further in the whimsical and comedic. Which is fine, it was still enjoyable, as I said. But I just didn’t find it as funny. It did not seem as random and natural as the Avengers, maybe a little more forced and definitely more overt with the funniness.

This is a personal opinion, though I have heard others who have seen the movie say similar things. I am not here to critique a deliberately zany comic book film, just to offer my impression.

As for Vin Diesel, well I stand by my comments. The character Groot was fine, but the voicework could have been done by literally anyone, what with all the digital modification to it. Even if it was intoned differently he still only spoke three different words in the whole movie. Not that Vin Diesel was a poor choice, just that Groot was utterly unrecognizable as Vin Diesel. I suppose they just wanted a celebrity name for the part. It’s not as though they even did any motion capture, I am pretty sure it was just all digital animation.

Oh, forgot about this trailer I saw at Planet of the Apes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGvEmRCWyBo

Could be great or it could be awful. Moses sounds a heck of a lot like Batman.

INTERSTELLAR

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_(film)

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/interstellar-what-we-know-about-christopher-nolans-new-film-so-far-9812983.html

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/matthew-mcconaughey-champions-the-intimacy-and-the-scope-of-interstellar

http://www.wired.com/2014/10/astrophysics-interstellar-black-hole/ - very good article

Need I say more? Haven’t been this excited for a movie since… LOTR Return of the King in 2003???. Taking an hour drive to see in IMAX 70mm. Can. Not. Wait.

Seeing Imax 70mm as well, but the theater I’m seeing it at is a 20 minute subway ride away. November will be a busy month:

Interstellar
Dumb and Dumber To (have serious doubts the Farrelly Brothers and Carrey/Daniels can recapture the magic but I have to see it)
Mockingjay Part I

Also heard great things about Birdman, the Michael Keaton comedy/drama with the meta effect of having a superhero movie pioneer star in a movie about a struggling superhero actor.

@General:

Seeing Imax 70mm as well, but the theater I’m seeing it at is a 20 minute subway ride away. November will be a busy month:

Interstellar
Dumb and Dumber To (have serious doubts the Farrelly Brothers and Carrey/Daniels can recapture the magic but I have to see it)
Mockingjay Part I

Also heard great things about Birdman, the Michael Keaton comedy/drama with the meta effect of having a superhero movie pioneer star in a movie about a struggling superhero actor.

Always liked Michael Keaton. Not sure why.

I am sorry but Dumb and Dumber To looks like the most utterly stupid thing I have seen come out of Hollywood. Granted I am not a Dumb and Dumber fan so I am just not on that bus. But the TV spots make me want to change the channel.

Yep… saw this coming. Will not be going to see the Hobbit.

http://www.londoncitynights.com/2014/12/the-hobbit-battle-of-five-armies-2014.html    (no spoilers - not that there would be any if you have read the book)

The Hobbit should have been two films.

@ABWorsham:

The Hobbit should have been two films.

It isn’t even primarily the length that I have issues with, although I think that contributes a lot to its problems.

“Unbroken” comes out Chrismas day, I’m wondering if this is a war film, or an inspirational drama.

@Young:

“Unbroken” comes out Chrismas day, I’m wondering if this is a war film, or an inspirational drama.

Definitely feels like the latter. Which I think is why my wife actually thought it looked good. She did not say the same about Fury and that was decidedly a war film.

Judging by the previews, seems like the only war action we see is the B-24 being shot out of the sky. Beyond that it is about Zamperini’s life, accomplishments and ordeals as a POW. That can still make a good film certainly, but I would not expect to see much war fighting.

@LHoffman:

@Young:

“Unbroken” comes out Chrismas day, I’m wondering if this is a war film, or an inspirational drama.

Definitely feels like the latter. Which I think is why my wife actually thought it looked good. She did not say the same about Fury and that was decidedly a war film.

Judging by the previews, seems like the only war action we see is the B-24 being shot out of the sky. Beyond that it is about Zamperini’s life, accomplishments and ordeals as a POW. That can still make a good film certainly, but I would not expect to see much war fighting.

I think you’re right on all points, just wanted to know if it was something I could go see with my A&A buddies.

@Young:

I think you’re right on all points, just wanted to know if it was something I could go see with my A&A buddies.

I would think so. Should give you a positive feeling to counter the unredeemed darkness of Fury… if you saw that. That would be good for the Christmas season anyway.

@Young:

@LHoffman:

@Young:

“Unbroken” comes out Chrismas day, I’m wondering if this is a war film, or an inspirational drama.

Definitely feels like the latter. Which I think is why my wife actually thought it looked good. She did not say the same about Fury and that was decidedly a war film.

Judging by the previews, seems like the only war action we see is the B-24 being shot out of the sky. Beyond that it is about Zamperini’s life, accomplishments and ordeals as a POW. That can still make a good film certainly, but I would not expect to see much war fighting.

I think you’re right on all points, just wanted to know if it was something I could go see with my A&A buddies.
**––I have the book. As far as the WW2 content it’s a very good Drama of a man’s personal story of crashing, being captured and then enduring his capture.
----It’s a very inspiring story, set in WW2, but not a true war story per se’.
----The man this true story is based on passed away just this year after being able to see the preview of “his” film story.
----IMHO,…everyone should ‘experience’ this film, even though it’s not your typical war movie.

Tall Paul**

@LHoffman:

@ABWorsham:

The Hobbit should have been two films.

It isn’t even primarily the length that I have issues with, although I think that contributes a lot to its problems.

.
The length of the movie gave director Peter Jackson enough rope to metaphorically hang himself. The love story is terrible and the over dramatic dragon screens would not have played out had only two movies been made.

Although I loved seeing Legolas get his ass kicked.

Haha, well put. The biggest problem is that I just didn’t care about what was at stake in this drawn out trilogy. Part of that is definitely prequel-itis since most of us know how things will set up for the succeeding movies.

They changed they style far too much. I know that The Hobbit is a children’s book, but even Tolkien went back and edited to give continuity to LOTR.

What was a thoughtful and realistic drama in the LOTR films has given way to hollow characters and a fabricated world in The Hobbit, both visually and in terms of the screenplay. It is just so over-done and fake. I can’t stand it. There are few redeeming qualities, such as some of the actors, but unfortunately their talent was mostly wasted.

I never thought The Interview was worth seeing but I can’t stand that some jerks in Pyongyang (or Beijing, more likely) are intimidating theaters into not playing the movie.

Unbroken is another “empire of the sun” style movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092965/