Summarize and Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Keith]

The Money Pitt (1986) 7.5/10
A lost gem from the 80s, this feel good comedy is held together partly by a sparky central of Tom Hanks (who was always at his best as phyiscal and yet likeable comic) and the very charming Shelley Long. The pair bring depth to what could have been pretty empity stuffy middle class parts. The set pieces are exciting and the scripts keeps you entertained pretty much all the way through. A film of its time and that is a good thing.

Total Recall (1990) 7.5/10
Classic Arnie action romp, with Verhoeven bringing an edge and intelligence to do justice to Phililp K. Dicks desturbing version. The visually effects and set design are very good and the bad guys ozes with menice. Good to see it again before Hollywood no doubt bucther it with the remake treatment.

 

[Pete]

Kick-Ass 4/5
The perfect mix of Fanboys and Spider-Man, this tongue-in-cheek action comedy thrives on the fact that most of what transpires in it might have happened in the real world. In fact, should a comic book geek ever get the idea to actually don a suit and perform vigilante justice, his or her story may not be too far removed from that of Dave Lizewski, a perfectly normal high-schooler who embarks in a wide-eyed romp in a cape and cowl (or, in this case, a wetsuit and some kitchen gloves) which quickly takes a turn for the dangerous. The fact that Dave is a real kid (as in real-real, not movie-real) only heightens this feeling, simultaneously making this movie a great wish-fulfillment tool for unremarkable males everywhere.

In fact, while much has been made of the violence in this movie, its main strengths lie in the human factor - a point in which Kick-Ass has a lot in common with the similarly controversial Battoru Royaru. The best parts of this movie, much like on the equally great Spider-Man, are spent with Dave, watching him reap the benefits of his claim to fame, then later deal with the consequences. Aaron Johnson's portrayal of the leading nerd is natural enough to make the viewer identify, sympathize and laugh with Lizewski, then applaud him as he acquires the necessary maturity to finish what he started.

Surrounding Johnson are a similarly strong cast of real teenagers, mostly unknown, but uniformly believable and empathetic. It is good, for once, to see a movie where a claim of "I'll be eighteen in eight months!" is uttered by a gangly, awkward, obvious teenager rather than by a perfectly sculpted 28-year-old model. That is the kind of audience Kick-Ass aims for, and that is the audience it resonates with. Everything about this movie, from the car porn to the weapon porn to "FPS mode" and references to YouTube, MySpace and "Lost", seems tailored to appeal to less-than-popular males aged 15-35 - and boy oh boy, does it ever!

There are some flaws of course - minor leaps in logic, a relentlessly hyped piece of equipment which turns out to not be quite that awesome - but nothing that ever detracts from one's overall enjoyment of the movie. Significantly more damage is done by an astonishingly bad performance by Nicolas Cage (as former cop turned vigilante Big Daddy), which makes a strong argument against the use of chemical substances on a public forum. As the notoriously unbalanced actor stutters, shrieks and Christopher Walkens his way through these two hours, the belief that he must - he HAS TO - be on drugs firmly settles into the viewer's mind.

At the end of the day, however, not even Nicky In The Sky With Diamonds can detract from the enjoyment of seeing ordinary people yield very big guns, drive fancy cars, kill bad guys, get the girl of their dreams and save the day. Yes, it's nerd wish-fulfillment porn; but it's damn good nerd wish-fulfillment porn. In fact, at the risk of sounding trite, this movie is, indeed, Kick-Ass.

 

[Keith]

My Cousin Vinny (1992) 8/10
Classic fish out of water comedy, has a string of quick fire and dry gangs and a very charming and colourful plot. Tomei and Pesci have superb celmstry and both play off a fine ensumble cast. A bit of a feel good gem, despite its farcial elements.

 

[The Cork]

Love, Honour and Obey

Great film and funny as fuck. I think you have to be British to truly get the jist of the whole thing though, kinda like Lock Stock. Its a satire on gangster films with a brilliant domestic based cast, ie; Johnny Lee Miller, Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Rhys Ifans among others. In a weird touch, they all go by their real names.

The dark ending was kind of out of place considering how light-hearted the rest of the movie was.

Still, 8/10.

 

[Killswitch]

Maniac Cop - Even though it's a trash movie, I asked myself stuff while watching it. Like, how would people actually react if a maniac cop serial killer started to act at night. Would anyone trust any cop again? Shit would go down on the street. 5/10

 

[Keith]

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) 5.5/10
Very plodding and empity version of the classic fairy tale. Charlize Theron is easily the best thing in it and steals every scene she is in, sadly she is not in the film enough. The effects and visually styles are very good, but the characters and overall story are just poorly written, certain scenes are also too malodramatic. It feels much longer than it actually is.

 

[Keith]

2 Days in New York (2012) 7/10
Follow up to the 2007 black comedy 2 Days in Paris once again with Julie Delpy as director/lead actor, but this time Chris Rock fills the male lead as her new boyfriend, the story follows their lives living his kids in New York on a stressful weekend with her family visiting. Rock proves a very effective foil for Delpy toneing down his act he is both engaging and very funny and charming. Once again the observational comedy is very broad and there is some sharp one liners, but the film peaks in the first half and then struggles to be consisiticy funny or interesting, some of the later jokes are just crude for the shake of it and the central joke is bit over egged. Overall the plot isn't as tight as in the first film, but when its funny it is very funny, and there is still a lot of good insight and there are some sweet moments also.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

Wrath of the Titans 8/10

I really enjoyed this movie. I enjoy a lot of movies most people don't, so I'm content. Anyways, I like they did this one, bringing in Kronos. I just don't like how they ended it really, the movie felt far too short, but the action was still awesome. I'm pretty glad I have a small understanding of all this stuff. All in all, I enjoyed the movie. Zeus and Haydes(sp) kicked fucking ass... That is all.

 

[Keith]

Fast Girls (2012) 6.5/10
Pretty solid sporting movie to tie in with London 2012. It is an engaging rangs to riches tale with a likeable lead, some fine support performances and an exciting visually style, some of the elements of the story are bit rushed and muddled, and to a degree it is very clitched, but taken on its level it is a very up lifting and powerful film.

 

[Pete]

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (US) 3/5
Excellent performances and an interesting story are wasted in an endlessly dragging movie, marked by murky cinematography and a laughable decision to give everyone a Swedish accent - even though most of the actors are American. Snore.

 

[The Hoov]

Ted 8/10
A boy named John wishes for his teddy bear to come to life. His wish comes true and now John (Mark Wahlberg), who is 35, has to deal with the consequences of having a rude, crude and degenerate teddy bear named Ted (Seth MacFarlane, who also wrote and directed this film) as his best friend while also maintaining his relationship with his girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis). The movie is hysterical with tons of hilarious pop-culture references and clever jokes. If you like Family Guy, you'll love it. If you don't, you'll still really enjoy it. The funniest movie I've seen all year.

 

[Keith]

My Summer of Love (2004) 7.5/10
Delicate british drama about two girls (Natalie Press and Emily Blunt) who come from different sides of the social ladder but form a romance over the period of a summer. Their relationship is interuppted by the poorer ones brother (Paddy Constdaine) who is a born again Christian having been an alcohloic. The film unfolds in a very nationalistic, tendy, but disturbing manor, with lovely scerey and colours as well as dreamy music bringing a surreal and scary edge to the atmosphere. Press and Blunt are very convicing giving passionate, well judged performances and making you believe in their desires to be different while also in just how unstable they are. The script is full of ideas about idenlity and how believing in one thing and devoting your life to it can be your undoing, but ultimatly it paints a vivid picture of why the girls reltionship is not heathly and yet maybe the best for both given the alternatives.

 

[Heisenberg]

Ted 8.5/10

Seen this today with a couple friends. Basically what The Hoov said. Hilarious and the movie provided constant laughs, lots more than what the trailer shown. I was afraid the trailer would give too much away but it didn't and the humor in the film was great. Tons of hilarious pop-culture references and clever jokes, and a fair few jokes that not all will understand. And the storyline was very good as well. Movie met my expectations or probably exceeded them by a lot. I liked the ending too. :

 

[The Hoov]

Ted 8.5/10

Seen this today with a couple friends. Basically what The Hoov said. Hilarious and the movie provided constant laughs, lots more than what the trailer shown. I was afraid the trailer would give too much away but it didn't and the humor in the film was great. Tons of hilarious pop-culture references and clever jokes, and a fair few jokes that not all will understand. And the storyline was very good as well. Movie met my expectations or probably exceeded them by a lot. I liked the ending too. :

FLASH! AAAAAAAHHHH! SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE!

 

[Heisenberg]

FLASH! AAAAAAAHHHH! SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE!

Spoiler: S p o i l e r

Rofl. Some parts in particular I found hilarious was the part where he was being hired by the store manager and the lotion part at the checkouts. Oh and the shit cleanup scene.