Rate The Last Movie You've Seen #12

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A Good Day to Die Hard 7/10

Definitely not the best of the serie. They tried to take on Tchernobyl's history and that was a bit out of their league. Also, nice car racing scene, but Fast & Furious does it way better.

Anyways, it had Bruce Willis in it and that is alone to give the movie a 6 for me. Good thing I like the guy a lot, because it would have had an awful rating otherwise.
 
[MENTION=9613]LyteHouse[/MENTION],

I had high hopes for this movie too. I thought it was pretty good until it fell apart in the 3rd Act. Cyber Samurai WTF?!

Totally. The big reveal villain made zero sense. The whole movie for me was one eye-roll after another. The Silver Samurai in the comics is one of the crime bosses of The Hand, which is sort of this ninja villain group. Why they went the way they did with him in the movie is beyond me.
 
Evil Dead (2013) - 6/10
As far as effects go, this movie is pure awesomeness. Next to no CGI. All effects feel very real. But, as almost always in today's horror movies, the characters are the real problem, which is why it can't touch the original. Nobody in this movie comes even close to Bruce Campbell's charismatic Ash. Character-wise, the best horror movie of recent years is Tucker & Dale vs Evil, in my opinion. Anyway, this movie is really recommendable if you like violent horror movies. And this movie is very, very, very violent.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - 7/10
I remember seeing this as a kid in the theater when it was released. I was so unbelievably scared by the scene in the forest back then. The movie is still pretty cool, although the CGI troll seems kind of dated. But the movie is over 10 years old, so it's understandable.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - 6.5/10
Not as good as the first one, but still entertaining.
 
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - 7/10
It starts really weird, but it gets better. I think some of the magic stuff, like the bus, for example, is a little exaggerated. I like the subtle stuff from the first two movies better. John Williams' score for this is really great.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - 6.8/10
Better than the second one, in my opinion, but not as good as the first and the third one. I didn't like the dark atmosphere, though. Everything was grey and cold and kind of looked the same. I was a little bit disappointed by
Lord Voldemort's first actual appearance. His powers were a kind of underwhelming.
Anyway, all in all, very enjoyable.
 
47 Ronin: 4/10

I was excited to see this movie after seeing a few of the extended trailers at previous films I'd seen in theaters. I have to say though, that I left really, really disappointed. I'm a sucker for ninjas, dragons and fantasy stories (or at least, well-done fantasy stories) and after seeing the visuals I was stoked. The actual finished product however, was a bust.

There was just nothing special or in anyway exceptional about this movie. It travels a number of very well-worn roads and offers nothing new or unique to really distinguish itself. The opening scene is promising, but after that it's just...static. The characters are, at best, bland and forgettable. It's extremely difficult to tell them apart from one another. There's no real character development, and certainly not enough to make me invest in any of the leads. Keanu Reeves' character, in the hands of a more capable actor, had the potential to be somewhat compelling, but instead we're left with a largely unexplored, undeveloped shell of a cliched archetype that you forget as soon as you leave the theater. Reeves' mystical powers are almost completely glossed over, and his mysterious background is pretty much forgotten about as soon as it's mentioned in the first few scenes. The resolution of his background, if you can even call it that, is a waste of what should have been a great moment in the movie, as is the secondary plot point playing around it over the magical swords.

The special effects are also a bit of a letdown. The highlights from the trailer are by far the coolest part of the movie, which is always a danger in films like this I suppose. The only viewing option I was given at the theater was in 3D, and it just felt in the way, which is often the case with movies where 3D just plain isn't needed.

Overall this one felt like a waste. I understand the source material it's (however loosely) adapted from, is as old as any story out there, but there's no spin or unique take on it to make it connectable. It's just dull.
 
Monsieur Lazhar 7/10

A beautiful Quebec movie that was finalist for Best Foreign Language Film at 2012 Oscars. It's about an algerian refugee that takes on the position of teaching students who's last teacher commited suicide (in her class). Very poignant. One of those few Quebec gems that we make once in a while. DIdn't think I'd like that much, but it transfers on film some of the many problems we have as a society.
 
"The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty" based on the short story by James Thurber about a man and his very extreme, adventurous, heroic, daydreams. I read Thurber's story in college Literature, and I saw the original movie with Danny Kaye, and in my opinion the attempt to modernize Thurber's story fell a bit short and Ben Stiller is no Danny Kaye, but it was a rather pleasant way to spend the evening out of the house with my wife.

I'd give the movie an overall 7 of 10
 
Runner-Runner: 5/10

Nothing really special here. I saw this one primarily because I really like gambling movies and I tend to enjoy most of Ben Affleck's stuff. Throw in Justin Timberlake, who I usually find to be a pretty good actor, and I was quite looking forward to Runner-Runner.

Unfortunately, it wasn't very good. Affleck and Timberlake are fine, and are both cast well (it was a neat change seeing Affleck playing the villain of the story), but the plot itself isn't anything special. It borrows pretty heavily from a number of other gambling/casino themed movies, and doesn't really present anything new. It was like the guys putting this movie together just watched Rounders (the gold standard for gambling/poker movies) and decided to lift substantial storytelling techniques from that. Timberlake's narration throughout, and his Matt Damon-lite attempts to connect poker to deeper themes and narratives surrounding life, are, for lack of a better term, rip-offs offs Rounders.

The big drop in quality for me came with the writing, which was a little clunky, and honestly, illogical more than a few times. Timberlake plays a Princeton grad student who is introduced to the viewer as a brilliant finance student and poker whiz. The trouble is that the bulk of his actions throughout the film are, well, pretty dumb, and severely take away any credibility he might have had. He's also more than a little morally ambiguous, so as things progressed I didn't even really consider him a heavy rooting interest.

The big thing? It's forgettable. You won't miss anything here.
 
The Wolverine: Well, it's better than Wolverine: Origins, so there's that...moving on.

The Lone Ranger: I expected to hate this, but it was fun. Didn't take itself too seriously, (Johnny Depp knew to play it for laughs) and the train riding climax was so OTT. Way too much CGI, you really don't need CGI in a western! 7/10

The Conjuring: Better decent creep-fest, apparently based on a true story. The little doll on the cover has nothing to do with the plot though. 8/10

Sinister: Do Not. Watch This. Alone. This was very creepy and it was a dark and stormy night and I had real problems walking through an empty house to my bedroom. Seriously though, this is actually a scary film that uses atmosphere to tell a good story, I saw the twist a mile away though. 9?10
 
The Lone Survivor
8/10. Awesome movie. Lots of gore and lots of swearing, so keep the kiddies (haha, I know I'm pretty young) away from this one!
 
Seven Psychopaths - 8/10

Really great movie. Awesome performances by Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell.
 
Starbuck 8/10
It's the Quebec (and original) version of Delivery Man I know the movie was a flop in the US, but the original is really good and has a great underline. I believe it's the Ken Scott/Patrick Huard duo that made it this good 🙂
 
Road to Perdition - 9/10
One of the best gangster films I have ever seen. Pretty much every thing that is important to me when I watch a movie was great in this. Very good acting, engaging story, great score and the Oscar for best cinematography is very well deserved.
I was also delighted to see Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins) in a short scene with Tom Hanks. 🙂
 
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief 6/10

It was ok, but didn't really grip me, not enough action I think
 
Fuffy Baith
Fuffy Baith
The book is way better but I still like it
12 Years a Slave - 8/10

One of the most powerful movies I've ever seen. I think everyone should watch this movie, just like everyone should watch Schindler's List.
I have only one minor complaint. To me, it kinda didn't feel like twelve years, it felt like a few months or two years or something, but not really twelve.
And since they totally snubbed Tom Hanks at the Oscars this year, I think Chiwetel Ejiofor should win best actor.
 
The Grand Budapest Hotel - 9/10

Absurd, funny, unique, exciting, visually stunning and a brilliant cast. Ralph Fiennes is wonderful 🙂
 
JCoatsworth
JCoatsworth
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Carrie (2013) 8/10-Haven't seen the original in a while, but I liked this one. Chloe Grace-Moretz and Julianne Moore do a great job. It adds new things and the end scene in the gym is better. It's not as slow paced as the original but the first half felt a little too fast. I recommend it but not as a horror movie.
 
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