What MOVIE(s) have you been....seeing? watching?

This Jeff Bridges movie isn't in general release until August 12th! You must be special

I went and saw the new Star Trek with my boys and my movie buddy. It was a fun, sloppy mess. Knowing what I do, I'd say it's worth watching if it comes to the dollar theater or Brewvies in your neighborhood. Just so much stupid and weak comedy in this movie, wrapped in gauzy fan service.

Yeah, it was a super special early preview thing at the Alamo Drafthouse.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople - Ahhhh, so much to like, and early on I thought this was going to be one of the greats, but it kind of lost me in some ways and times, especially with the side story and characters who were trying to find the main characters. I didn't really dig a lot of that. And the main story is essentially a live action version of Up, with a large teenage kid going on an adventure with a cantankerous old widower. So in that sense, it didn't feel that fresh, or even as deep as Up in some respects about that relationship. Still, a lot of wonderful individual moments, and after this and What We Do in the Shadows, I'm definitely following this writer/director closely from now on.

The Lobster - A beautifully kooky satire about being single and the demonization of that, and also an interesting look at how all social groups and organizations have rules. The parallel between the hotel group and the woods group was clever. There are some sweet and funny and genuine moments within, but it's definitely a slower and arty kind of flick, so with that in mind, give it a chance to grab you. As 2016 films with a strange premise go, I think I prefer Swiss Army Man a little bit, but this was also quite entertaining and interesting.

Hey, are my reviews going up? I wrote a review of Hunt for the Wilderpeople yesterday and another one earlier this week. I no longer see the scrolling "Latest articles" appearing above the forums (which is where I usually see the new stuff) and the main page hasn't been updated in some time. Just wondering if it went up.

Grud, can we talk about that Kiwi flick a bit? I mean, I totally loved it and agree that it sort of loses you. But it didn't lose me until the very end (i found the visit to the halfway house a little too easy with how that ties everything up nice and neat). But the whole middle of the movie I loved it. That social worker woman was HILARIOUS too, it's like an even more insane version of Moonrise Kingdom's probably-an-alien-in-real-life Tilda Swindon. Did you lol when the first wild boar is killed? I was alone in the theatre with one other woman and the two of us were cracking up.

That dad doing the selfies was fantastic too. So much great stuff in that flick.

When we watched The Lobster, I must have said, "What the hell are we watching?" like four times. I still enjoyed it though.

Barney, I don't think we're too far off. I loved a lot about it, but ultimately it fell short for me in several ways. The side story with the CPS lady and the other people interacting with Ricky was often amusing, but only mildly so, and also seemed a bit cartoonish and a little bit different tone than the rest, and I didn't find those other hunter guys engaging at all. The first 20 of so minutes are wonderful, and some of the rest of it is, too, but I felt let down a bit by everything in general after that first part.

Oh man I loved the hunters. When they told them to put their weapons down when they were only holding their dinner plates. "Put them down!!!" and they all throw down their dinners, lol

What about Murray as Psycho Bob? He was cartoonish until he spoke and then his lines and jibber jabber were just so Hilarious...

I was so let down by the last sequence in the half-assed house and even the junkyard shooting that I agree took away from the smartness of the movie, but I still felt great watching it from start to finish.

Also I feel like they flubbed the reveal with the ashes. That should have had more impact than putting down the dog.

Anyway I can't get enough of those Kiwi accents. It's like that entire civilization was bred for comedy

Oh and when they were hiding from the black clad special forces behind the tree stump and Bush I was totally thinking, "this is hilarious how much this looks like the Hobbits hiding from the Nazgul on the East Road. " and then Ricky says just that ! To which I wondered if that was the only reason those police were all dressed in black for the entire film, lol

Suicide Squad wasn't quite the shitshow I was expecting based on the reviews, but it was genuinely low-mediocre. After squirming through the first fifteen minutes or so, which pretty much literally involve one character telling the backstories of the villains to another character, I settled down to have a decent time. There were some places where the audience laughed as intended and a few places where an intended laugh just fell flat. The plot slides along. The music choices are often obvious and cliched. There's some squandered potential here for sure. I can't solidly recommend it, but it wasn't maddening like sitting through X-Men Apocalypse was.

Grudunza wrote: Barney, I don't think we're too far off. I loved a lot about it, but ultimately it fell short for me in several ways. The side story with the CPS lady and the other people interacting with Ricky was often amusing, but only mildly so, and also seemed a bit cartoonish and a little bit different tone than the rest, and I didn't find those other hunter guys engaging at all. The first 20 of so minutes are wonderful, and some of the rest of it is, too, but I felt let down a bit by everything in general after that first part.

Need to be a Kiwi to understand all of it, just like need to be a Brit to understand many programs made here. Remember we're the small country on the block and do/see things a bit differently (possibly strangely) - after all we revere a contact sport where we smash into each other without pads.

jpat wrote: Suicide Squad wasn't quite the shitshow I was expecting based on the reviews, but it was genuinely low-mediocre. After squirming through the first fifteen minutes or so, which pretty much literally involve one character telling the backstories of the villains to another character, I settled down to have a decent time. There were some places where the audience laughed as intended and a few places where an intended laugh just fell flat. The plot slides along. The music choices are often obvious and cliched. There's some squandered potential here for sure. I can't solidly recommend it, but it wasn't maddening like sitting through X-Men Apocalypse was.

I thought it was pretty bad, with a few minor entertaining moments. Overall it had about 20 characters too many, and 10 flashbacks too many. Agree about the failed laugh lines. Overall it seemed to be trying too hard to be gritty in parts, and stylized in other parts. The characterization was the worst. Complete cardboard, zero development, and then suddenly criminal sociopaths are calling each other their "family" and "friends" and making heroic sacrifices for the good of the world.

The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet - I've been on a home-3D kick lately so when I discovered Jean-Pierre Jeunet had directed a native 3D film I had to see it. Unfortunately even though its in English and takes place in America the only release here has been a 2D home video release. So I got the imported 3D version and gave it a spin. T.S. Spivet is a young boy genius who travels by himself across the country to accept a science award for creating a perpetual motion machine. The movie is quirky and fun with a bit of emotional drama towards the end. The directors visual style (think Amelie) works really well with the 3D and its a shame this movie never got into theaters here or even noticed.

The Infiltrator is exactly what you want from a Brian Cranston crime vehicle. True story of a customs agent infiltrating the financial side of Pablo Escobar's organization. The fun thing about this is, as an undercover agent, Cranston gets to play both sides of good/bad. Hearkens back to some of the best times in Breaking Bad where he's trying to make things work and barely pulling it off. Some nicely tense scenes throughout and I thought the performances were great across the board, including John Leguizamo and Benjamin Bratt.

Netflix is killing it right now. My girls and I just watched their version of The Little Prince, and it is amazing!

I loved the way they framed the traditional tale within a modern setting, interestingly depicted with a girl and her demanding mother who move next door to the Aviator. The CGI animation for the modern side of it is done well-enough, if not spectacularly, but it especially works well to show off the stunningly beautiful stop-motion animation for the Little Prince parts, which the story bounces between.

Jeff Bridges is perfect as the old Aviator, and check out this voice cast: Rachel McAdams, Albert Brooks, Ricky Gervais, Paul Rudd, James Franco, Benicio del Toro, Paul Giamatti. Also, music by Hans Zimmer. Seriously, it is top notch, and had me tearing up a few times and charmed throughout.

The only shortcomings are that at 1:45 it’s just a bit long, and some of the CGI characters aren’t as unique or well-designed as others (for example, one character seems like a rip-off of the food critic from Ratatouille). But overall, it is wonderful.

Oh good, I was hoping the next movie with my little girl wasn't going to be Secret Life of Pets. I'm glad

Hey doesn't look like Pixar will nab the Oscars this year for animated Dory. I'm hoping for Zootopia

Anybody see Pete's Dragon and/or Cafe Society yet? Those are my next two to see. I think I'll bring Emily to Pete's Dragon later on today. I remember really hating the original when I was a kid. I remember there being cruelty in it