More good movies we've seen.

[FBM]

Killing Them Softly.

[Rum]

Saw Zero Dark 30 last night. I'm not sure it deserves the Oscar nominations frankly. It is quite hard to follow and the first half spends quite a lot of time on CIA 'enhanced interrogation' scenes which are hardly entertainment. But it was refreshingly realistic - almost like a dramatised documentary and the tension is ratcheted up towards the end rather effectively.

[FBM]

It's too made-for-TV-ish for my taste. I distrust that sort of thing as thinly veiled war propaganda secretly funded by the military industry. I didn't even finish watching it.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

It's OH-DARK-THIRTY anyway.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Hansel and Gretel, Witch Hunters. Silly movie. One scene had us both chortling. This is set in the 12th C. or thereabout, but the villagers have glass bottles for milk. And on the ones we see they've tied drawings of missing children.

[Animavore]

Wow! One of the most beautiful, poetic, poignant, melancholic, gripping, dramatic, and romantic films I've seen.

My limestone heart just turned to marble.

[orpheus]

(posted this over at RatSkep, but I'll post it here too, because that's the kind of guy I am tonight.)

Se7en. I first saw it years ago. I'd rented it at a video store (rember those?), because I was in the mood to see a good, exciting thriller. I knew nothing about it, so I was unprepared for how savage and utterly bleak this film is. It left me depressed and gave me nightmares for a long time afterward. 

A few weeks ago I really wanted to see it again. I wasn't sure why; I certainly wasn't eager to put myself through that psychological battering. But I've learned to follow intuitions like this; usually my mind is telling me something. So I ordered the deluxe 2-DVD version from Amazon. 

After watching it again last night - once all the way through and then repeating several parts, I realized that my mind had been telling me something. Certain things about the pacing and structure offered precisely the solutions I needed for some music I'm composing. It's entirely possible that on some level I remembered those aspects from so long ago, and that that's what prompted me to see it again. It's funny how the mind works. 

For those who haven't seen it, I recommend it, it's an excellent film, but be warned - this is not a fun one. Worth seeing several times, though; you cannot catch a lot of subtle things on a first viewing; it's just too shocking and horrifying. Also, it really is quite complex on a number of levels: the look of the film, the editing, the pacing of the script, the music, and of course the acting - excellent performances from Morgan Freeman (what else is new?), Brad Pitt (surprisingly complex and nuanced), and of course the one who plays the killer. (Even though Se7en came out in 1995, there may still be those who haven't yet seen it or heard much about it, so I'm not going to give away this spoiler.)

Just... don't open the box. 

[Ian]

My wife saw Trainspotting for the first time tonight. I think she liked it.

I don't know why I enjoy that movie. Maybe the Scottish accents (I could also watch Brave anytime my kids want to put it on), or the focus on character over plot, or that it came out in the mid-90s when I was in my early 20s like most of the characters and it makes me feel oddly nostalgic, or maybe because it's just a darn good movie.

[hadespussercats]

My wife saw Trainspotting for the first time tonight. I think she liked it.

I don't know why I enjoy that movie. Maybe the Scottish accents (I could also watch Brave anytime my kids want to put it on), or the focus on character over plot, or that it came out in the mid-90s when I was in my early 20s like most of the characters and it makes me feel oddly nostalgic, or maybe because it's just a darn good movie.

Or because it's Ewan at his most beautiful?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

What's the attraction of junkies, if I may ask? I watched as far as the mom watching her baby crawling around a shot-up shack and I had to turn it off.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

We saw "A Good Day to Die Hard" yesterday. Exactly as expected.

[tattuchu]

I've been meaning to pick Trainspotting up for like forever. I like that directer.

Orpheus, thanks for your thoughts on Se7en! I'd always dismissed that film as a rather formulaic thriller, just another one of "those" movies. Plus Freeman is in everything, and he was getting on my nerves. Pitt I love, but only in the right role. I'd always dismissed him until I saw 12 Monkeys. He was hilarious in that, as well as Snatch. There's more to him than I initially thought. But just having him in a film doesn't sell me. But based upon your recommendation, I've just added Se7en to my amazon cart

[macdoc]

mesmerizing...nothing else does justice. Sit close in 3D - it's razor sharp and you want to lose yourself in it.
I don't know how they will make money on it but it's a treasure and breathtaking. Cirque just continues to push the envelope.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

mesmerizing...nothing else does justice. Sit close in 3D - it's razor sharp and you want to lose yourself in it.
I don't know how they will make money on it but it's a treasure and breathtaking. Cirque just continues to push the envelope.

Ayaan and I loved it.

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

Just watched Django Unchained and loved it.
Excellent cast (including Tarrantino himself) with strong performances (even from DiCaprio, whom I usually can't stand).
For me though, the show stealer was Samuel L Jackson (whom I didn't even recognise at first):-

Trigger Warning!!!1! :