The Paint.NET users Film/Movies Club.

[minners71]

Saw Looper a while back a great film well worth seeing if you are into intelligent sci-fi.  Hope to see The Hobbit this week not a big fan of LOTR but working in a cinema I have seen little bits and pieces of the Hobbit and was very impressed with the riddle scene (Gollum just looks fantastic ) Just wish my cinema had got its act together and updated its projector firmware to allow 48FPS though

[pyrochild]

The 48FPS had its ups and downs.

It definitely takes getting used to. The friend I went with said she got used to it in about 10 minutes, or before Bilbo even left the Shire. It took me about half the movie to be comfortable with it, and even then certain types of shots still felt weird. Closeups of hands were really odd even after I'd gotten used to everything else.

Wide panning shots were amazing. There were some gorgeous shots over the mountains in LOTR, but the 24fps made them stutter and give me a headache. In Hobbit, equivalent shots were just breathtaking. Unbelievably real.

The high frame rate really highlighted some flaws that would probably not even be noticeable at 24fps (but I'm not buying another movie ticket to find out). CGI that would have been excellent in LOTR was obviously fake in Hobbit. The wolves were convincing except when you could see their legs. The legs were painfully unreal. Makeup was sometimes obvious, like a closeup of Martin Freeman's face. Props looked like props, sets looked like sets, costumes looked like costumes and battles looked like civil war reenactments, especially when slo-mo'd.

There was also some CG that was just plain awful. Azog the pale orc looked like some animation student's first year project. I don't think the 24fps version would be any better here.

If high framerate is going to become the norm (and I hope it does), costume designers, makeup artists, set builders, and especially CG studios are going to have to step up their game.

I am curious to see if the year between the 1st and 2nd movies is going to "reset" my acclimation to the HFR. I don't want to spend the first hour constantly being yanked out of the story again.

[AGJM]

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - it is, hands down, a fantastic film.  It's hard to describe it without giving spoilers, so I wont - but the majority of the film is excellent.  However, there were a few parts that seemed unfitting for the movie, and a few others that left the lore in favor of a joke or two.  If you can get past that, the movie is a gem.  Go see it.  Now.  I'll wait for you here.

[Kemaru]

spoiler alert

I didn't like The Hobbit. I went to see it in 48fps, 00:12 12.12.12 (My friends bought the tickets and they bought one for me as well). For someone who isn't a great fan of Tolkien's epics (although I do admire his commitment to the series and its mythos), the film didn't offer much apart from the breathtaking CGI. I'm not a film snob but I think good films should inspire; The Hobbit did not. It tried too hard to be funny, the pacing was odd and I just couldn't wrap my head around how odd the scene with Radagast and his rabbit-sled was. Action scenes were nicely made though and the scenery was wonderful. And the scene with Gollum, wow. All in all, I can't believe there remains almost 6 hours of Hobbit to be seen.

 

Just my 2 cents. I have to say that my friends who are huge LOTR-enthusiasts loved the film to bits, so maybe I just didn't like it because I wasn't familiar with the plot enough...

Edited January 1, 2013 by Kemaru

[BoltBait]

I finally watched...

The Dark Knight Rises 5/10

Long, boring, laughable fight scenes. Worst of the three. And, that's saying something after the second one.

EDIT: OK, just found this:

That sums it up pretty well.

[HELEN]

@BB: I watched The Dark Knight Rises with my younger sister and I didn't like it at all. They focused more on the bad guys, Batman got beat up so many times. I don't know I didn't like it. The first ones were so much better. And if Batman's a superhero (more or less, right), shouldn't he be portrayed as one?

I just finished watching "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure." I watched it as a kid, I loved it. I watched it now and I loved it. Awesome and funny movie.

[skullbonz]

I saw The Dark Knight Rises and thought it was pretty good and a good start for the next one.

 

Expendables 2 in my opinion was one of the funniest action movies I have seen yet and kept me laughing throughout the whole show. 

 

Total Recall was just plain awesome,much better than the Arnie version.

 

Prometheus ,now that movie is setting up for some really good versions to come.

 

All and all,movie making has stepped up a couple levels in the graphics department and I see many great movies to come as long as they step up the the plots at the same level. Reusing old plots is getting boring and new ideas are needed to keep the future exciting in the movie world.

 

Oh and I will be watching Looper this weekend and also patiently waiting to see Jack Reacher and The Last Stand.    

Edited January 4, 2013 by skullbonz

[BoltBait]

Looper 8/10

I liked this one. I heard complaints from my friends that the movie was too long/slow. But, I enjoyed it.

The special effects were good and the sound track was excellent. The special features on the DVD about the sound track were very interesting too.

[minners71]

I second Looper really enjoyed it

 

I also agree TDKR was an awful film, Batman Begins was and still is my fav of the trilogy Too many plot holes in the other 2 to be enjoyable ( why in the second film did batman take the fall for Harvey dent ? ) that still confuses me to this day.

 

End of Watch ( written by David Ayer who also wrote Training day 8/10 and Harsh Times 9/10 and directed Street Kings 8/10 ) after reading good things about it and being told how great it was by a couple of work colleagues watched it and was disappointed, very mediocre at best with no real stand out performances from any of the lead actors 6/10

[skullbonz]

I saw Looper,not bad but not great either. The whole thing is like a time paradox that got my mind wandering on thoughts of what could happen if time travel was possible. 

 

As for Batman taking the fall,they explained that in the new movie but I didn't get it either. 

[BoltBait]

I watched Jack Reacher last night. I'd give it a 7/10.

Some of the dialogue is a little cheesy, but I was entertained.

[BoltBait]

Just watched...

A Good Day to Die Hard

Meh. 5/10

I only really liked the truck chase at the beginning of the film.

[HELEN]

@BB: So, the Die Hard movie isn't as good as the first movies? 

[BoltBait]

It was the worst of the franchise.

[BoltBait]

Flight (2012). 8/10.

I'm never flying again!

Oh, wai--

I *am* flying in the company jet to AZ last week of March.

[minners71]

I also saw flight and really enjoyed it,would give it a 9/10 also saw Jack Reacher and wasn't expecting to like it but I did 7.5/10

 

2 films I have yet to watch The Hobbit and Zero Dark Thirty will probably try to catch up on them this weekend.

[minners71]

Well tried 2 times to watch the Hobbit and fell asleep both times,a very very slow movie about 1 and a 1/4 hours into and nothing has happened apart from a lot of singing if I had wanted to watch a musical I would of rented Les Miserables.  Would rate it 3/10

 

Zero Dark Thirty - Wasn't expecting too much from this as the last Bigelow film I watched after a lot of praise The Hurt Locker was pretty bad  4/10 (my rating ) but found myself on the edge of my seat at times for this movie.  Had a very realistic feel to it and the end operation was was very intense. 9/10

Edited March 11, 2013 by minners71

[Daniels]

This isn't a big Hollywood film, but if you have a spare half hour, you should watch this short film. It is a spin-off of Edgar Allen Poe's Tell-Tale Heart. WARNING: This is a psychological thriller, that also contains elements of violence. If you're squeamish, don't watch this. It's fine for the average person.  

Edited March 12, 2013 by Daniels

[Kemaru]

Midnight in Paris 3½-4/5 I liked the premise and Owen Wilson. Nice.

 

A Single Man 4½/5 Beautiful and well done.

[BoltBait]

Skyfall 6/10

I'm not much of a James Bond fan, but the movie was ok. I liked Javier Bardem. He was creepy. I liked his character here better than the one he played in No Country for Old Men.

And, of course Naomie Harris was hot.

[BoltBait]

Wreck it Ralph 7/10

[HELEN]

^That's the movie I wanted to watch, but wasn't sure if it was worth it. I might watch it.

 

I watched "The Lorax." Amazing quality and colors. Very nice story. 

[BoltBait]

Olympus has fallen 6/10

G.I. Joe: Retaliation 7/10

[Ego Eram Reputo]

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Loved it. Great comedy with touches of sadness, love, loss and hope. Powerhouse cast are very watchable and the dialog fantastically witty. 8/10.

[Zwicky]

The Intouchables: 7/10, While the story and characters succumb to stereotype, it makes up for it by being a very fun movie, full of heart.

Wreck-It Ralph: 9/10, I absolutely loved this film, the animation and creativity put into it blows my mind. It's right up there with Pixar's great films for me. And the fact Owl City performed the end of credits song was a big plus

Life of Pi: 8/10, Having studied and enjoyed the book at school, I was unsure how Yann Martel's kooky book would translate to a cinematic experience. Ang Lee managed to pull it off, using CGI not just for the blockbuster "wow-factor" but as a device that allowed the story to flow naturally and in a manner very true to the source.