Which movies have you watched? xi --- straight to dvd

[Terxpahseyton]

Lucy (2014 67% rotten tomatoes)

Scarlett Johansson "accidentally takes" an overdose of a nootropic drug, and the rest is history.

I absolutely loved this Luc Besson French English language (sic) sci-fi film.

The only flaws with it, of course, are the central premise and the ending. But we can't have everything.

Unlike Lucy, who is everything.

Makes me reconsider watching it. The premise turned me too much off before.
Which, btw, is even more stupid than it already seems.
Not only do we use all of our brain, just not all of it all the time, because that just would get very confusing and incoherent.
It also turns out, that intelligence is not a measure of brain activity in the sense that more activity means more intelligence, but actually the opposite.
Brain scans of people taking IQ tests reveal that those which do better have less active brains while doing so. Because not the sheer amount of activity increases their ability, but the quality of that activity. I.e. their neural paths are simply well designed and have to take less routes to get to the goal.
A real lucy would be utterly mad and <snip>

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[Borachio]

Not only do we use all of our brain, just not all of it all the time, because that just would get very confusing and incoherent.
It also turns out, that intelligence is not a measure of brain activity in the sense that more activity means more intelligence, but actually the opposite.
Brain scans of people taking IQ tests reveal that those which do better have less active brains while doing so. Because not the sheer amount of activity increases their ability, but the quality of that activity. I.e. their neural paths are simply well designed and have to take less routes to get to the goal.
A real lucy would be utterly mad and <snip>

Almost precisely my thoughts as I watched Morgan Freeman prattle on.

Could I help myself shouting at the TV?

No! I couldn't.

I still loved it.

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[Timsup2nothin]

Makes me reconsider watching it. The premise turned me too much off before.
Which, btw, is even more stupid than it already seems.
Not only do we use all of our brain, just not all of it all the time, because that just would get very confusing and incoherent.
It also turns out, that intelligence is not a measure of brain activity in the sense that more activity means more intelligence, but actually the opposite.
Brain scans of people taking IQ tests reveal that those which do better have less active brains while doing so. Because not the sheer amount of activity increases their ability, but the quality of that activity. I.e. their neural paths are simply well designed and have to take less routes to get to the goal.
A real lucy would be utterly mad and <snip>

I have claimed throughout my life to use only one brain cell at a time. Now it turns out I may have been boasting.

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[Borachio]

Child 44 (2015 25% rotten tomatoes)

This is a strange film with a strange plot.

I think I watched about 45 minutes of it without any clue as to what was going on.

And then it settled down to a pretty straight forward crime investigation.

The sense of oppression in Soviet Russia of the 50s was overwhelming, though.

And Tom Hardy's (he of Bronson and Kray twins fame) performance was remarkably convincing.

Well, I dunno.

The film was banned in Russia, though. Which speaks volumes.

 

[civvver]

I saw the Imitation Game about Alan Turing and cracking Enigma. The stuff about how he built a computer and broke enigma was pretty cool, the other stuff about his personal life and persecution and stuff after the war was actually quite boring I thought, even if it was despicable and something the public should be more aware of. Just kind of a dull movie overall.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I saw the Imitation Game about Alan Turing and cracking Enigma. The stuff about how he built a computer and broke enigma was pretty cool, the other stuff about his personal life and persecution and stuff after the war was actually quite boring I thought, even if it was despicable and something the public should be more aware of. Just kind of a dull movie overall.

"Even if it was despicable and something the public should be more aware of" I really can't be bothered seeing a movie about it. I want my persecuted heroic historical figures to be hetero white males.

Personally I thought that film was very moving. The kind of film you can't help thinking about hours, or even days, later.

 

[Borachio]

Yes. I liked it.

I especially liked the bit where they finally manage to crack a code and then immediately realize they can't use the information.

The personal stuff was just tragic. Not really "just". It was... tragic.

 

[Yeekim]

Valerian and the City of thousand Planets.

Went expecting a below average fantasy flick. Found a below average fantasy flick with good CGI and horrible acting.

4/10.
Seriously, the two leads looked so incredibly out of place it wasnt even funny.
Character "Bubble" was the only bright spot of the movie.

 

[civvver]

"Even if it was despicable and something the public should be more aware of" I really can't be bothered seeing a movie about it. I want my persecuted heroic historical figures to be hetero white males.

Personally I thought that film was very moving. The kind of film you can't help thinking about hours, or even days, later.

I'm not sure how you inferred that. I never said that. I just thought it was slow and boring.

 

[Yeekim]

I especially liked the bit where they finally manage to crack a code and then immediately realize they can't use the code.

The part where he got "inspired" to crack the code was super lame though. All I could think of was "so your team of top code-crackers couldn't figure out to look for phrases you'd know to be there till now? Really? Really?".
A good movie though overall.

 

[Takhisis]

I finally got to watch the whole of Dr. Strangelove. When the credits started rolling, well… it triggered a conditioned reflex. I started singing The Ink Spots' Maybe.

 

[Borachio]

That's a good film, imo.

Force Majeure (2014 97% rotten tomatoes)

Swedish "comedy drama". I didn't see much funny in this tale of a family of four on a skiing trip in the French Alps.

Apart from about 30 seconds this film moved at a snail's pace. With us having to suffer quite long shots of people standing silently in line, people filing silently along corridors, and people riding silently on ski-lifts.

But of course this is a Swedish film, so what else should we expect?

The central premise is absolutely stunning, though.

And I found myself thinking "Poor guy!" for this absolutely unsympathetic character.

Still, there you go. The critics seemed to like it.

 

[Disgustipated]

now she's in her sixties.

Well she was a hottie back then. I'm sure I'd still do her.

 

[Synobun]

I saw recommendations on Imgur that said Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind would be a "devastating film to watch if you love someone who doesn't love you or has moved on from you".

That seems to be mostly false. I was about an hour in before giving up. It was just varying scenes of two people who can't stand being around each other in any reasonable capacity. Carrey's character has the emotional output of a rock while Winslet's character is just awful. The worst of the "manic pixie" trope.

The supporting actors, Wood, Ruffalo, and Dunst, were all good in their roles... but that doesn't mean much when the characters themselves are awful. The whole thing was just very bad, and I'm not sure at all how this could be devastating to anyone emotionally.

 

[Borachio]

If you love someone who doesn't love you maybe everything is devastating. Not just a film about it.

 

[Kyriakos]

It is a film with Jim Carrey. Who is an utter pos. Moreover, it isn't among his better films, imo.

 

[Borachio]

Isn't that the film about a mathematical genius?

I liked Carrey in Pet Rescue...no...Animal Hospital...

...what was it?

Vets are us.

Or something.

And I quite liked the one where he wore a green mask. Or fancy shoes maybe.

Gor' dear. What's its name again?

 

[Kyriakos]

Isn't that the film about a mathematical genius?

No, that one has Russel Crowe, of Fighting Round the World fame:

 

[Borachio]

Millions (2004 82% rotten tomatoes)
James Nesbitt is the father of a 9 year old who has a bag filled with money land on his head on day.

This film directed by Danny Boyle is described as a family comedy drama displaying " a subtle blend of innocence and religious fervour".

It was OK. No. I mean it was really OK.

I quite enjoyed it.

And it was quirky, eccentric and very hard to dislike.

 

[Borachio]

In the House (2012 87% rotten tomatoes)

Now, this was a really interesting French film about a teacher who spots that one of his pupils has a talent for writing.

You're never quite sure watching this what's meant to be reality and what's fiction.

It's a very clever film. Occasionally going meta into the nature of fiction.

But if you're looking for blood-soaked machetes, this may not be the film for you.