Movie Discussion Thread

Well, I saw Lucy today.

Overall I thought this movie was really weird. I think someone was watching Discovery Channel and The Matrix while smoking something and this is the result.

The movie tries to be something really deep, but ultimately fails. I think it would have worked better if it was either a) an fun, non-serious action movie (the idea is really cool and would work as a great basis for an action packed sci-fi, or even superhero film) or b) a full out art film with science that is more believable (obviously all the science isn't going to be entirely accurate since the 10% thing is false, but I still think they could have done a better job of making it more accurate).

It's also one of the biggest cases of false advertising I've ever seen. I thought this was going to be more of an action movie, perhaps with Lucy trying to track down the people who gave her the drug in order to prevent it from being accessed by other people, but instead I got something that tries to be a serious art film. The scenes shown in the trailer are literally the only action scenes in the entire movie.

The big problem was just that it took itself too seriously. It wasn't terrible by any means, but after it ended my friends and I all just started laughing because of how ridiculous some of the movie got. Now I love ridiculous in movies, but for the ridiculous to work the movie can't be taking itself seriously.

On the plus side, I enjoyed the acting from Scarlett Johansson. She's very fun to watch, and I hope they make a Black Widow movie. She would do a great job.

Also, just something that confused me, why was this movie rated R? It only cussed maybe once (and not even a bad one), it wasn't that violent, and I didn't feel like there was any explicit sexual content. They did show some weird images, but it wasn't anything worse than one would see on Animal Planet.

The rating is for (according to the ratings people) "strong violence, disturbing images, and sexuality."
Some of the violent imagery was disgusting (I actually covered my eyes for stuff). I can't remember everything to list it (besides, some of it would be spoilers).

If you didn't see it before (which is likely, since I posted it in a game instead of this topic), here's my review of Lucy.

The movie is entertaining to watch (minus the R-rated disturbing images). It had a lot of cool visuals to look at while Scarlett Johansson unlocks her brain capacity. While the idea that we, as humans, only use 10% of our brain has been debunked and is now complete fiction, the concept of being able to control and feel everything in the universe is cool to watch and think about. Scarlett Johansson does a great job in the film (so hopefully, Marvel notices and decides to make a Black Widow movie), and the other actors do a good job too.
But, it got very confusing, very weird, and very "trippy" at the end; trying to explain what happens at 100% capacity. The "science" is, as I said before, just fiction, it's all evolution-based, and it doesn't connect perfectly. Plus, if you've seen the trailer, all the action scenes in the trailer are pretty much all of the action scenes in the movie. And it tries to be an artsy film and on some level it gets there, but at the same time it doesn't because of all the science they throw in and the weird ending.
EDIT: I've heard other reviews say that at the end, it seems like the movie (in a way) tries to go 100% all out and it does fail. It pretty much reaches the point of being ridiculous.
Overall, I say that if you want a Black Widow movie; you're a Scarlett Johansson fan or a Morgan Freeman fan (he doesn't show up in the movie that much though); or you're into science fiction/art-films with a this-hurts-my-brain-to-try-to-figure-how-this-works ending, then go see it if you can (it is, in fact, an R-rated movie, so if you're under 17, get a parent to see it with you). You will be entertained by this movie. But, if you don't care about a Black Widow film and you don't think you'd like the film or you're just not all-that interested, then (if you see it at all) wait for it to come out Netflix or something.

I didn't think the violence was that bad (I've seen a lot worse in PG-13 movies), but maybe I'm just used to violence in movies.

Nice review!

I saw Guardians of the Galaxy tonight! It was excellent! Very funny, very entertaining, and I loved the characters! They had a great team dynamic. I'd definitely recommend it, especially for Marvel fans.

Guardians of the Galaxy was such a good movie! It was way better than I thought it was going to be, and it was so funny! I felt like it had a Star Wars-ish vibe to it, which I really liked. I definitely would recommend it as well, Marvel did a great job bringing in a whole new team to the universe.

I've heard succh bad things about Lucy! I heard better things about Guardian of the Galaxy!

For me, it's not like Lucy is a "bad movie." It just... tried way to hard at the end and fell short (plus had a bit of false advertising on the action front). I would never say that "Scarlett Johansson made a not-so-great movie" or "This here is a not-so-great Scarlett Johansson movie". I would say "Luc Besson made a not-so-great movie" or "This here is a not-so-great Luc Besson movie".

For the most part, I was entertained by the movie. It is, no doubt, NOT the worst movie I've ever seen. It has an interesting premise (within the world of the movie); the actors (especially Scarlett Johansson) do a good job; the fact that this had a "global" feel to it (meaning that only a few characters in the film were American and it took place all around the world) is cool; the visuals were nice to look at; the opening is engaging and interesting how they edited it all together; and if you enjoy more artistic/sci-fy films and enjoy trying to figure out ridiculous and confusing endings, then... you can (I forgot where I was going with that sentence).
It's just that there isn't as much action as you think; the character Lucy isn't relatable after she starts expanding her brain capacity since the knowledge that she gets starts making her less and less human (in a way, turning her into a robot); the "science" behind it was debunked years ago; and the ending tries way too hard and comes off as confusing and ridiculous (even though one part seems to make the film come full circle).

Overall, I say that if you want a Black Widow movie... wait... now I'm just repeating my own review... wait, this whole comment is just rephrasing (plus adding some things) my own review...

Obviously, this movie has its good aspects and its problems, so you make the call whether or not you want to see it. I normally see 2-3 reviews before I go see a film (with the exception of Lucy because I wanted to support a Black Widow film and didn't want any reviews deterring me from doing so), but in the end, I decide how I feel about it since I won't necessarily agree with every review. I might agree about certain things and that'll affect a little bit on how I feel about something (there is sometimes a random occasion that someone's opinion will "open my eyes" and I will change my view on the film), but ultimately, I still decide whether or not I let the bad things about a film out way the things I like about a film.

Whew! That was a mouthful.

By the way, I saw GotG this past weekend. I liked it. It's not my favorite Marvel film (that spot goes to Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and I certainly see its flaws (flaws that were pointed out to me in a review and flaws I'm not willing to get into since I just ranted about another movie's flaws), but I thought it was enjoyable, humorous, and fun (though I'm still ticked-off that a family sitting behind my dad and I brought their talkative 3-year-old to a PG-13 film). Kudos for it getting $94,320,883 at the box office its first weekend and breaking the August record for the biggest weekend opening!

I agree about Lucy. It's definitely not the worst movie I've seen, and I think the acting was very good, as well as a few other aspects of the movie that you mentioned. However, by the end it had just gotten too weird and tried to take itself too seriously.

Tonight I saw The Shining! It was really good! It was extremely creepy, but very exciting! The music and visuals were especially good.

Last summer I did mini reviews of all of the summer movies I saw, and I'd like to make it an end of the summer tradition. Everyone else feel free to put up your reviews of summer movies! I'd love to see what movies everyone liked/disliked.

Godzilla: My summer started off with Godzilla, which was just average. The action was amazing, as was every scene with Godzilla in it, and it was, for the most part, entertaining. My biggest problem with it was that the human characters were very boring. It wouldn't have bothered me as much if they hadn't devoted so much screen time to these characters, which just takes away from the part of the movie everyone actually cares about, Godzilla. In my opinion they should have either made the main characters more interesting or just taken them out altogether and instead made the movie focus on the battle between Godzilla, the other monsters, and the army, which is what everyone wants to see to begin with. I was still entertained by this movie, though, and would recommend it to Godzilla fans or people who like non-serious action movies that are simply entertaining.

X-Men: Days of Future Past: This was an excellent movie, and a stellar installment in the X-Men franchise. It had a great story, great action, great characters, and some great humor. I loved the development that the characters got, especially Mystique and Professor X. I feel like this movie also handled the time travel plot very well, which is often a hard thing to pull off. Some problems I had were that there was not enough focus on some smaller characters (especially Kitty, who played a huge role in the comic book, but didn't do much here) and there were a few plot holes, though the movie does a good job of explaining some of them, and for the rest it doesn't really matter with the way the movie ends. This is definitely one of the best X-Men movies, and it makes me look forward to what is ahead for the X-Men franchise. I would recommend it to anyone who likes X-Men, Marvel, or superheroes/sci-fi/time travel. Some of it may be confusing if you have not seen the other X-Men movies, though.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Another outstanding Marvel movie. They have really outdone themselves this year. I like the development that Peter and Gwen got, and I thought their relationship was developed very well. You truly feel like these characters love each other, which is something I never felt from the romance in the original Spider-Man movies. I also like how Peter respects Gwen's choice to go to England and doesn't try to force her to stay. I also liked the villains in this movie, and there was some incredible action. The 3D was amazing, but even if you didn't see this in 3D I think it still looks impressive. You truly feel like you are swinging around the city with Spider-Man. There is a lot of good humor, and a very emotional ending. Bring tissues. Another thing that really stood out to me was the music. A problem with this movie is that it tries to balance too many plots at once, but I still think it does a good enough job at it. This was a great movie, one of the better Spider-Man movies, in my opinion. I'd definitely recommend it to Spider-Man fans and fans of Marvel and superhero movies.

How to Train Your Dragon 2: This movie is a wonderful experience from start to finish. The most outstanding part is the visuals. They simply blow me away. The animation is absolutely breathtaking, from the characters, to the unique designs for the dragons, to the magnificent flying sequences and scenery. The animators really capture every single detail, even very subtle things like a tiny bit of facial hair on the main character that you wouldn't notice unless it is up close. The story was good too and I liked the development of Hiccup, Toothless, and Hiccup's parents. Some problems I had were that some of the secondary characters didn't get much development and the villain could have been expanded on, but it was still a very enjoyable movie that lives up to the high standard set by the first one. I would recommend it to anyone. This is a movie I think just about everyone can enjoy, but if you are a fan of animation then I would highly recommend you see this because this is some of the best animation out there.

Edge of Tomorrow: This one was a pleasant surprise. I hadn't heard much about it until it hit theaters, but I decided to check it out and I am very glad I did. The idea is very intriguing and the story holds your interest the whole way through. There were many times when I was on the edge of my seat. The action is fantastic and this is another movie that looks amazing in 3D. I also really liked the characters, which is rare for me in a sci-fi action film such as this. Usually they focus more on the action, but this film made room for both action and character development, and excelled at both. My criticisms are that the ending was a little confusing at first and some of the romance stuff seemed a bit out of place, but there wasn't very much focus on it at all so I'm ok with it. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes sci-fi and action.

Maleficent: This was another pleasant surprise. I didn't really want to see this movie at first, but it ended up totally exceeding my expectations. I like the story and the new take on Sleeping Beauty. I never got into the original as a kid, but I always thought Maleficent's story would be much more interesting than the prince or princess's story, so I'm very glad they got to give some backstory to a very interesting character. The acting from Angelina Jolie is spot on. It's not a perfect movie, but it is a very enjoyable one and I would recommend it to people of all ages. This would make a good family film.

Lucy: This was my only disappointment from this summer. I gave my thoughts on it earlier so I won't say much here. The premise is interesting but the movie just gets too weird. It was falsely advertised as an action film when it isn't. Some of the science is incorrect, which would be fine if it was an action film, but this film tries to take itself seriously, which just doesn't work. One of the things I did enjoy, however, was Scarlett Johansson's acting. I would be hesitant to recommend this movie, but some people might still enjoy it. The idea is interesting, so if you like to think or you like weird things you would probably like this. If you are expecting an action movie, however, save your money.

Guardians of the Galaxy: What a fantastic way to finish off the summer! This movie was an absolute joy to watch! It was full of heart, along with good characters, humor, and visuals. I really loved all of the characters and they each get a moment to shine. They also work very well as a group and you really route for this group of misfits. The humor was also fantastic. I've seen it twice and laughed just as hard the second time as I did the first. Another thing that stands out is the music, which is just plain awesome. Some parts were a bit cliche, but it works in this film and everything else is so outstanding that you don't really mind. The best word to describe this movie is fun. It's just plain fun and it makes you feel good to watch. I would recommend it to anyone, even if you don't know much about superheroes or haven't seen any other Marvel movies. I think this is a movie that everyone can enjoy.

Overall I thought this was a very good summer for movies. There weren't as many movies that I was interested in watching as there have been in past summers, but for the most part the movies I did watch were very good. My favorite movie of the summer was Guardians of the Galaxy and my least favorite was Lucy.

What about everyone else? Which movies did you see? Any favorites or least favorites?

I saw Aliens last night (the second Alien movie). It was so awesome!!! I'm just going to crown Ripley queen of all heroines, because she is amazing. I loved Vasquez too! I'm so glad I watched this one (and the first).

I watched Torn Curtain Saturday night with my dad. It was a 1966 Alfred Hitchcock movie starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. It's very good and very intense at times. I'm not going to spoil the plot for you since I had to figure out what this movie was about while watching it (and doing so was entertaining). The only thing I'll say is that it's NOT a horror film like Psycho or The Birds (just in case you don't like horror films).

I'll have to check it out! I've seen Psycho and I keep meaning to check out some of his other movies (both horror and non-horror movies). I rented Rear Window the other day and plan on watching it soon.

I have a box-collection of his movies that my dad gave me for Christmas last year (even though I'm just now watching some of the movies on it because we're trying to get some movies off our DVR).

I heard Rear Window is good! Castle did an episode like that (according to my dad) and even referenced it, but I don't know the ending of the movie, so I'm looking forward to watching it when I watch some more movies on our DVR and get rid of them so they don't take up so much space.

I know the feeling! My DVR and Netflix list are both flooded right now!

I remember my mom mentioning that Castle episode! I can't wait to see Rear Window, as well as some of Hitchcock's other work! He is such a wonderful filmmaker!

I just saw Big Hero 6, and I absolutely loved it!!! I would definitely recommend it to everyone here! It was such a heart warming film! It's like the ultimate feel good movie. All of the characters were awesome, and the humor was really awesome too. I was amazed at how much emotion they were able to pack in. I think the animation is really what does it. It makes you feel everything that the characters are going through. Anyways, it was awesome, and I would definitely recommend it! Also, be sure to stay until the end of the credits!

I want to see this so badly, it's not even funny. However, I'm probably going to have to wait 'till Thanksgiving or later to see it because I'm at school and the next time I go home before Thanksgiving, my Dad and I have already planned to see Interstellar (we both heard it's REALLY good), and there isn't enough time that weekend to see that and Big Hero 6... sigh... so many good movies, so little time (and money since tickets cost so much)

I know what you mean! I wanted to go see Interstellar also but I chose Big Hero 6 instead because a friend and I have been talking about it for a long time. I hope to see Interstellar eventually, though!

I hope that you get to see Big Hero 6 soon! I think you'll really like it!

I just got back from seeing Big Hero 6! It was really good and funny and a lot more mature than I thought it would be. Also, I cried. And darn i should have stayed until the end! I just didn't think there would be anything.

I really really really want to see Big Hero 6! It looks absolutely amazing! I think my siblings and I are going to try to go watch it this week.

My family is also going to go see Saving Christmas. It features Kirk Cameron and it looks like a fantastic film! :3

Awesome! I hope you enjoy both of those!

I'm really starting to get in the mood for Christmas movies!

Ahhh Big Hero 6- where do I even begin?  It was amazing!  The characters were absolutely incredible and the animation was just breathtaking!  It was sad and funny and had so much heart. <3  I also loved the emphasis on science and robotics, and all the characters who show that being smart or 'nerdy' is cool!  I've been wanting to see it again almost since I walked out of the theater!  When we watched it my siblings and I caught an early showing and we were the only three people in there, which made the experience even better. XD  But yeah, I'd definitely say that Big Hero 6 and Bolt tie for #1 in my favorite animated movies <3  I'm kinda obsessed with it right now, honestly

And yes, Christmas movies! My family has a tradition of watching the Muppets Christmas Carol on the night of Thanksgiving, I'm really looking forward to it! <3 What Christmas movies do you girls like?

I'm glad you liked it! That is exactly how I felt about it! It was just such a great movie and so full of emotion and heart! I agree, I loved the focus on science and showing how cool it is to be nerdy! I'm ready to go see it again as well!

Awesome! My favorite Christmas movie of all time is the original animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas. A close second is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (I also love the play and book). I also love Elf and The Year Without a Santa Claus. Also, I watched The Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time around Halloween this year and that has definitely become a favorite of mine for both Halloween and Christmas

I went to see Penguins of Madagascar today. It was ok. It started out good but by the end it sort of deflated. The humor was all right, though, and I really enjoyed the voice acting.

I also watched Little Shop of Horrors tonight, which was awesome! I love the music! I was also extremely impressed with the puppetry on Audrey II (which I believe was done by Frank Oz). I wish they used more special effects like that nowadays instead of relying on CG all the time. I mean, I love CG, but  I feel like it is overused in some movies. I also just appreciate the art of actually building the puppets and stuff.

Are there any movies showing now that you guys are seeing for Christmas?

My family saw the last Hobbit movie over the weekend. It was ok. It was sort of long and honestly they shouldn't have split the story into three movies, but we were still entertained.

I really want to see Into the Woods. I also want to see The Imitation Game but I'm not sure if it is going to be showing anywhere near us. I'll also probably end up seeing Annie.

I saw Into the Woods today. I enjoyed it. It had a good story, good humor, and an extremely solid cast (also great music!). My only complaint would be that it was a bit long, but I still thought it was a good, fun movie.