I Just Bought Popcorn and a Drink and Now I Have No Money - (movie reviews)

[Reply #400 on:]

Blackfish

One of my favorite movies as a kid was Free Willy, and I went to Sea World once when I was thirteen, and this movie made me feel really bad about both of those things.

Seriously, though, this was a ridiculously engrossing--if not slightly heavy-handed and, you know, myopic-in-its-views--documentary about the morality of locking whales up and how Sea World as a corporation misleads its trainers into thinking that hanging out with 12,000-pound mammals is cool and safe and that the whales are their best friends and would never kill two of them in two separate-yet-eerily-similar incidents spread twenty years apart. Like, at some points former trainers shed literal tears about the conditions in which the whales are kept and how their status as employees at these parks made them complicit in the shoddy treatment of creatures they considered on-par with a family pet--not to mention in the deaths of their colleagues--and it's surprisingly not cringe-worthy or silly or whatever; on the contrary, it is oddly touching.

So, yeah, cool movie. You can watch it on Netflix right now, if you're like me and have nothing more exciting to do on a Saturday night. It is not the worst way to spend 90 minutes of your time.

A

Just came here to review this one. Blackfish literally changed my life. It's inspiring; And it's really awful what these orcas go through. I have never been to Seaworld in my life so far, and, after watching this, I don't plan on ever going. It's already bad enough they're in captivity, (especially considering the fact that most whales are proven to be just as smart, if not more emotionally capable than humans,) but when you counter in all the abuse and all Seaworld's lies, it's shocking and horrific.

10/10

Food, Inc.

An interesting an engrossing look at the food industry, from meat production, to crops, and so on. Meat factory conditions aren't very good, they're overcrowded and yes, contaminated, and sometimes what you think you're getting isn't exactly what you are getting. It also focused a lot on the biggest good corporations in America and how they control the majority of the industry, forcing many farmers to abandon their more natural and healthy ways of meat and crop preparation. It was an interesting watch, and I think I'm way too obsessed with documentaries now.

[Reply #401 on:]

Meat factory conditions aren't very good, they're overcrowded and yes, contaminated, and sometimes what you think you're getting isn't exactly what you are getting.

This is one of the best reasons to go to a traditional butcher and get a proper cut of meat. Not only will the butcher be able to tell you where his stock came from, he'll also be able to give you exactly the part of the animal that you want.

It'll often be prepared right in front of you (or at least if it's been pre-cut, it'll be laid out in front of you for inspection). It'll usually be stored on the premises in a big walk-in freezer, and it's almost always going to have been killed locally (so, you know it hasn't had a 4,000 mile journey before getting to you, and it's fresh). Unless you're dealing with a big chain butcher (like the ones in supermarkets, for example). Then it might just have been flown halfway around the world after having sat in an unrefrigerated warehouse for a week.

It's also not going to be mechanically separated, reproceesed, or industrially-recovered meat. What you see is what you get.

A butcher will be happy to sell you most parts of most animals, and if he doesn't have what you want then he's likely to have the contacts to be able to get it. Or he might be happy to chop up an animal that you provide. Say you've bagged a deer (or found one by the side of the road that got hit by a truck) - take it to a butcher and for a small fee, you can have it properly sliced, diced, and turned from an unwieldy carcass into a freezer-stuffing array of tasty meats.

The reason that factory processing of meat is so profitable and so widespread is that we're all going less and less to the local butcher and more and more to the big supermarket chains who would prefer the homogenised and automated nature of the factory method.

Butchers don't get their stock from the big factory farms that supermarkets use - they're the people who buy smaller amounts, from small-scale farms that are able to produce food less intensively, more naturally, and more humanely. Sure, it might be a little more expensive than getting that not-quite-green-yet six pounds of minced beef which was raised in Texas, killed in the Ukraine, and sliced up at a factory in Singapore as part of a seventeen-ton batch, but it's a hell of a lot nicer.

It's also not propping up a horrifying and monolithic industrial farming system that's slowly turning everything we eat into the same tasteless and possibly harmful mush.

Support your local butcher. Buy a steak today.

[Reply #402 on:]

I just checked, and apparently there are only two butcher shops in my town. One is only a fish market, and the other has some pretty bad reviews that I found. The next closest one is almost an hour away.

The butcher shop has pretty much died in the rural U.S. in favor of grocery chain delis, almost certainly because of the price discrepancy.

[Reply #403 on:]

    Anchorman 2

A good movie that may not focus not its story, but will make you laugh ever second.
Its not meant to be taken seriously and does not try to have some crabby message at the end like most newer comedies.( I'm looking at you Grown ups 1 and 2, and jack and jill)

 A+

   The secret life of walter mitty   

 a beautiful movie about doing something with your life. what could go wrong?
Well apparently movie critics shoving their heads up their butts a they watch a great movie and saying they didn't like it. Everyone i know liked this movie and so did I.
The cinematography in this movie some of the best i've seen and despite two day dream scenes that were unnecessary, there are no flaws in this movie that are not nitpicking.

  A-         

[Reply #404 on:]

Justice League: War
The story tells of the first meeting and team up of the Justice League (Bats, Supes, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Cyborg and Flash and Shazam), who to work together when Darkseid invades Earth, dangdude leave Earth alone.
Engage 30 mins of everyone punching, kicking and lightning-ing Darkseid until he buggers off!
B-

A Time to Kill
Had not seen it before but thought it was great, it's got sweaty shirtless McConaughey, Sam Jackson being totally badass/dramatic, the KKK AND Kevin Spacey! Everybody wins!
A-

Easy A
Emma Stone plays a high school girl who starts to lie about having sex with boys in school for money, a great performance and she is adorable doing it, some good laughs.
B-

[Reply #405 on:]

I thought Stanley Tucci was a standout in Easy A, as good as he is terrifying in Hunger Games....

[Reply #406 on:]

Ender's Game

1 part Harry Potter, 1 part Matrix and the rest is Starship Troopers, including the dodgy fascist morality.  The only way to win is to bash a bullies head in, and commit mass genocide to stop all wars from ever happening.  Then feel a bit bad about it afterwards.....

Really?

6/10

[Reply #407 on:]

Alien

Great film!  True classic, but I will admit that it can be a bit slow at times.  It is pretty atmospheric and very creepy, which I love. I hadn't seen it since I was about 10, so it was nice to check out again.

9/10

Aliens

Not as great, but still enjoyable film!  More action less horror, it does a good job as an action movie, but I still prefer the horror approach.  There are several scenes that I quite enjoyed but vastly prefer the first one.

8/10

[Reply #408 on:]

Despicable Me 2

If you liked the first, you will enjoy the sequel.  It flows very well and the adventure is sufficiently different from the first to keep it from feeling like a re-tread.  In my mind it's a tad sappier at times, which I happened to enjoy.

8/10

[Reply #409 on:]

Enders Game
Some teenager get's promoted a lot to fight the war against the "Bugs"... sorry "Buggers" as they are called in the book (which I haven't read but come on, Orson Scott Card must have been influenced by Heinlans book?), it's almost in prequel territory!
Not particularly interesting.
C

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2
Fun sequel, lots of food puns and a Jurassic Park feel. Nice parody of Steve Jobs too, that guy has the best animated arms I've ever seen!
B+

Thor 2 The Dark World
Thor 2 The Thor-inning, I liked it, probably more than the first, and nice to see a comic book movie outside of the US for once, even if it is dreary old Landin!
B+

Escape Plan
Stallone and Ahnuld in a prison break movie, SOLD!
Not incredible cinema by any means and the geriaction is a bit awkward but good to see them still at it.
C+

A Band Called Death
About a punk band that came before the Ramones, three brothers from Detroit that couldn't get a record deal because of their band name, re-discovered in the last decade (tunes are great!)
If you liked Story of Anvil or Searching For Sugarman you should like this.
B

Frozen
Nice animated film, lots of singing, but dang, that is one funny snowman.
Good work on the comedy snowman guys!
B-

[Reply #410 on:]

The Outsiders (1983)

Movie was rather fast-paced, script strongly resembled the book.

Still heartwarming.
WE'LL DO IT FOR JOHNNY

C+

[Reply #411 on:]

Sunday School Musical

This comes from the great people who brought you "Transmorphers" & "Alien Vs. Hunter".    I rented it with my cousin just for a laugh, and ended up pretty dissapointed.  It wasn't much of anything. it was just kind of bland.  Nothing horribly good or bad happens throughout and it isn't funny in a "So good it's bad" way.  Don't reccommend at all.

1/5

[Reply #412 on:]

The Lego Movie

Hilarious, has some deep meaning at the end. I wouldn't say it would be 2014's greatest movie yet or even throughout the year but it will contend for it.

A-

[Reply #413 on:]

The Lego Movie

Hilarious, has some deep meaning at the end. I wouldn't say it would be 2014's greatest movie yet or even throughout the year but it will contend for it.

A-

When visiting friends, we saw one of the Lego Star Wars movies (it was one of the only movies they had which could play while their little daughter was in the room).
I must admit, despite being a kid movie, they had some really great insider jokes, and some really crazy/stupid stuff kids certainly do not get.

Based on that experience, I am giving the Lego movie serious contemplation.

[Reply #414 on:]

I saw the Lego movie Friday afternoon, and it's a lot of fun

[Reply #415 on:]

The Lego Movie

Hilarious, has some deep meaning at the end. I wouldn't say it would be 2014's greatest movie yet or even throughout the year but it will contend for it.

A-

When visiting friends, we saw one of the Lego Star Wars movies (it was one of the only movies they had which could play while their little daughter was in the room).
I must admit, despite being a kid movie, they had some really great insider jokes, and some really crazy/stupid stuff kids certainly do not get.

Based on that experience, I am giving the Lego movie serious contemplation.

Matter of fact, some of the jokes that were in there, some kids didn't really get them.

[Reply #416 on:]

The Lego Movie was hella fun.

[Reply #417 on:]

Just saw Frozen, wish I hadn't seen spoilers or all the hype, left me feeling like the story wasn't deep enough. The only character I connected with was Anna. Story felt rushed. I did.love the funny moments, and olaf's random lines. Y'all gonna hate me, but I liked Tangled better.

[Reply #418 on:]

Hate is such a strong word. The reason I like Frozen so much is that it feels like a true musical in a way that no other Disney film has managed. You're right that the story isn't very deep, but that's how most musicals are - the story is a vehicle for the songs and the songs tell the story, or at least express our protagonists' emotions.

Tangled has a lot going for it as a movie, most notably a brilliantly hateable bad guy and an animal character that is just plain awesome from his first frame. Sven pales in comparison to Maximus and the Frozen bad guy just doesn't cut it compared to Rapunzel's mum.

But Frozen isn't about a struggle against any sort of evil, it more about the deep emotional connection and love shared by siblings, even estranged ones. Maybe I've made more of a connection at that level because my only brother has lived these last 13 months in Australia and I miss him.

Where Frozen excels over Tangled, or any other Disney film for that matter is in the musical numbers. For me, not a single note is wasted in that every song serves a purpose and each purpose has real meaning - it's quite telling that there are no songs in the last 40 minutes of the film and the reason is that there is no longer a reason for a song.

Not that I would ever criticise Tangled; I love that film, but I prefer Frozen. And I didn't even mention Olaf in my reasons.

[Reply #419 on:]

The Lego Movie

Awesome like everything is but the bit at the end went on a bit too long. B

[Reply #420 on:]

Holy shit, you actually expressed enjoyment of a movie.

[Reply #421 on:]

Holy shit, you actually expressed enjoyment of a movie.

I was totally prepared to ask if she watched it past the 15 min mark, but now I don't have to.

I haven't seen any new movies lately. How boring.

[Reply #422 on:]

I've seen Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick recently. They were alright, I guess. The second movie I definitely enjoyed more than the first.

I also saw Riddick a while ago. A little bit confusing since I didn't really know the storyline since I hadn't properly watched the other two (I only saw snippets of them), but it was ok.

[Reply #423 on:]

No, what? No, the first one is the best, the other ones are meh! Yer doin' it rong!

About Time
When Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) turns 21 and his dad (excellent Bill Nighy) tells him all the men in his family can travel back in time (to a place they have been before), he uses it to find (or re-find) love in Mary (Rachel McAdams), it becomes a bit tricky getting the hang of it.
Excellently touching and funny movie, had a Groundhog Day feel about it.
A-

[Reply #424 on:]

I've seen Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick recently. They were alright, I guess. The second movie I definitely enjoyed more than the first.

I also saw Riddick a while ago. A little bit confusing since I didn't really know the storyline since I hadn't properly watched the other two (I only saw snippets of them), but it was ok.

Watched Riddick today (having already seen "Pitch Black" and "Riddick - Warrior Chronicles"

It was okay, but a tad underdimensioned. It looked a bit like a TV series episode, that was given a bigger budget.  Especially after the more epic Necromonger theme before.

But -all in all- it was an okay Sci Fi flick. Nothing too memorable, but nice and solid.

[Reply #425 on:]

The Lego Movie was funny and kind of good epic comedy with bat-jokes.

[Reply #426 on:]

RoboCop, or RoboCop 2 as my ticket read.  

Pretty good movie!  I don't think that it's perfect or anything, but it's definitely enjoyable and has some pretty good scenes in it.  One of my peraonal favorite moments was the clapping of the entirely white audience when a black character tells Robocop that he's "the right color".  

8.5/10

[Reply #427 on:]

[Reply #428 on:]

One of my peraonal favorite moments was the clapping of the entirely white audience when a black character tells Robocop that he's "the right color".  

Well, if I didn't already think this remake was going to be godawful, you would've just sealed the deal for me there.

[Reply #429 on:]

That line was pretty bad, and I probably would've hated it more if it wasn't for the incredibly odd reaction of most of the audience, but it's pretty much the only one of its kind and it would take a few more of them to ruin the entire movie.

[Reply #430 on:]

The Hunger Games

It was slow and surprisingly non-graphic given the premise (and by the way, I like slow). Anyway, the games were pretty intense and I definitely liked the setting. I wish they did more with the survival aspect, but it was still a very enjoyable film that's put the rest of the series on my radar.

[Reply #431 on:]

Contemplated to Watch Robocop, but it was only availabe in an Imax cineman, meaning that the ticket would cost 4 bucks more than usually.
Also, most of my aquientances visiting that (rather) new cinema complained about a too loud sound in there, and gettting headaches or sometimes even tinnitus during a movie.
Will have to wait for the blueray, I guess.
@TheBPB11 > Out of interest: I hope that the EDs were as dumb as in the original ?

[Reply #432 on:]

Gravity

Holy crap. Holy crapping crap. This was absolutely phenomenal on so many levels I don't even know where to start. The acting, camerawork and use of sound were all beyond anything I've ever seen in a film before, and it had me at the edge of my seat the entire way through (which isn't something that happens often).

I'm giving this one a 10/10 without any second thoughts whatsoever. It's easily one of the, if not the best movie I've ever seen. Good night everyone.

[Reply #433 on:]

I still haven't seen Gravity yet, but seeing as you gave The Hunger Games a good review, I'm going to choose not to listen to you.

[Reply #434 on:]

I still haven't seen Gravity yet, but seeing as you gave The Hunger Games a good review, I'm going to choose not to listen to you.

Gee, well you're mean.

[Reply #435 on:]

The Hunger Games was just a watered down version of Battle Royale, minus the awesomeness.

[Reply #436 on:]

The LEGO Movie

Saw this on the 15th, and I loved it. I'm a big fan of Phil Lord & Chris Miller's work, so the references to Clone High and 21 Jump Street were greatly appreciated. I was shocked to discover the whole thing was animated in CGI; they did a great job of giving everything that stop-motion movement, and some of the visual gags had me grinning in my seat. The movie is visually great on the whole too, plus great voice acting and verbal jokes. The plot was so-so for me, and the part at the end was kind of...I don't know. It seemed too much like

Show spoiler

something done already in Toy Story,

but it was touching and inspiring (to some, I suppose). I hear they're planning to release the sequel in May 2017, I can only hope that Lord & Miller are involved in at least some way, shape or form...

8/10

[Reply #437 on:]

@TheBPB11 > Out of interest: I hope that the EDs were as dumb as in the original ?

They're not as prominent in the film as one might hope.  There's only one real scene with them, so it's kinda hard to tell how dumb they are compared to the originals.

[Reply #438 on:]

I still haven't seen Gravity yet, but seeing as you gave The Hunger Games a good review, I'm going to choose not to listen to you.

I'm not a Hunger Games fan, but Gravity was a great film and you should see it if you can. I don't think I'd go as far as calling it one of the best films ever made, but good it certainly was.

[Reply #439 on:]

The Lego Movie
Ah seeing giant Lego sharks animated on the big screen made me smile... and then there ones with lasers!
Childhood validated!
Excellent sillyness.
A-