Recently watched movies!

[jellydonut25]

[XvGojira]

My only real issue with Heisei Rodan's design is that he is so small. It seemed like they were trying to make him just a giant pteranodon, tiny legs and all, instead of a monster pteranodon who could walk through buildings.

[Dr Kain]

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation - This movie was my first time seeing the movie and it was quite enjoyable. It was hilarious, but my god, that family just has the worst luck ever. I'm going to look forward to watching this one again next year as I know there are things I missed out on this time around. I give it an 8/10.

[Benjamin Haines]

Kain, have you seen National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) or European Vacation (1985)? Christmas Vacation is actually the third film to feature the Griswold family (and the last good one).

[lhb412]

A Christmas Carol (1951)

It's just not Christmas until I watch this classic. There are elements of other adaptations I like more, but this is the best all-around movie version.

[Dr Kain]

[klen7]

Just finished Arthur Christmas and Gremlins as our Christmas Eve double feature...next up either Die Hard or Its a Wonderful Life...

[Psycho Soldier]

He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special - Not great, but it's pretty harmless. Skeletor has some good banter with the two kids from Earth. That song the kids sing at the halfway point necessitates the mute button, however. Also, the movie makes fun of the Transformers, but considering which franchise has won the popularity contest, I just end up feeling bad for He-Man et al.

[Dr Kain]

We have watched the HM/SR Xmas special for the last few years, so my g/f asked for us to take a break from it this year. I was cool with that.

Anyway,

Christmas Carol George Scott Version - It has some really great atmosphere and I love their version of Future, but I am not a fan of Marley, Tiny Tim, and Ghost of Xmas Present here. Tiny Tim's handicap is played up way too much and they try to get this really sweet looking kid to amp it up to make the audience feel sorry for him, and it just doesn't work for me. Also, as much as I love David Warner, he is probably my least favorite actor for Bob. The Ghost of Xmas Present is just way too mean spirited, so the times when he is supposed to reuse Scrooge's words against him don't have the same effect to me. Finally, I just find the way they did Marley's Ghost to be lazy as if they did not have the budget to keep him opaque for the entire visit. Oh yeah, and I just don't feel convinced by Scott's sudden change of heart as I do with others like Sim and Carrey. It seems more like he is, "OKay, I'll change because that is what I am supposed to do," rather than it feeling natural. Nevertheless, as I said, the movie does have wonderful atmosphere, music, and it has really great costumes and make up, so I gie it a 7/10 stars.

[Dr Kain]

Big Eyes - Tim Burton has been one of those directors that has stuck around for longer than he should. He had a great run in the late 80s and 90s, but once we hit the 2000s, his movies were more misses than hits. The biggest issue is that his movies are all the same. Well Big Eyes has come out and thankfully it is something far different from what Burton has given us in recent years, but it is still far from spectacular. The movie does a really good job in its pacing, and its story is pretty good, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. The biggest issue with the movie is in Christolph Waltz. He is a fantastic actor, but here he just feels out of place. It seems like he wanted to play the character eccentric like his characters of the past, but because he had to play it like a real person, he was denied to be himself. As such, his talents are not only wasted, but they bring the movie done quite a bit. Amy Adams does do a great job as Margaret though and she does show the passion for the person she is portraying. The ending does seem a little abrupt though, but whatever. It is far from being anything horrible from Burton, but it isn't a movie that can restore my faith in the once grandiose director. Overall, I give it a 6/10 stars. If you are a Burton fan, this movie is a good one time watch. If you want to see a movie based on a real person that I don't think has ever been touched upon before, it is also a good movie to check out. If you don't care about either of those, don't even waste your time with it.

Out of the Past - While this is not my favorite Film Noir I have watched this year, it wasn't bad. It was quite good and I felt like there were a few vibes to Double Indemnity in it. I will admit, I did lose a little bit of what was going on towards the end there, but nothing too terrible. Overall, I give it a 7/10.

[jellydonut25]

[Dr Kain]

Nope.

[Dr Kain]

Sleepaway Camp - This movie was just flat out dumb. Now maybe it was because Watchmojo talked about the twist in several of their videos so the impact was lost, but I was more bored than anything else. It seemed like it was just trying to be Friday the 13th, but only half as good as that. Not only that, but the lack of any actual climax also took me out of it. I give ita 5/10 stars.

[lhb412]

Godzilla vs. Megalon

"What a stupid thing to do!"

^That's what's Snoopy's saying on that shirt the kid's wearing the whole movie. Never really thought of pausing and zooming to check that before.

[Dr Kain]

The Third Man - Despite being about maybe 15 minutes too long, this movie was very good. I loved the mystery going on either though it was predictable. THe music and characters were good, but it was the cinematography and that amazing chase scene in the sewer that really drove this movie for me. That was nothing short of spectacular. I give it a 7/10 stars.

[Destroysall]

Exodus, Gods and Kings

Ok, so I appreciate what Scott was trying to do here but I must ask, what the hell was he really thinking when he made this? The acting (while I love Bale and plenty of the other cast) was all poor. They had this stupid accent going throughout the movie that was irritable. Little to no character development (except for Rameses, who was the most interesting character). Some of the changes he made really took out the emotion from the story. It was just a complete mess and I felt like he just wanted another excuse to do a period piece. The music was perhaps the best thing of the film..

3/10 stars...

The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

Saw this twice! Loved it!! I still believe Jackson could have finished The Hobbit with two movies, but I ain't complaining, I had fun all the way! I wonder what he's gonna do next?!

7/10 stars...

[Psycho Soldier]

John Carter - I was entertained, and I felt it did justice to A Princess of Mars. That's really all I needed. Now I need to read all the John Carter books after the first one.

[Dr Kain]

[Destroysall]

[XvGojira]

[Benjamin Haines]

^ In the liner notes for the Alien Quadrilogy set, Ridley Scott makes it clear that the original theatrical cut is still his preferred version of Alien. The 2003 version is only a "director's cut" in the literal sense, meaning the director put it together himself (at the studio's request).

Oddly enough, James Cameron prefers the extended cut of his movie Aliens and yet that version is billed as the "special edition," not as the director's cut.

[Dr Kain]

Yeah, you're right, my bad. It was James Cameron that prefers the extended cut of Aliens as that was Fox getting in his way with it.

Nevertheless, it seems like Prometheus and Alien are the only movies that have been released the way Scott wanted compared to his other big name titles.

Of course, I never saw The Counselor, as I was told it was utter crap.

[Psycho Soldier]

The Warriors - I can see why this one's so highly regarded. It's a simple story with an archetypal plot and cast of characters, but it's well executed. My only real complaint (such as it is) is that I might have liked to see more of the Warriors die. I didn't quite buy the escape from the Lizzies. Other than that, this movie delivered. I spent a lot of time thinking it was loosely based on Homer's Odyssey, but nope, it was Xenophon's Anabasis. Guess I have to read that sometime, along with Sol Yurick's original novel.

[lhb412]

To Be Or Not To Be

This is an incredibly daring movie, and I don't mean just daring to make during WWII. I mean, Chaplin's Great Dictator was a fantasy version of Nazism that was a smidgen removed from reality and thus a bit more palpable. In this comedy you never shake the feeling that the main characters could all be caught and killed at any time!

Guardians of the Galaxy

I know comics fans would like to see their respective favorite cosmic super heroes in the sequel, but personally all I'd like is more Yondu (Michael Rooker!) and more creatures (as Rocket and Groot are wonderful and I'm always a monster guy).

[XvGojira]