The last movie you watched

[Serephim]

dont forget those annoying moments when the screen goes monochrome

[ila]

Watche the Secret World of Arrietty.

Beautiful movie, and some of the best artistic design ever (particularly in regards to water and how it pours) The plot itself was a bit lacking though. It was still enjoyable though.

[Jamie Bailey]

I'm going back to the real movies now, from Golden Abyss to...

The Golden Child

(1986) Eddie Murphy stars in this all-action comedy as a private eye who's called in to track down the peace-bringing Golden Child, kidnapped from a Tibetan temple.

Never heard of this, are they pumping out new Eddie Murphy films and making them as 80's as possible? There was once a time when I only knew the guy as the Beverly Hills Cop who got fat, nutty and started talking to animals. Wherever they're coming from, I'm loving them and this is another great movie. Very entertaining the whole way through and funny.

You've Got Mail

Romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, 1998. A couple develop a romantic online relationship, unaware that they are actually business rivals.

Romantic comedies, I'll watch them, but they generally aren't among my favourite movies and this is no exception. Never heard of this until I got my recording box, and searching through the list of movies coming on TV in the upcoming week, this one has kept coming up again and again and I finally thought that maybe if I watch it it'll go away... or maybe not. It's pleasant enough, got a few small laughs, but nothing special.

Bogus

(1996) Drama starring Haley Joel Osment as a boy who's mother is killed in a car crash. Adopted by Whoopi Goldberg, he copes by inventing an invisible friend, Bogus (Gerard Depardieu).

Not heard of this. What happened here? I usually like Whoopi cushion but this film just wasn't that good. Annoying in parts, particularly Bogus, the imaginary frenchman the film is all about. The opening credits sequence was so annoying with it's music and circus imagery that it was almost enough to make me switch off before the movie even started, not to mention the fact I drifted into space several times during the film. Oh dear.

Baby's Day Out

(1994) Joe Mantegna, Joe Pantoliano and Brian Haley play three inept criminals who kidnap a millionaire's baby. But when the baby escapes, there's mayhem as they try to track him down.

Used to watch this quite a bit on a VHS recording back in the day so I'm surprised I didn't have a better recollection of it. Don't love it anywhere near as much as I used to, but it's a whole lot better than Bogus, no drifting into space with this one.

[Jamie Bailey]

She's the Man

(2006) When her twin brother plays truant, football-mad Amanda Byrnes takes his place in the school team, but she doesn't anticipate the romantic entanglements her ploy will cause.

Due to a problem I really should see a doctor about, I watched this in the middle of the night. and rather fittingly, the song during the opening credits kept saying there's no sleep tonight. I wondered why it's always men dressing up as women in movies and not the other way round, now I know, it works better that way. Bit odd but decent enough to watch. I Then continued my midnight viewing with...

National Lampoon's Animal House

Raucous college comedy starring John Belushi and Tim Matheson, 1978. The outrageous escapades of a 1960s American campus fraternity - a house full of beer-swilling party animals.

Not heard of this. Good film, funny enough to keep me going during the early hours of the morning, and there's a few good old tunes in there too.

Saturday Night Fever

(1977) John Badham's iconic film stars John Travolta as a champion disco dancer hoping to win the prize that will get him out of the ghetto.

Speaking of good old tunes, there was no shortage of them here. Watched on Monday, early evening after spending the day catching up on sleep, so it's more Monday Evening Fever, but still a good watch, got some laughs. Been waiting so many years to see this.

March of the Penguins

Oscar-winning documentary, 2005. Chronicling the journey of emperor penguins over the harsh terrain of the Antarctic to their breeding grounds.

Well, I needed something to cool that fever right down. Good thing I didn't watch this during the night, it's rather like a documentary, maybe because, er, it IS a documentary, but still more entertaining than Bogus, that's the important thing. No big action scenes, no big laughs, no incredible CGI stunts (but it DID have penguins doing belly slides, awesome), no penguins speaking fluent english... unless Morgan Freeman really screwed up the voice acting, in which case, there's no telling which penguin he was voicing or why said penguin was talking like a narrator.

[DimensionWarped]

Watche the Secret World of Arrietty.

Beautiful movie, and some of the best artistic design ever (particularly in regards to water and how it pours) The plot itself was a bit lacking though. It was still enjoyable though.

So much better than that other freakin' movie adaptation of the Borrowers...

[1LT Worm]

Has anyone seen "Act of Valor" yet? Yes, I know, it's basically a commercial for the U.S. Navy, but I heard it's pretty good.

Now that I'm back in civilization, I can actually go see a movie ...at the movie theater!! hooray

[Ristar]

Blue Velvet.

Starring Kyle Maclachlan, Dennis Hopper, Isabella Rossellini and another girl.

"After finding a severed human ear in a field, a young man soon discovers a sinister underworld lying just beneath his idyllic suburban home town."

Pretty weird shit, but hey it's a David Lynch film. The "Baby wants to fuck!" scene is still pretty horrifying though. Good characters that you actually give a damn about.

---

Robocop.

Starring Robocop and quite a few people from Twin Peaks.

"In a dystopic & crime ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg with submerged memories haunting him."

What can I say? It's fucking Robocop! I've never actually seen Robocop all the way through, so it was nice to see the first half last week when I was ill as a dying pony. Gratuitous violence and hilarious stop motion animation. And holy shit dat theme tune http://youtu.be/Ekk6hkVt07U?t=1m31s

[Jamie Bailey]

Wanted

Action-packed thriller starring James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman, 2008. An office worker is transformed into a skilled assassin by an ancient band of killers called the Fraternity.

Oh look, that narrating penguin waddled into my next movie and brought Lara Croft with him. Trailers for this made it just look like something that wanted to be The Matrix, and it certainly is a bit Matrixy with it's over-the-top action scenes and bullet curving. This was actually far better than I was expecting, I like this one a lot.

One Fine Day

(1996) George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer star as two single parents attempting to juggle busy lives and childcare in this thoroughly modern romantic comedy.

I'm surprised I actually liked this. Read that description, there's nothing there that suggests I will like this movie and just before watching it I even thought "why did I bother recording this one?". Nothing spectacular going on here, the kid from Bogus is back as if he's pleading with me for another chance, the film's not even funny, but somehow I actually liked it and found I didn't want it to end, well, not so quickly anyway. Surprises like this are the reason I haven't given up on romantic comedies, One Fine Movie.

[Jamie Bailey]

Bride of Chucky

Horrific black comedy starring Jennifer Tilly and Katherine Heigl, 1998. A doll housing the spirit of a serial killer, is endowed with supernatural powers enabling it to wreak havoc.

Ooh, ooh, I like Chucky! Hang on, they've turned Child's Play into a comedy now? Wasn't sure if I'd like it so much as a comedy, but it was actually still good and funny at times. Surprised I actually like it just as much as the first three horrors.

Sucker Punch

In this epic action fantasy, Babydoll, locked away against her will, must band together with four fellow prisoners and use imagination and dreams to escape her dark reality. (Blu-ray box description)

Coming from the director of Watchmen (how could this end up being so boring?) and 300 (never seen, but the trailer was hours of severe boredom condensed into a couple minutes, how'd they manage that?), I wasn't expecting to be entertained by this. This did have it's moments with some of the action scenes, so it's better than I expected, but considering all the action, I still think this should have been a lot more entertaining than it was. One thing I did find interesting is that watching this felt like I was watching someone playing a game during the action scenes.

Sanctum

From executive producer James Cameron (Avatar) comes a thrilling underwater adventure based on true events. Master cave diver Frank McGuire and his team have been exploring the least accessible, uncharted and dangerous underwater labyrinth on Earth. When a tropical storm cuts off their only escape route, they must find an exit to make it out alive. In Earth's inner sanctum, make just one mistake and no one will know you were ever there. (Blu-ray box description)

They certainly like to make a big deal of attaching James Cameron's name to this, so I will too. It's better than Sucker Punch, certainly not as good as Avatar, Aliens, Titanic or the Terminator films. Aaand I'm done here.

Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

Street-racing sequel starring Lucas Black and Zachery Ty Bryan, 2006. A car addict discovers the thrilling drift racing scene in Tokyo.

Not much to say here, it's got Tokyo and it's got cars. It was good, got a few small laughs from it.

The Running Man

(1987) Arnold Schwarzenegger plays an innocent man forced to take part in a brutal TV game show in which gadget-wielding killers hunt him down on the streets of LA.

Saw this at a younger age and wondered whether it would still be as good as I remembered. It almost is, although this film looks like it's ripe for a remake to me. Bonus points for having Arnie say "I'll be back" outside of a Terminator movie.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Adaptation of Douglas Adams's cult sci-fi comedy novel. Escaping the Earth's destruction, Arthur (Martin Freeman) embarks on a galactic journey in search of the meaning of life. (2005)

Interestingly, 2005 was also the year Doctor Who was brought back to TV and this film's a bit like Doctor Who on a bigger budget... and more insane. In fact, it reminded me of Doctor Who so much, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Daleks turned up, shame they didn't. Still, I liked this and found it quite funny, especially the depressed robot._So long and thanks for all the fish.

Don't panic, I'll be back.

[Serephim]

Shawshank

Something about that movie, man. It never gets old, and always manages to touch you somewhere.

[XeroNazoBlaze]

I just watched Pixar's UP!.

Jesus Christ, what a tearjerker. I almost ended swimming in tears.

[Serephim]

So Up was a good movie too?

Has Pixar like...ever created a bad or mediocre movie? I think Cars may be the closest thing to one, but ive never seen it all the way through.

Jesus, the day Pixar starts fucking up...you know shit's hit the floor..

[USC]

Yeah, Up's a great film. Just don't watch it with anyone you wouldn't want seeing you cry; the first couple of minutes alone...

[Ristar]

Jamie: The original book "The Running Man" by Richard Bachman/Stephen King is about 100000x better. I'm usually not a book snob as I'm too lazy to read, but the book is actually fantastic.

[shadowgoten]

So Up was a good movie too?

Has Pixar like...ever created a bad or mediocre movie? I think Cars may be the closest thing to one, but ive never seen it all the way through.

Jesus, the day Pixar starts fucking up...you know shit's hit the floor..

Cars 2 actually....

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cars_2/

though pixar is looking to redeem itself with it's new movie, I forget what it's called but it's got a Scottish mid evil theme to it, it looks great.

I saw 21 Jump Street yesterday, it was pretty hilarious, and had a ton of throwbacks to the old show. Johnny Depp (one of the stars of the old show) even makes a cameo appearance in it which is awesome.

[ila]

I rewatched South Park: bigger Longer & Uncut. That movie will always be a glorious movie to me on the evils of too much censorship and what happens when you misplace blame on someone else. Also has some of the catchiest songs ever in a musical movie.

[XeroNazoBlaze]

"What Would Brian Boitano Do?" is my favourite one.

edit: I forgot this one

[Serephim]

Didnt south park win an award for its music?

[XeroNazoBlaze]

Didnt south park win an award for its music?

Yes, it did

[Jamie Bailey]

Jamie: The original book "The Running Man" by Richard Bachman/Stephen King is about 100000x better. I'm usually not a book snob as I'm too lazy to read, but the book is actually fantastic.

Ah, thanks for that, that puts my mind at ease, I had a feeling the film was based on a book but couldn't remember, must have heard about it at some point a long time ago._I'm not into books either, I'll have to remember that one just incase I wake up one day in one of my random uncharacteristic moods (not often, but they do happen) with a craving to read a book.

Nine to Five

(1980) Colin Higgins's feminist comedy stars Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin as three office workers dreaming of taking revenge on their odious sexist pig of a boss.

While I'm certainly familiar with the song, I never knew there was actually a film. This is actually one of those good surprises, very entertaining and funny.

Flipper

Family adventure drama starring Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood, 1996. A city boy spending the summer with his uncle in Florida befriends a tame dolphin.

Used to watch the Flipper TV series when I was young. This film's alright, but I didn't find it as entertaining as Free Willy.

(500) Days of Summer

(2009) Mark Webb's feature debut is a romantic comedy, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, which focuses on the heartache of unrequited love.

Misleading title, I actually thought this film was likely to involve things such as sunshine, BBQs, beaches, surfer dudes and beach babes, I was completely wrong as "Summer" is just the name of the film's female character. Boooo, I want my surfer dudes! Didn't like this much, not really a film for me.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Romantic comedy about a college graduate who's unstoppable addiction to shopping places her love life and career as a finance journalist at risk. Starring Isla Fisher.

The title certainly doesn't mislead here. Despite being a rather girly film, I much preferred this to (500) Days of Summer. Quite entertaining and funny.

[Blyde]

Also saw 21 Jump Street. I went in with fairly low expectations and walked out hugely satisfied. It's pretty damn funny - I do, however, regret watching it at a place where tickets are $13.50 a pop. !#^@

Also, it's not a movie, but I've been watching the BBC series Sherlock. Each episode is an hour and a half, so they're easily movie length. It's an incredibly solid modernized adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. Also, the cinematography is excellent. Check it out.

[Jamie Bailey]

They've been a long time coming but my area finally went through digital switchover and started receiving Freeview HD TV channels last Wednesday (21st March). On initial inspection it was hard to see much difference between standard def and high def TV channels besides a few cleaner graphics on the screen (time/show title of morning shows, remaining cash prizes on Deal or no Deal, etc), probably because not everything is in HD, either that or rather poor HD. I had to wait until Saturday to see what visual quality these channels could really pump out with the new series of Britain's Got Talent and it's new ratings rival, The Voice UK clearly being broadcast with a nice visual upgrade. Though I've been watching Blu-rays on my PS3 for a few years now, on Sunday I watched my first film broadcast from a HD TV channel...

Land of the Lost

Comedy starring Will Ferrell and Anna Friel, 2009. Disgraced scientist Rick invents a device that transports him to a parallel universe full of weird creatures.

Short of Avatar or a Pixar animation, this was a great visual demonstration of what an HD broadcast film can look like, as this is quite a visually interesting film, the parallel world and it's creatures were a perfect demonstration of the HD upgrade.

As a film, I wasn't sure at first as it wasn't as serious as I was expecting, but once I got my head round the whole idea of it being silly cheesy so-bad-it's-good type stuff, it's actually pretty entertaining.

Jennifer's Body

(2009) Gory horror satire starring Megan Fox as a cheerleader who is literally turned into a man-eater in a macabre accident. Only her nerdy best friend Amanda Seyfried can save the day...

Saw this back when it was in cinemas but decided to watch it again now it's on TV. I had remembered the film as being purely an excuse to look at Megan Fox and little else, but it's actually a lot more entertaining than I remembered.

Avatar

(2009) Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and Zoe Saldana star in James Cameron's part-animated sci-fi epic about a soldier who discovers his mission is to rid a world of it's inhabitants.

On the fifth day of HD Channel 4 broadcast to meee... er, one Avatar movie, nice coincidence, that. Now THIS is a movie to test a HD channel. While it was a must-see-in-3D on the dull screen at the cinema, it's nice to see the film on my nice bright (by comparison) TV without 3D glasses dulling the colours, the film is actually more beautiful than I realised. It really is an awesome film.

Saw 3D: The Final Chapter

A deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy as a group of Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) survivors gather to seek the support of self-help guru, and fellow survivor, Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flanery). Soon though, the survivors really must help themselves as Dagen's dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror. (Blu-ray description)

One of the leftovers from a time when I'd only get to see a movie (or series of movies) if I bought the DVD/Blu-ray, this completes my Saw collection (I think...). Saw this in 3D at the cinema and the 3D was rubbish, can't test 3D on this copy yet as I don't have a 3D TV... yet, but watching this Blu-ray in 2D, the film is still bright as though you're supposed to be sitting there with 3D glasses on, oh dear. As a whole series, these films are gory but gripping. Yes, there was blood.

Now, my recording schedule for the upcoming week is looking a bit empty in the way of movies, oh dear.

[Jamie Bailey]

Okay, so I got tired of waiting and decided to record a load of random films. I'm surprised at how impatient I am at the moment.

Gay Aliens from Mars

Classic comedy horror, 1968. When the residents of a small town begin dying of happiness, Peter (Elvis Presley) investigates but not everything is as it seems.

Never heard of this. The title is misleading, I thought this was going to be "gay" as in... well, you know. This was quite good, it's one of those so-bad-it's-good films full of cheese, the final solution to the problem just doesn't make sense. Got lots of laughs though with the terrible special effects and the acting of the victims of the happiness is hilarious. I can see this getting a remake sooner or later.

Care Home Musical

(2010) All-star Disney musical starring Eddie Murphy, Sigourney Weaver and Justin Bieber about a pensioner-hating boy sent to do work experience in a home for the elderly.

You either like High School Musical or you don't and your opinion of this film will most likely be similar. I did find this funnier than the High School Musical series though, with funnier, more memorable songs like Eddie Murphy's "Young Whippersnapper (U and Ur Phone)" and Bieber's_"Time 2 Die (Old Wrinkly Ones)".

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Uncharted

Action adventure movie/videogame crossover. Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) and Nathan Drake (Mark Wahlberg) team up to investigate a time rift caused in an ancient tomb in the past by Indy (Harrison Ford). (2011)

They had the perfect combination, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, Indy and a Doctor Who-style plot bringing them all together,_how could they get this so wrong? By putting Zack Snyder on directing duty, that's how. Despite all the action going on every time Drake makes an appearance, this was so dull, and the explanation for the time rift simply doesn't add up. Drake flirting with Indy should have been funny, but in reality, it's horrific to watch. Avoid.

Titanic 2

Sequel to James Cameron's epic love story, 1999. The Titanic is rebuilt in present day, but on it's maiden voyage, can Psychic Maria_Thompson (Sandra Bullock) prevent the new ship from suffering a similar fate to the original?

Some films should never have sequels, end of. Titanic was one such film, so I'm surprised at how good this one turned out. It's more focused on action than a love story and really gets gripping after the big twist in the middle of the film. I wasn't so keen on the singing though, it seemed like it was just thrown in to pad out the film's running time.

April Fools Day

Jamie Bailey types a ridiculous forum post about a bunch of fake movies that won't fool anyone but hopes everyone will get a laugh from it. (2012)

Now this really is the worst movie ever made, it doesn't just break the fourth wall, it totally and utterly obliterates it. Happy April Fools day everyone!

[Jamie Bailey]

It's Easter holidays, and what does that mean? TV channels are actually giving me some films to watch, so I'm back in action.

Troll Hunter

While investigating a series of suspicious bear killings, a group of students trail a mysterious "hunter" who wants nothing to do with them and attempts to shake them off his trail. Sheer persistence leads the group right to the prey he is trying to hunt and they soon learn there are far more dangerous and mystical creatures than mere bears. (Blu-ray description)

My friend decided to lend me this and it bored me to death (Don't worry, I found a few extra lives before watching and I'm now safe and sound at a restart point, unfortunately, my clothes aren't). The film's Norwegian, but luckily there was an English audio option, which was probably the best thing about this as initially I got a laugh out of the actors' mouths not matching up with the voices. The trolls themselves don't even fit the film's found footage vibe, like you're suddenly watching a different movie. The moment any troll turned up, it felt like I was suddenly watching CG Jim Henson creatures, they LOOK like they could start talking, doing something funny or break into a performance of "Mahna Mahna" (or "Phenomenon" as I've always remembered the song) at any moment, or maybe that was just my own wishful thinking. Maybe some will find the out-of-place trolls funny, but I wasn't laughing.

Skyrunners

Sci-fi adventure about two brothers who discover a UFO. When one of the brothers takes a trip into space, he returns to Earth with superhuman powers. Starring Kelly Blatz. (2009)

Not heard of this, seems to be a Disney XD made-for-TV kids' movie. It's a bit like a cross between a high school movie (not musical), Flight of the Navigator and a bit of Men In Black. Early on, the film reminded me a bit too much of Flight of the Navigator, it even has one moment that should feel instantly recognisable to anyone familiar with that film. This was an okay watch, nothing great, though I was just glad to see some films sitting in my list of recordings, and after Troll Hunter, this one didn't exactly have a tough act to follow.

Eyes Wide Shut

Sexual adventure drama starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, 1999. A New York couple have an argument which leads the husband on an adventure in search of new sexual experiences.

Okay, let's go from one extreme to the other, from a kids' film to one that's certainly for adults, and turns out it's a Stanley Kubrick film. This is quite long and slow-going. I didn't think I'd like it at first, but once I slowed myself down to it's pace, I actually got into it and found it a decent watch. There was a surprising amount of nudity (well I'm certainly not complaining, lol), although the word "sexual" in the description and the late transmission time should have suggested something.

Jackass 2.5

(2007) Documentary in which Johnny Knoxville and the Jackass crew present more of their idiotically irresponsible, wilfully dangerous and stomach-turningly gross stunts.

Stretching the definition of "movie", this is more like a DVD extra featuring leftovers from Jackass Number Two, but the description says it all. Got a few laughs, glad I don't hang out with these guys.

[Chaos Rush]

Hunger Games...

It was okay. What ruined it for me though, is every time Katniss or Peeta was about to die, I'm like, "OHMYGAWD THEY'RE GONNA DIE!!!!", but then I'm like, "Wait a minute, they're the main characters, they're not gonna die...", which took away about 90% of the intensity and made it seem dull.