Last Movie You Watched

[Stargazer]

I'm very excited for the new Star Trek as well. Seeing it Wednesday night!

"Star Trek: Into Darkness" - I think it was PG-13

I don't usually see my films as soon as they open. I only go to the theater about five times a year, and only when the film is extra special.

So this afternoon I saw Star Trek: Into Darkness. My wife watched it with me, I think more to be nice to me, because she doesn't care for sci films, usually. She was not particularly impressed, but I really liked it!

Great movie, good story line, great special effects, outstanding character development, and better than I expected.

The TOS movies were like, even numbered movies were OK, odd-numbered were not so good (especially that stinker, Star Trek V). Star Trek (the reboot) was quite good, so I was worried that the reboot would turn the even/odd - bad/good thing over, and that Into Darkness was going to be not very good. But NO. It was very good! Lots of violence and fighting, and not so much inappropriate joking around.

As to scenes that you might want to parentally guide your 13-year-olds, besides the violence we have Jim Kirk of course trying to be a ladies man, and this time he is shown exiting a bed which he has obviously shared with two females -- women with TAILS, so they weren't strictly speaking women. Last time it was a green-skinned female, who was dressed in a bra and undies. This time we get another brief bra-and-undies scene (pun intended) with a pretty, blond Starfleet officer who has to change clothes in Kirk's presence (so she tells him to "turn around"). There were some complaints about the gratuitous bra-and-undies scene, but they forgot about the previous movie's similar scene. Oh, and of course, Kirk has to have his look at her, and is flabbergasted for some reason. The SF officer is named Carol Marcus, by the way, and if you remember Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock, it was revealed that Carol Marcus and Kirk had had a son (that she didn't tell Kirk about). This means that Kirk now has a love interest, as opposed to just fun and games, perhaps in the next movie he and Carol get married? Who knows.

One thing about the movie that I thought interesting was that the villain, who is <name edited out because it could be a spoiler>, is a very conscienceless, powerful and violent man who does not hesitate to betray and gratuitously murder people. Traits that the movie demonstrates are not, in the end, survival characteristics. But Benedict Cumberbatch is absolutely excellent in the role. I never heard of him before this movie, but now I am thinking I might like to see others of his films.

I was sad to see Bruce Greenwood's character get killed off. I really liked him and his character, Admiral Pike.

The character development in the film was very good. All us Trekkies feel we already know Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Chekhov, Scotty and Sulu very well, but for most of them we get to see more of their personas than we previously had not seen. Chekhov and Sulu don't get a lot of character boost, but I am sure their time is going to come.

I highly recommend the film. Ignore the few critics that couldn't say much nice about it. They are wrong.

About the only bone I have to pick with the film is one science-related item. And that is, early in the film Spock uses a "cold fusion device" to shut off a highly destructive volcano. It was a very dramatic scene, but when I found out what the device was called I was like, cringing like crazy. A "cold fusion device"? Why, because of the "cold" in "cold fusion"? It "froze" the volcano -- here's Spock standing on a rock inside a volcano with magma sloshing all over (envision Frodo and Golem inside Mount Doom), and he pushes a button on the device. Wham. The molten magma goes solid. Of course they manage to beam him out of there just in time. Oh, my head. "Cold Fusion Device"? Really?

It's not as bad as the previous movie, though. In the previous movie they had an entire plot device, essential to the story, called "Red Matter". That supposedly caused black holes to form. And all it took was a small drop of the stuff to do it. Why was it red? Why not blue? How the heck could it be prevented from turning into a black hole as soon as you looked at it? Now THAT was horrible.

I guess I prefer "cold fusion device" to "red matter". It's still nuts, however.

Edited because altersteve thought there was a spoiler in the true name of the villain, which isn't revealed until about halfway thru. If that's a spoiler, why isn't the sad death of Admiral Pike not a spoiler? I really liked Admiral Pike.

Edited June 23, 2013 by Stargazer

[altersteve]

Stargazer, you may want to edit your post to remove the reference to the villain's true identity. That's a bit of a spoiler.

And I agree that Benedict Cumberbatch is an incredibly gifted actor. He also plays both Smaug and the Necromancer in The Hobbit films and Sherlock Holmes in the amazing BBC television series Sherlock.

Edited June 23, 2013 by altersteve

[Stargazer]

Stargazer, you may want to edit your post to remove the reference to the villain's true identity. That's a bit of a spoiler.

And I agree that Benedict Cumberbatch is an incredibly gifted actor. He also plays both Smaug and the Necromancer in The Hobbit films and Sherlock Holmes in the amazing BBC television series Sherlock.

Umm, I don't know about that being that much of a spoiler, this late in the game. I would have resisted telling about it if this had been the first week of release, but it's been in the theaters for a month now. Oh, all right. I'll edit it.

[Garden Girl]

Well last night I finally watched "Citizen Kane" starring Orson Welles... I'd always heard what a classic it was/is and some saying it is the greatest movie ever made...

While I certainly thought it was very good and well made... I don't know that I'd class it as the greatest movie ever made... particularly because it's one type of movie vs all the other types such as combat, romantic, action, comedy, historical etc etc.

Also, I kept thinking about William Randolph Hearst and Hearst Castle... (supposedly the movie is loosely based on Hearst). I've been to Hearst Castle and it is mind-boggling in many ways... the millions of dollars Hearst spent collecting antiques/paintings/artifacts of every type. He also had a zoo with numerous wild/rare species.

Weekends at Hearst Castle would find numerous Hollywood stars/starlets staying for the weekend, participating in activities including tennis, swimming, beach picnics, plenty of food/drink, etc (I've seen newsreels/home movies showing the activities... it was deemed an honor to be invited for a weekend at the castle.

As in the movie, Hearst had a romantic interest in an actress (IIRC Marion Davies?) who really couldn't act very well, but he pushed her (in the film it was a singer that couldn't sing very well).

Anyway, I've finally seen Citizen Kane...

GG

edit to add: Here's a GG story of my almost connection to the Hearsts....

While living in the San Fran Bay Area, I participated in the art community (Burlingame Art Society), and one year at our annual show I was exhibiting several of my paintings. One was titled "Cottage By the Sea." One day the second Mrs. Wm Randolph Hearst (he remarried after his divorce following all the Patty Hearst kidnapping scandal) was browsing the show and she saw my painting and wanted to purchase it... said it reminded her of somewhere "Randy" had taken her... as Mrs Hearst filled out her check for my painting, the woman on duty at the show kept going back and forth about whether my price included sales tax or whether she should charge sales tax. Finally Mrs. Hearst said ... why didn't she find out for sure and she'd stop in again the next day... so she tore up her check and left... but she did not come back again... so there went my chance of being able to include the Hearsts among those owning one of my paintings.... sigh...

Edited June 29, 2013 by Garden Girl

[strappinglad]

A movie like Citizen Kane becomes iconic over time and , even though it was good for its time, it now has a aura of greatness that ,in my opinion, is not that well deserved...... rosebud.

[bluebell]

Hubby and I saw World War Z last night and I was very pleasantly surprised. Though the movie has pretty much nothing in common with the book it is based on (other than the name, the idea of a global zombie pandemic, and Israel having a semi prominent appearance in each one), it was very entertaining and suspenseful, with a few shots that managed to make the whole theater jump. I also really appreciated that it was not at all gory. There is a lot of violence for sure, but I don't remember seeing any blood other than a few smears on the actors. Whenever someone was smashing in the head of a zombie or doing something equally 'gross', the camera always cut away so that you could see the action without seeing the affect. Also, I don't remember any swear words in the movie, which is a nice change since you practically can't watch a PG13 movie these days without hearing every swear word multiple times, including the F word once just because they can. Lastly, I'm not much of a Brad Pitt fan (can pretty much take him or leave him) but I really enjoyed his character in this movie. He does an excellent job.

[Tacenda]

Hubby and I saw World War Z last night and I was very pleasantly surprised. Though the movie has pretty much nothing in common with the book it is based on (other than the name, the idea of a global zombie pandemic, and Israel having a semi prominent appearance in each one), it was very entertaining and suspenseful, with a few shots that managed to make the whole theater jump. I also really appreciated that it was not at all gory. There is a lot of violence for sure, but I don't remember seeing any blood other than a few smears on the actors. Whenever someone was smashing in the head of a zombie or doing something equally 'gross', the camera always cut away so that you could see the action without seeing the affect. Also, I don't remember any swear words in the movie, which is a nice change since you practically can't watch a PG13 movie these days without hearing every swear word multiple times, including the F word once just because they can. Lastly, I'm not much of a Brad Pitt fan (can pretty much take him or leave him) but I really enjoyed his character in this movie. He does an excellent job.

I could not have said it better or as well. I'm not a Brad Pitt fan either, and could count on one hand the movies I've paid to see him in. But he was great in this movie, and you're right I don't remember any swearing. I can't sit through alot of f -bombs, so was grateful. And some of the scenes were amazing and the ending was good. ETA: Stargazer, you may even change your mind about Brad Pitt after seeing the film. Edited July 7, 2013 by Tacenda

[Ron Beron]

I could not have said it better or as well. I'm not a Brad Pitt fan either, and could count on one hand the movies I've paid to see him in. But he was great in this movie, and you're right I don't remember any swearing. I can't sit through alot of f -bombs, so was grateful. And some of the scenes were amazing and the ending was good. ETA: Stargazer, you may even change your mind about Brad Pitt after seeing the film.

Brad Pitt aside, I really, really, really hate zombies! After all the people are gone what do they eat?

[Tacenda]

Brad Pitt aside, I really, really, really hate zombies! After all the people are gone what do they eat?

You gotta go see the movie and find out!

[strappinglad]

Zombie vegetarians eat cacti and mandrake roots.

[Ron Beron]

Zombie vegetarians eat cacti and mandrake roots.

Soylent Green, Wait! Soylent Green is people!

[Garden Girl]

This afternoon at the market I rented a movie from one of those vending machines... "Killing Them Softly" ... starring Brad Pitt. I thought it had been mentioned in this thread... I was a little leary of it but I like Brad Pitt... Well, I had to turn it off... the language was pervasive, not just a word here and there...

I should have known better... too bad... I bet it was a good story.

GG

Edited July 10, 2013 by Garden Girl

[Tacenda]

This afternoon at the market I rented a movie from one of those vending machines... "Killing Them Softly" ... starring Brad Pitt. I thought it had been mentioned in this thread... I was a little leary of it but I like Brad Pitt... Well, I had to turn it off... the language was pervasive, not just a word here and there...

I should have known better... too bad... I bet it was a good story.

GG

Sorry you had to go through that. The movie mentioned I believe, is the newest movie out by Brad Pitt called "World War Z". I don't recall any swearing in it. I was surprised that I even liked it. BTW, I hate the constant usage of the f-word or the Lord's name in vain. I'm thinking of buying the device that you hook up to the t.v. or dvd player called TV Guardian. I rented the Sandra Bullock movie the other day called "The Identity Thief". I could hardly watch it because of the bad language. Her new movie called "The Heat" is supposedly filled with language. Just wish this wasn't the case because I really wanted to see this film. So will need to check out this device I guess.

[Damien the Leper]

Saw Pacific Rim...not impressed.

[oats]

Ferris Buehller's Day Off. It was good.

[Calm]

Saw Pacific Rim...not impressed.

Too bad, my daughter is really looking forward to that one, though she says she hasn't a clue why.

[Stargazer]

I could not have said it better or as well. I'm not a Brad Pitt fan either, and could count on one hand the movies I've paid to see him in. But he was great in this movie, and you're right I don't remember any swearing. I can't sit through alot of f -bombs, so was grateful. And some of the scenes were amazing and the ending was good. ETA: Stargazer, you may even change your mind about Brad Pitt after seeing the film.

Ummm, I don't believe I said anything negative about Brad Pitt. Fact is, I really like Brad Pitt. He is an excellent actor. I really loved his appearances in Meet Joe Black and Troy. Troy is one of my favorite movies. I watch it about once a month now.

It's Zombies and Vampires, oh my! that I really really really despise. Especially Stephanie Meyers's vampires. I have seen bits and pieces of the Twilight movies, and let me tell you that I am near to gagging on that vampire in love with the female protagonist. He creeps me out so bad I get physically ill. And don't get me started on the female protagonist. She creeps me out even more. If that is possible. I just hope that Bela Lugosi comes back from the dead. He would make mincemeat out of them all. Now THERE'S a vampire. Don't get me started on Twilight's werewolves, either. Just don't.

[Garden Girl]

I rented the Sandra Bullock movie the other day called "The Identity Thief". I could hardly watch it because of the bad language. Her new movie called "The Heat" is supposedly filled with language.

Oh no!! I almost rented that one because I do like Bullock and it looked like a cute comedy... so I would have had to turn that one off also...

GG

[bluebell]

I don't think Sandra Bullock is in Udentity Thief. That's a different actress. (That actress and bullock are both in The Heat though).

[Tacenda]

I don't think Sandra Bullock is in Udentity Thief. That's a different actress. (That actress and bullock are both in The Heat though).

That's my mixed up crazy mind for you. Sandra isn't in that, but the other gal Melissa McCarthy is. The new movie "The Heat" has both Melissa and Sandra in it. Sorry to GG. Both movies are full of bad language though, dang. ETA: I think GG would really like "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock. Betty White has a good part in it. Sorry to use this to talk to GG, Bluebell. Edited July 11, 2013 by Tacenda

[Ron Beron]

Saw Pacific Rim...not impressed.

It reminds me of the old Japanese robots vs. aliens genre aka Gigantor. It was bad then and worse today.

[exmormohistro]

Last Movie I watched was Star Trek into Darkness on Monday night with 2 of my sons. My second time watching 1st in 2d . We enjoyed it immensily. the film before that was superman, an excellent film

Tim

[LordUther]

Last Movie I watched was Star Trek into Darkness on Monday night with 2 of my sons. My second time watching 1st in 2d . We enjoyed it immensily. the film before that was superman, an excellent film

Tim

I went & saw Star Trek twice!!

The last movie I saw was The R.M. lol

[DarkScythe]

Ummm, I don't believe I said anything negative about Brad Pitt. Fact is, I really like Brad Pitt. He is an excellent actor. I really loved his appearances in Meet Joe Black and Troy. Troy is one of my favorite movies. I watch it about once a month now.

It's Zombies and Vampires, oh my! that I really really really despise. Especially Stephanie Meyers's vampires. I have seen bits and pieces of the Twilight movies, and let me tell you that I am near to gagging on that vampire in love with the female protagonist. He creeps me out so bad I get physically ill. And don't get me started on the female protagonist. She creeps me out even more. If that is possible. I just hope that Bela Lugosi comes back from the dead. He would make mincemeat out of them all. Now THERE'S a vampire. Don't get me started on Twilight's werewolves, either. Just don't.

Well what Edward did was creepy, And He should have a stake thru his undead heart for being a creepy *** Stalker. As for Twilight werewolves, Epic facepalm.

[bluebell]

Well what Edward did was creepy, And He should have a stake thru his undead heart for being a creepy *** Stalker. As for Twilight werewolves, Epic facepalm.

Just so you haters know, it is acknowledged in the story in the last book that the werewolves are actually shapeshifters.