rate the last movie you saw

[mkaroly]

In preparation for the new Terminator film...

THE TERMINATOR - 9/10. I still really enjoy this film. I think the acting is pretty bad at times, and the film is definitely dated, but the film is unsettling and it keeps coming after you. There is something ominous and foreboding over the film and I thought that sense of doom was effectively communicated in the film as a whole. Well done.

T2: JUDGMENT DAY (Extended Version) - 9/10. This is pretty much as good as the first film for me but in different ways. I loved the humor in it, especially when it came from Schwarzenegger...and it is a big action film that succeeds at providing good special effects for the time and lots of explosions and cool weaponry. Lol...I love the Schwarzenegger big action pictures! The extended version gets a little bogged down and pretentious in some of its political statements, and unfortunately Sarah Conner's character is taken away from her and she becomes someone hard to root for. Edward Furlong is a bit annoying, but I wonder if it is him or if any kid they had put in that role would have been annoying. T2 has a little bit of everything in it and continues to be a fun film to watch.

[Jedbu]

JAWS: 10/10

Still one of the best thrillers of the last 50 years and Spielberg's directorial assurance is so strong that it is hard to believe that this was only his second theatrical feature. Had the honor of seeing this at TCM's presentation at a theater in Kalamazoo, MI last evening (this was my first date movie back in '75 and I took my best girl/gorgeous wife to see it last night-first time either one of us had seen it in a theater since it first came out [it was also the first film she saw in a theater]) and even though it was not a packed house seeing it on the big screen was still a wonderful experience and yes, I still jumped when Ben Gardner's head showed up.

Two things really stood out for me this time-how Williams' score works so subtly and so well (the sound was definitely improved and even bits of dialogue were a lot more clear than what was possible in theaters 40 years ago) and Robert Shaw, who looks like he is having a helluva time and just commands the screen whenever he is on it. How this man did not get at least an Oscar nom for Supporting for the Indianapolis scene alone (which he acted as uncredited script doctor along with John Milius) still makes me shake my head...

I really hope that NO ONE ever tries to remake this-in this age of CGI they can show more shark stuff, but with all the mechanical problems they had on location that forced Spielberg to think on his feet and limit how much of the shark to show, it is the menace just under the surface of the water that really sells this film even today, and aside from the cars visible, this film has not aged a day.

[Monterey Jack]

The Rocketeer (1991): 9/10

The movie I chose today to pay tribute to James Horner, as this was one of the earliest Horner scores I really "noticed" in the early 90's during my initial flourish of interest in movies and movie music, and one of the first I picked up on CD. The score needs no introduction...it's wonderful, melodic, rousing, and better than pretty much anything we'll hear in theaters this year. And the film remains tip-top fun, with great F/X, dashing heroism, hissable villainy and a ravishing young Jennifer Connelly. What's not to like?

[Paul MacLean]

And the film remains tip-top fun, with great F/X, dashing heroism, hissable villainy and a ravishing young Jennifer Connelly. What's not to like?

Agreed, and a very underrated film too -- much better than's its summer competitor that year, Prince of Thieves.

[Monterey Jack]

Titanic (1997): 10/10

Still an amazing piece of work from James Cameron, and yet...Horner's score has never really done much for me. I've softened on it over the years (I remember coming close to hating it when the film first came out -- despite loving every other aspect of the film -- due to the Enya "pop" stylings, which is the only element of the film which has really dated), but I still categorize it in the "eh, good enough" category of identikit Horner scores, like Apollo 13, or Troy, which work fine in the respective films but not so much outside of them (I've never owned any of these scores on CD). I enjoy elements of it, and it supports the film just fine (and it's nice that Horner showed enough restraint to leave large swaths of the film unscored, whereas a similar F/X spectacle today would have punishing, wall-to-wall music constantly shouting at you...withness The Dark Knight Rises for a good modern example of this kind of "white noise" scoring), but I've never considered it one of Horner's greatest efforts, and certainly not worth earning his only Oscar. Still, it is bittersweet to see Horner conducting the score during the premiere of the 3D reissue of the film in 2012.

[AndyDursin]

Millions disagree lol

I don't listen to it a lot to be honest but I do think its a great score. Apollo 13 is also a superb score. As for Troy the action music is solid but the love theme is gorgeous....

[Monterey Jack]

All I remember about Troy was the Danger Motif playing a billion times during the beach landing scene and Brad Pitt screaming, "HEK-TAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Apollo 13 is nothing more than recycled bits and pieces of Brainstorm and Sneakers for the "tense" scenes, with a blandly "uplifting" main theme that works because the film is uplifting. That was pretty much the score that turned me off Horner for several years until Mask Of Zorro came out. I mean, I'm sad he's gone, but I only own, like, a dozen of his scores on CD, because that pretty much represents all of the themes he composed over the years...over the last decade I kept finding myself buying scores like House Of Cards and The Journey Of Natty Gann, only to end up trading them away because I had just heard 70% of them in other, better scores. Maybe it's just Lukas' fairly harsh takes on Legends Of The Fall and Apollo 13 and Braveheart back in the FSM print days that "poisoned" my opinion of Horner for a long time. Even on a recent score like Avatar, I remember hearing the Danger Motif barely 30 seconds into the movie, and inwardly groaning. That was a movie where Horner -- despite having a luxurious year to write and record his music -- was truly on autopilot.

[Jedbu]

As far as TITANIC is concerned, there are still parts of the score and the album that I do enjoy ("Southampton," the music during the sketching scene, the underscore after the song with the end credits, "Hymn to the Sea" on the album), and while parts using synth really stand out now (painfully, some of the time) you have to give Horner credit for being able to pull together a score that has THEMES and that is not wall-to-wall humming.

I was lucky enough to find a copy of the DTS CD that was released of the OST and it is nice to listen to and feel the orchestra surround you and really feel the bass as a stand-alone piece of music. Yes, I skip over the Celine Dion song without missing a beat.

I still can tell a Horner score right away-it's those bass chords on the piano that are his signature that tell me, and MASK OF ZORRO is fun to listen to, even the song is much easier to take than the TITANIC one since it was not made into an earworm.

[AndyDursin]

I like the song in MASK OF ZORRO quite a bit. Also, the Josh Groban song in TROY is pretty good too.

One thing about TROY is Horner's score works much better in the theatrical version. Some of that extra footage was nice to have added back in, but he clearly only scored the theatrical version because there's tracked music, sections from other scores, etc. in the "Director's Cut." Plus they took out the song too...I've actually been trying to find the theatrical version on Blu-Ray but all they have is the longer cut (the theatrical version was released on HD-DVD).

Agree Jeff on the synth portions of TITANIC...I wasn't ever sure why he used the synths at times, they were always "pokey" even when the movie was released. Still the music heightened a lot of scenes in that movie. I've never been crazy about the song, but I don't hate it...it was just overplayed.

I still think the worst Horner song was the Diana Ross ballad from THE LAND BEFORE TIME, which actually turned me off from ever wanting to listen to the score again!

[AndyDursin]

Watching TERMINATOR again...man, Brad Fiedel's score is still bad.

Great transfer though!

[Monterey Jack]

I like the main Terminator theme, but the actual underscoring is pretty anemic, even by the standards of cheapie 80's synth scores. I'm more upset about the lousy new gun sound effects on the Blu-Ray (with no option for the mono soundtrack, which the ancient 2001 special edition DVD did have). I hate it when a 5.1 remix of a mono/2.0 stereo track mucks around with the sound effects or even dialogue (as the American Tail DVD and Blu did ). Would it be so hard to offer a mono option?

[mkaroly]

T3: RISE OF THE MACHINES - 4/10. One of the film's biggest positives is its ending - when I originally saw this I was not expecting the "twist" conclusion; DavidBanner talked in an earlier post of how T3 kept the gloom of the first film going, and I think that was its primary strength. While this strength makes the film watchable (in addition to AS's dead pan humor as the Terminator), the rest of it just falls flat. T2 had some heart to it - the Terminator had a humanity to him that came out well in the relationship he shared with John Connor as a kid. There is nothing like that in T3; even the action sequences have a "been there done that" quality to them that didn't really add to the mythology or mistique of the Terminator universe. Some of the dialogue is bad, some of the acting is awful, and it felt like there were too many story points that were missing (i.e. the movie was too short). In better hands I think the film could have been a much more complete and well-rounded story. The music was pretty forgettable.

LICENSE TO KILL - 8/10. I liked Timothy Dalton as Bond. Watching this film last night after watching T3, and having a little time to digest it, I find that I am more appreciative of the film than I used to be. I like the idea of Bond as a rogue agent, and I like the idea that Bond manages to make Sanchez kill his own people. I'm not so sure I believe that Bond would risk everything for Felix Leiter because he understands the risks just as much as the next agent, but Dalton had the attitude and fire to play that characterization of Bond. The story works pretty well - it kind of flows from one sequence to the next and doesn't seem like worthless filler bridging one set piece to another. I also like Dalton's emotional journey through the film (angry one minute, trying to be the lone wolf but also realizing he needs help, realizing that his vendetta sometimes makes things worse, and the relief he expresses after he kills Sanchez that borders on tears). One of the gems of the film is the score by Kamen (I hope someone releases the full score one day). However, I still cannot stand Pam Bouvier's character running off at the end of the film and crying because she saw Bond kissing Lupe...the scene looks "fake" in some way that just bothers me. del Toro deserved a little more screen time as well. Overall I really enjoyed the film this time around, and it's sad that this was Dalton's last film.

[Monterey Jack]

Me & Earl & The Dying Girl (2015): 8/10

Affecting teen drama is basically this summer's The Fault In Our Stars, albeit with a gloss of visual whimsy (the frequent amateur re-creations of iconic movie scenes by the two budding filmmakers at the core of the story are often laugh-out-loud funny) and an eclectic soundtrack that recalls the work of Wes Anderson (although not nearly as twee and irritating). Fine performances by the three young leads. It's just nice to see something that doesn't cost $200 million dollars every once in a while.

[mkaroly]

TERMINATOR SALVATION - 5/10. Not a lot to say about this film. I liked when the movie took place, and the overall look and feel of the film was decent for me. I also liked whoever played Blair....very hot! Lol...when I first saw this in the theaters I was disappointed in it because I felt then that it was a letdown. What I didn't like about the film now was that the capability of humanity in the machines was just not well executed (much the same as my complaint with T3). Bale overacted his way through the film, and SW was too detached to allow me to feel his humanity. T2 managed to connect with me on that level despite its flaws. Ultimately I think that is what one of the central messages of the franchise is, and for me, with the exception of T1, the latter three films are judged primarily on whether or not I connect with that theme. I'm sure if I let myself think about it I would complain of plot holes and things that don't make sense in the timeline in SALVATION, but I honestly don't want to spend the time thinking that deeply about this franchise. All the films deliver on action. If I were to rank the films it would be as follows:

1. T1 and T2
3. TERMINATOR SALVATION
4. T3

Here's hoping GENISYS is entertaining and decent. I would love if it was good enough to forget that T3 was ever made.

[AndyDursin]

I rewatched TERMINATOR for the first time the other night in a long time. I'm not sure it really holds up as a "classic" film. It's a good, tidy low-budget movie that in some ways is more of a horror movie than a sci-fi thriller...its ideas and its script are interesting, but some of it -- like the love scene -- I found kind of silly, to be honest. And the budget holds it back, also (Not an issue obviously with all the others! lol).

A very influential picture, but perhaps, not a classic per se.