rate the last movie you saw

[AndyDursin]

Apparently it opened huge Michael, you're spot on. Not only that, what kid out there won't want to see it. I almost was going to go myself until I read a slew of reviews including Ebert's, which was one of the funniest he's written in some time.

I'm just, truth be told, a bit sick of seeing America destroyed in these disaster spectacles. It's almost as if in some way the 9-11 tragedy has meant every one of these films means the end of the world one way or another.

[Jedbu]

BATTLE: LA did $36M opening weekend-watch for the drop-off to be huge.

MACHETE-watched this at home last night. Nice bit of the old ultra-violence and as long as you treat it like a cartoon it is actually very entertaining. Even if Danny Trejo were a good close personal friend of mine I still would not like to meet up with him in a dark alley, but he is good at playing a force of nature, and Rodriguez sure manages to get interesting casts in his films (best thing Lindsey Lohan has done since MEAN GIRLS, but that isn't saying much) and female nudity abounds-zowie!

Of course, there will be some on this site who will not like this movie strictly for political reasons, and the politics are definitely ham-fisted, but if you treat it as strictly a revenge tale, it is a pretty good action movie. 6/10

[mkaroly]

GODZILLA (1998) - 1/10. I understand that this is just "popcorn" entertainment...I get that. But it still doesn't excuse one-dimensional characters, poor storytelling, and totally ripping off other movies (i.e. JURASSIC PARK). That's all it basically was to me: Jurassic Park in New York City. The acting was bad, though I do admit that the French characters were actually the only group of characters in the movie I liked (and the reason why this doesn't get a zero). Even Arnold's score was ineffective to me. I just don't like mindless stuff like this for the most part (my enjoyment of AVP:R is really indefensible).

[AndyDursin]

Wow Michael you are harsh! lol.

You guys will disagree but I find it far more entertaining than THE LOST WORLD! Then again, root canal is also....

[mkaroly]

Wow Michael you are harsh! lol.

You guys will disagree but I find it far more entertaining than THE LOST WORLD! Then again, root canal is also....

THE LOST WORLD is easily Spielberg's worst IMO....I do agree with you that GODZILLA was more entertaining than THE LOST WORLD. And I've never had a root canal, but I'm thinking I would agree with you on that too!

[Monterey Jack]

People who think Lost World is worse than Jurassic Park 3 baffle as much as people who think Die Hard 2 is the worst of that particular series....and I don't even like Lost World that much.

[AndyDursin]

People who think Lost World is worse than Jurassic Park 3 baffle as much as people who think Die Hard 2 is the worst of that particular series....and I don't even like Lost World that much.

You baffle me, because I can't see how anyone would prefer THE LOST WORLD over JURASSIC PARK 3. lol. JP3 isn't a classic but man, it's SO much better than THE LOST WORLD, even with its abrupt ending.

[Monterey Jack]

I could go on and on about how AWFUL Jurassic Park 3 is, but I have to go to work in a few minutes.

[mkaroly]

I too would take JP3 over THE LOST WORLD, which I almost walked out on in the theater. I was with others and drove which is what kept me there. Otherwise I would have left about halfway through.

[AndyDursin]

I agree with Michael that LOST WORLD is Spielberg's worst movie by a wide margin. Though, A.I. I feel is his most unpleasant (and certainly the one I'd be least likely to ever watch again).

I saw THE LOST WORLD the day it opened and remember waiting for the prior showing to let out. Almost every audience member of that screening had this crestfallen look on their face as if someone had died, so I knew it was going to be bad. What a total disaster that film is -- badly written (characters VANISH from that film with no explanation), poorly conceived, Goldblum is a complete and total bust as the lead...and I still can't get over how the climax was comprised of a dinosaur running under a gas station in San Diego and then (the best part) Richard Attenborough showing up on CNN to preach about environmental awareness. How David Koepp keeps getting work is beyond me...maybe he has photos on everyone?

JP3 isn't flawless -- Tea Leoni and William H. Macy were miscast, the ending simply stopped -- but it was shorter, leaner, had better action set-pieces, Sam Neill instead of Goldblum, and wasn't nearly as pretentious as THE LOST WORLD. Not even close -- it's a big-time improvement (and a lot of critics said the same when it opened too).

[mkaroly]

Good points. I would explain why I dislike the film as follows:

1) Jeff Goldblum. I like him as a bit character but I just don't think he has the charisma to carry the lead in a project as big as TLW. I agree with Andy on that. He was better in JP as an irresponsible parent/loser and provided some comic relief. I was unconvinced of his journey into "maturity" with Julianne Moore and his brood in TLW.

2) Kids. I found it utterly annoying and laughable that a child gymnast would somehow be able to knock a velociraptor off balance by a couple of uneven bar moves. That whole sequence was a complete joke, and I felt like Spielberg was pounding me on the head with his family/kids agenda in a way that was annoying.

3) Characters. The film lacked characters, lacked character development, and lacked heart. There was no one I was rooting for in that film...they were all empty characters. Gone was the warmth of Sam Neill's character; his odyssey into possible fatherhood and parenting with Laura Dern was much more "intimate" and interesting than Goldblum's journey. JP had warmth and humor in its characters whereas TLW had none of that IMO.

4) When the film crossed the line into KING KONG territory, it just got silly and eye-rollingly bad. I think it was better edited overall than JP (which is full of continuity errors and poor edits), but even with better editing it was still, for me, an horrible failure.

[AndyDursin]

Goldblum's "mulato" daughter (a separate issue requiring a suspension of disbelief) doing Power Rangers moves on the raptors was totally embarrassing, Michael you are spot on. That scene drew laughter when I saw the movie and I know it's been the subject of ridicule amongst fans -- there's no scene in JP3 anywhere near that awkward.

Pete Postelthwaite's character was another huge letdown I would add into your list. He's introduced into the movie and makes a strong impression, and then literally announces to everyone he's leaving the film -- because Koepp decided to clumsily rewrite the script so the dinosaurs got on the mainland.

And that latter aspect was also a massive misfire. So badly thought out, it's apparent they came up with that late in the game because it's treated like an afterthought. Look, a dinosaur in a swimming pool! Blowing up a gas station! And the whole element of the mama dinosaur looking for the baby, ripped right out of GORGO, was also treated like an anti-climax.

Williams' score, while solid, was also somewhat of a disappointment to me. I don't listen to it very much, as it comes across as if he was disinterested in the material (that new theme he composed with the jungle rhythms is serviceable but nothing spectacular).

[Jedbu]

[quote="AndyDursin"]And that latter aspect was also a massive misfire. So badly thought out, it's apparent they came up with that late in the game because it's treated like an afterthought. Look, a dinosaur in a swimming pool! Blowing up a gas station! And the whole element of the mama dinosaur looking for the baby, ripped right out of GORGO, was also treated like an anti-climax.[/quote]

I remember quite a few critics (and possibly Spielberg himself) mentioning the swimming pool scene and remarking that it seemed like a savage parody of how the dog in INDEPENDENCE DAY survived-somehow-by being able to run away from the alien destructo-ray and make it to safety.

And Andy-I have to respectfully disagree with you-this is not Spielberg's worst film, not by a long shot-that (dis) honor goes to INDY 1V-feh!

[AndyDursin]

I remember quite a few critics (and possibly Spielberg himself) mentioning the swimming pool scene and remarking that it seemed like a savage parody of how the dog in INDEPENDENCE DAY survived-somehow-by being able to run away from the alien destructo-ray and make it to safety.

But what's dumb about that is, anyone seeing the movie now, nobody remembers that reference or its significance (if that's what it was intended to do). I still contend that entire set-piece misfired badly.

INDY 4 was a disappointment of epic proportions...but as much as I hesitate to say this: it's still not nearly as bad as THE LOST WORLD.

[mkaroly]

THE EXPENDABLES - 7/10. I know that this was kind of an homage to 80s action films (at least I think that's what it was supposed to be), and on that level it really succeeded. The action was hilariously fun and tense...much like a video game. The story was pretty straight-forward and didn't need much development, though Stallone could have probably made it pack more of an emotional punch with his character's search for his soul (like he did so well in the fourth RAMBO). The acting was okay but not much was needed since it isn't that type of film. I am a sucker for 80s action films from Ah-nuld and Stallone, and on that level it delivered. My grade is more for the mindless action and fun factor of the film than anything else.

SHUTTER ISLAND - 7/10. I really wanted to hate this movie as Scorsese is overrated at this point in his career (IMO). I really disliked THE AVIATOR and THE DEPARTED, so I went into this wanting to hate it...but I didn't. I will give Martin credit for the look of his films...there were some memorable shots in it, and DiCaprio did a good job. The twists and turns of the plot I thought were effective, and I don't think the ending is that ambiguous. I certainly believe this film is much better than the previous two I mentioned, and to be honest a story about insane asylums in the 50s is kind of creepy. Loved Max Von Sydow as well. I'm actually kind of glad I didn't hate it.