Re: Rate the last movie you saw.
06/10/14 4:01 pm | #5135
Pale Rider (Blu-ray, 1st viewing) – This was one of Eastwood’s last westerns, but a bit before Unforgiven, one of my favorite films of his. Pale Rider follows a fairly predictable pattern in its delivery, but Eastwood’s as good as always, and most everyone in the supporting roles does a decent enough job. Not a personal favorite of mine, but you do have to appreciate what’s accomplished here with a basic story that’s executed well. I also thought the decision to leave a lot of his character’s back-story out was a good move, as it really adds to the mystery of the character.
6/10
The Jackal (Blu-ray, 1st viewing) – Probably won’t be remembered as one of the quintessential action movies from the 90s, but it’s an effective film. Bruce Willis plays a slightly atypical role as an assassin for hire, where in this he’s tasked with taking out a public figure in the United States. All in all, the film’s pacing is solid, with there being just enough action mixed in to keep the ball rolling, but also allowing for some interaction between the characters. The supporting cast is good, with J.K. Simmons stealing the show in the scenes he’s present in. Well worth your time if you’re a fan of the genre or if you want to see Willis beat up on some folks, good and bad alike.
6.5/10
Seabiscuit (Blu-ray, 2nd viewing) – Better movie than I remembered it being from seeing it as a child. Tobey plays the role well, Cooper and Bridges are both good in their respective roles, and you can’t help but cheer for the undersized title character. I had to do some googling after watching this to see how much if it was authentic, and from my reading, it seems most of it was factual. It makes for a pretty powerful story of second chances and how you can’t always give up on those that don’t show potential right away. Seabiscuit was sired by a powerful, champion horse, but for the majority of his early life, lost most all of his races and was considered lazy. Under the tutelage of Cooper’s character (a horse trainer) he became an icon for the post-Depression era United States – also essentially a story of second chances.
7/10
The Goonies (Blu-ray, 1st viewing) – Not sure how I missed this one when I was growing up, but for whatever reason, just now seeing this. Overall, it’s definitely a film made for a younger, more naïve audience. Everything works in favor of the children, and the whole movie is a little too sweet for my taste. The child actors do a pretty good job and it moves along briskly enough to stay moderately entertaining. Again, had I seen this growing up, it might would carry some nostalgia, but not any at this point.
5/10
Side Effects (Blu-ray, 1st viewing) – This was a good thriller, even if it is a bit predictable. Before going any further, I should say that my fondest memory of this will be Catherine Zeta Jones and Rooney Mara making out in the last few scenes. Outside of that, everything was very taut and focused, which is something Soderbergh does quite well. I didn’t find this as appealing as Contagion, but it works well nonetheless.
7/10
The Ring (Blu-ray, 1st viewing) – One of the more popular mainstream horror films of the last decade. I thought it was so-so remake of a J-horror flick. Naomi Watts is far more competent than your average leading horror heroine, so that at least makes it a bit more watchable. However, it’s pretty boring, and I didn’t find much of it to be all that scary. Worth a watch for genre fans, but not as good as some of the recent jump-scare horror films like Insidious and The Conjuring.
5.5/10
Escape from New York (Blu-ray, 1st viewing) – Hasn’t aged that well and even for its time was a little low budget, but even still manages to be fairly entertaining. Kurt Russell and Carpenter are pretty solid with their team-ups, and I thought the concept behind this was decent. There have been rumors of this being remade, which I would normally be against; however, I think this is a movie that could be well served with a fresh layer of paint.
5.5/10