What have you watched recently?

[sith_killer_99]

Watched "Race to Witch Mountain" last night. Not bad, I liked the movie overall, but the good bye scene was cheesy.

They just tried too hard. In the original I could see it, the 2 kids meet the old bitter angry man who had lost his wife. They teach him to open up his heart and care again. This had none of that, but they still expected the same impact, it just didn't work.

Otherwise, it was a fun movie to watch with cool special effects. I expect I will watch the sequel if they make one, certainly they left it open for a sequel.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

I just saw the infamous Howard the Duck. Was it the worst movie of all time? No. Was it "good"? No. I was surprised by all the sexual stuff in there (the exposed duck boobs, the condom, the bath house thing, etc.), and that combined with the perhaps-too-scary bad guy made me wonder if this was supposed to be a kids' film. Very few of the jokes were funny, the bad guy was mostly annoying, and it all just seemed like an odd duck . . . damn, the awful duck puns have worn off on me.

[Ji'dai]

A scientist’s supercomputer achieves self-awareness and plots to enslave humanity in the rather interesting 1957 science fiction film The Invisible Boy. The supercomputer befriends and hypnotizes the scientist’s precocious young son and instructs him on how to assemble another scientist’s automaton, Robby the robot. The two become pals and Robby invents an invisibility serum for the boy while carrying out the supercomputer’s nefarious plot. The popular Robby the robot first appeared in the 1956 science fiction classic Forbidden Planet.

[Kidhuman]

Watched the Yankees Sweep the Sox.

[DarthQuack]

Watched the Yankees Sweep the Sox.

Me too, it was awesome.

Also watched last night's True Blood. Really loving this show this season.

[sith_killer_99]

Also watched last night's True Blood. Really loving this show this season.

^ This.

Also they keep ending the show on frakin' cliff hangers!!! It's very frustrating, but keeps me coming back for more, their evil plot works.

[Ando]

[FONT=Courier New]- True Blood.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- In Plain Sight.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- Monk.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- Super Troopers.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- Psych.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- Entourage.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- Hung.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]- Bollywood Hero (parts 1 and 2).[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]

[pbarnard]

Tropic Thunder

George Lopez standup

HBO debuts both.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

I saw the 1992 movie Toys, with Robin Williams and Michael Gambon. I remember seeing the video box since I was very young, so it's always been at the back (waaaay back) of my mind. The surrealist imagery was really cool, and the rest was pretty good. Not the best ever, but after seeing Howard the Duck, you appreciate anything.

[Jedi_Master_Guyute]

"The Omega Man"- Charlton Heston plays the possible sole survivor of a plague that has wiped out most of mankind and left many of the survivors as odd, mutated creatures. This is one of the original versions of Richard Matheson's novel, "I am Legend" (This is also the name of the awful Will Smith adaptation).

This version is far more interesting as the creatures, lead by Matthias (Anthony Zerbe), are actually destroying anything left by society in an attempt to erase the mistakes of the past. This creates an interesting idea of mankind wheeling towards its own destruction and whether to go with one side or the other. It's a nice dose of social commentary that i enjoyed. Heston is his usual gritty, angry self, but he has some interesting scenes with Zerbe as the two men are total opposites.

The film is a bit dated though and the jive talkin' ways of Lisa (Rosalind Cash) is really silly. And there are also some REALLY REALLY stupid actions taken by one main character that ends up being the last mistake they make. Also, I didn't get that these creatures were vampires, as was billed in plot summaries and on the DVD description itself.

It's a fairly decent film with an odd, slightly silly ending. Rating- **1/2 out of ****

"Taken"- Liam Neeson stars in this highly enjoyable action-thriller as a former CIA agent who heads to Paris after his daughter (Maggie Grace) is kidnapped.

The film is pretty straightforward with Neeson kicking arse and taking names. The plot here is interesting, but nothing to write home about and it's not really going for that as it means to be a fun and exciting action-packed film and it definitely succeeds in this realm.

I did enjoy the Jack Bauer-esque attitude of Neeson (not to mention a cameo from a 24 vet actor) who played the part very well and his character will do anything to get back his daughter and I had my original idea as to what the plot was about and was pleasantly surprised when I was wrong.

If you're looking for a really fun and exciting flick, this is one for you. If you want more drama and whatnot, avoid it. I thought it was great. Rating- *** out of ****

"City of Ember"- This flick has an interesting premise, but it just fails to pan out into a solid film. Two kids (Saoirse Ronan and Harry Treadaway) are part of a large, underground city that was built when the world above was destroyed by an unnamed catastrophe. They attempt to flee the city with the help of some ancient instructions, much to the chagrine of the Mayor (Bill Murray) and his assistant, played by Toby Jones.

I really liked the idea, but the film feels way too frantic and rushed with the kids running all over solving puzzles and whatnot. What I didn't understand is if their ancient elders had an idea to let them return to the surface 200 years later, why not make it much simpler? Why go through a series of hoops and dangers to rebuild society? I also felt that the lack of mentioning the cause of destruction hurt the film as it could've added a layer of thought and commentary to the flick.

I did enjoy Murray as a corrupt, sloth Mayor and Tim Robbins has a small, but interesting role in the film. Had it been flushed out more and been allowed time to build character and expand on the situation, it would've been much better. Rating- ** out of ****