In fact,just thinking about that damn annoying kid in it makes me want to punch my monitor...

The "hidden message" was not the film's major problem (after all, the original also had plenty of "hidden message" in the script).

It's main problems were "plot adaption" and "Reeves".

Whoa...but Keanu rocks dude!

Like, totes, dude!

Not that the original didn't have its own plot holes.

So, because they're worried that an aggressive humanity will bring war to the galaxy...we'll kill them all?
Then there's the resurrection scene and it's hastily inserted throwaway line that he wasn't ACTUALLY dead for fear of upsetting some audiences about who could accomplish such a thing.

That said, the remake only had better effects and making Gort a collection of nanobots just seemed lame.



I saw Dumb and Dumber To. Pretty much as advertised in the name--exactly what it said it was, no more, no less. Met expectations, which were low, so no disappointment or surprise. Less quotable than the first one, though.



The Jedi Master

Ah, no memorable lines like "Want to hear the most annoying sound in the world?"

Actually, they DID do "2nd most annoying sound" and a couple of the others were likewise brought back.

No NEW ones, though.



The Jedi Master

Ah so only the recycled stuff in the film worked. At least Carrey and Daniels got a paycheck out of it.

Whiplash - with the Farmer's Insurance man, J.K. Simmons. Great music. Decent film. "3.5 of 5."


Ex Machina - probably the best movie I've seen all year. "4.9 of 5." After a summer of super action CGI flicks, it's nice to see a movie that uses CGI to such good effect. The movie peels back a lot of questions regarding artificial intelligence and how we measure it... even in ourselves.

It's still my #1 movie for the year.

Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In America (1984)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087843/

I've seen this movie before a long time ago on VHS but that was the stupid excised 139 version for American audience - cut back from the original Italian 229 min theatrical release.

The version I watched tonight is the full 251 min film originally envisioned by director Sergio Leone in 1983, which was recreated in 2011 using previously cut scenes.



It was shown at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and subsequently released in September 2014 by Warner Bros on a special 2-Disc Blu-Ray set.




Now that I've seen this full version, the story makes more sense and the movie itself is in turn sadder and at the same time more powerful than ever before.

It's very unfortunate this film did not receive the full version release in America in 1984 which caused it to blasted by the critics and shunned at the box office.

Otherwise, it may had very likely received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Photography and Best Musical Score.

This was Sergio Leone's final film in an illustrious 20 year career that begin with the Spaghetti Westerns which elevated Clint Eastwood to an International Superstar.

Damn the studios and the American censors for disrespecting him by cutting his original cut of this film to pieces.

5/5

Despicable Me 2 - meh. lacked the charm of the first animated film.

Just got back from seeing "The Martian" and I thought it was fantastic. This film has a very similar vibe to that of "Apollo 13" so if you liked that movie you should like this one as well. I also didn't think Kristen Wiig could pull of a dramatic role but she did.

Watch any of her SNL skits that weren't funny and you could see her in a dramatic role.



The Jedi Master

heh. She is a bit of a one-trick pony.

Aren't most tv show and film comedians? Just look at Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey, Larry the Cable Guy and Sarah Silverman. They're essentially the same spiel in all of their movies and tv shows.

They do what works. Change your act and people stop paying to see you, and then what's the point?

Anyway, my point was not even a comedian can be funny 100% of the time they're on screen, the rest of the time they're acting, and it's a lot easier to be dramatic than funny. Look at Christoph Waltz's pathetic attempt to be funny on SNL--great actor, but comedy is out of his reach.




The Jedi Master

It could also be a cultural thing. How many funny Austrians do you know of? The only one I can think of is Arnold and he's really only good with the deadpan type humor.

Star Trek movie marathon yesterday on IFC. The wife went out of town. Perfect day.

WC

I hate to say it, but Jim Carrey has a tad more depth than the rest of that crowd.