[…] comparisons aside, the movie is… Well, just plain old fun. It is a pure joy to watch, unlike that one other movie I said I won’t review. It bucks the conventional trends and blockbuster standards: it uses a vibrant, warm color palette […]

@ IceBrain:

On the other hand, the leading role will be played by Matthew McConaughey, which rather dampens my excitement.

Did you see True Detective? If he’s half as good as he was in that, he’ll be worth watching.

It’s interesting that you have a little side-swipe at Speed (‘if speed were a good movie’). It’s no masterpiece, but as an action film/thriller it is much more compelling than Bay’s films. Speed doesn’t tell us much about the human condition either, but it has competent (even excellent) framing, blocking and editing, which are things Michael Bay can only dream about. The plot is simple and to the point but that just means there’s more time to concentrate on the action, the pace and the suspense. I would argue that compared to other summer movie blockbusters (especially recently) Speed is superb.

That’s the thing I find most bizarre and frustrating about Michael Bay’s films – not that the acting is bad, or the dialogue, but it’s that Bay can’t shoot action sequences competently!

I’m a frequent visitor to the local cinema, so much that our company was hired for their last renovations and the owner and I talk about upcoming movies as much as upcoming works :)
So, I’ve seen that #4. And it was not because I really wanted or was curious due to bad reviews. It was out of boredom and a friend asking if I had anything to waste some time on. So off we went and… meh.
It’s got explosions. It’s got giant robots and… err… story? There’s some well hidden behind smoke of explosions. Something about humans doing too much tech I think.

Other movies I’ve seen in the last time, sorted by how long it’s in the past:

Tinkerbell and the Pirate Fairy – yeah, thanks to kids. Still, nicely done story with a well enough hidden “go for your ambitions, not what others tell you” to not make the parents squirm in their seats while the kids enjoy the pictures.

Maleficent – Another of the “our licence runs out we need to do a reimagining of the stuff” Disney movies. Good picture, twist on the story as you might remember it from being told to you as a kid and -as usual for modern Disney- with a “subtle” message.

A Million Ways… – well, this is a mixed bag. It’s a wild-west-love-story-thingy with sometimes real black/harsh humor and a rather simple love with the expected turn tucked in. Good fun for a while but don’t expect any revelations.

Edge of Tomorrow – that’s a cool action flick, even with TC in the lead. Well, TC isn’t a bad actor per se, just a person I don’t really like. And this movie has everything you’d expect from a good asian novel. A main char that’s constantly beaten/shot/crushed/exploded/burned until he learns to memorize everything, a side char that’s kicking the main in the butt several times over until he learns the ropes and a time-twist element that’s allowing it to take all the shit not serious and allows for some nice comedy.

Bad Neighbors – fun while it lasts, nothing memorable and some scenes in it that might set off sensible audiences.

Snowpiercer – Now that was a great one, seeing my list here the best. We took a 1.5h drive to see it, watched it and then discussed the whole thing on the way back. Great work, shame it got shoved in the small-release-corner.

In a strange coincidence the last movie I have seen is also the oldest one that I have (really) enjoyed: “The Third Man”. I don’t watch many movies and it’s been many years since I stepped into a movie theater.
In fact this and Hair ware the only movies I remember seeing in the past months.

Well, I’m doing my part in ignoring the existence of the Transformers movies. (Well, I was until now.) I remember watching The Rock as a kid and liking it, but that’s all the Michael Bay I’ve seen.

I watched Scott Pilgrim vs The World recently, and… I don’t get it. It had some funny beats, but I didn’t get most of the jokes (like the one about vegans) or the ending. If the movie had a message–about self-respect or emotional baggage or something else–I’d say it whooshed right over me.

This viewing was actually inspired by this video on how to do visual comedy. I watched a couple more Edgar Wright movies afterwards (Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz), and found them somewhat amusing, but nothing special. So it’s been a tepid movie season for me.

(I don’t watch movies in theaters since 3D became the default. I find it dim and annoying.)

About 3 years ago my wife and I decided movie theaters weren’t worth it anymore. Ever since I’ve tended to lag about 6-12 months behind releases, so perhaps I’ll catch up on some of these summer blockbusters over the Christmas holidays. This works out pretty well for me. I’m exposed to very little advertising, so, with a few exceptions, I’m oblivious to what movies are coming out. Since I don’t know about them, I don’t get hyped about them, so there’s no pain in waiting. Ignorance is bliss. After several months it’s pretty well established whether or not movies are worth seeing. If I hadn’t heard about it organically, it’s probably no good. If people won’t stop talking about it (e.g. Game of Thrones), I should probably watch it. If it’s spawned Internet memes, I should probably watch it. Sometimes your own reviews prompt me to watch movies I wouldn’t otherwise watch.

As for recent movies, I finally caught up on some Kevin Smith and Tarantino — movies I should have already watched years ago. I recently watched Dogma, Chasing Amy, Pulp Fiction, and both Kill Bills.

Dogma: Meh. I understand the appeal, and there are some really funny parts, but it’s too Kevin Smith-ithy for me: all the characters are long-winded and sarcastic, making them same-y. Smith is like Pauly Shore in this way: really fun the first time you see him, but he quickly wears out his welcome because it’s always the same act. He’s got action beats planned out predictably, following formula (i.e. that unnecessary poop monster scene). It makes the movie feel amateur.

Chasing Amy: Better, and much more interesting characters. Hooper X is probably my favorite Smith character across all his movies. But the second half of the film dragged on without much more depth. I was just waiting for the movie to resolve itself and end already. I do wish I had seen this as a teenager (I was 12 when it came out) because I think there are some good messages for young people in there.

Pulp Fiction: Not at all what I was expecting. This is because I’ve been watching Tarantino backwards. The first I watched was Inglourious Basterds, where I immediately fell in love with his cinematic style. It’s so obvious that he was influenced by The Big, The Bad, and The Ugly, because there are so many similarities. The opening scene of Basterds, with Christoph Waltz and the French farmer, is the most suspenseful scene of any movie I’ve ever seen. The next film I watched was Jango, which is currently my favorite Tarantino film. Both of these are traditional stories. They have a beginning, a middle, a big climax, and a conclusion. In contrast, Pulp Fiction is a story about a bunch of weird, loosely-connected things happening. There’s no ending or structure, just interesting characters in unusual situations. Cinematically it’s really interesting, and it’s culturally significant, but I wouldn’t watch it again except to see specific details that I missed.

Kill Bill: Except for some of the time jumping, this is another straightforward story. I liked how twists were revealed along the way. I liked the speeches, especially the Superman speech by Bill in the finale. I liked the subtle details, like airplane seats fitted with sword holders as standard in the Tarantino universe. I wanted to see The Bride succeed in her mission. It was a good couple of movies.

Oh, I forgot: what I’m excited about. That would be Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, based on a story by his brother (like Memento, which I still think was his best film). On the other hand, the leading role will be played by Matthew McConaughey, which rather dampens my excitement.

What surprises me is not that people keep reviewing those movies; it’s that they keep watching them. I mean, it’s like you said: you know there’s nothing good coming out of it. I’m not even against mindless entertainment (I play Call of Duty!), but it should be entertaining, not just mindless.

As for what I’ve watched recently, that was Stranger Than Paradise (1984) and Scenes from a Marriage (1973). Yeah, I’m not one to watch many recent movies, when there’s a whole century of good films made before I was born.
I did watch Super based on your recommendation, and it more than made up for a 3 hour plane ride, so thanks for that :)

that was pretty review-y for not wanting to review it…