What was the last movie you saw?

[Edwards Ragazza]

Remember Me

[Jestak]

The Terminator was the film that put a couple of men named James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger on the map, movie industry-wise. While both men have gone on to bigger things, I don't think either has ever made a better film. I'm sure the story needs little introduction--a killer cyborg is sent from the future to kill the mother of a future human resistance leader, a human is sent back to protect her. That's about it. Cameron is known these days for big films with bloated budgets, so it may shock some to learn that he made Terminator on a budget of $6 million--a bit more buying power in 1984 than today, but still a modest budget for a sci-fi, spfx-dependent movie back then (Return of the Jedi, one year earlier, had a budget of over $30 million). On that modest budget, Cameron gives us a little over 100 minutes where the suspense never lets up for more than the briefest of interludes. Brad Fiedel's pounding score amplifies the mood very effectively. Schwarzenegger, meanwhile, has a tremendous when he's onscreen, dominating every scene he's in despite having minimal dialogue. This one is, in its own way, a modern classic and not to be missed.

[Edwards Ragazza]

The Book of Eli starring Denzil Washington

[The girlie-wolf]

Toy Story 3

[Jestak]

Over the past fifty years and more, there have been a lot of great crime films out of France. What makes La Balance unusual is that it was directed by an American, Bob Swaim. A Paris police squad led by Palouzi (Richard Berry) is determined to bring down the area's top mobster, Massina (Maurice Ronet). When their snitch is murdered, they recruit a replacement--a sometime pimp named Dede Laffont (Philippe Leotard). To get him to cooperate they put pressure on his hooker girlfriend, Nicole (Nathalie Baye), forcing Dede and Nicole to try to extricate themselves from a nearly impossible situation. Both the cops and gangsters are portrayed as equally ruthless; like Sam Fuller in Pickup on South Street, Swaim clearly sympathizes with the lovers who are caught in the middle. This one is very good.

[The girlie-wolf]

Taking Woodstock

[Jestak]

I watched the quirky but interesting Freeway tonight. It's an offbeat, modestly budgeted thriller, sort of in the "Wild Things" line, which attempts to tell a very modern version of the "Red Riding Hood" tale, mixed with some black comedy and some unsubtle but pointed social commentary. In this version, "Red" is a sub-working class teen named Vanessa (Reese Witherspoon, excellent as usual); when her mother and stepfather are arrested, she sets out to find her grandmother's house. On the way, she accepts a ride from a human "wolf" named Bob Wolverton (Kiefer Sutherland), and sure enough, there's dirty work afoot. Not a classic, but worth watching for a terrific performance from Witherspoon, and also for the late Brittany Murphy in a small role.

Reese Witherspoon is one of my favorite actresses, but one thing I'm kind of saddened by is that she's gotten a lot less daring in terms of the roles she takes. In the 1990s she'd regularly do films like this one or Election, where she played really fascinating characters--often flawed, but never bland. She hasn't done anything like this lately; I wish she would now and then.

[pennybug84]

Toy Story 3. Great movie!! It was a little different than I expected but I still loved it. I'm so glad this is a franchise that hasn't gone down hill w/the sequels. (*cough* Shrek3 *cough*)

[The girlie-wolf]

Twilight

Toy Story 3. Great movie!! It was a little different than I expected but I still loved it.

Tottally agree:D

[LestatFan17]

Theaters: Toy Story 3. Great same as all the other Pixar movies
DVD: The Blues Brothers. Absolutly hilarious!