A Bloggers' Film Society: September 2014: Burn After Reading

Has a month come and gone already?  The start of the school year has meant a dearth of posts from yours truly.  Either way it is time for another installment of A Bloggers' Film Society hosted by The Armchair Squid and yours truly.

Our Society is just starting out.  Please consider checking out the other folks who have signed up to review this month's offering by clicking HERE!  And perhaps YOU will join us next month?

Currently #812 on my flickchart list

As you may or may not know, The Squid and I are friends in real life.  I love the man like a brother.  The Venn diagram of us has more in the middle than not.  That being said, our entertainment tastes do not always line up.  From the outside looking in, one might consider him more...cultural...in a great many ways.  I like that we do line up enough so that when we are not in sync, we can have intelligent conversations none-the-less.

I really wanted to like this movie.  But I did not.

I am not a Focus Film fan.  For awhile, Nan and I used it as our buzzword to dismiss a movie out of hand.  And like most Focus Films, this one seemed to be trying too hard, Frances McDormand and George Clooney especially.  I kept expecting one of them to pull out the old Jon Lovitz as Master Thespian "ACTING!" line.  And like Clooney's overall performance, I felt the movie couldn't pick a style and stick with it.  Serious drama?  Wacky comedy?  Spy flick? Comedy of errors?  If it wanted any or all of them, I do not feel it succeeded.

Looking over the Coen brothers' body of work, I realize that I have seen many of their films but have liked few.

But there were parts I liked in here.  Some of the dialog and scenes really crackled, especially early on.  John Malkovich was a hoot.  JK Simmons' world-weary, semi-clueless CIA boss was a delight (though, to be honest, I don't think I've ever seen him in a role I didn't like).  And whereas some actors (like Clooney, Bruce Willis or Tom Cruise) often have a hard time convincing me they are playing a character that is NOT them, Brad Pitt usually surprises me.  This time was no different.  I think I just like the guy as an actor.

Overall, the movie started out intriguing.  I was hooked and interested,  but at some point it just sort of lost its way.  Perhaps it was intentional.  I do not know.  But at that point I no longer cared.

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Please consider joining us next month.  Squid will reveal our next installment on his blog.  He and I are planning on watching the movie together with our Third Musketeer.  I am looking forward to the movie and the company!

Film Festival Friday, December 28, 2012

I had a longer post prepared for this in my head.  However, the need to clear the driveway every few hours as well as pack for a trip this weekend has cut down on my time!

I also have not watched as many movies as I thought I would this break.  The biggie, however, was seeing Jack Reacher last Saturday with my three cousins (we think the last movie we all saw together was Return of the Jedi in 1983!)

Subbing in for my absent brother was The Armchair Squid.  He missed lunch (which was packed with shared recollections and a whole lot of Reacher talk) but met us at the theater.  He has not read any of the books while the rest of us had.  He claims there was a lot of giggling and chatter among the four of us.

All in all we agreed it was a good movie and Tom Cruise did a fine job.  We are eager for more!!

Currently #90 on my flickchart list

Film Festival Friday: November 30, 2012

I realize that I had two double-feature days this past week!  And I spent more time in the theater this past Saturday watching movies than the rest of the entire year ("The Avengers" notwithstanding!).

We did a double-date lunch and a movie with one of my cousins on Saturday.  After an underwhelming lunch at The Essex Bakery and Cafe, we braved the crowds and went to see "Skyfall".

Currently #108 on my flickchart list

I did enjoy the movie but I struggle with it as a "Bond" flick in general and this new "realistic" Bond in particular.  I am an unabashed fan of Pierce Brosnan.  I am fine with the quips and gadgets of the past.  There was not enough "secret agent double O-7" in this.  And the villain seemed to harken back to the Roger Moore era.  But all in all, it was a satisfying "man movie".

When we went to pick up our kids, both Lars and I thought there was a chance our only cousin-in-common would be free and interested in seeing "Red Dawn".  When Lee proved to be unavailable  perhaps saving himself for a guy's night of "Jack Reacher", Lars and I went ahead on our own.

Currently #214 on my flickchart

A fun, if predictable, updating of the movie from my youth.  It hit all the right notes and most of the cast was pretty good.  I continue to enjoy Chris Hemworth's non-Thor roles and Josh Hutcherson hasn't disappointed me yet.  The secondary lead, Josh Peck, is a former child actor trying to get his bearings.  He left me slightly under-impressed.

Yesterday, while I was recovering from my night out, I hit Redbox for two different sort of movies.

Currently #91 on my flickchart list

I had intended to watch "Quantum of Solace", which Lars had loaned me, but saw this when I went to rent my second feature.  I always enjoy Denzel Washington and he did not let me down here.  It had a certain gritty-realism and believe-ability.  My next movie...not so much.

Currently #199 on my flickchart list

Nan and Wikes went to see "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" during a Girls' Night Out when it opened.  It had piqued my interest and I zeroed in on it for my day off once I scheduled it.  So I toasted up my Stouffers French Bread Pizza (my work day off staple) and popped this one in.

I got what I expected...a fun romp that takes it self just seriously enough (in terms of characters and acting....not so much the action, especially the horse stamped scene!)

Final Film Festival Friday: August 3, 2012

As the title indicates, this is the last time I am regularly planning on blogging about the week's movies.  These seem to be popular posts and I have enjoyed the comments here and on some of your blogs.  I'll post about movies and update the flickchart but probably with less regularity.

This week, we hit Redbox to purchase a few flicks and on our way out of town after the golf tournament (using chewing gum to hold the power steering together!) we stumbled across a video store and grabbed a few more!

Currently #34 on my flickchart list.

Currently #73 on my flickchart list.

After watching Captain America recently, I scoured local Redboxes until I found the one selling both of the Iron Man movies.  Both were better than I remembered.  A rainout of our kickball practice last week let us do a double feature!

The video store we found sold us the next three for $21.  Considering Redbox doesn't include the boxes, I might consider this a better deal.  Nan, Haley and I watched Super 8.  The girls liked it, as I had hoped.  I grabbed Three Musketeers for Logan and Mission Impossible to add to my Sunday afternoon lesson planning rotation.

Currently #86 on my flickchart.

Currently #464 on my flickchart list.

Currently #113 on my flickchart list.

I scoured (did I already scour something else in this post?) the shelves for Thor but no luck.  I made Haley ask the boy working if they had any copies for sale and he said no.  Nan tells me I offered to buy one that they was still a rental copy and the kid said yes!  We watched it almost immediately once we got home.  Now we are ALL jonesing for The Avengers upcoming release!!

Currently #31 on my flickchart list.

Film Festival Friday: July 20, 2012

Currently #30 on my flickchart list.

This was the other anniversary gift I received from my wife!  I am pleased to say it held up on the second viewing.  I had not seen it since it was in the theater LAST July!

I thought the casting and story were prefect.  I had such reservations when Chris Evans was cast as Cap but he did such a great job here and in "The Avengers"!

I have seen a few places recently where this received some knocks, but it sits well with me!

Film Festival Friday: July 13, 2012

Back to a movie heavy week!   And a la my Goodreads question last weekend, are we connected on flickchart?

Currently #45 on my flickchart list

This is the ONLY Star Trek film that I have not seen on the big screen and the ONLY movie I have ever watched through...questionable means before purchasing!  

I kicked off the chores needed to get the house ready for tomorrow's big summer birthday bash by putting this on in the background on Monday.  I have just finished reading through John "Buck" Field's "Star Trek by the Minute" posts and it made me want to watch this again.  

Currently #189 on my flickchart list

At some point last week, I apparently told my children I would take them to the drive-in to see this.  I don't recall when or why but my daughter remembered.  So I scrambled to load the mini-van before kickball on Monday night.  The game ended with BARELY enough time for us to hit the mini-mart, drive home, switch vehicles and get to the drive-in.  As it was, we were about 8 minutes late.  The kids laid down in the back of the van on an air mattress while Nan and I were going to sit outside.  However, the mosquitoes were CRAZY bad.

By the time we FINALLY got settled, we might have missed about 15 minutes.  That being said, I still enjoyed the movie.  My expectations were VERY low.  While Spider-Man 2 is high on my overall list, I HATED Tobey Maguire.   And I had read enough about this one to be prepared to be disappointed.  I could've waited for DVD but it was a fun night mostly because...

Currently #3 on my flickchart

"The Amazing Spider-Man" was paired up with MIB3...which I have NO desire to see.  However, "Brave" was playing on screen 3...and "The Avengers" was the second feature!!!

This was my FIFTH time seeing the movie.  The third time at the drive-in.  The other four times seeing this were within the first 10 days of its release.  And I know I am biased, but the movie STILL holds up for me.

I see no plot holes that I can't explain in-movie.  I have nothing negative to say about this movie.  I am SERIOUSLY thinking of renaming this blog based on a line from this movie.

I'm giddy about the success of this movie.  My daughter and the principal at my school both asked..."Why?".  I told them, simply put, imagine something you enjoy in a niche-y sort of way....suddenly, after 30 years of liking it, EVERYONE likes it.  I know it is not the best analogy, but, then again, I teach math.

Currently #318 on my flickchart list.

On Tuesday, Logan and I watched "Wrath of the Titans".  I grew up on the original "Clash of the Titans" and found the re-make "okay", though a bit much for me to watch with the boy.  Since then, he has devoured the "Percy Jackson" books and movie so I thought we could give it a go...

I'm not sure if I was still tired from the late night at teh drive in, but this one couldn't hold me.  I think I nodded off during the build up.  I brewed some coffee and soldiered on for the final hour or so but...meh.

Film Festival Friday: July 6, 2012

It was a weak movie week for me.  The only thing I watched was LAST Friday after I posted. And sitting and watching "Deep Impact" reminded me of why I am usually doing something else while it is playing.  It actually fell from #115 to #708 when I re-ranked it on flickchart.

So this week's film themed post brings you the "Jack Reacher" trailer.  I first saw it on Tuesday and waited until today to post it (Here, at least....I was all over it on The Facebook instantly!).  Cruise's inability to change his vocalization hurts him, but he nails enough Reacherisms to make me happy here.

BONUS:  A friend sent me these two pics he snapped last summer during filming.  The director's chair was taken through a window on the set.  The other, he says he got because "[t]hey just left the cars parked on a city street during the day, not very subtle, two hotrods next to 10 fake cop cars."

Film Festival Friday: 6/29/12

Another week, another batch of movies!

Currently #74 on my flickchart list.

The week started very rainy here in Vermont. I took advantage of that and spent some time Monday on the computer working on my comic book database and put "Serenity" on in the background.

I am a late-to-the-party Whedon fan.  I had read his comic book runs on "Astonishing X-Men" (enjoyed it) and "Runaways" (caused me to drop the book) but hadn't seen any of his TV work.  We were fans of Nathan Fillion from "Castle" and once The Armchair Squid shared he had enjoyed "Firefly", we hunted down the series and become instant converts.

I'm not sure how the movie works as a stand alone film as I've not spoken to anyone who has seen it but NOT seen the show.  The phenomenal opening tracking shot (actually TWO shots nicely cut together) does a great job of introducing you to the main characters and setting up the story.  It is action packed, funny, grim and exciting!

Currently #124 on my flickchart list

Tuesday's comic session had "Live Free or Die Hard" with Bruce Willis playing in the background.  I went with the unrated version.  I remember seeing this in the theater when it was PG-13 and realizing how badly they had erred by going with a lower rating.  Die Hard NEEDS to be an R rated adventure. 

Currently #37 on my flickchart list

Each summer, I try to send my new class of students a postcard every couple of weeks.  On Wednesday, it was time to send out the first batch.  "Predator" with Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed to be a good choice to have on in the background.

Currently #41 on my flickchart list

Last night Nan and I watched "North By Northwest" with Cary Grant.  What a great movie, from start to finish.  I think a Hitchcock week is in order.  The Armchair Squid recently talked about starting his daughter on some Hitchcock movies....I think that is a GREAT idea!

Film Festival Friday: 6/22/12

Depending on the week, I will either post about the movies we watch during the week OR write about a favorite movie from the past.

I have stated before "my" movies tend to be action or sci-fi and usually get rated around a 6 or 7 on a 10 point scale.  My flickchart list can be found HERE....come be my friend there!

Here is a run down of the movies we watched this past week...hover over each poster for more info!

Currently #90 on my flickchart list

We started with "I Am Legend" with Will Smith.  I had read the book before seeing this in the theaters and remembering liking the movie.  I bought it on Fathers Day for $2.00 and Haley was intrigued.  She asked me on Monday morning if we could watch it.  This movie contains one of the most unsettling images from any movie I have ever seen...

Currently #243 on my flickchart list

Later that day, Logan and I watched "Meet Dave" with Eddie Murphy.  Written by MST3K's Bill Corbett, this movie is actually fun and a family favorite.  

Currently #98 on my flickchart list

  

On Tuesday, Haley and I continued our post-apocalyptic theme with "Reign of Fire" with Christian Bale.  I picked this up at Blockbuster a few years back without ever having seen it.  It just seemed like it would be for me.  

Currently #194 on my flickchart list.

Wednesday night, Logan and I watched "Real Steel" with Hugh Jackman.  (Haley claims she was watching too but was REALLY deep into her iPod and couldn't recall anything about the movie.)  Like "I Am Legend", this movie is based on the writings of Richard Matheson.  This was surprisingly good.  Logan ate it up!  It also gave us a chance to talk about "arcs" in movies and the "three-act structure" of films.  He picked up on the use of the structure in the original "Star Wars" films and to Anakin Skywalker's "journey" through all 6 movies.

Currently #186 on my flickchart list.

Haley and I watched "The Sum of All Fears" with Ben Affleck on Thursday.  This was the first movie we watched this week with a real "plot" that she needed to follow.  I remember watching this in the theaters the summer after the September 11th attacks.  It was a bit intense at the time.  I like the Jack Ryan movies.  I would have been okay with Affleck taking another shot at the role.

Currently #197 on my flickchart list

The last movie of the week, for Logan and I, was "John Carter" with Taylor Kitsch.  This, too, was more fun than I had expected.  The story was strong and the visuals impressive.  I liked some of the "true facts" that were weaved into the narrative.  I think we will be buying this one at some point.

I found all the connections between the movies on my own except for ONE where I had to consult "The Oracle of Bacon."  I have seen all the connecting movies at some point, too!  And there were many more connections....so much so I debated making a chart to show them, but....

Have a great weekend!