Recent viewings. Feel free to disagree. or tl;dr

Starred up: 8.5/10 Realistic style prison drama. David Mackenzie did a good job, not a great one... I think he was very lucky with the casting choices in this movie. Jack O'Connell, and Ben Mendelsohn knocked it out of the park, and in my opinion, took a "paint by numbers" prison drama, and turned it into a mini-masterpiece. Some of the scene transitions were off putting, certain characters lacked proper motivation, and it's imagery was heavy handed. The ending, for example, was probably intended to be subtle, but couldn't have been any more obvious. If you want to use a metaphor for the "revolving door" on prisons, maybe you shouldn't use an actual revolving door.

(Side note)
Like "Attack the Block" this movie is loaded with what I assume is South London street tough slang? At times, for me, it was hard to follow. That is not a hindrance, or something that's uncommon for me. I have trouble understanding slang from my own country, forget about places I've never been to, 3,000 miles away. If you're going to watch it, and aren't familiar with that dialect, just use subtitles like I did.

Nightcrawler: 9/10 This movie is going to need a second look. It might be the fact that it caught me off guard, and that's what's clouding my judgement. Quick Back story.. I watch a lot of violent movies, and I'm used to the sociopath on film.. For some reason this sociopath was very unpredictable... The lack of empathy in the writing, and acting, completely snuffed out my ability to relate, which made predicting what would happen impossible. It was also very nice to look at. I think the word "sleek" fits.


Dawn of the planet of the apes: 7/10 Good rental. Great C.G. A lot easier to invest in without James Franco. He's not bad, he's just not a scientist.


22 Jump Street: 5/10 I get it. It's Meta. There is a broad, glaring line (that you can see from space) between a sequels self referential comedy, and completely ripping off the previous film. This movie crossed that line, took a shit, and started filming part 3. Yea.. I laughed. Yea, I'm going to see part 3 in theaters, what of it?

Yea saw starred up few months ago, enjoyed it very much. I work in a forensic setting myself - not like this, more like a secure hospital for people with forensic history... But still enjoyed this and could relate to some of the themes here, the resistance the "screws" give the psychologist regarding lack of insight etc - and the general hierarchy struggle within those settings is always interesting. Yea i guess people outside of the UK may struggle with some of the cockney slang, but it's not exaggerated, that's how people speak :/

Night crawler is on my list to see - heard nothing but great things

Apes, very good - impressive cgi, which isn't surprising. Plot was fairly predicable though. Best scene was the opening hunt.

22 jump street - just cashing in, laughed too. Two scenes that stick with me, the horrendous Mexican impression, and the attempt at saying the same thing as each other ( like the twins opposit in the college halls)

only seen 22 jump street ty for reviews

Have seen everything but Nightcrawler. I agree with your reviews. Starred up was a very pleasant surprise. I enjoy Ben Mendelsohn's performance in virtually every single movie I've seen with him in it. Even if it's just a sporting role. He really puts his heart and soul in to a character. Mad respect. And very underrated actor.

Some of my favorite scenes were between the group, and the psychologist character. I thought the way they were coping with their aggression was very interesting. He wanted them to be aggressive, so they could learn to cope in real time, as opposed to telling them how, and hoping they follow through outside of group. BTW, I personally love the cockney slang, it's way better than southern gangster slang here in the states. fucking shit drives me nuts..



No problem. The top two are very good movies, and the bottom two are nice and simple.



I'm waiting for the chance to see nightcrawler again. Jake's role in this movie was a little overwhelming. He seemed so far removed from what I've come to know. He would go on these long descriptive rants that seemed rehearsed, like he was talking to himself. The lack of empathetic realism, and rehearsed dialog made him almost inhuman. Easily my favorite performance from him so far.

ben's part in Killing them softly

This post was edited by TrouNce on Nov 25 2014 11:00am

Seriously! Awesome actor!