The Thread all about Good Movies

Modeled after the "Thread all about good books", I thought this might be in order. This might cut down on a few recommendation threads, or also allow for movies that you felt you saw recently were awesome, but might not warrant a decent thread dedicated to its discussion.

In similar suit:
What you might do here:

• Suggest a movie to the community
  
• Ask the community for a movie you might like
  
• Just give your opinion of a movie, either good or bad
  
• etc.
  

I'll start this off by a model post, inspired by the style of the book thread. I'll just list some of the stuff I watched this month.

The Blind Side

 Spoiler

"The Blind Side" depicts the remarkable true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle. --© Warner Bros

Usually, when my friends go to watch a movie, I usually expect a piece of crap; they usually have horrible taste in selecting films, and most of the time, we watch some obscure little talked about movie that sucks- see: "The Stepfather" remake. I expect nothing because I've gotten almost 0 word on these things because they usually choose at the last minute, and come incredibly pissed. As usual, I walked not knowing what to expect; and came out liking it. A beautiful movie that came out of nowhere.

The Sting

 Spoiler

Hoping that box-office lighting might strike twice, George Roy Hill again joined forces with Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who star as con men Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker in THE STING. In the Chicago of the 1930s, Johnny's partner, Luther (Robert Earl Jones), is fatally wounded by a victim of one of their scams who turns out to be powerful syndicate boss Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Eager for revenge, Johnny takes a tip from his dying partner and seeks out mutual friend Gondorff, a consummate master of the long con. Gondorff rouses himself from his alcoholic inertia and agrees to help Johnny take down the despicable Lonnegan, conscripting an army of grifters ready to avenge their friend's death. The labyrinthine plot, which is stuffed with false leads, red herrings, and a double-cross-a-minute, involves a fake bookie joint, a very persistent FBI agent, a bunch of corrupt cops, and one shifty dame. An extremely entertaining film, the Oscar-winning film transcends the genre through the superb acting of the three leads, the keen attention to the re-creation of period detail, and a fiendishly intricate script that cons audiences completely. The wonderful score, which became immensely popular, featured Marvin Hamlisch's orchestral transcriptions of Scott Joplin's piano rags; the film led to a revival of interest in the composer. The film is one of the most entertaining films of the 1970s and lives up to its hype on repeat viewings.

What an amazing movie. There's plot twist after plot twist in pulling off the heist, and it becomes flawless in that it comes out clearly instead of an incomprehensible and stupid mess. One scene after the other, there's always something that's surprising me. It's amazing how every little factor gets resolved in this giant mix of a movie. The film always kept me attentive and on my toes waiting to see what would happen. I even admit to being mislead at times. Pretty thrilling and suspenseful stuff, particularly with the way chase scenes are handled; namely with the investigator after him. I love how Robert Redford as Hooker was just toying around with the detective after him for most of the movie; like in the train station scene.

Up

 Spoiler

From Disney•Pixar comes Up, a comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. From the Academy Award®-nominated director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.), Disney•Pixar’s Up invites you on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth. UP will be presented in Disney Digital 3-D in select theaters. --© Disney Pixar

This movie comes very close to being a perfect film. There's amazing storytelling to be found in Up in its story about dreams and adventure, and after four viewings (once in 3D when it originally came out, once in traditional 2D with friends, and recently twice: one for film analysis in Video Production 2 and once in a class that was too lazy to teach on the last day before winter break) there are a lot of interesting things I picked up on.

 Spoilers to the first few minutes of the movie

Up features a sequence in which its Carl Fredericksen as an aged old man after living his life with his wife he's known since childhood sits alone at her funeral as he clutches the same colored balloon as the blue one he held when he first met her as he is surrounded by balloons at the altar. Many have interpreted the scene that he took an extra moment to mourn in sadness of the events and how it deeply affected him, however on the contrary, it can also be seen from another perspective that they were a lonely old couple with no one they knew anymore and know that his wife died, he became truly alone. Now that's storytelling for you: there's a lot to be said in those single seconds in the dialogue-less storytelling set to a wistful take on a recurring piano theme throughout the film. And after that, I love the gentle fade into him holding that very same balloon and walking into his house sadly. In fact, the entire silent sequence tells a whole lot of story and back story for the events of the film; and it's also a very touching sequence too in how it talks about his hopes and dreams and the hardships he and his wife endured. The scene where the doctor is explaining to the wife that she had a miscarriage was incredibly saddening (on another note, at this moment, many parents had to explain to their kids that it simply meant: "she can't have a baby". Actually, when I first watched this movie, I thought it was that she was infertile or something, but I think the other interpretation is better).

There's a lot of recurring motifs that I picked up on. Blue balloons definitely show up a lot in the beginning of the film after the very opening sequence. The significance it holds of course is that it's the color of the very balloon Carl met when he met his wife Ellie. When she sends a letter through his window, that's a blue balloon. As she sits in the hospital and he sends her a letter in the same way she did to him as a kid, it's a blue balloon also. At the funeral and as he heads home, it's a blue balloon as I mentioned before. It's a very significant symbol in Carl and Ellie's relationship. Every detail has some sort of significance in meaning or used as a plot device: the grape soda badge, Ellie's Adventure Book and the little crayon drawing on the ripped library book page, the very furniture and pictures in his house, tennis balls,... everything. Almost nothing is forgotten about. Every line of dialogue is never wasted.

I also noted some choices that seemed interesting for a children's movie.

 Some Major Spoilers

The blood, the gun that Charles Muntz starts shooting at them with, and miscarriage.

Star Wars Episode IV and Star Wars Episode V
No synopsis needed here. Probably everyone's seen these.

Amazingly, it's my first time watching the two of these. I'll just leave this at the title: no need to say anything, it's Star Wars Episode IV and V- once you hear mentioned, you'll instantly think of how legendary and awesome these films are.

The Hangover

 Spoiler

From "Old School" director Todd Phillips comes a comedy about a bachelor party gone very, very wrong. Two days before his wedding, Doug (JUSTIN BARTHA) drives to Las Vegas with his best buddies... From "Old School" director Todd Phillips comes a comedy about a bachelor party gone very, very wrong.

Two days before his wedding, Doug (JUSTIN BARTHA) drives to Las Vegas with his best buddies Phil and Stu (BRADLEY COOPER and ED HELMS) and his future brother-in-law Alan (ZACH GALIFIANAKIS), for a blow-out bachelor party they vow they'll never forget.

But when the three groomsmen wake up the next morning with pounding headaches, they can't remember a thing. Their luxury hotel suite is beyond trashed and the groom is nowhere to be found.

With no clue about what happened and little time to spare, the trio must attempt to retrace their bad decisions from the night before in order to figure out where things went wrong in the hopes of finding Doug and getting him back to L.A. in time for his wedding.

But the more they begin to uncover, the more they realize just how much trouble they're really in.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Green Hat Films Production of a Todd Phillips Movie: "The Hangover," starring Bradley Cooper ("He's Just Not That Into You"), Ed Helms ("The Office"), Zach Galifianakis ("What Happens in Vegas"), Heather Graham ("Baby on Board"), Justin Bartha (the "National Treasure" films) and Jeffrey Tambor ("Arrested Development").

The film is directed by Todd Phillips ("Old School") from a screenplay by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore ("Four Christmases"). Todd Phillips and Dan Goldberg ("Old School") produce, with Thomas Tull ("Watchmen"), Jon Jashni ("Observe and Report"), William Fay ("Observe and Report"), Scott Budnick ("School for Scoundrels"), Chris Bender ("American Pie," TV's "Kyle XY") and J.C. Spink ("Kyle XY") serving as executive producers.

The creative team includes director of photography Lawrence Sher ("Dan in Real Life"), production designer Bill Brzeski ("The Bucket List"), and editor Debra Neil-Fisher ("Baby Mama"). Music is by Christophe Beck ("What Happens in Vegas"). Soundtrack album is available on New Line Records. --© Warner Bros.

Undoubtedly one of the better comedies I have ever watched. Every single situation is hilarious, and the dialogue is pretty darn funny too.

"I didn't know that they handed out rings at the Holocaust"