Movies You Watched This Week 1

This is a new thread that I am starting. Please write mini-reviews or comment on the movies that you watched this week. Since this is the first thread please use this thread for any movie that you watched from 1st January 2012 to 31st January, 2012. I will be creating a new thread every Sunday/Monday depending on what you guys want.

The Ides of March
The Ides of March is an adaptation of Beau Willimon’s play Farragut North. The movie stars Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers, an idealistic deputy campaign manager for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney), who is in a major political battle in Ohio that could be the key to winning the Democratic presidential nomination. When the opposing candidate’s campaign manager (Paul Giamatti) offers Stephen a job on his staff, Stephen neglects to inform his boss (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Just as that omission is revealed, Stephen uncovers a dirty personal secret that could sink Morris’ political career.

The movie is very engaging. Its basically a tale of loss of innocence of a political operative. Based on the conversation in the beginning between Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) and Ida (Marisa Tomei), the New York Times reporter, one suspects that Mike Morris (Clooney) will not be the ideal candidate he is portrayed to be. You are expecting a twist but it still catches you by surprise. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but I found the behavior of a character very implausible. I read online that the play differs from the film in this aspect. If what I read is true I think they should have stayed true to the play.

The movie is directed by George Clooney and it is very well directed except for that one complaint that I have. The movie stars Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei. All these actors except Evan Rachel Wood have won or at least been nominated for an Oscar. Evan Rachel Wood is a Golden Globe Award winner too. So the performances are excellent.

The movie already won Golden Globe Nominations for Best Picture – Drama, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay. It will probably win some Oscar nominations too. Those who have read Julius Caesar will find The Ides of March title apt for the movie.

Rating: 3.5/5

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10 Comments
  1. narad_muni 13 years ago

    Thanks for starting this thread.. I was myself thinking of starting one.
    One advice – since this is a new forum and we don’t have too many members, we can have a fortnightly or monthly thread instead of a weekly thread. And also make it sticky for some time.

    Some movies which I watched recently, not necessarily the last week –

    A Separation (Iranian) – What a movie..it is beyond ratings. The best movie of 2011 for me. It covers various aspects about society, religion, egos, relationships, and above all, humanity. I think the budget of the movie will be less than 1 crore and some of the shots are taken with handheld cameras. Just goes to show that you do not need money to make a good movie. Rating 10/10

    A walk to remember – The story is nothing new … we have seen lots of Hindi movies with a similar theme. But the treatment makes it worth watching…it will surely touch your soul. Highly recommended for the Romance lovers.
    Rating -7.5/10

    13 B – This is a low budget horror movie starring Madhavan..I heard about this movie but never cared to check it out. Saw this last weekend as it was being played in one of the channels. To my surprise, I found the movie to be quite engrossing. I don’t know if they have copied the concept of ghosts using television as a medium from some other movie but it seemed innovative to me. The screenplay is tight and gripping mostly and does not dilute the impact with songs or unnecessary scenes. The climax was bit of a letdown and predictable thought. Good watch. Rating – 7/10

    • Author
      sputnik 13 years ago

      I thought of doing a Monthly movies thread but then somehow did this week thread as I wanted it to be for current week. There are quite a few members here but they have not been commenting that often. Hopefully this thread will wake them up from their slumber 😉

      I have yet to see Separation. Its on my list of movies to see. In the next few weeks I plan to watch a lot of movies.

      Watched A walk to remember a few years back on HBO. Yes it was a good watch.

      I had liked 13B too and my thoughts were similar to yours too on the climax and ending. This was a review that I wrote when 13B released.

      13B Movie Review by Sputnik

    • Author
      sputnik 13 years ago

      I added a link to this thread on the top right corner. It will always link to the current week’s thread. Thanks for the suggestion.

  2. Raj 13 years ago

    Good to see such a thread here..
    1.Primal Fear…Thriller…starring Richard gere who is a hot shot lawer who fights a high profile case for Edward norton who is accused of murder…Very comeptent thriller …Deewange by ajay devgan was a frame to frame copy of this movie… 7/10..

    2.Strage day..This movie is written by James Cameroon and directed by his wife…after watching the credits my expectations soared up for obvious reasons..The movie was ok ..Nothing great…a thriller..but a longish one for its genre..5/10..

    Watching Sherlock Homes tonight..would a write a review tomorrow..

    • Author
      sputnik 13 years ago

      @Raj,

      This kind of thread is a very common feature of many online movie forums so I thought it should be here too.

      Saw Primal Fear a few years back. Have not seen Deewangee though. Edward Norton was brilliant and he got a well deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. And this was his first movie.

      I don’t know if you have seen these movies but I would recommend the following movies of his.

      American History X which is about Race issues in US. He got a Best Actor Oscar nomination for that one.

      Fight Club also starring Brad Pitt. It is directed by David Fincher, the director of The Social Network and Seven.
      It has a twist at the end so some will like it and some will not.

      The Score also starring Robert De Niro. Its a heist movie and I think it was decent/ok. The Italian Job which is another heist movie was also good fun.

      The Illusionist is also very good movie. I had written a small review a couple of years back.

      Reccos: The Illusionist

  3. I.One 13 years ago

    Thanks for creating this thread.

    Have watched only one movie this week – The Godfather. Actually its my first watch! People have raved so much about this movie so I decided to have a go and must say its worth the praise. Brilliant movie and have plan to watch its other 2 parts as well. Will write as and when I get time. For Godfather its 4.5 from me.

  4. sanket porwal 13 years ago

    1. PLAYERS- PLAYERS is your popcorn film which has a good story, a very good first half, and enthralling final 30 minutes, and some good performances. It has its negatives which resticts the entertainment level. Also the length which should have been deleted by 30 minutes or more (The emotional factor, the Omi-Sikander arguments and also the romance angle were not adjusting well in the narration) for better and efficient flow. But after diluting all the negatives I will still say, Go For It!

    Rating- 6/10

    2. CHAALIS CHAURASI (4084)- Writing a script is not an easy task, especially when it has to be smart. This new outing CHAALI CHAURASI (4084) was one such story which had enough potential to be a smart one, but at the end it just remains entertaining-in-bits-and-spurts film. The incidents are not organised well in the narration resulting in faulty screenplay. Although Hriday Shetty sets some amazing sequences post-intermission, but takes too much of screen time in establishing the base

    The first half is so long that you cringe in embarrasment, despite there are few genuinely good dialogues and few decent scenes. Very few films bounces back in the business after the first half, and CHAALIS CHAURASI (4084) is that rare exception. The second half is so humorous and thrilling that you come over many lapses of first half. The film automatically becomes pacy and the director keeps his command on the momentum. To cut the long story short, it is not totally entertaining, but a fairly engaging comic thriller.

    Rating- 5/10

  5. Author
    sputnik 13 years ago

    Saw Agneepath and I liked it. Will write a detailed review soon. Liked performances from everyone – Hrithik, Sanjay, Priyanka, Om Puri and Rishi above everyone else. The movie is a little bit long and is relentless. It is a bit exhausting because it has no comedy. Never liked old Agneepath and I think this is better than the old Agneepath.

  6. ali 13 years ago

    Good Initiative Sputnik.
    I watched Rang (1993) again after 19 years and it was a trip to old memory lane.
    Sanu was on Top then and every song is so melodious.

    • Author
      sputnik 13 years ago

      Thanks Ali.

      I have not seen Rang since I first saw in 1993. Yeah all songs were melodious and they were big hits. The movie did quite well back then.

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