What movies have you seen recently?

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On The Road.

Based on Jack Kerouac's novel, Sal (Kerouac) goes on a number of road trips with Dean Moriarty - a petty, irresponsible confidence man who Sal absolutely worships, despite his reckless life involving a string of petty crimes, betrayed women, and unplanned pregnancies. Very good movie. Viggo Mortensen's portrayal of William Burroughs ( here called Bull Lee ) is alone worth watching the movie.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Jack the Giant Killer

Jack is a farmboy who gets knighted after saving the princess from a giant. He is then charged with keeping her safe from an evil wizard.

i love dark comedies:

"Young Adult" -- Taken aback when she receives a letter from an old boyfriend announcing that he's just had a baby with his wife, divorced fiction writer Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) decides to return to her small hometown and reconnect with her former lover.

"Rid of Me" -- "Kids can be mean. Adults can be meaner." This biting black comedy follows socially awkward newlywed Meris Canfield, who moves to Portland, Ore., with her hubby only to be deserted by him. She then befriends a wild child who introduces her to the joys of punk rock, sugar and self-discovery.

both films take you on a roller coaster of emotions from start to finish.

^ Young Adult and Rid of Me are two of the best films I've streamed on Netflix in the past few months - loved them both.

Annie Hall

New York comedian falls for Annie Hall.

Saw Irresistible the other day.

A 2006 Australian production featuring Sam O'Neill (otherwise known as "that guy from Jurassic Park"). An interesting look at an illustrator descending into extreme paranoia as she feels her husband's new work colleague is trying to replace her as a mother and wife. Slightly soap opera-esque and B-movie-like in places but it was a pretty good watch.

The Impossible

True story about a family touring in Thailand who get caught in the tsunami caused by an Earthquake in the Indian Ocean in 2004.

4 documentaries about North Korea.
"Kimjongilia"
"Seoul Train"
"The Red Chapel"
"Crossing the Line"

The first two were about the struggles of people trying to escape the country. My feeling is that North Korea seems to keep its people somewhat in the way slaves were kept in the US.

"The Red Chapel" was about some comedians who try to do the world's least funny act as a way of poking fun at North Korea's government.

"Crossing the Line" was about an American who defected to North Korea shortly after the Korean War. This was the most compelling of the stories, perhaps because the idea of defecting to North Korea seems like a pretty counter intuitive thing to do.


Tell No One (2006) (original French title: "Ne le dis à personne" ) - entertaining, solid thriller about a doctor who is being investigated for the death of his wife 8 years earlier. It has some Hitchcock "wrong man" elements and is very well paced. The film indulges in some of the usual cliches such as the detective who ends up siding with the suspect after he recognizes his innocence and the thug who the hero helped in the past who then in turn helps the hero. I watched this because I saw a comment that it was too unique a film to place in any genre. I disagree. It's a well made thriller, but fairly conventional in many ways.

Wadjda (2012) | IMDb entry

Trailer:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neU-ycIOCWY[/youtube]

"The Trip", with Steve Coogan & Rob Brydon

Elysium

Matt Damon plays a blue-collar factory worker who after a freak accident, begins a journey to Elysium, a space colony where only rich people live, and where he can get the treatment he needs. However, because his character is not a citizen of Elysium, his character is not allowed treatment.

At first, I thought Elysium was a rehash of District 9, but IMO, Elysium was just as good of a movie as District 9.

Sharknado

My dad and I were laughing and commentating how bad and silly this movie was.

That's because Elysium's supposed to be the indirect sequel to District 9 - I had to do a double-take when I read an interview with the director confirming as much - http://screenrant.com/elysium-movie-pre ... -9-sequel/ - because unfortunately, I saw barely anything carry over from the first film (except the theme of the story) so to me, it looked like another bland generic American sci-fi movie. What a shame, I really liked District 9's social commentary on South African division (admittedly, I'm slightly biased because I'm from Southern Africa). Anyway, continuing the thread and quelle coincidence, just got done re-watching Tsotsi (Thug)

An Afrikaans film (subtitled) set in Johannesburg following the titular character with a sadistic streak for violence; a successful stabbing and car-jacking goes horribly wrong when the titular character finds a baby in the back seat and suddenly he finds himself having to care for it. It's rather brutal but a wonderful piece examining whether there's some hope of redemption in everyone, no matter their circumstances or upbringing.

Empire of the Sun

Steven Spielberg film about a young boy living in a weathy British family household until he gets taken to Japanese internment camp during World War II.

Rise of the Guardians
Frankenweenie
Percy Jackson's Sea of Monsters

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.

I strongly recommend it if you enjoy laughing. You don't need to be familiar with the franchise.