What Emmanuelle Movie Did You Just Watch?

[Matt]

how much? Thinking about buying it after work if the price is right.

[B_Metal]

GAWDINEEDAJERBSOICANBUYNEWTECHTOYS!!!!

[Bobby Bear]

repaired...

You saw through my whole facade... and exposed it in style. Bravo, sir!

That was a great movie, Ed. Maguire delivered, and his character arc played out nicely.

My overriding memory of that film is the strength of Maguire's performance. Must be about ten years since I saw it late on TV one night and that's still the first thing that came to mind. That, and Jewel (whatever became of Skeet Ulrich?)

[Ed Hocken]

He was on Law & Order: LA until his character was shot.

[BillyG]

how much? Thinking about buying it after work if the price is right.

I think it was like $17 on Amazon. Not sure, I ordered it months ago.

Just finished it. Amazing. Beautiful. Incredible performances. Why does it not have a stack of Oscars?

[Ben Thomas]

Maybe because when all is said and done, The Social Network, The Kings Speech and The Fighter are all better films.

Look, I love the Coens and I LOVE Roger Deakins (he got shafted, in my opinion), but TG is far from a classic and has a pretty stodgy final act. Its still really, really good. But there were better films last year.

[Ben Thomas]

Seen so much recently...

The Manchurian Candidate (Denzel edition) - just an excellent film, up and down. Barely puts a foot wrong and stands shoulder to shoulder with the finest paranoid thrillers out there. Demme's presence as a director has never been put to better use. The three principles are, unsurprisingly, delivering Oscar-worthy performances.

Pierrepoint - very tender, small film about Britain's number one post-war hangman. Timothy Spall does incredible work and, while it may not change your life, this is one of those small British gems that deserves to be seen. Directed by Early Doors' Adrien Shergold, which surprised me until I looked up the rest of his work.

The Ghost/The Ghost Writer - its just called The Ghost over here, even though they didn't bother telling whoever put the end credits together. Had little to no desire to see this on initial release, mainly because the trailer didn't blow my skirt up. In honesty, its a difficult film to sell, because its not so much the story that's that interesting, its Polanski's approach - simultaneously detached and intimate. Just an excellent adult thriller, the likes of which we don't get too often, and a classic Polanski denouement. This is McGregor doing solid work and Brosnan knocking it out of the park.

The American - I loved this film. Clooney continues to do wonders with very little, Violante Placido is just wow on legs, but this is Anton Corbijn's film. As much as critics may have referenced Le Samourai and the Italian thrillers of the 50s and 60s, there is just as much of Taxi Driver and Michael Mann's Thief on display here (perhaps because those filmmakers were in turn influenced by the Italians). Again, the story is very simple, but the simple layers that build on top of one another before giving way to that forehead-smacking final shot are so fragile and exquisite that I have to mark this out as one of my favourite of last year's films. Its so nice to have a film take the time to give you the details that make up these characters' lives, whether it be putting a gun together or the reaction of a lover during sex - Corbijn knows exactly how much to show and when to hold back, in order to have you exactly where he wants you. This is a major work for me and I'm a little shocked at how luke-warm its response was. Is that just down to expectation, or am I that starved for mature thrillers these days?

I also re-watched Deathly Hallows 1 (even better than I remembered - lots of 28 Days Later in the mid-section) and Unstoppable, which was so much fun and - I agree with you guys - Tony Scott's most solid work in a decade. Seriously, it takes just as much skill to put something like that together in the manner he did as something like Black Swan, in my opinion. Not a classic, sure, but a damned entertaining MOVIE, which is what Scott does best, and thankfully short on CG. And Pine continues to interest me.

[Bobby Bear]

Crazy Heart

Fun with a great performance from Bridges, but I wasn't awestruck the way I thought/hoped I'd be. Thought Gyllenhaal was probably the best she's ever been here. Can't believe some of Farrell's accent wasn't corrected in post. The bit where he's walking out of the diner with Blake had a moment of Sam Worthington level slippage.

The Foot Fist Way

About a handful of genuine laughs surrounded by that kind of sub-Curb improv style humour and tone that's so popular now in films like this. Massive let-down.

[BillyG]

Maybe because when all is said and done, The Social Network, The Kings Speech and The Fighter are all better films.

Oh Ben you so crazy! But seriously, I have seen and loved Social Network and The Fighter, but neither even sniff True Grit's greatness. At least for me.

[B_Metal]

I loved The Fighter but I'd argue True Grit was on equal footing with it. Of course I just watched TG last night so it's fresh on my brain but I enjoyed every bit of it.

[Martin]

The Mechanic

Holy fucking shit was that FUN. Statham is definitely the Action star of the decade. Fun, easy and electrifying, The Mecahnic sure surprised the fuck out of me by being the balls-to-the-walls movie Faster hope it was.

Faster

Nice try Dwayne. Keep doing those movie instead of Game Plans shit. Not bad, not great, but see above.

[BillyG]

Watched Mother and I Saw The Devil on Instant just now. Wow, Korea. WOW. Both incredible films, but what is with the Korean view that all women are either sluts or sexual assault victims?

So Mother was not what I expected, but great regardless. It was a lot more muted than I expected it to be. I think muted is the word at least. The reveals in that movie are just perfectly paced, and each one is responded to with perfection by the titular Mother. Anyone know what exactly that is she is cutting up? Dried wheat or something?

I Saw The Devil. Holy shit. Think I have a new favorite Korean film, and maybe new favorite foreign film. Unrelentingly violent and bleak, except the awesome trip to meet the cannibal. Maybe I'm just fucking twisted but I thought the stuff with the cannibal character was darkly humorous. I don't know if I would watch this with a wife/GF though. They probably won't be too comfortable, and you definitely won't be getting any for a few days. The lead, whom is a "secret agent" of some kind, is probably my new favorite secret agent. Motherfucker is bad to the bone. When he rips the door off the SUV then swings it around and...well just watch this fucking movie already. American tag line for this movie -

Oh Dae Su? OH DIE SOON

EDIT: Brittany tried to write this off as the "Korean Hostel or Saw" just because of the violence, and that is so far off the mark it's funny. The emotion all of these characters go through and the performances to convey those emotions earn this film every single drop of stage blood.

[Martin]

I Saw the Devil is awesome.

[B_Metal]

Social Network.... What can I say that you guys haven't already? Winklevoss's ruled, Jesse what'shisnuts played asshole to the bone and I feel slightly dirty using FB now. Still liked True Grit more though. By just a little though.

[Martin]

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Boring mess. M. Night sucks. That's the amount of words. I'll waste on this.