What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

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ruralavalon
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by ruralavalon »

It's A Wonderful Life, on Amazon Prime.

A Christmas Story, on Amazon Prime.

It's wonderful to have all of our children and grandchildren present for Christmas.
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roamingzebra
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by roamingzebra »

Cruise wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:11 pm
LadyGeek wrote: Sun Dec 12, 2021 9:42 am The Power of the Dog on Netflix, 2021, Rated R, drama / romance / western. A cowboy with a caustic personality learns about love. Very good production. This movie won a lot of awards and I can see why.

This movie is shot in 4K high-def (Dolby Atmos). The scenery is breathtaking and makes my Netflix Premium subscription worthwhile. The producers use the scenery in artistic ways and it becomes as important as the dialog.

The audio is nothing complicated, but it's clear and well done. You can tell they paid attention to microphone placement.
Did we see the same film? :)

My family and I independently watched this film. We all felt like sleeping through it.

My own opinion is that it was a pretentious art film highlighting manipulative behavior by a psychopath, who meets his psychopathic match. Saw some love in this picture, but not by the caustic personality cowboy. Perhaps my professional experiences caused me to view this differently than some.
Add me to the ones who thought "The Power of the Dog" was excellent. The scenery/cinematography was breathtaking, the characters interesting and the storyline novel.

I'm okay with psychopathic behavior onscreen, but I'm glad Phil finally toned it down because wall-to-wall toxic aggression is a real downer. Manipulation, on the other hand, is always interesting. :) And it can co-exist with love, romance, attraction, etc.

If you want pretentious art film, see "The Conformist". I'll probably report on it later after seeing it the third time. Two wasn't enough to get it (sigh), yet 99.9% of all critics agree it's the best film ever made in the universe. Go figure.
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quantAndHold
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by quantAndHold »

It’s a Wonderful Life, on Amazon Prime.

Both my wife and I thought we had seen it before. But it turns out we hadn’t. I wonder how many people remember that the 1918 pandemic plays a key role in that movie?
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by bertilak »

criticalmass wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 10:17 pm West Side Story.
Much better than the 1961 film, and it is closer to the original musical in many ways as well. This one was worth seeing in a cinema.
I saw the 1961 film in 1961.

Huge crowd. The theater had to manage it with a rope divider between the incoming and outgoing crowds. Everyone in my incoming crowd was happy and excited to be going to the big show of the time -- laughing and chatting. The outgoing crowd was silent except for some sobbing and a few tears. I knew something was up!
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Blues »

bertilak wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 5:15 pm
criticalmass wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 10:17 pm West Side Story.
Much better than the 1961 film, and it is closer to the original musical in many ways as well. This one was worth seeing in a cinema.
I saw the 1961 film in 1961.

Huge crowd. The theater had to manage it with a rope divider between the incoming and outgoing crowds. Everyone in my incoming crowd was happy and excited to be going to the big show of the time -- laughing and chatting. The outgoing crowd was silent except for some sobbing and a few tears. I knew something was up!
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JAZZISCOOL
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by JAZZISCOOL »

Roamingzebra:

Are you referring to this "The Conformist"? 1971 - Italian.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_conformist

It does get high critical reviews FWIW.

I saw a couple listed on IMDb. TIA.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by runner26 »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 6:02 am
mancich wrote: Thu Dec 23, 2021 5:30 am Matrix: Resurrections on HBO Max last night. It was just as confusing as the first 3 :D
I didn’t understand the first one. I rejiggered my home theater, so I played a few minutes of the latest one to evaluate my changes a bit, but decided to rewatch some parts of Jeff Beck Live at Ronnie Scott’s which I know the sound of well. Much better use of my time.

These kinds of movies always make me wonder what their “draw” is.
I wasted 50 minutes on this before giving up and switching it off.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by roamingzebra »

JAZZISCOOL wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 5:35 pm Roamingzebra:

Are you referring to this "The Conformist"? 1971 - Italian.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_conformist

It does get high critical reviews FWIW.

I saw a couple listed on IMDb. TIA.
Yep, that's the one.

When you read the reviews, it sounds great.

What they don't tell you is that you have to bring a lot of foreknowledge to the movie to make sense of it. That's because the movie is laregely symbolic and many of the signposts needed to understand what's going on are implicit or non-existent. For example, it would have been easy to have a caption reading "Secret Police Headquarters" (well, maybe not if it's secret haha) when the guy is applying for a job, but instead you have to get 2/3 of the way through the movie to know that's the specific organization involved. Maybe a student of WWII history would know that, so a better example is the following:

You actually have to know a bit about Fascist and Mussolini-inspired architecture of all things to understand some of the symbolism of the movie and not be distracted by the surrealism and troublingly empty and vast interior spaces. Many times I was thinking WTH is going on with this surrealistic weirdness? Perhaps that caused me to miss some navigational clues. Plus, there's the added stress of keeping up with the subtitles.

At any rate, the critics are right that it's a visual masterpiece. You'd never know the film was made in 1970/1971.

And the film is exceedingly modern in terms of social mores.

And of course, Dominique Sanda is in the film, so as a recent viewer of "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" you probably know it can't be too bad, right? :)

My advice to anyone who wants to watch "The Conformist" is to read the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes blurb, because that's the bare outline of the plot which might be lost in all the visual artistry. Then, if you want a deeper understanding, read the variety of reviews who seem to either be written by people who read the book (that's cheating), or otherwise had a good background in the Fascist culture of the time and would have been better able to navigate the film.

From IMDb: "A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident."
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JAZZISCOOL
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by JAZZISCOOL »

roamingzebra wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 7:00 pm
JAZZISCOOL wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 5:35 pm Roamingzebra:

Are you referring to this "The Conformist"? 1971 - Italian.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_conformist

It does get high critical reviews FWIW.

I saw a couple listed on IMDb. TIA.
Yep, that's the one.

When you read the reviews, it sounds great.

What they don't tell you is that you have to bring a lot of foreknowledge to the movie to make sense of it. That's because the movie is laregely symbolic and many of the signposts needed to understand what's going on are implicit or non-existent. For example, it would have been easy to have a caption reading "Secret Police Headquarters" (well, maybe not if it's secret haha) when the guy is applying for a job, but instead you have to get 2/3 of the way through the movie to know that's the specific organization involved. Maybe a student of WWII history would know that, so a better example is the following:

You actually have to know a bit about Fascist and Mussolini-inspired architecture of all things to understand some of the symbolism of the movie and not be distracted by the surrealism and troublingly empty and vast interior spaces. Many times I was thinking WTH is going on with this surrealistic weirdness? Perhaps that caused me to miss some navigational clues. Plus, there's the added stress of keeping up with the subtitles.

At any rate, the critics are right that it's a visual masterpiece. You'd never know the film was made in 1970/1971.

And the film is exceedingly modern in terms of social mores.

And of course, Dominique Sanda is in the film, so as a recent viewer of "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" you probably know it can't be too bad, right? :)

My advice to anyone who wants to watch "The Conformist" is to read the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes blurb, because that's the bare outline of the plot which might be lost in all the visual artistry. Then, if you want a deeper understanding, read the variety of reviews who seem to either be written by people who read the book (that's cheating), or otherwise had a good background in the Fascist culture of the time and would have been better able to navigate the film.

From IMDb: "A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident."
Wow! Thanks. It sounds like I need to do some preparation before I watch the movie LOL. I don't have a strong knowledge of Fascist history either. Thanks for the in-depth analysis. Some of the Italian films I've seen are a bit esoteric and I'm sure I don't understand all of the nuances but I find many of them to be a lot more interesting that the run of the mill Hollywood movie (in general).

:beer

PS - Yes, I really enjoyed "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis".
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

JAZZISCOOL wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 7:43 pm
roamingzebra wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 7:00 pm
JAZZISCOOL wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 5:35 pm Roamingzebra:

Are you referring to this "The Conformist"? 1971 - Italian.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_conformist

It does get high critical reviews FWIW.

I saw a couple listed on IMDb. TIA.
Yep, that's the one.

When you read the reviews, it sounds great.

What they don't tell you is that you have to bring a lot of foreknowledge to the movie to make sense of it. That's because the movie is laregely symbolic and many of the signposts needed to understand what's going on are implicit or non-existent. For example, it would have been easy to have a caption reading "Secret Police Headquarters" (well, maybe not if it's secret haha) when the guy is applying for a job, but instead you have to get 2/3 of the way through the movie to know that's the specific organization involved. Maybe a student of WWII history would know that, so a better example is the following:

You actually have to know a bit about Fascist and Mussolini-inspired architecture of all things to understand some of the symbolism of the movie and not be distracted by the surrealism and troublingly empty and vast interior spaces. Many times I was thinking WTH is going on with this surrealistic weirdness? Perhaps that caused me to miss some navigational clues. Plus, there's the added stress of keeping up with the subtitles.

At any rate, the critics are right that it's a visual masterpiece. You'd never know the film was made in 1970/1971.

And the film is exceedingly modern in terms of social mores.

And of course, Dominique Sanda is in the film, so as a recent viewer of "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" you probably know it can't be too bad, right? :)

My advice to anyone who wants to watch "The Conformist" is to read the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes blurb, because that's the bare outline of the plot which might be lost in all the visual artistry. Then, if you want a deeper understanding, read the variety of reviews who seem to either be written by people who read the book (that's cheating), or otherwise had a good background in the Fascist culture of the time and would have been better able to navigate the film.

From IMDb: "A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident."
Wow! Thanks. It sounds like I need to do some preparation before I watch the movie LOL. I don't have a strong knowledge of Fascist history either. Thanks for the in-depth analysis. Some of the Italian films I've seen are a bit esoteric and I'm sure I don't understand all of the nuances but I find many of them to be a lot more interesting that the run of the mill Hollywood movie (in general).

:beer

PS - Yes, I really enjoyed "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis".
I did too.

Another great one is “Germany, Year Zero” directed by Roberto Rossellini, about immediate post war Berlin.
And “A Special Day” about life under Mussolini, starring Sophia Loren and Marcelo Mastroianni.
Last edited by AnnetteLouisan on Sat Dec 25, 2021 9:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Nicolas
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Nicolas »

A Child’s Christmas in Wales (1987)
A tradition in our family, we watch this adaptation of Dylan Thomas’s story every year. We own the DVD. Recommended.
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ResearchMed
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by ResearchMed »

We saw "Don't Look Up".

[It was released in theatres earlier in December, and is now available on Netflix.]

Amazing, and not at all what I had expected, but I hadn't been prepared beyond a brief and non-descriptive blurb.
DH had a much better idea.

The reviews linked below obviously will have significant spoilers, for those who didn't know or don't see it coming anyway.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/23/movi ... eview.html
also:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/scie ... pe=Article
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/12/busi ... pe=Article

Unfortunately, I suspect that discussing the general theme here will become political.

We were blown away by it (no pun intended :annoyed ), and more than a bit surprised that this movie actually got made.
Yes, amazing,

RM
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heartwood
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by heartwood »

Romance and Cigarettes on HBO. A 2005 romantic comedy musical with an ensemble cast. Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Christopher Walken, Susan Sarandon and others. Both IMBD and rotten tomatoes give it meh ratings.

Raunchy but a lot of fun. For the first half or more I kept thinking "someone has to explain it to me". Good music. I enjoyed it.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by rockstar »

It's a Wonderful Life.

There's one really crazy scene in the movie. George is about to go on his honeymoon with $2k, and there is a run on the bank. Now, assuming this is 1945, that's about $30k in today's money. And they use the money to save the bank from the run. I don't know anyone today that spends $30k on their honeymoon. Also, in that movie, people are buying homes for $4k. Pretty crazy.

In other words, George is loaded.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by smectym »

jginseattle wrote: Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:06 am Dune.

I saw it on the big screen.

Spectacular.
“The Man With the Golden Arm,” starring Frank Sinatra. 1955. Film Noir of a sort; but the film resists pat genre pigeonholing. Good jazzy score. Frank (“Frankie Machine” is his character), a small-time card sharp and heroin addict who just got out of prison, is chained to a scheming, manipulative, pretended quadriplegic wife, which adds a “horror movie” undertone; but his evolving extra-marital love interest is Kim Novak, as a warm-up for their sizzling reunion in “The Manchurian Candidate” several years later.

Great background New York footage. Several solid supporting actor roles. Actually, though the plot has its weak points and a touch of cliche, there’s no good reason not to watch this movie, other than the best reason of all: “Ah, just don’t feel like it.”

Finally, though the subplot involves Frankie’s desire to break into music as percussionist in a jazz quintet—he doesn’t sing a note
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by jginseattle »

The Lost Daughter. A professor on a seaside vacation is flooded with memories after an encounter with a young mother and her daughter. Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley are excellent.

Recommended.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Tubes »

ResearchMed wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:32 pm We saw "Don't Look Up".

[It was released in theatres earlier in December, and is now available on Netflix.]

Amazing, and not at all what I had expected, but I hadn't been prepared beyond a brief and non-descriptive blurb.
DH had a much better idea.

The reviews linked below obviously will have significant spoilers, for those who didn't know or don't see it coming anyway.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/23/movi ... eview.html
also:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/scie ... pe=Article
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/12/busi ... pe=Article

Unfortunately, I suspect that discussing the general theme here will become political.

We were blown away by it (no pun intended :annoyed ), and more than a bit surprised that this movie actually got made.
Yes, amazing,

RM
I've watched the first 12 minutes or so and got interrupted. I'll finish it if just to watch the actors. Quite an ensemble.

Even this short into the movie (I'm only to the point of the general charging for vending snacks), I can see it will be a political allegory about "that" issue. That's irritating, but I'll stick with it.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by gotlost33 »

A few holiday classics here..

Its a Wonderful Life - turned out to be the first time we'd seen it, I enjoyed it, DW thought it was just OK

Die Hard - always fun
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by LadyGeek »

Bram Stoker's Dracula on DVD, rated R, 1992, Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Count Dracula comes to England. Very well produced and makes good use of artistic effects (pay attention to the shadows). This movie won 3 Oscars for a reason. I liked it.

==============
Watched the day before -

Underworld on DVD, rated R, 2003, Kate Beckensale. The war between the vampires and werewolves continues. Good production with a decent plot. It's action packed with a ton of overly dramatic dialogue. Not bad.

Heads up: Underworld and Underworld: Evolution are currently streaming on Netflix. The last day to watch them on Netflix is December 31.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by livelovelaugh00 »

A Christmas Carol, the 1984 version.
I'm basically watch it or let it run in the background more than a dozen time each year, especially in this season. Every single time it brings tears to my eyes. A couple of days ago, DH searched and chose the movie 'The man who invented Christmas' for me to watch. What a treat!!!
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

Tubes wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 5:27 am
ResearchMed wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:32 pm We saw "Don't Look Up".

[It was released in theatres earlier in December, and is now available on Netflix.]

Amazing, and not at all what I had expected, but I hadn't been prepared beyond a brief and non-descriptive blurb.
DH had a much better idea.

The reviews linked below obviously will have significant spoilers, for those who didn't know or don't see it coming anyway.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/23/movi ... eview.html
also:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/scie ... pe=Article
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/12/busi ... pe=Article

Unfortunately, I suspect that discussing the general theme here will become political.

We were blown away by it (no pun intended :annoyed ), and more than a bit surprised that this movie actually got made.
Yes, amazing,

RM
I've watched the first 12 minutes or so and got interrupted. I'll finish it if just to watch the actors. Quite an ensemble.

Even this short into the movie (I'm only to the point of the general charging for vending snacks), I can see it will be a political allegory about "that" issue. That's irritating, but I'll stick with it.
It will reward you with some of the funniest movie lines of all time. I will watch it again, as I might have missed some of them. Sarah Silverman has only one line in the movie (iirc) and it’s boffo.

The actors do themselves proud. The writers do themselves proud. Highly recommended, regardless of political beliefs.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Nicolas »

livelovelaugh00 wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 8:47 am A Christmas Carol, the 1984 version.
I'm basically watch it or let it run in the background more than a dozen time each year, especially in this season. Every single time it brings tears to my eyes.
This is our favorite version as well. Geo. C. Scott is the definitive Scrooge. We own the DVD.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by CardinalRule »

rockstar wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:57 pm It's a Wonderful Life.

There's one really crazy scene in the movie. George is about to go on his honeymoon with $2k, and there is a run on the bank. Now, assuming this is 1945, that's about $30k in today's money. And they use the money to save the bank from the run. I don't know anyone today that spends $30k on their honeymoon. Also, in that movie, people are buying homes for $4k. Pretty crazy.

In other words, George is loaded.
Also, Mr. Potter offered George a salary of $20,000 a decade earlier, which he turned down. That's like $350,000 a year, and the offer was for three years, as I recall. :moneybag
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by JoeRetire »

Watched Sing 2 with the grandkids yesterday.

As they did with the first "Sing", they loved "Sing 2".
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by quantAndHold »

rockstar wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:57 pm It's a Wonderful Life.

There's one really crazy scene in the movie. George is about to go on his honeymoon with $2k, and there is a run on the bank. Now, assuming this is 1945, that's about $30k in today's money. And they use the money to save the bank from the run. I don't know anyone today that spends $30k on their honeymoon. Also, in that movie, people are buying homes for $4k. Pretty crazy.

In other words, George is loaded.
Really? It’s very easy to spend $30k on a “trip of a lifetime” type of trip, which is what their honeymoon was supposed to be. In the scene where Potter offers him a job, George says he’s making $45/week, which was the average wage for a manufacturing job in 1943 (and probably why the movie picked that number). The president of a building and loan presumably should make more than that.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by JAZZISCOOL »

Nicolas wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 9:13 am
livelovelaugh00 wrote: Sun Dec 26, 2021 8:47 am A Christmas Carol, the 1984 version.
I'm basically watch it or let it run in the background more than a dozen time each year, especially in this season. Every single time it brings tears to my eyes.
This is our favorite version as well. Geo. C. Scott is the definitive Scrooge. We own the DVD.
I'm watching this again this weekend also (the color version which is great). :beer
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by ponzu »

I watched many Christmas movies over the past few days:

Animated:
Klaus (Netflix. Love it and have seen it multiple times. Many funny moments and darker than the cover art would lead you to believe.)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (DVD. This needs no introduction. I received the DVD as a gift because I kept saying we were celebrating Nightmare Before Christmas rather than regular Christmas this year.)

Classics:
The Bishop's Wife (Amazon Prime. The Cary Grant version. This is my favorite of the classic Christmas movies. It's very calm and relaxing with a lot of pretty music in it.)
The Great Rupert (Amazon Prime. I learned about this one on Bogleheads last year and love it. A Jimmy Durante comedy featuring a stop motion squirrel.)
A Christmas Carol (Paramount+. The 1984 made-for-tv version. It is good, but I think I prefer the one from the 50s or the one with Patrick Stewart in it. This was the only version I could find I didn't have to pay extra for.)

Horror genre:
Krampus (DVD from library. Horror/comedy. I thought it was hilarious.)
Anna and the Apocalypse (DVD. A zombie apocalypse/high school musical mashup. I loved it. Apparently my favorite zombie movies are all British. It's also on Hoopla.)
Better Watch Out (Amazon Prime. A straight up horror movie and too disturbing and uncomfortable for me to want to watch again.)
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StAug1967
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by StAug1967 »

All Is Lost on Amazon Prime.
and
Temple Grandin also on Amazon Prime but had to rent it.

We enjoyed both movies.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by CardinalRule »

First time in a theater in quite a while last night. Had some buttered popcorn :D and watched American Underdog, which is based on Kurt Warner's autobiography. I enjoyed the film; Warner's story is truly incredible and inspirational. The football scenes were well done and I could tell that the crowd in the small theater - maybe 20 people - really enjoyed it.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Mr. Rumples »

Downton Abbey the movie. Very disappointing; a poor imitation of the TV series.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Turk_February »

Barkingsparrow wrote: Fri Dec 24, 2021 8:19 pm "Looper"

This movie was long on my radar, but I just kept forgetting to see it. Really enjoyed it, and its as good as the reviews say. I'll just list the blurb for it, in case there's someone who does not know about it.
Also watched this a couple weeks ago after seeing it years ago. Really great use of time travel and how what you do can change your future.

We watched The Night Before (2015) on Thursday recorded on IFC. Had never even heard of it before but we both thought it was hysterical. Michael Shannon was great, and the Seth Rogan church scene had us crying laughing. Great Xmas movie! Will put it in my yearly Xmas viewing list with Die Hard, Bad Santa, and Elf.

We watched Don't Look Up on Netflix the past 2 nights. Wife thought it was "ok", I enjoyed it a little more but thought it was ~20 minutes too long. It actually made me upset at everyone at dismissing the scientists. Didn't like the whole skater-kid side plot. The post-credit scenes were funny!
Spoilers below:
I did have a slight problem with the science behind the destructiveness of the asteroid. They said a few times it was 6-10km in diameter. The Chixulub impact was caused by a 6-mile wide (upper range of Dibiasky) asteroid and didn't cause nearly as must destruction as what this one showed. Magnitude11-12 earthquakes 4,000 miles from impact? Doubtful. I don't even think that a 6-10km asteroid would even be an extinction level event. I'm sure it would kill billions and cause several years of cooling, but not the end of the human race.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Kookaburra »

The “12 Dates of Christmas”. I liked it because it had Zack Morris in it.
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ruralavalon
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

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Elf, on Amazon Prime with our grandchildren.
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Elsebet
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Elsebet »

jjunk wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 11:03 pm Spider-Man: No Way Home. Quite possibly the best Marvel film yet and definitely the best Spider-Man film. We went opening night and it was as big an event as Avengers: Endgame was at release. Really enjoyable movie if you like the MCU.
We saw this last evening at the local movie theater. Enjoyed it, although I would say it definitely adds to the experience if you have seen ALL of the previous films; we only watched the Toby McGuire ones so had a bit of a gap.

There were a lot of kids in the theater, but surprisingly they were pretty quiet. There were a number of people looking at their phones during the movie which when it lights up causes a distraction. The adult woman next to me kept doing it at about 5 min. intervals near the end of the film. When I got a survey this morning I suggested the theater be more strict about people looking at their phones during the feature. The theater also has reserved seating but many people disregarded this and sat where they wanted, causing multiple customers (including ourselves) to have to ask people to move out of their seats. I also suggested they increase signage/education about reserved seating.
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JoeRetire
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by JoeRetire »

ResearchMed wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:32 pm We saw "Don't Look Up".
Watched it last night. :?

Oh well, that's 2 hours and 18 minutes of my life I won't get back!
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rivendell
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by rivendell »

We also saw “Don’t Look Up” last night. We felt it was mediocre fare at best. It has a weak plot and lots of political overtones. It would in my opinion be frightening for children under age 12-13 and has plenty of bad language as well.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

A similarly titled movie is, “Never Look Away,” about Gerhard Richter, an artist who lived under first Naziism, then “Democratic Socialism” in East Germany and then in the West. It’s not great but it’s a 7.4 or so.
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CardinalRule
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by CardinalRule »

Elsebet wrote: Mon Dec 27, 2021 11:54 am
jjunk wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 11:03 pm Spider-Man: No Way Home. Quite possibly the best Marvel film yet and definitely the best Spider-Man film. We went opening night and it was as big an event as Avengers: Endgame was at release. Really enjoyable movie if you like the MCU.
There were a lot of kids in the theater, but surprisingly they were pretty quiet. There were a number of people looking at their phones during the movie which when it lights up causes a distraction. The adult woman next to me kept doing it at about 5 min. intervals near the end of the film. When I got a survey this morning I suggested the theater be more strict about people looking at their phones during the feature. The theater also has reserved seating but many people disregarded this and sat where they wanted, causing multiple customers (including ourselves) to have to ask people to move out of their seats. I also suggested they increase signage/education about reserved seating.
I was pretty disappointed by some aspects of the ‘cinema’ experience when I went recently after a long pandemic hiatus (I watched American Underdog as mentioned in an earlier post). People behaved, fortunately, with no cell phone issues, and to its credit the theater chain does run spots reminding folks that the movie is beginning and that it’s time to silence electronic devices.

But getting bludgeoned by endless commercials before the showing by Regal? After paying nearly $30 for two tickets after taxes and Fandango fees, not to mention the tasty $8.00 popcorn, I just was not in the mood for that. Advertising was there before, but it seemed worse now. When we pay for movies in the future, it will often be at home, streaming in 4HD. :happy
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Blues »

rivendell wrote: Mon Dec 27, 2021 5:26 pm We also saw “Don’t Look Up” last night. We felt it was mediocre fare at best. It has a weak plot and lots of political overtones. It would in my opinion be frightening for children under age 12-13 and has plenty of bad language as well.
We tried to watch it this evening since my friend the double Tomato recommended it...but we found it unwatchable and flat after giving it some time.

Oh, well.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Tubes »

MoonOrb wrote: Fri Dec 24, 2021 11:15 pm For some reason I decided to spend 2.5 hours watching Matrix: Resurrections.
Me too. Nobody here has been too kind, but I decided to watch anyway. They were right.

It is a mess of a movie, and I rarely want to say I want my 2 1/2 hours back, but I want my 2 1/2 hours back!

It is too busy with little time to develop characters. It never rests. Much of the CGI and effects are good, but some near the end are actually cringe-worthy. There are no surprises. Wachowski decides to throw shade on the red/blue pill concept, to the point that one character declares "we can do this without it." This is THE iconic element from the first film. I suspect Wachowski feels this concept has become politically loaded in a manner she disapproves of so she basically weakened it.

And so on.

You'd be better off watching "Tron" (either version, even the remake) because at the core, that's what this script is about. In the Trons, you get a story without all the busy and dark nonsense.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by tenkuky »

stoptothink wrote: Wed Aug 18, 2021 7:35 am
jjunk wrote: Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:58 pm Jungle Cruise: Not horrible, not great. Interesting twist in the middle that I saw coming but my wife didnt. Very interesting CGI. I dont have children but I think it would likely scare young kids.
Wouldn't call it "good", but it was better than I expected. Not sure why it would scare kids, certainly didn't scare my 9 and 6yr olds.
Enjoyed Jungle Cruise on Disney+.
Entertaining romp, reminiscent of a mix between Pirates of Caribbean and The Mummy.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by MoonOrb »

A few others over the holiday weekend:

Pig, with Nicolas Cage. This was excellent, a clever and moving subversion of the revenge movie.

The Murder on the Orient Express (1974 Sidney Lumet version): worth it for Albert Finney going bananas as Hercule Poirot; also entertaining to see a veritable who's who of film royalty. But otherwise maybe not as engaging as some of the other Christie mysteries brought to the screen.

Live action version of Beauty and the Beast--we have a lot of nostalgia for the original as my wife and I saw it on one of our first dates; I have to say, I enjoyed this remake and appreciate that it was a relatively faithful recreation rather than a wholesale reimagination of an effective story.

Trance (2013): an art heist/psychological thriller; Danny Boyle directed, starred James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, and Vincent Cassel--when we saw who was in it and who directed it we said to ourselves, "this must be terrible because if it was any good we surely would have heard of it already" and we were right. What a mess. Stay away unless you're a big Rosario Dawson fan.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Matahari »

Watched "Silent Night" (2021):

https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Night-Kei ... B09MP9LQ1W

A British take on an apocalyptic end of days. My preference about a film is that the less known about it, the better my viewing experience once I've decided to watch. I was interested largely because of the ensemble cast and the little I had read about it. I knew that the reviews have been in the middle, but am always interested in "different" film experiences.

It was a worthwhile watch, moreso because it makes one ask how one would handle an "inevitable" catastrophe. It makes for an interesting contrast with "Don't Look Up" (2021) which we also watched the first day it came on Netflix. IMO, Don't Look Up would have been more effective if the histrionic performances had been dialed down -- although Cate Blanchett can do no wrong in my book -- but I'm happy the film is out there if it keeps the underlying messages circulating in popular media.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

Blues wrote: Mon Dec 27, 2021 7:46 pm
rivendell wrote: Mon Dec 27, 2021 5:26 pm We also saw “Don’t Look Up” last night. We felt it was mediocre fare at best. It has a weak plot and lots of political overtones. It would in my opinion be frightening for children under age 12-13 and has plenty of bad language as well.
We tried to watch it this evening since my friend the double Tomato recommended it...but we found it unwatchable and flat after giving it some time.

Oh, well.
That movie seems to foster strongly bifurcated responses. I found some of it literally laugh out loud funny, as did my wife and son. I’m truly sorry that my recommendation was a dud for you. Maybe too soon?
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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jjunk
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by jjunk »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 4:14 pm
Blues wrote: Mon Dec 27, 2021 7:46 pm
rivendell wrote: Mon Dec 27, 2021 5:26 pm We also saw “Don’t Look Up” last night. We felt it was mediocre fare at best. It has a weak plot and lots of political overtones. It would in my opinion be frightening for children under age 12-13 and has plenty of bad language as well.
We tried to watch it this evening since my friend the double Tomato recommended it...but we found it unwatchable and flat after giving it some time.

Oh, well.
That movie seems to foster strongly bifurcated responses. I found some of it literally laugh out loud funny, as did my wife and son. I’m truly sorry that my recommendation was a dud for you. Maybe too soon?
We watched this last night. My take is its a brilliant satirical take that is 30min too long. If they chopped some of this down, it would have been really, really good. As it is, it's just ok. I'm still glad we saw it and we laughed out loud several times. It hits a little too close to home with how things really would play out if this type of scenario happened in real life.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by MP173 »

"Dont Look Up" on Christmas night.

It was ok. As an amateur astronomer, I liked the initial few minutes.

Yes, it preached. The "last supper" was probably the best part of the movie for me.

I will leave the political discussions out of it.

Ed
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Blues
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Blues »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 4:14 pm That movie seems to foster strongly bifurcated responses. I found some of it literally laugh out loud funny, as did my wife and son. I’m truly sorry that my recommendation was a dud for you. Maybe too soon?
I'm not sure what "too soon" is supposed to imply in this scenario.

I just thought they tried too hard to be funny and edgy and it came out flat...like an episode of SNL that didn't hit on all cylinders.

I've always been an independent, politically speaking, and don't find it difficult to laugh at any side...(it beats crying).

No, we just thought it was forced...and the "stellar" cast couldn't save it. And so it goes.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by Blues »

MP173 wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 4:24 pm "Dont Look Up" on Christmas night.

It was ok. As an amateur astronomer, I liked the initial few minutes.

Yes, it preached. The "last supper" was probably the best part of the movie for me.

I will leave the political discussions out of it.

Ed
My 8" Dobsonian reflector looked woefully inadequate when compared to the telescope at the beginning of the movie. And to think, I was offered a free ride at Michigan State and hadn't even applied there.

Astronomers unite!
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

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Dug out my copy of Igby Goes Down last night.

Wow.

As I remembered it, there were some rough parallels between Igby and a very close friend from my hometown. As it turns out, that assessment wasn't so accurate, thankfully. I didn't remember it as being quite as psychologically twisted and depressing. And I also didn't recall how star-studded the cast was. Excellent film, but hauntingly uncomfortable.
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Re: What Movie Have You Recently Watched?

Post by bertilak »

MP173 wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 4:24 pm "Dont Look Up" on Christmas night.
I will leave the political discussions out of it.
If it promotes political discussion, that's all the review I need!
May neither drought nor rain nor blizzard disturb the joy juice in your gizzard. -- Squire Omar Barker (aka S.O.B.), the Cowboy Poet
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