Author Topic: What movies have you been watching?  (Read 501242 times)

accolay

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #150 on: May 12, 2018, 11:14:57 PM »
Phantom Thread. Sir Daniel Day-Lewis is... so good.

Annihilation. Dream like. Trippy. "it's life sir, but not as we know it."

sui generis

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #151 on: May 15, 2018, 12:44:46 PM »
I have to admit...if I know a book is going to be a movie (like The Martian), I will usually watch the movie first and read the book second. I have less often been disappointed that way, and it's fun to see the world of the movie expanded.

Bingo!  Glad I'm not the only one.  It seems like everyone else always does the other way around, but if you love a book, I think it's likely you'll be at least somewhat disappointed in the movie since they are always going to have to cut stuff.  But, like you said, if you love a movie, the book gives you an opportunity to immerse yourself more.  I've been purposely waiting to re-read A Wrinkle in Time so I could watch the movie first.  The problem is that I have no idea what movies are out...I think A Wrinkle in Time might have already been and gone at the theaters?  I guess I should just add it to my Netflix queue as well as my library queue and maybe I can time them to come up together.

WhiteTrashCash

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #152 on: May 15, 2018, 07:13:59 PM »
I just saw "The Avengers: Infinity War" (thank you, movie theater gift card) and, damn, it was good. I didn't expect such a strong and forceful condemnation of Malthusianism from a comic book movie. And that ending. Wow. Very, very gutsy. To enjoy the movie the most, you have to see the other eighteen Marvel movies, because otherwise it could be a little confusing with so many characters, but the writers did a great job of making all the characters behave exactly the way they should under the circumstances. Quite the balancing act. I liked it.

sui generis

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #153 on: May 15, 2018, 08:21:11 PM »
To enjoy the movie the most, you have to see the other eighteen Marvel movies...
The other EIGHTEEN? There are 18??  I know I haven't been keeping up on what's at the movie theaters for a couple years, but how the heck are there that many?  I was super interested in your rave review...but don't know if I'll ever get that far...

Noodle

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #154 on: May 15, 2018, 10:39:43 PM »
I liked the new Avengers movie too, although I think I will probably like the follow-up better. This one had so many characters that it never really had time to let their interactions breathe.

For those who are curious about the Marvel movies, I don't think you need to see all 18 before you see the most recent one, unless you really want to get all the details and character nuances. The main storyline and characters can be found in the Captain America movies and the other two Avengers movies, plus the first Iron Man movie, the first and third Thor movies, and the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. The other movies include some backstory that is referenced in Avengers: Infinity War, and a lot of them are really good movies in their own right--Black Panther, for instance--but I think you could pick up what you needed from the context if you didn't want to watch all 40+ hours of superhero movies.

sparkytheop

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #155 on: May 17, 2018, 09:21:57 AM »
I liked the new Avengers movie too, although I think I will probably like the follow-up better. This one had so many characters that it never really had time to let their interactions breathe.

For those who are curious about the Marvel movies, I don't think you need to see all 18 before you see the most recent one, unless you really want to get all the details and character nuances. The main storyline and characters can be found in the Captain America movies and the other two Avengers movies, plus the first Iron Man movie, the first and third Thor movies, and the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. The other movies include some backstory that is referenced in Avengers: Infinity War, and a lot of them are really good movies in their own right--Black Panther, for instance--but I think you could pick up what you needed from the context if you didn't want to watch all 40+ hours of superhero movies.

I didn't watch all 18 and I followed just fine.  I'd add Dr. Strange to this list, because it helps understand the infinity stones a little more.  I saw those movies (minus the first Captain America movie) and I was able to follow just fine.  After watching a couple, I wondered why I haven't been watching more of them.

tralfamadorian

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #156 on: May 17, 2018, 01:35:08 PM »
- All About Eve (Eve is a sneaky little b!tch is what Eve is)

All About Eve is fantastic. Also the only film where I get the Marilyn Monroe hype- she's so beautiful in it.

I got to rewatch Metropolis the other day, which is one of my all time favs.

DreamFIRE

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #157 on: May 17, 2018, 06:47:25 PM »
- All About Eve (Eve is a sneaky little b!tch is what Eve is)

All About Eve is fantastic. Also the only film where I get the Marilyn Monroe hype- she's so beautiful in it.

I got to rewatch Metropolis the other day, which is one of my all time favs.

I watched All about Eve recently as well.  Not bad.  I like to mix in an older movie here and there, and I hadn't seen it before.

Noodle

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #158 on: May 17, 2018, 08:11:58 PM »
Watched two terrible movies recently, each bad in a different way.

1. Baywatch, which is on Hulu now. This movie is not aspiring to anything and does not take itself at all seriously. The Rock is the Rock. Zac Efron is good-looking and pratfalls charmingly. We get to admire all the time the cast must have spent at the gym to look that good in swimsuits. There is slow-motion running, and also helicopters, jet-skis, and four-wheelers. Sadly, no-one punches a shark. It was perfectly acceptable for a rainy Sunday night when nothing else looked good in the queue.

2. Bel Ami, which came out a few years ago. The plot is about a poor young Parisian man who rises in society by seducing rich and powerful women. The problem is that Robert Pattinson, who had just wrapped up his teenage-vampire career when he played this role, gives you no reason to believe that multiple Oscar-nominated actresses would give him ten seconds of their time, let alone take off their clothes for him. The 1890s hairstyles and costumes do nothing for him, so you can't even believe they took up with him for his looks.

Noodle

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #159 on: May 29, 2018, 08:30:59 PM »
Over the holiday weekend, watched Game Night and Murder on the Orient Express with my house-guest.

Game Night was completely goofy but very funny--we laughed our heads off, and if you are a fan of Kyle Chandler from his Friday Night Lights role as Coach Taylor, it is a lot of fun to see him play completely against type here.

Murder on the Orient Express was a very well-made movie with a really stellar cast (the number of Oscar nominations among them is mind-boggling) but the cast is so big that you don't get to spend much time with anyone.

Roadrunner53

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #160 on: May 30, 2018, 07:49:18 AM »
Not really a movie but Arrested Development which is on Netflix. Pretty funny show!

Warlord1986

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #161 on: May 30, 2018, 11:49:27 AM »
Gravity, with Sandra Bullock.

Princess Diaries, which was a blast to the past. The early 2000s, man.

The Corpse Bride. Remember when Johnny Depp was likable?


Tyson

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #162 on: May 30, 2018, 10:15:09 PM »
I just watched Midnight Cowboy, which was the last movie on the AFI 100 Years 100 Movies that I had not seen.  I've now seen all the movies on this list:

http://www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx

Woot!

Noodle

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #163 on: June 03, 2018, 09:08:15 PM »
This weekend, saw "Adventureland," which came out about 10 years ago. It's about a group of young adults working together at a low-end amusement park for the summer, set in 1987. It's a pretty standard coming-of-age movie, but it's well done and the casting is top-notch--it includes Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig from a time when they were much less well-known than they are now.

Also saw "The Hundred-Foot Journey," which was super-charming. It's about an Indian family of restaurateurs who move to France and end up starting a restaurant right across the street from a very high-end French restaurant whose owner (played by Helen Mirren) is NOT happy about it. Naturally, hijinks ensue and there are a lot of scenes of really tasty-looking Indian and French food being cooked.

Warlord1986

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #164 on: June 05, 2018, 08:31:09 AM »
Adventureland is the only movie where I didn't cringe at Kristen Stewart's face.

Tyson

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #165 on: June 05, 2018, 09:01:54 AM »
Adventureland is the only movie where I didn't cringe at Kristen Stewart's face.

I liked her in the Clouds of Sils Maria, where she surprisingly held her own with Juliette Binoche.  Which BTW, that movie is a great modern take on the "All About Eve" story. 

lost_in_the_endless_aisle

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #166 on: June 05, 2018, 08:24:09 PM »
+1 to The Clouds of Sils Maria, I didn't love the movie but the performances (including Stewart) were great. Will have to check out Adventureland

lizzzi

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #167 on: June 08, 2018, 06:08:49 AM »
Watched "Jumanji" last night on my Amazon Prime--had to pay for it, of course, like you have to do with so many of the best movies--but it was worth it. This was the original 1995 movie with Robin Williams. Very entertaining, and something you could watch with the whole family. (Maybe a little too scary for the smallest family members.) An evil board game brings mayhem into the house and community every time you roll the dice--bats, scary flying bugs, a lion, a herd of safari animals, some very funny but bad monkeys, a crocodile in a monsoon--but you have to finish the game to make it all go away. And a heartwarming, happy ending where the characters personal story arcs are resolved.

Noodle

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #168 on: June 09, 2018, 11:01:28 AM »
Finally got to see "Annihilation." I thought it was interesting but imperfect...if you're going to watch it, definitely see on the biggest screen you can (the visuals are gorgeous.) It was a little too slow-paced for me, honestly--there's a lot of wandering around in swamps wondering about their sanity, with just a few action beats mixed in. A lot of the reviews have described it as psychological horror, which I did not necessarily agree with and may have put people off. It's definitely creepy, and there are a couple scary/gory moments, but I would put it more in the category of suspenseful science fiction.

lizzzi

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #169 on: June 09, 2018, 09:17:51 PM »
"The Lego Movie" just for fun. I thought it was cute, with a lot that adults would enjoy as well as children. Perhaps a tad too long.

OtherJen

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #170 on: June 09, 2018, 09:56:50 PM »
We just borrowed the 2017 version of Stephen King’s “It” from the library. Wow. The actors and filmmakers really nailed the monster and the dynamics among the kids. I’m a fan of King’s writing, but this is one of the few film adaptations that I felt did justice to the material (along with “The Mist” and the original “Carrie”).

libertarian4321

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #171 on: June 09, 2018, 10:07:58 PM »
I'm saving my money waiting for "Porky's V" to come out.

Noodle

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #172 on: June 18, 2018, 09:47:32 AM »
I thought I was going to watch Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid this weekend. Put the DVD in and discovered I had somehow accidentally checked out a PBS documentary of the same title, not the classic movie. I'm sure it was a fine documentary but with my mind already set on a young Robert Redford and Paul Newman, it was not what I had in mind. Instead I watched "The Longest Ride" on the theory that it also had cowboy hats, and the descendants of Hollywood royalty in the person of Clint Eastwood's son, Charlie Chaplin's grand-daughter, and a fourth-generation member of the Huston family. It was not the same.

If you like romantic comedies and have Netflix, though, I do recommend "Set It Up" which was a very light and fun comedy about two overworked assistants who decide to matchmake between their bosses in order to get a little time off. It plays around in a very funny way with a lot of the common rom-com tropes. There's no sex or violence but there is a fair amount of sex talk and one nude scene that is played for comedy, so maybe PG-13?

sui generis

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #173 on: June 18, 2018, 10:06:47 AM »
I watched Coco this weekend.  (Twice actually, once in Spanish, for practice.)  Of course it was great.  Of course I teared up at the end.  But then, I started to get a little cynical.  Like Disney and Pixar just know how to press our buttons with surgical precision now, and while I think the movie was objectively quite good in any number of ways, I also feel manipulated.  Like I'm sure I would have the same reaction to Incredibles 2 (or 62 or whatever number we are about to be on) and just like I did with Toy Story and Up.  It feels a little like they have a plan to press the right buttons (the poignant, sweet, heart-warming buttons) and they just need people to build out a story that can surround pushing those buttons.  I shouldn't be upset, since the story was good.  I felt the only thing that didn't quite hang together/was not explained was how Miguel "died" in the first place.  If they are going to have such strict rules about how he gets back and what happens if he doesn't, it would have helped to explain the rules that got him there in the first place. But, I mean, that's like a blip on the screen.  But it does feel like soon they might not even bother with stories that hang together so well, or good animation, if it's not required to press the buttons that get us emotional/attached to it.

And I go off on this somewhat ridiculous tangent because it feels like just the other side of the coin of all the other emotion-flaring rhetoric in our society that really is at the expense of substance.  The hate and fear mongering of Trump and Fox News being the prime example, which they have honed to surgical precision over the last decade or two.  There is almost no substance left behind their button-pushing emotion-driving content.  And our country is certainly a worse place for it.  Not that I'm arguing for "boring" movies or movies that aren't done to the best quality possible, but I just wonder if that really means most emotional possible.  I guess when used in the service of a good message, I ought to celebrate it.  But it still has a touch of soulless manipulation to it for me, even though I know most people would find "soulless" to be the most inaccurate word possible to use to describe Disney/Pixar films.

OtherJen

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #174 on: June 18, 2018, 11:12:17 AM »
I watched Coco this weekend.  (Twice actually, once in Spanish, for practice.)  Of course it was great.  Of course I teared up at the end.  But then, I started to get a little cynical.  Like Disney and Pixar just know how to press our buttons with surgical precision now, and while I think the movie was objectively quite good in any number of ways, I also feel manipulated.  Like I'm sure I would have the same reaction to Incredibles 2 (or 62 or whatever number we are about to be on) and just like I did with Toy Story and Up.  It feels a little like they have a plan to press the right buttons (the poignant, sweet, heart-warming buttons) and they just need people to build out a story that can surround pushing those buttons.  I shouldn't be upset, since the story was good.  I felt the only thing that didn't quite hang together/was not explained was how Miguel "died" in the first place.  If they are going to have such strict rules about how he gets back and what happens if he doesn't, it would have helped to explain the rules that got him there in the first place. But, I mean, that's like a blip on the screen.  But it does feel like soon they might not even bother with stories that hang together so well, or good animation, if it's not required to press the buttons that get us emotional/attached to it.

And I go off on this somewhat ridiculous tangent because it feels like just the other side of the coin of all the other emotion-flaring rhetoric in our society that really is at the expense of substance.  The hate and fear mongering of Trump and Fox News being the prime example, which they have honed to surgical precision over the last decade or two.  There is almost no substance left behind their button-pushing emotion-driving content.  And our country is certainly a worse place for it.  Not that I'm arguing for "boring" movies or movies that aren't done to the best quality possible, but I just wonder if that really means most emotional possible.  I guess when used in the service of a good message, I ought to celebrate it.  But it still has a touch of soulless manipulation to it for me, even though I know most people would find "soulless" to be the most inaccurate word possible to use to describe Disney/Pixar films.

I'm sure there was some emotional manipulation because it's Disney, after all. I don't think this is new. I remember being gutted by Bambi and Dumbo as a kid.

But as a Mexican-American who grew up with nothing like this...I started tearing up during the opening logo with the mariachi music and the backstory-by-papel-picado in the opening credits. I read somewhere that the city of the dead was styled after the capital of the state where my grandfather grew up. Representation is HUGE.

sui generis

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #175 on: June 18, 2018, 11:23:18 AM »

But as a Mexican-American who grew up with nothing like this...I started tearing up during the opening logo with the mariachi music and the backstory-by-papel-picado in the opening credits. I read somewhere that the city of the dead was styled after the capital of the state where my grandfather grew up. Representation is HUGE.
I did love this part of it.  I have to give props to the screenwriters for the detailed story, and to Disney/Pixar for making this original film instead of just Incredibles 62, as I was snarking about previously, and Toy Story 15 and Up 3, or just remaking things that were done previously, like Bambi (2018) and Cinderella (2018).  It really cuts against my argument that they might be just out for emotional manipulation.  Would have been cheaper just to make Bambi (2018) than to support this original screenplay.

Tyson

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #176 on: June 18, 2018, 12:17:38 PM »
I watched Coco this weekend.  (Twice actually, once in Spanish, for practice.)  Of course it was great.  Of course I teared up at the end.  But then, I started to get a little cynical.  Like Disney and Pixar just know how to press our buttons with surgical precision now, and while I think the movie was objectively quite good in any number of ways, I also feel manipulated.  Like I'm sure I would have the same reaction to Incredibles 2 (or 62 or whatever number we are about to be on) and just like I did with Toy Story and Up.  It feels a little like they have a plan to press the right buttons (the poignant, sweet, heart-warming buttons) and they just need people to build out a story that can surround pushing those buttons.  I shouldn't be upset, since the story was good.  I felt the only thing that didn't quite hang together/was not explained was how Miguel "died" in the first place.  If they are going to have such strict rules about how he gets back and what happens if he doesn't, it would have helped to explain the rules that got him there in the first place. But, I mean, that's like a blip on the screen.  But it does feel like soon they might not even bother with stories that hang together so well, or good animation, if it's not required to press the buttons that get us emotional/attached to it.


This is exactly how I feel about every Spielberg movie ever made. 

DreamFIRE

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #177 on: June 18, 2018, 04:27:42 PM »
Regarding Coco...

I felt the only thing that didn't quite hang together/was not explained was how Miguel "died" in the first place.  If they are going to have such strict rules about how he gets back and what happens if he doesn't, it would have helped to explain the rules that got him there in the first place. But, I mean, that's like a blip on the screen. 

I wondered about that myself.  Some say it's because he was cursed because he stole from the dead during Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead).

I also wondered why Hector didn't tell Imelda in the Land of the Dead at some point that the reason he didn't come home all those years ago was because he was dead.

I've only watched it once but would like to watch it again.

Coco questions and answers:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Headscratchers/Coco


WootWoot

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #178 on: June 22, 2018, 08:16:24 AM »
"The Disaster Artist", about the making of "the 'Citizen Kane' of bad movies." Strange and hilarious.

accolay

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #179 on: June 23, 2018, 01:38:32 AM »
The Squid and the Whale. Funny, sad, heartbreaking.

calimom

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #180 on: June 23, 2018, 09:47:14 PM »
The Squid and the Whale. Funny, sad, heartbreaking.

It is. Noah Baumbach is a wonderful filmmaker. He certainly knows what buttons to push.

I watched an old Martin Scorcese last night: Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Great acting and directing, they don't make them like this anymore. And things are not perfect for women now but they're sure easier than they were 40 years ago.

accolay

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #181 on: June 24, 2018, 04:05:24 PM »
Saw "Wont you be my Neighbor" today. Great Man. I wish we still had a Fred Rogers still around. Makes me want to be a better person.

Zamboni

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #182 on: June 25, 2018, 06:06:49 AM »
The Squid and the Whale. Funny, sad, heartbreaking.

That's an interesting one.

Some movies I love just for their depiction of types of people who often don't get depicted carefully:
The shape of water . . . the working poor, which it depicted brilliantly.
Annihilation . . . female scientists, and again this depiction was nuanced and spot on.

The Phantom Thread . . . interesting, but maybe hit a little too close to home for me. Weird, yes?

The Florida Project . . . just watched on prime and enjoyed it a lot. I grew up in an environment not very different from that, so I could really relate to those kids. Plus, the Twisty Treat! I'm getting hungry . . .
Saw that Evolution is also on prime. I highly recommend this one if you like hilarious, intentionally grade B scifi movies.

Movie gift cards for the $5 early weekend matinees:
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom . . . saw this is IMAX 3D and it was GREAT if you are into this type.
Incredibles 2 . . . quite funny, some little political jabs, and the kids really liked it, so I'm called it a win.

Warlord1986

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #183 on: June 25, 2018, 06:26:20 AM »
Mad Max: Fury Road. For the fifth time.

I regret nothing.

Zacyra

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #184 on: June 25, 2018, 10:11:23 AM »
Just watched The Spy Who Came In From The Cold---Richard Burton--1965. Unbelievable that I just watched it for the very first time, after all these years, but it is an excellent and unpredictable movie.






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OurTown

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #185 on: June 25, 2018, 11:16:11 AM »
The Departed, last night on Netflix.  Wow!  I was prepared to not like this but I was wrong.  If you missed it, queue it up.

Proud Foot

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #186 on: June 25, 2018, 01:04:46 PM »
Watched Brain on Fire last night. I thought it was good and my wife liked it but said the book was a lot better as there was a lot more detail.

nkt0

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #187 on: June 25, 2018, 01:11:58 PM »
Saw Won't You Be My Neighbor yesterday. A good, nostalgic romp through my childhood, plus lots of stuff about Fred Rogers that i didn't know. Highly recommended for boomers or gen xers.

Tyson

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #188 on: June 25, 2018, 03:32:21 PM »
The Departed, last night on Netflix.  Wow!  I was prepared to not like this but I was wrong.  If you missed it, queue it up.

Great movie!  Internal Affairs, the movie it was based on might be even better.  Check that one out too, if you can.

calimom

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #189 on: June 25, 2018, 10:20:16 PM »
Saw RBG over the weekend. So well done. What an interesting woman, so dedicated and driven, at 84 even more so. Two serious bouts of cancer and she is still out there fighting the good fight for Americans seeking equality. Go Ruth, and her young followers are so comforting to watch. There's hope.
« Last Edit: June 26, 2018, 09:24:38 AM by calimom »

accolay

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #190 on: June 26, 2018, 07:17:53 AM »
Saw RBGover the weekend. So well done. What an interesting woman, so dedicated and driven, at 84 even more so. Two serious bouts of cancer and she is still out there fighting the good fight for Americans seeking equality. Go Ruth, and her young followers are so comforting to watch. There's hope.

I think this reaffirms that I'm going to try and see this movie before it's out of the theaters here. Maybe Thursday if I can.

Noodle

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #191 on: June 30, 2018, 05:22:02 PM »
I just saw Pleasantville, which is about 20 years old. I don't think I'd seen it since it first came out, and had mostly forgotten the plot, other than the broadest outlines. The basic plot is that a pair of twins from the 1990s find themselves inside the brother's favorite television series, a 1950s show similar to Leave it to Beaver, which he loves because of its contrast to the difficult times they live in. They discover that an ultra-sanitized world isn't much fun to live in, and gradually introduce the inhabitants to a more varied view of life, including art, literature and sexuality, which is shown in the movie as the slow introduction of color into their black and white world--and the twins also have to adopt new perspectives before they stop being black and white. It's not subtle at times (in the middle of the movie when the conflict is at its height between those who have changed and those who haven't, there are literally signs up that say "No Coloreds") and doesn't always make a ton of sense in terms of the plot logic but I was surprised at how resonant it was given our current era of cultural conflict. I really recommend it (and visually it is absolutely beautiful.)

chaskavitch

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #192 on: July 01, 2018, 06:43:27 AM »
I just saw Pleasantville, which is about 20 years old. I don't think I'd seen it since it first came out, and had mostly forgotten the plot, other than the broadest outlines. The basic plot is that a pair of twins from the 1990s find themselves inside the brother's favorite television series, a 1950s show similar to Leave it to Beaver, which he loves because of its contrast to the difficult times they live in. They discover that an ultra-sanitized world isn't much fun to live in, and gradually introduce the inhabitants to a more varied view of life, including art, literature and sexuality, which is shown in the movie as the slow introduction of color into their black and white world--and the twins also have to adopt new perspectives before they stop being black and white. It's not subtle at times (in the middle of the movie when the conflict is at its height between those who have changed and those who haven't, there are literally signs up that say "No Coloreds") and doesn't always make a ton of sense in terms of the plot logic but I was surprised at how resonant it was given our current era of cultural conflict. I really recommend it (and visually it is absolutely beautiful.)

I totally forgot about this movie!  I really enjoyed it when I saw it, but it's been a while.


We just watched Wind River.  It's about a murder investigation on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming.  It was sad, but I think it was good.  If nothing else, the landscape is beautiful throughout.

lizzzi

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #193 on: July 01, 2018, 10:48:38 AM »
Watching some family stuff just for fun:

Moana: A little too heavy on the female empowerment theme, but entertaining enough, and some really beautiful animation and stories about the history of the Pacific islanders. (I used to live in the Northern Marianas, and found it oddly relatable at times.)

*batteries not included: A preposterous but heartfelt, touching, and humorous story about how tiny alien spaceships came to downtown NYC in the 1980s during urban renewal to help sympathetic characters try to keep their tenement building from being razed. The little spaceships are a hoot. Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn have major roles--great acting, of course.

Paddington: Surprisingly compelling bear--cute without being too syrupy. You'll cheer for Paddington as he finds his footing in London and battles the evil taxidermist played by Nicole Kidman. She's too pretty to be a villain, but is very funny in the role anyway, especially at the end. (Hint--the monkey rocks!)  Hugh Bonneville (pre-Downton Abbey) is a  reluctant bear "dad" before having a change of heart and helping to save the day.

Noodle

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #194 on: July 01, 2018, 04:11:02 PM »
Watched Baby Driver last night, which concerns a young man who works as a getaway driver for various robberies. I'm not much of a crime-movie person, but I found it interesting to watch because the action scenes are choreographed and cut to match the beat of the music playing over them. This is an example: https://youtu.be/7ARFyrM6gVs Apparently it's been very influential and you see this technique in a lot of trailers, especially. The stunt drivers on the movie must have had an absolute whale of a time, because the driving scenes are pretty amazing.

lizzzi

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #195 on: July 03, 2018, 05:43:23 AM »
Still watching some family movies just for fun. Watched Paddington 2 on my Amazon Prime. Funny, sweet, touching, heartfelt, but not at all syrupy. I am starting to love this bear--definitely recommend Paddington and Paddington 2 for family viewing. The villain this time is Hugh Grant--camp to end all campiness and completely over the top. As I said upthread regarding a completely different performance of his--boy, can that guy act.

OurTown

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #196 on: July 03, 2018, 09:45:53 AM »
We watched "Logan's Run" from the mid 70s.  What a blast, and the electronic music soundtrack is awesome.  The we watched "Logan."  A little disappointing, kind of a melodramatic ending.  They did have automated trucks on the freeway in the near-future setting.

OtherJen

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #197 on: July 08, 2018, 08:53:28 PM »
We just rewatched Inception for the first time since seeing it in the theater as a new release. Fun movie, it's held up very well.

Noodle

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #198 on: July 13, 2018, 08:35:44 AM »
Just watched "Early Man" which is a new stop-motion movie by the people who do Wallace and Gromit. It was OK--lots of little visual jokes and the animation was as always amazing--but the plot felt very slight. It concerns a soccer game between"Stone Age" (cavemen) and Bronze Age (sort of medieval) teams. I watch a fair amount of British TV and movies but felt like there was some English humor that was going over my head. Appropriate to watch during the World Cup, though...

SamuelR

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Re: What movies have you been watching?
« Reply #199 on: July 15, 2018, 03:27:20 AM »
I am Sam