What movies have you been watching?

[Log]

I enjoyed Bottoms earlier this month and have been on a streak this week with Brick, The Worst Person in the World, and Three Thousand Years of Longing.

[evme]

I enjoyed Bottoms earlier this month and have been on a streak this week with Brick, The Worst Person in the World, and Three Thousand Years of Longing.

Brick was very good, as I recall. Although director Rian Johnson has been mostly disappointed me since his impressive debut.

[Psychstache]

Watched Black Adam with my kids.
I don't care what critics say, that it isn't a good superhero movie, or the acting or screenplay or VFX or something else isn't as good as other Morvel/DC movies.
My kids enjoyed it. Which makes it a good movie. In their eyes, it was awesome.
They also enjoyed Wonder Woman. We're on a roll going thru the Marvel and DC catalogues.

When talking to other people, I use good vs entertaining as my differentiator. For example, Independence Day is not a good movie, but it is definitely entertaining.

[Jade]

Went to see "the whale" with Brendan Fraser at the cinema today . Very moving.

[Roadrunner53]

I watched Nowhere on Netflix and it was, in my opinion, very depressing! I know other people have voiced their opinions that it was a great movie on survival. However, this woman went thru so much by the end of the movie I was like what more can happen to her. It was like one thing after another and a normal person would have certainly died or gone crazy! What a nightmare this woman went thru! I don't want to spoil it by giving details if someone wants to watch it!

[wenchsenior]

The Killer is probably 'lesser' Fincher, but that's still plenty entertaining. It helped that it seemed like every joke in it was aimed directly at me and I love a procedural. Nice to see Fassbender back, as well.

[slackmax]

The Holdovers, with Paul Giamatti. Fun human interest story about a spoiled kid at a boarding school not allowed to leave on holiday break, since his parents don't want him at home.   

[Michael in ABQ]

We watched the first Hobbit moves as a family on Saturday. My wife and I watched it years ago soon after it came out but never saw the second two. The kids enjoyed it. My wife fell asleep (pretty typical for her during movies). It had been long enough that I barely remembered most of it so that was a plus.

[LaineyAZ]

"Next Goal Wins" - based on true story of coach who moves to American Samoa to coach their soccer team.  I'm not a sports person but I really liked this one. 

[Metalcat]

Wanna watch a totally unhinged movie??

Try "Bottoms" on Prime.

In a nutshell: two lonely lesbian teens start a girl's fight club at their school: chaos ensues.

Nothing about this movie is sane or reasonable. I don't smoke pot, but if you do, this would be a great movie to get high and watch. There's a ton of improvisation from the actors, which means there are some really great lines throughout.

It's well paced, it's not too long, it rapid fires the jokes and doesn't overplay anything, so where a lot of the humour could get tedious if the writers were too pleased with themselves, this doesn't, it just keeps moving forward, which I appreciate. I find some over the top comedies try to beat a dead horse with a lot of their jokes. This movie treats every moment of humour as kind of disposable, which is likely because so much of it is improvised, so the script isn't designed to account for and emphasize zingers, they just happen.

Not all of the jokes are good, it's not an amazing comedy, but it is highly watchable and definitely unexpected.

I can't really say anything more specific because the best part of the movie is how unexpected it is. Whatever you might expect from a movie about a girl's highschool fight club, this probably isn't it.

[wenchsenior]

Finally got around to watching a couple Greta Gerwig films:

Barbie: More entertaining and joke-dense than we expected moment to moment and the spectacular production design was a delight. However, this movie took a big swing at a lot of layered themes, and just could not coherently land a lot of them. Very mixed messaging by the end. Still recommend.

Ladybird: Coming of age movie about mother/daughter conflict. This was apparently quite beloved when released, tons of Oscar noms. It was extremely well done from an objective standpoint, so I can't really object to the awards buzz. However, I did not enjoy it simply b/c I hated the main character (and many of the other characters) so much that I didn't want to 'spend time' with her/them. Fantastic cameo from Lois Smith brightened things a bit.  Some people clearly would love this, but it wasn't for me.

[Metalcat]

I felt exactly the same about Ladybird. I was like, hmm, I get why some people really like this, but I DO NOT like this.

I actually feel the same about a lot of Saoirse Ronan movies with a lot of buzz, I didn't really enjoy The Lovely Bones, and I absolutely despised Atonement. Little Women was good, but not as amazing as the acclaim it got.

It's funny, I like Saoirse Ronan as an actress, but I rarely like the movies she's in.

[Michael in ABQ]

The Big Lebowski - My wife had never seen it before and it's been probably 15-20 years since I last saw it. Hard to believe it came out 25 years ago.

My wife now gets why I sometimes say "That's just like your opinion man"


Good movie, lots of great lines - especially from John Goodman. "You're out of your element Donny!" "This is what happens when you f*ck a stranger in the ass!"

I didn't remember a lot of the details of the plot so it was nice to see it again.

[wenchsenior]

I felt exactly the same about Ladybird. I was like, hmm, I get why some people really like this, but I DO NOT like this.

I actually feel the same about a lot of Saoirse Ronan movies with a lot of buzz, I didn't really enjoy The Lovely Bones, and I absolutely despised Atonement. Little Women was good, but not as amazing as the acclaim it got.

It's funny, I like Saoirse Ronan as an actress, but I rarely like the movies she's in.

Lovely Bones was pretty critically derided, though I think her performance was admired. 

But I know what you mean. She was also good in Mary Queen of Scots, but the movie was just ok.  Agree on Little Women.

I loved Atonement, but that movie is definitely not going to work for everyone (same with the novel, which I also loved).

I did like Brooklyn.

[midweststache]

I felt exactly the same about Ladybird. I was like, hmm, I get why some people really like this, but I DO NOT like this.

I actually feel the same about a lot of Saoirse Ronan movies with a lot of buzz, I didn't really enjoy The Lovely Bones, and I absolutely despised Atonement. Little Women was good, but not as amazing as the acclaim it got.

It's funny, I like Saoirse Ronan as an actress, but I rarely like the movies she's in.

Lovely Bones was pretty critically derided, though I think her performance was admired. 

But I know what you mean. She was also good in Mary Queen of Scots, but the movie was just ok.  Agree on Little Women.

I loved Atonement, but that movie is definitely not going to work for everyone (same with the novel, which I also loved).

I did like Brooklyn.

Saoirse Ronan is, and will forever be for me, Hanna. So I see her in other films and I'm just waiting for her to kick the snot out of another character. Probably why I have yet to see Little Women yet, though it did make watching Grand Budapest Hotel a whole different kind of experience.

[Metalcat]

I felt exactly the same about Ladybird. I was like, hmm, I get why some people really like this, but I DO NOT like this.

I actually feel the same about a lot of Saoirse Ronan movies with a lot of buzz, I didn't really enjoy The Lovely Bones, and I absolutely despised Atonement. Little Women was good, but not as amazing as the acclaim it got.

It's funny, I like Saoirse Ronan as an actress, but I rarely like the movies she's in.

Lovely Bones was pretty critically derided, though I think her performance was admired. 

But I know what you mean. She was also good in Mary Queen of Scots, but the movie was just ok.  Agree on Little Women.

I loved Atonement, but that movie is definitely not going to work for everyone (same with the novel, which I also loved).

I did like Brooklyn.

Ah, for some reason I thought Lovely Bones had been well received. Maybe it had been a book that had had acclaim? I was a little out of touch with pop culture around that time.

[wenchsenior]

I felt exactly the same about Ladybird. I was like, hmm, I get why some people really like this, but I DO NOT like this.

I actually feel the same about a lot of Saoirse Ronan movies with a lot of buzz, I didn't really enjoy The Lovely Bones, and I absolutely despised Atonement. Little Women was good, but not as amazing as the acclaim it got.

It's funny, I like Saoirse Ronan as an actress, but I rarely like the movies she's in.

Lovely Bones was pretty critically derided, though I think her performance was admired. 

But I know what you mean. She was also good in Mary Queen of Scots, but the movie was just ok.  Agree on Little Women.

I loved Atonement, but that movie is definitely not going to work for everyone (same with the novel, which I also loved).

I did like Brooklyn.

Ah, for some reason I thought Lovely Bones had been well received. Maybe it had been a book that had had acclaim? I was a little out of touch with pop culture around that time.

Yes, the book was popular; more so critically I think.

[Dicey]

We stumbled on "Nyad" last night via Netflix. Thoroughly enjoyed it, most especially for the portrayals by two solid actresses (Foster, Benning) in their sixties. It seems cliché to say it was brave of them to take on these roles and portray them with brutal honesty,  but it's sadly by far the exception in Hollywood. Their willingness to be "real" while telling an amazing story was almost like adding another character.

I suspect one or both had a hand in the production, so I'm off to research that while I'm still basking in the afterglow of the film.

[wenchsenior]

If you enjoy gentle satires of costume dramas, Love & Friendship was really entertaining. Terrific performance by Kate Beckinsale, pitch perfect as a delightfully horrible narcissistic manipulator. 

Typical quote: My dear Alicia, of what a mistake were you guilty in marrying a man of his age! ... too old to be agreeable, too young to die.

[Metalcat]

We stumbled on "Nyad" last night via Netflix. Thoroughly enjoyed it, most especially for the portrayals by two solid actresses (Foster, Benning) in their sixties. It seems cliché to say it was brave of them to take on these roles and portray them with brutal honesty,  but it's sadly by far the exception in Hollywood. Their willingness to be "real" while telling an amazing story was almost like adding another character.

I suspect one or both had a hand in the production, so I'm off to research that while I'm still basking in the afterglow of the film.

Oh awesome! I was hoping it would be good. I'm a HUGE Annette Benning fan, I feel like she really got shafted in her career, criminally underrated.

[iris lily]

I watched the theatrical film “May – December “on Netflix yesterday.

It is loosely based on the Mary Kay Letourneau story. two women, and how they interact and mirror each other. Everyone is saying what a great performance the young husband actor made in the film, and I agree.

I’m not sure I think it’s the outstanding film that the critics seem to be saying, but it was decent. I would be interested in the thoughts of other people who saw this.

[eyesonthehorizon]

I felt exactly the same about Ladybird. I was like, hmm, I get why some people really like this, but I DO NOT like this.

I actually feel the same about a lot of Saoirse Ronan movies with a lot of buzz, I didn't really enjoy The Lovely Bones, and I absolutely despised Atonement. Little Women was good, but not as amazing as the acclaim it got.

It's funny, I like Saoirse Ronan as an actress, but I rarely like the movies she's in.

Lovely Bones was pretty critically derided, though I think her performance was admired. 

But I know what you mean. She was also good in Mary Queen of Scots, but the movie was just ok.  Agree on Little Women.

I loved Atonement, but that movie is definitely not going to work for everyone (same with the novel, which I also loved).

I did like Brooklyn.

I saw a clip from Mary Queen of Scots a while back & have been meaning to watch it, so I appreciate the tempering of expectations. I missed it entirely when it was made.

She also did well in Byzantium - not Neil Jordan’s best but certainly was worth seeing.

[Cranky]

We went to see Wish last week. I’d say it’s a B level Disney movie. Very pretty. The ostensible moral is “hang on to your dreams” but it’s pretty much the story of a would be fascist dictator attacking Disney, so that was entertaining.

Then we saw the Hunger Games prequel which featured an awful lot of snakes.

[iris lily]

I felt exactly the same about Ladybird. I was like, hmm, I get why some people really like this, but I DO NOT like this.

I actually feel the same about a lot of Saoirse Ronan movies with a lot of buzz, I didn't really enjoy The Lovely Bones, and I absolutely despised Atonement. Little Women was good, but not as amazing as the acclaim it got.

It's funny, I like Saoirse Ronan as an actress, but I rarely like the movies she's in.

Lovely Bones was pretty critically derided, though I think her performance was admired. 

But I know what you mean. She was also good in Mary Queen of Scots, but the movie was just ok.  Agree on Little Women.

I loved Atonement, but that movie is definitely not going to work for everyone (same with the novel, which I also loved).

I did like Brooklyn.

Ah, for some reason I thought Lovely Bones had been well received. Maybe it had been a book that had had acclaim? I was a little out of touch with pop culture around that time.

Yes, the book was popular; more so critically I think.

I think I read The Lovely Bones? Isn’t that the one about a dead sister? Anyway, it was forgettable, a mediocre novel. I did not watch the film. I like S, Ronan quite a lot.

I am heartbroken that no one here likes  Atonement. It’s in my top 10. It is wonderfully sad, beautiful. Great score helped it.

I liked Ladybird, Little Women, Brooklyn. Mary queen of Scots was a failed experiment

[LaineyAZ]

I'm still catching up on old movies on Turner Classic Movie channel (TCM).  Saw "The Wild One" this week, a 1953 movie with Marlon Brando as a motorcycle gang leader.  He was 29 and had a great screen presence.
 
Lee Marvin was his counterpart in another gang and was just as compelling.   Both of them seemed like natural actors, not formal, lofty "stars."

[wenchsenior]

I felt exactly the same about Ladybird. I was like, hmm, I get why some people really like this, but I DO NOT like this.

I actually feel the same about a lot of Saoirse Ronan movies with a lot of buzz, I didn't really enjoy The Lovely Bones, and I absolutely despised Atonement. Little Women was good, but not as amazing as the acclaim it got.

It's funny, I like Saoirse Ronan as an actress, but I rarely like the movies she's in.

Lovely Bones was pretty critically derided, though I think her performance was admired. 

But I know what you mean. She was also good in Mary Queen of Scots, but the movie was just ok.  Agree on Little Women.

I loved Atonement, but that movie is definitely not going to work for everyone (same with the novel, which I also loved).

I did like Brooklyn.

Ah, for some reason I thought Lovely Bones had been well received. Maybe it had been a book that had had acclaim? I was a little out of touch with pop culture around that time.

Yes, the book was popular; more so critically I think.

I think I read The Lovely Bones? Isn’t that the one about a dead sister? Anyway, it was forgettable, a mediocre novel. I did not watch the film. I like S, Ronan quite a lot.

I am heartbroken that no one here likes  Atonement. It’s in my top 10. It is wonderfully sad, beautiful. Great score helped it.

I liked Ladybird, Little Women, Brooklyn. Mary queen of Scots was a failed experiment

As noted, I love it. That score is incredible. Wish movies like this got made more often (old school period type stuff).  When I made my husband watch it I did have to sort of prepare him in advance for the twist though...he's a Romantic, and I knew he might be someone who would end up despising it if not properly prepared LOL.

[Fresh Bread]

Leave the World Behind - highly recommend if you like tense apocalyptic movies. It's on Netflix.

Cast includes Julia Roberts & Ethan Hawke who play a couple that go away with their kids for the weekend to Long Island just as a cyberattack hits. It's over 2hrs long but I barely noticed. DH found it a bit slow but it's not his genre.

[LaineyAZ]

Watched "Marty" the 1956 Academy Award winner for Best Picture. Ernest Borgnine won for Best Actor.

A real slice of life in 1950s Brooklyn and the first generation immigrant world.  Shows the pressure for everyone to get married, yikes! 
A fun note:  the mother in the film is 56 but is considered "elderly" - funny to think about when Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez are 54!

[iris lily]

Leave the World Behind - highly recommend if you like tense apocalyptic movies. It's on Netflix.

Cast includes Julia Roberts & Ethan Hawke who play a couple that go away with their kids for the weekend to Long Island just as a cyberattack hits. It's over 2hrs long but I barely noticed. DH found it a bit slow but it's not his genre.

That one is on the list of expected AcademyAward nominations. Actors E Hawke and M Ali are pluses for me, Julia is a negative. How was she in this film?

[Fresh Bread]

Leave the World Behind - highly recommend if you like tense apocalyptic movies. It's on Netflix.

Cast includes Julia Roberts & Ethan Hawke who play a couple that go away with their kids for the weekend to Long Island just as a cyberattack hits. It's over 2hrs long but I barely noticed. DH found it a bit slow but it's not his genre.

That one is on the list of expected AcademyAward nominations. Actors E Hawke and M Ali are pluses for me, Julia is a negative. How was she in this film?

I don't find her irritating at all so YMMV but I thought she played the role convincingly. The film gets into it very quickly, so once you're past the opening two scenes the tension builds and she portrays it well. In hindsight I guess Hawke & Roberts don't have that much chemistry as a couple but the movie isn't about their relationship so that's fine.

[iris lily]

Leave the World Behind - highly recommend if you like tense apocalyptic movies. It's on Netflix.

Cast includes Julia Roberts & Ethan Hawke who play a couple that go away with their kids for the weekend to Long Island just as a cyberattack hits. It's over 2hrs long but I barely noticed. DH found it a bit slow but it's not his genre.

That one is on the list of expected AcademyAward nominations. Actors E Hawke and M Ali are pluses for me, Julia is a negative. How was she in this film?

I don't find her irritating at all so YMMV but I thought she played the role convincingly. The film gets into it very quickly, so once you're past the opening two scenes the tension builds and she portrays it well. In hindsight I guess Hawke & Roberts don't have that much chemistry as a couple but the movie isn't about their relationship so that's fine.

 I watched “leave the world behind “last night on Netflix and it’s pretty good. The ending was cool.
I was so surprised to see Kevin Bacon make an appearance, and he was great as usual.

[Log]

Just got home from "Poor Things" and it was amazing and surprising. I went in basically blind as to the concept and it made for a great experience. Lots of laugh out loud "what the fuck am I watching," while also being very sincere and thematically rich.

Reminded me of recent Wes Anderson (Asteroid City, The French Dispatch) in a good way, but with even kookier world-building. That kind of setting where everything is heightened and absurd, but no explanation is really needed to just soak in the vibe.

[Tyson]

Just got home from "Poor Things" and it was amazing and surprising. I went in basically blind as to the concept and it made for a great experience. Lots of laugh out loud "what the fuck am I watching," while also being very sincere and thematically rich.

Reminded me of recent Wes Anderson (Asteroid City, The French Dispatch) in a good way, but with even kookier world-building. That kind of setting where everything is heightened and absurd, but no explanation is really needed to just soak in the vibe.

Yes, the director of Poor Things is kind of like a Bizarro World version of Wes Anderson.  All of his movies are quite odd.

[wenchsenior]

We stumbled on "Nyad" last night via Netflix. Thoroughly enjoyed it, most especially for the portrayals by two solid actresses (Foster, Benning) in their sixties. It seems cliché to say it was brave of them to take on these roles and portray them with brutal honesty,  but it's sadly by far the exception in Hollywood. Their willingness to be "real" while telling an amazing story was almost like adding another character.

I suspect one or both had a hand in the production, so I'm off to research that while I'm still basking in the afterglow of the film.

Oh awesome! I was hoping it would be good. I'm a HUGE Annette Benning fan, I feel like she really got shafted in her career, criminally underrated.

This was quite good.  Even for a hard-core swimming obsessive like myself, the intensity of obsession illustrated here was daunting.  I occasionally kick around the idea of trying some long-distance open-water swims, but I think I'd be looking at 5 miles tops LOL.

Terrific performances. Too bad it's going to be such a blood bath of a year when it comes to Oscar noms for both lead actors and actresses this year... Bening might lose out a nom.  She has a history of unfortunate timing in her best roles in years with very intense competition.  I feel similarly worried about Jeffrey Wright's chances this year, which is a bummer b/c I REALLY want him to get a nomination at some point.

side note: OMG I need to hire Jodie Foster's personal trainer! She looks absolutely incredible.

side note: Annette Bening doesn't have too bad a hip-driven freestyle stroke...I was afraid it was going to take me out of the movie, but apart from letting her elbow drop a bit too much, it looked plenty good enough to suspend disbelief.

[Tyson]

I get my son every other week and I have 1 rule.  He can watch anything he wants 6 out of the 7 days.  But 1 day of the week I get to pick the movie.  This week we watached the 4k restoration of Reservoir Dogs.  It was intense.   At the end, my son turns to me and says "That was some Shakespearean tragedy level shit.".  Made me smile.

[Just Joe]

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. We started it but haven't been able to finish it in one go. May restart it with my younger offspring when DW and the elder can attend.

So far, so good. 

[evme]

Leave the World Behind on Netflix. I am a fan of the director, Sam Esmail, who also created/wrote/directed much of the "Mr. Robot" tv series. But this movie, although the acting is fine, had a very abrupt ending that was not very satisfying.

[RWTL]

Leave the World Behind on Netflix. I am a fan of the director, Sam Esmail, who also created/wrote/directed much of the "Mr. Robot" tv series. But this movie, although the acting is fine, had a very abrupt ending that was not very satisfying.

We just watched this two nights ago and I have the same feelings.

Spoiler Thoughts:

Spoiler: show

1. There were a lot of things that felt like they were just added to build the "weird feeling" without really a purpose
2. Why did Julia Roberts' character suddenly dance and get close to that other guy?  Seemed so out of character.
3. What was the point of SO many animal scenes?  I get it, the migration was disrupted, but they really went all in on that.
4. There was so much time building up to something without really giving us a moral lesson or wrapping things up properly.

Maybe I'm just dense, but I didn't get it. What was the lesson or reason this movie was made? 

Overall, it was entertaining, but I'm not sure I would recommend this to others.

[Metalcat]

I watched May December thanks to the hype and the cast.

It's...um...different.

Tonally I've never seen anything like it before. It's kind of a dark comedy, kind of a drama, really hard to describe.

It's very loosely inspired by a true crime case of a teacher who had sex with her 12 year old student, got pregnant by him twice, gave birth in jail, then married him when she got out.

This is a fiction, it's not the same characters, but a lot of details are taken from that story. Julianne Moore is the pedophile turned housewife and Natalie Portman is an actress who is shadowing her to play her in a movie.

One little note is that the movie doesn't make it clear at first that Natalie Portman is playing an actress who is nowhere near actual Natalie Portman in caliber and fame, which was just a subconscious assumption I erroneously made. I just kind of defaulted to Portman as A-list, but her character is actually a B or C list TV actor and it took a bit for her character to make any sense to me as a result.

Both actresses are literal perfection in these roles, which is critical. This movie would be an absolute disaster with even a hair less authenticity in these characters.

I initially wrote an explanation of the key tonal element of this movie, but I think that might ruin the effect.

So I'll just say this: it won't be what you expect because I've never watched a movie that was intentionally the way this movie is.

I did not enjoy it while watching it, which doesn't exactly sound like a ringing endorsement; however, after 2 days, I feel quite compelled to watch it again now that my brain has made sense of why it is the way it is.

Evidently according to a few online reviews, this is not an uncommon experience.

I cannot overstate how exquisite the acting and directing is, and I cannot overstate how critical that is to pulling off what the movie pulls off. A single moment of inauthenticity from a single actor in any scene would have toppled the house of cards of the whole thing.

I know I'm being cryptic, but after I wrote out an explanation that spoiled nothing about the plot (I'm not sure you can actually spoil the plot), I deleted it because I think a big part of the experience is going into it not expecting what it is.

[sonofsven]

Rewatched the Coen brothers remake of True Grit. I really love the language in it and the feisty and precocious character of Mattie Ross. Her negotiations with the cotton trader was a wonder.

Rewatched the Riddick trilogy, in my mind it is a modern sci fi classic. I appreciate being dropped into a world with little explanation as a viewer and getting to learn about the world with the characters. Show me, don't tell me.

All films were viewed on the free version of youtube, specifically the Free With Ads category, which is rapidly expanding with quality titles if you do a little digging.

[simonsez]

Watched "Marty" the 1956 Academy Award winner for Best Picture. Ernest Borgnine won for Best Actor.

A real slice of life in 1950s Brooklyn and the first generation immigrant world.  Shows the pressure for everyone to get married, yikes! 
A fun note:  the mother in the film is 56 but is considered "elderly" - funny to think about when Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez are 54!

It's amazing how that era was so ruthless to so many when viewed now and for that movie, namely a person's physique and familial expectations.  Good lord, a heavier person will not be the poster child for health but that's okay, let them exist in peace!

Maestro was not my cup of tea but it was well made and I enjoyed the experience.  I walked out of the theater discussing with my wife if there are ANY famous artistic people who don't have inordinate amounts of baggage and difficulty in life (or if there are, then maybe they don't have enough "drama" to make the silver screen in the eyes of the movie-making executives).  My wife enjoyed the film more than I did but still agreed that Maestro has very limited re-watch value.

[jinga nation]

Watched some Bollywood movies with extended family over the holidays. Not a fan of them but I found Thugs of Hindostan to be funny, with plot elements reminding me of some Hollywood flicks.
Bahubali 1 & 2 - hours I'll never get back, waste of time.
Jawaan - another one with too many plot holes and overzealous special effects.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One - fun watch.
A Million Miles Away - really enjoyed it. Very good biopic. Older kid (11.5) loved it.

[Tyson]

Watched Barbie with my son.  What a delightful movie.  Funny in a self aware and clever way.  But also surprisingly earnest and heartfelt. 

I don't understand the hate some people feel towards it.

[RWTL]

Agree that Barbie was delightful.

Watched Oppenheimer today.  Good film - I usually enjoy Nolan movies.  The subject matter left me feeling sad, but it is our collective history.

[evme]

Leave the World Behind on Netflix. I am a fan of the director, Sam Esmail, who also created/wrote/directed much of the "Mr. Robot" tv series. But this movie, although the acting is fine, had a very abrupt ending that was not very satisfying.

Spoiler Thoughts:

Spoiler: show

4. There was so much time building up to something without really giving us a moral lesson or wrapping things up properly.
Maybe I'm just dense, but I didn't get it. What was the lesson or reason this movie was made? 

Spoiler: show

it's a cautionary tale about how easy it could be for the United States government to fall, for democracy to fall. Remember Marshala Ali's character discusing how one of his ultra rich clients did a cost analysis of the cheapest way to take out a government? It's not through an actual physical war with guns and bullets and bombs, but by sowing division from within. All you need to sow division is propagate a fire hose of mis/disinformation and it could lead to civil war. The movie is sounding an alarm about the current state of the culture/politics in the US.

BTW, apparently it's based on a book that ended in a very similar way (e.g. aburptly).

More discussion here: https://www.gq.com/story/director-sam-esmail-explains-the-ambiguous-ending-of-leave-the-world-behind-the-point-is-that-it-lingers

[partgypsy]

Before Christmas I guess I was on a weird kick, because watched leave the world behind, This is the end, and Carol and the End of the World (also least to best favorite)

When kiddos were home we always watch a few cheesy xmas movies. This year watched "Christmas as usual" (there was no one bad guy, everyone was awful), and Falling for Christmas (a groaner but we did like the ott portrayal by George Young). We also listen to the DCOM mom can't cook podcasts. We listened to the "a very nutty Christmas" episode which had us in stitches. Watched Interstellar (could write a whole post on that), and Asteroid city (liked this much better).  I also watched the shorts of Roald Dahl short stories. Very minimalistic almost theatre set pieces, with a lot of breaking the wall narration, which might not appeal to everyone but I enjoyed them. I'm actually a huge fan of short stories. I hope they look into branching into other authors. I love Munroe (Saki), and also Flannery OConner (much darker); be curious to see how they translate. 

[partgypsy]

Leave the World Behind on Netflix. I am a fan of the director, Sam Esmail, who also created/wrote/directed much of the "Mr. Robot" tv series. But this movie, although the acting is fine, had a very abrupt ending that was not very satisfying.

Spoiler Thoughts:

Spoiler: show

4. There was so much time building up to something without really giving us a moral lesson or wrapping things up properly.
Maybe I'm just dense, but I didn't get it. What was the lesson or reason this movie was made? 

Spoiler: show

it's a cautionary tale about how easy it could be for the United States government to fall, for democracy to fall. Remember Marshala Ali's character discusing how one of his ultra rich clients did a cost analysis of the cheapest way to take out a government? It's not through an actual physical war with guns and bullets and bombs, but by sowing division from within. All you need to sow division is propagate a fire hose of mis/disinformation and it could lead to civil war. The movie is sounding an alarm about the current state of the culture/politics in the US.

BTW, apparently it's based on a book that ended in a very similar way (e.g. aburptly).

More discussion here: https://www.gq.com/story/director-sam-esmail-explains-the-ambiguous-ending-of-leave-the-world-behind-the-point-is-that-it-lingers

I found this move VERY disturbing for the reason that Obama is a producer. It's like, what does he know and what is he trying to tell us? That our current situation in a way is very fragile. We need to be going in a different direction. 

[partgypsy]

Watched "Marty" the 1956 Academy Award winner for Best Picture. Ernest Borgnine won for Best Actor.

A real slice of life in 1950s Brooklyn and the first generation immigrant world.  Shows the pressure for everyone to get married, yikes! 
A fun note:  the mother in the film is 56 but is considered "elderly" - funny to think about when Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez are 54!

It's amazing how that era was so ruthless to so many when viewed now and for that movie, namely a person's physique and familial expectations.  Good lord, a heavier person will not be the poster child for health but that's okay, let them exist in peace!

Maestro was not my cup of tea but it was well made and I enjoyed the experience.  I walked out of the theater discussing with my wife if there are ANY famous artistic people who don't have inordinate amounts of baggage and difficulty in life (or if there are, then maybe they don't have enough "drama" to make the silver screen in the eyes of the movie-making executives).  My wife enjoyed the film more than I did but still agreed that Maestro has very limited re-watch value.

Marty was one of the weirder movies I've seen. But I liked it in that it was so unhollywood!

[partgypsy]

Leave the World Behind - highly recommend if you like tense apocalyptic movies. It's on Netflix.

Cast includes Julia Roberts & Ethan Hawke who play a couple that go away with their kids for the weekend to Long Island just as a cyberattack hits. It's over 2hrs long but I barely noticed. DH found it a bit slow but it's not his genre.

That one is on the list of expected AcademyAward nominations. Actors E Hawke and M Ali are pluses for me, Julia is a negative. How was she in this film?

She played her character well, but spoilers her character is not very sympathetic at all. Think "Karen".

[simonsez]

Leave the World Behind on Netflix. I am a fan of the director, Sam Esmail, who also created/wrote/directed much of the "Mr. Robot" tv series. But this movie, although the acting is fine, had a very abrupt ending that was not very satisfying.

Spoiler Thoughts:

Spoiler: show

4. There was so much time building up to something without really giving us a moral lesson or wrapping things up properly.
Maybe I'm just dense, but I didn't get it. What was the lesson or reason this movie was made? 

Spoiler: show

it's a cautionary tale about how easy it could be for the United States government to fall, for democracy to fall. Remember Marshala Ali's character discusing how one of his ultra rich clients did a cost analysis of the cheapest way to take out a government? It's not through an actual physical war with guns and bullets and bombs, but by sowing division from within. All you need to sow division is propagate a fire hose of mis/disinformation and it could lead to civil war. The movie is sounding an alarm about the current state of the culture/politics in the US.

BTW, apparently it's based on a book that ended in a very similar way (e.g. aburptly).

More discussion here: https://www.gq.com/story/director-sam-esmail-explains-the-ambiguous-ending-of-leave-the-world-behind-the-point-is-that-it-lingers

I found this move VERY disturbing for the reason that Obama is a producer. It's like, what does he know and what is he trying to tell us? That our current situation in a way is very fragile. We need to be going in a different direction.

Eisenhower warned us more than 6 decades ago!  He acknowledged the need for self-preservation and ability to defend ourselves but warned against the growing influence of the military-industrial complex (especially outside of "wartime") and how it could be a threat via misplaced power (which I view as a destabilization of democracy - very much like the movie touches on).  If your WW2 main general is telling you this...I mean, c'mon. 

The US has a big target on its back (IMO as a result of foreign policy at the end of the LBJ administration/transition to Nixon and ever since then, and arguably earlier) but has to keep the wheels greased.  The modern vulnerability issue (with most adults not able to grow their own food or survive any moderate level of instability) is not a feature unique to the US but couple that with the level of influence the US has on the world stage and I think it's a subject area ripe for writers to run wild and create movies about various possibilities.  Heck, look how fragile most modern societies were dealing with COVID-19.  People by and large don't know how to sew let alone make their own clothing or do electric work or plumbing or vehicle maintenance or maintain a garden, etc. and heaven forbid should the store where you buy toilet paper at ever run out.  We should be more independent (if push comes to shove) and focus more on learning, access, stability and safety, troubleshooting and able to fix/create/grow things, etc. instead of being so profit-driven and utterly dependent on the "modern system" and find ourselves without any independent ability, in unnecessary wars, reduced safety regulations, unequal access to technologies, and ill-prepared for natural disasters and pandemics.  I'm not saying throw the baby out with the bathwater nor to abandon capitalism nor expect every person to have the expertise to handle everything life/Mother Nature will throw at them, just maybe 7-8% annual growth in the S&P 500 instead of 10-11% would be enough for modern societies and economies to be more balanced (and maybe take care of our drinking water, dealing with wildfires/hurricanes, preventing spills and accidents a little better than we have previously).