What movies have you been watching?

[techwiz]

Re-watching all the Harry Potter films with my daughter, will start the third one tonight.

[sui generis]

I finally watched 2001: A Space Odyssey.  I guess it won't be a surprise that I thought it was weird.  The soundtrack was also bizarre and because the movie is so slow, I had plenty of time to notice how little dialogue there was.  No words were spoken until over 25 minutes in and I believe no words were spoken with about 35 minutes or so left.  One hour with no dialogue and that's just the beginning and the end!  Very unusual. 

I guess I'm glad I finally saw it.  The  malevolent HAL was a much smaller piece of it overall than my impression from popular culture had been.

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

Bird Box -- You win, Netflix: after over a year of suggesting this to me, I gave up and watched this. So many opportunities for interesting allegorical meaning to be incorporated into the film but in the end it just turns out to be a rather pointless & anticlimactic collection of tropes.

Honey Boy -- This was a case of mistaken identity. I was trying to actually watch American Honey (see below) and got mixed up by the various recent Shia LaBeouf movies with "Honey" in their titles. The meta-narrative of this is more interesting than the film, since LaBeouf's role is that of a fictionalized version of his own deeply flawed father in a screenplay written by LaBeouf while he was in rehab... Well, if you want to watch LaBeouf battle his inner-demons by taking on the emotionally abusive personality traits of his father, this is the film for you! I will say that the unexpected appearance of FKA Twigs as the father & son's strange neighbor was delightful.

American Honey -- About a traveling magazine sales crew. If you are in the mood for Shia LaBeouf (and who isn't?) this is the better pick. Overall, good but not great--but excellent attention to detail and I did like how their rather unlikely sales itinerary displayed both the highs and lows of such a bizarre lifestyle along with the cultural diversity of the US.

[chaskavitch]

Bird Box -- You win, Netflix: after over a year of suggesting this to me, I gave up and watched this. So many opportunities for interesting allegorical meaning to be incorporated into the film but in the end it just turns out to be a rather pointless & anticlimactic collection of tropes.

Honey Boy -- This was a case of mistaken identity. I was trying to actually watch American Honey (see below) and got mixed up by the various recent Shia LaBeouf movies with "Honey" in their titles. The meta-narrative of this is more interesting than the film, since LaBeouf's role is that of a fictionalized version of his own deeply flawed father in a screenplay written by LaBeouf while he was in rehab... Well, if you want to watch LaBeouf battle his inner-demons by taking on the emotionally abusive personality traits of his father, this is the film for you! I will say that the unexpected appearance of FKA Twigs as the father & son's strange neighbor was delightful.

American Honey -- About a traveling magazine sales crew. If you are in the mood for Shia LaBeouf (and who isn't?) this is the better pick. Overall, good but not great--but excellent attention to detail and I did like how their rather unlikely sales itinerary displayed both the highs and lows of such a bizarre lifestyle along with the cultural diversity of the US.

@lost_in_the_endless_aisle You've PROBABLY already seen this, but I have to bring it up every time anyone mentions Shia LaBeouf.  Every time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0u4M6vppCI

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

Bird Box -- You win, Netflix: after over a year of suggesting this to me, I gave up and watched this. So many opportunities for interesting allegorical meaning to be incorporated into the film but in the end it just turns out to be a rather pointless & anticlimactic collection of tropes.

Honey Boy -- This was a case of mistaken identity. I was trying to actually watch American Honey (see below) and got mixed up by the various recent Shia LaBeouf movies with "Honey" in their titles. The meta-narrative of this is more interesting than the film, since LaBeouf's role is that of a fictionalized version of his own deeply flawed father in a screenplay written by LaBeouf while he was in rehab... Well, if you want to watch LaBeouf battle his inner-demons by taking on the emotionally abusive personality traits of his father, this is the film for you! I will say that the unexpected appearance of FKA Twigs as the father & son's strange neighbor was delightful.

American Honey -- About a traveling magazine sales crew. If you are in the mood for Shia LaBeouf (and who isn't?) this is the better pick. Overall, good but not great--but excellent attention to detail and I did like how their rather unlikely sales itinerary displayed both the highs and lows of such a bizarre lifestyle along with the cultural diversity of the US.

@lost_in_the_endless_aisle You've PROBABLY already seen this, but I have to bring it up every time anyone mentions Shia LaBeouf.  Every time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0u4M6vppCI

I had not seen that but it is unironically the best thing I've seen all month. 68M views...where have I been all these years? Hiding from Shia LeBeouf!

[chaskavitch]

Bird Box -- You win, Netflix: after over a year of suggesting this to me, I gave up and watched this. So many opportunities for interesting allegorical meaning to be incorporated into the film but in the end it just turns out to be a rather pointless & anticlimactic collection of tropes.

Honey Boy -- This was a case of mistaken identity. I was trying to actually watch American Honey (see below) and got mixed up by the various recent Shia LaBeouf movies with "Honey" in their titles. The meta-narrative of this is more interesting than the film, since LaBeouf's role is that of a fictionalized version of his own deeply flawed father in a screenplay written by LaBeouf while he was in rehab... Well, if you want to watch LaBeouf battle his inner-demons by taking on the emotionally abusive personality traits of his father, this is the film for you! I will say that the unexpected appearance of FKA Twigs as the father & son's strange neighbor was delightful.

American Honey -- About a traveling magazine sales crew. If you are in the mood for Shia LaBeouf (and who isn't?) this is the better pick. Overall, good but not great--but excellent attention to detail and I did like how their rather unlikely sales itinerary displayed both the highs and lows of such a bizarre lifestyle along with the cultural diversity of the US.

@lost_in_the_endless_aisle You've PROBABLY already seen this, but I have to bring it up every time anyone mentions Shia LaBeouf.  Every time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0u4M6vppCI

I had not seen that but it is unironically the best thing I've seen all month. 68M views...where have I been all these years? Hiding from Shia LeBeouf!

Yay, I'm glad you enjoyed it.  It's so weird, but the production quality is so good!  And it's very catchy :)

[BNgarden]

Didn't search up-thread, but just watched Knives Out last night.  Rollicking good mystery!  Recommend for acting, characters, plot twists...

[BikeFanatic]

I saw a Good comedy called train wreck with Amy Shulmer, funny and good love story, light.

[sui generis]

Biggest Little Farm.  I think I got the recommendation from this thread.  I had it in the queue for a while, but when DH saw it in there, he was super excited and we had to get it right away.  He enjoyed it and definitely spent time looking up the farm and learning more about it.  It was good but pretty stressful with repeated animal predation, especially.

[lizzzi]

Watched the mountain music movie "Songcatcher" on my Amazon Prime last night, set in 1902 when people were just starting to collect the old Scottish/English ballads from back in the hills. The authentic old folk songs were just incredibly beautiful and interesting: Barbara Allen, Mattie Groves, Pretty Sair-o (done by Iris DeMint!),  Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies was in there I think--anyway, a bunch of them with great instrumentals and dancing, too--, well-worth watching, and makes modern country music look plastic and stupid. I would have liked to have seen even more music and less of the melodramatic (but okay) plot, but still, I'd highly recommend this movie. Performances were stellar by all the actors (Janet McTeer, Aidan Quinn,  a bunch more), and the western North Carolina mountain scenery was stunning. I've never been there, but I've definitely put it on my list.

[Serendip]

Just starting watching DISCLOSURE last night (on Netflix)..a documentary about the history of how the transgender community has been represented (or more like, misrepresented) throughout the history of film/cinema.
Well-done and poignant.

[Moonwaves]

I watched Disclosure during the week, too and found it really interesting. So much that I wasn't aware of and so much that has obviously just passed me by completely (I think that would be what they also call straight cis privilege). I definitely find that in the past ten years or so I am becoming far more aware of various themes and tropes running through the films I consume.

[Serendip]

I watched Disclosure during the week, too and found it really interesting. So much that I wasn't aware of and so much that has obviously just passed me by completely (I think that would be what they also call straight cis privilege). I definitely find that in the past ten years or so I am becoming far more aware of various themes and tropes running through the films I consume.

I agree @Moonwaves, the more we know, the more we realize we don't know :) (and thanks, I saw that I had misnamed the movie but edited it for clarity)

[techwiz]

Watched Artemis Fowl movie with the family on the weekend.  I had heard bad reviews and so I was not expecting much which I think help us enjoy the movie. Good family friendly film.   

[lizzzi]

I had never read the books and had no knowledge of what Artemis Fowl is supposed to be about. I watched the movie before reading any reviews, and just thought it was a pleasantly entertaining movie that the whole family could watch together. It sounds like the books are somewhat different and are better than the movie, but what the hey. That's true of a lot of movies made from books. It's worth watching, if only to see Judi Dench play an elf.

[slackmax]

I saw a Good comedy called train wreck with Amy Shulmer, funny and good love story, light.

I saw Train Wreck too, and liked it. 

My latest movie I watched was (is ongoing)  Thunderball with James Bond.  It's fun all on its own and also because it's so old.  I'm watching it on my VCR.   

[sui generis]

Watched Knives Out last night and I'll add to the overwhelming positive consensus of those who have seen it.  Very fun and unique!

[LaineyAZ]

"Into the Forest" based on the book of the same name.  It's a view of civilization gently collapsing in the US and how one family tries to cope.  Currently on Netflix.

Could pertain to our near-future reality, depending on how you see climate change and Covid-19 affecting what we consider normal life.  Sheesh, I'm going to have weird dreams tonight.

[lizzzi]

It didn't really occur to me to watch that Eurovision contest movie (Will Ferrell, Dan Stevens, Pierce Brosnan--a lot of good actors, I can't remember them all). But when I read a review of it that said it was full of cameos and inside jokes about the contest, I thought I would give it a shot. With a lot about the contest explained in the review, I watched the movie just for fun, escapist entertainment. I liked seeing the scenes of Iceland and Edinburgh. The Icelandic contestant's belief in elves was cute--and I got a huge kick out of the scenes where Will Ferrell is almost strangled by a bad guy in front of the elves' houses. Watch that part closely, everybody. I think with a little prior research on the Eurovision singing contest, this is a fun movie. If you liked Dan Stevens in Downton Abbey, you'll find his over-the-top, campy performance here very different and a real hoot. Hey, ya-ya-ding-dong!

[OtherJen]

It didn't really occur to me to watch that Eurovision contest movie (Will Ferrell, Dan Stevens, Pierce Brosnan--a lot of good actors, I can't remember them all). But when I read a review of it that said it was full of cameos and inside jokes about the contest, I thought I would give it a shot. With a lot about the contest explained in the review, I watched the movie just for fun, escapist entertainment. I liked seeing the scenes of Iceland and Edinburgh. The Icelandic contestant's belief in elves was cute--and I got a huge kick out of the scenes where Will Ferrell is almost strangled by a bad guy in front of the elves' houses. Watch that part closely, everybody. I think with a little prior research on the Eurovision singing contest, this is a fun movie. If you liked Dan Stevens in Downton Abbey, you'll find his over-the-top, campy performance here very different and a real hoot. Hey, ya-ya-ding-dong!

I actively search for and watch the Eurovision finalist videos on Youtube so I am very much looking forward to this movie. I am all in for Eurovision spoofs.

[techwiz]

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) I watched it not hoping for much, and it delivered to my expectations. There are a few good comedy bits and fight scenes, but not enough for me to recommend to anyone.   

[Noodle]

Over the Fourth of July weekend, watched:

First Wives Club--held up surprisingly well and always nice to see fabulous ladies being fabulous. Lots of Hey! It's That Guy! moments.
Sister Act--see above, and I had TOTALLY forgotten Maggie Smith was in that movie. (She doesn't sing.)
Hamilton--a truly impressive achievement in terms of the music and lyrics. It doesn't land quite where it did when it was first written, but that's not the play's fault.

Also tried "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," I usually love show business movies. I gave up 45 minutes in. Very few movies need to be two hours and 40 minutes long--that one certainly did not.

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

Over the Fourth of July weekend, watched:

First Wives Club--held up surprisingly well and always nice to see fabulous ladies being fabulous. Lots of Hey! It's That Guy! moments.
Sister Act--see above, and I had TOTALLY forgotten Maggie Smith was in that movie. (She doesn't sing.)
Hamilton--a truly impressive achievement in terms of the music and lyrics. It doesn't land quite where it did when it was first written, but that's not the play's fault.

Also tried "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," I usually love show business movies. I gave up 45 minutes in. Very few movies need to be two hours and 40 minutes long--that one certainly did not.

Do you generally like Tarantino? I generally can't stand him but do still accept some of the more clever critical arguments in his favor and do see that he has his good points here and there in some of his movies. I'm waiting for OUaTiH to be free to stream.

[wenchsenior]

Over the Fourth of July weekend, watched:

First Wives Club--held up surprisingly well and always nice to see fabulous ladies being fabulous. Lots of Hey! It's That Guy! moments.
Sister Act--see above, and I had TOTALLY forgotten Maggie Smith was in that movie. (She doesn't sing.)
Hamilton--a truly impressive achievement in terms of the music and lyrics. It doesn't land quite where it did when it was first written, but that's not the play's fault.
 Also tried "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," I usually love show business movies. I gave up 45 minutes in. Very few movies need to be two hours and 40 minutes long--that one certainly did not.

Do you generally like Tarantino? I generally can't stand him but do still accept some of the more clever critical arguments in his favor and do see that he has his good points here and there in some of his movies. I'm waiting for OUaTiH to be free to stream.

That's funny...OUaTiH, is by far my favorite Tarantino movie.  I generally like him only with a bunch of caveats, or admire his work but don't 'like it'. But I pretty much loved the latest top to bottom.  ETA: I would have been happy if it were at least half an hour LONGER. And usually, I'm the one bitching that almost no movies need to be more than 90 minutes long...

[Noodle]

Over the Fourth of July weekend, watched:

First Wives Club--held up surprisingly well and always nice to see fabulous ladies being fabulous. Lots of Hey! It's That Guy! moments.
Sister Act--see above, and I had TOTALLY forgotten Maggie Smith was in that movie. (She doesn't sing.)
Hamilton--a truly impressive achievement in terms of the music and lyrics. It doesn't land quite where it did when it was first written, but that's not the play's fault.

Also tried "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," I usually love show business movies. I gave up 45 minutes in. Very few movies need to be two hours and 40 minutes long--that one certainly did not.

Do you generally like Tarantino? I generally can't stand him but do still accept some of the more clever critical arguments in his favor and do see that he has his good points here and there in some of his movies. I'm waiting for OUaTiH to be free to stream.

That may have been the problem--his movies haven't generally been big favorites of mine. Maybe it was just too far outside of my wheelhouse.

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

Over the Fourth of July weekend, watched:

First Wives Club--held up surprisingly well and always nice to see fabulous ladies being fabulous. Lots of Hey! It's That Guy! moments.
Sister Act--see above, and I had TOTALLY forgotten Maggie Smith was in that movie. (She doesn't sing.)
Hamilton--a truly impressive achievement in terms of the music and lyrics. It doesn't land quite where it did when it was first written, but that's not the play's fault.

Also tried "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," I usually love show business movies. I gave up 45 minutes in. Very few movies need to be two hours and 40 minutes long--that one certainly did not.

Do you generally like Tarantino? I generally can't stand him but do still accept some of the more clever critical arguments in his favor and do see that he has his good points here and there in some of his movies. I'm waiting for OUaTiH to be free to stream.

That may have been the problem--his movies haven't generally been big favorites of mine. Maybe it was just too far outside of my wheelhouse.

In my least-charitable state, I find his films to incorporate far too much grotesque & meaningless revenge-porn and are possibly aimed towards immature subterranean neck-beards; however, here is an example of a review (primarily of Reservoir Dogs) that I think highlights some his finer points:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HN3G2lOAi0
On balance I have to say that some of his unique qualities as a film-maker make up for the lack of appeal his subject matter holds for me. Jackie Brown might be my favorite from him, while I quit on Inglourious Basterds 20 minutes in (and it's extremely rare I stop watching a movie after starting it).

[Roadrunner53]

Watched: I Think We're Alone Now

Another doomsday type movie where the human race is wiped out by an unknown thing. People supposedly just dropped dead. You don't see that part, they are already dead when the movie starts. The movie 'could' have had potential but the story was totally disjointed. It never really got going and was just one depressing scene after another. I kept waiting for 'something' scary or exciting to occur but not much happened. The end of the movie had potential if it had been in the beginning of the movie and they had expanded on that aspect. A total waste of time!

Another movie: Zombie Land Double Tap

That was another totally mindless movie with no real story. The main objective was to fight off zombies while searching for one character's sister. If you just want a couple of laughs and are not in the mood to think, this movie hits the spot.

[techwiz]

The Willoughby children hatch a sneaky plan to send their selfish parents on vacation and embark on their own high-flying adventure to find the true meaning of family.  this isn't the film for you. The narrator cat was my favorite character. 

Here is a quote from the cat about the movie:

If you love stories about families that stick together and love each other through thick and thin and it ends happily ever after... this isn't the film for you

[sui generis]

Saw BlackkKlansman. It was fun and I liked it pretty well. But I wasn't aware that it departed so significantly from the true story and that distracted me a bit. I wish I hadn't known there was a true story behind it and I could have just enjoyed this, tbh mostly fictional, one.

[sui generis]

1917.  Liked it a lot, although had to put on subtitles because just could not understand them mumbling + accents. I think I had seen some very meh reviews, but I thought it was a solid balance of storyline, action, cinematography and suspense.

[wenchsenior]

1917.  Liked it a lot, although had to put on subtitles because just could not understand them mumbling + accents. I think I had seen some very meh reviews, but I thought it was a solid balance of storyline, action, cinematography and suspense.

You saw mediocre reviews? I wonder where...the film was nominated for a fuckton of Oscars and other awards and won a bunch of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_1917_(2019_film)

 Haven't seen it yet myself, though.  Too depressing for me right now.

[sui generis]

1917.  Liked it a lot, although had to put on subtitles because just could not understand them mumbling + accents. I think I had seen some very meh reviews, but I thought it was a solid balance of storyline, action, cinematography and suspense.

You saw mediocre reviews? I wonder where...the film was nominated for a fuckton of Oscars and other awards and won a bunch of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_1917_(2019_film)

 Haven't seen it yet myself, though.  Too depressing for me right now.

Yeah, not official reviews (which had me put it in my queue in the first place), just chatter on the interwebs and distant acquaintances on Facebook. So I guess I got the impression it was critically lauded but didn't go over well with the average Joe?

[mspym]

I just rewatched A Simple Favor and it is a lot more coherant when not cut for Emirates sensibilities. It is funny and stylish, great dialogue and it was a nice holiday from various murder and or cartel films.

The Kitchen is a pretty good Mob movie. Just know going in, it's not a comedy at all despite having Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish in it. Very stylish.

The Spy Who Dumped Me is the female-led action-comedy I didn't know I wanted to see.

[Michael in ABQ]

I watched several movies recently as I forgot to cancel the one week trial of the HBO channel on Amazon and figured I should get my money's worth. I started the trial to watch the Chernobyl miniseries which was extremely good - I highly recommend it.

Ad Astra - Terrible movie, waste of time. Lots of plot holes and too much internal dialogue. I only watched it because I like Sci-Fi.

The Saint - I rewatched this for the first time in probably 10 years. Good movie, I'd forgotten most of the plot. There's a great scene that reminded me of my college days when my roommates and I watched this a few times.

Ford v. Ferrari - Good movie, I enjoyed it a lot even though I view cars in the most utilitarian way. I can still appreciate a finely built machine though.

Joker - It was ok, watching a guy go crazy isn't really my thing. Joaquin Phoenix did a great job acting though.

They Shall Not Grow Old - WW1 documentary converted to color. I was a little disappointed afterwards to learn the people speaking were dubbed with current voice actors from the areas of those Soldiers to try and provide authentic accents. Still, it makes the conditions we operate in as an Army positively luxurious by comparison.

[wenchsenior]

1917.  Liked it a lot, although had to put on subtitles because just could not understand them mumbling + accents. I think I had seen some very meh reviews, but I thought it was a solid balance of storyline, action, cinematography and suspense.

You saw mediocre reviews? I wonder where...the film was nominated for a fuckton of Oscars and other awards and won a bunch of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_1917_(2019_film)

 Haven't seen it yet myself, though.  Too depressing for me right now.

Yeah, not official reviews (which had me put it in my queue in the first place), just chatter on the interwebs and distant acquaintances on Facebook. So I guess I got the impression it was critically lauded but didn't go over well with the average Joe?

Ah, gotcha. That makes sense.

[Metalcat]

Just watched Okja, so so good.

...and I'm so so happy to already be 99% vegetarian.

[OtherJen]

We just watched "Mucho, Mucho Amor" on Netflix. It's a documentary about Puerto Rican astrologer Walter Mercado. It was nicely done and kind of an anti-Tiger King: all of the flamboyance and none of the toxicity and sociopathy.

[slackmax]

Over the Fourth of July weekend, watched:

First Wives Club--held up surprisingly well and always nice to see fabulous ladies being fabulous. Lots of Hey! It's That Guy! moments.
Sister Act--see above, and I had TOTALLY forgotten Maggie Smith was in that movie. (She doesn't sing.)
Hamilton--a truly impressive achievement in terms of the music and lyrics. It doesn't land quite where it did when it was first written, but that's not the play's fault.

Also tried "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," I usually love show business movies. I gave up 45 minutes in. Very few movies need to be two hours and 40 minutes long--that one certainly did not.

Do you generally like Tarantino? I generally can't stand him but do still accept some of the more clever critical arguments in his favor and do see that he has his good points here and there in some of his movies. I'm waiting for OUaTiH to be free to stream.

That may have been the problem--his movies haven't generally been big favorites of mine. Maybe it was just too far outside of my wheelhouse.

In my least-charitable state, I find his films to incorporate far too much grotesque & meaningless revenge-porn and are possibly aimed towards immature subterranean neck-beards; however, here is an example of a review (primarily of Reservoir Dogs) that I think highlights some his finer points:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HN3G2lOAi0
On balance I have to say that some of his unique qualities as a film-maker make up for the lack of appeal his subject matter holds for me. Jackie Brown might be my favorite from him, while I quit on Inglourious Basterds 20 minutes in (and it's extremely rare I stop watching a movie after starting it).

I never gave Inglourious Basterds a chance. You could see from the trailers it was all crap. 

But I liked Hollywood. Unbelievable in lots of places, but I just liked it anyway. And the good guys win.

[Warlord1986]

'The Old Guard'. Charlize Theron is everything I want to be when I grow up. The LGBT romance is really well written and acted (y'all remember Hot Jafar from 'Aladdin'? He's back), and the fight scenes were awesome. It's everything I want in a movie.

[sui generis]

We watched Green Book last night. Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortenson are two of my favorite actors.  And it was good.  A solid watch. Maybe it just felt a little like "and then we sovled racism!"  But then again you gotta have an uplifting ending.  And that was satisfying.

[Noodle]

Just watched "Attack the Block," a low-budget SF movie from about 10 years ago. It's very well-done for a movie of that kind, but what was really fun about it was watching two actors who would become leads in major SF franchises (John Boyega and Jodie Whittaker) in their very early career days. Be warned, it is a hard R rating for language and gory violence, and earns it.

[mspym]

Just finished Knives Out which I loved and The Lunchbox which was excellent - it was lovely to see a thoughtful well acted character study set in Mumbai. Strong recommend.

[Bloop Bloop]

Eat Pray Love - it was pretty meh. A romance with very little romance and a lot of white girl privilege (and trust me, I'm usually the last to call out privilege)
However, likeable performances.
5/10

Eternal Sunshine - I re-watched this. Still one of the best and most poignant films about love I've ever seen.
10/10

After Life season 1 (Netflix) - six episodes but basically could be rolled into one, two hour film. Melodramatic at times but also surprisingly affecting at others. Gervais is great, when he's not getting up on a giant soapbox about his atheism.
7/10

[sui generis]

We watched Marriage Story this weekend.  Wow, pretty depressing.  I ended up feeling like, "Why would someone make a movie about this totally depressing but also rather common part of life for so many people?"  I guess if it had been revelatory in some way, but it just didn't seem like it was.

There was also this weird experience I had with it.  Probably just me, but there were various points where I felt like I was watching the acting, not the story.  This was especially true with Scarlett Johansson (who I usually like).  Like the scene where she first met her eventual attorney.  I just kept seeing her make what seemed like weird choices on what word to emphasize in her line or what body language to use that is meant to seem super natural but seemed super calculated to try to look natural?  I was bugged to be pulled out of the story so much.  I ended up not liking *her* at those moments whereas, for instance, I didn't like Laura Dern's or Ray Liotta's *characters* but had no transparency into their acting of them. 

[chaskavitch]

Just finished Knives Out which I loved and The Lunchbox which was excellent - it was lovely to see a thoughtful well acted character study set in Mumbai. Strong recommend.

This is silly, but I was distracted by Daniel Craig's accent for the entire move when I watched Knives Out, solely because I don't know anyone IRL who speaks like that.  I kept wondering if it was an accurate representation of a real accent, or if his actual British accent was affecting it.

[Kris]

We watched Marriage Story this weekend.  Wow, pretty depressing.  I ended up feeling like, "Why would someone make a movie about this totally depressing but also rather common part of life for so many people?"  I guess if it had been revelatory in some way, but it just didn't seem like it was.

There was also this weird experience I had with it.  Probably just me, but there were various points where I felt like I was watching the acting, not the story.  This was especially true with Scarlett Johansson (who I usually like).  Like the scene where she first met her eventual attorney.  I just kept seeing her make what seemed like weird choices on what word to emphasize in her line or what body language to use that is meant to seem super natural but seemed super calculated to try to look natural?  I was bugged to be pulled out of the story so much.  I ended up not liking *her* at those moments whereas, for instance, I didn't like Laura Dern's or Ray Liotta's *characters* but had no transparency into their acting of them.

I felt the same way. I’m not usually one to shy away from sad or depressing movies, but that one just became so unpleasant to watch that I had to abandon it about halfway through. I got online and read a synopsis to find out what happened in the rest of the movie, but I just couldn’t watch it anymore.

[Dicey]

Just watched David Foster: Off The Record on Netflix. Amazing catalog of music from the mind of a megalomaniac.  Interesting watch, if only for the stories behind the hits.

[Metalcat]

We watched Marriage Story this weekend.  Wow, pretty depressing.  I ended up feeling like, "Why would someone make a movie about this totally depressing but also rather common part of life for so many people?"  I guess if it had been revelatory in some way, but it just didn't seem like it was.

There was also this weird experience I had with it.  Probably just me, but there were various points where I felt like I was watching the acting, not the story.  This was especially true with Scarlett Johansson (who I usually like).  Like the scene where she first met her eventual attorney.  I just kept seeing her make what seemed like weird choices on what word to emphasize in her line or what body language to use that is meant to seem super natural but seemed super calculated to try to look natural?  I was bugged to be pulled out of the story so much.  I ended up not liking *her* at those moments whereas, for instance, I didn't like Laura Dern's or Ray Liotta's *characters* but had no transparency into their acting of them.

Ahh, thank you for this.

It's been on my list forever because it's supposed to be "so good", but the thought of watching a marriage fall apart just doesn't appeal to me.

Also, I tend to really like Johansson when she plays more out there roles: Her, Lost in Translation, The Man Who Wasn't There, Under the Skin, Scoop, and even with her accent in Jojo Rabbit she was compelling to watch. I think she's probably a legit weirdo in real life who gets wooden playing normal characters.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

We watched Marriage Story this weekend.  Wow, pretty depressing.  I ended up feeling like, "Why would someone make a movie about this totally depressing but also rather common part of life for so many people?"  I guess if it had been revelatory in some way, but it just didn't seem like it was.
...

Saw it when it first came out and remember it being a slog to get through.  The whole time I was asking myself, how did this get so much acclaim?  Maybe because it boldly explores something in a new way?  I held out until the end expecting maybe some brilliant insight or twist to make up for all I'd put in.  Nope.  So many better movies out there.

[haflander]

We watched Marriage Story this weekend.  Wow, pretty depressing.  I ended up feeling like, "Why would someone make a movie about this totally depressing but also rather common part of life for so many people?"  I guess if it had been revelatory in some way, but it just didn't seem like it was.
...

Saw it when it first came out and remember it being a slog to get through.  The whole time I was asking myself, how did this get so much acclaim?  Maybe because it boldly explores something in a new way?  I held out until the end expecting maybe some brilliant insight or twist to make up for all I'd put in.  Nope.  So many better movies out there.

Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I like depressing movies. I tell the gf that I don't want to watch things that make me feel nothing, like your typical action blockbuster. Rather, I want to watch something that really makes me FEEL, whether it's unsettling horror (NOT gory or slasher stuff, tho), thoughtful drama, brilliant/twisting thriller, or depressing real-life.

So I really like Marriage Story. That's life, right? Sometimes there is no revelation or storybook ending. Life sucks sometimes, but there's beauty in accepting that and growing from it. I learned a lot about marriage and divorce from it. Both my and the SO's parents are still married for 30-40 years, so it was interesting to get a glimpse into something that's so common and formulative for many people my age.