Last Movie You Watched

[nuclearfuels]

Spartacus with Kirk Douglas, from 1960.

Reminded me of The Ten Commandments

When directors had vision, not special effects

 

[Garden Girl]

12 hours ago, nuclearfuels said:

Spartacus with Kirk Douglas, from 1960.

Reminded me of The Ten Commandments

When directors had vision, not special effects

 

I know what you mean... I appreciate the depth of storytelling and directing that didn't rely on car chases, crashing cars, exploding this or that, or other special effects.  Yes, the special effects can certainly be entertaining if done right and with discretion... but some films really overdo it... we all can name so many films that are classics that have few if any special affects type of action...

GG

[bluebell]

Amen to that!  Hollywood as ruined so many good movies because they put more effort into the special effects than the story or the acting.

[Bernard Gui]

Sister Gui and I like Netflix’s “Person of Interest,” “Wallander” with Kenneth Branagh, “Stranger Things,” ”Shetland,” “Hinterland,” and the Father Brown and Doctor Blake mysteries. If you are a fantasy fan, the two recent “Monkey King” movies are phenomenal...Buddhist mystic legends. The first one surprised me with its parallels to the LDS creation story and the temple endowment.

[strappinglad]

Just going to finish the last couple of episodes of Stranger Things. I have studiously avoided the youtube videos on why the ending was as it was. Strange is right ! My wife and I also enjoy the British mysteries. You might consider Broadchurch.

[Garden Girl]

I watched two terrific movies...

1)  The Promise... starring Christian Bale, Charlotte Le Bon, and Oscar Isaac... about the outset of WWI, at the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and the cruelty of the Turks as they set about the purposeful genocide of the Armenian people.  It is an epic story of a family caught up in the events of the time... extremely well done...

2)  The Zookeeper's Wife... starring Jessica Chastain and Daniel Bruhl... based on the true story from the international bestseller... an inspirational story of heroism in the early 1940's during WWII.  The main characters are a Polish couple who buy the Warsaw Zoo to try and save it and the animals.  In the meantime, the Nazi occupation is in effect, and chaos begins in earnest as the Jews are rounded up from their homes and forced into the Ghetto.  The continuation of the Zoo is in question so the couple proposes that it be turned into a pig farm to provide meat for the Nazi army.  So the Zoo remains... the couple agrees to hide several of their Jewish friends so they can escape... the cruelty of the Nazi soldiers causes the couple to shelter more and more Jews and provide a route for escape... eventually saving over 300 Jews by sheltering them, and passing them on to escape... it is a gripping story... actually both stories are... The Warsaw Zoo is still in operation.

GG

Edited November 10, 2017 by Garden Girl

[SeekerB]

I watched the Green Hornet remake by Seth Rogen but it was so bad I couldn't get past 10 minutes of it. Nothing close to the quality of the original TV series in the sixties.

[Calm]

7 hours ago, SeekerB said:

I watched the Green Hornet remake by Seth Rogen but it was so bad I couldn't get past 10 minutes of it. Nothing close to the quality of the original TV series in the sixties.

It was heartbreaking.  Absolutely irredeemably horrible.   I think I forced myself to endure it for a half an hour just in case.  I vaguely remembering wondering if they even had a script or they just made it up as they went along.   And I was really looking forward to it.

Green Hornet and Wild Wild West were the only shows I look back on with any fondness from my childhood.  Both remakes were awful.  Even fantastic actors cannot save a poorly conceived plot or special effects.

I need to find the originals somewhere online and see if the feelings hold.

Edited November 13, 2017 by Calm

[Amulek]

Went to go watch Thor: Ragnarok at the only Dolby theater in town this last weekend. Good amount of humor...and Led Zeppelin. Definitely worth watching if you like the genre. 

[Benk]

Kubo and the Two Strings. I think it's really brilliant. Anyone else seen that one?

[Calm]

Yep, it was very good, but I would have preferred ethnically appropriate voices rather than the very American white versions.

It would have raised it into fantastic for me.

The visual is stunning, his storytelling I could watch it all day.  The greater story is as captivating as well.

I need to go watch it uninterrupted.

Edited November 20, 2017 by Calm

[bsjkki]

I saw Thor Ragnorak and enjoyed its ridiculous escapism. I was curious about the director and read reviews of his last movie, Hunt For the Wilder People. We watched it as a family last night and we all liked it. It has a few swear words and a little hunting violence but is more funny than serious. Free on Hulu. I highly recommend it. It is set in New Zealand.

[Tacenda]

Watch "The Circle" if you have Prime on Amazon for free. It blew my mind because it cuts so close to home. It's a good movie to get a point across. And a clean movie too. With a good moral to the story and what can happen with technology. I know it didn't do well at the box office, but is still good just to keep us in check with social media. Just this morning my son was having me watch what people are doing all around the world on Snapchat. I was thinking oh no, this is so close to what it talked about in the movie. In the movie it has Tom Hanks character and another guy, the guy that was on King and Queens, the friend, now can't remember the name, as the other character. They own a company called "The Circle". And in it they are trying to have transparency with everything, little magnetic balls that are cameras stuck to everything all over the world. Anyway, it's pretty close to home, and it's scary. 

Edited December 19, 2017 by Tacenda

[Steve-o]

An El Camino Christmas. Yep. It's as good as it sounds.

 

[Rivers]

I saw the new Star Wars movie last weekend.  Its a very different kind of Star Wars movie.  It had some flaws but I overall enjoyed it. 

[Duncan]

I saw Star Wars last weekend as well, I give at a 6/10 Laura Dern with Purple hair???? what the heck?

[bsjkki]

I saw Jumanji. I laughed. Except for a few anatomy jokes which some might find offensive, it was a funny movie you can watch with your kids.

I can’t wait to see The Greatest Showman. I’m a sucker for musicals. 

[Rivers]

On ‎12‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 11:00 PM, Duncan said:

I saw Star Wars last weekend as well, I give at a 6/10 Laura Dern with Purple hair???? what the heck?

Laura Dern's character is introduced as a teenager in the Leia novel.  She is a quirky and eccentric character similar to Luna Lovegood  in the Harry Potter series. Thus the purple hair.

I would probably give the movie a 7/10.  I've accepted the fact that the original trilogy was lightning in a bottle and the magic of those movie will never truly be replicated.  That being said, I still find the new movies to be good escapist fantasy entertainment.

 

[Duncan]

46 minutes ago, Rivers said:

Laura Dern's character is introduced as a teenager in the Leia novel.  She is a quirky and eccentric character similar to Luna Lovegood  in the Harry Potter series. Thus the purple hair.

I would probably give the movie a 7/10.  I've accepted the fact that the original trilogy was lightning in a bottle and the magic of those movie will never truly be replicated.  That being said, I still find the new movies to be good escapist fantasy entertainment.

 

I 've heard they are doing a young Han Solo movie coming out in May, with a young Lando Calrissian and maybe they'll do a young Jabba the Hutt?

[bsjkki]

I did not like Star Wars The Last Jedi. 

[bluebell]

The Last Jedi--I'm not a huge star wars fan and just like them for the entertainment value so I didn't have a lot invested in this movie.  That being said, I liked it o.k.  It was not as good as the Force Awakens and some parts were just really weird or boring (and I did not like how they handled Skywalker at all) but other parts were good and I really like how Kylo Ren is played, it's refreshingly different than normal 'bad guys'.  The movie felt too much like a remake of the first three movies though-the story line is getting old.  

Florence Foster Jenkins--solidly entertaining and some funny parts.  A typical feel good movie.

Keeping Up with the Fosters--kind of funny in parts and a little sweet but a lot of sexual stuff.  Definitely not one to watch with your kids.  Overall it was pretty forgettable.

The Lost City of Z--actually really good.  It's not an action adventure so don't watch it expecting that or you'll be disappointed.  It was a very interesting story though (true story) about an Englishman determined to find a lost civilization in the Amazon that would prove that whites and European civilization were not as superior as they believed they were.

The Great Wall of China--also just o.k. and pretty much forgettable.  Too much time spent on special effects and not enough in the script.  I always consider it a failure if a movie can go for two hours and not convince you to care if any of the characters live or die.

[oklds]

I'm just gonna stick with Harry Potter.  If I can ever get that cruciatus curse to work, you people better start treating me nice!

[bsjkki]

I saw the Greatest Showman. It is a "Broadway Musical Movie" so expect lots of singing and dancing (pop style broadway music) and it is very clean. I love musicals so I loved the music but if you hate musicals or are expecting a "factual" biopic...you will be very disappointed.  

[Stargazer]

On ‎1‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 6:05 PM, bluebell said:

The Last Jedi--I'm not a huge star wars fan and just like them for the entertainment value so I didn't have a lot invested in this movie.  That being said, I liked it o.k.  It was not as good as the Force Awakens and some parts were just really weird or boring (and I did not like how they handled Skywalker at all) but other parts were good and I really like how Kylo Ren is played, it's refreshingly different than normal 'bad guys'.  The movie felt too much like a remake of the first three movies though-the story line is getting old.  

The Great Wall of China--also just o.k. and pretty much forgettable.  Too much time spent on special effects and not enough in the script.  I always consider it a failure if a movie can go for two hours and not convince you to care if any of the characters live or die.

I wanted the Great Wall of China to be a great film, partly because I like Matt Damon, and partly because of the great special effects, but you're right, the script was suboptimal.  I was bored by the story, and walked out of the cinema somewhere between the beginning and end.  I didn't care how it ended, and I still don't.

SPOILER ALERT!

The Last Jedi was pretty good!  I loved the ending, how Luke FINALLY dragged his tail out of his wallowing self pity and completely foxed his nephew, going out in style like Obi Wan and Yoda.  The story was actually interesting, and there was great character conflict.  I thought Laura Dern's character was a total loser, but in the end she saved the day for the Resistance.  Great last film for Carrie Fisher!  Adam Driver (Kylo Ren's actor) was super!  I am actually looking forward to the next film. Thank goodness they didn't let George Lucas screw this trilogy up like he did the prequels.

[Kenngo1969]

Darkest Hour.  With apologies to President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (who, given how his family suffered during WWII, certainly can understand what I mean  ) I think an occasional reminder to be thankful that we're not all speaking German is a good thing.  Gary Oldman is outstanding as Winston Churchill.  I'm glad that the Brits demonstrated such backbone in the face of such overwhelming odds, until the U.S. and its leaders overcame isolationist tendencies, came to our senses, finally recognized the threat Hitler posed, and (albeit belatedly) joined the fight.  Also, I was deeply affected by a quote from Winston Churchill that appeared on the screen during the ending credits: "Success is not final.  Failure is not fatal.  It is the courage to continue that counts."

Edited January 8, 2018 by Kenngo1969