Last Movie You Watched...

BenPanced said:

(Peter Lawford in one of the biggest mistakes of his career)

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Considering a certain story with him and Richard Boone, that's saying something.

I watched this absolutely stunning movie on Netflix called Face2Face. It was about two elementary school friends who reconnect during their high school years, and how they rekindle their friendship long-distance.

Not exactly Oscar-worthy stuff, but it was a good story, powerful and painful as hell. Just how I like my YA fiction.

Black Panther turned out to be a good story told well. They set up everything extremely well. All the characters were clearly defined, especially the villain, and stayed true to their core perfectly. The acting was extremely good. I've heard complaints that "it's just another Marvel movie", but it's an excellent Marvel movie. They took one of the traditional Marvel story lines and did it very well. The soundtrack is awesome (listening to it now). The one thing I'll give it is that they did one of the best villains I've seen in a long while--not only did I comprehend his motives, I felt for him. I never agreed with him, mind you, and I wanted him defeated, but he was a sympathetic villain. Very well done.

Calla Lily said:

We got a free weekend of HBO so we’re watching Wonder Woman. 1/2 hour in and I’m apparently a traitor to women everywhere because I’m bored.

Does it get less boring? Chris Pine just crashed through the barrier and wrecked the island’s shield.

ETA: It's official. I am a traitor to all women everywhere. Sigh.

[The following opinionated opinions are all my own and no one else's.]

Why are DC's movies so heavy-handed with the MORALS and IMPORTANCE and DEEP THOUGHTS? I'm tired of the Marvel movies because I stopped being interesting in sequel after sequel, but God how I hate being clubbed over the head with "This is Important Stuff and you should Care Deeply about it and we'll repeat it 10X plus add swelling violin music to Make SURE you CARE, dammit."

I'm going to watch Godzilla stop Tokyo.

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LOL, Calla.

Hamlet 2. A very funny movie, if this kind of comedy is your thing. But also a weirdly inspiring one about creativity and never giving up on your dream, no matter how stupid is it.

Aw HAMLET 2! That's a fun one! I should see it again!

Calla - that's a pity, but of course not every movie is for everyone! I wouldn't say your a traitor to women though, as that kind of implies the only reason to like a thing is because of one's gender. Like or dislike a film because you like or dislike it. Not because you feel obligated because of some category or label one wears. I loved WONDER WOMAN but it had very little to do with my gender. I thought it was funny and that Gal and Chris were crazy charming, and I loved the action sequences (the No Man's Land sequence to my mind is one of the best moments in any superhero film - to be fair, I have yet to see BLACK PANTHER though [so excited!]). Anyway, the point is, PLEASE don't feel bad. It's a movie. And it's subjective. And damn it all but GODZILLA films are also pretty darn awesome too .

Just saw PHANTOM THREAD. So surprising. Not at all what I thought it was going to be and I mean that in a good way. It was actually quite funny (for the kind of film it was), and it's not the usual man is a genius and destroys all the people around him because, you know, "art". It turns out that the women give as good as they get. I really enjoyed it. And upon doing research after, I learned that Paul Thomas Anderson is married to Maya Rudolph and my mind was just BLOWN by this information.

Tomorrow: THE POST.

Getting through the Oscar pics one by one, not a bad year, been quite the pleasurable experience really .

I, Tonya. Loved it and realised that I actually didn't know that much about the whole story and the life of Tonya Harding. Margot Robbie was very good, and as usual Allison Janney was fantastic.

Elle. said:

I, Tonya. Loved it and realised that I actually didn't know that much about the whole story and the life of Tonya Harding. Margot Robbie was very good, and as usual Allison Janney was fantastic.

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I feel like Robbie's been cast somewhat below her talent level in the past , and has been gamely playing along as best she can. I hope this will be a breakout for her, since it was a pretty high-wattage performance IMHO.

Elle. said:

I, Tonya. Loved it and realised that I actually didn't know that much about the whole story and the life of Tonya Harding. Margot Robbie was very good, and as usual Allison Janney was fantastic.

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i did a double take when i realized that the whole event took place in my town. i think i was kinda young when it originally happened, but i was aware of it then.....

Black Panther last night, baby!

By the way, if anyone wants a lesson in worldbuilding, Ryan Coogler just delivered.

I watched "The East" for the second time a few days ago. First time, I adored it. Second time--I have never used the word "fuck" so often while live-Tweeting my reaction to a movie. I -hated- it. Turns out I just liked hot women (Ellen Page) taking down the system--I had the same reaction, although milder, when I watched "Runaway Jury" the second time.
I summarize "The East" as such: a woman working for a private intelligence agency is manipulated by a fake-anarchist* collective of old-money children getting back at their parents. The agent is routinely manipulated in particular through the possibility of sex, right up until the last moment of the movie, with the Pickup-Artist cult leader of the film. Both actors are supposed to be the epitome of hotness, but their looks are so bland and their interactions so gross. The acting was A+ from every actor. I stayed for the acting, but damn, this movie was so problematic and had a -ton- of unfortunate implications.

*I've known, socialized, and largely respected three different anarchist collectives in my life. Met two through school, one through a friend. One was big on privacy (none had driver's licenses, they weren't gonna vote, stuff like that. Did -not- want to be tracked), one was big on guns and patiently explained why lots of gun laws should be repealed (we had different opinions), and the third had serious boundary issues around sex (lack of respect kicked in as the boundary issues escalated, and I don't talk to them anymore). "The East" couldn't be more different than the ones I met.

Black Panther, y'all! Holy crap, it's good.

I, Tonya. Great performances all around!!!!

The Shape of Water a couple of weeks ago. OMG, I LOVED it, and I really didn't think I would. Highly recommended!!

Thor Ragnarok just came out for digital download, so that's what I watched last. I actually feel kind of weird about it because it's so good - especially after hearing how great Black Panther is also. Disney are so good at blockbuster film making right now it's actually a little unnerving. Do they have the philosopher's stone of popcorn movies hidden somewhere in Disney HQ? Would anyone care if they took over the world as long as they kept feeding us stuff this entertaining three times a year.

Anyway, Thor 3 is great. Chris Hemsworth's best run at Thor to date, all the improv stuff between Thor/Loki/Hulk/Banner/Valkyrie could have been a misfire but was nearly all great. Every action scene was fun in a ridiculous sort of way too. And even the gratuitous MCU cameo they parachuted in didn't feel laboured and didn't outstay its welcome. Taika Waititi needs to make more films.

edutton said:

Black Panther, y'all! Holy crap, it's good.

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It really, really was

Kjbartolotta said:

I feel like Robbie's been cast somewhat below her talent level in the past , and has been gamely playing along as best she can. I hope this will be a breakout for her, since it was a pretty high-wattage performance IMHO.

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Same here, I think she's really getting into her own. She was great as well in Goodbye, Christopher Robin. Also looking forward to see the kind of other projects that will be coming out of her production company: I, Tonya being the first one.

Saw Kung Fu Panda 3 on DVD. With the return of his long-lost father, Po has a chance to finally learn what it means to be a panda - but a new enemy awaits. After five hundred years, former master Kai has gained enough power from defeated souls to escape from the spirit realm, intent on stealing the chi of every living kung fu master and destroying the late Oogway's legacy.

Despite a shaky middle bit - the panda village felt a little overplayed - this movie builds on the previous films' themes of identity as power, of not letting the past define or limit the future. It builds to a truly awesome finale where Po demonstrates what it means to be a Dragon Warrior, with a surprisingly dark bit that will probably go right over little kids' heads. (Potential spoiler: Po basically commits suicide at one point, with no expectation of survival or return to the living realm, in order to save people from Kai.) Interesting, bold art direction give the film a unique aesthetic, as each KFP has had. It wraps up the character growth brilliantly, with more great action sequences that burst with energy and color and imagination. How did this not even get a nomination for awards? If not for the shaky bits and a little excess slapstick/dork with the pandas, I'd call it great. As it is, it's a solid good overall; slightly weaker overall than the first and second films, but with a conclusion that makes up for it.

I just watched the 2009 adaptation of "Day of the Triffids"

Hmm. Nice tentacles, some good action and otherwise good in patches... but... Who is this Torrence guy aka "the villain"? What are his motivations apart from being villainous? Why did nobody try to overthrow him? We'll never know, and without that, he becomes a bland plot device. Talking of plot, how does threatening to kill the only triffid expert in the land if he doesn't find a solution help? Yes, this did happen.

So, it had a poor script. I'd go with the 1981 version.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Don't kill me - my 6 yr old is home ill and wanted to watch it.

It's not bad per se - it's just.......it's not the book. I really do like Emma Watson, but I will never understand why they had to remove most of Ron's strengths (like knowing about the wizarding world from the inside) and hand them over to Hermione! And ok, JK Rowling got......wordy after Prisoner but it would have been fun to see a bit more of the Weasleys collecting Harry; and rather more of the Quidditch World cup. And where was Sirius!! That's part of building up the whole Harry/Sirius relationship! Ok, they couldn't have done the Barty Crouch Jr info-dump on-screen, because arses would have gone numb but to just leave the WHOLE THING.....

I have very very little time for so-called Potter fans who can't be arsed to read the books and bleat daft questions on-line (e.g. 'why didn't James have his Cloak the night he died?' 'Why was Riddle in an orphanage?') but to leave Crouch Junior alive and well made no sense at all. Also, much though I love Tennant and his portrayal (lovely little facial tick there David - and nicely mirrored by Someone Else as well) he's too old: half of the pathos of this plotline is that he was very young.

Still - the acting is great, it's good they stuck with largely the same cast so you do actually SEE the characters age. Not just the Main Three and Malfoy but in the background you see Dean, Neville, Seamus, Crabbe, Goyle, Lavender and the Patil twins all getting older.

Black Panther. I give it my best rating: good flick.

cmhbob said:

Black Panther. I give it my best rating: good flick.

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I realize I'm not a superhero movie fan, but the plaudits are hard to ignore at this point. Anyone have any thoughts on the soundtrack? I heard Kendrick Lamar had a song but only recently learned Vince Staples did one too. That's a lot of talent right there.

Annihilation.

Don't do it; save yourselves.

Er... unless you've got moviepass and are looking for a big dose of inane wtfery. I'd have been pissed if I paid money to sit through that mess, but the level of '....' is kind of amusing in retrospect.