# Movies you've seen recently (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 29, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906 "2014-09-29T21:53:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 124
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2471 "2021-07-10T19:56:55Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > For sports fans and racing fans exclusively. Nothing for people outside those groups Re: _Ford v. Ferrari_. Soft disagree. I enjoyed it, and I am neither a sports nor a racing fan. But then I do consider myself an engineering fan, so maybe that was it. Likewise, I liked _Moneyball_ as a math/statistics fan. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2472 "2021-07-10T20:01:06Z")
I saw _Ford v Ferrari_, actually at the theater, even though I’m not a racing fan, and found it worthwhile. (I also saw _[Rush](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_(2013_film))_, also at the theater. (When things were normal, I was willing to see any halfway decent film in person.) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2473 "2021-07-10T21:17:23Z")
**Bohemian Rhapsody** : Very well made, cast and acted, but you’ve seen the story a thousand times already. Watch it one time to say you did then move on. I wanted to love it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2474 "2021-07-10T21:31:12Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Re: _Ford v. Ferrari_ . Soft disagree. I enjoyed it, and I am neither a sports nor a racing fan. But then I do consider myself an engineering fan, so maybe that was it. Likewise, I liked _Moneyball_ as a math/statistics fan. I mentioned Moneyball in my review. I enjoyed Moneyball fairly well, in fact quite a bit better than FvsF. It was still lame and cliched in many ways, but I found myself cheering for the math nerds. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2475 "2021-07-10T23:47:22Z")
Too hot to do anything, so watched a 3-hour dirge on TCM. _The Big Country._ A decent movie, but Jesus, they could have cut this down to 90 minutes. Movie was full of 30 second shots of a horse and rider coming down the road, people looking at each other, looking at the scenery while the wonderful score plays. A fight scene that seemed like a half hour. Come on! Grab the scissors and cut the padding! I can’t wait for winter. Maybe that movie will be over by then. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2476 "2021-07-10T23:54:33Z")
I am neither a racing fan or a baseball stats junkie, but I enjoyed both _Ford vs. Ferrari_ and _Moneyball_ when I saw them. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2477 "2021-07-11T16:33:49Z")
I’ve got _The Brothers Karamazov_ on in the background, and I look up and think, _“Jeez, this guy with the Worlds Worst Haircut looks kinda familiar…”_ It’s Captain Kirk! ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2478 "2021-07-12T01:46:37Z")
Watching it on hulu today. Did they ever discuss why this footage wasn’t released for 50 years, other than America’s culture of systemic racism? ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2479 "2021-07-12T02:39:13Z")
> [@Quercus\_alba](#): > > Did they ever discuss why this footage wasn’t released for 50 years, other than America’s culture of systemic racism? I vaguely recall (either from the coda of the film or a review) that it is likely that the initial attempts to sell the footage for a film was overshadowed by Woodstock’s success. As I recall, there were a few black-oriented music films released in the 70s (e.g. Wattstax), so I would think it could have found a producer, but by that time, maybe it was in storage and no one was making the attempt? With the success of concert films over the past 50 years, it is hard to believe racism was consistently able to overcome visions of potential profits. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2480 "2021-07-12T02:42:52Z")
> [@Quercus\_alba](#): > > Did they ever discuss why this footage wasn’t released for 50 years, other than America’s culture of systemic racism? There are lots of music festivals and lots of cultural festivals every year in the U.S. They don’t usually get made into movies. The Harlem Cultural Festival was over an entire summer. Woodstock was over four days. WNEW in New York broadcast one-hour shows of the Harlem Cultural Festival on Saturdays at 10:30 PM each week during the summer of 1969. Woodstock was a major news story because it had so many people there at the same time and the weather was so bad. A lot of great stuff doesn’t get made into a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2481 "2021-07-12T04:41:08Z")
**The Dark Knight Rises** ★★★★ out of ★★★★★ Gist: Not as good as The Dark Knight, but a good sequel and conclusion to the series How in the world do you make a sequel to the Dark Knight after that amazing performance from Heath Ledger? Well, it must not have been an easy thing to have to do, but Christopher Nolan managed to deliver a solid final Batman movie that was heavily criticized upon release, but I think very much unfairly so and it fits very nicely into its role as the final Batman movie in the series. Pros: - Well directed, shot, and acted. No huge standout performance, but everyone is excellent in their roles - Great and powerful story for Bruce Wayne that leads to a satisfying ending - The entire section with Bruce Wayne in the pit is top notch, just excellent movie-making - Bane works very well as a villain despite being completely different from The Joker or Ra’s al Ghul. Cons: - Forcing Blake’s story into this movie was a nice idea, but it never felt anything other than forced - Can never reach the highs of the Joker-Batman confrontations of the second film Many movie series go off the rails, but it is great to see a trilogy of films that manages to finish strongly. This isn’t the strongest movie of the series(it might be the weakest), but it is still an excellent movie and I would recommend it to anyone who has already seen the first two in the series. I remain very impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2482 "2021-07-12T09:30:22Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > John Malkovich chewing up the scenery with a ridiculous Russian accent Malkovich can be quite a compelling actor but he _really_ sucks at foreign accents. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2483 "2021-07-12T14:03:39Z")
Yeah, his British accent as John Paul III in _The New Pope_ was a bit spotty. At least the producers of the series had the fourth-wall-breaking good humor to have his character say that he’d never particularly cared for John Malkovich. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2484 "2021-07-12T14:38:53Z")
**How I Became A Super Hero** - A newish French film about a world in which superheroes and normal people co-exist, centered around a police officer investigating a drug that gives people powers. Unlike the similarly-themed **Project Power** this is a surprisingly understated affair; you still have the ridiculous unhinged villain/gang boss with a nefarious agenda but the scenery-chewing is kept to a minimum. The film also alludes to some of the personal and psychological issues that would arise in superheroes (who are just regular people with powers). On the downside the title is unhelpful and the plot doesn’t have many notable twists, although it chugs along at a decent pace. All in all it was a perfectly fine but not great film. I’d give it 3 stars out of 5, although the audience ratings at Rotten Tomatoes are a lot lower. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2485 "2021-07-12T23:40:23Z")
Fear Street Part One: 1994 ★★1/2 out of ★★★★★ Gist: A solid attempt at making a 90’s horror movie in 2021. No, I’ve never read an R.L. Stine book. I guess they were coming out when I was in school, but I just never picked one up. Anyway, this movie series is apparently based on some of his books, but I will simply discuss these movies as movies and make no further mention of the books. Fear Street 1994 is basically a straight forward 90’s horror movie like Scream. I saw Scream in the theaters back in 1996 and this is probably the movie that most reminded me of it. Not just the era portrayed in the movie, but the overall feeling of the movie is very similar to Scream. We have a mysterious, masked killer that is hunting down high school students in a small town. This movie contains much more of a mystical/magical side to it, but it is otherwise very similar to any 90’s horror movie. Pros: ``` Really took me back to the mid-90’s The final 30-40 minutes are legitimately pretty frightening Surprisingly good characters for a horror movie-making The ending was really excellent and I was surprised by it ``` Cons: ``` Not particularly original The first half is by far the weakest. Takes too long to get going ``` In the end, this is an OK movie. It actually has some great moments, but I think most of those are overshadowed by extended sections that are boring. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in the 1990’s or just needs a well made, but not overly frightening horror movie. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2486 "2021-07-13T03:08:07Z")
**Brazil.** 1985. Weird dystopian film starring Jonathan Pryce as a cog in an oppressive bureaucratic machine. Directed by one of the Monty python guys, so it’s darkly comic. I didn’t really care for it. It had an interesting aesthetic and some funny moments, but the story was repetitive and somewhat nonsensical, particularly the last 30 minutes or so of surreal visions where the story didn’t move forward in any way. It seemed like a lot of screen time to say, “bureaucracy and surveillance are bad.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2487 "2021-07-13T21:50:46Z")
I love love love _Brazil_. Robert De Niro’s appearance as a commando plumber is a particularly standout bit for me. My latest five: _Knives Out_ A clever, twisty-turny whodunnit. Very good fun, with a great cast and fiendishly complicated script. I’m glad to have recently learned that it’ll be the first of a trilogy, with Daniel Craig returning as the self-assured Southern gentleman detective. _Sphere_ Disappointing and often nonsensical underwater sf drama/adventure. The cast (Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, Sharon Stone and others) do their best, but all in vain. Some of the sfx are pretty damn cheesy, too. _The Abyss_ covers much of the same (wet) ground, but much, _much_ better. _Never Surrender_ An affectionate documentary about the making of _Galaxy Quest_ and an exploration of its goofy, enduring appeal, with interviews with much of the cast and some nifty behind-the-scenes details. Recommended for any fan. _Galaxy Quest_ Having seen the documentary, naturally I just had to see the original movie again. Still one of the best sf comedies ever - great cast, great script, impressive sfx and endlessly quotable. _At Eternity’s Gate_ An engrossing, beautifully-crafted biopic about the last few years of Vincent van Gogh’s life. Willem Dafoe is, of course and as expected, simply outstanding in the lead role, and Rupert Friend as his brother Theo and Oscar Isaac as his fellow painter/frenemy Paul Gauguin also shine. The camera work is occasionally just a bit too jumpy, and the music a bit too intrusive, but these are minor flaws. Any van Gogh fan should see the film. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2488 "2021-07-14T11:52:03Z")
I recently saw Flight (2012). It’s about a pilot with a substance abuse problem (mainly booze) whose main problem is that he is awesome at his job after 6 vodkas. This becomes a problem when society thinks that he might have been even better! with no vodkas, but we all know that this is not the case. Five mini-bottles. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2489 "2021-07-14T16:57:09Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _Galaxy Quest_ > Having seen the documentary, naturally I just had to see the original movie again. Still one of the best sf comedies ever - great cast, great script, impressive sfx and endlessly quotable. I was inspired to rewatch this. It was pretty good! I’m looking forward to the documentary. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/2490 "2021-07-14T17:11:17Z")
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