# 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:** 279
**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:** [December 29, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5576 "2022-12-29T19:09:45Z")
I liked the headline for the New York Times review of that movie, “‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ Review: Giving Your Friend the Finger”. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5577 "2022-12-29T19:34:56Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I enjoyed both movies, and yet I can’t disagree with anything in your take. > > Perhaps it’s just that it’s so refreshing to see something different in the theaters, something that’s not a remake, reboot, or yet another superhero CGI fest. And I can’t disagree with that either. Maybe I’m being a little harsh, sometimes “fine” is precisely that and if it entertains for a couple of hours then where’s the harm? ---
**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:** [December 29, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5578 "2022-12-29T20:09:04Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Saw Ed Norton’s character. That’s about when we shut it down. 20 minutes was a guess. I mainly killed it because my wife was unhappy with it. I may give it another shot at some point when I’m more in the mood for it; yesterday was a long day. It might be worth your while to do so. FWIW, I was similarly annoyed by the opening setup. As I wrote previously: > [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Overall impression… really good. Lots of fun. The only criticism I would offer is that the first act (the first 30 minutes or so, I would wager) was a bit difficult to get through. Because I really, really hated the rich people, and I hated getting to know them while waiting for something to actually _happen_. And I figured that was kind of the point, it just went on… a bit long. I wasn’t looking at my phone to check the time, so I can’t promise ten more minutes will see you through, but for my part it did get much better once all the pieces were set out on he board and things actually started happening. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5579 "2022-12-29T20:46:04Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > A movie I want to see soon (which will retroactively become a movie I’ve seen recently) is _Down_ starring Naomi Watts (!). It’s a remake of a 1983 Dutch-language film \*[De Lift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Lift) about a killer elevator and which was certainly…something. FYI – it was renamed to _The Shaft_ for its 2001 DVD release, and was not rated well at all: > **[The Shaft (2001) ⭐ 4.7 | Action, Horror, Mystery](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247303/)** > > 1h 51m | R I’ve seen the subtitled version of the original Dutch 1983 production directed by Dick Maas, and thought it was pretty good. Notwithstanding Naomi Watts, I’d stick with the original Dutch production, which you can find under the names _The Lift_ or _De Lift_. It’s considered a horror classic in the Netherlands. > **[The Lift (1983) ⭐ 6.1 | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087622/)** > > 1h 35m | R ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5580 "2022-12-29T20:54:04Z")
Emily the Criminal: Yeah, it was missing something. Good, but just it felt too tiny. I guess I just didn’t feel the drama and tension. It all just seemed so inconsequential. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5581 "2022-12-29T20:55:14Z")
I forgot to mention I watched _Three Strangers_ about a week ago. This was originally meant to be a sequel to _The Maltese Falcon,_ but things didn’t work out. They did get Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre, and John Huston wrote the story the movie was based on, but it’s a completely standalone film. The featured reviewer on imdb thought it was better than the _Falcon._ Note: it’s not. Interesting premise: a woman has a strong connection with a Kwan Yin statue her husband bought her when they were “in the Orient.” There’s a legend (is there? I never know when watching movies like this how fake these “legends” are) that if three strangers make a wish before the statue on midnight of Chinese New Year’s, Kwan Yin will be generous to them, open her eyes and grant their wish. Greenstreet and Lorre are the two other strangers Geraldin Fitzgerald recruits for her plan. They make their wish on a Sweepstakes ticket that Fitzgerald had boutght. I didn’t know how these worked, but apparently, if your ticket is picked _and_ you pick the winning horse in this big horse race, you get a huge winings. All three strangers have serious issues that a whack of money could help. This is definitely a monkey’s paw kind of story. Only one character has a fairly happy ending, and fortunately it’s the only sympathetic character. Good, but no _Maltese Falcon_, which I watched last night for maybe the fifth time. It still holds up. Great script with snappy dialog, good acting, and lots of atmosphere. “The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter.” * * * Another one I watched because I saw its “prequel” a week or so ago was _The Curse of the Cat People._ It’s very different to the original _Cat People_ but had three of the same actors playing the same parts. Nicely creepy, but more heartwarming since it was kind of a Christmas movie. It impacted me quite deeply when I first saw it as a little kid closer to the age ot the little girl in the movie. Maybe because I went to Catholic school I saw it almost as a religious allegory, and I thought the Simone Simon character was the Virgin Mary! It was partly her wardrobe – lots of flowing gowns and long capes. If you like vintage scary movies, with not too many scares it’s a good one. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5582 "2022-12-29T21:00:28Z")
The Marathon Man, 1976, Dustin Hoffman: I saw this some years ago, and hardly remembered it. I saw it again last week. Yeah, it’s well done but not very memorable. It’s quite a convoluted story and there’s no real MacGuffin. Our hero just ends up getting entrapped in a plot that he knows little about. ---
**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:** [December 29, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5583 "2022-12-29T21:02:13Z")
**The Queen of Black Magic** Written by the director of Satan’s Slaves 1 and 2 and also the excellent Impetigore, but directed by someone else. You can tell. It just doesn’t hit as powerfully as any of those movies. It has a few moments here and there and like most movies from Joko Anwar, it has a pretty intense final 20 minutes or so, but the movie overall is only OK. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5584 "2022-12-29T21:29:25Z")
The opening scenes where they show Laurence Olivier in the “South American jungle” is actually at the Los Angeles County Arboretum. On the back side of the house they used on _Fantasy Island._ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5585 "2022-12-29T21:58:14Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > _Charade._ I thought I’d seen it decades ago, but apparently I either forgot large chunks of it or I really never saw the whole movie, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Movies of this vintage (1963) don’t always hold up, but this “best movie Hitchcock never made” lives up to the hype. I think Audrey Hepburn looks and acts better in this movie than in any other role I’ve seen her in. Cary Grant is Cary Grant, but I didn’t find their age gap as annoying as I usually do when the gaps are this big. In the comments afterwards, they said Grant wanted Hepburn to be more of the aggressor in their relationship to make it less “creepy.” It worked. > > Lots of plot twists, humor, and great performances by Walter Matthau, George Kennedy, James Coburn, and Ned Glass, and a wonderfully witty script. > > And, of course, that very 60s Givency wardrobe. One of my all-time favorites. Peter Stone wrote the screenplay. He later went on to write the musical **1776**. But if you want a movie that is somewhat similar – although definitely NOT a comedy and quite a bit darker – also written by Stone, then see **Mirage** , which came out a year later. It’s a mystery with some extremely quirky twists, and has some of the same cat (George Kennedy, Walter Matthau), but stars Gregory Peck and was directed by Edward Dmytryk instead of Stanley Donen. It, too, feels like a Hitchcock film, but more like Vertigo than The Trouble with Harry. Based on a novel by Howard Fast ! (Spartacus, the Lavette Family series, and, surprisingly, a lot of science fiction) > **[Mirage (1965 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage_(1965_film))** > > Mirage is a 1965 American neo noir thriller film starring Gregory Peck and Diane Baker, and released by Universal Pictures. Directed by Edward Dmytryk from a screenplay by Peter Stone, it is based on the 1952 novel Fallen Angel, written by Howard Fast under the pseudonym Walter Ericson; the novel is not credited by title onscreen. Walter Matthau, George Kennedy, Leif Erickson, and Kevin McCarthy appear in support. > During a power outage in the New York City skyscraper where he works, corporate s... ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5586 "2022-12-29T22:09:01Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Mirage** , which came out a year later. It’s a mystery with some extremely quirky twists, and has some of the same cat (George Kennedy, Walter Matthau), but stars Gregory Peck and was directed by Edward Dmytryk instead of Stanley Donen. It, too, feels like a Hitchcock film, but more like Vertigo than The Trouble with Harry. In the same vein there’s also **Arabesque** (1966), also with Gregory Peck, plus Sophia Loren. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5587 "2022-12-29T23:34:41Z")
Thanks! I’ll look for it. I just watched _Night Watch_ with Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. Sadly, it was filmed just a year before his death. A nice slow burn, that turns in quite a different direction at the end. I liked it! I don’t think I’d even ever heard of it before. Liz in a role that you’d probably never thought of for her…other than the flashy Van Clef & Arpels jewelry. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5588 "2022-12-30T20:29:14Z")
I know we have a whole active thread on it, but I just want to go on record as saying that I’ve seen _Glass Onion_ and very much enjoyed it. It’s a very smart movie with fine touches of humour, although Daniel Craig seemed to get the best lines. And I agree that the first half-hour or so is a bit messy and confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5589 "2022-12-30T21:29:54Z")
Watched _Glass Onion_ last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. The cast were all very good, and Janelle Monae was outstanding among them. Of course you can nitpick a lot of the logic and logistics and technology, but so what? It’s a highly entertaining ride. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5590 "2022-12-30T22:15:15Z")
[Glass Onion](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11564570/) – We loved it. Watched it several times with various friends, each who loved it. An homage to Hercule Poirot. Smart and funny, well paced. It was obvious who the killer was halfway through and STILL fun. I thought it was an improvement over Knives Out. [Black Adam](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6443346/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1). Big, stinking piece of shit. It will tarnish the careers of all involved. [Sea of Trees](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3450900/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). Good but very depressing. [Amsterdam](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10304142/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1) – Not sure. Christian Bale…doing an impression of someone else??? Timothy Olyphant was unrecognizable. Knew him by voice. Interesting movie, would not watch a 2nd time. [Nightmare Alley](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7740496/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) – Meh, just OK. About 30 minutes too long. [Last Looks](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9244554/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) – Good detective story, Charlie Hunnam was good, but seemed a little young for the part.And it dings one of my pet peeves. People getting blow to the head without consequences. The detective took several blows that could have been fatal, or at least fucked him forever, ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5591 "2022-12-30T23:21:20Z")
**Strange World** on Disney Plus. Entertaining and visually brilliant. Not perfect but certainly not flawed enough to explain its disastrous box office. I wonder if it got smeared by the right-wing “woke” brush. ---
**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:** [December 31, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5592 "2022-12-31T01:02:14Z")
**Puss and Boots 2 - The Last Wish** What a cute and well animated movie. My whole family liked it and it was quite charming. It isn’t the funniest Shrek-related product(I still think Shrek 1 and 2 are the best), but it was very well done. Highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5593 "2022-12-31T01:37:03Z")
Really? The commercials for it were so persistent and annoying I was sure it must be a dog. Maybe I’ll check it out now. ---
**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:** [December 31, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5594 "2022-12-31T01:40:02Z")
It’s been a busy movie going end of the year. Lots of one week qualifying runs. **The Quiet Girl** - After killing a man in the ring, a 12 year old Irish girl returns to Inisfree… OK, not really. A quietly heartbreaking movie about a young Irish girl in the 1980’s (much of the dialog is in Gaelic with subtitles) with a quiet soul, in the wrong family situation, given to relatives, and finding the first love and nurturing in her life. A very specific story set in a slice of life that takes you to a place an time that you probably haven’t thought about. Very much recommended. **Empire of Light** - Reviews of this have been mixed, at best. It’s a movie that’s more about some great ensemble acting rather than the plot, which is somewhat of a stereotype. However, Olivia Colman gives a performance that is almost certain to be Oscar-nominated (she may be the new Meryl Streep, every performance is astonishingly good, just pencil her name in to the list of nominees every year). I like it for the performances, but if that’s not enough for you, give it a pass. **The Whale** - Another one with great performances within a poor plot, almost nonsensical in fact (plus you can clearly see the live theater bones in the script). See it if you are puzzled about reports of standing ovations at festivals for Brendan Fraser’s performance, as well as for a strong turn by Hong Chau. Otherwise, you may want to pass on this. **Living** - A remake of Kurosawa’s Ikiru (which is a masterpiece). Not up to that standard, but a decent update, and if it brings Bill Nighy’s brilliant performance to the attention of the general movie going public, so much the better. **Babylon** - A glorious mess of a picture about the transition from silents to talking pictures, with with an intense performance by Margot Robbie as a composite of all the stars that did not make the transition (particularly Clara Bow). It is obvious that the director loves the period and this is a story from his heart, but he throws everything but the kitchen sink into the narrative, which leaves it a bit overstuffed. It’s also very downbeat (if you want to see an upbeat portrayal of this period, watch Bogdanovich’s _Nickelodeon_), so be warned. **Women Talking** - 12 Angry Women. Well, sort of. Sarah Polley (a brilliant director) has written and directed an intense drama which is primarily scenes of women talking. Talking about their future in a religious cult where they are not allowed an education, must submit to their husbands, and are subject to nightly sexual assaults by the men and boys of the cult. It is obviously allegorical, but it kept me riveted. **Broker** - If _Decision to Leave_ were not the hands down favorite as South Korea’s entry as Best Foreign Language film, this would be a worthy entry. It reminds me, in the best way, of the Japanese film _Shoplifters_, in that it is about how family that is better than blood can be built through small (and large) acts of love. Very much recommended. **Corsage** - I had high hopes for this one, a film about [Empress Elisabeth of Austria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Elisabeth_of_Austria), who led quite a life just before the turn of the century (late 1800’s). While the movie uses real people and places, it takes huge liberties with events, time, place and throws in even elements of the late 20th century. Vicky Krieps gives a great performance as a woman constrained and constricted emotionally, intellectually, and physically (a “corsage” is basically a version of a corset) by her position and expectations thereof. While the narrative is interesting, the real life accomplishments and character of the Empress would have made an even more interesting film. See it for Krieps (especially if you’ve never heard of her), but don’t expect much historical insight. ---
**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:** [December 31, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/5595 "2022-12-31T02:12:33Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > **The Banshees of Inisherin** on HBO Max. With a little time and research I think I could eventually untangle the tortured allegory but it plays just fine as good old fashioned tragedy. Fine performances and clever absurdism, but my takeaway was just an unpleasant sadness. > [@wolfpup](#): > > except I would add “one of the most depressing movies I’ve seen in a long time”. I don’t necessarily mean that in a negative way – if you enjoy movies as well-made art, which this certainly was, then go for it. Thank you both for saving me the time to post my tortured review. You both nailed it. It was well made, well acted and kept my attention. But deeply unsatisfying. And that’s okay. Now my own Drunken thoughts: Being lonely, isolated and depressed, this was hard to watch. So much resonated with me in my current situation. Watch this with someone who loves you, and you love them back. Might not be so grim. Now for the stupid: Take a shot of Irish Whisky everytime someone some says Feckin’. I did, and I fell into a Coma about midway through and eventually died, and was Cursed By A Vengeful God to wander barren rocky windswept places in an unslakable desire for companionship with Man or Beast. Or at least that’s what I drempt. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906.md?page=278) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906.md?page=280)