# 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:** 31
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2017, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/603 "2017-11-28T22:34:20Z")
Finally got around to watching “Thor: The Dark World” after having Tivo’ed it a while back. And even by comic book movie standards, I thought it was a rather sub-par hack job. a. The movie begins with exposition. In the beginning were the Dark Elves, yadda, yadda, yadda. That seems both lazy and insulting to the movie-goer. Not only that, but the exposition didn’t even make any sense. At various times during the movie, the Dark Elves seemed to have existed before the universe was created, or maybe just a few thousand years ago, or maybe even just a few hundred years ago. It was sort of hard to tell. b. There’s a stupid MacGuffin, energy cloud, nano-tech infinity stone thingy that just so happens to crawl into Thor’s girlfriend. What are the odds? Apparently the Asgardian notion of “Hide it so no one can ever find it.” is not “Encase it in unobtanium and drop it in the sun”, but rather, “Put it in a pillar in an unguarded cavern really close to where the pivotal battle was fought and call it a day.”. c. In the exposition, the Asgardians defeated the entire Dark Elf realm by, among other things, using their rainbow bridge dimensional shifter to teleport the Aether away at the critical moment. But it doesn’t seem to occur to them to do that again. Even though their victory over the Dark Elves was recorded, you know, books. Which I’m beginning to doubt Asgardians know how to read because… d. Despite being an advanced race whose technologies are nigh onto magic, the preferred Asgardian battle method is to attack, with swords, the bad guys with the nuclear power-ups and black-hole grenades. I dunno, but if I were effectively immortal except for catastrophic physical damage, I’d try inventing battle techniques that didn’t involve getting whacked by mutants with clubs. On the same note, the Dark Elves have been in limbo for somewhere between a couple of thousand and 8 billion years. And the Asgardians still haven’t figured out how to deal with their technology. _One_ ship is enough to fling them into a full panic. That’s just not time well spent. e. Which brings up another point – how tough are Dark Elves and Asgardians? It seems inconsistent. Thor and the Boss Dark Elf fling each other through walls and land punches that would take out battle tanks but do no apparent damage (Thor gets a couple of picturesque forehead gashes.) But a couple of Dark Elves have a car dropped on them, and it’s all she wrote. f. The cinematography was murky and depressing and green. g. Loose ends? Lots. Aether still out there. Odin? Loki? What the hell? ---
**Author:** ![missouri65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@missouri65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missouri65)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/604 "2017-11-29T01:09:29Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I was going to search for this thread so I could vent about [The Dinner](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3203620/). I tried this one last weekend, and was angry no one I knew had seen it. I wanted to yell at someone about it. It is the worst. It makes no sense that someone in Gere’s position would have that conversation in public, but I could forgive that in a better movie. I waited about a year of my life for something relevant to happen. I got to the part where the kids arrived at the scene, realized what was going to happen generally, and decided that there was nothing in this movie that justified me having to see that. I turned it off, looked up spoilers, and have no regrets. I too found the premise interesting. Great cast. But I spent the whole time thinking, “Why am I watching this?” Until I decided to stop. ---
**Author:** ![Hanover\_Fist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Hanover\_Fist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanover_Fist)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/605 "2017-11-29T15:32:15Z")
Atomic Blonde War for the Planet of the Apes Alien: Covenant Ghost in the Shell Kong: Skull Island ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/606 "2017-11-29T15:41:48Z")
My wife and I just watched The Big Year last night and we both liked it a lot. It wasn’t really a broad, goofy comedy like the trailer might suggest but it contained quite a few of the quieter, character moments instead. All three main characters have really good moments, imo, and really good actors in smaller parts throughout. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2017, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/607 "2017-11-30T02:47:58Z")
> [@Hanover\_Fist](#): > > Atomic Blonde > War for the Planet of the Apes > Alien: Covenant > Ghost in the Shell > Kong: Skull Island About which you thought…? ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/608 "2017-12-01T14:37:35Z")
A couple NetFlix movies that attracted my eye for a long time — but that I avoided because of the capsule description, or the reviews on RotTom: **Frances Ha** stars Greta Gerwig, who was also the co-writer. She’s currently getting rave reviews for writing/directing **Ladybird** so I gave this a shot. I liked it. It’s about post-college singles trying to find their place in NY City. The film is dialog driven, and the dialog is good. AND the characters are likeable. And generally nice people. **This Must Be the Place** (2012) stars Sean Penn as a burnt out goth musician, who is almost paralyzed by life. The character seems based on Robert Smith and doddering Ozzie. Penn is fascinating to watch, and the direction is very good. And, like **Frances Ha** the film turns out to be full of nice people. The movie suffers when the plot shows up, but is still odd and worthwhile. I completely recommend giving the film a try. The cast includes Frances McDormand, Harry Dean Stanton, Judd Hirsch (as a Nazi hunter), and David Byrne — who did the soundtrack. The title is from “Naive Melody” by Talking Heads. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/609 "2017-12-03T22:23:27Z")
**Wind River** with Jeremy Renner doing his usual good job. Pretty good movie that just misses on the message of rape and the disappearance of women on Indian reservations, although there is an onscreen message about it at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/610 "2017-12-08T04:53:46Z")
Watched **Mudbound** , an Amazon Prime movie. Very well done and will likely gain some Oscar attention. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/611 "2017-12-09T02:33:40Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _Blade Runner_ > Rewatched this sf detective-noir classic so it’d be fresh on my mind when I see the sequel this fall. A flawed cop (Harrison Ford at his best), a beautiful woman with a tragic secret (Sean Young, lovely), and a dark, dangerous city stretching out to the horizon. Still holds up very well. And in 35 years, people are _not_ going to be watching BR 2049 and saying “still holds up very well”. If they remember it at all, they’ll be saying “but the remake was a turkey”. Production OK. Direction OK. Score OK. Acting OK. Dialog OK. But not inspired by a story from PKD: not inspired by anything: not inspired at all. At ~ 3 hours, about 1.5 hours too long. The only redeeming feature was that I watched it alone, walked away in the rain to deserted undergound carpark, and drove off alone in the rain. And yes, you should see it in the theatre, not at home. Because apart from the star-wars rumble of the sound track, there really isn’t any reason to see it at all. ---
**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:** [December 28, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/613 "2017-12-28T16:44:25Z")
My most recent five: _The Last Detail_ Jack Nicholson is a hard-bitten sailor escorting a callow young Navy convict (Randy Quaid, in a very early role) to a naval prison. On the way, he, his partner and the prisoner have various misadventures. A nice character study, although a bit on the grim side. Look for Gilda Radner in her screen debut. _Weiner_ Funny, appalling documentary about the sexaholic former Congressman’s doomed run for Mayor of New York. The documentary crew had amazing access to the slow-motion train wreck of his campaign. A must for any political junkie. _Emma_ Gwyneth Paltrow is charming in this 1996 adaptation of the Jane Austen classic, playing a young matchmaker who can’t help but meddle, usually foolishly, in the love lives of others. _Lincoln_ Rewatched this terrific Steven Spielberg movie about the last days of Abraham Lincoln. The focus is on the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, thanks to an equal mix of patronage, arm-twisting and threats. Daniel Day-Lewis earned his Oscar in the title role, and then some. _Ant-Man_ Really enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek superhero flick. Paul Rudd is excellent in the lead, while Michael Pena steals every scene as his buddy. Great action sequences, lots of in-jokes, bad science and a very entertaining film. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/614 "2017-12-29T00:03:36Z")
“Your Name”. I would never watch a movie of that genre, my stepdaughter was watching it while I was doing something elsle, and I thought the music was really good. So I sat down and watched it, and started getting blown away by the set artwork behind the cartoony actors. I loved the sets, the way they were presented. It’s not new, I think Linklater made a few pictures with that technique – I believe they were still photos, digitally rendered to drawn. I paid little attention to the story, something about comets,I think – but of you see this picture again, just listen to the music and look at the scenery. ---
**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 29, 2017, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/615 "2017-12-29T00:48:47Z")
Just watched [Blackway](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4061010/) on Netflix with the wife. What the fuck were they thinking??? It had a budget of 8 million. It grossed 16 thousand in the US. I am surprised they got that. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/616 "2017-12-29T02:03:38Z")
_The Disaster Artist_. Directed by and starring James Franco in the true story of Tommy Wiseau, author and director of one of the worst films ever made, _The Room_. There is some discussion as to whether or not it helps to have seen The Room. I have (the Rifftrax version, which is hilarious); my wife hadn’t; neither of us liked Disaster Artist very much. We both just felt sorry for the poor schmuck. The same kind of story is much better told in Tim Burton’s _Ed Woo_d. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/617 "2018-01-08T18:48:09Z")
Franco won a Golden Globe for it last night, and invited Wiseau up on stage with him (but didn’t let him speak). I’d like to see it sometime, but suppose I really should see _The Room_ first. My latest five: _Star Wars: The Last Jedi_ I liked it, all in all, although not as much as _The Force Awakens_. Great sf eye candy and battles, but General Leia’s unexplained hard-vacuum survival skillz, and the slow-mo chase by the First Order fleet of the fleeing Rebels, were just stoopid. _Baby Driver_ Fun, violent, exciting movie about a secretive young getaway driver for a gang of bank robbers in Atlanta. Great cast, chase sequences and soundtrack. _Sully_ Clint Eastwood’s near-documentary about the Jan. 2009 emergency water landing of a passenger jet on the Hudson River and its aftermath. The National Transportation Safety Board is (unfairly, I’ve read) made out to be the heavies in the subsequent investigation. Tom Hanks turns in his usual solid performance; Laura Linney is mostly wasted in the role of his wife. _Darkest Hour_ Gary Oldman is nearly unrecognizable in makeup and a fat suit, but does a pretty good job as Winston Churchill in the early days of his wartime service as Prime Minister. Worth seeing for any Churchill or WWII buff. _The Beatles: Eight Days A Week_ A fine Ron Howard-directed documentary about the Beatles and their frenetic, exhausting, sometimes-dangerous world tours. Interesting, well-edited archival interviews with Lennon and Harrison; new ones with McCartney and Starr. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/618 "2018-01-08T18:55:22Z")
_Molly’s Game._ Enjoyed it greatly; but it helps to be a big Aaron Sorkin fan, which I am. It’s like a 2 hour episode of The West Wing. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/619 "2018-01-08T19:19:19Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > _Molly’s Game._ Enjoyed it greatly; but it helps to be a big Aaron Sorkin fan, which I am. It’s like a 2 hour episode of The West Wing. Without the President but with poker? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/620 "2018-01-08T20:16:05Z")
I finally saw **The Big Sick** last night. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I’m a big fan of Kumail Nanjiani first off and I was looking forward to seeing it forever. I’d heard nothing but great things about this film and they’re all true. I loved it. See it. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/621 "2018-01-08T20:21:44Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Without the President but with poker? Exactly! 😉 Seriously, it’s the smart and rapid-fire dialog. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/622 "2018-01-08T22:40:29Z")
Saw _Lady Bird_. Something of a let down. Quite predictable for _very_ large stretches. Ms. Unpronounceable did a good job of channeling Greta Gerwig but not much more. I love Laurie Metcalf but I don’t see what the buzz is about her performance here. Lois Smith continues to be a treasure. A tiny oddity: _High Fidelity_ (2000). A woman enters Rob’s store and asks him if he has soul. _Lady Bird_ (set in 2002-3). Lady Bird asks a guy if he believes in God. What do these have in common? The background song for these two scenes is _Always See Your Face_ by Love. So the official song for (almost) theological questions? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/623 "2018-01-16T21:38:52Z")
In my personal March to the Oscars quest I saw 2 this weekend: The Post: Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep (how could it go wrong? A: It doesn’t.) Made me immediately want to go home and watch All The President’s Men. I, Tonya: Brilliant. Check Allison Janney on your Oscar pool. I’m assuming that Margo Robbie can’t actually land a Triple Axel, so it made me immediately want to Google how the hell they did that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906.md?page=32)