# 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:** 372
**Author:** ![MonkeysBrother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@MonkeysBrother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeysBrother)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7439 "2023-09-14T00:45:44Z")
I recently heard an interview on the local NPR station with one Saul Austerlitz about his book _Kind Of A Big Deal_. As you might guess, the book is about **Anchorman, the Legend of Ron Burgundy**. The interview painted the movie as ground breaking and iconic. I’m not a Will Ferrell fan, but I thought maybe I should give **Anchorman…** a try if it’s that big a deal (sorry). It’s available on Netflix. Wow! Was it ever bad! Completely not funny. Out of idle curiosity, I went to IMDB to see what the reviews looked like. The vast majority gave it 8 to 10 out of 10 stars with the occasional 1 star review scattered in. Most thought it was hilarious. Clearly, I have a different idea of what’s hilarious. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2023, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7440 "2023-09-14T00:48:04Z")
> [@MonkeysBrother](#): > > Wow! Was it ever bad! Completely not funny. Out of idle curiosity, I went to IMDB to see what the reviews looked like. The vast majority gave it 8 to 10 out of 10 stars with the occasional 1 star review scattered in. Most thought it was hilarious. Clearly, I have a different idea of what’s hilarious. Yes, I agree that Anchorman was a totally unfunny movie. Not one laugh. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7441 "2023-09-14T05:26:28Z")
I saw it when it was released and had a vague memory that I hadn’t overly enjoyed it so had never gone back to rewatch. I finally decided to watch it again a few months ago and found the first half was ok (mostly because of how much of an arse the character was), but the second half was terrible. I don’t think I laughed once after halfway. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7442 "2023-09-14T17:42:51Z")
> [@MonkeysBrother](#): > > Wow! Was it ever bad! Completely not funny. Out of idle curiosity, I went to IMDB to see what the reviews looked like. The vast majority gave it 8 to 10 out of 10 stars with the occasional 1 star review scattered in. Most thought it was hilarious. Clearly, I have a different idea of what’s hilarious. I have NO Idea if this movie holds up but my husband and I found it hilarious when we first watched it and still quote it on the regular. Favorites: _You ate a whole wheel of cheese? I’m not even mad. I’m impressed_ _I immediately regret this decision!_ _Milk was a bad choice_ _Well, that escalated quickly!_ Maybe it’s a generational thing? (Oh yeah: 60% of the time it works every time.) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7443 "2023-09-14T19:27:15Z")
I’m 60 yo, and found it moderately amusing…enough that I’m glad I watched it, but not enough that I’d watch it again. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7444 "2023-09-14T19:53:33Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > > > I can’t stand Will Ferrell > > Same here, and it doesn’t help that I’ve heard he’s an asshole IRL. Ditto. The one thing I’ve seen him in where I actually liked his performance was “Stranger than Fiction”. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2023, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7445 "2023-09-14T21:10:52Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Ditto. The one thing I’ve seen him in where I actually liked his performance was “Stranger than Fiction”. This is me. I also found _Anchorman_ cringingly unfunny. No laughs. No charm. Just clunky “jokes.” ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7446 "2023-09-14T21:20:03Z")
I just saw GOLDA (in a theater! 2nd one in four years) and was whelmed. Not sure of the market for a grim historical look at a dying leader of a nation at war 50 years ago. Helen Mirren, obviously not a vain woman, heavily made up to look like Meir at the end of her life, and Liev Schrieber, a very strange Henry Kissinger, negotiate back and forth about Israel’s dependence on, and independence from, the U.S., as news comes in daily of Israel’s destruction by Arab armies and their resurgence in fighting them. A mess of a film, both too focused on a very short period in history and too diffuse in handling a complex military situation. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7447 "2023-09-14T21:26:23Z")
**When Trumpets Fade** , a war movie about the Battle of Huertgen Forest in WWII. A bloody fiasco with over 20,000 casualties and no discernable gain. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7448 "2023-09-14T21:45:33Z")
Archorman is a joke setup with no punchline. You keep wondering if Ron is some out of time Neanderthal like Austin Powers and the reason his female co-host puts up with it much less is attracted to it is she is also from another time. But no. The whole newsroom has an over the top 70’s sexist mindset and no Human Resources Department and that is funny I guess. ---
**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:** [September 15, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7449 "2023-09-15T15:07:18Z")
I mostly liked _Anchorman_ when I saw it, but it’s certainly not a towering masterpiece of modern cinema by any means. My favorite scene is when the Paul Rudd character decides to “musk up”: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ccp-lEmoAE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ccp-lEmoAE) ---
**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:** [September 15, 2023, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7450 "2023-09-15T15:34:13Z")
Getting caught up on some oldies … **Kramer vs Kramer** (1979). Dustin Hoffman and Merryl Streep at their best (especially Streep) as a couple that get divorced and then get into a custody battle. Also stars a very capable child actor, Justin Henry. This one swept the Academy Awards in 1980, nominated for five major Oscars and winning three, including Best Picture and Oscars to both Hoffman and Streep. Just excellent in every way. **The Money Pit** (1986). Stars a very young Tom Hanks and Shellie Long as a couple who get a great deal on a fine-looking large house, only to discover it has comically severe problems. Kind of a lowbrow comedy because the mishaps are invariably cartoonish, but it has its moments for those who like slapstick or enjoy actual cartoons. **Cocoon** (1985). One of Ron Howard’s early directorial efforts. Oldsters in a retirement home discover a literal fountain of youth. It tries for a bit more profundity than it’s actually able to achieve, but overall not a bad movie. It’s also a bit disjointed in that it seems to come to a conclusion at around the 1:20 mark, leaving one wondering what they’re going to do with the remaining 35 minutes. The last part is a somewhat disconnected epilog. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7451 "2023-09-15T15:51:45Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I mostly liked _Anchorman_ when I saw it, but it’s certainly not a towering masterpiece of modern cinema by any means. My favorite scene is when the Paul Rudd character decides to “musk up”: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ccp-lEmoAE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ccp-lEmoAE) Yes that bit is genuinely funny, I laughed a lot at that. None of the rest comes close though. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7452 "2023-09-15T16:44:59Z")
I recently posted a message to my family about something naughty our dog had done, and my son responded with a meme taken from Anchorman of a dog being punted off a bridge. That made me laugh out loud as much as anything in the entire movie did. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7453 "2023-09-17T13:11:48Z")
**Jurassic World** More of the same. Who told Bryce Dallas Howard she could act? How did she manage to run in high heels? The only character I cared about was Howard’s assistant. Could this have been deliberate – the film decries people wanting bigger and louder attractions (“more teeth”), by supplying the audience with a bigger and louder movie (much more teeth). Didn’t hate it, won’t watch it ever again. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7454 "2023-09-17T13:24:00Z")
Apparently I’m in the minority here; I think Will Farrell is great. I admire the way he is willing to commit so completely to a role. Too many actors want to hold back and make their characters likeable. Moving on, I watched _Exam_ yesterday. It’s a psychological thriller from 2009. Which was surprising because one of the plot points was that there was a major virus outbreak going on so it feels like it’s a post-2020 movie. The cast was solid but the situation was too contrived for the movie to really win me over. That said, I enjoyed watching it. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2023, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7455 "2023-09-17T20:34:29Z")
**Opera** (1987). To those familiar with his work, hardly more needs to be said than this was directed by the Italian master of horror, Dario Argento. A spooky operatic version of _Macbeth_ is being staged in a magnificent opera house, complete with a flock of ravens. When the lead singer has an accident, her young stand-in is asked to fill in, but is reluctant because she believes the play brings bad luck. And violence and mayhem indeed explodes behind the scenes. Well done, and Argento’s stylish cinematography is chillingly effective, and so is the seemingly incongruous operatic soundtrack. Not for the squeamish – Argento as usual pulls no punches and doesn’t hold back on the gore, some of which is actually difficult to watch. A few fine plot twists at the end, too. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7456 "2023-09-18T00:31:53Z")
And: if the source of dino DNA is from mosquitos, how did they get the DNA of an animal that lived underwater? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7457 "2023-09-18T00:41:12Z")
I mean, mosquitoes do bite fish and reptiles. Presumably, one surfaced briefly. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2023, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/7458 "2023-09-18T01:38:15Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > **Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates** > > I adore Aubrey Plaza and that’s the only reason I watched this POS. In one word: TYPICAL! Make of it what you will. Speaking of Aubrey Plaza, I just saw her in Guy Richie’s **Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre**. As much as I generally enjoy Guy Richie films, particularly ones featuring Jason Statham (which is like…most), I found this film largely dull and generic as a spy thriller. Watched **The Little Mermaid** live action film with the kids. It was ok. My son asked me what I was watching in the middle of **John Wick: Chapter 4**. I explained to him basically "that guy there is a retired assassin. Some petty mobsters killed his dog and he went to war with everyone. That was four films ago, and now you’re pretty much caught up. I watched **The Expendables 3**. Other than the plot element of the cast being all 80s action movie stars I felt there really wasn’t that much to it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906.md?page=371) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906.md?page=373)