# 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:** 445
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8900 "2024-03-13T16:33:52Z")
Same for me, including the birth year. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8901 "2024-03-13T20:13:58Z")
Don’t get me wrong, I love BttF and its sequels. But the inconsistency of the time-travel rules drives me nuts. Marty does some things that help shape the future he came from, and other things that change the future he goes back to. Which is it?? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8902 "2024-03-13T21:18:20Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Why not just use a long copper cable attached to the car? Like a power cable? Drama, that’s why. The protracted end sequence in **BTTF Part III** is also unnecessarily dramatic, as… …actually, I won’t spoil your experience, but you’ll see when you get to rewatching it. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8903 "2024-03-13T21:29:00Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I agree with this review completely. I liked the look of it. It had a bit more suspenseful escapes from evil than I expected, but it definitely didn’t spoil the movie for me. I especially liked that they used the “Imagination” song from the Gene Wilder version. Much better than expected. Then I found out it was the same writer and director of the Paddington movies (Paul King). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8904 "2024-03-13T22:27:35Z")
Back to the Future is another film that I watch every few years. It’s so good. Made me a lifetime Lea Thompson fan. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8905 "2024-03-13T22:29:35Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Reviews are mixed, but I would totally recommend. I watched **Damsel** last night and I agree. Worth watching, and a fun time. Clearly algorithmically generated\*, but I find Millie Bobby Brown’s _Netflix_ projects align with my interests, so far. \*_i.e. statistical likelihood of combining popular actor with popular genre containing certain crowd-pleasing plot elements_ ---
**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:** [March 14, 2024, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8906 "2024-03-14T02:55:25Z")
**Sometimes I Think About Dying** Not recommended. Boring. Very boring. And if you begin this movie wondering if it is going anywhere, it is not. Nothing happens of interest and the entire movie is just dull. Skip this movie. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2024, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8907 "2024-03-14T12:31:01Z")
Does watching it make you think about dying? ---
**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:** [March 14, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8908 "2024-03-14T13:23:04Z")
That was going to be my joke, but I didn’t go with it. It’s currently the worst 2024 released I’ve seen. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8909 "2024-03-14T16:16:10Z")
Tinker, Tailor, Sailor, Spy (1979). I thought I really liked the remake, but this was so much better. Part of that is seeing British actors nearer to that actual generation play the roles, part of that is it being on grainy film, part of that is really strong adherence to the book, part of that is how great Alec Guinness and the other actors are. I’m now about to watch the BBC sequel, we’ll see how that is. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8910 "2024-03-14T16:54:40Z")
**Back to the Future II** (1989, Peacock) was a hit with my 10 year old but also my 13 year old daughter! I am batting around 200 for picking movies that will tear her away from her crochet. It was fun to spot what 1989 got right about 2015 and what they didn’t. It was also fun to talk about space time, plot holes and Macguffins with my kids. It holds up, I would say. I wouldn’t have watched it over without them, but I am glad I did. I want to keep the momentum we built but I’d like to avoid Michael J. Fox burnout so I’ll let them decide if they want to watch the Third one tonight or perhaps **Evolution**. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2024, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8911 "2024-03-15T03:45:22Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > **Drive-Away Dolls** > Directed and co-written by Ethan Coen. A picaresque about two lesbians accident hijacking Marcellus Wallace’s soul (OK, not really, but the MacGuffin looks an awful lot like it). It has a lot of the Coen flair, but it is too short to really let the characters breathe. The leads are game and funny, so it’s not a waste of 90 minutes, but it’s definitely minor Coen. Just saw it, and I agree with all your comments. Many (or maybe even most) reviews are absolutely scathing, but I think they’re way too harsh. This was a quirky and amusing romp and quite enjoyable, but certainly don’t look for this movie to win any awards. Rather odd that it had actors like Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon in extremely minor roles, while the movie was mainly carried by the lead actors who were two young women I’d never even heard of before, though they did have prior movie experience. Definitely had the Coen brothers trademark quirkiness, even though only Ethan was involved in co-writing and directing this one. Given that Joel Coen’s previous solo venture was the critically acclaimed _Macbeth_, I gather he’s the more serious of the two, and his involvement here would surely have given the movie more depth. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2024, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8912 "2024-03-15T09:48:01Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > the movie was mainly carried by the lead actors who were two young women I’d never even heard of before, though they did have prior movie experience. I know Viswanathan from the _Miracle Workers_ series (seasons 1 and 2 recommended, season 3 very patchy, season 4 shark firmly jumped) but didn’t realize until just now that she’s Australian. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8913 "2024-03-15T17:16:23Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > **Back to the Future II** I remember a review of it I read ( but after I saw it ). The reviewer offered that the producers figured the jumbled timeline was such that Doc’s explaining the concept of a parallel universe on the chalkboard was not so much for plot/action reasons but so as to explain to the audience what was going on, vis-a-vis a parallel universe. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2024, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8914 "2024-03-15T18:25:00Z")
I thought the two sequels to Back to the Future tried too hard to include easter eggs and references to the original movie. Basically, not nearly as much fun. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2024, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8915 "2024-03-16T11:13:07Z")
The weird thing about BTTF is that, had Marty’s family’s lives not been ‘improved’ (and that is a whole other subject for discussion), then he wouldn’t have owned the flashy new black pickup truck, and presumably wouldn’t therefore have been involved in the crash with the Rolls Royce and ruined his chances at a music career (of course, in the end he avoids the crash by turning down the drag race with Needles in BTTF3). He only has the crash AFTER his dad stood up to Biff in 1955. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2024, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8916 "2024-03-16T12:56:09Z")
**Alps** (2011). This is the fifth and probably final film in my personal Yorgos Lanthimos festival, originally inspired by _Poor Things_. It follows _Dogtooth_ by two years, and though Lanthamos is creatively unique and strange as always, he hasn’t yet developed the impressive stylistic touches that surface in _The Favourite_ and _Poor Things_. This is a dark and brooding drama that is the darkest of the five I’ve seen, and also in some ways the most cryptic. Its basic storyline, accented by numerous sub-plots and occasional absurdist incidents, concerns a small clandestine group that offers “substitution” services; when a loved one dies, one of them offers (for a fee) to help the grieving family by role-playing the deceased. Worth seeing for some of the groundbreaking techniques that might almost qualify this as an “experimental” film, but I prefer Lanthamos’s later works. **Lisa Frankenstein** (2024). Going from _Alps_ to this for a change of pace is something of a case of “from the sublime to the ridiculous”. Still, this light-hearted teeny-bopper flick that seems mainly aimed at high school girls is actually somewhat tolerable if one is in the right mood. I mean, I’ve been know to watch _Bugs Bunny_, too! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8917 "2024-03-16T14:44:46Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Hugh Grant as the sole Oompa Loompa was definitely better than expected. Rowan Atkinson was unexpected – I didn’t even realize that it was him the first time I saw him. The 3rd pairing of Hugh Grant and Rowan Atkinson that I can recall – the others being Love Actually and 4 Weddings and Funeral. Also featuring the butler from Downton Abbey, that guy from Ghosts, and that guy from Great British Baking Show. And Olivia Coleman, of all people. ---
**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:** [March 16, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8918 "2024-03-16T16:00:34Z")
**Madame Web** Not recommended. Yes, it is bad and is honestly quite a mess. There is no way this wasn’t re-written and chopped up over the course of its development. I believe the lead actress when she said it was NOT the movie she signed up for by the time they got to shooting it. I’m not sure I completely understood the story or perhaps the whole thing was too boring to pay close attention to. You usually can not tell when the actors have no idea what is going on in their movie, but this movie breaks the reality because it seems the actors line deliveries are just so bland, they have no idea what they are talking about. A mess. A complete mess. And dull. Skip 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:** [March 16, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/8919 "2024-03-16T19:15:26Z")
**Pacific Heights** (1990). I saw this many years ago (and probably so did many others here) but I thought it was worth a re-watch (I’d forgotten much of it). I just wanted to comment that I thought it was a lot better than the generally mixed or mediocre reviews and would really recommend it to those who haven’t seen it. Indeed after watching a bunch of the sometimes-absurdist and sometimes fantastical Yorgos Lanthamos films and the silly horror of _Lisa Frankenstein_, the stark and tense reality of this one actually made it hard to watch in parts. Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine star as a young couple who pool all their resources and pull in all the loans they can get to buy and renovate a big colonial house in San Francisco with the intention of renting out apartments in it to help pay the mortgage. Michael Keaton is a smooth-talking bad guy who worms his way in as a tenant with the intention of making the couple’s life hell so he can pick up the house cheap when he forces them out. That’s all I’m going to say about the plot, but although the movie takes things to extremes, anyone who has ever had to deal with bad tenants – and especially “professional tenants” skilled in gaming the system – will appreciate some of the realism here. Roger Ebert called it “a yuppie horror story”. Definitely recommended – ignore the mediocre reviews. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906.md?page=444) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906.md?page=446)