# Movies you've seen recently (Part 1)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906>\
**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:** 1\
**Showing post:** 6452

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**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:** [April 19, 2023, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently-part-1/699906/6452 "2023-04-19T18:17:54Z")

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> [@alovem](#):
>
> **Excalibur** (1981, directed by John Boorman). I’m surprised that the sole mention of this film upthread is just a reference to one of the actors rather than to the film itself…

I first saw _Excalibur_ when it was in heavy rotation on HBO in the early Eighties, right when I was really getting into D&D, too. I loved it then, and I love it now, despite its flaws. The Wagner soundtrack is stirring, the cast is terrific (especially Nigel Terry growing before our eyes from a bumpkin to a king, Williamson’s sly Merlin and a very young, vivacious Helen Mirren as Morgana). The lush Irish countryside is a treat for the eye. I only wish they’d had more money for the climactic battle scene; instead, the armies (ha!) are lost in the fog.

> [@Maserschmidt](#):
>
> I re-watched Arrival now that it’s free on Kanopy. I think I liked it even more than the first couple of times I saw it, and that’s saying quite a bit.

I think it’s one of the great sf movies. We had an excellent discussion of it when it first came out: [Arrival (seen it - open spoilers)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrival-seen-it-open-spoilers/771366)

> [@carrps](#):
>
> > [@JohnT](#):
> >
> > The Great Gatsby. Definitely in the Leo wheelhouse, but this is just one big mess of a movie and we turned it off halfway through.
> 
> Isn’t this just about every Baz Luhrman film though? Yeah, R+J wasn’t too bad, but mostly Luhrman movies are people running around screaming like their hair’s on fire with LOUD music in tacky clothes and gaudy settings.
> 
> Did I mention loud?

I very rarely give up on a movie, but I bailed on _Moulin Rouge!_ after about 20 minutes. It was just a loud, frenetic, annoying mess.

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