Last Movie You Watched

[vers la flamme]

Howl's Moving Castle by Miyazaki. Not as enchanting as Spirited Away, with strong characters but a rather loose storyline. Superb animation. Miyazaki's special touch is immediately recognizable.

Love it. I've seen this about 50 times, and Spirited Away well over 100. 

Last movie I watched was The Men Who Stare at Goats. It was pretty funny.

[Christo]

Greyhound with Tom Hanks, set in the Battle of the Atlantic and based on The Good Shepherd by C. S. Forester.  I quite enjoyed this one, and it's short.  (I couldn't find a video cover.)

Will see it tonight with our 14 year old son, a WWI & WWII specialist.

[drogulus]

Will see it tonight with our 14 year old son, a WWI & WWII specialist.

     The movie should appeal to a specialist a little more than a general audience. If I put on my general audience hat, I'm not sure I could give the film a strong recommendation.

[SonicMan46]

There's also a new television version of The War of the Worlds, which I haven't started watching yet. But with a very promising cast list.

Hi Madiel - looked on Amazon and found a series on Epix (seems like 8 episodes have been made) - is that your reference?  Thanks - Dave

[André]

Love it. I've seen this about 50 times, and Spirited Away well over 100. 

Last movie I watched was The Men Who Stare at Goats. It was pretty funny.

That must be some kind of record  . I have a few other Miyazakis lined up, all on Netflix. 

[SonicMan46]

Hamilton w/ Lin-Manuel Miranda et al - the 2015 Broadway musical on film which premiered on DisneyPlus (we're not subscribers but our son setup a profile for me under his subscription, so we were able to stream the musical) - the production was excellent as was the filming and sound - synopsis quoted below from Wiki link.  The show was fast paced, the language cadence not always easily understood (apparently some watch w/ subtitles), and the musical styles popular at present.  I know the history but did not read Chernow's book on which the musical is based - my wife enjoyed the show more than me although she had a tough time keeping track of the characters and their vocalizations.  She wants to watch the show again, but not sure that I do?  Because of its popularity, novelty of the writing/music (Miranda is indeed a genius, kind of like a George M. Cohan!), and the outrageous cost of 'live production' tickets, a strong recommendation for streaming if interested in this musical film.  Dave

Hamilton: An American Musical, simply known as Hamilton, is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It tells the story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, the show draws heavily from hip hop, as well as R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes; and it casts non-white actors as the Founding Fathers and other historical figures. Miranda described Hamilton as about "America then, as told by America now".

From its opening, Hamilton received critical acclaim. It premiered Off-Broadway on February 17, 2015, at the Public Theater, where its several-month engagement was sold out; it won eight Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical. It then transferred to the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, opening on August 6, 2015, where it received uniformly positive reviews and high box office sales. At the 2016 Tony Awards, Hamilton received a record 16 nominations and won 11 awards, including Best Musical. It received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. (Source)

 

[Madiel]

Hi Madiel - looked on Amazon and found a series on Epix (seems like 8 episodes have been made) - is that your reference?  Thanks - Dave

That is the show I'm referring to, yes.

[SimonNZ]

Two distinct Winston Churchill films. Th e first covering the wilderness years and his alarmist stance at the rise of Hitler. The second covering the days leading up to D-Day..

Both superficially excellent, but on closer examination the second let down by playing fast and loose with the historical record.

[aligreto]

The Take





Gritty action thriller set in Paris. It contains something of an interesting lesson in how easy it can be to rouse a rabble via social media.

[Christo]

     The movie should appeal to a specialist a little more than a general audience. If I put on my general audience hat, I'm not sure I could give the film a strong recommendation.

I don't believe in a 'general audience', people are always more & more individual than just general.

[vers la flamme]

That must be some kind of record  . I have a few other Miyazakis lined up, all on Netflix. 

Nah, Miyazaki worship is quite common in my generation. Most of those numbers are from childhood when those were two of the only DVDs we had.

[steve ridgway]

Ender's Game. An interesting story of space warfare that had become so much like a video game that it was most effectively fought by children. Harrison Ford also has a major role.

[mc ukrneal]

Ender's Game. An interesting story of space warfare that had become so much like a video game that it was most effectively fought by children. Harrison Ford also has a major role.

If you like the idea of it, the book is better done. Though, it starts to get a bit preachy at the very end and I put down the second book because of that. Still, the first was a fun read and it's not too long.

[steve ridgway]

If you like the idea of it, the book is better done. Though, it starts to get a bit preachy at the very end and I put down the second book because of that. Still, the first was a fun read and it's not too long.

Thanks. The film did touch on ethical questions but the end justifies the means when you're facing extermination.

[André]

Nah, Miyazaki worship is quite common in my generation. Most of those numbers are from childhood when those were two of the only DVDs we had.

Ok, I get it  . My kids watched some films dozens of time. They would play with their Lego, not paying attention to the film but saying the lines every now and then.

[drogulus]

I don't believe in a 'general audience', people are always more & more individual than just general.

     It's an observation. People have different tastes and interests. Not everyone wants to see a film that concentrates so much on technical details. I'm not attacking individuality, I'm describing a form it commonly takes. General audience considerations are not "everyone is the same", it's more like what most people have in common, and why popular taste is often quite different from your own.

[Christo]

Advertized as a 'comedy', in reality an American tragedy - and certainly not a bad movie:

[Florestan]

    it's more like what most people have in common

When it comes to movies, what do most people have in common?

[drogulus]

     I scoped out the Aussie version of the 4K restoration of The War Of The Worlds and compared it to the full 4K streaming version. I think the Aussie Blu Ray (Imprint) is a little better for color. The Criterion version should look very much like the Aussie.

The release is sourced from the new 4K master that the folks at Criterion also worked with to produce this upcoming North American release. However, there is one small -- but perhaps important -- discrepancy between the two releases. On the Criterion release, a small color adjustment was made in the very beginning of the film to have Mars look red(ish), while on this release Mars still looks blue(ish), as it appears on the master that was finalized at Paramount Pictures. (You can see the difference if you compare screencapture #26 with the corresponding screencapture from our review of the North American release). The rest is basically the same -- delineation, clarity, density levels and fluidity appear identical. On my system I just could not see any meaningful discrepancies to report in our review, which is why below I am reposting my comments on the 4K restoration from our review of the Criterion release.

When it comes to movies, what do most people have in common?

     They like movies that are designed to appeal to as many people as possible, so there seems to be a close connection between what studio marketers think people will like and what people actually do like. The best way to think of it is there are different markets for films intended for a wide appeal and those for niche audiences.  Some films manage to appeal to the center and the fringe. An example would be Parasite.

[drogulus]

     The three parter The Salisbury Poisonings might count as a movie, or TV. It's quite absorbing and is apparently quite accurate.