Last Movie You Watched

[Irons]

May I ask if that's some sort of senior discount or does everyone pay 4 pounds?  When I was growing up, there used to be a theatre that would only charge 1 dollar for movies--trying to remember, but I think that it was either for just certain times/days or maybe for certain movies.  Certainly helpful when you were a teenager!

K

I only paid a pound more, as did my son, for a pre-booked seat (although the cinema was less then half full) on a Saturday evening for "A Complete Unknown". I was expecting to pay more as a first cinema visit for over five years, but surmised low prices due to alternatives such as streaming etc.

[Kalevala]

I only paid a pound more, as did my son, for a pre-booked seat (although the cinema was less then half full) on a Saturday evening for "A Complete Unknown". I was expecting to pay more as a first cinema visit for over five years, but surmised low prices due to alternatives such as streaming etc.

Interesting!  From what I've seen, the prices just keep going up around here.    They do give you a price break on early showings though (last that I recall.  Like you, it's been a while since I've actually gone to a theatre to watch a movie.).

K

[Cato]

Ryan George has a "Pitch Meeting" for the new and (apparently fraught with problems) Captain America movie.

(Spoilers, but if this is the last movie you watched...Okay then!  )

 

Caution!  This Pitch Meeting contains Violent Rhetoric e.g. :"Oh, beating up Senior Citizens is tight!"   


Recently, Mrs. Cato, who had forgotten most of the movie, and I watched a controversial Western from 1960: The Unforgiven, directed by John Huston, with Burt Lancaster and silent-screen legend Lilian Gish, the latter absolutely hair-raising in several scenes!


One of the main themes is a deep racism against American Indians, which theme caused the controversy back then.

Great score from Dmitri Tiomkin!

[Kalevala]

Ryan George has a "Pitch Meeting" for the new and (apparently fraught with problems) Captain America movie.

(Spoilers, but if this is the last movie you watched...Okay then!  )

The other day, when I was checking out ticket prices (after reading Iron's posting), I was surprised to see that there were two options for watching Captain America; one was in a type of iMAX setting (with, obviously, higher ticket prices).  Boy, am I ever behind the times! 

K

[DavidW]

This movie did not age well,

It really doesn't have to, half the experience was being in the theater on opening weekend. It was one of those proverbial water cooler moments. It was before everyone collectively became exhausted from Marvel content. It was a culmination of plot and character arcs from an entire legendarium of movies. That kind of extended storytelling at the box office had never been seen before. And that counts for something. And the hype and buzz around it when it first came out was unbelievable.

It doesn't stand on its own, and it is not a good film by itself. But I disagree with you, it still has legs. The cynical post-Marvel burnout hand-wringing is what won't age well. With time when people can put distance from the constant stream of mediocre vomit that is the bulk of TV shows and recent movies, I think more people will see that the first eras were something special. The combination of all the poor films and general superhero malaise colors the perspective of many, and I think that includes yourself.

It is just that I've seen in so many things these days people shitting on works that were not made for them. For example, I don't know how many middle-aged white dudes have posted scathing reviews for romance novels that have that Book Tok buzz when they don't even like the genre. Or conservatives on YT yelling about LGBTQ representation in a video game they would never play themselves.

[Cato]

The other day, when I was checking out ticket prices (after reading Iron's posting), I was surprised to see that there were two options for watching Captain America; one was in a type of iMAX setting (with, obviously, higher ticket prices).  Boy, am I ever behind the times! 

K

A bomb in IMAX would be an even bigger bomb!

Recently we saw A Real Pain.



I found it mediocre, an imitation of a Woody Allen movie, with almost relentless coprolalia, which severely detracts from the religious atmosphere surrounding a pilgrimage to the sites of massacres.

It seemed I was watching two clueless idiots with little real sense about the seriousness of what they were undertaking.  In very few scenes were their ridiculously obscene tongues under control, so that a reflection on their ancestors' ordeal could take place.

[Papy Oli]

Tár.


Dear god, what a bore...

[Karl Henning]

Rabbit-Proof Fence



A couple of months ago I had occasion to be reminded that I'd never seen this film about an appalling part of our history. It's set in 1931 but the truth is this was still going on into the 1960s and in some places the 1970s.

I don't know that it's an especially good film (though I don't mean to say it's a bad one). But really, as far as I know nobody else has made a story looking this directly at the Stolen Generations, and someone needed to talk about it. I think the film gets a bit better once it's fully out in the landscape.

It's also pretty remarkable that the journey of the 3 girls is real.

Also a small early role for Deborah Mailman, one of the best actors we've got in my opinion.

Oh, I should watch that one, too.
TD:
After watching Cassie's reaction video, of course I watched Working Girl again last night. Just a nice, feel-good flick.

[ritter]

Tár.


Dear god, what a bore...

...and pretentious, to boot. 

[ando]

Seymour: an introduction (2014)
Ethan Hawke presents this film about  Seymour Bernstein, a beloved pianist and teacher, who shares eye-opening insights from life.

Not sure how long it will be free on YouTube, but The Criterion Channel keeps it in their library. Recommended.

[DavidW]

I watched The Substance. It hits you over the head with its message, but that didn't stop people from misinterpreting it anyway. It is not about how Hollywood treats women. It is not about the Ozempic craze.

The body horror at the end isn't shocking unless you're unaccustomed to horror movies. But I am tired of modern movies' sneering, grimy cynicism, and nihilism.

The over-the-top ending reminded me of Eddie Izzard's skit about American vs. British movies:

[hopefullytrusting]

Hit way too close to home, so I had to skip some scenes, which means I will need to rewatch it, as those scenes I skipped are probably the ones I need to watch: Minding the Gap

[Kalevala]

I'm partway through the newest version of Nosferatu.  Enjoying it for the most part.  Couple of comments:  1) At least on my computer, some of the scenes are filmed with what I would say is really dark lighting [reminded me of one of the episodes from the HBO series "The Game of Thrones"]. 2) I suspect that I made a mistake picking to watch the extended version (no idea if there was an alternative version on Peacock Plus).  Just my two cents worth.  I had to stop watching it earlier in order to do some errands.  Will go back to it.

K

[VonStupp]

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (2023)
Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper
Nathan Fillion, Sylvester Stallone

An OK adventure yarn, with emphasis on Rocket Raccoon.
VS

[Christo]

For the third time in my life, this time a fully restored version on Youtube (English subtitles, very good): Serkalo (The Mirror), Andrei Tarkovsky's most personal movie, and also his very best IMHO (he probably died from the nuclear waste he and his crew were contaminated with while filming 'Stalker' in harbour warehouses just outside Soviet-occupied Tallinn in 1978; I once spoke at length with Estonian filmmaker Arvo Iho, who was his right-hand man on that filming. Tarkovsky died far tooo early at the age of 53). Strongly recommended, no more than 1 hour 46 - exiting & exhilarating - minutes in this complete & uncensored version.

[hopefullytrusting]

Of course, I'd have to watch this one again, eventually: Avengers: Endgame



I am still satisfied with (and impressed with) Thanos's story arc (his ending, I feel, is one of the best ever - and now I can rest, you can feel the weariness leave his body as his war is finally over - I loved that).

Much of the movie, of course, was made for the fans, so I'll simply leave that there. I don't like the Avengers, as characters, and that predates the movies, I also don't like many of the actors/actresses they selected for the roles. My favorite cameo was Captain Marvel, as I felt it was the most impressive. It was all too sentimental to me, and I didn't have any of that sentiment, but, and this will always be true, any movie with a good charge I will watch again, and this movie has one of the best charges, maybe even a top-10 charge - it is a very good charge.

[Number Six]

A group of eco-activists take a bunch of corpos hostage at one of their annual parties, and ex-military (now high-rise window cleaner) Daisy Ridley has to stop them.

This is not a good movie. I expected it to be a dumb Die Hard clone, but "directed by Martin Campbell" gave me slightly higher hopes.

Nope, it's trash. The action doesn't even really happen until the last 30 min or so. The attempt to give Daisy a backstory is laughable. And the movie is confused about its politics. I would have liked to see them take a chance on making the eco-activists into sympathetic characters, especially after making their corporate overlord victims into genuine monsters. But no. Big businesses pay for movies, so you can only go so far in portraying a Luigi situation. Oh, well.

Daisy Ridley does fine, and she's the reason I went to see it. I liked watching her kick some ass. It just didn't happen much throughout the film.

[Number Six]

Another £4 gem at my local independent cinema;



Strong cast make the most of a somewhat improbable plot.  By no means a favourite film but I enjoyed it.

Saw this one the other day. Terrific performances, gorgeous cinematography and sound work, and a nice suspenseful look at a process few of us understand.

Loses a bit because the winner of the election doesn't make a lot of sense in context - unless you want to say God led them to select this person, but the movie doesn't make that claim. I am okay with the "twist". It's not quite as gutsy as what they could have done with it, though. They should have pushed it. It's not like this compromise saved them from being criticized by traditionalist Catholics.

Also, while it's beautifully shot, what happens when Ralph Fiennes votes for the first time for a particular name is a bit on the nose.

Tucci, Fiennes, Lithgow, and the others are all perfection.

[Number Six]

Of course, I'd have to watch this one again, eventually: Avengers: Endgame

I am always pointing out that I have never had more fun at the cinema than opening weekend for this film - the Hammer scene had the whole crowd cheering and clapping for a good two minutes straight, and that wasn't the only time.

I can't imagine I will ever enjoy a theater-going experience that much again. It was pure magic. And oddly, just a few days later going to see it again, the energy wasn't the same.

[hopefullytrusting]

I am always pointing out that I have never had more fun at the cinema than opening weekend for this film - the Hammer scene had the whole crowd cheering and clapping for a good two minutes straight, and that wasn't the only time.

I can't imagine I will ever enjoy a theater-going experience that much again. It was pure magic. And oddly, just a few days later ging to see it again, the energy wasn't the same.

Fully agree, if you were a fan of the characters (or the franchise, in general), then Endgame is a perfect capstone, and I don't think it can (or ever will) be replicated. The amount of callbacks is just something that I don't think any other franchise will be able to command; I don't even think they could command it now.

I just don't like most of these characters, and I loathe loud theaters, so I'm not a fan of audience reactions (or reactions, overall), but I get it - I understand the call of the crowd.