Last Movie You Watched

[SimonNZ]

I recently watched his first movie, Matewan. Wowza what a good movie about how against-human-nature is the solidarity feeling of a labor union, and how much power the ruling class has to fight back, create division, and drive wedges between that fragile alliance.

Watched Matewan tonight thanks to this reminder. And it was every bit as good as I'd heard.

Unexpected surprise: the William Oldham who plays the young preacher Danny is the same William Oldham who later became the singer Bonnie Prince Billy.

(And the scary older preacher is director John Sayles himself)

[Brian]

Will Oldham also has a wonderfully awkward lead role in a little movie called Old Joy, which is about two longtime friends who go on a hike in the woods together and start to realize that they don't have much of anything in common anymore, and that the friendship might not be worth keeping. Poignant, and has a very good dog.

[Madiel]

Heathers



Well I definitely remember seeing this when it first came out at the cinema. It was probably my introduction to the whole concept of the nastiness of American high schools. There are things I've always remembered about it. I'm not sure whether or not I've seen it since, quite possibly but certainly not for some years.

There probably are some aspects of it that have dated a bit, but when the whole thing was always supposed to be absurd and unrealistic it's still reasonably enjoyable. Certainly it developed a cult following, as evidenced by it being turned into a musical a couple of decades later.

[hopefullytrusting]

Easily one of the most terrifying films ever made: The Alabama Solution



This is the kind of movie that strives to have an uplifting message, but after watching it - I sincerely doubt that there is anything that can come of this that is good - this is Delbo's "useless knowledge" in action and will also draw you to question whether evil is actually banal.

[71 dB]

Smile (Parker Finn, 2022) TV

A good example of a movie I want to see exactly one time.


Three (Kim Jee-woon, Nonzee Nimibutr ja Peter Ho-Sun Chan, 2002) Arrow Blu-ray FCD2718

"Memories" is best, "Going Home" second best and "The Wheel" is the weakest.

[AnotherSpin]

Kathryn Bigelow's A House of Dynamite (2025) is a film about the illusion of control. It tells loud and clear that the most devastating blows are reserved for those who believe themselves the greatest and strongest controllers of the world.

It is a parable of preparedness undone, a world meticulously trained for catastrophe yet utterly unready when it arrives. Government officials, military commanders, even the president himself have no idea what to do, how to respond, or even what they are responding to. Communication fails. Warheads refuse to detach. The nature of the threat, whether it is an attack and by whom, remains unknowable. In a darkly comic twist, those tasked with making urgent decisions are swiftly evacuated, effectively removing them from the very chain of command they were meant to embody. The machinery of power collapses into absurdity.

Nothing truly means anything, only the mind spins endlessly, chasing causes and predicting consequences.The film whispers a deeper truth: there is nothing behind the curtain. Breathe. Relax. Breathe again.

And then, quite unexpectedly, one might realize that A House of Dynamite carries a liberating message. The house must explode, not in violence but in awakening.

[Madiel]

Barbarella



WELL. Um. Now I can say that I've seen it. Though I'm not entirely sure why I did... I guess it's this cult thing that I've heard of. And yes even I can appreciate the beauty of Jane Fonda (the film basically starts with her stripping out of a space suit). And it was there to be watched on SBS so I did.

My goodness, though, did anything ever look and feel more late 1960s than this? Suddenly I understand where Austin Powers comes from. It's all slightly cheesy, there is one bit that's really quite funny but otherwise the plot isn't up to much. I guess comic book adaptations have always had their issues.

Right, that's a piece of cultural education done. 

[Wanderer]

Oh no, now you're making me want to see it... 

(you had me at Austin Powers)  🥳

[ritter]

The opening sequence is pure, unadulterated sixties ... and great fun!

[Todd]

this is Delbo's "useless knowledge" in action and will also draw you to question whether evil is actually banal.

Evil manifests in many ways.

[hopefullytrusting]

Evil manifests in many ways.

Indeed it does - I just think that banality has gotten a bit too big for its britches.

[Todd]

I just think that banality has gotten a bit too big for its britches.

Impossible to argue with that. 

[hopefullytrusting]

Un Secreto de Esperanza

,
This is now probably the movie that has the most impact on my life, and I don't even recall how I found it. There is nothing in this film that I think would have prompted me to have come across it, but I did, and it still causes me to ugly cry at least 3-4 times when watching the film, but always in different places, depending on the circumstances of my life at that time.

This is a powerful movie about the cost of choice - how much can be gained, how much can be lost, how we cannot unmake the choice once made - the pure economics of it all, as as soon as we make a choice, we tradeoff all the other choices we could have made, and, thus, collapse the wave function. We are bound, but, as long as we are still breathing, there is a chance for redemption, but redemption has a cost as well, and the price is heavy, especially the further we get away from the choice that set us on that track - the solution is simple but complicated by adulthood and "maturity."

Highest recommendation I can give to anything.

[Karl Henning]

Evil manifests in many ways.

(* chortle *)

[Brian]

Oh goodness, that's the last acting role for Katy Jurado from High Noon. What a career.

[Kalevala]

Un Secreto de Esperanza

,
This is now probably the movie that has the most impact on my life, and I don't even recall how I found it.

The tiny bit that I read about it [and I'm someone who doesn't like to know more than the barest of bones about both books and movies] was intrigued by both your comments and what I saw online.  Will see if I can borrow it from my library. 

K

[relm1]

Over the weekend, I watched Jurassic World Rebirth (2025).  It's definitely not flawless, and sure it's derivative but there are 38 Godzilla movies and those are sometimes fun and formulaic too.  You kind of know exactly what you're going to get when you go in to these films and that's a generally fun, intense monster mayhem movie.  They are made up of action set pieces and some are quite thrilling.  The characters weren't particularly likable (didn't really care for any of them) so the script could definitely have been improved. 

[Kalevala]

Over the weekend, I watched Jurassic World Rebirth (2025).  It's definitely not flawless, and sure it's derivative but there are 38 Godzilla movies and those are sometimes fun and formulaic too.  You kind of know exactly what you're going to get when you go in to these films and that's a generally fun, intense monster mayhem movie.  They are made up of action set pieces and some are quite thrilling.  The characters weren't particularly likable (didn't really care for any of them) so the script could definitely have been improved. 

I heard earlier today that one of the leads, Jonathan Bailey, was awarded People Magazine's "Sexiest Man of the Year".

I haven't seen this JP movie, but I enjoyed most of the earlier ones.

K