Last Movie You Watched

[Kalevala]

Here is my ranking of Batman movies:

S tier: The Dark Knight
A tier: Batman Begins, The Batman (2022), Batman (1989)
B tier: The Dark Knight Rises
C tier: Batman Returns
D tier: Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, Batman v Superman

Thinking back, I believe that I've seen your first three tiers and enjoyed them.  Question for you:  How the heck can you have Batman vs. Superman?!    Was someone infected by a virus or something else which warped their thinking?

K

[Karl Henning]

Joel Schumacher himself has apologized for how bad Batman and Robin is.

This might be nuance but I both enjoyed the movie somewhat (I'm not recommending it to anyone) and believe that the apology is called for.

[DavidW]

Thinking back, I believe that I've seen your first three tiers and enjoyed them.  Question for you:  How the heck can you have Batman vs. Superman?!    Was someone infected by a virus or something else which warped their thinking?

K

In the movie, Batman inexplicably brands the criminals he catches. Lex Luthor paid some thugs in jail to murder one of them to make it look like Batman arranged for the criminal to be executed so that Superman would think that Batman is the worst type of vigilante. He also got a guy who was paralyzed from the incident in the previous movie (Man of Steel) to prosecute Superman. When Superman shows up at the trial, the bomb Luthor put in the wheelchair detonates, blowing up the entire building and making it look like Superman did it to escape justice. So then Batman has decided that Superman went too far. It was the straw that broke the camel's back because in the previous movie, when Superman was fighting Zod, he destroyed the building that Bruce Wayne's employees were in, killing them.

Therefore, Lex Luthor's plan ends up with both of them thinking that either is a psychopathic vigilante murderer that needs to be stopped. He then kidnaps Martha Kent to ensure that Superman doesn't back out of fighting Batman.

So there you have it, it takes a lot of convoluted planning to make it work.

[Kalevala]

In the movie, Batman inexplicably brands the criminals he catches. Lex Luthor paid some thugs in jail to murder one of them to make it look like Batman arranged for the criminal to be executed so that Superman would think that Batman is the worst type of vigilante. He also got a guy who was paralyzed from the incident in the previous movie (Man of Steel) to prosecute Superman. When Superman shows up at the trial, the bomb Luthor put in the wheelchair detonates, blowing up the entire building and making it look like Superman did it to escape justice. So then Batman has decided that Superman went too far. It was the straw that broke the camel's back because in the previous movie, when Superman was fighting Zod, he destroyed the building that Bruce Wayne's employees were in, killing them.

Therefore, Lex Luthor's plan ends up with both of them thinking that either is a psychopathic vigilante murderer that needs to be stopped. He then kidnaps Martha Kent to ensure that Superman doesn't back out of fighting Batman.

So there you have it, it takes a lot of convoluted planning to make it work.

Oh, boy!  Not for me, but thanks for the explanation.

K

[Karl Henning]

In the movie, Batman inexplicably brands the criminals he catches. Lex Luthor paid some thugs in jail to murder one of them to make it look like Batman arranged for the criminal to be executed so that Superman would think that Batman is the worst type of vigilante. He also got a guy who was paralyzed from the incident in the previous movie (Man of Steel) to prosecute Superman. When Superman shows up at the trial, the bomb Luthor put in the wheelchair detonates, blowing up the entire building and making it look like Superman did it to escape justice. So then Batman has decided that Superman went too far. It was the straw that broke the camel's back because in the previous movie, when Superman was fighting Zod, he destroyed the building that Bruce Wayne's employees were in, killing them.

Therefore, Lex Luthor's plan ends up with both of them thinking that either is a psychopathic vigilante murderer that needs to be stopped. He then kidnaps Martha Kent to ensure that Superman doesn't back out of fighting Batman.

So there you have it, it takes a lot of convoluted planning to make it work.

I believe you've just taped out why I only dip my figurative toe in the Superhero Movie Pool.

[Karl Henning]

Following a suggestion from our @Cato
Ang Lee's Sense & Sensibility.

There are two commentaries, to both of which I'll want to listen, but I want to watch it undistracted a second time, first.

[Daverz]

Following a suggestion from our @Cato
Ang Lee's Sense & Sensibility.

Wuxia Jane Austen?

[Karl Henning]

There are two commentaries, to both of which I'll want to listen, but I want to watch it undistracted a second time, first.

Two deleted scenes, one between Edward and Elinor.

[Mister Sharpe]

Willem & Frieda: Defying the Nazis, a documentary presented by Stephen Fry about two LGBTQ Dutch resistance fighters, one an artist, the other a cellist and conductor. A most impressive profile in courage and well-produced. We saw it on BBC Select which is devoted to documentaries and offers a free trial period. 

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=willem+stephen+fry&type=E210US105G0#id=2&vid=1d37c5de1581101e92ff1bc66e6536c4&action=click

[relm1]

Jaws just celebrated it's 50th anniversary so has been on tv a lot this month.  I haven't seen it in maybe 10+ years but was still so drawn in to it, it's nearly a flawless film that generally still holds up well today and John Williams' score is still fantastically effective as ever! 

[Karl Henning]

No great surprise: The director's commentary upon Batman. Given how the movie goes in such a different direction, I was indeed somewhat surprised when (very early) Burton expressed affection for the Bill Dozier series. 

[SimonNZ]

At a documentary film festival today:

"Amid rising misinformation and political division, alumnus director Frei (Genesis 2.0), follows three scientists who traced the origins of SARS to bats in a Yunnan cave, only to have their warnings about future pandemics ignored. When COVID-19 strikes, they are thrust into the spotlight, facing attacks and global blame.

Through exclusive access, the film explores their fight to uphold science amid conspiracy, media frenzy, and geopolitical tension. Visually stunning and deeply political, it reveals how fact-free narratives paved the way for Trump's return and the far-right's surge across Europe, while nature quietly prepares its next move, unnoticed in the noise of outrage and denial."

[relm1]

I enjoyed Ad Astra yesterday.  It's basically a retelling of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now in that a grizzled, troubled cadet is sent on a secret mission deep into the wild to contact/kill a rogue general they've lost contact with who happens to be his dad.  Along the way, there are big set pieces that add a sinister element as if Brad Pitt is being used and not told the truth...who are the good guys?  Overall, an enjoyable though ultimately depressing film.  I didn't understand the father's motivations.  Why would he just want to die for nothing after his son came all the way to save him?  The film left me feeling blue and perplexed but I still liked it.

[DavidW]

I enjoyed Ad Astra yesterday.  It's basically a retelling of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now in that a grizzled, troubled cadet is sent on a secret mission deep into the wild to contact/kill a rogue general they've lost contact with who happens to be his dad.  Along the way, there are big set pieces that add a sinister element as if Brad Pitt is being used and not told the truth...who are the good guys?  Overall, an enjoyable though ultimately depressing film.  I didn't understand the father's motivations.  Why would he just want to die for nothing after his son came all the way to save him?  The film left me feeling blue and perplexed but I still liked it.

If you want to feel less sad, the character arc is an emotional journey where Pitt's character has to become connected with his feelings again and deal with the trauma of being abandoned by his dad. At the end of the movie he let go of his dad, and could make a meaningful relationship with his partner. There is a nihilism to Apocalypse Now with the stripping of humanity that the main character goes through as he goes into the heart of darkness. This movie takes the opposite trajectory.