Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[brlesh]

My Horror-hating wife was temporarily replaced by a kindly, docile pod-person, who offered to go see PRIMATE with me today. I was expecting a gory time-waster, that would at least entertain me with some good effects. I was surprised how much the film really clicked with both of us. We loved it from start to finish. My wife screamed her head off, and said it "..had a good 80s-ish Horror vibe" that reminded her of stuff she watched as a kid after her parents went to bed on HBO, lol. Great effects, characters that you come to care about, good performances...Everything appeared to be practical, so there was no cheesy CGI to take away from the realism, at least none that jumped out at me. It even had a great John Carpenter type score.

If I had one complaint, it would be that the short run-time didn't give you a chance to see Ben (The Chimp-gone-rabid) much as a part of the family; The shit hits the fan QUICK, so you don't really get to sympathize with his plight very much.

Overall, a fun time at the movies...an 8 out of 10.

Saw Primate the other night and thought it was a bloody good time!

Well paced, decently acted (for a cast that was completely unknown to me, and honestly, no known actors probably helped this small film) and several ‘Holy shit’ scenes.

While not overly gory, when they showed the gore it was full on gore.

I agree with Danny, it could have used maybe 5 - 10 minutes more exposition to establish the chimp’s relationship with the family and friends, maybe delve a little deeper into the sisters’ relationship (seemed like there was something relevant in their relationship that probably got left on the cutting room floor).

That being said, I did appreciate the lean 85 to 90 minute run time. No bloat on this one.

Primate hits the ground running and doesn’t let until the end.

B

[Sock Monkey]

Did a double feature rewatch of Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire (1996) and Almost Famous (2000). I know that there was a period where it was cool to look down on Jerry Maguire, but there was a reason this movie was such a cultural phenomenon when it came out. The cast is just electric and Cruise, while still clearly working within his wheelhouse, really commits to the role. I've seen the film at least 10 times by this point, but I still find it immensely watchable. Almost Famous, however, is pretty much Crowe's masterpiece and holds up so incredibly well. Great way to spend a Sunday afternoon/evening.

[dannyboy121070]

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

[brlesh]

My Horror-hating wife was temporarily replaced by a kindly, docile pod-person, who offered to go see PRIMATE with me today. I was expecting a gory time-waster, that would at least entertain me with some good effects. I was surprised how much the film really clicked with both of us. We loved it from start to finish. My wife screamed her head off, and said it "..had a good 80s-ish Horror vibe" that reminded her of stuff she watched as a kid after her parents went to bed on HBO, lol. Great effects, characters that you come to care about, good performances...Everything appeared to be practical, so there was no cheesy CGI to take away from the realism, at least none that jumped out at me. It even had a great John Carpenter type score.

If I had one complaint, it would be that the short run-time didn't give you a chance to see Ben (The Chimp-gone-rabid) much as a part of the family; The shit hits the fan QUICK, so you don't really get to sympathize with his plight very much.

Overall, a fun time at the movies...an 8 out of 10.

Good to hear.

I’m going to try and catch a showing one night after work this week.

B

[dannyboy121070]

My Horror-hating wife was temporarily replaced by a kindly, docile pod-person, who offered to go see PRIMATE with me today. I was expecting a gory time-waster, that would at least entertain me with some good effects. I was surprised how much the film really clicked with both of us. We loved it from start to finish. My wife screamed her head off, and said it "..had a good 80s-ish Horror vibe" that reminded her of stuff she watched as a kid after her parents went to bed on HBO, lol. Great effects, characters that you come to care about, good performances...Everything appeared to be practical, so there was no cheesy CGI to take away from the realism, at least none that jumped out at me. It even had a great John Carpenter type score.

If I had one complaint, it would be that the short run-time didn't give you a chance to see Ben (The Chimp-gone-rabid) much as a part of the family; The shit hits the fan QUICK, so you don't really get to sympathize with his plight very much.

Overall, a fun time at the movies...an 8 out of 10.

[TacomaDiver]

My Letterboxd told me that I managed to watch 68 movies last year which surprised me a bit - didn't realize I had watched that many (not enough for my tastes considering how many unwatched discs I have at home.)

Already seen two movies this year -

Last night we watched One Battle After Another which I loved. And today we watch the latest Avatar which I was was mid at best. Bonus points for not having to go to the bathroom during either of these movies (OBAA was about 2:40 long; Avatar was about 3:15).

I saw that Life of Chuck was on Hulu so I'm trying to get my wife to watch that - I'd be going in blind for this one.

[Sock Monkey]

We did a New Year's Day Rob Reiner/Nora Ephron/Meg Ryan double feature, starting with Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and followed up with When Harry Met Sally... (1989). It's been a long time since I've watched some romantic comedies so that may have something to do with it, but I found this to be the most delightful double feature I've watched in a long time. I'd actually never seen Sleepless in Seattle before--it came out my freshman year in high school and wasn't cool enough for my tastes back then--and I found it completely charming. There isn't a cynical bone in this film's body and, in 2026, this is so refreshing. Ryan, Hanks, and Pullman are just so much fun in this film.

I had seen When Harry Met Sally... before, but it has been such a long time. Man, this film holds up. It's still hard to see Billy Crystal as a guy who could land so many women, but there is an everyman quality to him (and the very underrated Bruno Kirby) that grounds this film. And it's still funny.

Honestly, rom-coms get a lot of flak for a lot of good reasons, but these two really floored me with the storytelling craft--dialogue, pacing, music drops (the Joe Cocker cover of "Bye Bye Blackbird" in Sleepless does some incredible heavy lifting in the story department during one particular scene. It was so smart--and so simple--I had to stop the film and talk about it with the wife).

Reiner and Ephron were treasures.

[Sock Monkey]

FINALLY saw THE LIFE OF CHUCK last night. What a beautiful film. I teared up at the end...wonderful performances all around, and the kid who played the young Chuck was great. I wish Mike Flanagan would finally get the hit film he deserves..he's such an underrated director. It's also nice to see Mark Hamill have two prominent roles in Stephen King movies in 2025, especially playing such different characters.

My wife only had this to say. "Weird. I hate backwards films."

I'm glad you liked it! The film was such a joy. I agree about the actor who played young Chuck. He did a great job! But, man, Hamill killed it, Mia Sara had such warmth (and has aged beautifully, in my opinion), Heather Langenkamp stole her scenes...I mean, everyone was on their A game.

I've been a huge Flanagan fan since I saw Oculus in the theaters back in 2013 and I'm flabbergasted how much he is still slept on considering the sheer consistency of his work. A lot of people are likening Jordan Peele to John Carpenter, but a more apt comparison in my book would be Flanagan taking that spot. Like Carpenter, I think generations will look back and wonder why Flanagan wasn't a superstar like Peele. However, like you, I am still hoping Flanagan will get the hit movie that wakes everyone up to his awesomeness.

[Ben Staad]

I will be on the look out for this one in the future.

FINALLY saw THE LIFE OF CHUCK last night. What a beautiful film. I teared up at the end...wonderful performances all around, and the kid who played the young Chuck was great. I wish Mike Flanagan would finally get the hit film he deserves..he's such an underrated director. It's also nice to see Mark Hamill have two prominent roles in Stephen King movies in 2025, especially playing such different characters.

My wife only had this to say. "Weird. I hate backwards films."

[dannyboy121070]

FINALLY saw THE LIFE OF CHUCK last night. What a beautiful film. I teared up at the end...wonderful performances all around, and the kid who played the young Chuck was great. I wish Mike Flanagan would finally get the hit film he deserves..he's such an underrated director. It's also nice to see Mark Hamill have two prominent roles in Stephen King movies in 2025, especially playing such different characters.

My wife only had this to say. "Weird. I hate backwards films."

[brlesh]

Planning on watching it tonight with the family. Really looking forward to finally seeing it. It only played theatrically locally at one theater, and it was only a week's worth of 10 PM shows...the perils or releasing a small film during summer blockbuster season, I guess.

Yeah, it definitely seemed to be a movie they had every intention of burying, at least in the theaters.

I was looking forward to seeing it in the theater last summer, but from what I saw it only played two shows locally, a Monday & Tuesday showing at 1:00 PM, though I don’t know if it played the preceding weekend or not.

Why they even bothered with a theatrical release is beyond me.

B

[Sock Monkey]

Planning on watching it tonight with the family. Really looking forward to finally seeing it. It only played theatrically locally at one theater, and it was only a week's worth of 10 PM shows...the perils or releasing a small film during summer blockbuster season, I guess.

I'm curious as to your thoughts. And the roll-out was rough for the film. It definitely shouldn't have been in the summer. Also, I think they really messed up with the trailer. I mean, yes, that is what the film is about, but it isn't compelling enough to get butts into theater seats. There was definitely a more intriguing way to market the film that I think they missed out on.

[dannyboy121070]

It's on HULU now. I watched it the other night with the wife and I absolutely loved it. I haven't read the King story it's based on and went in cold and had so much fun with this film. My only complaint is that it ends rather abruptly and I would have loved another ten to fifteen minutes. Flanagan directs the heck out of the film and the cast is stacked.

Planning on watching it tonight with the family. Really looking forward to finally seeing it. It only played theatrically locally at one theater, and it was only a week's worth of 10 PM shows...the perils or releasing a small film during summer blockbuster season, I guess.

[Sock Monkey]

Seems like THE LIFE OF CHUCK came out ages ago, but still isn't streaming anywhere...

It's on HULU now. I watched it the other night with the wife and I absolutely loved it. I haven't read the King story it's based on and went in cold and had so much fun with this film. My only complaint is that it ends rather abruptly and I would have loved another ten to fifteen minutes. Flanagan directs the heck out of the film and the cast is stacked.

[Sock Monkey]

Odd double-feature last night...

First was MATERIALISTS, a rom-com (Which my wife says it definitely was NOT!) about a female matchmaker in Manhattan who must choose between a perfect millionaire and her impoverished ex-boyfriend. Well-done, good performances...I liked it. Pedro Pascal is in EVERYTHING that comes out. Just saying...

Next was GOOD BOY, the dog-in-a-haunted-house film that was in theaters over in October. As I suspected, telling a story, even one as short as this (Barely 70 minutes) from the POV of a dog gets old real fast, and leaves a lot of unanswered questions. I do, however, think this dog should get an Oscar. He was emoting like a canine Meryl Streep.

I thought Materialists was fine. It seemed to want to be a deconstruction of the a rom-com, but couldn't really make it work. I also thought some of the story beats were weird. For example, Dakota Johnson's character has a change of heart before meeting with a client whose been assaulted, but it really seems like this seismic shift should've happened after the emotional confrontation. Also, the actress who played that character killed it!

I really enjoyed Good Boy. It does run a little long, but that dog is the best actor EVER. It also was a huge labor of love. I heard it took three years to film. Ultimately, the film can't rise above the gimmick, but it's a big swing and I always appreciate a big swing.