Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Sock Monkey]

I've been doing a lot of rewatching of movies so here's a quick rundown:

• INDEPENDENCE DAY: Watched this on the 4th of July and it still holds up to what it was when it first came out: a big blockbuster disaster movie with emphasis on spectacle versus character development. Not the best movie, but charismatic actors help the movie over the hump.
• BLACKHAWK DOWN: Though it's accuracy has been called into question, the movie is still a harrowing watch. It's amazing how many people are in this one, including a very young Tom Hardy and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, best known as GOT's Jaime Lannister.
• MAVERICK: Mel Gibson's been on the "no-no" list in Hollywood for awhile and I can understand people's reluctance to revisit his movies, but I still love this movie. Gibson and Gardner are fantastic together and this is one of the few movies in which I like Jodie Foster (nothing personal, she's just one of those actors where it just doesn't click for me). The movie is episodic in nature and is more about putting together really fun set pieces for the actors to play with then driving an overarching plot. We don't get movies like this these days. Lots of fun.
• PLEASANTVILLE: I've always like this movie. Yes, the logistics of how people get sucked into a television show and what Don Knotts's motivations for doing so are rather muddled, but this is an all-star cast that delivers. It's not perfect and the movie almost breaks under the weight of its allegory, but I always feel the heartbreak when Jeff Daniels is bargaining in court and trying to make all the concessions he can to just be able to continue painting. Such an underrated performance by him.
• SIGNS: M. Night Shymalan's tale of an alien invasion was fun when it was released and I still like it now. It doesn't quite stick it's landing, but it is one of his stronger outings.
• THE MIST: Darabont rocks at adapting King and I don't care that people complain about the CGI, I love this movie and that ending still is gut punch even when you know it's coming. And, man, those stinking spiders are the worst freaking thing EVER.
• EDTV: Ron Howard's take on reality television seems to live perpetually in the shadow of THE TRUMAN SHOW, but with hindsight, I think this a more accurate take on what we have seen happen with reality TV. Matthew McConaughey is still charming and has pretty good chemistry with Jenna Elfman. Ultimately, it's a romantic comedy, but a pretty amusing one, even if it isn't groundbreaking cinema.
• THE LAST SAMURAI: I love this movie. Say what you will about Tom Cruise, but he can really pick his material. Ken Watanabe steals the movie with his charismatic role as Katsumoto, leader of the samurai and advisor to ruler of China. Yes, the movie hits some fairly standard Hollywood movie beats, but there's a sincerity in the storytelling that helps smooth this over.
• SHATTERED GLASS: This movie based on the fall of New Republic journalist Stephen Glass always leaves me captivated though I honestly can't tell you why. It's a small, rather understated film with a plot, that while interesting, if spelled out doesn't sound spellbinding. Every time I watch it, I just thoroughly enjoy it. Highly recommended.

Last but not least:

• JERRY MAGUIRE: To truly appreciate this movie, one has to separate themselves from the cultural touchstone this movie was at the time. "Show me the money", "Help me help you", and "You had me at 'hello'" have been used and parodied so many times that it's easy to just dismiss this as just another romantic comedy. But it isn't. This is a fantastic character study of man who crisis of conscious sends him down a path to figure out who he really wants to be when really hasn't been anything to anybody. People always latch on to the relationship between Cruise and Zellweger as the crux of the film, but I say that the movie is just as much about Cruise's Maguire and Cuba Gooding Jr's Rod Tillwell helping each other to find their place as men in their lives and to develop a honest friendship in a world that oftentimes discourages this. Cameron Crowe's script gives all of these actors more than their fair share of great moments. This is great movie, sometimes over-sentimental, but it still holds up. One of my all-time favorites.

[Ben Staad]

Renting out the entire theater sounds like a fun experience. Glad you were able to get out and enjoy friends and family. So important these days.

[TacomaDiver]

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the theater for the first time since December of 2019 (I believe - could be wrong - definitely in the before times.)

My wife is a HUGE fan of the Fast and Furious movie series, so we went all out and rented the whole theater. After inviting five vaccinated friends, we only paid about $22.50 per ticket which isn't too bad (the theater cost $150 on a Tuesday night.)

If you've seen any of this movie series, you know what to expect. Fast cars, furious driving, unbelievable stunts, and family. So, so much family.

Since I hadn't seen any of these movies other than the first one (probably when it first hit DVD,) we did do a rewatch of all the films over the last few months, and you know what, they're not bad. During one of them, I realized that these movies should be what the live action GI Joe movies weren't. Ever since then, I found them even more fun because that's exactly what they are - live action GI Joe movies, just without the costumes and code names. Heck, even the spinoff felt like an issue of GI Joe Special Missions.

[JJ123]

Haven't seen this, and probably won't for now because I do not subscribe to the relevant streaming service, but on Tomorrow War: I am going to presume the aliens are those creatures running around in the trailer. If anyone has seen this, are those actually supposed to be the aliens, and by aliens I mean, intelligent beings invading the Earth? The reason I bring this up is I think it is becoming disappointing that we don't see extraterrestrials that are more like us in structure...I always assumed that would make more sense, at least in this part of the galaxy. If you think of something like Arrival or the aforementioned Quiet Place, the beings in those are more akin to creatures/animals than anything with intelligence.

I have not seen Place, so perhaps those are simply creatures that are not intelligent in the same way humans are. Here's what I would hope with War: the aliens running wild in the trailer are actually bioweapons designed by a rogue AI, either from a future Earth society (that uses time travel to send them in the past, which in the movie is the future) or from an alien society, that are being used to destroy human civilization for whatever purpose of said AI. Or at least something off the beaten path.

It's not that I am so limited in imagination that I can't suspect there could be a species in the galaxy that is intelligent and not like us in bio-design, it's just I wouldn't mind something a bit different. Even thinking about it, the invaders in Edge of Tomorrow were intelligent, correct? Can't really recall, and maybe I'm wrong in what I am assuming about these films (I just don't know/remember the specifics; I'm even hazy on whether the Xenomorph was intelligent in the same way Predator was), but anyway, please tell me what I am seeing in the trailer aren't soldiers as in Independence Day.

[sholloman81]

Did something today that I haven't done in 15 months.

Went to the movies!

Saw a Quiet Place Part II.

Liked it as much if not better than Part I.

With a lean 95 to 100 minute run time, nothing was wasted in this film.

Every scene was critical in moving the story forward.

My only complaint (minor) was a some what abrupt ending (not an unsatisfactory ending, but still some what abrupt).

Who would have ever thought that Jim from The Office would go on to create on of the best horror / action franchises of the 2000's??

Certainly left it open for a Part III.

B

Am glad to hear that you enjoyed this film and that it held up when compared to the first one. I've been a bit worried about that as I felt that the first one really didn't need a sequel and was concerned that the sequel might just be a money grab to capitalize off of the first one's success.

[brlesh]

Did something today that I haven't done in 15 months.

Went to the movies!

Saw a Quiet Place Part II.

Liked it as much if not better than Part I.

With a lean 95 to 100 minute run time, nothing was wasted in this film.

Every scene was critical in moving the story forward.

My only complaint (minor) was a some what abrupt ending (not an unsatisfactory ending, but still some what abrupt).

Who would have ever thought that Jim from The Office would go on to create on of the best horror / action franchises of the 2000's??

Certainly left it open for a Part III.

B

[Sock Monkey]

I recently finished Phase IV. I rate this one high, and should point out this is not my first time seeing it. Cool 1970s science-fiction (another one I think from around the same time that I have enjoyed, Zardoz). The way the story is told makes you think like you are reading one of those paperback novels from the time with those great covers that now stimulate feelings of nostalgia (and painfully so, I might add).

Could have used more voice-over, I think, to explain a bit more of what was going on. And funny, I always thought the phases referred to phases in space causing the ants to evolve, but I think it referred to the phases of the experiments/communications (I probably missed something along the way). I hope they didn't really kill the praying mantis in that scene, though! (I think some ants may have died, however.)

Wish some small press would license the rights to the novelization and bring that back into print for a reasonable price. Unfortunately, and I don't know what the last-sale prices really are, I cannot spring for a used copy at this time (or probably at any time)...reminds me to buy any and all novelizations that get released these days...

Phase IV has been on my “track down” list of movies to see fir a while. There’s way too many movies! And I think this might be the first time Zardoz has been mentioned on the forum. You’ve got some deep dives going on!

I wonder how much interest there would be for reprints of movie novelizations? I know that some are incredibly hard to find and very expensive like Teddy, the novelization of the movie The Pit. I have some fondness for novelizations. I first read the novelization of Aliens before seeing the movie and it blew my mind as a kid.

[Sock Monkey]

I definitely get the in-the-mood aspect of Phantasm. I too want to get to the rest of the series. I was advised not to skip the second one as currently I would have to based on streaming needs, so I first will have to get to number-two before the rest.

Yeah, I think part two is owned by a different studio (Universal?) than the rest which usually leaves it as the odd man out for various licensing.

[JJ123]

I recently finished Phase IV. I rate this one high, and should point out this is not my first time seeing it. Cool 1970s science-fiction (another one I think from around the same time that I have enjoyed, Zardoz). The way the story is told makes you think like you are reading one of those paperback novels from the time with those great covers that now stimulate feelings of nostalgia (and painfully so, I might add).

Could have used more voice-over, I think, to explain a bit more of what was going on. And funny, I always thought the phases referred to phases in space causing the ants to evolve, but I think it referred to the phases of the experiments/communications (I probably missed something along the way). I hope they didn't really kill the praying mantis in that scene, though! (I think some ants may have died, however.)

Wish some small press would license the rights to the novelization and bring that back into print for a reasonable price. Unfortunately, and I don't know what the last-sale prices really are, I cannot spring for a used copy at this time (or probably at any time)...reminds me to buy any and all novelizations that get released these days...

[JJ123]

I definitely get the in-the-mood aspect of Phantasm. I too want to get to the rest of the series. I was advised not to skip the second one as currently I would have to based on streaming needs, so I first will have to get to number-two before the rest.

[Sock Monkey]

I just rewatched PHANTASM recently and it did not work for me. I remember seeing parts of it as a kid and really liking it, but this time I was left rather cold. Maybe it was just my mood that day. I need to give it another shot. Arrow In the UK put out a box set of all five films so I’m tempted to pick it up and plow through the whole series.

[Sock Monkey]

I agree about My Octopus Teacher. What a great doc. I was wondering if I could get into at the outset, but, man, I got sucked in.

[TacomaDiver]

Saw My Octopus Teacher on Netflix a couple days ago...really outstanding documentary.

That was an AMAZING documentary.

[RonClinton]

Saw My Octopus Teacher on Netflix a couple days ago...really outstanding documentary.

[mhatchett]

One of my favorite Horror Films from that era.