Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Ben Staad]

Annual re-watch of Die Hard and a few odds and end movies.

• Diehard - This is still a fun movie to watch. After so many viewings it loses some appeal but keeps us entertained enough.
• Emmett Otters Jug Band Christmas - This is something from my wife's childhood. Goofy little Muppet style kids movie. Cute enough, dated, and just sappy.
• The Homecoming: A Christmas Story - The Waltons story on a bleak Christmas and a nice little holiday surprise.

[Sock Monkey]

Annual re-watch of Die Hard and a few odds and end movies.

• Diehard - This is still a fun movie to watch. After so many viewings it loses some appeal but keeps us entertained enough.

There are movies I can watch over and over again with no problem--these are mostly rom-coms or dramedies, like Love Actually and whatnot--and make the viewing circuit almost every year. However, there is also another subset, a select handful of my favorite films, that I don't watch too often, maybe every few years or so, to help maintain its specialness. John Carpenter's The Thing, Fincher's Seven, and The Usual Suspects are all on that list. But the top spot is always Die Hard. I love that movie so much that even though I feel the pull to watch it every Christmas, I hold off. I know it's become commonplace to call Die Hard one's favorite Christmas movie, but it really is just an incredibly well-crafted movie all around. I'm not saying it's super deep or anything, but the storytelling, especially in its details, is so smartly done and so efficient that it's easy to overlook it. Now I want to go watch it again...

[Ben Staad]

Our #1 Christmas movie is It's a Wonderful Life. Looking forward to watching this at some point this week.

Die Hard is likely #2.

There are movies I can watch over and over again with no problem--these are mostly rom-coms or dramedies, like Love Actually and whatnot--and make the viewing circuit almost every year. However, there is also another subset, a select handful of my favorite films, that I don't watch too often, maybe every few years or so, to help maintain its specialness. John Carpenter's The Thing, Fincher's Seven, and The Usual Suspects are all on that list. But the top spot is always Die Hard. I love that movie so much that even though I feel the pull to watch it every Christmas, I hold off. I know it's become commonplace to call Die Hard one's favorite Christmas movie, but it really is just an incredibly well-crafted movie all around. I'm not saying it's super deep or anything, but the storytelling, especially in its details, is so smartly done and so efficient that it's easy to overlook it. Now I want to go watch it again...

[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.

[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.

[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]

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.

[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

[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."

[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."

[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.

[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.

[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.