The "last movie I saw" thread

[Commando]

I was soooo looking forward to watch Arrival, especially since I almost majored in linguistics. Now I'm depressed that Commando found it depressing.

I didn't think it was bad! I just really wanted to die afterwards.

[CardiacCoug]

Arrival- Kind of a cool show about meeting aliens, which really turns out to be a movie about the mootness and futility of your human experience.

Yeah we went and saw Arrival and I'm wishing we saw something else. It's really slowly paced at times, dark and depressing, no payoff.

I can see why movie critics like it but this is not an "enjoyable night at the movies" type of movie.

[LiveCoug]

Hmm.. My wife and I really enjoyed Arrival. Good flick

[creekster]

The "last movie I saw" thread

Arrival- Kind of a cool show about meeting aliens, which really turns out to be a movie about the mootness and futility of your human experience.

I don't think that's what it was about, at least not me. And I didn't think it was depressing at all. Sad at times, but not depressing. In fact, I thought the point was that life is NOT futile. I thought it was very good. It will make you think.

But in any event it's not really about linguistics.

If any of you know your Vonnegut you'll see in the aliens echoes of the tralfamadorians from Slaughterhouse Five.

[clackamascoug]

Saw Arrival this afternoon... only go to a couple of movies in the theater a year, and I'm glad I did. Even though it was a thinker, and a tad slow, I still wanted it to go on when it ended. I left wanting more not being sated.

[Armenag]

Arrival - Liked it but didn't love it. Forrest Whitaker's character was annoyingly stupid, the kid scenes were a bit much, etc., but it was nice to see a thoughtful sci-fi movie. The overall plot was a little cartoonish but Amy Adams is always great and Jeremy Renner was good. Again, liked it but it wasn't quite as sharp as I hoped. Have to wonder what the makers thought when they saw Interstellar.

Sing Street - Irish kid in Dublin creates a band to make music videos to impress a girl. Also good but not great. Same guy who did Once but I liked that one more. Just never quite landed for me.

[Pelado]

Started watching Sing Street on an airplane a few months back. Still need to finish it.

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[Northwestcoug]

I liked Arrival, but Mrs. NWC and two of our kids were disappointed. For me, the cinematography was excellent. There were some beautifully-arranged scenes, like the one where the helicopters were flying towards the alien ship. I also thought the pacing was really well done. It kept me in suspense the whole time. The kids' disappointment came after trying to piece together the 'linearity' of the movie. I was a little perplexed at first, but this morning the internets helped me understand better. And, Amy Adams really is a terrific actor.

I agree with Eric Snider most of the time. Although he gave Arrival a very rare solid 'A', I would probably say 'B+' for me.

[RC Vikings]

I don't think that's what it was about, at least not me. And I didn't think it was depressing at all. Sad at times, but not depressing. In fact, I thought the point was that life is NOT futile. I thought it was very good. It will make you think.

I went from thinking this movie is just another alien invasion movie to really liking it because of the last ten minutes and how it came together.

[Northwestcoug]

Moana. OK but not great. I wonder if I've passed the 'sweet spot' age where I'm not seeing the Disney flicks in my kids' eyes anymore. And maybe my kids aren't even seeing them the same way anymore. We all saw it together; one was bored, two thought it was average, and one really liked it (the oldest one, go figure). The animation was excellent, the inclusion of islander legends was very creative, and (for the most part) the pacing was solid. But the songs were just average, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen essentially the same movie before a few times, which were done better than Moana.

I don't know, maybe the headstrong princess rejecting what her family/culture expects of her needs to be retired from the Disney story board...

[All-American]

Moana. OK but not great. I wonder if I've passed the 'sweet spot' age where I'm not seeing the Disney flicks in my kids' eyes anymore. And maybe my kids aren't even seeing them the same way anymore. We all saw it together; one was bored, two thought it was average, and one really liked it (the oldest one, go figure). The animation was excellent, the inclusion of islander legends was very creative, and (for the most part) the pacing was solid. But the songs were just average, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen essentially the same movie before a few times, which were done better than Moana.

I don't know, maybe the headstrong princess rejecting what her family/culture expects of her needs to be retired from the Disney story board...

So what you're saying is women need to know their place and Disney should stop encouraging them.

[CardiacCoug]

We all went and saw Moana and everybody thought it was great. Music has been playing in our house the past few days.

The Maui character and the snail song by Jemaine Clement cracked me up. Funny stuff.

It's Lin-Manuel Miranda's world right now and we're just living in it.

[Northwestcoug]

So what you're saying is women need to know their place and Disney should stop encouraging them.

Yes! Exactly!

[Armenag]

10 Cloverfield Lane - Decent thriller, probably already discussed. A woman awakes from a car accident to find herself holed up in an underground bunker with a random guy and John Goodman, who says some kind of attack has rendered the area unlivable. Some of the ending scenes were a bit much but overall it was fun.

The Guard - 2nd time seeing this, still good. Brendan Gleeson's semi-corrupt small-town Irish cop is paired with Don Cheadle's FBI agent to try to prevent the delivery of a copious amount of drugs to the Irish coast. Definitely recommended. Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, who also did Calvary. Gleeson is great in everything.

Paddington - Peruvian bear falls in with a London family. Actually quite good for a kids film. Great cast -- Peter Capaldi, Hugh Bonneville, Nicole Kidman, Garfunkle from Detectorists, etc. Great example of how to make a kids movie likable for adults -- not by throwing in dumb pop culture references and innuendos (see: Shrek etc.) but with a quality script and quality actors having fun rather than slumming for a check.

[Walter Sobchak]

Life sucks. At least it does throughout Hell or High Water, the story of two brothers who rob banks to prevent foreclosure of their family farm. West Texas is shown as a dreary, destitute plain with shuttered businesses and abandoned homes, where the primary theme of billboards is debt relief. Jeff Bridges is the Texas Ranger who pursues the brothers as his retirement date fast approaches. Nobody does world-weary and grizzled better than Bridges (okay, maybe a tie with Tommy Lee Jones in No Country for Old Men), who’s great in this. And Chris Pine shows he’s a better actor than his Captain Kirk might have led one to believe.

Perhaps strangely, the movie helps explain a lot of the support for Donald Trump. There’s a substantial segment of society that believes (often correctly) that it’s been treated unfairly and it wants to win again, falling prey to false promises of a return to a time that seems much better in hindsight.

There are some interesting tidbits including what’s it’s like to live in a concealed carry zone, and what ranchers have to deal with as they move cattle (I thought of cowboy as a frustrated rancher moves his herd ahead of a prairie fire). Great dialogue, interesting characters (two waitresses in separate scenes are excellent) and some nice cinematography, but just as life is for many, the movie is nasty, brutish and short. I thought it was great; Mrs. PAC gave it a thumbs down but mainly due to the story itself.

Best movie I've seen in a long time. The concealed carry zone was great.

In the mouth of three witnesses... just watched this tonight. Great little film; enjoyed the performances from both Bridges and (surprisingly) Pine as well. Also stars West Texas (although wikipedia says it was filmed in Eastern NM). Borrows the "slow burn" from NCFOM, but that's a good thing. Agree the waitresses were both great.

Time for a T-Bone.