The "last movie I saw" thread

[Sleeping in EQ]

While our oldest and her family were visiting us the past few days, we watched a few movies, including Jaws which, surprisingly, neither she nor her teenaged children had seen. They enjoyed it, and there were a few shrieks at surprise moments that made it entertaining for me. It was also interesting to see parallels between the shark and COVID, with the mayor and townspeople demanding that the beaches be opened lest the economy be wrecked. I suspect I'm going to view a lot of things through a COVID lens in the months/years ahead.

And Greyhound, streaming on Apple TV, is a solid movie. Tom Hanks plays the captain of a destroyer (surprisingly, not a bus driver) trying to shepherd a large convoy of cargo ships to England at the start of WWII. Some tense moments with Hanks again playing a likeable Everyman.

Jaws is a classic at this point. The principle performers are all superb, and even Murray Hamilton is a delight in an important, but secondary role.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Jaws is a classic at this point. The principle performers are all superb, and even Murray Hamilton is a delight in an important, but secondary role.

Agreed. My biggest takeaway from this most recent viewing was the strength of Hamilton's performance.

[Sleeping in EQ]

Agreed. My biggest takeaway from this most recent viewing was the strength of Hamilton's performance.

One interesting way to interpret Jaws is as a confrontation between the modern and the primitive.

The main characters represent aspects of post-WWII modernity:

Brody (law enforcement)
Hooper (science)
The Mayor (elected government, corrupted by business)
Quint (rugged, post-WWII masculinity)

The shark, of course, is the primitive. The force rising from the unconscious, from the deep. Nature.

[Sleeping in EQ]

Some films are just meant to be watched on a rainy summer afternoon:

The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Hunt for Red October
Swamp Thing
Tremors
Double Indemnity

[Jeff Lebowski]

Watched As Good As It Gets over the weekend. I had forgotten what a great movie that was. Brilliant performances by Jack N and Helen Hunt. Sadly, I am not sure that movie gets made in today's PC climate. Jack's character was pretty homophobic towards his gay neighbor (before having a change of heart).

[PaloAltoCougar]

Watched As Good As It Gets over the weekend. I had forgotten what a great movie that was. Brilliant performances by Jack N and Helen Hunt. Sadly, I am not sure that movie gets made in today's PC climate. Jack's character was pretty homophobic towards his gay neighbor (before having a change of heart).

That's a favorite of mine. It's unusual for the lead actor and actress in the same movie to win Oscars, but they did, and they deserved them. That's a movie that, like Shawshank Redemption, I'll watch awhile whenever I come across it.

[Non Sequitur]

Some films are just meant to be watched on a rainy summer afternoon:

The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Hunt for Red October
Swamp Thing
Tremors
Double Indemnity

I'm sure I've watched The Outlaw Josey Wales over a dozen times. I can't not watch that movie when it comes on.

[Donuthole]

Finally saw Pan's Labyrinth. It has been on my list for a decade, and I can't really explain why I haven't watched it until now. (Well, besides the fact that Mrs. D hates scary movies and won't watch them with me. But I generally still find a way to watch them when she's gone or in bed.) Really loved it. Ofelia is great, and Vidal is one of the more hateable antagonists in recent cinematic history. That said, I think there were a couple of swings/misses in the plot:

Spoiler for Whiffs:

1) Before going into the Pale Man's lair to retrieve the dagger, Ofelia is expressly warned by the Faun not to eat anything at the feast, as doing so risks death. She seems pretty in tune with the supernatural/fantastical side of things, so this seems like something she would absolutely obey. Especially when she gets into the lair and a mother effing Pale Man sitting there, unawakened. Here's my beef (pun!): it would take a pretty intense hunger to get someone to eat when death is the likely consequence. I understand Ofelia's disobedience is a key plot point--the Faun has to have a reason to withhold the third task--but lay some freaking foundation! Have Vidal lock her in her room for 3 days without any food,so she has reason to be tempted by the feast. As it stands, nothing in the plot indicates that Ofelia wasn't being fed and fed well, as the daughter of Vidal's wife. Easy fix to create a valid basis for her unreasonable actions.

2) When Mercedes stabs Vidal in the bodega, why doesn't she kill him? She had every opportunity to, but suddenly just stops? WTF? At least humor us with a struggle and him wresting the knife from her. Something to help us understand why she doesn't finish the job and why she doesn't think she is just going to be able to walk away from him without a chase while he's still alive and within shouting distance of an army.

[Pelado]

Just watched Chariots of Fire with my 15-year-old son. Both he and my daughter asked what other movies the theme song is in. I laughed.

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[UVACoug]

Inception is being re-released in theaters starting tomorrow. It’s its 10th anniversary (which is crazy to me).

Is it insane that I’m thinking about going to see it? It’s really a film that is made for IMAX and there aren’t many chances to see it in that format. Not sure about going to the theater during the pandemic though.

[Pelado]

The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine. It was a much cheekier movie than I was expecting. Their music choices had me scratching my head. Especially the "self-preservation society" song that they played for much if not all of the chase scene.

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[Lost Student]

I saw Tenet last night. I really like it. It has all the trappings of a Nolan film. As the trailers hint, the plot is pretty convoluted and I'll have to watch it again sometime to see what I missed. John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Kenneth Branagh were all very good in it.

It was my first time back in a theater since BC and it felt strange. The entire theater complex was empty except our little group. I can't imagine much money is going to be made on any movies for a while.

And I may be getting old, but they had the volume turned up too loud. Both gunshots and dialogue pierced my poor ears all night.

[Pelado]

I saw Tenet last night. I really like it. It has all the trappings of a Nolan film. As the trailers hint, the plot is pretty convoluted and I'll have to watch it again sometime to see what I missed. John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Kenneth Branagh were all very good in it.

It was my first time back in a theater since BC and it felt strange. The entire theater complex was empty except our little group. I can't imagine much money is going to be made on any movies for a while.

And I may be getting old, but they had the volume turned up too loud. Both gunshots and dialogue pierced my poor ears all night.

As I learned from a Time-Life-ish album commercial many years ago, "If it's too loud, you're too old".

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[jay santos]

I'm Thinking of Ending Things from Charlie Kaufman. Absolutely brilliant. But crushingly depressing, especially if you're an aging male with insecurities about f***ing up your life.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I'm Thinking of Ending Things from Charlie Kaufman. Absolutely brilliant. But crushingly depressing, especially if you're an aging male with insecurities about f***ing up your life.

We just watched that and we both hated it. Most random weird movie we have ever seen. But then we have been thinking and talking about it and we are starting to decipher it and appreciate it to the point we want to watch it again. Ha.