The Official Last Movie You Saw Thread (Part 2)

[Joneslab]

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

I kind of echo the thoughts that somebody had above, that the movie is at its best in the first half. The second half gets a little fanboyish as the old characters come fast and furious. But that's a minor pick: for the most part this is awesome. I loved the little allusions to the original trilogy; at times there's almost this snarkiness in play, as if they're giving a wink to the high silliness of those old movies. I also loved how the movie felt like old Star Wars and completely dismisses the prequels in every conceivable way.

Very hard to rank this movie with the originals because you're working against the primal force of nostalgia, but it definitely has the tone and tenor of those three films. There are a handful of moments in this where you feel your heart welling up. When that happens you know they got it absolutely right.

Highest recommendation. I haven't been in too many movies where the entire packed crowd at 10:00 on a rainy Monday night gave a roaring ovation to the opening title.

[Joneslab]

I like Christopher Orr's review of the movie in The Atlantic, especially his comments about Abrams just totally ignoring the prequels and what they brought to the franchise. (Spoiler alert: they brought nothing.) Orr calls the film one of the greatest "reclamation projects" of our age.

Yes.

[Blue Heaven]

Creed - I was apprehensive about watching this because I really had no desire to see Rocky 6 but this movie FAR exceeded my expectation. This film has a ton of heart and has excellent performances. Sly has been a punching bag of jokes for years but he was awesome in this. Apollo Creed's son seeks out the former champ to train him but has no notions whatsoever about wanting to be known as Apollo's son. With Rocky's help, he finds his place is truly in his shadow and not out of it. This was an awesome movie and a real crowd pleaser. This is an excellent movie and I'm so glad I gave it a shot. You will be too. Go watch this movie!

[KCKUKFan]

Creed - hits every beat you'd expect, but still fun all the same. Good performances, good script. It's Rocky for 2015, and man, was it entertaining. No Oscar winner, but you couldn't do much better for a heart-warming boxing movie. 3/4.

Joy - Watched a DVD screener of this. Jennifer Lawrence was great, the movie was not. A strange hodepodge of tones and styles, this is easily David O. Russell's worst movie, maybe ever. The movie had some great performances by his usual staple (Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, Bradley Cooper), but there wasn't enough of story to care about. It also felt like a victim of post-production editing... the tonal shifts in the movie are completely jarring. See it if you're a big fan of Lawrence, otherwise watch one of Russell's more recent (better) output again (The Fighter, Sliver Linings Playbook, American Hustle). 2/4.

Steve Jobs - DVD screener of this. Aaron Sorkin revisits the style of his "Social Network" script with this look at three different behind-the-scenes product launches of the Apple inventor. Michael Fassbender doesn't look much like Jobs, but man, did he deliver a great performance that should be considered come Oscar season. The dialogue (per usual Sorkin) is snappy, and the direction by Danny Boyle is typically well-paced and excellent. When the film was over I didn't really feel like I knew much more about Jobs than I did when it started (perhaps it's because it wasn't a biopic in the traditional sense), but man, was it entertaining during it's duration. Proof that a purely dialogue-driven film can be like a rollercoaster. 3.5/4.

The Revenant - DVD screener of this, too. WOW! What a movie... Leo DiCaprio should be first in line for his long-awaited first Oscar in a role that blew me away. He maybe had ten lines of dialogue in the entire two and a half hour runtime, but good Lord, did he put himself through hell physically. Basically a revenge flick... very light on story, but packed with gorgeous cinematography and gripping set pieces. The bear mauling was something I'd never seen in a movie. 4/4.

The Hateful Eight - Another DVD screener. As a lifelong fanboy of Quentin Tarantino, I went into this expecting the best, and it ...almost... delivered. It's basically "Reservoir Dogs" set in the old west. A bunch of awful people (a hangman, a bounty hunter, a prisoner, a stagecoach driver, a Confederate soldier, a sheriff) are trapped in a cabin in the middle of a Wyoming blizzard. Nobody is who they say they are and tensions run high. In typical QT fashion, the dialogue flows like fine wine and blood flows like even finer wine. The problem here (and the problem that has threatened to partially derail his last two or three films) is the exhausting length. He's so in love with his characters and dialogue that he has lost the ability to know when to cut his scenes short. Many of the scenes in this movie go on at least five minutes too long, and the 30 minute stagecoach ride that opens the movie and the 20 minute flashback towards the end could be COMPLETELY CUT and it wouldn't affect the movie at all. See it for the performances (Jennifer Jason Leigh is a HOOT), see it for the typically great QT banter, and see it for the stylish and inventive filmmaking. But this is not essential QT and probably one of his weaker films. I am curious to see a version of this with the cuts that I previous mentioned. A one hour and forty-five minute version of this compared to the two and a half monster that it currently is could improve it dramatically. 3/4.

And finally...

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - I went to the theater yesterday and saw this during the UL game, because my heart can't take the UL game anymore. It was about what I expected. I liked it, but probably will never watch it again. I can see why people who love Star Wars love this one -- it's basically two hours of complete fan service from JJ Abrams to the die-hards. It really feels like one of the original trilogy, from the score, to the humor, to the corniness to the focus of the "cool" stuff (lightsaber battles, aliens, etc), to even the wipes and fades from scene to scene. I REALLY enjoyed Adam Driver as the new bad guy (his performance in HBO's TV show "Girls" is unbelievably excellent). So, yeah, if you like "Star Wars" you'll probably really like this. If you don't, you won't. If you're somebody like me, who understands why the first three are so popular but never really cared about them one way or the other, you'll be entertained for two hours and then you'll promptly forget it on the way to your car. 3/4.

[KevinHall]

Quick question, What is a DVD screener? I have seen that term about the Revenant a few times where people have seen it this way. Forgive my ignorance.

[KCKUKFan]

Quick question, What is a DVD screener? I have seen that term about the Revenant a few times where people have seen it this way. Forgive my ignorance.

During Oscar season, movie studios will mail DVDs of the movies they want nominated to Academy voters for consideration. Obviously, when this happens, the movies leak online.

It happens every year around this time to the Oscar bait. I'm honestly very surprised that the studios keep doing it year after year, but whatever...

To be honest, it's not exactly... legal. But, I liked Revenant so much that I'll be paying to see it on the big screen.

[Blue Heaven]

Quick question, What is a DVD screener? I have seen that term about the Revenant a few times where people have seen it this way. Forgive my ignorance.

I could tell you how to watch these screeners if you want to PM me.

[Blue Heaven]

During Oscar season, movie studios will mail DVDs of the movies they want nominated to Academy voters for consideration. Obviously, when this happens, the movies leak online.

It happens every year around this time to the Oscar bait. I'm honestly very surprised that the studios keep doing it year after year, but whatever...

To be honest, it's not exactly... legal. But, I liked Revenant so much that I'll be paying to see it on the big screen.

I'll be paying to see it as well even though I have seen it. It's just a fantastic movie. The cinematography and sound are so superb that it just begs to be seen on the big screen. This might be the best movie I have seen this year. Maybe the last few years.

[KevinHall]

I could tell you how to watch these screeners if you want to PM me.

Thanks but I'll pass. I'm never in that big of a hurry to see a movie. Also I'm scared to death of getting a virus from one of these sites. I'm sure the wife and I will be going to see the Revenant next week.

[George]

Anyone think things happen a little too conveniently in The Force Awakens? The Falcon just happens to be in a junk yard on Rey's home planet? Luke's light saber just happens to be in a chest in the basement of a frickin' bar? Rey just happens to become an adept user of the Force without so much as a hint as to how to use those powers?

I agree with what others have said: this movie was like a fan fiction entry that managed to reel in the original players for nostalgia. I was actually pretty disappointed. Better than the prequels (obviously) and essential viewing (I guess) if you're a Star Wars fan, but not the revival experience I'd hoped it would be.

[Joneslab]

Anyone think things happen a little too conveniently in The Force Awakens? The Falcon just happens to be in a junk yard on Rey's home planet? Luke's light saber just happens to be in a chest in the basement of a frickin' bar? Rey just happens to become an adept user of the Force without so much as a hint as to how to use those powers?

The original trilogy was all about coincidence. The droids happen to stumble upon Luke. Luke happens to be Darth's son and Leia's brother. Obi-Wan, who happens to have known Anakin, happens to stumble upon Luke. Etc. etc.

Lucas has always described it as "destiny," but basically what these movies are are very simplistic space operas that could appeal to seven-year-olds. They're not complex movies in the least. In fact they're more like glorified cartoons.

In that way this new film fit right into the lineage of the old ones. But giving them some kind of analysis will always fall short because they're way too...well, dumb. That's why I love them. There's a whole lot of smart, brain-melting sci-fi out there. Star Wars isn't that.

One thing I noticed on a second watch is how much The Force Awakens is about friendship. Even that word--"friends"--is used by one of the characters late in the movie. I've never really thought about it before, but Star Wars is so much about relationship, pals, buddies. Again: it's basically the sort of stuff that would resonate with kids, which is what Lucas set out to make in the first place.

But Pixar is like this too. At its best and if done well, that sort of thing can be meaningful for adults.

[Joneslab]

And that's why I think so many people hated the prequels: there was some silliness that missed (Jar Jar), but the main beef was that Lucas tried to make things too complex. The movies came to be about intergalactic politics.

That's the sort of stuff Asimov was nailing sixty years ago. Star Wars isn't a good vessel for that sort of thing because the whole framework is too simple.

Give us lightsabers and cool masks and the Force and space battles. Make us feel like we're eight or nine again. That's what Abrams decided to do, and got it just right IMO.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Sisters.........Not great but worth seeing if you want to good laugh...Tina Fey and Amy Poehler star in this one

[Blue Heaven]

The Hateful Eight- Let me say that I LOVE Tarantino's movies. I even liked Kill Bill. Both volumes. This movie was TERRIBLE. You know what you get with his movies and that's a lot of heavy dialogue and long set pieces with some fairly good action scenes sprinkled in there. In it's 150 minute+ run time, there was way too much of the former and not enough of ther latter. The story made no sense whatsoever. This movie has been called a Western Reservoir Dogs. Not even close to the brilliance that was that movie. This was a MAJOR disappointment because all his other movies were just fantastic in my book. It took almost 2 hours for the movie to start makng any kind of sense. And the whodunnit wasn't very clever. Aside from that, there are good performances from Samuel Jackson and Jennifer Jason Leigh. IMO, if you drop down your hard earned cash for the theater experience you are gonna be pissed. I was pissed and I watched the screener. Mr. Tarantino, you have a lot of 'splainin' to do.

[Joneslab]

Anybody watch Making a Murderer? Not a movie but some of the most riveting true crime I've seen.

Highly interesting series and I'm dying to discuss it if anybody's watched.