The Official Last Movie You Saw Thread (Part 2)

[KCKUKFan]

Spotlight was a fantastic movie.

And, Downes, Jurassic World is all relative. Compared to the first Jurassic Park, it's pretty average. Compared to The Lost World and Jurassic Park III, it's practically a masterpiece.

[Spiritof96]

I can buy Stark's positioning. He was essentially responsible for Ultron, which obviously led to the Sokovia incident. Just from that, I can see Stark shouldering the blame for all of the destruction/death/chaos, and seeing the Accords/Registration Act as a necessary step to keeping something like that from happening again.

This is the same person who has always been virulently distrusting of authority especially government authority and once proudly quipped that he had privatised world peace. Cap on the other hand is a soldier, trained to follow orders, and the chain of command. The story works but it is an odd place for them to find themselves. In the comics it made a little more sense given that Tony was THE architect of the plan so he was trusting himself as the ultimate broker of authority.

Still a great movie.

[Wonderstruck]

This is the same person who has always been virulently distrusting of authority especially government authority and once proudly quipped that he had privatised world peace. Cap on the other hand is a soldier, trained to follow orders, and the chain of command. The story works but it is an odd place for them to find themselves. In the comics it made a little more sense given that Tony was THE architect of the plan so he was trusting himself as the ultimate broker of authority.

Still a great movie.

Well, character progression at all. Would be sort of dull, IMO, if a guy like Stark never grew out of his original concept. Stark as a character has evolved so much over the past eight years, which is to be expected. I don't think the Accords suggest that he is now trusting the government, per se, just that he realizes that times are changing, whether he likes it or not. I'd be more disappointed in the character if he had no jarring reaction to being mainly responsible for the destruction of an entire city.

Cap has been progressively not trusting of the government, SHIELD, etc. That was one of the focal points of Winter Soldier. He seems to have taken Nick Fury's line, "Don't trust anybody," to heart. He saw firsthand in WS that men change. He's clearly not operating under the orders of anyone but himself but he has also evolved. He trusts himself as the ultimate authority for what's right and wrong. He saw firsthand the destruction of the establishment, and he makes note of that in Civil War when he says the agenda of man can change.

If I had to a nitpick, it would be Cap's decision to continually support Bucky no matter what happens. Even if Buck is under the influence, if that had been anyone else, I don't think Cap would be so quick to ignore it. Also, withholding the info that Bucky killed Starks parents was tough. But Cap seems to have a blind loyalty to Bucky. Probably because they are so similar, and Cap probably feels it could have just as easily been him in that position and not Bucky.

It is a great movie. The more I talk about it, the more I enjoy it. So much more fun to discuss than BvS.
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[TrueblueCATfan]

Neighbors 2.......don't waste your money......Stupid

[Joneslab]

Captain America: Civil War.

Reviewed pretty thoroughly above, but I didn't understand much of what they were talking about. Haven't seen Winter Soldier or hardly any of the other recent comic book movies so I was pretty lost. But logic isn't why you watch these movies. The fights were cool, the new riff on Spider-Man was pretty great, and it tightly set up another series of billion-dollar films.

Recommended for what it is but don't think it broke much new ground or anything.

Man Up.

This is my wife's choice from Netflix. It's a Simon Pegg-produced British rom-com that grows on you. Starts out pretty clichéd, but by the end it has some very funny set-pieces, including a really clever nod to Silence of the Lambs.

If you and the significant other are looking for something on a Friday night this is a pretty safe bet.

[Joneslab]

Welcome to Leith.

Netflix documentary about a white supremacist who moves to a tiny (pop. <30) North Dakota town and tries to take over local government. The movie has this growling soundtrack that's always going in the background that suggests something terrible is going to happen. This is mostly a fascinating moral examination of "rights." Do people have the right to protect their homes from perceived threats? Do outsiders have the right to attend city council meetings and chant "Sieg Heil"? The most interesting part of this has nothing to do with racism; it's when the main baddy admits in a jailhouse interview that he's probably autistic. There is definitely some kind of mental disorder going on, but he has the unnerving talent of staying weirdly calm while he creates massive chaos around him.

Reminiscent of the great doc The Most Hated Family in America about Westboro Baptist Church, this is a disturbing movie that sticks with you. Recommended if you like docs.

[Joneslab]

Begin Again.

Apatow-influenced comedy that's on Netflix. This one stars Mark Ruffalo as a stoner music rep who pulls a Jerry Maguire and convinces Keira Knightley to become his best last chance. The movie has that meandering style Apatow's become famous for, but what it's really trying to be is the great Once. It falls way short of that mark, though. The jokes aren't nearly funny enough. The relationships between the characters are awkward. The pace of the movie is always a little off. Basically the movie is a mutt that tries to borrow different ideas from other films and never finds its own voice.

This is saved a little by the music, which reminded me of '70s pop, but it's really just not very good on the whole. Skip it.

[KCKUKFan]

Begin Again.

Apatow-influenced comedy that's on Netflix. This one stars Mark Ruffalo as a stoner music rep who pulls a Jerry Maguire and convinces Keira Knightley to become his best last chance. The movie has that meandering style Apatow's become famous for, but what it's really trying to be is the great Once. It falls way short of that mark, though. The jokes aren't nearly funny enough. The relationships between the characters are awkward. The pace of the movie is always a little off. Basically the movie is a mutt that tries to borrow different ideas from other films and never finds its own voice.

This is saved a little by the music, which reminded me of '70s pop, but it's really just not very good on the whole. Skip it.

It was directed and written by the same guy who wrote and directed Once, which is why it probably felt like that film.

I liked it, but it was disposable fluff.

I've seen a lot of movie recently, but absolutely nothing worth mentioning. Been focusing on binge-watching TV shows.

[Joneslab]

The Conjuring 2.

One of the more uneven horror movies I've seen. The first 30 minutes are solid, the last 30 are good, but the middle...the middle is borderline terrible. There's a full-blown Elvis impersonation in this with an acoustic guitar. There are enough terrible British accents to make Keanu Reeves wince. And for some reason the movie wants the romance of the married leads to be one of the focal points. That's a terrible decision as there are times this just bogs down into pure sap. The last scene is almost gag inducing.

Could've been a very good horror movie but loses itself about halfway through. Still, in James Wan fashion, there are about 5 extremely frightening scenes. They don't break any new ground but they're expertly pulled off. Recommended only for a rental.

[TrueblueCATfan]

The Conjuring 2.

One of the more uneven horror movies I've seen. The first 30 minutes are solid, the last 30 are good, but the middle...the middle is borderline terrible. There's a full-blown Elvis impersonation in this with an acoustic guitar. There are enough terrible British accents to make Keanu Reeves wince. And for some reason the movie wants the romance of the married leads to be one of the focal points. That's a terrible decision as there are times this just bogs down into pure sap. The last scene is almost gag inducing.

Could've been a very good horror movie but loses itself about halfway through. Still, in James Wan fashion, there are about 5 extremely frightening scenes. They don't break any new ground but they're expertly pulled off. Recommended only for a rental.

We saw it last Sunday....thought the first one was better

[Joneslab]

The Age of Adaline.

This is a new offering if you have an Amazon Prime account.

It's a love story that sort of wants to ask interesting moral questions, but it's not really deep enough to get at many of those questions. What it is is beautifully made. The San Francisco settings are gorgeous, and the filmmakers put a ton of care into putting this thing together. It's an A+ as far as filmmaking technique goes. As a film, though, it's pretty flat. The movie is about a woman who can't age. She falls in love, and then Harrison Ford makes a surprise appearance as a former lover. There the movie had a chance to be something special, but it drops the ball and settles into predictability in the ho-hum last act.

But man, is it tremendous to look at. Because of that I recommend this, but catch it free.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Saw Independence Day Resurgence on Friday night.....Not bad but missed Will Smith not being in this one

[Spiritof96]

Saw Independence Day Resurgence on Friday night.....Not bad but missed Will Smith not being in this one

In my younger days I regarded Independence Day as being in the pantheon of worst movies I had ever seen. IIRC, I saw Congo, and Batman & Robin that summer. So that was 3 out of 5 in the pantheon in less than 12 weeks.

Bruce Willis's master turd Armageddon occupies the 4th spot in the pantheon with one space remaining for a yet to be seen film. The last Star Trek tried to make it's way in; but fell just short.

[Joneslab]

Armageddon is a total dog.

I can't remember too much about Independence Day other than it was indistinguishable from all the other bloated, multi-billion-dollar adventure movies that come down the pike. Seems like it was around the same time period as Twister. I remember sort of liking that one.

These movies are often completely forgettable to me. Sometimes they can be fun and maybe even worth the admission price, but there's nothing much to them except technical wizadry. And sometimes not even that.

[Spiritof96]

Armageddon is a total dog.

I can't remember too much about Independence Day other than it was indistinguishable from all the other bloated, multi-billion-dollar adventure movies that come down the pike. Seems like it was around the same time period as Twister. I remember sort of liking that one.

These movies are often completely forgettable to me. Sometimes they can be fun and maybe even worth the admission price, but there's nothing much to them except technical wizadry. And sometimes not even that.

The moment it was revealed that a Gatling gun was included on the drilling rovers, (after a discussion about weight concerns) I left the premises. I have subsequently been subjected to the rest of the thing in dribs and drabs.