The Official Last Movie You Saw Thread (Part 2)

[Joneslab]

Not a movie, but my wife and I are through three episodes of Stranger Things on Netflix.

No spoilers, please, though I know you guys wouldn't do that to me.

I like it, don't love it so far. I think it's a little plodding. The soundtrack is unreal so far, and I love the Stephen King vibe. It feels right out of '80s SK down to the font used on the opening credits.

Interested to see where it goes but it hasn't blown me away so far or anything outside the music.

[KCKUKFan]

Not a movie, but my wife and I are through three episodes of Stranger Things on Netflix.

No spoilers, please, though I know you guys wouldn't do that to me.

I like it, don't love it so far. I think it's a little plodding. The soundtrack is unreal so far, and I love the Stephen King vibe. It feels right out of '80s SK down to the font used on the opening credits.

Interested to see where it goes but it hasn't blown me away so far or anything outside the music.

Just finished the fourth episode last night.

Thoroughly enjoying it so far. Love all the 80s vibe -- it's a love letter, obviously, but it also seems to be working on its own terms.

Score is unreal... the acting (especially by the kids) is good.

Only real criticism so far is that it's derivative (but that was to be expected going in) and that some of the adult characters (Winona Ryder, particularly) seem to be sort've one-note.

Looking forward to seeing how this wraps up. I've heard a lot of good things about the finish.

[KCKUKFan]

Finished "Stranger Things."

A couple of minor issues aside, I loved pretty much the whole thing.

The acting was pitch-perfect, the pacing was excellent, and most importantly, I felt like the climax actually paid off all the buildup that had come before, which is the same problem that has buried so many similar (lesser) shows/movies.

Looking forward to a season two, but if we don't get one, I will cherish these eight episodes. They walked that fine line of paying homage and creating their own awesome little thing, and pulled it off perfectly (more or less).

[BobS]

Late to the party but wife and I watched the Batman vs Superman crapfest last night. Terrible. Please smack me the next time I spend more than a dime seeing Ben Afleck in anything. Confusing, contrived, too long. Really dark (which is OK) but with no purpose. Was not even fun. Pretty tired of the super hero being thrown through a building stunt anyway. And Ben Afleck as Batman is blasphemy in my fantasy book. Jeremy Irons as Alfred....HA....YUK. Nothing replaces the fine trilogy from Nolan. Cannot wait for the sequels that I will not see.

As the horse in Ren and Stimpy would say..."No sir. Didn't like it."

[KCKUKFan]

Late to the party but wife and I watched the Batman vs Superman crapfest last night. Terrible. Please smack me the next time I spend more than a dime seeing Ben Afleck in anything. Confusing, contrived, too long. Really dark (which is OK) but with no purpose. Was not even fun. Pretty tired of the super hero being thrown through a building stunt anyway. And Ben Afleck as Batman is blasphemy in my fantasy book. Jeremy Irons as Alfred....HA....YUK. Nothing replaces the fine trilogy from Nolan. Cannot wait for the sequels that I will not see.

As the horse in Ren and Stimpy would say..."No sir. Didn't like it."

"Batman vs Superman" had a lot of problems, but I don't think Ben Affleck was one of them.

Thought he was fine, and he's an underrated actor. Especially good director.

He just got into the habit of cashing paychecks for horrible movies from about 2000 - 2010.

[Catatonic]

Stranger Things was pretty great. Definitely thought it got better as the story unfolded. And speaking of 80's throwbacks...

Everybody Wants Some!! - Richard Linklater's "spiritual sequel" to Dazed and Confused, set in the early 80's in a house full of college baseball players. This is a hang-out movie with little actual baseball action, though what little there is is quite good. Very funny stuff. Definitely recommend for anyone who is a fan of the era.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Saw Lights Out......this was a weird one

[Blue Heaven]

Three episodes into Stranger Things and I am LOVING IT! The 80's vibe is great and it draws a ton from John Carpenter, Stephen King, and Steven Spielberg. This is shaping up to be great.

[Blue Heaven]

Finished Stranger Things. I absolutely LOVED this series. I'm reading it is coming back for Season 2 and I couldn't be happier. Growing up in the 70's and 80's, this series struck a cord with me. All the references to products and music definitely had me thinking back to those simpler times. However, this series could not have even touched on that and it still would have been great. I never played D&D, but somehow that plays a HUGE part in this. Perhaps those nerdier than me would care to explain the deep meanings of it all, but it doesn't matter. The sci-fi geek in me had a blast watching this. There were a lot of E.T., The Goonies, Stand By Me and IT references. The score was fantastic and the kid actors were great. Eagerly awaiting Season 2.

[Joneslab]

Ghostbusters.

Outside of a couple of little movements here and there this is terrible. There are long swaths of this where the dialogue is almost cringe-worthy, which is really unusual for a movie that has all this talent. Kate McKinnon's character is particularly bizarre, as there are a lot of times the characters go round-robin style riffing on something and McKinnon gets the payoff line and...oof. She just puts in a really awkward, unfunny performance.

There's very little redeeming at all about this movie. A shell of the original. Skip.

[KCKUKFan]

Ghostbusters.

Outside of a couple of little movements here and there this is terrible. There are long swaths of this where the dialogue is almost cringe-worthy, which is really unusual for a movie that has all this talent. Kate McKinnon's character is particularly bizarre, as there are a lot of times the characters go round-robin style riffing on something and McKinnon gets the payoff line and...oof. She just puts in a really awkward, unfunny performance.

There's very little redeeming at all about this movie. A shell of the original. Skip.

Star Trek Beyond - If you liked the first two in the reboot series, you'll like this. Nothing more needs to be said.

Ghostbusters - Not the full-on disaster that the pre-release buzz and trailers made it out to be, but not a very good movie, either. Contrary to Will's opinion, I felt like Kate McKinnon's performance in the Egon role was probably the comedic highlight here (aside from an inspired and surprising turn by Chris Hemsworth). Everybody else just sort've plays it straight. I will admit to laughing a lot at some of the dialogue in the first thirty minutes but after that, it turns into the typical 10s destroy-the-city blockbuster and it loses steam completely. Like I said, not the complete disaster that I expected going in, but it's certainly not going to make me forget the 84 classic, either.

The Nice Guys - Loved this riff on the buddy cop thriller by the master of that genre, Shane Black, who wrote Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Last Boyscout. Ryan Gosling, in particular, is hilarious. This movie also nailed the 70s feel it was going for. Highly recommended.

Lights Out - Some genuinely good jump scares, some great performances uncharacteristic of this genre, and a high concept cannot overcome this film's lunkheaded conclusion. I'll just say that anybody who has truly suffered from depression (or anybody who has lived with somebody suffering from depression) should be furious at this movie's conclusion. I don't want to discuss it in this review, since it would contain spoilers, but I'm curious if anybody who has seen it feels the same as I do. There has been a fair amount of negative press about the movie's ending, and I agree with it wholeheartedly. Just a complete F-up on the part of the director/writer, who should be ashamed. Very irresponsible choice that buries an otherwise well-crafted little horror movie.

Will, did you finish Stranger Things?

[Joneslab]

Will, did you finish Stranger Things?

Haven't yet. The wifi at our condo was abysmal so we almost couldn't watch anything.

We've also been plowing through The Office, which I'd caught in bits and pieces but am now binge-watching.

Unpopular opinion, but I like Parks and Rec better. There are characters on The Office that I find so bizarre and so...well, repugnant that it takes the humor out a little. Like all good (maybe great) sitcoms, though, it gets the balance just right between heartfelt and hilarious. I simply think Parks and Rec--after Season 1--is a better show on the whole.

[Joneslab]

Also watching a really good BBC show called Luther, which stars Idris Elba post-Wire. Extremely well-done crime show.

[KCKUKFan]

Haven't yet. The wifi at our condo was abysmal so we almost couldn't watch anything.

We've also been plowing through The Office, which I'd caught in bits and pieces but am now binge-watching.

Unpopular opinion, but I like Parks and Rec better. There are characters on The Office that I find so bizarre and so...well, repugnant that it takes the humor out a little. Like all good (maybe great) sitcoms, though, it gets the balance just right between heartfelt and hilarious. I simply think Parks and Rec--after Season 1--is a better show on the whole.

Parks and Rec was better on the whole, but it never reached the beautiful heights of The Office from seasons two to four.

With that said, you can probably can The Office after the strike-shortened season four and be better off. Everything after paled in comparison and, sometimes, was flat out awful.

[George]

Parks and Rec is great. Never gave it a chance when it was still going because it's sort of outside of my typical taste, but I liked it for that very reason. I spend too much time with the darker stuff and P&R was a fantastic bit of relief.