The Last Movie(s) You Watched... (quick one or two sentence reviews)

[unfair]

Goblet of Fire is one of my least favorite movies of all time. I don't care for Harry Potter though. I did think The Prisoner of Azkaban had a good storyline, the Order of the Phoenix had a fantastic cinematic ending, and The Half Blood Prince was a pretty great character driven mystery with a fantastic cinematic moments.

Why did you dislike that one specifically? I thought out of the entire series it was the most balanced with a good mix of what I would hope for from something in the franchise - Magic, Adventure, and Action. I agree Azkaban was decent although a couple of the characters were a bit lackluster to me, Order of the Phoenix was also on the same level as Azkaban - decent but I found the fighting bureaucracy part of the story unenjoyable.

Half-Blood Prince felt too simple and teen-pandering with the plot imo. That's the only one I disagree on though, I think the other two are on par with Goblet except that Goblet didn't have anything that felt flawed or annoying to me, so I like it the best out of those three.

 

[Eyepainter]

I guess I'll chime in on this Harry Potter bandwagon.

My personal opinion? The first two are the weakest links in the franchise. Prisoner of Azkaban is often given a lot of love with some even calling it the best Harry Potter film, but I think it's overrated. Goblet of Fire is the one that officially got me interested in Harry Potter, and I guess I love the franchise way more when it goes to the dark side as opposed to the happier tone of the early films. Order of the Phoenix is a step down from Goblet, but I still like it for being dark. I'm pretty much alone on this one, but Half-Blood Prince is my favorite, and it has the best ending of all 8 films. I can never hate it for the brutal stab in the heart it gives you in Act III. Deathly Hallows, part 1 is a step backward for me, and it suffers from being what is half a movie. Fortunately, Deathly Hallows, part 2 is fantastic and works perfectly as an ending to the franchise, but it should be saved for last in order for it to have maximum impact.

 

[Masirimso17]

Love how everyone has a drastically different take on the series. For me it goes like this, from masterpiece to just okay:

1. Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Deathly Hallows: Part 2
3. Order of the Phoenix
4. Chamber of Secrets
5. Deathly Hallows: Part 1
6. Goblet of Fire
7. Philosopher’s Stone
8. Half-Blood Prince

I enjoy Goblet of Fire, but I feel like it’s the worst directed HP film as it has a weird tonal confusion and jarring visual & musical choices. But I think the script is very strong, definitely better than Half-Blood Prince on that regard. The whole Yule Ball section and the climax & ending are some of my favorite parts of the series, and the movie is at least paced better than Philosopher’s Stone.

 

[addiesin]

1 Prisoner of Azkaban
2-6 Some fine Harry Potter films
7 Goblet of Fire
8 Half Blood Prince



9-996 Reserved for future entries







996-999 Fantastic Beasts films
1000 Cursed child

I am exaggerating but this is my order roughly.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

I saw all the Potter movies but had a hard time understanding the hype. I thought Prisoner of Azkaban was okay. But I didn’t really think they were very good movies as a whole. I hadn’t read any of the books.

Flash forward and I’ve read all of the books with my kids and I now understand. They are definitely movies made for people who have read the books. I still don’t find them great as they aren’t, IMO, adequately adapted for the medium [the first two movies slavishly loyal to a fault], but if you know the books they are fine. In my opinion, the movies are meant for book readers. Which is understandable as there are so many. But I appreciate adaptation more.

 

[kinnikuman]

Hacksaw ridge - totally love the true story about a genuine hero but the movie is just typical Hollywood sentimentality

 

[Jrzag42]

The new Puss In Boots was surprisingly great go watch it. The portrayal of Death is genuinely kinda scary, and a new favorite of mine right next to Discworld's (for different reasons). Some great animation, especially the action scenes. I'm actually looking forward to Shrek 5 after this?

 

[mnkykungfu]

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Call me crazy but it's my first time with the franchise and I'm not digging it so far. I'm more or less severed from any nostalgic connection and I'm not feeling the magic. Nonetheless, I'm curious to see what the franchise looks like post-Columbus, particularly an entry directed by Cuaron of Children of Men fame.

That's the biggest change in the whole series, right there. And it's puberty essentially, a sudden divide between what was and what will be. The films are remarkable in that they feel like the same franchise, but each one different. Each one or two is almost like the change between Bond actors (not movies). And they basically grow up and become more mature with each entry. Azkaban is the most superficially dark, but I think still rather whimsical and has a pretty immature portrayal of what are complicated relationship histories in the book. It's the most butchered adaptation (and I watched the films first!) Goblet is the most popcorn-enjoyable Fantasy adventure. Phoenix is the best-balanced and my personal favorite, plus the culmination everyone was waiting for.

This reminds me to get around the watching the four films after 'after the thin' in my 6-film DVD boxset. I'll have to stock up on cocktail supplies first through.

Indeed! FYI, been listening to some podcasts and was surprised to find out that most people misremember "the thin man" as being Nick. Apparently because it is rather a strange convention to name a film after the victim rather than the detective, and even more so to keep naming the sequels after an old case!

 

[DrWho42]

southland tales (2006) cannes cut. surprised i never saw this! considering getting the arrow video dvd set from 2021

 

[Eyepainter]

From Beyond (1986)

I decided to see this one because Re-Animator is my all-time favorite horror film, and a lot of the same cast and crew worked on this one. All in all, Re-Animator is the better of the two, but I loved this one nonetheless. Gloriously awesome (and disgusting) special effects. Loved the performances from Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, and Ken Foree. Once again succeeds at being both scary and silly at the same time. Chilling final shot, too. Looking forward to seeing it again, and hopefully, in its uncut and uncensored form.

 

[The Scribbling Man]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
A step up from the first two but overall was not a fan, which probably doesn't bode well for the future. More detailed thoughts here.

 

[mnkykungfu]

MLK Jr.'s Birthday recently passed, marking the time of year where I try to delve into some African-American cinema:

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)
Directed very much in PBS style, but still this is a really solid documentary that gives a great walkthrough of the BPP from inception to destruction. If you have any doubt about the cries of systemic racism or think that the State conspiring to kill domestic political leaders sounds far-fetched, just watch this film.

Shaft's Big Score! (1972)
Of course after the BPP, I had to watch the sequel film of their on-screen stand-in, Shaft. I had finally seen the original last year, and was surprised to find how solid it was. This film is pretty light on the double entendres, despite the title, but is a very stylish and worthwhile second entry for the black private dick.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004)
Upper echelon 2-part documentary from Ken Burns following the first black boxer to "cross the color line". Also a great (i.e. terrible) look at the reality of the "freedom" of black lives in turn of the century USA. Johnson is a figure everyone should know more about.

 

[Eyepainter]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
A step up from the first two but overall was not a fan, which probably doesn't bode well for the future. More detailed thoughts here.

I'd say give Goblet of Fire a chance, as that's the one that officially ditched the happy, childish tone of the first three films and set the more mature, adult tone for the rest of the franchise (The PG-13 rating also doesn't hurt). If movie number 4 still doesn't work for you, then feel free to throw in the towel.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

White Noise. I’ve never read the book nor any Don DeLillo, but apparently this book had a reputation for being un-filmable. It feels like an adaptation of Vonnegut or Pynchon. Like Pynchon’s Inherent Vice, I was late to catch on to what the movie was doing (thankfully I got it about 1/3 of the way through unlike Inherent Vice which took me a second viewing). I won’t say what I feel was going on but suffice to say plot isn’t the point. I quite liked it for the first 2/3 of the movie, but it lost me in the final act. With the exception of the very last scene. That scene alone is worth the price of admission. I may have to read some DeLillo.

 

[mnkykungfu]

Spielberg (2017)
Three-hour long documentary that simultaneously feels overlong and like it's skipping over too much. Repeats a lot of takes that film critics chant like mantras while avoiding engaging with Spielberg's interesting failures or much of his life with peers. Decent watch for a Casual.

The Fabelmans (2022)
More revealing about Spielberg's work and what went into it than the actual documentary. A wonderfully-acted family drama and coming-of age tale where a love for film holds both together. Didn't hit me in the feels like many Spielberg films, but it's hard to imagine anyone actually disliking this.

 

[kinnikuman]

Just saw yellow submarine for the first time ever - wow looks beautiful and the music of course is perfect! The dialogue was kinda bad tho

 

[asterixsmeagol]

Man Has Watched All 761 Movies

MADISON, WI—Watching the final credits roll on Grease 2, local man Rob Denton told reporters Monday that he had now watched all 761 movies. “I did it, I watched them all,” said the visibly exhausted man, who claimed to have spent the majority of his life thus far working his way through all the movies ever made, from Jaws through The Incredibles, plus the few hundred in between. “I started with all the Rocky movies, because, bam, that’s nine right there—then it was smooth sailing for the next 20 years or so. The only ones I didn’t like were the three movies that they made in Italy, because I don’t speak the language. Luckily, all the rest of the movies in existence are in English and available to rent at my local public library. The only question is, what now?” At press time, Denton declared that he would now begin reading all 37 books.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

Navalny. This gripping documentary is truly a case of truth is stranger than fiction. As is noted in the documentary, no one would believe this story if it weren’t true. The central prank call to one of his own would-be assassins where he gets him to to describe the operation in detail is riveting stuff.

 

[Jrzag42]

Finally got the chance to watch the new Hellraiser. It was...really good.
I expected something like the Child's Play remake; good, but a loose remake that disregards the old lore. I didn't expect it to actually be respectful to the source material, and even incorporate lore from the second movie. As a fan of the franchise, I really appreciated how it did its own thing without losing the spirit. It's not perfect, but surely the best one since Hellbound (and I'm a big fan of Inferno!).

 

[DigModiFicaTion]

Jerry & Marge Go Large (2022)
A fun feel good movie. You know what happens, but Bryan Cranston, Annette Bening, and Rainn Wilson's acting is great and quirky enough to keep you entertained and watching. 7/10