Which movie did you watch today and how would you rate it?

[pood]

To each their own. I hate science fiction and have been criticized for that, but do I give a fuck? Nope!

That’s because idiots who hate science fiction never understand the insults that science fiction-loving geniuses fling at them! If they understood they’d truly be pissed.

Or maybe it's because I like real science and find science fiction to be boring as hell. ( another fiction that I dislike )

I watch/read science fiction, fantasy, nonfiction science, whatever. I enjoy it all personally.

That's cool. As I said earlier, we all have different tastes. I used to love fiction but about 15 or 20 years ago, I lost my interest in it, so I rarely read fiction any longer. The only Sci Fi movies I ever watch these days are comedies, like "Space Balls" for example. I liked it when I was younger but we sometimes change as we age.

I did actually see the latest Superman movie with my son when we were in Indy and I was surprised that I enjoyed it. Maybe it was because I was with him or maybe it was that the action was exciting and it had been a long time since I watched any action movies, other than the old Shaft movies, which I still like, oddly enough.

I watched the latest Superman too and loved it, though in general not a fan of super-hero movies. Loved Mr. Terrific. Best line in the movie is when Lois Lane criticizes Green Lantern’s haircut.

Read a lot of science and sci-fi as a kid, particularly Clarke and Asimov in the latter category. In the former, still remember being awed by George Gamow’s One Two Three … Infinity. Later I cooled on sci-fi books and movies because most seemed pretty stupid. Hated Close Encounters and ET. Still love 2001, the sci-fi gold standard for me. Still like the original Star Trek because of the characters, particularly the big three of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. However, I came to realize how silly most of it is. Every planet they beam down to has a breathable atmosphere? Really? And all the aliens are basically humanoid?

One sci-fi movie I would strongly recommend is Arrival, from 2016. No spoilers but it is profoundly philosophical movie raising questions about the nature of time, free will, and how aliens (not remotely humanoid) and humans would actuallly learn to communicate. The protagonist is a linguist who keeps having strange flashback memories, and then halfway through the movie you suddenly realize what’s really going on. Great stuff.

 

[spikepipsqueak]

Back in 1985 at the cinema I watched Kurosawa's movie 'Ran'. At that time I thought it was brilliant. Now I have watched it again for the first time since then, and it simply did not have the same impact. It's good but I personally am not as impressed as I was then. 7/10.

The concepts that might have been new to you then are well established in you now. The books and films that blew my mind with their revelations between the ages of 12 and 16 ...

One sci-fi movie I would strongly recommend is Arrival, from 2016. No spoilers but it is profoundly philosophical movie raising questions about the nature of time, free will, and how aliens (not remotely humanoid) and humans would actuallly learn to communicate. The protagonist is a linguist who keeps having strange flashback memories, and then halfway through the movie you suddenly realize what’s really going on. Great stuff.

Yep. I remember that as BEING SF, not Wagon Train in space. Mind you, Wagon Train stole so much from Shakespeare et al that it also dealt with the big issues.

 

[unapologetic]

And all the aliens are basically humanoid?

You think immagration is bad now? Back in those days all the studios were union shops, and the actors union was very bigeted against non-human actors.

 

[unapologetic]

"The Lord of All Future Space & Time" 23 minutes, 2025
9/10

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36593044

"When a duffel bag explodes into existence over the Nevada desert, Dyson Wheeler - set to be hanged - seizes his chance at escape, killing his captor with the shovel he was just using to dig his own grave. Thus begins Wheeler's mission to avenge the death of his beloved wife Rachel, and in the process, create our particular pocket of space-time, The Future That Matters To Us. The Lord of All Future Space and Time is a classic western tale of revenge interrupted by sci-fi hijinks. Purposefully and joyfully heavy on narration - it's a tall tale in a short film, a fast-paced comedy asking the big questions about time, grief, love and the meaning of life itself."

 

[ZiprHead]

Nobody and Nobody 2

I watched Nobody a while ago and I see a sequel is now out.

It's standard retired super agent gets involuntarily involved with very bad people and must use his acquired skills and experience to get himself out of it and kill the bad guys. But this is much more than standard. The great Bob Odenkirk is the Mr. Nobody, now a family man. His father is played by Christopher Lloyd, who is also a bad ass.

The action is imaginative. The villains are deliciously over the top evil (especially Sharon Stone in N2) and the comedy is subtle and effective.

7.5/10

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

X2 (with Rifftrax) - This is one of the best X-Men movies and one of the best Rifftrax riffs as well. They went a bit heavy on the "gay" jokes, but otherwise, they just killed it with the action film that was, in itself one of the best superhero comic book movies ever made, and this is before Marvel started making a good movies.

X2 would be the second piece of the trilogy that would be burned to the ground by another studio who took Bryan Singer to direct the boring as hell Superman Returns movie, instead of finishing off the vision with X3... which would be directed by Brett Ratner (director who'd go on to direct Melania). Granted, can't blame everything on the director, the writing was awful too.

X2 would go on to show that superhero movies could be made very well and be awesome... and that movie studios could still follow up with disappointment.

 

[Swammerdami]

This seemed interesting ... and almost amazing:

Everyone knows it’s hard to get college students to do the reading—remember books? But the attention-span crisis is not limited to the written word. Professors are now finding that they can’t even get film students—film students—to sit through movies. “I used to think, If homework is watching a movie, that is the best homework ever,” Craig Erpelding, a film professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, told me. “But students will not do it.”

I heard similar observations from 20 film-studies professors around the country. They told me that over the past decade, and particularly since the pandemic, students have struggled to pay attention to feature-length films. Malcolm Turvey, the founding director of Tufts University’s Film and Media Studies Program, officially bans electronics during film screenings. Enforcing the ban is another matter: About half the class ends up looking furtively at their phones.

While browsing around on Netflix I noticed Taxi Driver, so I clicked and watched the first 25 minutes or so. I've already watched it 3 or 4 times, but I was reminded of how good it is. It's already on my infamous Top 90 List, but I'm promoting it to the Top 50 or so. My young son is a movie buff interested in "the classics" so I asked him why he's never watched Taxi Driver. Turns out he HAD watched the first 25 minutes and found it much too BORING.

I can think of various reasons to dislike this movie, but boring isn't one. Googling now for "best DeNiro movies" -- he's made many dozens -- I see Taxi Driver ranked high on most lists and #1 at studiobinder:

In the end, Taxi Driver is so upsetting because it shows us the pit of loneliness. How a person can be corrupted in the same ways they condemn, simply because they don’t feel loved.

The Taxi Driver script was written by the great Paul Schrader, music composed by the legendary Bernard Hermann, and Directed by none other than Martin Scorsese. The result is the best movie of Robert De Niro’s incredible career.

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I'll report on two movies I watched this past week

Sleepless in Seattle (1993) is a romantic comedy, 6.8 IMDB. I'm not a big fan of this genre but often find them fun, while hoping that the lovers succeed. It gets 6.8 IMDB, and that seems about right. Meg Ryan was the queen of this genre. She played in You've Got Mail (1998; 6.7 IMDB), also with Tom Hanks; and in Kate & Leopold (2001) with Hugh Jackman. Of these three I like Kate & Leopold best despite its having only 6.4 IMDB. Instead of the nerdy Tom Hanks we have a handsome hero for leading man. The sci-fi (time travel) makes it interesting. (Never mind whether the sci-fi makes sense -- it's just a romantic comedy.)

Wicked Little Letters (2024) is a "period black comedy mystery." I did NOT find it all "fantastically funny" as a blurb describes it. I'll give some flex to movies that are based on a true crime story, but Google tells me the true story was twisted almost beyond recognition for this film. It gets 7 IMDB, but it would not be fair for me to rate it: I found it too insufferable to bother finishing it.

 

[southernhybrid]

I thought about putting this in the all things dogs discussion, but since I did watch a movie two days in a row, I'll mention it here.

I watched "Life in the Doghouse" a documentary about an awesome gay couple who started a dog rescue place in their own home. If I believed in Saints, these two guys are Saint Ron and Saint Danny. These guys have found homes for over 11,000 dogs so far, and they live in their home until they are adopted. I loved this movie and what these two guys are doing so much, that as soon as I get a chance, I'm going to donate to their organization. it's in Camden, SC, where oddly enough, Mr. Sohy had extended family who lived there. If you love dogs, this is a great documentary about two fantastic men. it will make you laugh and maybe bring a few tears to your eyes. Favorite documentary in a long time. It's streaming in several places.

 

[Swammerdami]

I usually look up the IMDB rating before I watch a movie. I won't watch unless the rating is 6.5 or better when it's a genre I like. I need 7.5 minimum when it's not my genre.

I guess I will not watch this one:

IMDb rating 1.3
12% of Google users liked this movie.
Title: Melania (2026)

 

[Wiploc]

So, is that your genre?

-

I was a bit disappointed in The Fall Guy, because the trailer was so good. It's like they put all the best of it in the trailer.

Now I wonder if that's true of Melania too.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I usually look up the IMDB rating before I watch a movie. I won't watch unless the rating is 6.5 or better when it's a genre I like. I need 7.5 minimum when it's not my genre.

I guess I will not watch this one:

IMDb rating 1.3
12% of Google users liked this movie.
Title: Melania (2026)

The verified viewer reviews get somewhat repetitive after a while.

 

[unapologetic]

Melania talks about "Melania" movie

She's been on The Late Show several times.

 

[unapologetic]

Turns out he HAD watched the first 25 minutes and found it much too BORING.

"students have struggled to pay attention to feature-length films."

I'm an old fart at 70+. And I too get bored with 'charecter development'. Get to the plot already.
Everybody loves their family. You don't need to show me that. What happens to them that needs my attention?
My home life is boring enough, I don't want to watch anybody else's.

 

[spikepipsqueak]

The Whale.

If it did nothing else for me, I have now vowed not to eat away my troubles.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

Jug Face

Ignore the title. I didn't watch this movie because it seemed like a cheap, throwaway flick with yet another pathetic monster. For all the talent and effort that went into the movie, it's unfortunate that they couldn't come up with a better title.

The horror elements of the movie are pretty okay, but not outstanding. However, it's the real life elements that are truly horrific, disturbing, and sad. If this movie hadn't had any supernatural horror put into it, it may have been a brutal, hard hitting film showcasing a small mountain town's 16th century traditions that mostly survive until this day.

It's very low budget but the film pulls no punches, the acting is very good, and it hits in a realistic way that most high budget dramas don't. It's quite raw and very human.

Horror Scale: 5/10
Non-Horror Scale: 7.5/10

Note: this^ is usually the reverse. It's a much better drama than horror.

 

[Swammerdami]

I've taken time off from my busy schedule of watching TV series to watch two feature movies on Netflix. It was only after watching CTHD, and being confused about the multiple versions of S&S that I became aware both were directed by Ang Lee. I'd never heard of Ang Lee but have now watched and enjoyed all three of his award-winningest films: these two and Brokeback Mountain.

I am sentimentally foolish enough to enjoy stories like Pride and Prejudice. I enjoyed both the film version with the dazzling Keira Knightley and the miniseries with the beautiful Jennifer Ehle. Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility (1995, 7.7, 97%) is almost the same story! Spoiler: Just as in P & P, the story ends with a double marriage, brides being ecstatic sisters. One theme of both P&P and S&S is that 19th century English gentlemen with no sons were often obligated to bequeath their estate to an agnatic cousin. Was this restriction imposed by a distant ancestor? Most of you are less foolish than I, but I will rate Sense and Sensibility at 7.8.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (1000, 7.9, 96%), an epic romantic drama wuxia film. I'd never seen this classic: it isn't "my genre." But I did like it a lot and give it 7.9.

 

[TSwizzle]

Taken, 7/10; Start Liam Neason as a retired CIA agent divorcee co-parenting a teenage daughter with his ex-wife. The daughter and a friend go to Paris and are shortly kidnapped by an Albanian sex trafficking gang. As the daughter is about to be taken, she is on the phone with her dad and manages to relay some information before the phone is snatched by one of the kidnappers. Neason warns the kidnapper if his daughter is not released he will find them and kill them. Well, Neason goes on the hunt for the kidnappers and it's a decent action movie as he tracks down the kidnappers. Standard stuff but watchable.

Taken 2, 6/10 Similar to the previous movie but this time the Albanian gang are out for revenge on Neason and grab him and his ex wife with the intent to take them back to Albania for a torturous death. Neason has to rely on his daughter to find his location and get a gun to him so he can fight his way out. This would have been better if the editing hadn't been so severe. I darned near had an epileptic fit as some of the fight scenes were all over the place.

 

[ZiprHead]

Taken, 7/10; Start Liam Neason as a retired CIA agent divorcee co-parenting a teenage daughter with his ex-wife. The daughter and a friend go to Paris and are shortly kidnapped by an Albanian sex trafficking gang. As the daughter is about to be taken, she is on the phone with her dad and manages to relay some information before the phone is snatched by one of the kidnappers. Neason warns the kidnapper if his daughter is not released he will find them and kill them. Well, Neason goes on the hunt for the kidnappers and it's a decent action movie as he tracks down the kidnappers. Standard stuff but watchable.

I saw a pre final release version. The scene where he is torturing the Albanian by attaching electrodes to the metal chair. The way I saw it was Neason pounds metal spikes into the guy's knees and attaches the electrodes to those.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Taken, 7/10; Start Liam Neason as a retired CIA agent divorcee co-parenting a teenage daughter with his ex-wife. The daughter and a friend go to Paris and are shortly kidnapped by an Albanian sex trafficking gang. As the daughter is about to be taken, she is on the phone with her dad and manages to relay some information before the phone is snatched by one of the kidnappers. Neason warns the kidnapper if his daughter is not released he will find them and kill them. Well, Neason goes on the hunt for the kidnappers and it's a decent action movie as he tracks down the kidnappers. Standard stuff but watchable.

I saw a pre final release version. The scene where he is torturing the Albanian by attaching electrodes to the metal chair. The way I saw it was Neason pounds metal spikes into the guy's knees and attaches the electrodes to those.

Well, that'd get the job done. But it doesn't allow for him to walk off leaving the power running when you know the guy is doomed already, so the alternative provided a more effective drama. Also, if you go to that dark too often, it becomes numbing.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

This seemed interesting ... and almost amazing:

Everyone knows it’s hard to get college students to do the reading—remember books? But the attention-span crisis is not limited to the written word. Professors are now finding that they can’t even get film students—film students—to sit through movies. “I used to think, If homework is watching a movie, that is the best homework ever,” Craig Erpelding, a film professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, told me. “But students will not do it.”

I heard similar observations from 20 film-studies professors around the country. They told me that over the past decade, and particularly since the pandemic, students have struggled to pay attention to feature-length films. Malcolm Turvey, the founding director of Tufts University’s Film and Media Studies Program, officially bans electronics during film screenings. Enforcing the ban is another matter: About half the class ends up looking furtively at their phones.

While browsing around on Netflix I noticed Taxi Driver, so I clicked and watched the first 25 minutes or so. I've already watched it 3 or 4 times, but I was reminded of how good it is. It's already on my infamous Top 90 List, but I'm promoting it to the Top 50 or so. My young son is a movie buff interested in "the classics" so I asked him why he's never watched Taxi Driver. Turns out he HAD watched the first 25 minutes and found it much too BORING.

I can think of various reasons to dislike this movie, but boring isn't one. Googling now for "best DeNiro movies" -- he's made many dozens -- I see Taxi Driver ranked high on most lists and #1 at studiobinder:

In the end, Taxi Driver is so upsetting because it shows us the pit of loneliness. How a person can be corrupted in the same ways they condemn, simply because they don’t feel loved.

The Taxi Driver script was written by the great Paul Schrader, music composed by the legendary Bernard Hermann, and Directed by none other than Martin Scorsese. The result is the best movie of Robert De Niro’s incredible career.

Part of the problem is that the movie's themes have been copied so many times that when young people see the original it seems tired. I used to make my kids watch entire older films even when they thought it was boring at first. In almost every case they ended up liking whatever the movie may have been because the storytelling and humanity of older, classic dramas are almost entirely absent today.

Also, newer films need to have some big-bang-boom! opening scene in order to keep the audience watching. In contrast, the opening scene of Taxi Driver is pensive and begins the setup of a complex character.

"This movie couldn't be made today" isn't just about potentially offending a younger audience, it's also about a failure of patience on the part of the viewer.