Author Topic: What's the Last Movie You Watched?  (Read 948603 times)

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Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2715 on: September 05, 2018, 07:36:42 AM »

Offline gouki88

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Castle In The Sky (Japan, 1986)

Animated steampunk adventure by Hayao Miyazaki. A young girl and a boy fight against a host of enemies in their quest to discover a mythical city floating in the sky. The plot mixes several of Miyazaki's themes: a young but strong-willed female character, ecology, anti-militarism,  and some goofy and likeable pirates. I think the plot made a very good job at developing the characters and pushing the story forward at the same time.

It is astonishingly beautiful visually. I particularly enjoyed the miners. Miyazaki was quoted as saying  "I was in Wales just after the miners' strike. I really admired the way the miners' unions fought to the very end for their jobs and communities, and I wanted to reflect the strength of those communities in my film."

There can be endless discussions about what the city/island in the sky might actually mean. You have an invisible but  powerful city, with a very advanced (maybe even: perfected) technology, and lots of treasures - actually when the army reaches Laputa they demonstrate a greed reminiscent of the conquistadores in Latin America. Miyazaki as usual uses a great number of references: for instance, its name (Laputa) comes from Gulliver's Travels; whereas it is mentioned in the film that it was fire from that city that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Add to this that Laputa seems like an automated, post-scarcity society and you throw in any number of theological, Marxist and literary explanations about Laputa. All this depth is added in the movie without making it feel one bit pretentious - this is IMO one of its greatest achievements.


Wow, I've somehow missed this my whole life! Definitely going to watch it soon

Are you a Miyazaki fan? How is he received in Australia?
Yeah, I'm definitely a fan of Miyazaki. He has a pretty big following in Australia actually, or at least in the city I live in people love his work.

I've been to the Ghibli museum a couple times in Japan dedicated to the works of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. 



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghibli_Museum

It's pretty great.  They only have a limited amount of tickets available daily, because they want people to appreciate it without fighting through thousands of people.  They also don't allow photography inside for the same reason - they want people to enjoy the magic.   You have to reserve the tickets at least a month in advance.    There's some really cool exhibits and there's always a short animated film they show in the museum theater that's exclusive to the museum.   Also kinda cool is the actual museum ticket they give you is a 35mm film strip from one of their films:



It's definitely one of my favorite places to visit in Japan.
I'm actually going to Japan at the end of this year, and I just booked my ticket to the Ghibli museum! Safe to say I am incredibly excited
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Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2716 on: September 05, 2018, 01:49:21 PM »

Offline kraidstar

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I watched the Case for Christ.

The true story of an investigative journalist -- and avowed atheist -- who applies his skills to disprove the Christian faith of his wife... with life-altering results.


My Aunt is a hardcore Baptist and she tried to get me to watch that propaganda when it came out in theaters.  She even sent me $20 in the mail suggesting I go see it.  I read about the “true story” and found multiple essays tearing it apart.  I think there’s even a book written called “The Case Against The Case For Christ”.  This atheist dedicated like 8 hours of YouTube videos doing a rebuttal of the book chapter by chapter:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j60-eK5sfwk&list=PL8B722E1FA8681B70

Bottom line was that Lee Strobel had been a pastor for 12 years before writing it and every single person he interviewed in his book was a devout Christian.  The idea that he was some non-believer who "accidentally" found god after speaking to historians is just some nonsense he uses to sell his books and make money off other Evangelicals.   

Google it and you’ll find plenty of rebuttals tearing apart his fragile arguments and outing him as dishonest.  Most don't even accept that he was ever actually "atheist".  He seems to define "atheist" as "someone mad at god".  He was a life-long Christian who at most lost his faith briefly (they refer to him as a "backslidden Christian") and then spoke to a bunch of evangelicals who helped him regain his faith. He made no attempt to speak to anyone who might give him an alternative view.


Quote
"Strobel's "shtick" is to present himself both as an investigative reporter (somewhat true - Strobel was once the legal editor of the Chicago Tribune) and a former atheist. For a self-professed investigative reporter, he seems utterly incapable of asking difficult questions, providing citations for his claims, confronting people when they make overly vague or conflicting statements if said statements cohere with his views or assertions, and seems to take The Bible at face value without argument. Likewise, his description of his atheist past sounds suspiciously like the way atheists are depicted by Christians (e.g. that he was rejecting God, despite knowing or suspecting that He existed(!), in order to be able to sin freely[1]).

Furthermore, he rarely interviews people critical of his position and when he does quote them, the quotes are usually superficial and used as a strawman argument for the following text. Comments that support his position are often taken at face value, without analysis or scrutiny and there is almost never any investigation of the claims made which are in support of his arguments.

It is perhaps fitting, given these "credentials", that Strobel was hired as Professor of Christian Thought[2] by Houston Baptist the-bible-is-literally-true[3] "University" where he now works alongside "I'm a professional philosopher, no really"-William Lane Craig."

FWIW, I heard the movie is actually not as terrible as some other Christian propaganda films like “God's Not Dead” (consistently panned as some of the worst movies ever made).   This one got a 50 out of 100 on metacritic which is actually borderline watchable if you are the niche audience for it. 

I ended up using the $20 from my Aunt to see "Fast and the Furious 8".

You're always the diplomat, LB  ;D

Last Temptation of Christ was pretty good though. Barbara Hershey, my god..... But then there was the Brooklyn-accented Harvey Keitel as Judas. So maybe it was a mixed bag. Too bad it's basically considered heretical, as Scorsese's intentions were pretty decent IMO.

Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2717 on: September 05, 2018, 01:57:28 PM »

Offline kraidstar

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Castle In The Sky (Japan, 1986)

Animated steampunk adventure by Hayao Miyazaki. A young girl and a boy fight against a host of enemies in their quest to discover a mythical city floating in the sky. The plot mixes several of Miyazaki's themes: a young but strong-willed female character, ecology, anti-militarism,  and some goofy and likeable pirates. I think the plot made a very good job at developing the characters and pushing the story forward at the same time.

It is astonishingly beautiful visually. I particularly enjoyed the miners. Miyazaki was quoted as saying  "I was in Wales just after the miners' strike. I really admired the way the miners' unions fought to the very end for their jobs and communities, and I wanted to reflect the strength of those communities in my film."

There can be endless discussions about what the city/island in the sky might actually mean. You have an invisible but  powerful city, with a very advanced (maybe even: perfected) technology, and lots of treasures - actually when the army reaches Laputa they demonstrate a greed reminiscent of the conquistadores in Latin America. Miyazaki as usual uses a great number of references: for instance, its name (Laputa) comes from Gulliver's Travels; whereas it is mentioned in the film that it was fire from that city that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Add to this that Laputa seems like an automated, post-scarcity society and you throw in any number of theological, Marxist and literary explanations about Laputa. All this depth is added in the movie without making it feel one bit pretentious - this is IMO one of its greatest achievements.


Wow, I've somehow missed this my whole life! Definitely going to watch it soon

Are you a Miyazaki fan? How is he received in Australia?
Yeah, I'm definitely a fan of Miyazaki. He has a pretty big following in Australia actually, or at least in the city I live in people love his work.

I've been to the Ghibli museum a couple times in Japan dedicated to the works of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. 



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghibli_Museum

It's pretty great.  They only have a limited amount of tickets available daily, because they want people to appreciate it without fighting through thousands of people.  They also don't allow photography inside for the same reason - they want people to enjoy the magic.   You have to reserve the tickets at least a month in advance.    There's some really cool exhibits and there's always a short animated film they show in the museum theater that's exclusive to the museum.   Also kinda cool is the actual museum ticket they give you is a 35mm film strip from one of their films:



It's definitely one of my favorite places to visit in Japan.
I'm actually going to Japan at the end of this year, and I just booked my ticket to the Ghibli museum! Safe to say I am incredibly excited

Pretty jealous, man. Always wanted to go. I'd like to see the Pachinko parlors too, just to know why the Japanese are so obsessed with them. But it's just so far and so expensive. Have fun tho!

BTW as far as movies go, I just saw "Crazy Rich Asians" and "Alpha." Both very solid. The former was just very very slick for a rom-com. Predictable but very well-made. "Alpha" is a must for animal lovers. Like a more sentimental, milder version of the Revenant, but with many of the same strengths.

Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2718 on: September 05, 2018, 03:22:48 PM »

Offline greece66

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I watched the Case for Christ.

The true story of an investigative journalist -- and avowed atheist -- who applies his skills to disprove the Christian faith of his wife... with life-altering results.


My Aunt is a hardcore Baptist and she tried to get me to watch that propaganda when it came out in theaters.  She even sent me $20 in the mail suggesting I go see it.  I read about the “true story” and found multiple essays tearing it apart.  I think there’s even a book written called “The Case Against The Case For Christ”.  This atheist dedicated like 8 hours of YouTube videos doing a rebuttal of the book chapter by chapter:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j60-eK5sfwk&list=PL8B722E1FA8681B70

Bottom line was that Lee Strobel had been a pastor for 12 years before writing it and every single person he interviewed in his book was a devout Christian.  The idea that he was some non-believer who "accidentally" found god after speaking to historians is just some nonsense he uses to sell his books and make money off other Evangelicals.   

Google it and you’ll find plenty of rebuttals tearing apart his fragile arguments and outing him as dishonest.  Most don't even accept that he was ever actually "atheist".  He seems to define "atheist" as "someone mad at god".  He was a life-long Christian who at most lost his faith briefly (they refer to him as a "backslidden Christian") and then spoke to a bunch of evangelicals who helped him regain his faith. He made no attempt to speak to anyone who might give him an alternative view.


Quote
"Strobel's "shtick" is to present himself both as an investigative reporter (somewhat true - Strobel was once the legal editor of the Chicago Tribune) and a former atheist. For a self-professed investigative reporter, he seems utterly incapable of asking difficult questions, providing citations for his claims, confronting people when they make overly vague or conflicting statements if said statements cohere with his views or assertions, and seems to take The Bible at face value without argument. Likewise, his description of his atheist past sounds suspiciously like the way atheists are depicted by Christians (e.g. that he was rejecting God, despite knowing or suspecting that He existed(!), in order to be able to sin freely[1]).

Furthermore, he rarely interviews people critical of his position and when he does quote them, the quotes are usually superficial and used as a strawman argument for the following text. Comments that support his position are often taken at face value, without analysis or scrutiny and there is almost never any investigation of the claims made which are in support of his arguments.

It is perhaps fitting, given these "credentials", that Strobel was hired as Professor of Christian Thought[2] by Houston Baptist the-bible-is-literally-true[3] "University" where he now works alongside "I'm a professional philosopher, no really"-William Lane Craig."

FWIW, I heard the movie is actually not as terrible as some other Christian propaganda films like “God's Not Dead” (consistently panned as some of the worst movies ever made).   This one got a 50 out of 100 on metacritic which is actually borderline watchable if you are the niche audience for it. 

I ended up using the $20 from my Aunt to see "Fast and the Furious 8".

You're always the diplomat, LB  ;D

Last Temptation of Christ was pretty good though. Barbara Hershey, my god..... But then there was the Brooklyn-accented Harvey Keitel as Judas. So maybe it was a mixed bag. Too bad it's basically considered heretical, as Scorsese's intentions were pretty decent IMO.

That's a very interesting movie, thanks for bringing it up Kraidstar. As for being heretical, it sure deviates from mainstream Christian teachings (but who cares). Birth of a Nation is a masterpiece despite being blatantly racist.(not that I consider deviating from Christian dogmas even remotely as bad as racism but you get the point).

Incidentally, there was a campaign in Greece to excommunicate Kazantzakis partly because of writing the book on which the film was based.

IMO a movie that is both great and has the sanction of the Catholic Church is Pasolini's The Gospel According to St Matthew. L' Osservatore Romano (a daily owned by the Holy See) has called it the best film on Christ ever made.

Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2719 on: September 05, 2018, 04:02:19 PM »

Online liam

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The Killer Elite, with James Cann and Robert Duval. Their is some great footage of San Francisco from the early 70s. 

Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2720 on: September 05, 2018, 06:25:51 PM »

Offline LarBrd33

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Castle In The Sky (Japan, 1986)

Animated steampunk adventure by Hayao Miyazaki. A young girl and a boy fight against a host of enemies in their quest to discover a mythical city floating in the sky. The plot mixes several of Miyazaki's themes: a young but strong-willed female character, ecology, anti-militarism,  and some goofy and likeable pirates. I think the plot made a very good job at developing the characters and pushing the story forward at the same time.

It is astonishingly beautiful visually. I particularly enjoyed the miners. Miyazaki was quoted as saying  "I was in Wales just after the miners' strike. I really admired the way the miners' unions fought to the very end for their jobs and communities, and I wanted to reflect the strength of those communities in my film."

There can be endless discussions about what the city/island in the sky might actually mean. You have an invisible but  powerful city, with a very advanced (maybe even: perfected) technology, and lots of treasures - actually when the army reaches Laputa they demonstrate a greed reminiscent of the conquistadores in Latin America. Miyazaki as usual uses a great number of references: for instance, its name (Laputa) comes from Gulliver's Travels; whereas it is mentioned in the film that it was fire from that city that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Add to this that Laputa seems like an automated, post-scarcity society and you throw in any number of theological, Marxist and literary explanations about Laputa. All this depth is added in the movie without making it feel one bit pretentious - this is IMO one of its greatest achievements.


Wow, I've somehow missed this my whole life! Definitely going to watch it soon

Are you a Miyazaki fan? How is he received in Australia?
Yeah, I'm definitely a fan of Miyazaki. He has a pretty big following in Australia actually, or at least in the city I live in people love his work.

I've been to the Ghibli museum a couple times in Japan dedicated to the works of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. 



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghibli_Museum

It's pretty great.  They only have a limited amount of tickets available daily, because they want people to appreciate it without fighting through thousands of people.  They also don't allow photography inside for the same reason - they want people to enjoy the magic.   You have to reserve the tickets at least a month in advance.    There's some really cool exhibits and there's always a short animated film they show in the museum theater that's exclusive to the museum.   Also kinda cool is the actual museum ticket they give you is a 35mm film strip from one of their films:



It's definitely one of my favorite places to visit in Japan.
I'm actually going to Japan at the end of this year, and I just booked my ticket to the Ghibli museum! Safe to say I am incredibly excited
Awesome.  I really enjoyed it.  If you're a big Ghibli fan, you might also want to check out this cute little cafe called "Shirohige's Cream Puff Factory" that specializes in Totoro-themed cream puffs.  The owner is the sister-in-law of Miyazaki which is why she is allowed to make them and the little building has some Ghibli art inside:  https://www.yelp.com/biz/mJ_eEImBebcN0VTwoxbZQg



A bit out of the way, but a nice place to visit if you have time.


Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2721 on: September 05, 2018, 08:00:52 PM »

Offline greece66

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Papillon (USA/France, 1973) [contains spoilers]

Prison movie about a man falsely convicted of murder in the penal colony of French Guiana. Based on the eponymous autobiographical book by Henri Charrière.

On paper the film has a lot of things going for it: star power (Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman), filmed on beautiful locations and a fascinating autobiographical story. It was also a box office success which met with generally positive reviews.

Frankly, I found it awful. The only thing that the movie has going for it is the two protagonists and the development of their characters. Beyond that everything is falling apart, esp. in the second half of the movie. A major weakness is that film has no big point to make: is this a movie about freedom? about a man overcoming overwhelming difficulties? about male friendship forged in adversity? Well, it is a bit of all of that, but the director never makes up his mind.

The script is similarly weak: one failed escape follows another in what soon starts to look like an endless repetition of the same. As Roger Ebert put it, "You know something has gone wrong when you want the hero to escape simply so that the movie can be over." Finally, although the cinematography has its good moments (esp. during the protagonist's solitary confinement)  it fails to capture the natural beauty of the surroundings and contributes to the boring overall experience. But this film's failure is mainly the director's responsibility as it lacks structure, focus and co-ordination.

One of the worst films I've watched in the last few months, comes second only to Aranowsky's The Fountain.




Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2722 on: September 06, 2018, 08:42:05 PM »

Offline greece66

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Just finished watching Sunrise: A song for two Humans by Murnau, but it's too late to write anything meaningful now. I'll edit this post tomorrow into a short presentation of the film.

Sunrise: A Song for two Humans (USA, 1927)

Silent drama by F.W.Murnau. A couple of villagers rediscover their love during a trip to the city. The title suggests it's a movie about love, but it really is about the contrast between city and village. City dwellers understand modernity and feel comfortably with it; by contrast, for the couple every modern item (cars, photography) is both a miracle and a threat - as they hardly know how to use them properly. They almost get run over by a car, they don't know how to behave at the barber's shop, and they ignore etiquette when it comes to dancing.  Although they enjoy their time at the city, they never stop being strangers in a foreign place.

In a masterful scene that highlights their ignorance, the man accidentally drops a miniature replica of an ancient statue. When he lifts it he notices that the arms and the head are missing (obviously on purpose) and he mistakenly thinks he destroyed the statue. He quickly puts the head of a toy on the miniature and disappears before anyone accuses him of vandalism.

But this ignorance can also be a blessing as the two villagers are more open to the experiences of life. In another beautiful scene the couple poses for a photo and they spontaneously kiss thinking the photographer is looking away. They then pose seriously for a photo, but on the exit from the shop they are delighted to find out the photographer has captured their kiss instead of the serious pose. They quickly put the photo away with the glee of a prude who broke the rules.

A dark side of the film is that it resonates with several stereotypes of the Nazis about peasants and corrupt modernity (cabarets, prostitution, crime, speculation). No wonder they filmed a remake  in 1939 (Die Reise nach Tilsit).





« Last Edit: September 07, 2018, 02:18:36 PM by greece666 »

Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2723 on: September 06, 2018, 08:46:15 PM »

Offline Eja117

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I finished Shall We Dance

Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2724 on: September 07, 2018, 02:27:31 AM »

Offline ederson

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The quality index in this thread is pretty so I feel a bit bad for posting this but yesterday I watched Baywatch.....

It is not too late to post to write anything meaningfull but there wasn't anything to talk about  in the movie... 😂😂😂

Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2725 on: September 07, 2018, 09:10:45 AM »

Offline greece66

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The quality index in this thread is pretty so I feel a bit bad for posting this but yesterday I watched Baywatch.....

It is not too late to post to write anything meaningfull but there wasn't anything to talk about  in the movie...

Nominated for 5 Raspberry Awards  ;D

We all have guilty pleasures, I'm willing to add Alexandra Daddario in a swimsuit to them.

Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2726 on: September 07, 2018, 09:22:00 AM »

Online Roy H.

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The quality index in this thread is pretty so I feel a bit bad for posting this but yesterday I watched Baywatch.....

It is not too late to post to write anything meaningfull but there wasn't anything to talk about  in the movie... 😂😂😂

Haha.  I enjoyed it.  It didn't take itself seriously, and a lot of the comedy hit.


I'M THE SILVERBACK GORILLA IN THIS MOTHER——— AND DON'T NONE OF YA'LL EVER FORGET IT!@ 34 minutes

Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2727 on: September 07, 2018, 09:26:55 AM »

Offline Redz

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The quality index in this thread is pretty so I feel a bit bad for posting this but yesterday I watched Baywatch.....

It is not too late to post to write anything meaningfull but there wasn't anything to talk about  in the movie... 😂😂😂

Yeh.  I almost broke down and clicked play on Netflix for that one the other night.  Eventually curiosity will get the best of me.
Yup

Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2728 on: September 07, 2018, 09:33:25 AM »

Online johnnygreen

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The quality index in this thread is pretty so I feel a bit bad for posting this but yesterday I watched Baywatch.....

It is not too late to post to write anything meaningfull but there wasn't anything to talk about  in the movie... 😂😂😂

Haha.  I enjoyed it.  It didn't take itself seriously, and a lot of the comedy hit.

I thought Baywatch was a blast. I never base a movie on what film critics think, especially since they seem to be out of touch with reality most of the time.

I did watch Deliverance last night, in memory of Burt Reynold's unfortunate passing. A very good movie, especially when it makes you think of what you would have done in their situation.

Re: What's the Last Movie You Watched?
« Reply #2729 on: September 07, 2018, 09:46:56 AM »

Offline Redz

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The quality index in this thread is pretty so I feel a bit bad for posting this but yesterday I watched Baywatch.....

It is not too late to post to write anything meaningfull but there wasn't anything to talk about  in the movie... 😂😂😂

Haha.  I enjoyed it.  It didn't take itself seriously, and a lot of the comedy hit.

I thought Baywatch was a blast. I never base a movie on what film critics think, especially since they seem to be out of touch with reality most of the time.

I did watch Deliverance last night, in memory of Burt Reynold's unfortunate passing. A very good movie, especially when it makes you think of what you would have done in their situation.

Deliverance is a classic.  It was good to see Burt in a serious role (and without a moustache!)
Yup