Great Movies That Others Might Enjoy, Or Ones To Avoid

[Skinsfan1311]

I just watched a wonderfully bad movie.
"Thrash" on Netflix.

 

[Boone]

Took my boy to see Project Hail Mary... a bit long but we enjoyed it. Definitely don't think too hard about the science if you want to enjoy it It reminded me a bit of 'Castaway' in presentation. Basically one star in a fixed setting. Rocky instead of Wilson.

I look forward to watching it at home at some point. The Dolby is so booming in today's theaters, if you have hearing loss, it is a nightmare to catch all of the dialogue.

 

[The Brotherhood]

Took my boy to see Project Hail Mary... a bit long but we enjoyed it. Definitely don't think too hard about the science if you want to enjoy it It reminded me a bit of 'Castaway' in presentation. Basically one star in a fixed setting. Rocky instead of Wilson.

I look forward to watching it at home at some point. The Dolby is so booming in today's theaters, if you have hearing loss, it is a nightmare to catch all of the dialogue.

I thought the movie took it's time plot-wise (being kind here) and I did find it pretty long, which means it wasn't gripping me. Time flies in the gripping ones. I kept waiting for something to happen lol. I guess I expect sci-fi to have a ton of potential for movie makers to explore with deep themes.
Agree the Dolby is insanely loud and chest-thumping at times.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I just did something I never thought would be possible. I saw two of my "favorite movies of all time" in theaters for the first time.

1. Jaws. It came out before I was born. It was in theaters for it's 50th anniversary. I was introduced to it in 8th grade when we studied it in a film class. (Hindsight being 20/20, showing Jaws to 8th graders in school was a WILD decision. I loved it. Would certainly not be possible today. But I digress.) I feel in love with it, and watched it many, many times. But always on a small screen. Seeing it with the remastered version was absolutely breathtaking. It all held up. Even the shark (nicknamed Bruce by Spielberg) looked amazing. As a side note, something I learned in my 8th grade film study class which I didn't appreciate as much until this viewing, the shark isn't seen for the first 1:20 of the movie. You're terrified of it. You never see it. The soundtrack IS the shark. Spielberg used the "shark view," so the shark's POV under the water plus the soundtrack to replace having to actually show Bruce. Because the more of Bruce there was, the less believable a mechanical shark was going to be.

Just amazing.

2. Top Gun. It was in theaters last week for it's 40th anniversary. It might be one of my most watched movies ever. It was on HBO daily for most of my childhood. But my parents wouldn't let me see it in the theater (I was 10). My goodness. It was absolutely amazing. It all held up. You didn't really even realize you were watching a 40 year old movie, except with the 80's hair on the (very few) ladies in the movie.


Two things stood out:
- The Top Gun Gong in a theater was mind blowing. I could listen to it all day long.
- Val Kilmer's acting choices were absolutely insane. The teeth mashing, sniffing, snorting, whatever. It was a wild performance. If I had to guess, I think it was an altered performance in some way. But it was also perfect in every way.
- The plane flying and action sequences are as good as anything produced today with the CGI slop they use.
- A very young Meg Ryan stole every scene she was in, "Hey Goose you big stud, take me to bed or lose me forever" remains one of the best delivered lines in the history of cinema.
- Anthony Edwards was amazing.
- The love scene between Cruise and McGillis taught an entire generation (which was my generation) absolutely terrible kissing/make out technique. I think the direction must have been "ok, lie down and eat her face, but gently." A whole generation of young adults saw that, because it was one of the most seen movies of all time, and thought, "oh, so that's how you do it." Which is definitively NOT how you should do it. I had forgotten how unbelievably awkward and comical the whole thing was. Or maybe it was because they shot it so close up, their heads were the entire movie screen, and it was just more noticeable.

As an aside, that scene was filmed in post production because audiences didn't like the fact the two of them never actually hooked up in the original cut. And they had to show it in silhouette because they both looked different, Kelly had lost 15 lbs and had somewhat different hair, and Tom had long hair because he was filming The Color of Money. But even with those constraints they managed to fail to make a compelling love scene while having two of the unquestionably most attractive people on earth at that time. It seems like it would be as easy as making Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and they burned it.

As another aside, they also put Maverick back in theaters and I watched that also. I love the original more because it literally was my youth, and there's a nostalgia there that just can't be beat. But Maverick was a better movie overall. It was stunning. I had seen that one in theaters when it came out. I could do a whole write up on Maverick, but I'll leave just these short points:
- All movies should go back to as many practical effects as possible. Rockie in Project Hail Mary being a puppet was the right call, very little CGI/Green Screen in Maverick made it so much more believable. Get rid of the CGI slop.
- Jennifer Connolly is great. And I want her house, her boat, and her Porsche.
- Ed Harris vs. Tom Cruise was dynamite in the one scene they shared together.
- I don't know how they did it, but Miles Teller looks just like Anthony Edwards. Which I wouldn't have guessed going into the movie.
- I think Tom's guns are bigger and more defined in this movie than in the original. Which is bananas.

 

[Mickalino]

1. Jaws. the shark isn't seen for the first 1:20 of the movie. You're terrified of it. You never see it. The soundtrack IS the shark. Spielberg used the "shark view," so the shark's POV under the water plus the soundtrack to replace having to actually show Bruce. Because the more of Bruce there was, the less believable a mechanical shark was going to be.

Very true.
Unfortunately though, in every ensuing sequel, they threw that whole approach out the window, as it became less and less believable with each sequel, to the point where it started out as a horror, but by the time "Jaws 19" came out, it ended as a comedy

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Very true.
Unfortunately though, in every ensuing sequel, they threw that whole approach out the window, as it became less and less believable with each sequel, to the point where it started out as a horror, but by the time "Jaws 19" came out, it ended as a comedy

Wait, there's more than one?

(Yes, I know there's more than one. I might have seen Jaws 2. I seem to remember it being on HBO a lot. But really, there is only one Jaws.)

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I just saw Mandalorian and Grogu.

Milage may very.

I found it immensely disappointing. I haven't been as disappointed in a Star Wars movie since Rise of Skywalker. Wait. That was the last Star Wars movie. So they're batting zero for me for movies since The Last Jedi. Which I loved but was very controversial with the fanbase.

Sigh.

 

[Knightingale]

There are two films that top my list for a cinema viewing. Both because I was too young to see them on a theatre screen at time of release. Jaws is one, Close Encounters is two! I imagine the music conversation at the end would be epic in the theatre.
The Birmingham Symphony Hall often does movies with live orchestras, and we often go. We’ve seen Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Raiders, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Across The Spiderverse. There’s something utterly epic about hearing a live orchestra play the score!

A few years back, on of the parks in Birmingham was doing an outdoor Jaws viewing on the lake, where you watched it while floating in the lake on rubber ring/dingies. (It’s called Jaws on the water) I missed it, but I’ve always thought that would have been awesome!!!

 

[Mickalino]

Wait, there's more than one?

(Yes, I know there's more than one. I might have seen Jaws 2. I seem to remember it being on HBO a lot. But really, there is only one Jaws.)

I hear ya. The original is the classic, and the only one that matters.
Crazy thing about that movie, was my parents had me watch that movie at SIX years old.
If that weren't bad enough, it was while we were AT the beach, for a 1 week beach cottage stay.

The next day, my 6 year old brain didn't want to go anywhere near that water.
All I could think of, then (and to this day !), was that traumatic image of the scene where a diver goes down, and sees a "body-less noggin" bobbing underneath an over-turned boat.

Hope that's not a spoiler for anyone who hasn't seen Jaws during its 50 years !

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I just watched a wonderfully bad movie.
"Thrash" on Netflix.

I really like Phoebe Dynevor of season 1 Bridgerton fame.

However the last couple movies she’s made have been … odd. I’ve been skeptical of giving this a watch.

What made it wonderfully bad?

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Hope that's not a spoiler for anyone who hasn't seen Jaws during its 50 years !

You’ve got to be super careful with Spoilers for a 50 year old movie!

Also, in Titanic, the ship sinks in the end!!!! Don’t tell anybody!

 

[Skinsfan1311]

I really like Phoebe Dynevor of season 1 Bridgerton fame.

However the last couple movies she’s made have been … odd. I’ve been skeptical of giving this a watch.

What made it wonderfully bad?

It's mindless, absurd, ridiculous, predictable and oddly entertaining.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

It's mindless, absurd, ridiculous, predictable and oddly entertaining.

Ok. I’ll put it on the list.

 

[Mickalino]

You’ve got to be super careful with Spoilers for a 50 year old movie!

Also, in Titanic, the ship sinks in the end!!!! Don’t tell anybody!

So, the Titanic sank ?
Shoot, I thought their idea, "We're gonna need a bigger boat" was actually a good one

 

[Ashburn Dave]

I just did something I never thought would be possible. I saw two of my "favorite movies of all time" in theaters for the first time.

1. Jaws. It came out before I was born. It was in theaters for it's 50th anniversary. I was introduced to it in 8th grade when we studied it in a film class. (Hindsight being 20/20, showing Jaws to 8th graders in school was a WILD decision. I loved it. Would certainly not be possible today. But I digress.) I feel in love with it, and watched it many, many times. But always on a small screen. Seeing it with the remastered version was absolutely breathtaking. It all held up. Even the shark (nicknamed Bruce by Spielberg) looked amazing. As a side note, something I learned in my 8th grade film study class which I didn't appreciate as much until this viewing, the shark isn't seen for the first 1:20 of the movie. You're terrified of it. You never see it. The soundtrack IS the shark. Spielberg used the "shark view," so the shark's POV under the water plus the soundtrack to replace having to actually show Bruce. Because the more of Bruce there was, the less believable a mechanical shark was going to be.

Just amazing.

2. Top Gun. It was in theaters last week for it's 40th anniversary. It might be one of my most watched movies ever. It was on HBO daily for most of my childhood. But my parents wouldn't let me see it in the theater (I was 10). My goodness. It was absolutely amazing. It all held up. You didn't really even realize you were watching a 40 year old movie, except with the 80's hair on the (very few) ladies in the movie.


Two things stood out:
- The Top Gun Gong in a theater was mind blowing. I could listen to it all day long.
- Val Kilmer's acting choices were absolutely insane. The teeth mashing, sniffing, snorting, whatever. It was a wild performance. If I had to guess, I think it was an altered performance in some way. But it was also perfect in every way.
- The plane flying and action sequences are as good as anything produced today with the CGI slop they use.
- A very young Meg Ryan stole every scene she was in, "Hey Goose you big stud, take me to bed or lose me forever" remains one of the best delivered lines in the history of cinema.
- Anthony Edwards was amazing.
- The love scene between Cruise and McGillis taught an entire generation (which was my generation) absolutely terrible kissing/make out technique. I think the direction must have been "ok, lie down and eat her face, but gently." A whole generation of young adults saw that, because it was one of the most seen movies of all time, and thought, "oh, so that's how you do it." Which is definitively NOT how you should do it. I had forgotten how unbelievably awkward and comical the whole thing was. Or maybe it was because they shot it so close up, their heads were the entire movie screen, and it was just more noticeable.

As an aside, that scene was filmed in post production because audiences didn't like the fact the two of them never actually hooked up in the original cut. And they had to show it in silhouette because they both looked different, Kelly had lost 15 lbs and had somewhat different hair, and Tom had long hair because he was filming The Color of Money. But even with those constraints they managed to fail to make a compelling love scene while having two of the unquestionably most attractive people on earth at that time. It seems like it would be as easy as making Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and they burned it.

As another aside, they also put Maverick back in theaters and I watched that also. I love the original more because it literally was my youth, and there's a nostalgia there that just can't be beat. But Maverick was a better movie overall. It was stunning. I had seen that one in theaters when it came out. I could do a whole write up on Maverick, but I'll leave just these short points:
- All movies should go back to as many practical effects as possible. Rockie in Project Hail Mary being a puppet was the right call, very little CGI/Green Screen in Maverick made it so much more believable. Get rid of the CGI slop.
- Jennifer Connolly is great. And I want her house, her boat, and her Porsche.
- Ed Harris vs. Tom Cruise was dynamite in the one scene they shared together.
- I don't know how they did it, but Miles Teller looks just like Anthony Edwards. Which I wouldn't have guessed going into the movie.
- I think Tom's guns are bigger and more defined in this movie than in the original. Which is bananas.

Jaws impacted me more than any other movie ever. As a youth a bunch of us would swim out as far as we could with a tennis ball. Then one of us would throw the ball as far as we could even further out. Whoever got the ball, got to throw it next. Whoever didn't get it was chicken of course. This was Myrtle beach before Jaws came out.

Nobody played that dare game after watching Jaws. Nope, never again.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Jaws impacted me more than any other movie ever. As a youth a bunch of us would swim out as far as we could with a tennis ball. Then one of us would throw the ball as far as we could even further out. Whoever got the ball, got to throw it next. Whoever didn't get it was chicken of course. This was Myrtle beach before Jaws came out.

Nobody played that dare game after watching Jaws. Nope, never again.

I think I read somewhere there was a beach town that wanted to sue the movie studio because people didn't want to go into the water.

The first time you see the Shark is when it pops up behind the boat and Roy Schneider is looking the other way. And then backs into the cabin and says "we're going to need a bigger boat." The camera work is astounding. You only see Bruce for like 3 seconds, and it feels like 5 minutes.

I guess I was lucky, I didn't see it until I was older and understood it was just a movie. I think I was probably 12 or 14.

Just a ridiculously well made, terrifying movie.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Speaking of Spielberg, he had 2 runs which are possibly unmatched, and might never be matched, in movie history:

Run 1:
1975 - Jaws
1977 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1979 - 1941 (a rare clunker)
1981 - Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982 - E.T.

That's pretty damn amazing. But then a few years later:
1993 - Jurassic Park
1993 - Schindler's List
1997 - The Lost World: Jurassic Park (meh)
1997 - Amistad (pretty good but not the best)
1998 - Saving Private Ryan
1999 - The unfinished story (I don't think I've ever seen this one)
2001 - A.I.
2002 - Minority Report
2002 - Catch me if you can

It's just banger after banger after banger.

I think the first run is better, but man oh man. Run 2 is great too.

 

[Ashburn Dave]

Speaking of Spielberg, he had 2 runs which are possibly unmatched, and might never be matched, in movie history:

Run 1:
1975 - Jaws
1977 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1979 - 1941 (a rare clunker)
1981 - Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982 - E.T.

That's pretty damn amazing. But then a few years later:
1993 - Jurassic Park
1993 - Schindler's List
1997 - The Lost World: Jurassic Park (meh)
1997 - Amistad (pretty good but not the best)
1998 - Saving Private Ryan
1999 - The unfinished story (I don't think I've ever seen this one)
2001 - A.I.
2002 - Minority Report
2002 - Catch me if you can

It's just banger after banger after banger.

I think the first run is better, but man oh man. Run 2 is great too.

Jaws almost ruined Spielberg's career due to filming issues they had with their studio being 10 miles out to sea.

Spielberg's first run is more impressive to me.

I can't watch Saving Private Ryan anymore either. The knife scene where the German slowly stabs the American while shushing him, I'd like to get that one out of my head. I haven't seen Schindler's List, not sure why I haven't either.

Minority Report is sneaky good.

 

[Boone]

I don't know what's worse, making out during Schindler's List or never seeing it at all, lol...

 

[Henry]

I saw The Mandalorian. I liked the show. It was like the show. It was fine.

An epic, generation-defining space opera it was not, and that was ok with me.

Jaws was a movie that terrified me as a child. As an adult I learned to really appreciate just how amazing the movie really was. Spielberg is just such a fantastic director. Even casual dialogue is so precisely and brilliantly put together on the screen. As an old man, Jaws is one of those movies I put on when I get into bed to help me fall asleep. I've seen it so many times, it's like a warm blanket.

Saving Private Ryan and Schinlder's List were both incredible movies. I haven't seen either in years. I haven't seen Schindler's list since my kids were born. It is one of the best movies I've ever seen and I will never watch it again.