What was the last good movie you watched? What movies are you looking forward to in 2015? What have you been watching recently? Let’s shift gears and talk about movies for a while.
Yesterday, we had the Oscars on in the office for the folks who cover that kind of thing on their website. I was a little bit shocked at just how few movies I had watched in 2014. I hadn’t seen Birdman, hadn’t seen Boyhood. Had seen very few movies that had been nominated to be honest. I think I need to step up my game.
Most of the movies I seem to watch nowadays are animated movies for kids. The good news is most of them are good: How To Train Your Dragon, Big Hero 6, Frozen. It feels as though animated movies are at a very high standard across the board at the moment.
But it’s weird, when it comes time to watch movies about adults for adults, I have a hard time staying awake. I’ve fallen asleep trying to watch Guardians of the Galaxy three times.
What was the last movie I watched that I really liked? Man… maybe Interstellar? I thought that was phenomenal.
Comments
112 responses to “Off Topic: What’s The Last Good Movie You Watched?”
Primer
The LEGO Movie.
I’m really not a massive movie person, I think I’ve been to the cinemas 3 times in the last 3 years (all 3 Hobbit movies)
The only movies I’m looking forward to seeing that I’ll actually go to the cinemas for, is going to be Star Wars Episode VII, and Warcraft.
SPAAAAAACESHIIIIPPPP!!!!
I’m in two minds about the WC movie. I really, really hope it’s going to be excellent, but I’m 95% sure it isn’t… and I’m afraid that if it tanks, it’ll put a massive dent in the chances of big-name game franchises that are ripe for movie adaptations (and kill any chances of them adapting Lord of the Clans into a movie…)
I’m cautiously optimistic.
The Blizzard creative team is heavily involved, they picked a good time in the story to start with, Duncan Jones is a good director, and most of the actors they got are spot-on.
But yes, only time will tell.
A good time in the story being right at the start! I’m not that across the plot leaks, but I think it’s covering the whole Gul’dan / Medivh bromance and the original opening of the dark portal?
I guess they could have gone earlier with the first invasion of the burning legion, or even the corruption of Sargeras, but that strikes me more as prequel territory if the first film is successful.
I rewatched The Grand Budapest Hotel with my parents on Saturday. I still love that film, and I’m glad that it got some recognition.
I’m looking forward to Avengers 2 (Yes, crass populism) and whenever Inherent Vice finally releases here
I almost feel like Wes Anderson could pee on some celluloid and it would be symmetrically beautiful and I’d enjoy watching it.
It’d be bespoke and carefully horizontally composed.
Really though, I think Grand Budapest is the first of his movies that I’ve genuinely enjoyed on more than an aesthetic level. Really really good, I know people will hate me for this.
No, that’s fair. It’s certainly a lot more…riotous? in its humour than some of his others.
Sophisticated slapstick?
There are slapstick components, absolutely. There’s also stuff like the nude painting they hang, which is a straight silly gag
Is that the modern equivalent of a pie in the face?
While it might be humorous his movies all have a deep melancholic undertone and have a double meaning that can really only be explained after a few screenings.
Both great choices from either end if the spectrum 😀
Looking forward to… Tomorrowland? And there was one other but I can’t remember what it was. I just remember seeing a trailer around Superb Owl time and thinking “Yeah, I’d see that.”
Last “good” movie… Well, I enjoyed Gone Girl. Saw that a couple days ago. Before that it was probably Big Hero 6 or Guardians of the Galaxy because I missed seeing Interstellar in cinema. Waiting anxiously for a home media release.
Someone should make a movie called Superb Owl…
You should see Whiplash, its intense.
I’ve had a great run with action movies this week – John Wick and The Equalizer are both quite good, and Kingsman is actually excellent.
I liked Interstellar, but I think it had the same problem as Lucy – fantastic premise that got just a little bit too esoteric for most in the end. I thought it was great, but I think the majority of moviegoers want a story that’s bundled into a neater package.
Just started watching Noise.
Looks like a pretty good Aussie film.
YES!
Last movie I watched that I really enjoyed was Kingsman: The Secret Service.
Edge of Tomorrow is probably the most recent movie that blew my socks off, before that I was pretty surprised by Jack Reacher.
Surprised at how incorrect it was 😛 ?
Surprised at how fun it was to watch 😛
haha i honestly didn’t mind it, however i think they could have casted better. Jack ryan is described as an unstoppable force of a man. not a 5’5 wirely built scientologist 😛
Have you not seen Collateral? Guy can do menacing…
I liked edge of tomorrow too. Something about watching Tom cruse die again and again just apealed to me….
Yeah same here. At first I was skeptical of the casting of Tom Cruise because of how much of a corny action flick Jack Reacher was but it was actually a decent movie to watch.
Birdman. Thought it was fantastic, great music, acting, directing & script.
I also saw Jupiter Ascending, didn’t hate it. Dumb as it gets but a fun adventure story with great concepts, costumes etc. A good introduction to what I hope spawns many fun sequels.
Also, great cameo in film history.
Terry GilliamI really wanna see Star wars & Jurassic World for nostalgic reasons basically. But it’ll be fun to take my son, he’s just old enough this year.
I thought Birdman was good, Edward Norton was great and the camera work made it feel like a seamless experience. However, it was kind of funny when Edward Norton’s character told Michael Keaton’s character off near the start for using too much dialogue, then the movie itself nearly drowned in excessive dialogue to the point I just wanted some characters to just shut the hell up.
Self aware humour
Birdman is insanely good. People tell you its good, and youre aware its going to be good, but then you see it and you realise just how good it is. I think about scenes and moments and their meanings on an almost daily basis ever since.
I’ve been thinking about Channing, what a hunk!
Birdman’s ending is a bit soft and maybe it tries to jam in too many ideas – but it’s hits so many of them so well that all is forgiven. Norton, Stone and Keaton all knock it out the park, and the direction, sound and editing are all so cleverly done. I can’t wait to see it again.
Runners-up: Whiplash is a cracker, and I quite liked NightCrawler where Jake does creepy even better than Carrel’s Du Pont.
Last movie i watched was Blade Runner at a cinema in Melbourne during the weekend 🙂
Last movie I watched was the 1977 Star Wars on 35mm film or Snowpiercer on Netflix. Not sure which was last.
Before that, I think the last thing I watched was “Populaire” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2070776/
Fantastic film.
No, seriously!
1) What’s wrong with you? Guardians of the Galaxy was great. I watched it two times in as many weeks.
2) Birdman looked really interesting. The first I saw of it was a youtube ad, and I actually watched the whole ad, which in itself is amazing, but it was also a pretty long ad (2 minutes or so).
3) The last good movie I watched was Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses. It was amazing.
Last movie I saw at the movies was Interstellar, and it’s the first time in quite a while I’ve seen a movie more than once.
Also watched Edge of Tomorrow recently, that was far superior than my expectations were.
Whiplash is not the most recent film I’ve seen but it is by the far the best I’ve seen in recent times.
Beat me to it! Good job.
Whiplash is fantastic. Hands down the most tense film I’ve ever seen.
Bio Dome
Last great movie i’ve seen was The Shawshank Redemption, that was on the other night, always watch it’s on. One of the best movies ever made.
If you like the movie check out the novella. Better yet, check out the novella as read by Frank Muller on CD. It’s the closest you’ll come to Morgan Freeman narrating the novella to you, and it’s worth the 5 hours runtime.
Guardians of the Galaxy is my favourite Marvel film. How can anyone fall asleep watching it!
I am guilty. Watched it with the gf, fell asleep as soon as it started and woke up to credits. She thought it was awesome.
Gone Girl was the last good one I watched. Interstellar I thought was a bit up its own rear. Space library guitar etc.
Predestination.
This was the last good one I saw too. Loved it!
That was surprisingly compelling!
Probably The Babadook. Wasn’t really expecting much as I’m not a fan of Australian cinema, but thought it was great!
And Tusk was pretty fun, too!
This. The Babadook was absolutely fantastic. As a fan of horror and movies in general. Any horror movie in which you actually care about the well developed characters is truly fantastic.
I find it very hard to find time to watch TV or movies at the moment. But when I do it is usually on foxtel late at night.
So my recent movies are a few years ago, I’m a little behind in recent movies.
I did catch “12 years as a slave” the other night, and I was really impressed. A very moving experience
Before that I watched “The lone survivor” – very action packed
My daughter is 2.5 yo, so just starting to get stuck in animated movies for about 1 hour at a time : ) getting there – some quality animated movies out there
Prometheus, fuck the haters!
I caught Whiplash on a plane last week, and boy oh boy did I love that movie. I highly recommend it to anyone who’s ever wanted to be good at something – so, I guess, everyone should see it.
The one before that was Kevin Smith’s new flick, Tusk. I thought the last three or so movies he put out before his “retirement” were terrible; but since he seriously started smoking pot and not giving a fuck he’s going from strength to strength. I’m really looking forward to the next two True North movies and then, obviously, Clerks 3.
Oh. How did that happen? Oops.
I think the last new film I watched was John Wick. Had a lot of fun with that. I enjoy Keanu Reeves, despite his limited range. The film has some amazingly well choreographed gunplay, and some interesting choices of firearms used in the movie. Some really unique/unusual weapons in there that Hollywood doesn’t tend to use. Little bit of gun porn is always fun.
The Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies was pretty ace too. I have some criticisms of the trilogy, but there’s too much I love about it overall in spite of those issues. Martin Freeman’s Bilbo is amazing. Also, Richard Armitage. Lee Pace. So good.
New films? Probably Furious 7. I love how the series evolved over time. The first two films were just a fun wankfest, but I enjoyed the third. Especially from 5 onwards, they just became fantastic action films. Well made, fantastic car chases and stunts, great casting. Plus Paul Walker. Dwayne Johnson. So much fun.
And the Continental Hotel in John Wick… gawd. I would watch a TV series based around that, no problem. ESPECIALLY if they keep the concierge. His voice and manner! Delectable.
So good. The whole clandestine secret society feel was just great. Also Lance Reddick is fantastic. Loved him in Fringe too.
Fuck management!
Stoker.
John Wick is the most recent film I watched. Not excellent, but alright.
The thing that stood out the most in that one for me was the choreography. The combat style in that movie is quite unusual for normal Hollywood fare. In fact, I think it’s quite video-gamey.
There’s definitely influences from MMA in there, with a lot less standard fighting and way more locks, throws and grapples. The way that the gun fights play out is very reminiscent of shooters, with emphasis on positioning, ADS etc. It never goes first person (thankfully) but I could definitely feel the connection in the way they filmed the sequences.
I can’t remember the last time I watched a full movie. It’s almost like newborn babies have no respect for parents and their desire to watch stuff =_=
I finally saw Foxcatcher on the weekend and thought it was pretty good. Very intense film. I saw Kingsman about a week before that and really enjoyed it. I also watched Snowpiercer recently and thought that was great too!
I try to watch a lot of the nominated films prior to the ceremony. However, this year, due to a combination of being quite busy and never feeling inclined, I have yet to watch American Sniper. I’m happy that Birdman won Best Picture. It’s a pretty unique and engaging film.
Batman: Assault on Arkham. Didn’t have super high hopes for it, but was pleasantly surprised. The dynamics between the characters was good, and gives me hope for the Suicide Squad movie.
Edge of Tomorrow was the last one I watched where I thought ‘wow, that was actually pretty good’. Don’t know why it slipped under radar commercially – poor marketing? didn’t pay off the right critics? But it did tell me one thing, no matter how bonkers he is off screen, Tom Cruise still has it on screen.
Big Hero 6 was the last movie I watched, and I thought it was awesome 🙂
This year I’m really looking forward to Avengers 2, Ant-Man , Jurassic World, Terminator Genisys, and that little indie film called Star Wars: The Force Awakens! 😉
Still not sure on Fantastic Four. The Marvel fanboy in me wants to go see it, but the characters seeming so out of character (Doom as an angry blogger? please…) is putting me off it.
The Drop.
In the last few weeks i’ve seen The Imitation Game, Birdman, Still Alice, Kingsman, Jupiter Ascending and Toy Story at the cinema. First three were all very good (glad to see Julianne Moore recognised for Still Alice, she was excellent in that), Kingsman and Jupiter Ascending were both popcorn fare, neither great nor terrible, though I did like the visual designs and aesthetic in the latter quite a lot.
Of course, Toy Story was the best of the lot. I took my kids to see it at the cinema, 20 years after I saw it myself as a 10 year old. Still stands up.
Birdman was amazing. Might not be everyones cup of tea but damn….that acting, the production, just stellar.
Everytime i hear about that movie i think of the Harvey Birdman cartoon.
I watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade last night. Who needs new movies when movies like this already exist?
Classic.
I recently went to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra doing a live performance of the music from Star Trek, with the movie playing on screen as well. I wish they would do the same with the Indy Movies. I’d be there in a second.
I rewatched Aliens the other night after the announcement of the new movie.
Last good movie I watched that I hadn’t seen before was The Theory of Everything (a little melodramatic, but still highly enjoyable) and The Orphanage.
@markserrels
Ahem: https://twitter.com/Serrels/status/569696345478397952
I don’t think we will ever agree on movies Mark. Interstellar was terrible (at least story/character wise. Visually it was great). At least we have gozleme.Untouchables – love Connery in that.
“Here endeth the lesson”
Spaceballs.
“Now” now?
Citizen Kane, which we all know was “the last good movie” – that’s why it’s so useful to when comparing other popular culture.
Kingsman. Best movie I’ve seen in years.
The Raid 2 blew me away. Most memorable movie I’ve seen recently.
Birdman was good too.
Snowpiercer. Go watch it!
last best movie I watched was Book of Life, it’s super awesome and I can’t wait for it to come out here in cinemas.
Last good non kid movie? Probably Birdman or The Fall. Birdman’s a technically really good movie regarding how they filmed and edited it, The Fall is visually stunning and super colourful and well framed.
I really loved The Fall. Not sure why it got such bad reviews. I thought it was really well done.
Whiplash, such a great movie, great performances and a solid story.
I also loved The Kingsman.
The World’s End is the last movie I raved about. It was awesome.
Otherwise, Winter Soldier caught me completely unaware. That was way better than I expected. Probably my favourite Marvel movie thus far.
Whilst it has a couple of implausible moments, Fury was an excellent WWII tank flick. Also, the extremely awesome Calvary was a recent watch. Brendan Gleeson puts on a great performance.
Big Hero 6
Kingsman, gone Girl, tried to watch birdman but wasn’t for me, watched boyhood, I liked the idea but didn’t really like the film/characters.
Olive Kitteridge and Love Exposure.
For some reason after playing Saints Row 4 for 30 hours I had an uncontrollable urge to watch They Live. You can pick at it for a lot of reasons but I still think it’s a good movie.
I saw Nightcrawler a couple weeks back. Nothing to do with the X-men….But a great film nonetheless.
I also saw Gambit a couple months back. Nothing to do with the X-men….But an OK film nonetheless.
Now I’m on IMDb frantically typing in X-Men character names to see which ones have movies. Who knew Kevin Bacon was Quicksilver?
Man, everyone wants to be Quicksilver these days….
I don’t really go to the cinema much anymore. Last film I saw was great: Guardians of the Galaxy.
Kind of relevant now, but I was keen to see it regardless: Birdman
Cant wait to buy the DVD and check it all out again, it allows the viewer to form their own opinions and stuff which is rare these days.
I went and saw Kingsman: The Secret Service when it came out and loved it. Fantastic movie that I highly recommend.
Elysium.
I’m not a Tom Cruise fan, at all so I put off watching this movie for a very long time.. but I’m glad I finally got around to watching it. That’s the last good movie I watched.
The last “memorable” movie I watched would have to be “Mr Nobody”. If you haven’t seen it and you’re a sci-fi/strange movie lover, then go and watch it ASAP.
Tom Cruise? Isn’t it Matt Damon? You mean Oblivion?
I saw Point Break for the first time the other week – what a great film!
Other good ones I watched recently include The Hunger Games, Guardians of the Galaxy and on TV on Sat night Groundhog Day followed by Top Gun
Taken 3 and Gone Girl
Gone Girl was the last movie I saw, I thought it was very good. I hadn’t seen any of the nominated films, they dont look all that good anyway
Kingsman: The Secret Service. and Birdman were the last 2 movies I saw and really enjoyed
I watched Tropic Thunder yesterday, and it was glorious. Les Goldman is easily my favourite Tom Cruise character but the whole cast just get it spot on.
Also watched Fight Club last night, fantastic movie.
Interstellar. Watched it for the second time the other weekend, at Imax. Still had my mouth agape in awe, love it so much.
I’m not sure what I watched last, might’ve been The World’s End with Simon Pegg & Nick Frost, or it was The Wolf of Wall Street, both on blu-ray. I really liked The World’s End, not the best in the Cornetto Trilogy but a good watch and laugh nonetheless, and The Wolf of Wall Street I saw in the cinemas & loved. Apart from those two I can’t remember what else i’ve watched in recent. I mostly just watch TV shows.
Watched Kingsman 2 weeks ago, fantastic movie, quite hilarious.
Last week, Freya and I went to see The Shining at the local cinema. That movie has some seriously odd moments and the second act drags on forever but there’s no doubt that it is a good movie.
As for more recent movies, Big Hero 6 was so much better than I was expecting it to be. Part of it was that it was exactly the sort of movie I was in the mood for.
Jupiter Ascending
It was a big interesting science fiction, action adventure fantasy film. It doesn’t deserve the hate. It’s no ‘dumber’ than any big budget action film these days. People just collectively decided to shit on it. I quite enjoyed it. It did it’s job, good action, looked great, interesting story. It’s a shame it hasn’t done well enough to spawn sequels. We’ve missed out on some potentially good films from everyone deciding this sucks before they see it.
The reason I mentioned the, ‘no dumber’ bit is because as this is a film people have decided, or that they ‘know’ is terrible before they see it. So much criticism is just nitpicking on a level where every big special effects film these days can be called just as dumb. Yet people give them suspension of disbelief. They don’t with this because they ‘know’ what they think of the film before hand.
All I’d say is, if you like these kind of films, don’t be put off by the bad word. It’s actually entertaining and good to watch.
Also Kingsman was amazing, best film I’ve seen in the cinema in ages. The last act and the buzz I had watching that was something I haven’t experienced in the cinema for a while now.
I signed up to post this as I can’t believe no one else has mentioned it.
GENTLEMEN BRONCOS
Battle stags! Surveillance does’!! Yeast Lords!!! Testicular theft!!!! Jermaine from flight of the conchords!!!. The opening credits are the greatest in cinematic history with old skool sci-fi artwork. Any self respecting sci-fi fantasy geek must see it.
Or if you’re into action check out The Raid Redemption. But seriously watch Gentlemen Broncos asap. You’ll thank me later.
KINGSMAN : SECRET SERVICE 😀 BEAUTIFUL ASS ENDING!
Ha! I was actually coming here to say “Guardians of the Galaxy” and then I read your article.
Although, I feel your struggle. I’ve fallen asleep at least three times trying to watch Gladiator. Some movies you just can’t get in to.
American Sniper i enjoyed the movie but i must say the book is much better.
Probably Guardians of the Galaxy and Interstellar, both of which I saw in the cinema. I just realised how much more TV I watch then movies.
Whiplash. I doubt I’ll ever see another movie where someone performing in a jazz eisteddfod will have me on the edge of my seat!