The last movie you've seen thread 2016

[DemPGH]

I think it was 2012, but the most recent new movie that I have seen is The Conspirator by Robert Redford. It needs to be seen. It's the depressing account of the hanging of an innocent woman following the Lincoln assassination, and it offers a perspective on the "with us or against us" mentality that applied then and now. Best Civil War era movie I have seen in a long time, maybe since Glory.

[DemPGH]

Reds from 1981. It's a a wonderful, well-written, well-acted bio-drama. Too bad more movies aren't made like that these days.

 
But I digress, there were some other good elements of Sicario that are worth mentioning.  The highlight of the film was definitely Benicio del Toro's performance (easily his best to date), but it's hard to talk too much about why or even his character without spoiling the best part of the movie.  All I'll say is that it's clear from the moment we see him that there is something very dangerous lurking just beneath his calm, quiet demeanor.   

Classic del Toro. When I think of him I think of his performance in Fear and Loathing from 1999.

Gonna see Black Mass this weekend.

Depending upon how that's edited, I think I'd really like to see it. If it's edited so that you get tons and tons of backstory in the first 10 minutes with tons of annoying jump cuts, with shock-value stuff after, I may skip it. If it's paced like a traditional movie, I will absolutely watch it.

[DemPGH]

Sully - Eastwood directing, Tom Hanks the lead (channeling "Houston, we have a problem" magic). You can't go wrong. GREAT realistic disaster drama.

Dolphin Tale 2 - Entertaining, fast moving family drama with a sweet ending. Enjoyed it a lot more than I thought, might have been better than the first. Made me watch Free Willy again for the first time in like 20 years. Haha, Michael Madsen and all those early '90s actors. Good times watching that again.

[DemPGH]

I just watched Kubrick's The Shining last night for the first time since shortly after its release in 1980. I find that it's still a masterpiece of suspense as is Jack Nickolson's portrayal of descent into madness.

What descent? He was already mad to begin with.

That's why Stephen King hated it, because it FAILED at portraying a real descent, there's just so little development of any sort at all...except for maybe Danny.

Also, Wendy was annoying.

See, I totally disagree. Nicholson and Duvall portrayed both characters as on the edge at the beginning, and then the descent started. With Jack, it was his alcoholism, which the isolation of the winter brought to a head, and then the "ghosts" in the hotel/mansion/whatever caused him to just lose it. It could have been all in his head. Kubrick's movie is a masterpiece.

Sully - Eastwood directing, Tom Hanks the lead (channeling "Houston, we have a problem" magic). You can't go wrong. GREAT realistic disaster drama.

Meant to convey that it was really infuriating to watch the whoever-they-were-pencil-pushers give him flack over making a split-second decision that saved every life on that airplane. The movie is really about him having to defend himself for landing the plane successfully in the Hudson, saving all lives aboard and with injuries at a minimum, against the second guessing from the outside. Still, expertly directed and written. Plays like a movie used to. Which is good.