Current movie thread

[PrincessMommy]

I saw Colossal today, on my son's recommendation. I enjoyed it very much. 

 

I can't say a whole lot about the plot without potentially spoiling things, but I found it appealingly twisty. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics like it better than audiences (79% vs. 65%), and the audience reviews are pretty sharply divided between half stars from folks who found the movie slow/confusing/worst movie ever and four-five stars from people who appreciated the quirky originality and use of metaphor.

 

I'm distinctly in the second group. 

 

I've not heard of this one but I like quirky so I'll have to check it out.

[Garga]

Colossal sounds fun. I'd love to see it, but it's not at the theaters near me. We're not exactly in the boonies, but we're far enough away from a big city that our smallish theaters don't have enough screens for everything that comes out.

[FaithManor]

Saw G of G2 last week. I liked the first one. Lots of fun. Uhm....I won't say anything that will be spoilers. My boys liked it, and I was very MEH! I have never seen Prometheus, and eldest ds says I won't like Aliens C at all, so I think I will take a pass on that one.

[Joules]

I went to see Baywatch today.  All by myself, as in a 200 person theater all by myself.  I like The Rock and was hoping it would be a gem like Central Intelligence.  It was not.  It has some funny scenes, some self-deprecating humor, and lots of eye candy.  It had too much gross humor for me.

 

It might be better if I was a Baywatch fan.  Maybe I missed some of the inside jokes.  

 

So it might work for you if you were a Baywatch fan or will watch Dwayne Johnson in absolutely anything.

 

Otherwise, if you are craving popcorn and some time alone, it fits the bill.  I would say wait for DVD, but then you would have to eat healthy popcorn at home and not get the two hours alone, so I'm not sure what the point would be.

 

Edited June 1, 2017 by Joules

[bettyandbob]

I will admit last weekend, I also saw Baywatch. Lately I can become a fan of really bad. It seems like David Hasselhoff has cameos in really bad stuff. I enjoyed everything in the Sharknado series to give you an idea of it's do bad it's good that I like.

 

Back to Baywatch. It was cruder than it should have been. That took away from the general entertainment to put it toward just bad. It was still funny to me but definitely going towards the really just bad category instead of it's so bad it's good.

 

Normally that is not a movie I'd pay to see in a theatre and I don't recommend doing do. We were camping at the beach and it was a rainy afternoon. It's rated R so definitely not appropriate for tweens, young teens or younger.

 

I need to see Guardians of the Galaxy, which I expect to be pretty good even though I've heard David Hasselhoff is in that too.

 

Yes, I have veered far away from film as great art....

[Joules]

 

I need to see Guardians of the Galaxy, which I expect to be pretty good even though I've heard David Hasselhoff is in that too.

 

Yes, I have veered far away from film as great art....

 

Yes, Guardian is better, though the references to him are even funnier.

 

As you veer, for a some dark humor and a David Hasselhoff cameo, I have to share this one again:

50 Ways to Say Goodbye

[creekland]

 

I went to see Baywatch today.  All by myself, as in a 200 person theater all by myself.  I like The Rock and was hoping it would be a gem like Central Intelligence.  It was not.  It has some funny scenes, some self-deprecating humor, and lots of eye candy.  It had too much gross humor for me.

 

It might be better if I was a Baywatch fan.  Maybe I missed some of the inside jokes.  

 

So it might work for you if you were a Baywatch fan or will watch Dwayne Johnson in absolutely anything.

 

Otherwise, if you are craving popcorn and some time alone, it fits the bill.  I would say wait for DVD, but then you would have to eat healthy popcorn at home and not get the two hours alone, so I'm not sure what the point would be.

 

 

Thanks for this.  We loved Central Intelligence, so I could easily see myself getting duped.  Baywatch definitely doesn't sound like it's for us, not even on Netflix later.

 

Who has healthy popcorn at home?  Granted it's not real movie theater popcorn, but we still get the super buttered and salted versions.  I don't consider popcorn a health food...

[bettyandbob]

Thanks for this. We loved Central Intelligence, so I could easily see myself getting duped. Baywatch definitely doesn't sound like it's for us, not even on Netflix later.

 

Who has healthy popcorn at home? Granted it's not real movie theater popcorn, but we still get the super buttered and salted versions. I don't consider popcorn a health food...

I do air popcorn at home.

[Joules]

Thanks for this.  We loved Central Intelligence, so I could easily see myself getting duped.  Baywatch definitely doesn't sound like it's for us, not even on Netflix later.

 

Who has healthy popcorn at home?  Granted it's not real movie theater popcorn, but we still get the super buttered and salted versions.  I don't consider popcorn a health food...

I think I saw Central Intelligence because of your review here, so your kind deed has come back around.

[creekland]

I do air popcorn at home.

 

Oh, I assumed there are folks out there who eat it and like it... ;)  I'm just not in that group.  If I want a healthy snack I tend toward hummus or fruit (which we do more than popcorn TBH).  If we make our own popcorn, we still load it down with flavor.  I prefer to totally skip the healthy version (same with potato chips).

[zimom]

I watched Gifted and Snatched this week.  I'm out of town and have too much free time.  Gifted was very good.  Snatched was ok.  I was the only one in the movie theater for Snatched.  Kind of creepy.  I played solitare on my phone, texted my husband throughout the movie.  Guess that tells you that it wasn't keeping my attention enough but most movies don't.  

[Sugarfoot]

We saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Deadmen Tell No Tales last night. It was actually a pretty fun movie. I think it was the third one that I didn't like. I thought it was just too dark, if that makes sense. This one was lighter. I was worried DD10 would hate it/be afraid of it, but she loved it. The main villain was super creepy! It was still pretty gory, but all of my kids have an appreciation for special effects, so they see it from that angle.

 

My kids are mega-Beatles fans, so their favorite part of the movie was "Uncle Jack." ;)

 

 

[Joules]

Went to see Wonder Woman today with ds.  We both really liked it! Gal Gadot was amazing, particularly in playing the different aspects of Diana. She portrays her with so much heart. I love her accent, too, and am ready for her to narrate some audio books :-)

 

I thought this movie was less dark and more full of hope than some other superhero movies.  I mostly prefer the Marvel movies for the humor.  WW had some, but I would say it was more heart and action.

 

I really hope this will encourage more female superhero movies.  I'm still sulking that we don't have a Black Widow movie yet.  And Captain Marvel isn't out until 2019!

[Lady Marmalade]

We saw Pirates this afternoon.  It was a great movie!  Usual pirate violence, but it was not near as dark as the previews were making it out to be.  Yes, the bad guy was pretty bad, but his effects were really cool and the violence wasn't like blood and guts all over.   Just the usual pirate stabby-stabby and cannonfire.

 

Lots of laughter and tears at the end.  (Though, the end credits scene was a snoozer. )  I think they tied up the series perfectly- gave it a little bow and everything.   We would go see it again.  

[Joules]

We saw Pirates yesterday and really enjoyed it.  Much more of the fun of the originals!  I agree with Lady Marmalade that the tie-up was great, and I could have done without the end credits scene.

 

BTW, if you are just following this thread and not the board...there is a whole thread on Wonder Woman:

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/647786-wonder-woman-anyone/

 

[Lady Marmalade]

Went and saw Wonder Woman this afternoon.  

 

Wow, it was SO much more than I was expecting. Totally agree with Joules- there was so much heart there.  I found myself tearing up in some of the strangest places.   

 

Both teens also really liked it.  There was a lot of violence (I mean, superhero movie, there will be a lot) but nothing gross or gruesome or up close.  I loved her lasso.  :)   I would equate it with Star Wars violence. Though, there was more than one discussion about how babies are made, so parents walking that line might want to preview the movie before allowing a tween to see it.  

 

I left the theater really hoping that Wonder Woman will get her own trilogy.  

[Garga]

Two weeks ago I saw Alien Covenant. I liked it, but then again, I like everything.

 

It's rated R because there is a lot of violence and gore. It got so-so reviews but I don't know why, as I didn't read the reviews. I don't know much about Alien movies, so I'm not sure what other viewers were expecting. Perhaps when compared to other Alien movies it was a dud. Perhaps it veered from what the fans were expecting, but I just don't know because I'm not an Alien "fan." I was just out to see the movie.

 

My review: It was predictable. It followed the path that all monster/alien movies follow: the people unsuspectingly wander into a place where there's a monster/alien, and it proceeds to pick them off one by one. You hope that the last couple of people will be able to stop the monster/alien once and for all. In movies like this, sometimes they stop the monster/alien and sometimes they don't. I won't give any spoilers as to whether this group stops the alien or not.

 

There is an android in the movie and there were two copies of him. One good, one suspicious. I was pretty sure there would be scenes where we weren't sure if we were dealing with Good Android or Suspicious Android. There were.

 

All in all, if you like a monster movie, I would think you'd like this one.

Edited June 16, 2017 by Garga

[Bluegoat]

Two weeks ago I saw Alien Covenant. I liked it, but then again, Ilike everything.

 

It's rated R because there is a lot of violence and gore. It go so-so reviews but I don't know why, as I didn't read the reviews. I don't know much about Alien movies, so I'm not sure what other viewers were expecting. Perhaps when compared to other Alien movies it was a dud. Perhaps it veered from what the fans were expecting, but I just don't know because I'm not an Alien "fan." I was just out to see the movie.

 

My review: It was predictable. It followed the path that all monster/alien movies follow: the people unsuspectingly wander into a place where there's a monster/alien, and it proceeds to pick them off one by one. You hope that the last couple of people will be able to stop the monster/alien once and for all. In movies like this, sometimes they stop the monster/alien and sometimes they don't. I won't give any spoilers as to whether this group stops the alien or not.

 

There is an android in the movie and there were two copies of him. One good, one suspicious. I was pretty sure there would be scenes where we weren't sure if we were dealing with Good Android or Suspicious Android. There were.

 

All in all, if you like a monster movie, I would think you'd like this one.

 

Did you see Prometheus - AC is is meant to directly follow it.  I'm not a fan of the Alien movies, but I found Prometheus interesting.

[Garga]

This past Tuesday night I saw Wonder Woman with my friends, and then I saw it again on Wednesday morning with my sons. (They didn't want to go with my friends. ). I was considering napping through it on Wed, but I liked it so much that I stayed awake, even though I'd seen it less than 12 hours before.

 

I very much enjoyed this movie. I keep thinking of a few scenes over and over in my mind, and to me, that's a sign that it's a good movie.

 

Another poster said that they talk about how babies are made and they do. It doesn't really give anything away, but Wonder Woman's background goes back to ancient Greece, so there is a myth about how she was created out of clay by her mother and given life by Zeus. She has lived her entire life on a protected island with only other Amazon women. Later a character says that babies are made in different ways now and she is dismissive and says something like, "You're referring to reproductive biology; yes, I know all about that." He says something along the lines of, "Well, there's more to it than that..." She says something like, "You mean the pleasures of the flesh? Yes, I've read so-and-so's 12 volume treatise on pleasure." She tells him he wouldn't want to read them because it says that while men are necessary for reproduction, when it comes to pleasure they are unnecessary.

 

The thing is, the above conversation isn't flirtatious or wink-wink-nudge-nudge. She's just met a man for the first time ever and told him she was made of clay and given life by Zeus and he's taken aback by it and is telling her that that's not how it's done anymore. She is very naive and maybe a little defensive about her naivety (or clueless about it) and thinks she knows all there is to know. She's giving him the information in a very matter of fact manner. I wouldn't be uncomfortable having kids watch it at all.

 

There is a scene where WW and the man need to sleep on a little boat and he makes a point of moving away from her to sleep in an uncomfortable spot on the bottom of the boat. Again, very matter of factly she says, "Why won't you sleep here? There is plenty of room." He says something about not wanting to presume, and in the end he sleeps next to her, but again, there is no seduction involved. There is no indication that there is anything inappropriate going on. She's naive and practical and why should he sleep on the boards when the bed area is big enough for two. He is a little uncomfortable (it's 1919 after all), but it's not a sexualized scene.

 

As someone else said, there is a lot of heart. WW does what she does out of love and I kinda like that they showed her as a strong woman, yet very nurturing. She *cares* about people. She loves them. She is a protector, but in a feminine way, and not like a male protector. I really liked it that the nurturing aspect of women was used as her strength. She didn't have to drop her nurturing/loving nature in order to fight the bad guys. She didn't have to act tough. She could be soft emotionally and strong physically at the same time.

Edited June 16, 2017 by Garga

[Garga]

Thought I'd share for fun:

 

When I saw the Alien movie, my friend and I were the only two people in the theater. She had almost cancelled on me. It would have been super creepy to watch that movie totally alone in the theater. It was bad enough with just me and one other person.

[Garga]

Tonight was 47 Meters Down. It's just what you'd expect. The previews give you a good snapshot of what the movie is like.

 

It was a good-enough hour and a half shark movie. Not the best movie ever. There were some plot holes that were there just to add to the tension that didn't make sense. If you go to it just for the fun of watching sharks swimming around and scaring people, it was fun. But if you expect a watertight (ha! A pun!) plot, then you'll be disappointed.

 

It was fun in a theater because it's an action (well...mostly suspense) movie with giant sharks so the big screen is nice, but I wouldn't want to pay full price for it. Good for a matinee in the summer on a lazy afternoon.

Edited June 28, 2017 by Garga

[creekland]

Just saw Wonder Woman tonight.  Y'all are right.  It's a good movie... I'm not fond of Super Hero movies overall, but they blended this one in quite well so it worked for me.  Hubby and middle son liked it too - they are Super Hero movie fans.

 

Apparently my history classes were a little short on WWI though.   :lol:

[Stacia]

Ds & I went to see Baby Driver today. We both loved it. Thumbs up from us.

 

I knew absolutely nothing about it prior to going. Ds said the writer had picked the music first, then written a movie to go around it. I knew Kevin Spacey was in it. That's all.

 

Excellent. Has a rating of 8.3 on imdb & ratings in the 90s on rottentomatoes. Turns out the writer/director is Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, etc...). If you like car chases, this is your movie. (Supposedly almost no CGI or green screens used for those scenes either.) R rating.

 

[PrincessMommy]

Ds & I went to see Baby Driver today. We both loved it. Thumbs up from us.

 

I knew absolutely nothing about it prior to going. Ds said the writer had picked the music first, then written a movie to go around it. I knew Kevin Spacey was in it. That's all.

 

Excellent. Has a rating of 8.3 on imdb & ratings in the 90s on rottentomatoes. Turns out the writer/director is Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, etc...). If you like car chases, this is your movie. (Supposedly almost no CGI or green screens used for those scenes either.) R rating.

 

 

 

I keep hearing it is a good movie, but it's just not my type of movie.  I should probably have dh take our son to see it but ds is leaving today for 2 week camp.  

 

Curious about why the R rating - violence and language? 

Edited July 15, 2017 by PrincessMommy

[PrincessMommy]

I really want to go see The Hero with Sam Elliot but it's still not playing very close to me.   Has anyone seen it.  

[Stacia]

Curious about why the R rating - violence and language?

Yes

[Lady Marmalade]

Thank you for the Baby Driver review! It was one we really wanted to see and then when I went to buy tickets I saw that it had an R rating.  Boo.  We went and saw Cars 3 instead, which was great fun, but it wasn't what we'd planned to see.

 

We'll still wait to see it at home, but language and violence we can tolerate for the right movie.

 

Two weeks ago we saw Spiderman:Homecoming and we all really enjoyed it.   I think that Tom Holland nails Spiderman- I thought that when he showed up in Civil War.

 

I wouldn't take a child under the age of maybe 8.  There were quite a few young ones in the theater with us and they got really bored and squirmy.  The child right next to me kept asking if it was time to leave.  Just a little too much "story" for the young ones, as well as some language and vocabulary that you might not want a child to add to their personal library.

 

We'll probably go see it again next week. 

[Lady Marmalade]

BTW, Cars 3 was just as good as the first one.  I think with the second one the story got a little too mature and strange, but this one had a really sweet story, and plenty of silliness that kept us laughing.   Good for all ages for sure.

 

Be sure and stay until the end.  We did not and afterwards learned that there was an end credit scene. 

[freeindeed]

I'd like some opinions on "The Big Sick" if anyone goes to see it. I'm interested, but I want to know if I should pay theater price or wait for it to come to Redbox.

[Laura in CA]

I just saw "The Beguiled" – definitely deserves its R rating (and I usually shy away from R-rated movies, but I am currently on a Civil War kick and was intrigued by the premise, plus I always like Colin Farrell  :001_wub:  and Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst), but it's more for suspense and implied gore (Civil-War-era surgery techniques, for example) than for steaminess. Beautifully shot on location in Louisiana. I'm toying with seeing it again, but it was suspenseful and creepy enough (more than I expected) that I'm not sure ... If that's your cup of tea, you might enjoy it. I'm glad I saw it, but it was definitely intense. There is also a 1971 version starring Clint Eastwood that looks even more intense, so although my hubby wants to see that version, I think I'll pass. :) 

[Joules]

I'd like some opinions on "The Big Sick" if anyone goes to see it. I'm interested, but I want to know if I should pay theater price or wait for it to come to Redbox.

 

I want to see this, too.  I want dh to take me for a date night, but I want to make sure he'll like it.  Anyone?

[gingersmom]

I want to see this, too. I want dh to take me for a date night, but I want to make sure he'll like it. Anyone?

I just saw it today with my 17 yo son and 20 yo daughter. We all loved it.

[creekland]

I just saw it today with my 17 yo son and 20 yo daughter. We all loved it.

 

Is the R rating for The Big Sick for a lot of swear language or something else?

 

We're debating between this one, Planet of the Apes, or maybe Wish Upon (but that's less likely) for Tuesday.  I don't care for tons of bad language though.  A few words I can live with, but not multiple and continual.

[gingersmom]

No bad language that stands out to me. Some one night stand sequences but not much else. No nudity that I recall.

[creekland]

No bad language that stands out to me. Some one night stand sequences but not much else. No nudity that I recall.

 

Thanks!  That sounds reasonable for our standards in what we like to watch.

 

This could very well be our last "Movie Day" with middle son, so I'm thinking we'll let him pick... then hubby and I can catch the other one sometime on our own.

[Garga]

We have the exchange student with us, so for our Tuesday night movies, we've let him pick. :)

 

We saw Spiderman and Cars 3. We all loved Spiderman. There was a lot of light humor in it and it had plenty of story for me. I'm not a fan of non-stop action scenes; I like a lot of story.

 

Cars 3 felt a lot like the first one in tone. I expected to take a little siesta during it because that's what I did with Cars 2, but I stayed awake, though I'm not a fan of animated movies.

[Scarlett]

Dh and I went with friends to see Planet of the Apes. We all enjoyed it.

[Joker]

We saw Spider Man last weekend and Planet of the Apes this weekend. Loved Spider Man (love Tom Holland)! Planet of the Apes was good but I think our expectations were too high. We really enjoyed the first two and, while this one was good, it wasn't our favorite.

 

We're planning on seeing Valerian next weekend. It looks like one that will be good to see in 3D at a theater. 

 

We're waiting to watch Wonder Woman when it's released to watch at home. 

[creekland]

Thanks everyone, I'm definitely appreciating people's thoughts - pros and cons.  We don't see that much, so want to direct our $$ as best we can toward what we think we'll like and save the "not so sures" for Netflix.

[Stacia]

I went again to see Baby Driver last night with a friend of mine who edits video for a living (for television). I knew she would love the editing as it was very tightly filmed & edited to match the music. Many times the actors are moving in time to the music (walking, lifting things, etc...). Fun action movie that was lots of fun to see in a packed theater. (Friend & I had to sit in the 3rd row.)

 

And, for me, it's extra fun as it is set in Atlanta (home) & is recognizably Atlanta. Not just in scenery, but also the smaller things (sayings, music scene, cars, cars, & more cars -- along with psychotic driving, lol). It *feels* like Atlanta.

 

Ds told me they've released the first 6 minutes of the movie (opening scene). Takes place during the length of one song. Watch for the timing with the music. Great stunt driving. If you like this 6-minute clip, you will like the movie.

 

 

[creekland]

We did end up watching The Big Sick today... and wished we hadn't bothered.  Totally too much swearing throughout the movie for Creekland's family, so that set a bad vibe from the beginning - a vibe that didn't end.  We love clean comedy - this was neither.  It's a drama, not a comedy (if we had to classify it).  There were a few funny lines in it - even some we repeated and laughed at on the way home, so if the language issue doesn't bother you, you might like it, but expect a drama with a few funny lines, not a comedy that also has a plot.  There's far more swearing (the "f" word being the most common) than comedy.

 

The cultural clash part was done well, but also quite predictable TBH.  

 

Otherwise, the movie just seemed incredibly long with an occasional cute spot or two in it.  If I had it to do over again we definitely wouldn't have paid to see it in a theater (not even on $5 Tuesdays) and it wouldn't even make a top pick for Netflix for our tastes.

 

To put the swearing into context with other movies... we were ok with what was in The Martian - esp how it actually fit into the movie, didn't care for the beginning of Good Will Hunting, but thought the rest was good, and even tolerated what was in Argo.  Then of course, we tolerate what's in "typical" movies so they can get the rating they want or show they are "with it" or whatever reason they toss some in where it doesn't seem to belong.  But having it throughout the movie as this one does... it's not us.  Not at all.  All three of us left rather disappointed.  Not many were in our theater (maybe 10 others?).  Four seemed to enjoy it.  The rest never said a word except for one couple saying, "Oh well" as they left in a tone that made me think they didn't care for it if they were talking about the movie (probably were).

 

I'm honestly surprised it gets as much in positive ratings as it does TBH, but that just goes to show "Different Strokes for Different Folks."  It's not the first "popular" movie we haven't liked.  Avatar rings a bell (but for different reasons - I don't recall Avatar having much swearing).

 

YMMV  Just sharing our thoughts.  Win some, lose some.  This one goes in our "loss" column.  It might go in your "win" column if you like slow predictable dramas and don't mind the swearing issue.

[Garga]

Just got back from Baby Driver. It got high reviews, but I wasn't sure I would like it even with the high reviews. Sometimes movies get high reviews from their target audience but everyone else who isn't in the target audience won't like it.

 

That's what happened here.

 

We took our 17 year old exchange student and he said it was a pretty good movie and he liked it. My 36 yo friend and my 44 yo self both thought it was meh. 17 year old boys are clearly the target audience and 36/44 year old women are not. :)

 

To me, most of it seemed forced. For instance, somewhere near the beginning the main character is listening to music with earbuds while he walks down the street and is dancing around and acting out the music as he walks. I think he was supposed to look cool, but I thought he looked a little goofy. The whole thing felt a little off to me and not believable.

 

It was R for violence and language, but not for nudity or tea.

 

I didn't much like it, but since I go to the movies 52 times a year, I'm ok if I see a dud from time to time. It was a dud for me, but my student had fun watching it, so I was happy he was happy.

Edited July 19, 2017 by Garga

[Jenny in Florida]

We took our 17 year old exchange student and he said it was a pretty good movie and he liked it. My 36 yo friend and my 44 yo self both thought it was meh. 17 year old boys are clearly the target audience and 36/44 year old women are not. :)

 

Yeah, I keep hearing about this one, so I watched the clip linked above. If that's representative of the movie, I can see that my son might dig it, but this 50-ish woman isn't the target audience, either.

[creekland]

Just got back from Baby Driver. It got high reviews, but I wasn't sure I would like it even with the high reviews. Sometimes movies get high reviews from their target audience but everyone else who isn't in the target audience won't like it.

 

That's what happened here.

 

We took our 17 year old exchange student and he said it was a pretty good movie and he liked it. My 36 yo friend and my 44 yo self both thought it was meh. 17 year old boys are clearly the target audience and 36/44 year old women are not. :)

 

To me, most of it seemed forced. For instance, somewhere near the beginning the main character is listening to music with earbuds while he walks down the street and is dancing around and acting out the music as he walks. I think he was supposed to look cool, but I thought he looked a little goofy. The whole thing felt a little off to me and not believable.

 

It was R for violence and language, but not for nudity or tea.

 

I didn't much like it, but since I go to the movies 52 times a year, I'm ok if I see a dud from time to time. It was a dud for me, but my student had fun watching it, so I was happy he was happy.

 

Glad you posted this.  This was middle son's second choice and I doubt we'd have liked it any better than his first, esp if there was as much bad language in it.  (Though few movies we watch have as much bad language as The Big Sick - pretty much every conversation - multiple times.)

[Joules]

 

 

And, for me, it's extra fun as it is set in Atlanta (home) & is recognizably Atlanta. Not just in scenery, but also the smaller things (sayings, music scene, cars, cars, & more cars -- along with psychotic driving, lol). It *feels* like Atlanta.

 

 

I love seeing all of the movies filmed in the Atlanta area nowadays.  Ds is at Georgia State and I volunteer down there a good bit, so most of the settings were very familiar.  They use campus quite a bit, because ds gets notices about which sidewalks and roads are closed for filming regularly.  I've got to think it's a huge boon to the film department there.

 

(I grew up fascinated with movie filming, because I was right in the midst of the filming of Smoky and the Bandit and thought it was the coolest thing ever...)

 

Another bit a trivia about Baby Driver that I didn't know before, but makes so much sense in hindsight: It was written and directed by Edgar Wright (from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz).

[creekland]

Has anyone seen Valerian yet?  I just finished reading about it and looking at the ratings... sometimes we Creeklanders don't really like the "top" movies (Avatar, The Big Sick, etc) and prefer some of these middling ones...  I'm wondering if this will be one them.  We also can like movies solely for the special effects even if the actual movie is rather blah (like San Andreas).  Is it worth a $5 Tuesday?

[creekland]

ps  Did Baby Driver have a scene in the GA Aquarium?  When we were there they had a section mostly closed off to film "A Major Film," but wouldn't tell us what it was...  This was just back in Feb, so seems too close to the release, but then again, I'm not up on how long it takes from filming to release, so figured I'd ask.

[Stacia]

ps Did Baby Driver have a scene in the GA Aquarium? When we were there they had a section mostly closed off to film "A Major Film," but wouldn't tell us what it was... This was just back in Feb, so seems too close to the release, but then again, I'm not up on how long it takes from filming to release, so figured I'd ask.

No.

 

After Hollywood, GA is (I think) the biggest spot in the US for filming & production. There are many movies filmed around here. Dd goes to a local university & there are various times throughout the year there are crews filming different things. I am guessing what you saw will be for a movie that comes out in 2018 (or later).

Edited July 30, 2017 by Stacia

[Mothersweets]

Just got back from Baby Driver. It got high reviews, but I wasn't sure I would like it even with the high reviews. Sometimes movies get high reviews from their target audience but everyone else who isn't in the target audience won't like it.

 

That's what happened here.

 

We took our 17 year old exchange student and he said it was a pretty good movie and he liked it. My 36 yo friend and my 44 yo self both thought it was meh. 17 year old boys are clearly the target audience and 36/44 year old women are not. :)

 

To me, most of it seemed forced. For instance, somewhere near the beginning the main character is listening to music with earbuds while he walks down the street and is dancing around and acting out the music as he walks. I think he was supposed to look cool, but I thought he looked a little goofy. The whole thing felt a little off to me and not believable.

 

It was R for violence and language, but not for nudity or tea.

 

I didn't much like it, but since I go to the movies 52 times a year, I'm ok if I see a dud from time to time. It was a dud for me, but my student had fun watching it, so I was happy he was happy.

 

I felt the same way. My teens, however, loved it. 

[Mothersweets]

I'm surprised to not find Dunkirk mentioned yet! We saw it last week and  liked it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-eMt3SrfFU

 

It is directed by Christopher Nolan so the timeline jumps around a bit (and is a bit confusing at first) but is really very well done and it gave me a good understanding of the fear, boredom, terror, etc. that the troops must have felt while waiting to be evacuated.

 

I think there should have been a little more explanation of what was actually happening  - if I hadn't already known what happened at Dunkirk (thank you Mrs. Miniver and many years of homeschooling :) ) I would have been confused. 

 

Not everyone in my group liked it. One of my young adult sons hated it and ranted for a good 10 minutes about all that he thought was wrong with the film. :)

 

It's PG-13 for war violence and a little language, no s&x or gore. My 10yo dd saw it with us and I didn't have any cringing moments. 

 

OH! and Harry Styles is in it, too, my daughters were excited to see him in this. :) As well as Kenneth Branagh, James Darcy, Tom Hardy, and Mark Rylance. 

Edited July 30, 2017 by Mothersweets