What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

[Cartagia]

Coherence - Does a whole lot with very little. A big ole tangled web of plot twists and turns that mostly make sense, and a couple that probably don't. Really appreciate the ambition on such a tiny budget.

Eurovision Song Contrst: The Story of Fire Saga - Trim this down to no more than 110 minutes, and it's 3.5 stars. Get Will Ferrell to do anything other than his sketch persona and it's an easy 4. McAdams out funnies him in every scene because she has a better grasp on the tone than he does.

Highlander - It's a concept that begs for a better movie, but at the same time the pure 80s cheese is what makes it so watchable.

Decision at Sundown - It is a bit claustrophobic with a story that feels a bit like a stage play and not like a typical Western. Even though it doesn't have the sweeping vistas that you'd expect, the performances are solid and it's not just white hats vs black hats. Really been enjoying Randolph Scott in these Ranown titles.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - I'm like 90% sure that the movie is in on the joke, but it's so problematic that 10% of uncertainty casts a really heavy pall over the whole thing.

Fight Club - It's a rare thing when a satire gets its subject matter so right that the targets of the satire think it is an endorsement of their behavior. Also Brad Pitt hot.

Heat - Been a long time.  Still great.  Really noticed how good the score is this time.

Frankenstein (2025) - Stretches itself thin with the visual effects more often than I expected. Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi each give very good - and very different- performances. Kinda wish we spent less time with Frankenstein and more with the creature.

Buchanan Rides Alone - My favorite of these so far.  Really enjoyed just how comically corrupt the small town was.  Love that trope.

Mary Poppins - Gonna be honest here, it could use more Mary Poppins. She's sorely missed in the back half.

[Cartagia]

Roman Holiday - Totally delightful picture.  Really easy to see why this was a huge breakout for Audrey Hepburn.

The Fugitive - An absolutely pitch perfect first act, and everything that comes after is good as hell, too.

Ride Lonesome - It's really wild just how much plot these Ranown Westerns manage to cram into a 75 minute runtime.  And all while feeling well-characterized and not overstuffed.

My Fair Lady - It's a stunning musical production (even if there's not enough dancing for my taste).  But.  BUT. What is with how horrible 80% of the characters are?  It really only works these days if you read Professor Higgins as a closeted homosexual who is resentfully grooming his beard.  I'm tempted to call the runtime egregious since you spend so much time with these asshats, but three hours goes by quick.

The Running Man (2025) - Definitely the bottom of Edgar Wright's ouerve but still a fun enough action flick.  Pretty messy script.  Felt more like a condensed mini-series than a movie.

Hacksaw Ridge - Pretty much follows the historical biopic playbook to the letter.  It's well put-together, but just feels slight on the characterization front for everyone except for Doss.  Also wasn't nearly a visceral aa I was expecting based on the reputation.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues - Its not embarrassingly bad or anything, but it's definitely missing the spark that the original had.

Back to the Future - Did the whole trilogy yesterday, just for fun.  I love all three of these films.

Taken - Absolutely hobbled by two main issues. The first is the screenplay. Any line of dialogue that isn't directly related to Liam Neeson figuring out where is daughter has been taken is an absolute clunker. Second, the lack of a R-rating (even though this was Unrated Version). The movie feels too light for how heinous what is happening actually is.

All of the Neeson on the hunt stuff is solid, though.

The Sound of Music - Probably my first time watching front to back, but I'd seen loads of scenes and heard lots of songs (a good 75% I think). It's probably because of this disjointed knowledge that I didn't previously realize just how... moody? Dour? Foreboding? The last act is.

Kinda wish the back half wasn't just reprises of songs from the front half. Also, it ends kind of abruptly.

[Cartagia]

Taken 2 - Hot Taken take: better than the first.

Predator: Badlands - I liked this for the most part, but I don't know that the "power of friendship" belongs in Predator.

Taken 3 - Absolutely epileptic editing.  Theres good potential here, in pitting Neeson up against Forest Whitaker, but they don't do anything with it.