Last Movie You Watched 2026

[Raule]

And just back. That was an experience. There were moments in the film of absolute silence - haven't seen that (or heard!) that in a cinema since Inception! Hats off to Ryan Gosling for holding that film together: reminded me of how Sandra Bullock did the same in Gravity.

There were people crying in the audience at the end - and this is a British audience, they don't normally do that.

Emotionally manipulative, yes: but still very much worth a watch, and on a big screen too.

So, for those who’ve seen Project Hail Mary, do you have an opinion on best format? I think the choices near me are standard or Imax with Laser.

 

[Hobbit]

So, for those who’ve seen Project Hail Mary, do you have an opinion on best format? I think the choices near me are standard or Imax with Laser.

If available, IMAX is always the choice. Looks great on a big screen.

 

[Raf]

To keep peace in the ol' casa, I was coerced (grudgingly) into watching "Solo Mio" starring Kevin James as a jilted soon to be wed husband whose wife leaves him at the altar in Rome. With a group honeymoon Italian tour to follow.

Who then meets a lady baker with a shop not far from his hotel. One thing led to another, and she ends up traveling with him on the tour bus and eventually he and all his new honeymoon friends (cameo character - Willow from Buffy). All of whom end up invited to her family's Villa. Her Uncle is Andrea Bocelli as it turns out.

I figured I'd just read while it played. But I kept sneaking glances at scenes. I didn't like it as much as my wife did, but it is a rather charming movie.

 

[Ubergeek]

X THE UNKNOWN ( Leslie Norman )

An early Hammer syfy horror . Very " Qautermass " . Great fun .

HAMMER : HEROES , LEGENDS AND MONSTERS

Doc from a couple of years ago . Engaging appraisal of the legendary studio with some famous contributors .

 

[Hobbit]

X THE UNKNOWN ( Leslie Norman )

A fave: blank and white and done on the cheap, but still effective. Think they've released a 4K version recently.

LATER EDIT: Just found out that X The Unknown is on @TalkingPicturesTV here in the UK next Saturday at 4.35pm.

 

[Randy M.]

Dust Bunny (2025) dir. Bryan Fuller; starring Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan, Sheila Atim, Sigourney Weaver

Stylish and stylized horror-comedy, in which an eight-year-old girl hires a hit-man to kill the monster under her bed.

And if you're at all interested, that should be about all you know going in. That said, Sophie Sloan might be the kind of child actress that Hailee Steinfeld was 15 or so years ago. Mikkelson is his usual low-key very good. Weaver gets to slightly and entertainingly ham it up. Atim makes an excellent social worker. And David Dastmalchian makes a welcome and effective appearance.

This movie is not for everyone. It doesn't really break out into full-on comedy, but the premise and the tone are largely comedic, with a touching moment or two. It would make an interesting second bill behind The Babadook.

 

[Hobbit]

Doctor Who: The Movie in 4K. A flawed piece of work, script-wise and some of the effects are 'of that time', but perhaps Sylvester McCoy's finest hour. A work of love that meant well. Has scrubbed up to 4K very well - the best I've ever seen and in Dolby Atmos. In TV ratio, not widescreen, as originally shown.

 

[Prairie_Dog]

I just watched 28 Years Later on Netflix, and it was a really unexpected film. Having seen the previous two films, I sort of expected more of the same. This was decidedly different.

It’s sort of a coming of age horror film. Our primary protagonist, Spike, is a young boy (12 in fact). He and his family live on a small island that lies off the coast of the UK. It can only access the mainland via a causeway that is accessible at low tide. The mainland UK has become endemic with the rage virus. It’s quarantined from Europe and the rest of the world, which has went on as normal.

Spike and his father visit the mainland to teach him about how to avoid or kill the infected, and scavenge for resources. This does not go too well, but he and his father survive. During this mission, he learns of a doctor who reportedly still is alive on the mainland, and he thinks this might be someone who can help his mother who has been declining mentally and physically. So, he sets off with her on another journey…

There are some interesting story elements that have been added to the previous narratives. It seems the virus has been changing its hosts in unexpected ways. There are different types of infected now. There are also people on the mainland who are as dangerous as the infected, if not more so. The doctor may or may not be one of them…

It seems this story continues in another film, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. This is also currently available on Netflix.

 

[Randy M.]

Kill Me Again (1989) dir. John Dahl; starring Val Kilmer, Joanna Whalley (Whalley-Kilmer at the time), Michael Madsen

Fay (Whalley) and Vince (Madsen) hijack a mob payment. Expecting around $30K, they end up with $300K. Vince knows they need to lay low, but Fay is dead set on going to Las Vegas and manages to get the money and the car and leave Vince behind. Trouble is, she knows Vince is after her.

Jack is a Vegas P. I., struggling since the death of his wife in a car accident, a car he was driving. Further, he's in debt to a mob boss and his payment is due. So what do you do when a leggy brunette in an '80s power suit and a hair style straight from a Gene Tierney movie comes to beg you to keep her psycho ex-boyfriend from killing her?

The three stars are on point, Madsen as threatening as he ever was, Whalley every bit the femme fatale, and Kilmer, one of the best-looking guys to show up in '80s movies, somehow managing to look down-on-his-luck. Additionally, there's good support from character actor John Gries. Until I looked him up, I didn't realize he has also recently been in the White Lotus mini-series, as Jennifer Coolidge's husband.

John Dahl has kept busy over the years directing movies and tv shows. But for his first three movies he created three of the best neo-noirs of the late '80s, early '90s: Kill Me Again, Red Rock West, and The Last Seduction. All of them hark back to the '40s noirs of life-size characters caught in processes which are likely to chew them up. I was pleased to see that, over 30 years since I last watched this one, it held up.


The Black Phone (2021) dir. Scott Derrickson; starring Mason Thames, Madeline McGraw, Ethan Hawke

Finally caught up to this. Effective chiller about a kidnapped boy, Finney (Thames), trying to out manouver his kidnapper known as The Grabber (Hawke). The cellar in which he's imprisoned has a black phone. The cord's been cut. And yet, it still rings. When Finney answers, there is someone on the other end.

This is a well-made movie. Derrickson makes sure you have a feel for the victims, he establishes Finney as a decent, if timid, young man whose mother died. Finney and his sister Gwen (McGraw) share the chore of caring for dad. The love between Gwen and Finney comes through and her search for him after he's taken gives the movie added dimension. Gwen has dreams. Her mom had dreams, too. Seems sometimes they learn real things from those dreams.

There are a couple of moments in this movie that might affect the really squeamish, but it's not a gore-fest, just suspenseful. Based on a Joe Hill (Horns; NOS4A2) short story, the script was co-written by C. Robert Cargill. I haven't read him, but Cargill has also written horror short story collection and this movie suggests he knows what he's doing.

 

[Hobbit]

I wasn't sure that a short story could become a movie without some degree of bloat; but I actually quite liked The Black Phone, Randy! Not seen the sequel, though.

Here I went to the cinema for the first time in ages and saw The Mandolorean and Grogu. The reviews have not been kind, but I enjoyed it. Looked good on a big screen. The plot was pretty simple (but then, so was Star Wars!) as it seemed to be aiming at family audiences. Sigourney Weaver was there, so too the voice of Martin Scorcese (I thought he didn't like franchise movies?) and the action scenes looked good. Some scary monsters for youngsters, though.

Solid entertainment. Nothing too deep or complicated.

 

[Prairie_Dog]

Yesterday, I watched the 2024 film titled 2073 on HBOmax. It’s an interesting film by director Asif Kapadia which combines a docu-drama with aspects of a SF dystopia. The protagonist is known as Ghost (played by Samantha Morton) who remembers stories of our world told by her grandmother. These contrast with the reality of being a underclass scavenger in New San Francisco in the year 2073. The film rolls back the clock repeatedly to describe aspects leading to “The Event” which was actually a number of things that lead to this dystopian future.

These rollbacks are where the documentary aspects of the film come in. These sections show actual events from our time showing the rise of authoritarian governments, the rise of social media and associated disinformation, the development of systematic surveillance, the development of AI, and the replacement of democratic governments with tech-oligarchs and the uber wealthy. There are sections that describe the othering of minorities and the resulting atrocities, such as Hindu extremists persecuting Muslims in India, and China’s surveillance and oppression of Uyghurs.

This movie is absolutely relevant to our time, and clearly is a call to action. Ghost tells the viewers that, “It might not be too late for you.” However, while the film raises consciousness, it offers no solutions. It leaves the viewer thinking though, and that in itself is a good thing.

 

[Hobbit]

Tonight's rewatch - a 3-hour black and white movie that feels like a documentary and yet filled with film stars. A regular watch that seems to get better with every watch. Stunning on Bluray. Weirdly, the black and white film, which once seemed odd, now seems appropriate. The Longest Day, 1962.

 

[Hir Dulo]

"For All Mankind" is great...

 

[Hobbit]

! am assuming you mean the documentary film and not the Apple TV series, Hir? (If you mean the TV series, you're in the wrong thread.)

 

[Prairie_Dog]

I recently watched The Creator which is a 2023 American science fiction/action film produced and directed by Gareth Edwards. I found that it was visually stunning, while the story lacked in some areas. Still, it was incredibly satisfying in that it was not based on a video game, comic book, or movie you’ve previously seen. Yes this is an original film!

The premise is that there is a war between the US and Asia in 2070. This is primarily about AI in robotic bodies that the US has sworn to eliminate due to an event where a nuclear weapon destroyed Los Angeles. This event has been blamed on AI.

The primary protagonist of the film is Joshua, who is portrayed by John David Anderson. He’s an undercover US Special Forces operative who is seeking the titular Creator who is building more advanced AI. This Creator is believed to be working on an advanced and final weapon that will end the war by taking out an orbital weapons platform that the US depends on.

I cannot say enough about the special effects and visual impact of this film. The various robotic beings are impressively portrayed. The action sequences are over the top. The explosions are very explosive! I would highly recommend this movie just for these aspects, but the original story is great too. One can certainly criticize aspects of the story, but it is new and different, and that is a amazing thing in recent films.

 

[Hobbit]

Nice one, PD. Can't say I disagree with what you said. I saw it at the cinema on a big screen on a Thursday afternoon: there were two of us in there! Looked great, but the story lacked something. Appreciated that it was trying something original, though.