What movie did you just watch, and how was it? (expect some spoilers but try not to post any!)

Forums › Off topic › What movie did you just watch, and how was it? (expect some spoilers but try not to post any!)

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#3457217 30-Jan-2026 11:46

Lawrence of Arabia (4K Restoration). I had never seen this before, but it's been on my "one day I'll watch that" list for close to 30 years. Somewhat to my surprise, I thought it was pretty "meh". It just seemed like a lot of "this happened" and then "that happened". I came out with very little insight into the titular characters motivations. I just don't understand the fuss over this movie. As far as "old epic" movies go, Ben Hur (1959) is far superior to this in my opinion. I feel like I should be rating it higher than I'm going to, but it just didn't work for me. 6/10

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#3457268 30-Jan-2026 14:20

You need yo see Lawrence in a theater with a proper widescreen and as a road show presentation,

I saw it overseas years ago and it was epic :)

Some recent watches...

The Wrecking Crew - OK it's big, dumb and brutal but doesn't take itself seriously - Bautista is good ! A solid watch with a big bag of chips and your favourite libation 7/10

Greenland 2 - no Trump but Gerard Butler - a total waste of time 2/10

Anaconda - not a Jack Black fan and this didn't change my mind -go watch the original and forget this drivel 4/10

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#3457271 30-Jan-2026 14:44

ilovemusic:

You need yo see Lawrence in a theater with a proper widescreen and as a road show presentation,

I saw it overseas years ago and it was epic :)

Some recent watches...

The Wrecking Crew - OK it's big, dumb and brutal but doesn't take itself seriously - Bautista is good ! A solid watch with a big bag of chips and your favourite libation 7/10

Greenland 2 - no Trump but Gerard Butler - a total waste of time 2/10

Anaconda - not a Jack Black fan and this didn't change my mind -go watch the original and forget this drivel 4/10

Nah, I don't go to the theatre anymore. Blackout curtains and an 83" OLED at a 2.5m viewing distance is plenty cinematic for me, I just didn't think the movie was that great! I realise I'm in the minority though.

Speaking of 4K restorations. The restoration of The Searchers is fantastic in HDR, I'm not a huge fan of the movie itself but watching I was amazed it was filmed 70 years ago.

I was going to watch Greenland 2 this weekend. I thought the first one was dumb, but watchable enough. Sounds like the sequel has kept the dumb but dropped the watchable?

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#3457312 30-Jan-2026 17:17

Paul1977:

Lawrence of Arabia (4K Restoration). I had never seen this before, but it's been on my "one day I'll watch that" list for close to 30 years. Somewhat to my surprise, I thought it was pretty "meh". It just seemed like a lot of "this happened" and then "that happened". I came out with very little insight into the titular characters motivations. I just don't understand the fuss over this movie. As far as "old epic" movies go, Ben Hur (1959) is far superior to this in my opinion. I feel like I should be rating it higher than I'm going to, but it just didn't work for me. 6/10

It’s from the 1960s. A lot of older films haven’t aged that well, technical movie making has come a long way.

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#3457331 30-Jan-2026 18:56

freitasm:

@Tinkerisk:

Operation Napoleon (8/10), Icelandic,

eagerly awaiting the second part at the end of this year. There are now some really good Nordic and European international films.

Thanks. We like some Icelandic cinema here.

I'm not sure what you meant? ICElandic, ice landic or just thanks, but ... 🤣😉

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#3457536 31-Jan-2026 22:03

Melania (Trailer only), 0/10 - already nominated for the worst movie in 2026. But high 8% 7% (falling) at Rotten Tomatoes (MAGA fan voting). 😁

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#3457551 1-Feb-2026 08:52

Paul1977:

ilovemusic:

You need yo see Lawrence in a theater with a proper widescreen and as a road show presentation,

I saw it overseas years ago and it was epic :)

Some recent watches...

The Wrecking Crew - OK it's big, dumb and brutal but doesn't take itself seriously - Bautista is good ! A solid watch with a big bag of chips and your favourite libation 7/10

Greenland 2 - no Trump but Gerard Butler - a total waste of time 2/10

Anaconda - not a Jack Black fan and this didn't change my mind -go watch the original and forget this drivel 4/10

Nah, I don't go to the theatre anymore. Blackout curtains and an 83" OLED at a 2.5m viewing distance is plenty cinematic for me, I just didn't think the movie was that great! I realise I'm in the minority though.

...

Of course there is no right or wrong answer in terms of movie opinions. But Lawrence was shot in Super Panavision 70 using 65mm cameras and screened in a 2.2:1 aspect ratio. So despite your having an 85" OLED, that would a letter boxed image on your 16:9 TV and so a lesser impact.

I recall a few years ago I happened to be in LA and made an effort to catch Tarantino's The Hateful 8 in a roadshow presentation. This was shot in Ultra Panavision 70 so on 70mm film but anamorphic lenses so the image was wider again. It was an amazing presentation. I have never seen Lawrence in 70mm but I would imagine it would be incredible. Again opinions are very personal but it's was a highly influential film on Steven Spielberg https://collider.com/steven-spielberg-lawrence-of-arabia/

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#3457612 1-Feb-2026 11:28

Paul1977:

Lawrence of Arabia (4K Restoration). I had never seen this before, but it's been on my "one day I'll watch that" list for close to 30 years. Somewhat to my surprise, I thought it was pretty "meh". It just seemed like a lot of "this happened" and then "that happened". I came out with very little insight into the titular characters motivations. I just don't understand the fuss over this movie. As far as "old epic" movies go, Ben Hur (1959) is far superior to this in my opinion. I feel like I should be rating it higher than I'm going to, but it just didn't work for me. 6/10

What you have to remember is that it was made in 1962 (and restored in 1989) when there was no CGI or any of that trickery that we take for norm now. It is based on the autobiography of British Army Colonel T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom. As was and still is, docudramas based on historical writings do take liberties. But the movie won 7 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. David Lean, director, pioneered the "Long Shot all in one take" using a special 482mm Panavision lens, often called the "David Lean lens". Yes, I do agree, that the movie does not spend too much time on character development. You are meant to glean these facts from the actions.

The film is often used in cinematic teachings as a masterpiece of cinema, highlighting its acting and its visual scale. The film cost US15m, and Steven Spielberg once estimated that remaking it today would cost close to $300 million, I think that's an underestimation. They used real desert locations and constructed a full-scale replicas of the locations and events mentioned in the book, including the train sequences.

And yes this is at the end of the British Empire but still history is written by the victors and Lawrence was a very egocentric, flamboyant, gay or asexual man who lived life in the fast lane and died the same way due to a motorcycle accident.

Looking at my old IMDb rating, I gave it a 10/10.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

ilovemusic

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#3458787 4-Feb-2026 16:58

Bought the 50th Anniversary BD boxset back in 2012

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#3459391 6-Feb-2026 20:48

The Substance - 7/10. Like a Stephen King supernatural sci-fi horror. Demi Moore in the lead. More or less watched it in two parts. Hooked after the first 40 minutes. The second half had better pace. Some continuity issues in the second half. Overall I enjoyed it for what it is. It might have made a good miniseries with a tidy up. As a cinema screen horror it would be darn good. 142 minutes runtime. TVNZ.

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#3459393 6-Feb-2026 20:56

Zardoz, 1974.

You will understand it better when you read the trivia and learn that writer/director "John Boorman would later admit that he was under the heavy drug influence while writing the film and during production. He also claims that not even he is sure what parts of the film are about, mainly due to the haze of drugs he was in at the time, and feels that several scenes are pointless."

Still, a solid 5.5/10. The story makes sense, at the very end.

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#3459399 6-Feb-2026 22:17

Dust Bunny 7/10

An eight-year-old girl asks her scheming neighbour for help in killing the monster under her bed that she thinks ate her family.

Really enjoyed this movie. Lots of twists. The 3 leads are superb. Would have given it an 8/10, but the ending was just a bit predictable, if you spotted the clues.

However, if you enjoyed these 3 films by Wes Anderson; The Phoenician Scheme, Asteroid City and The Grand Budapest Hotel, you will enjoy this one by Bryan Fuller. It has very similar writing, direction, production, staging and plot. All restrained over the top sets, with jerky plots that all just seamlessly merge into a beautiful narrative.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

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#3459832 9-Feb-2026 09:20

Wolfs (Apple TV) - 5.5/10

When I saw the tile for this on Apple TV, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, I figured this would be a safe bet. So without knowing anything else about it I sat down to give it a watch this weekend.

I can't say that it is a bad film. But it feels like it squandered an opportunity. Pitt and Clooney play nameless rival "fixers" who are independently called to fix a situation at a hotel room. Antics ensue. But where the comedy could have been mined a lot more effectively, it's pretty sporadic and often left hanging. The whole movie is pretty forgettable, and supporting cast feel pretty bland and faceless. The ending could have been cool and redeemed a fairly lacklustre outing, but it felt cheap and derivative. Twenty years ago, this would have been described as "direct to DVD" (or 30years ago, "direct to VHS").

And don't even get me started on the way they pluralised "wolf"...

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#3459836 9-Feb-2026 09:36

freitasm:

Zardoz, 1974.

You will understand it better when you read the trivia and learn that writer/director "John Boorman would later admit that he was under the heavy drug influence while writing the film and during production. He also claims that not even he is sure what parts of the film are about, mainly due to the haze of drugs he was in at the time, and feels that several scenes are pointless."

Still, a solid 5.5/10. The story makes sense, at the very end.

Ahh Zardoz, the movie 30 years ahead of Borat, but with an even better sense of fashion...

(But hey, its Connery in a loincloth and thigh length boots.. so its great for a whirl)...

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#3459837 9-Feb-2026 09:38

Freelance (2023) starring John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba and Christian Slater. It is a terrible movie but oddly entertaining.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

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