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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Nobody recommended Lego Scooby-Doo!: Haunted Hollywood (2016), but today was Halloween, and this is about as close as I get to horror movies around Halloween. I liked the connections to real movies, including the old Universal Monsters movies. Even though it was as predictable as every other Scooby-Doo movie ever made, it was still a fun watch.
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
the light between oceans (derek cianfrance, 2016)

I watched The Light Between Oceans (2016), and even though it took a while to get going, once it did, it was a beautiful movie.

While I didn't agree with what Tom and Isabel did, I understood why they did it. But that didn't make it right. I would have liked to see a little bit more of the child's biological mother. Even though I knew giving her back her child was the right thing to do, it was hard to want to see that happen because I was already invested in Tom and Isabel as her parents, and I knew how much they loved her, but I didn't know Hannah well enough to want to see her get her child back. But the way it was done in the movie worked, even though it was heartbreaking. The final scene was beautiful.

Thanks for the great recommendation.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
@Allaby and @Miss Vicky,

I watched Isle of Dogs (2018), and it was okay, but not what I expected. It's a bit of a strange movie, and the animation style was a bit distracting, but the story was pretty good. It won't make my list, but I'm glad I watched it.

Thank you for the recommendation.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
@cricket and @Thief,

I watched Arbitrage (2012), and I liked it.
WARNING: "SPOILERS about the ENDING of "Arbitrage"!!!" spoilers below
This was a very tense movie that was good, right up until the last few minutes, when they fade to black without telling us if he signed or not. I understand that he's pretty much screwed either way because either he loses everything or he gets arrested, but I wanted to see what he chose.


Thank you for the recommendation.



@Allaby and @Miss Vicky,

I watched Isle of Dogs (2018), and it was okay, but not what I expected. It's a bit of a strange movie, and the animation style was a bit distracting, but the story was pretty good. It won't make my list, but I'm glad I watched it.

Thank you for the recommendation.
It’s Wes Anderson so, yeah it’s weird. He’s one of my least favorite directors. I like weird but his particular brand of weird doesn’t usually work for me. Isle of Dogs is the only movie of his that I like, but it’s not a favorite or even a very strong contender for my ballot.



@Thief and @Citizen Rules,

I watched The Two Faces of January (2014) because it was recommended here, and because I saw it mentioned in a couple of other threads. This was a good thriller, but it just felt like it was lacking something. I think part of the problem is that Chester and Colette didn't feel like a real couple. They felt like one of those couples in a spy movie who were pretending to be a couple. But I liked Oscar Isaac as Rydal. And while most of the movie was good, the ending felt forced.

Thank you for the recommendation.
I'm glad you watched it. I mainly liked Kirsten Dunst in it



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
It’s Wes Anderson so, yeah it’s weird. He’s one of my least favorite directors. I like weird but his particular brand of weird doesn’t usually work for me. Isle of Dogs is the only movie of his that I like, but it’s not a favorite or even a very strong contender for my ballot.

I haven't had much luck with Wes Anderson movies. I just don't get his quirkiness. I think the only movie of his that I liked on the first watch was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, but I warmed up a little bit to Fantastic Mr. Fox on a second watch.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I'm glad you watched it. I mainly liked Kirsten Dunst in it

I usually like her movies, but I'm kind of hit or miss with Kirsten Dunst as an actress. I didn't really care for her in the Spider-Man movies, but I liked her in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Elizabethtown, and Upside Down.



@Thief and @Citizen Rules,

I watched The Two Faces of January (2014) because it was recommended here, and because I saw it mentioned in a couple of other threads. This was a good thriller, but it just felt like it was lacking something. I think part of the problem is that Chester and Colette didn't feel like a real couple. They felt like one of those couples in a spy movie who were pretending to be a couple. But I liked Oscar Isaac as Rydal. And while most of the movie was good, the ending felt forced.

Thank you for the recommendation.
@cricket and @Thief,

I watched Arbitrage (2012), and I liked it.
WARNING: "SPOILERS about the ENDING of "Arbitrage"!!!" spoilers below
This was a very tense movie that was good, right up until the last few minutes, when they fade to black without telling us if he signed or not. I understand that he's pretty much screwed either way because either he loses everything or he gets arrested, but I wanted to see what he chose.


Thank you for the recommendation.
Glad you're having fun with the recommendations.
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I watched several movies last week, but I haven't had the time (or patience) to write anything about them, so I'm just going to jot down a few thoughts about them now. (Sorry if this sounds like I'm rambling a bit, but I didn't write any of this down in advance.)

The good thing is that I liked all of these movies, so these are just random thoughts about them.

@Thief,
The Big Sick (2017) - I had no idea that this was based on Kumail Nanjiani's real life while watching it. I liked how it took the focus off of Kumail and Emily's relationship for part of the movie, and focused more on the relationship he built with her parents. It gave the movie more of a "real" feel to it, rather than the fairy tale feeling of a lot of other rom-coms.

@Holden Pike,
Begin Again (2013) - I like Mark Ruffalo, and I'll watch almost any movie that he's in, but it took me a while to warm up to his character in this movie. I loved how Dan helped Gretta with her album, and especially what they did with it at the end of the movie. I liked the version of the song "Lost Stars" that Adam Levine sang at the end of the movie.

@Holden Pike,
The Muppets (2011) - This isn't as good as The Muppet Movie (1979), but it's a fun movie. I could have done without the rap song by Chris Cooper. I'm a huge fan of Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory", so seeing Jim Parsons in this was a nice surprise.

@Thursday Next,
Paddington (2014) - This was a very cute movie. It was a little bit goofy with the taxidermist plotline, but I liked the family that took him in, and Paddington is such a lovable bear that he made the movie worth watching. I love how just about everything he touched seemed to get him into trouble.


Thor (2011) - I saw this in the theater when it was released, but I didn't remember much of the movie, so this was almost like watching it for the first time. This was good as a background movie, especially for learning about the characters of Thor and Loki, but it's far from the best of the MCU movies.

@John-Connor,
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) - I skipped Thor: The Dark World (2013) because most of the reviews I've heard about it haven't been very good, but I'll probably go back and watch it someday to fill in some of the blanks between the other Thor movies. I must have missed some of the background for this movie, but it wasn't enough to hurt my enjoyment of this movie. It took a while for me to get into this movie, but once it got past the gladiator scenes, I liked it a lot. I especially like the scenes with Thor helping Hulk turn back into Banner.


Always Be My Maybe (2018) - I liked the way Sasha and Marcus each tried to act like they didn't need each other, even when they both still loved each other. It made for an awkward, but fun relationship. I hated Keanu Reeves character in this, but I think that was the point. I agreed with Marcus 100% about the double date restaurant scene. I loved the restaurant scene at the end. I thought it was the perfect way to end the movie.

@Siddon,
Won't You Be My Neighbor (2018) - I don't watch a lot of documentaries, but I liked this one a lot. It showed how Fred Rogers was a wonderful person, and how much he cared about children. One of my favorite parts was when they showed some of the parodies of his show, and how he knew that they were all done because of how much people loved and respected him.

But they left out my favorite parody of his show:




Thank you to everyone for the great recommendations.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
@mistique and @cricket,
I watched Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011), and I loved it. Some of it was predictable, but there were a couple of great plot twists that I didn't see coming. I loved how the relationships played out, and the ending was great. I thought Marisa Tomei was very funny, and I wish she had more screen time in it.


I was surprised to find that nobody recommended Love, Simon (2018) to me, but I watched it because I've heard some good stuff about it, and it definitely lived up to its reputation. This is a very good coming-of-age movie. It's has it's ups and downs of funny and sad, but that's what makes this such a great movie.


@Citizen Rules,
I watched Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015), and I liked it. It's awkward at times, but it's still a fun movie. I never thought that they would end up together, especially with her fantasy daydreams about him, but I enjoyed watching how the relationship progressed.


I rewatched Dr. Strange (2016) because I've seen the character in a few other movies, so I knew a little bit about him, but I recently watched Spider-Man: No Way Home, and I loved him, so I wanted to learn more about the character's background and abilities. I saw this movie in the theater back when it was originally released, but the only thing that I remembered about this movie was that it was confusing. But now that I understand a little bit more about the character, I could appreciate the character and the movie much more. I enjoyed this a lot, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in more movies.


@thracian dawg,
I rewatched The Social Network (2010), and it was better than I remembered. I don't know how accurate the movie is, but I thought that Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker were very unlikable people. But I guess this is a good example of a movie that I liked despite the characters being unlikable.


I rewatched The Secret Life of Pets (2016), and it's a fun movie, but it's a bit crazier than I remembered. The characters are a lot fun, and while this movie isn't likely to make my list, I'm looking forward to watching the sequel.


@Holden Pike,
I watched Nightcrawler (2014), (actually a rewatch, but it's been so long since I've seen it that I didn't remember much about it). While it's a great movie, it's a bit too dark and disturbing for my taste. When he goes beyond just trying to film the crimes, and kind of causes them by not reporting them until he knows he can get a better story by waiting for people to get hurt or killed, it turns a bit too far into the dark side. I liked the movie, but it's not a movie that I'm likely to rewatch, (at least not until I forget most of it again).



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I'm getting slammed with holiday work, so I don't have much time to do these write-ups, but I'll try to post some quick thoughts about the movies I've watched recently:


Astronaut (2019) - This is a good movie, but more for the great performance by Richard Dreyfuss than for the movie itself. It's a bit far-fetched, but if you can suspend disbelief at times, it's an enjoyable movie.

The Best of Me (2014) - I haven't read any of Nicholas Sparks' novels, but I usually love the movies that are based on them, and this one was no exception. As much as I wanted to see Amanda and Dawson end up together, I knew that this movie, (just like every other movie that is based on a Nicholas Sparks' novel), was going to be heartbreaking by the end. It's not the best of the Nicholas Sparks' movies, but it's a great movie for people who like emotional movies.

@Tugg,
The Next Three Days (2010) - This is a great thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat more and more as the movie went on. It was also a bit of a learning experience about crime and escaping. I'm usually hit or miss with Russell Crowe movies, but this one was a definite hit.

@thracian dawg and @MovieBuffering,
Win Win (2011) - I liked this movie, especially the terrific performance by Paul Giamatti. I don't know much about wrestling, but I could feel the emotions that the characters were going through in those scenes anyway. The movie had a nice blend of comedy and drama, and a great ending.

Darling Companion (2012) - I watched this because it was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, and it stars Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline. It also features Mark Duplass, who I liked in Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) and Blue Jay (2016). It's basically about a dog that gets rescued, then lost again, and then the family that rescued the dog won't give up the search for him. I would have liked to see more scenes with the family bonding with the dog, rather than just the words "One year later" on screen, but it's easy to see how much they love the dog. There is also an animated scene that just doesn't feel right. It's not a great movie, but it's better than the low rating on both IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes. It won't make my list, but I enjoyed the movie.

@Citizen Rules,
Chef (2014) - There's something very likeable about Jon Favreau in everything he does, and this movie is no exception. Emjay Anthony who plays his son Percy is adorable. I loved the scene with Robert Downey Jr. Even though it was just a small role, he was a fun character. I love how Carl bonded with not only his son, but also with his ex-wife. I enjoyed this movie, and it has a chance to make my list.

@John-Connor, @cricket, and @MovieBuffering,
Silver Linings Playbook (2012) - I liked this movie the first time I saw it, but it's been a while, so I decided to rewatch it for this countdown. I'm glad I did because I loved it this time. I loved how he's a bit crazy, and she's kind of rude, but somehow they seemed to be a perfect match. I loved how she helped him get over the song that drove him nuts when he heard it. I loved how his relationship with his father grew as the movie progressed. The only thing that bothered me a little bit was that Nikki got a restraining order against him, but why didn't she file for a divorce? Maybe if she had, he would have been prepared for his marriage to be over when he got out of the institution. Even with the twists, this movie was still predictable, but it was great. And I loved the deleted scene about One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I wish they had kept that in the movie.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) - This is one of the few Tarantino movies that I liked, (at least until it got bloody near the end), but that was probably more for the movie related nostalgia, rather than the movie itself. It was a bit over the top, but it was a fun watch.

Ford v Ferrari (2019) - This is exciting to watch, and it's an interesting story, but it's just not likely to make my list. Christian Bale was very annoying at times, (and his accent didn't help), but I enjoyed watching this movie.

The BFG (2016) - This is one of those movies that I really wanted to like, but it just didn't happen. I didn't like the giant, and I found the movie kind of boring. It's hard to believe this is a Spielberg movie.

@thracian dawg,
Blue Valentine (2010) - This movie was okay, but the jumping back and forth in time was annoying. I watched it because it was listed as a romance, but it's more of a drama than a romance. I never felt like these two people belonged together.

@cricket,
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) - I rewatched this because I remembered liking it a lot when I first watched it, and while it's still a good movie, it just didn't have as strong an impact on me as it did the first time I saw it.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Just some quick thoughts on a few more movies:

@Thief,
I saw Another Earth (2011) a few years ago, and I remembered liking it, but for some reason, I never had any desire to rewatch it. I didn't remember enough about it to decide whether or not to include it on my list, so I rewatched it, and now I remember why I didn't want to rewatch it. It's a very good movie, but most of the movie is depressing. I understand why Rhoda invaded John's life the way she did, but I thought she needed to tell him the truth. The closer she got to him, the more I thought she was wrong not to tell him. He had a right to know who she was before she entered his home. (But I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't know who was responsible for the death of his family.) It's worth watching, but it won't make my list.


The rest of these movies were on my watchlist, but they weren't recommended to me in this thread by anyone.

I didn't know anything about Green Book (2018) before watching it, so I had no idea what to expect. I think the movie was good, but not as good as it's reputation. The performances of Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are great.


I've never liked Melissa McCarthy in anything, but I've heard that Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) is a great movie, and it didn't seem like her normal type of movie, so I decided to give it a chance. I was very pleasantly surprised. I liked the movie, and I even thought Melissa McCarthy was terrific in it.


Manchester by the Sea (2016) is a very good movie, with great performances from the entire cast, but it's a tough watch.


I almost turned Jojo Rabbit (2019) off in the first few minutes, (in the scene with the rabbit), but I decided to stick it out because of the movie's reputation, and I'm glad I did. I didn't love the movie as much as most people seem to, but I enjoyed it.


Beauty and the Beast (2017) is a nice version of the classic story, but it's hard for any new version of the story to live up to the 1991 Disney animated version. Parts of the fight scene near the end were a little bit goofy, but the music and visuals make it worth watching.


A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) is not as good as the documentary, but it's pretty good. The problems that I had with this movie are that Tom Hanks didn't make me think of him as Mr. Rogers at all, and the movie seemed to focus more on Lloyd than it did on Mr. Rogers. For anyone who is interested in Mr. Rogers, I would recommend Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018) over this movie.


I rewatched The Fault in Our Stars (2014), and I think I loved it more this time than I did the first time I saw it. I loved both Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort in this movie. For a movie that should be a tearjerker, they made me laugh and smile through all the sadness going on in their lives. This is a wonderful movie.


Logan Lucky (2017) is a fun crime movie that's not as good as movies like Ocean's Eleven, but it's interesting. (But I was distracted for a while trying to figure out why I recognized the girl who played Sadie. I finally figured out that she's the actress who played Hazel in the TV show "United States of Al".)


Jersey Boys (2014) is an interesting story, but I don't know how accurate it is. But it makes this a good movie, and the music was great. I liked the way the characters break the fourth wall to talk to the viewers. It gave the situations a bit more depth. This is a must see movie for anyone who's a fan of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.



Just some quick thoughts on a few more movies:

@Thief,
I saw Another Earth (2011) a few years ago, and I remembered liking it, but for some reason, I never had any desire to rewatch it. I didn't remember enough about it to decide whether or not to include it on my list, so I rewatched it, and now I remember why I didn't want to rewatch it. It's a very good movie, but most of the movie is depressing. I understand why Rhoda invaded John's life the way she did, but I thought she needed to tell him the truth. The closer she got to him, the more I thought she was wrong not to tell him. He had a right to know who she was before she entered his home. (But I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't know who was responsible for the death of his family.) It's worth watching, but it won't make my list.
Hey, I'm glad that you rewatched, gave it a fair shake. I really enjoyed the film and it's one of those films that has stuck with me quite a bit, but at the end of the day, it didn't make my list either. It was one of those hovering around the 40-entries mark.



Just some quick thoughts on a few more movies:

@Thief,
I saw Another Earth (2011) a few years ago, and I remembered liking it, but for some reason, I never had any desire to rewatch it. I didn't remember enough about it to decide whether or not to include it on my list, so I rewatched it, and now I remember why I didn't want to rewatch it. It's a very good movie, but most of the movie is depressing. I understand why Rhoda invaded John's life the way she did, but I thought she needed to tell him the truth. The closer she got to him, the more I thought she was wrong not to tell him. He had a right to know who she was before she entered his home. (But I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't know who was responsible for the death of his family.) It's worth watching, but it won't make my list.

I've never liked Melissa McCarthy in anything, but I've heard that Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) is a great movie, and it didn't seem like her normal type of movie, so I decided to give it a chance. I was very pleasantly surprised. I liked the movie, and I even thought Melissa McCarthy was terrific in it.


Manchester by the Sea (2016) is a very good movie, with great performances from the entire cast, but it's a tough watch.


I almost turned Jojo Rabbit (2019) off in the first few minutes, (in the scene with the rabbit), but I decided to stick it out because of the movie's reputation, and I'm glad I did. I didn't love the movie as much as most people seem to, but I enjoyed it.

...I would recommend Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
All those movies in your post came very, very close to making my list and one of them, Won't You Be My Neighbor is a lock for my list.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Hey, I'm glad that you rewatched, gave it a fair shake. I really enjoyed the film and it's one of those films that has stuck with me quite a bit, but at the end of the day, it didn't make my list either. It was one of those hovering around the 40-entries mark.

Bits and pieces of Another Earth stuck with me, but not enough for me to make a decision about including it on my list or not.

This is one of those movies that might make my list if my list was a "Best of" list, but it will miss my list because my list is a "Favorites" list.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
All those movies in your post came very, very close to making my list and one of them, Won't You Be My Neighbor is a lock for my list.

Manchester by the Sea is another movie that would have a better chance to make my list if it was a "Best of" list, and Won't You Be My Neighbor? is still a "maybe" for my list.

As of earlier today, I only have 8 movies that are "locks" for my list, but I still have a lot of "maybes" that have to be narrowed down.



I know this might just be a little late for the purpose of this thread but I just watched it and reckon you'd quite like Master Cheng gbg. I thought both leads were likeable and whilst it is subtitled in places a lot of it is actually in English. It's not perfect (it falters a little in the final stages imo) but as I say, I think you'd find it quite watchable and somewhat enjoyable.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I know this might just be a little late for the purpose of this thread but I just watched it and reckon you'd quite like Master Cheng gbg. I thought both leads were likeable and whilst it is subtitled in places a lot of it is actually in English. It's not perfect (it falters a little in the final stages imo) but as I say, I think you'd find it quite watchable and somewhat enjoyable.

Thanks for the recommendation.

I read the synopsis on IMDB and it sounds like it might be my type of movie. I'm focusing on 2022 movies for the MoFo Film Awards thread right now, but I added it to my watchlist.