What's the best film you've seen in the last few years? Doesn't matter when it came out
1mon 16h ago by reddthat.com/u/LadyButterfly in movies@piefed.social
Looking for some inspiration
I loved Arrival picked it at random one day. Blew my mind really unique film, incredible
Same! Just watched it maybe 4 weeks back and then Project Hail Mary. Great movies in their own way.
I loved how phm in some ways referenced the linguistics themes arrival had, but kept it brief to not to be a direct rip off.
Not to be confused with The Arrival (1996), which is a blast of an enjoyable movie, though it’s not on the same level as Arrival. The effects don’t hold up well, sadly, but I love it all the same.
The short story is heartbreaking, Ted Chiang
Everything Everywhere All at Once - it's hard to describe without spoilers, so if you haven't seen just go watch it
Rewatched it recently & cried through the entire last third. So good
Came to say the same thing, it's probably one of the best movies from recent times. Great writing, original story, great acting, comedy, Kung Fu, sci-fi, it's got it all.
And incredible direction. It's the first time in decades, since perhaps The Matrix, that I saw this many new direction ideas in a single flick.
Might give it another go, but the first 30 minutes or so did not interest me at all tbh. Like I get what it is parodying, and I appreciate it in a creative sense, but it's just a bit much for my taste.
Sinners, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Lord of the Rings trilogy (saw it in theaters last year, it counts). I also really enjoyed Megalopolis but understand it's not a perfect film, kinda gonzo.
If you like Cthulhu type stuff then Nic Cage starred in an adaptation of Lovecraft's "Colors out of space" that my wife and I both really enjoyed.
A lot of people missed the 2008 adaptation of Speedracer done by the Wachowski sisters (same people who did the Matrix) which is a real shame because it's one of the all time best movies in existence so obviously recommend that.
If you've never seen Iron Sky it's a fun smaller budget film. Velocipastor is too (really recommend this one drunk with friends though). Oh, and Yoga Hosers too. Those three are so dumb but fun.
And finally, a few movies I've not seen yet but everyone I trust with film opinions have raved about: Hundreds of Beavers, Asteroid City, The Shadow Strays
Iron Sky is way, way better than you'd think.
As some who grew up watching the original Speed Racer, I fully expected the movie to be awful. Despite all the cheesy graphics it actually works! It was a decent homage to it's origin.
If you like Cthulhu type stuff then Nic Cage starred in an adaptation of Lovecraft’s “Colors out of space” that my wife and I both really enjoyed.
If you are into classic Nic Cage "overacting", then this film is also very enjoyable. So many hilarious moments.
Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Film from the 50s just hits different some times. I think this movie is especially poignant given the ramping up of military action globally.
Now the whistle is in my head! Auugghhh
Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence.
Heat (1995)
It was just one of those movies that for some reason I'd never watched until about 6 months ago. I heard it was great and ,as it turns out, it certainly is.
Probably still the best gunfight ever put on film.
Crime 101 is a pale imitation but still OK.
Heat always reminds me of Ronin (1999), a worthwhile watch if you liked Heat.
Bugonia - a dark comedy about a CEO who is kidnapped by conspiracy theorists who think she’s an alien. I was iffy on it for the first half, but the latter half really paid off.
Sinners - such great music, and some great themes. Also kind of a dark comedy/horror. I found part of the ending so cathartic.
I Want You Back - maybe my favorite romcom
Ready or Not - another dark comedy/horror, a newly wed unwittingly plays a deadly game with her new in-laws.
8-bit Christmas - as you might imagine, this one is a Christmas movie
Inglourious Basterds - I rewatched this one recently, it’s maybe my favorite Tarantino flick
Bugonia. Skip trailers and go into it knowing nothing but the basic plot. It’s a wild ride.
I added it to the list thanks
No problem! It’s a bit violent and has some gore. Just a friendly heads up. Jesse Plemons is amazing.
Jojo Rabbit.
- The Running Man. It didn't make a lot of buzz, but it's a fairly faithful adaptation of one of my favorite Bachman books from one of my favorite directors: Edgar Wright (The Cornetto Trilogy).
I love the concept of a character too pissed off to die. Reminds me of DOOM.
I think there are some connections between the protagonist of The Running Man and Doomguy (Flynn Taggart, in the novels). The reason he's thrown into the games is the same reason Doomguy is sent to Mars in the games.
I enjoyed The Long Walk for the same reason. Very faithful adaptation of my favourite Bachman book, although I am hoping for a director's cut. I didn't see any trailers before watching so I was very surprised and pleased to see who the actor for The Major was. The interactions between all the kids is just great.
So you enjoyed the remake of The Running Man over the Schwarzenegger version? Or was it just a different beast?
I thought the long walk was excellent but it's so sad I can never watch it again
Not op but different beast. The new one has plenty of action but much better crafted than Arnie. Love me some over the top action but the new one is much more grounded, not as dark as the book, a really good balance and I liked it a lot.
How bleak is it? King is often bleak AF
I wouldn't go so far as to call it bleak. (Threads is bleak.) It's intense; had to pause it a few times while watching it, but it isn't without encouragement or hope. Just...very much so a movie released in 2025.
Great thanks I might give it a whirl
There aren't a lot of movies that make me want to stand up in the theater and shout "Hell yeah", but this was one of them.
It was a great adaptation and evoked visceral reactions from me at times.
STALKER 1979 based on the sifi novel Roadside Picnic, and was the inspiration for the video game series of the same name. It reminded me of Annihiliation 2018 but less horror/action, and more lamentations on humanity.
To be honest anything by Tarkovsky is a must-watch.
This movie was crazy slow but worked surprisingly well. Especially compared with the book. The book was great but the movie manged to take it all to another level.
I watched Andrei Rublev recently (also Tarkovsky), it was pretty good. Visually stunning of course.
If I start movies like this past like 4pm, I'm going to fall asleep 100%>
I don't think I saw anyone mention it: Sorry to Bother You. Great movie about class struggle and fighting the corpo bullshit.
Bonkers movie I love it.
Great movie. Went in blind and enjoyed it.
Another good movie kinda like Sorry to Bother You was The American Society of Magical Negroes. It's a comedy about the title troupe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Society_of_Magical_Negroes
Sinners was great
Everything everywhere all at once
I remain baffled that someone read the script and apparently said, a kung fu comedy sci fi thriller family drama with infinite timelines and jump cuts across dimensions occurring up to multiple times per second? Yeah, sounds good, this will definitely work, let's fund this.
I don't know how the Daniels did it, but whew, I'm glad they did.
Weapons (2025)
How creepy is it? I'm looking at it now. I had nightmares for a week over Netflix haunting of hill house
Yeah, it’ll probably mess with you then.
Thanks for the heads up!
I'm going to be the lesser cinema snob here, but Hot Fuzz lives rent free in my mind.
Definitely the highlight of the corneto trilogy, and a great time. There's no single minute without a good joke.
I didn't love it the first time I saw it. And now it's in my top 3 movies of all time. Every time I watch it, I like it more.
I rewatched Jackie Brown. So good.
My favorite Tarantino movie.
Mike Nick Nick and Alice
Death to Smoochy both very funny and good
The Secret World of Arrietty. An adaptation of The Borrowers, it has great determined teenage girl energy and gorgeous artwork that they really made the most of.
Princess Mononoke is one of my favorite films, so I've been slowly going through the Studio Ghibli catalog.
Porco Rosso is my favourite so I recommend that next if you havent seen it :)
"I'd rather be a pig than a Nazi"
I did! Fio is great.
I think Spirited Away is my fave Ghibli... Hard to say though.
Ghibli movies are the only foreign stuff that I will watch dubbed as they always get a stacked voice cast.
The English dub of Tororro is fantastic with Dakota and Elle Fanning back when they are actually children.
Hard to pick one, here are a few:
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Triangle of Sadness
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Challengers
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Conclave
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The Wrestler
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The Drama
If you liked The Wrestler and have not seen Beyond The Mat (1998), do that. Randy "The Ram"'s entire story is basically a straight copypasta of the section on Jake "The Snake" Roberts, one of the best wrestlers of his era. "Best" is used here in a very loosely-defined way, because well, we're talking about Pro Wrestling.
But I was like 12-15 during the high years of the WWF, I was watching some of the most legendary names, and Jake was my absolute... ok well it's a tossup between Jake and George "The Animal" Steele, who was older, looked like my grandpa a little bit, managed by Captain Lou Albano (both vintage heels turned face) from the Cyndi Lauper videos and had an excellent "crazy ape man" kinda schtick. He also would destroy a turnbuckle every match and I loved the vandalism.
For a kid of the right age, mid-80s WWF was the best entertainment going, in a time when you had 13 channels if you were lucky. VCRs weren't even completely ubiquitous yet. What else going on? Family Ties, Growing Pains, Lawrence Welk...
But Jake was an absolute dark horse with incredible intensity, and totally unique - most were using steroids then, he had a very basic physique and didn't give a shit. Most wrestlers would be high fiving and gesticulating and getting the crowd whipped up as they walked out. Jake would just walk out staring at the ring or his opponent, neither hurrying nor dallying, just a purposeful walk, with his grey sack containing a python slung over his shoulder. Great finishing move, great schtick, one of the absolute legends.
Finding out over a decade later that his life was this Shakespearean (think Titus, not Romeo) tragedy the whole time was just wild, but also not at all surprising, because anyone who watched his matches could see that this was a different type of dude from your typical wrestler.
Don't sleep on Beyond The Mat. It's also got some amazing stuff with Mick Foley and Terry Funk, two dudes who have done more damage to each other than the Romans did to Jesus, and who love each other intensely for it. Lots "holy shit what the fuck did he just do" clips.
Did you watch Iron Claw? Thought that was a pretty good wrestling movie (though it is a major bummer)
I did, loved it mostly, but... they literally erased a brother. There was another one, and he was even more tragic than the one they kept - he was small, and had extremely brittle bones, and the only thing he wanted was to wrestle, of course... and they let him, and he got put out by injury very quickly, and then followed his dead brothers.
I think they cut him out because first off, it would probably have come off to audiences as "overdone" or something because it is difficult to countenance that much tragedy on one family. But also, the ones who were alive to allow that last one to happen bear some culpability in his death. He should've been sent to distant relatives and kept completely away from the family wrestling cult.
Part of me likes The Drama because it's very well made, the performances are all great.
But a big part of me is disappointed. At first I was confused. But since then, I've become more and more negative about the movie.
There was nobody with any empathy or compassion for Zendaya's character. Nobody to push back on those who only reacted with vitriol, disgust, or at best shock and disappointment.
Everyone who contemplates what she did, was abused, ostracized, or at best ignored by everyone on their life. And nobody gave her any credit for getting through. The movie is too one sided. There's no real debate. And I thinks it's worse for it.
That was the point, though, I think. It's a commentary on how society treats violence and mental health as individual, isolated character flaws rather than as systemic problems. Having a female & feminine character be the violent/troubled one was a brilliant choice imo because it goes against our stereotypes and further highlights this. That uncomfortable feeling you have would probably be less so if it was a character you expected to have issues like that
Maybe.
I'd like to think that.
But it seems a rather generous, to me.
It would need to spend more time on flashbacks for that. Show us more about how shitty kids were to her. Show us her parents were always too busy. Really hammer in the idea that her life was painful and lonley. Then, when we see nobody today cares to even try understand any of that, it would mean more.
But all it gives is one breif scene with a girl shoulder bumping her between classes. That little, feels like it was added as a small justification for herself. Not something that would make it understandable by most people.
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). The on-set feel of Italy adds so much to the movie, and Matt Damon's performance is spectacular. You never know what might be going on in his head as he gets himself deeper and deeper into trouble. Incredible how much the movie does with only a few major characters.
The recent miniseries based on the same story was very good
Civil War. Kirsten Dunst is fantastic in it and Jesse Plemons has an unforgettable minor part. It's pretty bleak and could probably retitled "USA28" by now. But it"s my favourite film of the 2020s so far.
I really enjoyed The Father, though it was extremely sad.
The Act of Killing. Mind. Blown.
The Act of Killing
That was one of the toughest movies to watch. It's been more than a decade, and I still can't bring myself to watch the follow-up.
Oh, i did not know he had create another one about the genocide. I don't how I feel about that, haha. I need to be in a really good place mentally before I can watch it.
The documentary might be even more relevant than it has been for a long time, as we are seeing history repeat itself currently.
Specifically because I watched the 3D rerelease last summer ( spring? ), Coraline. That movie is so much better in 3D and you cannot tell me otherwise.
Upgrade (2018) is one that I liked quite a bit. One of the rare movies whose ending I actually liked quite a bit.
That sounds quite fun I'd nit heard of it
I recently watched Rear Window. It was a fantastic movie. For such an old film, it’s aged really well.
Fantastic planet (1973), I saw it a couple months ago and it stuck with me for awhile. Both the art style and the narrative.
Great movie. And I love seeing the retro animation and hearing the retro score.
- M: Really great acting and camera work
- Atatürk: I was really surprised on the great production since I've never really seen a Turkish movie
- Das Boot: Heard so mich about it but never really came around to wazch it until I has a long train ride. I really loved it. Make sure that you watch the series instead of the movie (it's a longer cut and contains everything that's in the movie)
- Mr K: Really Kafkaesque. I don't get why it's scored so low.
- The menu: Great acting amd cool story
- Late night with the devil: I rellay like films taking place in one confined environment.
- Adam's Apples: I like Mads Mikkelsen and I like the movies of that director.
- Bullet Train: again a confined place, funny and action driven movie that's easy to watch.
- The Rocky Horror Picture show: Just saw this at the beginning of this month for the verx first time at a cinema that had a whole participation bag. It was really fun how the audience shouted stuff, threw rice,.. Had sometimes a bit trouble to follow the movoe while preparing for the next thing to do (it's easier if you already know the movie) but still would do it again.
If you liked the confined space of Late Night with The Devil then you should definitely check out The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant; and The Connection. Also 12 Angry Men if you haven’t. Older movies but they’re so good at this specific thing.
Thank you so much for the suggestions. I will definitely check them out. I also like Clue, which plays in a castle and Murder by Death. More towards horror is Horror Express and The Old Dark House.
Damn I love these old movies with the confined spaces.
I didn’t realise there’s so many horror movies that did this! Definitely will check those out, thanks!
Love Bullet Train! I would also recommend
Anders Thomas Jensen is IMO the best Danish director. It's usually the same gang that stars in the movies but they do an impeccable job. I suppose you have also seen the more recent Riders of Justice and The Last Viking too?
I've seen Riders of Justice but not The Last Viking yet, since I didn't manage to go to the cinema. But I'll definetly will watch it once the blu ray is released
I can wholeheartedly recommend it, it's already released on BluRay in Denmark, so you should be able to see it soon.
Thanks for letting me know. I jusz checked and it seems to be the 8th of May in Germany
I just watched SnowPiercer. I was having kind of a boring day, saw that it was on Tubi and thought, why not. I wasn't expecting much but honestly? I love it. I love the premise. The cinematography.
Bong Joon Ho is amazing. Same guy that did Parasite. I highly recommend his film, Memories of Murder
Tilda Swinton is iconic in that film.
Godzilla Minus One
Damn, that was my answer too.
‘The Substance’ was a recent-ish one that's among maybe two new films that I properly liked from the past five or ten years (I'm picky). It's like something that Cronenberg might've cooked up back in the nineties. Best to go into it blind.
Takeshi Kitano's ‘Ryuzo and the seven henchmen’ and ‘Broken Rage’ show his trademark humor combined with the yakuza themes, even as he gets up in years.
‘Chungking Express’ is a great older film.
I watched Memories of Murder again last night and that's maybe my favourite film ever so I guess that counts on a technicality!
Best new (to me) film I've watched recently was The Life of Chuck (in October last year). It was a beautiful, life-affirming film that left me feeling very emotional and contemplative for at least a week after I'd seen it. I have been thinking about watching it again this year, perhaps with some other family or friends to see if it impacts them too.
ImDB is enshitified. Try tmdb.org for a change.
Nah, I still prefer IMDb. It's a lot better for older media, due to its age. You can use browser extensions if you never want to click through to it, though.
You can’t read reviews anymore and cast lists are becoming obscured. Iits pretty much a glorified ad listing for the movie once those details are removed.
Only if you don't have an account, so in that sense nothing has changed for me.
Has for me. I don’t reward enshittification.
But each to their own. Nice suggestions. Have you tried rental family?
No, but it was also recommended by family so it's on the watch list!
Memories of Murder is so fucking good. Probably my favorite Korean language film
Apparently I don't watch movies nearly enough, but here's some ones a little off the beaten path:
Return to Seoul is about an adopted Korean woman finding her biological family. Sorta. My partner was part of the wave of Korean adoptions to the US that happened in the 80s (an interesting topic all on its own, but not the focus of the film) so the film gave us some good conversations.
Carol Doda Topless at the Condor was fascinating in a way I didn't expect. The combination of a view into the club scene for the time period, the explanations of the process and consequences for the type of breast augmentation she used, her encounters with the law, aging as a sex worker, it all just combined in a way that was enjoyable.
I recently watched It Happened One Night for the first time. It is a great movie, even at 92 years old.
I saw Rental Family a few weeks ago. It's really stuck with me. Excellent movie.
If it doesn’t matter when it came out then it would be Yi Yi by Edward Yang. It’s a Taiwanese film from 2000 that is so beautiful I cried while watching it twice in the cinema recently during its 4K restoration and 25th anniversary run. Everything about it is pretty much perfect in my opinion (with maybe the murder twist being a bit odd).
It tells the story of three different family members - the father, the daughter, and the son, as they just… deal with life to be honest. Old loves reappear, new ones are formed, things go well, thing go bad. It’s beautifully simple, just a film about people, but the way it’s presented - from the cinematography, to the writing, music, and acting - is done so well that I personally can’t help but feel it’s a must-watch for every human being.
For some fun extras that I won’t opine much also:
- pretty much anything by Wim Wenders (Alice in the Cities; Kings of The Road; Paris, Texas; Perfect Days)
- The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (It’s lesbian 12 Angry Men)
- The Connection (it’s jazzy and drug addicted 12 Angry Men)
- The Battle of Algiers
- 8 1/2
- Tokyo Fist
- Strike (yes, from 1925)
- Girlfriends (1978)
- from more recent movies I really loved the comedies Better Off Dead (the Indonesian film) and The Last Viking. Die My Love, The Drama, and Marty Supreme were also excellent.
Recently read an article about Wenders that was disappointing
Damn that really is disappointing 🥲
Damn that’s really disappointing. Fuck.
It's hard to describe what this movie is, but it's damn beautiful and manages to tell an interesting, heart-warming, tear-jerking story without a single line of dialog. Don't watch the trailer.
It's much more than just the last few years but Fucking Åmål (Show Me Love is the English title).
Might just be the age I saw it at made it more resonant (very much a film concerned with Young Love™) but definitely a comfort film.
One battle after another
It was pretty decent.
Also Civil War was similar in some ways (both movies are a commentary on modern America)
Coherence, and Oddity, both good horror movies.
How scary are they? And are they jump scare or psychological? I'm not the best with psychological horrors
Both very psychological. Of the two Coherence is by far the less creepy though.
Nice one thanks
The Promised Land (2023) with Mads Mikkelson. A gut wrenching biopic that is mint Mads. Just enthralling, with amazing performances all around.
I hated the antagonist so much it made my blood boil.
Wolfwalkers. Exceptionally beautiful visually, story is incredible, it's at least slightly queer coded, has a "how to be a wolf" tutorial that is entirely too effective at making me weep for some reason (my canid fursona isn't even a wolf! but I'd still take it).
and it very expertly points out just how incredibly destructive and evil Christianity and the British empire have been
I gotta say Perfect Blue
Skimming my Letterboxd for films I rated 4-5*, filtering to things I just want to list.
Varsity Blues Zootopia Kill Bill the Whole Bloody Affair Godzilla Minus One Soldier's Girl The Maxx The Menu Speed Racer Wolfwalkers The Mexican
That goes back to 2022.
One that's not a main stream title like fifth element or tombstone?
Greaser's Palace.
It's a re-imagined telling of the story of Jesus if it were a 70s acid trip staring Alan Arbus...
Fucking. Wild.
If ya feel, ya heal.
I watched 225 movies last year and 2 new releases really stuck out to me
Predator: Killer of Killers - it's 3 short animated segments about different humans fighting Predators and it looks great. It's low on dialog so you can just enjoy the action
Eternity - these are some of the most dynamic characters that I've seen in a movie. Despite being dead they all go on emotional journies and by the end you're really satisfied
Eternity looks excellent thanks
I feel like Listers counts, went in completely blind and hadn't even finished it before it was in my top 3 docs I've seen. A documentary about two stoners competing in the toughest birdwatching competition in the US, genuinely exceptional quality uploaded for free, no ads, with the guy turning down offers from multiple corps to keep it free for everyone.
I haven't seen that movie since it came out and i'm not sure if i want to rewatch it, because sometimes they age weird.
Ferrari, Sinners, The Secret Agent, Would You Rather, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Perfect Blue, Videodrome...
Edit: Just saw you say you're not good with psychological horror.
That's really thoughtful of you thanks
I watched Billy Elliot - I Will Dance yesterday. Loved it. Super funny.
Greenfingers.
I don't remember when I saw it but "amanece, que no es poco". I don't know if you'll find it dubbed or with subtitles.
Is there any you have been toying with but not watched?
I have a system. I try to do month long marathons. Like this month it’s only Nicholas cage movies and I force myself to watch some non mainstream.
Then next month it may be foreign movies with a one word title. I only watch a few a month so it works out well and pushes me to explore
Zulu The light horsemen Charge of the light brigade
Only movies I have willingly watched more than once.
Ball of Fire. 1941
7 scientists hire a lady to help them catalog slang in their encyclopedia. Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwick.
The IMAX release of Interstellar was incredible.
I watched that Saturday! I thought it was ok but I'm not a massive sci fi fan
Some of my favourites that are relatively recent (not more than 10 years old):
1917
The Irishmen
Project Hail Mary
Juror #2
Lee
1917 is definitely my favourite in this list, but each movie was a very pleasent surprise going in blind.
My brain was thinking "wait, 1917 is definitely more than 10 years ago, and The Irishmen was released just a few years ago"
Also TIL there's a movie called 1917
Ah I see the formatting might have been messed up. Corrected it now!
Crazy Rich Asians is my guilty pleasure
My all time favorite is Tommy Boy
Bottoms 2023