I realize that this may sound like a unique question, but please humor me anyway. Is there a place where people can efficiently watch relatively recent movies in their entirety for free? Or is that illegal?

You can catch many on Netflix or Amazon Prime's Instant Videos or Hulu/Hulu Plus ... and there's a new one out there called M-GO, I think. Undoubtedly, there are other sources.

The newest movies may or may not be there and they may or may not be free. No movie production people in their right minds would turn them loose for free!!