What have you watched recently?

Mickeroo

Judgement Day wrote: »

Just switched off "Sherlock Holmes" (2009) on RTE - what a pile of parrot droppings! I haven't seen such an abomination in years; I knew that I wouldn't like it as I had the misfortune to catch the trailers but it was even worse than anticipated. I love Sherlock Holmes, grew up with the books - The Hound of the Baskervilles would be my favourite and the 1939 movie of the same name with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. The 1984 Granada TV series with Jeremy Brett in the title role was superb but this latest offering is dire. Why associate it with Sherlock Holmes at all - it's as about as true to the original as the new Hawaii Five O is to the earlier TV series.

I liked it, thought there was great chemistry between Holmes & Watson. Fair enough if you didn't though. Have you watched the BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman? I've only seen season 1 but thought it was great, you might like it more than the hollywood version, i get the impression it's more true to the source material regardless of being set in the present day.

johnny_ultimate

Notorious wrote: »

I saw Hara Kiri: Death of a Samurai (1962) in the IFI over the weekend. It was my first time seeing the film, which was shown as part of the IFI's Action Movies season. I don't know if I'd class the film as an action movie, having only a handful of fight scenes, but the few fight scenes they had were amazing. The story is loosly about a father taking revenge for the lack of pity shown to his son-in-law who was pushed into comitting ritual suicide after originally bluffing it. It's an interesting story and its beautifully shot. I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in world cinema.

A bit confused by this one... did you see the new Takeshi Miike remake (currently on the IFI) or the Kobayashi original (which currently isn't on in the IFI, to my knowledge)?

Just watched Samaritan Girl - an enigmatic film from Ki-duk Kim (3-Iron, Spring Summer...). The usual themes of spirituality are there - this time mixing Buddhism with a bit of Catholicism. The story is a very odd one about a young schoolgirl who becomes a prostitute while her best friend acts as a 'business manager', so the two can earn money to go to Europe. There's a peculiar twist around half an hour on, and the film shoots off in peculiar directions. Becomes a sort of strange revenge movie for a while, before settling on more sombre, thoughtful material for its final act. A film of contradictions, and you may well become frustrated trying to decipher the damn thing. But there's still something deeply unusual and compelling about it, despite its schizophrenia.

Basq

Mickeroo wrote: »

I liked it, thought there was great chemistry between Holmes & Watson. Fair enough if you didn't though. Have you watched the BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman? I've only seen season 1 but thought it was great, you might like it more than the hollywood version, i get the impression it's more true to the source material regardless of being set in the present day.

Yep, I liked Ritchie's 'Sherlock Holmes' until I saw the Moffat & Gatiss's TV series which just blew me away.

Now watching Ritchie's version, I can't help but feel it was a missed opportunity, in a way.

Tony EH

Judgement Day wrote: »

Just switched off "Sherlock Holmes" (2009) on RTE - what a pile of parrot droppings! I haven't seen such an abomination in years; I knew that I wouldn't like it as I had the misfortune to catch the trailers but it was even worse than anticipated. I love Sherlock Holmes, grew up with the books - The Hound of the Baskervilles would be my favourite and the 1939 movie of the same name with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. The 1984 Granada TV series with Jeremy Brett in the title role was superb but this latest offering is dire. Why associate it with Sherlock Holmes at all - it's as about as true to the original as the new Hawaii Five O is to the earlier TV series.

I know, it's bloody depressing, isn't it?

The definitive Sherlock Holmes is the Jeremy Brett TV version, even though it's showing it's age and TV limitations now.

The producers of this dreck weren't even trying. It's a terrible effort and in the end, simply a "name-rape".

Cokeistan

Watched 21 Jump Street over the weekend. I was really surprised with it, I thought it was just going to be one of those typical teen movies but not only was it funny, but had some great action scenes! If you're on the fence about watching this I would say definitely go for it and you could be pleasantly surprised!

Cokeistan

Judgement Day wrote: »

Just switched off "Sherlock Holmes" (2009) on RTE - what a pile of parrot droppings! I haven't seen such an abomination in years; I knew that I wouldn't like it as I had the misfortune to catch the trailers but it was even worse than anticipated. I love Sherlock Holmes, grew up with the books - The Hound of the Baskervilles would be my favourite and the 1939 movie of the same name with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. The 1984 Granada TV series with Jeremy Brett in the title role was superb but this latest offering is dire. Why associate it with Sherlock Holmes at all - it's as about as true to the original as the new Hawaii Five O is to the earlier TV series.

Why did you bother trying to watch it so? Seems like a pointless enough exercise...

Judgement Day

Cokeistan wrote: »

Why did you bother trying to watch it so? Seems like a pointless enough exercise...

The clue is in my original post - I like Sherlock Holmes books, movies, radio plays so I decided against my better judgement to give it a chance. As Tony_EH put it, it was no more than "name-rape", very eloquently put too!

D'Agger

Watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall yesterday with some friends who hadn't seen it

Love that movie - the comedy is brilliant and Mila Kunis looks too good in it!!

Crooked Jack

Saw an absolutely bonkers film last night called Sleeping Beauty. No idea what was going on it, what the outcome was or what it was about. Tonnes of nudity in it though, which is probably what got me to the end

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty_(2011_film)

mikemac1

Meet Bill

Don't watch many comedys but was attracted to this one by the cast

Aaron Eckhart, Timothy Olyphant, Elizabeth Banks

Charming film, realy enjoyed it

SarahBM

I watched Downton Abbey season 1, 2 and the christmas special over the wknd. God, I cannot wait for season 3 in September!!!

mikemac1

You should check out Upstairs Downstairs Sarah
The old version from the seventies, it's good
The Scottish butler is the best character



Thank you for smoking

Big fan of Aaron Eckhart and I liked this film a lot

Thumps up

SarahBM

mikemac1 wrote: »

You should check out Upstairs Downstairs Sarah
The old version from the seventies, it's good
The Scottish butler is the best character

I have been meaning to watch that. saw the new Upstairs/Downstairs on ITV a while back, it was ok, but my mam said the original was the best. Love Downton though.

livinsane

Watched Young Frankenstein tonight. Loved it. Hilarious. Every character was comedy gold. Kind of film that would make you want to make a movie.

Notorious

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

A bit confused by this one... did you see the new Takeshi Miike remake (currently on the IFI) or the Kobayashi original (which currently isn't on in the IFI, to my knowledge)?

Ah, I feel a bit stupid now. I didn't realise it was a remake, I thought it was a re-release in 3D (I couldn't figure out why they would add 3D into the film). I kept thinking that the film looked amazing considering I thought it was shot in the late 60s.

e_e

Do watch the original too, it's pretty amazing.

That_Guy

The Sitter: Awful awful awful. 90 mins I'll never ever get back. I'd say I laughed twice throughout. Don't bother.

Being Elmo: A Puppeteers Journey: Really interesting documentary about how the puppeteer came to be on the set of Sesame Street and embody the much loved Elmo puppet.

Very light hearted and well worth a watch. It's quite short but it's not so short that you feel like you've missed out on anything. Very enjoyable.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows: I quite enjoyed the first SH film and this wasn't too bad a follow up. The on screen chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law works very well and make an excellent double team.

Dialogue is fast and witty at times and the action is decent.

The only thing about the action sequences that really bugged me was the over use of bullet time (slow mo). I like the use of bullet time but when it's over done like this it feels over saturated and loses it's appeal.

Still worth a watch though.

American Renuion: I rather enjoyed the older American Pie films. This isn't too bad an effort. Thought it started out a bit slow and took a while to get going for me but it does get there and it's enjoyable enough and laughed a lot.

The humour may not be to everyone's tastes but it's a pretty decent comedy if that's what you're into.

If you've not seen the previous films then a lot of references will go over your head so I'd recommend you watch them first if you're planning to see this.

mikemac1

The Whistleblower

Big fan of David Strarthairn
Rachel Weisz was the main actress in this

Very interesting film
Had me glued to the end

I haven't read up on it so I don't know if it's based on a true story but I wouldn't be suprised if it was

wrmwit

I watched Parked last week.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1571409/

Great movie and a bit depressing. It's a good reminder that there's very little between having a good life to having nothing.

GBXI

mikemac1 wrote: »

You should check out Upstairs Downstairs Sarah
The old version from the seventies, it's good
The Scottish butler is the best character



Thank you for smoking

Big fan of Aaron Eckhart and I liked this film a lot

Thumps up

That's mad, I just came into this thread to see if anyone would have watched this recently! I watched it myself last night having seen the trailer last week (even though it's 7 years old!).

Thought it was a brilliant movie, one of the best I've seen in a while. Very clever script with a good casting, which is most of the criteria for a good movie. Eckhart is very good, will have to watch more of his stuff.

rednik

Bugsy : Watched this today, hadn't seen in in years. A really good portrayal of a gangster. Beatty is outstanding with Benning superb. A great supporing cast make this a great watch.

johnny_ultimate

Treated myself (or the IFI treated me, loyalty card FTW!) to a French-language double bill today.

Goodbye First Love - a bittersweet tale of first love, and how hard it can be to let go of it. Over-serious in the way only over-serious French films can be, the film is acutely observed but ultimately feels a little hollow. The protagonist is too mopey and emotionally immature to really get behind it, and there's no real insight to be garnered. That said, it looks nice, is pleasing in its bittersweetness and often pleasantly understated despite the dialogue feeling overwrought and artificial. Just not much to it, really. There's a gutsy scene where the first love of the title bemoans a film for being 'too French' and talky. Goodbye First Love could be accused of the very same thing. Likeable, but not lovable.

Monsieur Lazhar - Much better. The trailer suggested this was firmly in the 'inspirational teacher' sub-genre, and while there are some callbacks to films with a similar setup, this French-Canadian effort is head and shoulders above them. Starting with a suicide, this tale tells of a new teacher's (Fellag) interactions with his class. It's a thematically and emotionally complex work. The adults struggle as much with the consequences of death and moral confusion as the kids do. It's also a slightly sad and nostalgic examination at the role of education. In this way, it subverts the rules of genre. In suggesting that, perhaps, there is only so much a good-intentioned teacher can do - or, indeed, should do - the film is removed from the life-affirming moral simplicity of the likes of Dead Poets Society. Life is a challenge for student and teachers alike: Monsieur Lazhar makes no attempt to resolve this basic truth. A simple and accessible delivery masks a work of great tenderness, honesty and complexity. Excellent stuff.

GAAman

I watched Contraband last night. What a crap movie, really did not like it.

Finally caught City of God the other night. Have been meaning to watch this for ages. A very good film about growing up in the drug and crime riddled favelas in Rio. One scene in particular will stay with me which I am sure would do with alot of others who saw it.

The scene where

The two kids from "The Runts" are cornered and shot, and the kid who gets the dealers their food is made to pick one to kill. The crying of the younger kid is so real and vivid

Edit: Just finished watching Dear Zachary having seen people on boards talk about it and there is a huge lump in my throat.

Spoiler below do not read if you have not watched the film!

What was the worst thing for me was

I thought near the start when the guy is getting emotional and a toddler is beside him that the toddler was zachary. When it said what had happened my jaw dropped

Powerful stuff

CL7

Ghost Rider. Panned by critics but wasn't nearly as bad as they said. It's dumb fun and Eva Mendes is in it which is always a plus. 6/10

Kolido

Area 407 (Tape 407)


Watched this last night. It was mentioned few days ago on this tread.
I have to say it was awfull. Probably one of the worst movies I have watched in a long time and thats no exaggeration. Its a found footage movie and I think these movies should be a bit more realistic than your average hollywood movie. I didnt find any of the characters believably at all. I think one of the biggest plot holes in these movies is how to justify filming while in the middle of a crises, which they fail to over come in this movie also.

If you think your plane crashing is unlucky, think about your plane crashing in the middle of jurasic park

I'm sure some people will like it but I don't recommend it at all. 3/10

Tony EH

'Super 8'

A decent attempt to capture the late 70's feel of middle class, small town America and what it was like to grow up there. Of course, the kids have way too much time on their hands and are spoiled in the way that American TV kids usually are, i.e. endless amounts of toys/gadgets, TV's in bedrooms, etc. The children of my day would have been green with envy!

The title of the film comes from the 8mm film that the kids are using to shoot their own movie and during a scene they witness a train crash that changes the lives of everyone in their town.

This is by the same producer of 'Cloverfield' and also lists Steven Spielberg in its credits, whose touches are all over it. It has a very distinct 'Goonies' or 'E.T.' feel about the whole thing...perhaps a little too much.

Overall, a good "kids" film and an interesting take on days gone by for 30 somethings, but I can't help get the impression that it's been terribly over-rated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz8qjs_O3kM

'Snowtown'

Based on the real life series of murders in Southern Australia, this low budget first effort is a gritty take on that country's worst case of "serial killing". It's a grim film, with a careful study of life in a poverty stricken section of Australian society and how the sheer power and presence of one individual can change and mold the events around him and numerous others. It has a good cast of unknowns, who keep their characters within the realms of reality at all times and features a truly menacing performance by Daniel Henshall as John Bunting, the ringleader of the Snowtown serial killer group.

There's nothing flashy about 'Snowtown' and it's tone throughout may leave some people uneasy. It's cold and aloof from it's subject and never attempts to make any remark about the events unfolding on the screen. At times it feels somewhat like a documentary, which isn't a bad thing by any means.

However, there are long stretches of time where there is simply nothing going on and to be honest, I felt a little bored. At around 2 hours, it comes across as a little too long for the content. In other words, there wasn't enough content to fill the running time. The violence is kept to a minimum and is rather tame compared to other films of its ilk, but the atmosphere is where the film triumphs. It manages to maintain an admirable weirdness in its depiction.

It's been very well received in many countries, but like 'Super 8' above, I feel that again, it's been a tad over-rated and in the end it's not anything that hasn't been done before and I was sort of left a little unsatisfied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvu_tBQgZyI

Tipsy McSwagger

Super 8 is nothing like The Goonies except there are some kids in it. It doesn't have a distinct Goonies feeling at all. Super 8 is a rubbish film with crap characters, a stupid train crash that makes no sense, no humour, becomes really boring and linear and has a terrible ending. I'm sick of everyone comparing it to The Goonies (my favourite film) when the only thing it has in common is that Spielberg had a hand in both.

johnny_ultimate

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

linear.

I'm usually not one for picking out single words but...

Linear?

Tindie

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

Super 8 is nothing like The Goonies except there are some kids in it. It doesn't have a distinct Goonies feeling at all. Super 8 is a rubbish film with crap characters, a stupid train crash that makes no sense, no humour, becomes really boring and linear and has a terrible ending. I'm sick of everyone comparing it to The Goonies (my favourite film) when the only thing it has in common is that Spielberg had a hand in both.

I agrees that should not be compared too The Goonies, after I saw it, I told people that it Felt like A mix of Stand by me and ET!

However the movie was a little disappointing after all that hype it had, thought it was just worth watching!

Tindie

Kolido wrote: »

Area 407 (Tape 407)


Watched this last night. It was mentioned few days ago on this tread.
I have to say it was awfull. Probably one of the worst movies I have watched in a long time and thats no exaggeration. Its a found footage movie and I think these movies should be a bit more realistic than your average hollywood movie. I didnt find any of the characters believably at all. I think one of the biggest plot holes in these movies is how to justify filming while in the middle of a crises, which they fail to over come in this movie also.

If you think your plane crashing is unlucky, think about your plane crashing in the middle of jurasic park

I'm sure some people will like it but I don't recommend it at all. 3/10

Yeah, it was of weaker Found footage movie but over last fews years, I seen a lot worst, Such as The haunted House Project, The Amityville Haunting , Gacy House, The Collingswood Story , Ragini MMS and The Devil Inside , i would rate Tape 407 higher then those i just listed!, I would not recommend it!

I Would recommend you Emergo (2011) really good movie, i would have gave it 9 out of 10 but the last scenes of the movies ruins the whole feel of the movie, I Hated the very last scenes in this movie. 7 out of 10