What have you watched recently?

SarahBM

Watched an Affair to Remember yesterday. Love Carry Grant in it. And the banter with him and Deborah Kerr is fantastic. I could see George Clooney playing Nickie Ferranti in a remake. Not sure who could play Terry though.

That_Guy

Prometheus: Really enjoyed it. Very glad I managed to avoid all reviews etc for it. Decent sci-fi film though. Was expecting it to be a bit more scary than it was but it was very enjoyable for what it was.

I was curious as to why David infected that lad (character name eludes me right now). Wasn't explained at all.

Hobo With A Shotgun: Decided to have a grindhouse double bill on Sunday afternoon. Stupid amounts of gore, cheesy and awful acting with a nonsensical storyline... What's not to like about it really? So intentionally bad it was good.

Followed that up with Machete. Much like Hobo With A Shotgun, it was full of gore, cheesy acting but Michelle Rodriguez (purrs) was in it which is always a good thing in my book. Enjoyable film if you're just looking for a bit of mindless entertainment for 100 minutes.

johnny_ultimate

Barking Dogs Never Bite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFnr0IxfVhM

Have you ever thought Marley & Me should have ended with the titular canine being made into a stew? Well, this is the film for you! An unwieldy dark comedy from the director of Memories of Murder / The Host, it's a film that's a bit all over the place but is refreshing and entertaining nonetheless. A professor takes 'extreme' measures to silence the barking dogs in his apartment block, but the narrative flies off in various unusual directions. It's very funny at times (if mostly in the first half), and the characters are largely unlikeable. But there's still something very unusual and engaging about it throughout, and is devoid of easy resolutions. An interesting and incomparable debut from someone who would go on to make even more incomparable films.

FishBowel

Caretaker - based on the play with Donald Pleasance, Alan Bates, and Rob Shaw. A tramp gets bullied by a young man in an attic.

A V A

never let me go - didnt get it atall,

mikemac1

Gideons's Trumpet

Made for TV film from the eighties, one of the last appearances for Henry Fonda

True story about the old days before legal aid
And if you couldn't afford a lawyer you'd be fooked at a trial as you have to represent yourself and you would not know how to do it

One man appealed and went all the way to the US Supreme Court


Gideon himself wasn't exactly a great citizen, multiple convictions for burglary and lots of stints in jail. But he did have a point about the right for a lawyer

Very interesting

GAAman

Saw Prometheus, really didn't enjoy it at all

That_Guy wrote: »

Prometheus:

I was curious as to why David infected that lad (character name eludes me right now). Wasn't explained at all.

I was wondering that myself when I left the cinema then realised

The guy he infected was there with his wife, so it was highly likely there would be sex which led to her "pregnancy" and the creation of the alien. Remember he was so adamant nothing happen to it even sedating her so she didn't do anything to it.

Just my take on it

Tony EH

David was probably instructed by the unseen Wayland to "infect" one of the crew. The "pregnancy" was probably just a convenient side effect.

GAAman

Tony EH wrote: »

David was probably instructed by the unseen Wayland to "infect" one of the crew. The "pregnancy" was probably just a convenient side effect.

Yeah you could be right however I had thought two things

Given it has been a staple of the Alien series that Weyland/Weyland-Yutani were always playing with a stacked deck and kept things very close to their chest. We never know just how much they know.

Second point being David could have infected anyone on the ship, seems a bit too convenient that it was the male part of the only couple onboard. If he had of infected the female there would have been no transmission or incubation period just the infection which just would have led to her death going by what happened to him.

Could be way off that's just how I read it

af_thefragile

Watched The Dictator.
What I thought of it: Meh... Few funny moments but mostly meh...

Watched The Raid today.
What I thought of it: Its going in my top 10 movies I've ever seen!

johnny_ultimate

Hellevator: The Bottled Fools

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_7RXADQ-wc

Morbid curiosity finally got the better of me. Have been curious to see this oddity since I spotted the pun-tastic title on a Tower Records shelf years ago. Thanks to the joys of Netflix, I finally indulged.

While not as bat-**** as the title promises, it's still pretty bat****. It's set in a cyberpunk / dystopian future, although the setting mostly seems like a contrivance to get the characters into an oversized lift with some convicts (at times it's kind of like Con Air in an elevator). The main schoolgirl character is telepathic or mad or something. The lift breaks down, and entrails spill.

Remarkably similar to Devil, and actually probably better, it's a very silly, frivolous slice of Japanese schlock. The occasional moment of mostly pointless ultraviolence (someone gets their scalp ripped off for no apparent reason, and there's a bit that won't please protective mothers) aside, it's a relatively harmless yarn about what happens when a load of psychopaths end up in a futuristic elevator. Production values are shockingly low (looks like it was filmed on an old school camera phone at times) but a little more impressive when you find out it was made by a student. Effects still look like they were pulled from the old PS1 Demo One disc, however. There's an attempt at an analogy about the monotonous nature of modern life and commuting, but I wouldn't read too much into it if I were you. There's also a last minute twist that sort of justifies the title, but only sort of. Again, don't think about it too much and you'll be fine.

There's a good bit when a load of choreographed salarymen pull cord phones from their pockets.

I give this a pun out of ten.

jayteecork

The raid: redemption. Brilliant

Iron sky: ****e

Illkillya

A V A wrote: »

never let me go - didnt get it atall,

I watched this one recently too... occurred to me at the time that anyone who hasn't read the book has no way of understanding what's going on most of the time. Having said that, they did re-capture the atmosphere of the book surprisingly well.

Basq

Watched Jurassic Park on Blu-ray late last night.

No neighbours and no kids so had the 5.1 system blaring.

While I'm pretty sure there was no touch-up with the effects, they didn't look half bad for a film that's almost 20 years old. Now I'm not saying you wouldn't know.. but it's not quite half as jarring as it should be. In saying that.. the reveal of the brachiosaurus on arrival to the island did look... off!

Anyways, one of my childhood favourites and it's actually amazing how well some of the action scenes hold up today. Some of them I can't help but laugh at.. the kids (Tim & Lex) in the jeep are being snapped at by a T-Rex through a broken sunroof while Dr Grant and Dr Malcolm just look on. The jeep is tipped over and are slowly sinking into the ground and eventually Dr Grant and Dr Malcolm take action. But it does seem a prolonged decision!

Oh.. and another thing... that now infamous goofy noise when Nedry slips in the rain (see poor quality moment 14 seconds in below). I'm now convinced it's the sound of the pulley being torn from the car when he slips. Anyone else or just me?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9eyTZA2hb0

The kids (Joseph Mazzello and Arianne Richards) are still as nauseating as ever.. and Lex's moment in the spotlight as a "hacker" is just bizarre.. she hovers over a 2D drawing of the compound and clicks the mouse a few times! :rolleyes:

Goldblum is at his best here.. while his constant chuckles and gurns can be irritating, he's likeable as always.

Direction by Spielberg is, as you'd expect, glorious.. and that score is just sublime.

Anyways - a late night well spent reminiscing of my youth and fascination with all things dino!

Raoul

I agree about the goof/pulley.

Duggy747

Saw Jurassic Park when it was released in the cinema a while ago, still looked stunning. The only bits where it showed it's age was the straight up CGI moments like first reveal of the dinosaurs.

The other scenes where it cut between CGI and models like the T-Rex introduction or the raptors in the kitchen looked great.

As for the pulley, I always assumed the sound came from it as he slipped.

craftypaddy

iron sky, pure shi~t
the dictator, waited so long to see this and it was only ok, sacha baron cohen is finished now in my opinion

That_Guy

The Angels Share:

Really enjoyable Scottish comedy. Hadn't a notion as to what it was about and I really enjoyed it. Was a bit slow in the beginning but burst into life and I was very charmed by it.

Likable characters and a good script/story.

Would definitely recommend it.

grohlisagod

Watched two films tonight.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

Good film and an interesting take on the Holocaust. The film's impact is diluted however as the subject has been done to death(pardon the awful pun). The score was also very distracting as it is ridiculously reminiscent of A Beautiful Mind.

Paris, Texas.

Wonderful film, rich in emotion with magnificent performances from Harry Dean Stanton and Aurore Clement.

That_Guy

Act Of Valour:

Acting is appalling throughout though I can overlook that given that the cast are actual marines and as such really don't have any acting experience.

The action sequences are fantastic and really enthralling and exciting though the story is all over the place and seems rather messy.

It's enjoyable but it's nothing spectacular.

jayteecork

craftypaddy wrote: »

iron sky, pure shi~t
the dictator, waited so long to see this and it was only ok, sacha baron cohen is finished now in my opinion

He is in me hole, sure he's getting serious work now like Hugo and Les Miserables.

briany

The Game (1997) : Michael Douglas is a high powered business exec who, looking for a little excitement, enlists the services of an agency of sorts which specialises in creating a live action fantasy specifically tailored to the psyche of each of it's clients.

Thought it was pretty good. Good web of intrigue thing going on although sometimes the air of paranoia got a little bit too thick and overwrought. Still a very solid film. 7.5/10

Fatal Deviation : Needs no introduction but just to help spread the word; the first and probably only martial arts film set in Ireland about a man who returns home after ten years in borstal to find the man who killed his father and take part in the ancient tournament that the local monks hold once a decade.

Or, a few boggers saw one too many JCVD films and had a crack.

A terrible film by any normal standard but it's one of the best bad films I have seen. -8/-10

FishBowel

Pandora and the flying Dutchman - a group of posh Brits retire to Spain but James Mason arrives and can't get killed. Brilliant film that's similar to M Night Shyamalan's stuff but classier.

Mike Litoris

Technocentral wrote: »

I've never seen a remake of a film (not talking about another version of a book or play) that was as good as or better than the original:

The Thing? No
The Taking of Pelham 123? No.
The Lady Killers? Your jokin.
The Day THe Earth Stood Sill? Hell no.
Pyscho? F*ck no.
etc.

I usually get hammered for this but I thought the remake of the Omen was better than the original.

GiveEmHellKid

Quantum of Solace - I've decided I don't like Daniel Craig as Bond.
Layer Cake - Like Rockn'Rolla except a little lacking on the plot side.
Bigga Then Ben - I wasn't expecting much and I didn't get much. It's low budget but it has some killer lines.
Howl (Biopic of the poet Allen Ginsberg) It's unusual and I like it. I like how they used animation for some of the poetry scenes.
Pineapple Express - I usually can't stand Seth Rogan but this was funny. And James Franco is hilarious in it.

GiveEmHellKid

Quantum of Solace - I've decided I don't like Daniel Craig as Bond.
Layer Cake - Like Rockn'Rolla except a little lacking on the plot side.
Bigga Then Ben - I wasn't expecting much and I didn't get much. It's low budget but it has some killer lines.
Howl (Biopic of the poet Allen Ginsberg) It's unusual and I like it. I like how they used animation for some of the poetry scenes.
Pineapple Express - I usually can't stand Seth Rogan but this was funny. And James Franco is hilarious in it.

johnny_ultimate

Last Train Home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KjO50bxN54

Pretty much documentary perfection. Intimately personal yet grand in its scope and social awareness. Following a family of Chinese migrant workers over the course of a few years. The parents return home to their kids once a year, to celebrate Chinese New Year. The film charts the migratory process - 130 million people make the trip home every year - in astoundingly vivid detail. But it's the family that draw you in, with the film spiraling off in an unexpected direction when adolescent daughter heads off to find a factory job of her own against her parents' wishes.

Some of the characters barely speak, but the camera lingers on faces just aching with emotion and turmoil. Heartbreaking stuff, all the more affecting because these are the people who make your jeans. There's a fascinating look at contemporary China in here too, from the smog drenched cities to the snow-covered rural provinces. The scenes of hundreds of thousands of people spending days trying to break through to train platforms are the stuff of astounding cinema.

This is a film that simply documents. It's a beautifully composed film - with a wonderful sense of pace - but there's little to no music and not a word of narration. This is a film that doesn't need to manipulate to the degree other documentaries need to, because it lets the images and characters speak for themselves. Director Lixin Fan trusts and respects both the audience and his subjects, and the film is infinitely better for it.

Vital, utterly compelling viewing.

Bassboxxx

Battle Royal Decent film, but I didn't really get the message if there was one If it was a message to kids to be more obedient I'd be a little disappointed :rolleyes:

Tayleur

The Grey. Really enjoyed. Great ending also. It seems 2012 is really a good year for movies so far.

Marty McFly

The Road: im not sure were to start but it has to be the most depressing, grim, bleak film ive ever seen and yet I still couldnt bring myself to stop watching it its compelling viewing. Some of the scenes are really hard to watch, which is a credit to the director he gives it real sense of realism and although really grim its still beautifuly shot. Viggo Mortensen puts ina great performance. Well worth a watch but prepare yourself beforehand .

The Raid: Absolutely loved it, could watch it over and over again a masterpiece in martial arts cinema. Now the plot is very thin, but the plot is more of a neccessity than the being the focal point which is the fight scenes and they are some of the best ive seen. The soundtrack is perfect along with the director capability to build tension before every action sequence. A must have for the movie collection when released .

Ip Man 2: I loved Ip Man 1 it had a good plot and a great fight scenes, as a sequel this however didnt live up to my expectations. The storyline seemed strongly borrowed from Rocky 4 to an extent, the first one felt like an epic story with amazing action the second one felt rushed and storyline just thrown in for the sake of the action. The action and slickness of the fight scenes were still there and Donnie Yen done a fantastic job once again. One id watch again but just pales in comparison to Ip Man 1.

Battle Royale: I cant belive I waited so long to watch this ive been hearing about it for such a long time and was on my to watch list for ages, so finally got myself a copy of it and loved it and I cant put my finger on why. It is extreme in the fact its children commiting such acts of violence but I think thats part of its charm that its so out there really, in plot and violence. Plus there characters in the film that I think no matter who you are people will relate to at least one of them.