What have you watched recently?

BUBBLE WRAP

Keno 92 wrote: »

But you are old enough to google when it came out!

Ya.... I got the date wrong, I never realised it was a crime. :rolleyes:

Kylo Ren

BUBBLE WRAP wrote: »

Ya.... I got the date wrong, I never realised it was a crime. :rolleyes:

Pretty sure it's not a crime. You should google it!

paddy kerins

Demolition Man. Brilliant doesn't begin to describe it

krudler

paddy kerins wrote: »

Demolition Man. Brilliant doesn't begin to describe it

"my boggle?"

WHIP IT!

Unbelievably, I had never seen any of thee Bourne trilogy until yesterday... watched the first one yesterday and found it thoroughly enjoyable - looking forward now to the other two!

The Mad Hatter

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Ye olde silent horror classic. Stands out mostly for its astonishingly unique set design - full of distorted architecture and nightmarishly sharp edges. The overall design of the film, while clearly quite theatrical, puts modern films to shame. The film itself is a fun little yarn about a psychopathic doctor who shows up at a funfair with a lad in a coffin. Murders promptly occur. But there's a twist!

It's also in the public domain, and available on Archive.org.

IIRC, though, the twist ending was added later to appease (I can't remember which) the studio or the government.

Loughc

Men In Black 3

Saw this a couple of nights ago in 3d. MIB3 is a very enjoyable film but it is a typical popcorn film, nice to watch it at the time and a fine way to spend two hours but very forgettable once you leave.

Will Smith is his charming, funny self in it but IMO the star of the show is Josh Brolin his impression of Tommy Lee Jones is spot on, so convincing you will spend time thinking could they be actually related!

The 3d (when used) is good and it engages with the design of the movie. The plot is as you expect it although without spoiling the ending it does wrap up the trilogy in a nice way. That being said please stop at 3!!

Overall I'll give MIB3 a 6/10 enjoyable but forgettable at the same time!

Fysh

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

It's also in the public domain, and available on Archive.org.

IIRC, though, the twist ending was added later to appease (I can't remember which) the studio or the government.

According to the Wikipedia article, the creators were given free reign for most of the film but the idea for the ending was imposed by the producers. A good thing too, IMO - it works very well for the film and gives it an extra punch beyond the already excellent aesthetic.

briany

Five Easy Pieces (1970) : A film about a man (Jack Nicholson) who has shunned his relatively comfortable, intellectual, upper-class upbringing for a semi nomadic life working on an oil rig and living with an intellectually inferior girlfriend whom he mistreats. Bit of a road trip involved when he gets prompted to pay a visit to his old homestead.

I had thought this would be a sort of spiritual companion piece to Easy Rider based on the synopsis I read but it's not really on the same level as that film and Nicholson's character is a pretty unlikeable lead but that's OK as Nicholson does unlikeable pretty well. Still, if you liked Easy Rider I'd recommend giving this a look. 6.5/10

Conan O' Brien Can't Stop (2011): When Conan stepped down as the host of the tonight show, NBC had an no compete clause that basically said he couldn't host any other show on TV for six months. The solution was to organise a sort evening with Conan type show that would tour across America with comedy, and music and general slagging of NBC and Jay Leno. This film documents the planning, execution of and behind the scenes footage from that tour.

One of the best docs I've seen in a long while and solely because Conan is so effortlessly funny at almost every point in the film (though some of his jokes have a barb to them) and there's a feel good element to the film. He has a talented team behind him who are completely up for it as well and it ends up looking like it was some show. 8/10

FishBowel

Carry on at your convenience - one of the better titles in the series.

BUBBLE WRAP

Keno 92 wrote: »

Pretty sure it's not a crime. You should google it!

Not a crime? Whats the big song and dance about so?

johnny_ultimate

My Neighbour Totoro - The film that disproves the theory that there's no such thing as a perfect film. Simply the most charming film ever made (superlatives are necessary for this film), with absolutely gorgeous hand-drawn animation and the most wonderful, energetic character design you've ever likely to see. Simple enough for kids, yet deeply nostalgic for everyone else. The contrast between youthful imagination and the darker, more realistic undertones is perfectly judged. Yep, perfect is really the only word for this one, and on a third or fourth watch it's lost none of its magic.

mikemac1

Demolition Man

Didn't like it

I can watch these kind of films alright, I loved Kick-Ass

But this one, not for me.
Not entertained at all

SarahBM

My Left Foot

Can honestly say one for the best films I have ever seen.

Syferus

Well there's a huge chasm between Kick-Ass and Demolition Man, even in style. Would find it very hard to see much reason to relate the two.

Demolition Man can only really be enjoyed in the lauded pantheon of cheesy over-the-top 80s and 90s action films. Bad, but in a good way.

paddy kerins

The Punisher, Tom Jane one. I remember being pretty shíte the last time I watched a few years ago but I thought it was pretty good this time around

Tony EH

'Fright Night'

I normally can't stand the "Horror-Comedy" genre, if one could call it that, but surprisingly enough, this remake of the cult hit from 1985 wasn't actually that bad. Not that bad for what it is, mind you, which is a fairly harmless 100 minutes of mindless fluff. It's probably better served by the fact that everyone puts in a decent act (even Farrell) and they seem to be good fun in the process.

The story remains basically the same as the '85 version, with a young protagonist (Anton Yelchin) discovering that his next door neighbour (Colin Farrell) is not what he seems. He enlists the help of Vegas showman Peter Vincent (David Tennant) to confront him.

While there's nothing spectacular in 'Fright Night', it does what it sets out to do, which is really just an update of the original. There are some out there that hate it due to their love of the 1985 one, but getting your knickers in a twist over such a frivolous film is wholly redundant.

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

'The Human Centipede'

Met with "outrage" on its original release, Tom Six's disgusting premise is not half as vile as you may think it to be. Of course, the basic idea is gross, but it's executed in a rather tame manner and once the viewer gets over the initial vomit inducment of the basic story, it plays itself out as a rather decent little continental horror flick.

But, beyond the rather horrible concept of a mad doctor stitching mouths to anuses and creating a being with a singular digestive tract, it sort of trundles toward its conclusion in a fairly harmless way.

Interesting and entertaining to fans of horror, but not the mind melting gore fest of disgust that some people would have to believe. It's also not the crap-fest that others have said about it.

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

'The Two Jakes'

The Sequel to Roman Polanski's 1974 classic 'Chinatown', 'The Two Jakes' is often overlooked because it's predecessor was so great. But it's a great noir movie in it's own right, with an interesting story and an excellent central performance from Jack Nicholson in the role of Jake Gittes as he investigates the adulterous affair of the wife of Jake Berman (Harvey Keitel) and the subsequent events thereafter.

Like 'Chinatown' and it's beautiful depiction of the early 1930's, 'The Two Jakes' captures it's 1948 L.A. setting brilliantly. Gittes is over a decade older in 'The Two Jakes' and has been through the war and come out the other side. He now leads an investigative office with more staff than he had in 'Chinatown' and is somewhat wiser, but still retains his wise-ass mouth and sense of cynicism. He's also haunted by past events and these rear their ugly head too in course of the film.

'The Two Jakes' was supposed to be the middle section of a trilogy of Jake Gittes films. But unfortunately, due to the lacklustre performance at the box office, plans for the third film were shelved indefinitely. But, seeing as screenwriter, Robert Towne, was going to base it on Gittes divorce...it may not have been a bad thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7hg3bHutuY

kryogen

Just finished watching Senna.

Jesus

johnny_ultimate

I watched In the Mood For Love a few years ago, but it never had the same impact on the slightly younger me as Chungking Express. I decided to give it another go tonight, more familiar with Kar-Wai's filmography. You can consider me a convert. I still don't think it's his best film, but the atmosphere and tone of the piece is infectious. Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung (must be one of the most elegant, beautiful actresses of all time) are the perfect cinematic couple, and the film's ambiguity with what it actually shows cannot mask the chemistry between the two. Also a brilliant study of transience and living with one's decisions. And of course, Christopher Doyle's sumptuous photography: has a man smoking at a desk ever been so gloriously rendered as it is here? Some of the more peculiar rapid pans and tilts shouldn't work, but they very much do.

There are, arguably, one or two repetitive scenes in the film. But this is an atmosphere piece, and at its best it's impossible not to get lost in the sultry, evocative Hong Kong of 1962.

Tony EH

'Pan's Labyrinth'


Guillermo Del Toro's 2006 fantasy was well received when it was first released. It's easy to understand too, as it has an interesting vision and contained an absorbing plot, or sub-plot regarding a young girls encounter with a faun and her trials that are set down by it. It's in young Ofelia's (Ivana Baquer) story that 'Pan's Labyrinth' excels, but unfortunately, the viewer is also subjected to an alternate plot line involving some ham-fisted commentary on Franco's Spain that never sits comfortably, or acts in a true complementary way to the more fascinating fantasy element.

Ofelia's mum is pregnant (with her new baby brother), who is the son of a Captain Vidal (Sergi López) in Generalismo Franco's Nationalist forces. She is on her way to join him in a small outpost as he and his men try to weed out the remnants of a small band of Republican forces in 1944. Ofelia cannot take to her new environment and instead discovers a world of make-believe, in which she is set three tasks by the mysterious faun, to be completed by the next full moon.

The fantasy of Ofelia's story is where the heart of 'Pan's Labyrinth' lies and it's woven with such a rich fabric, that it's hard not to be enthralled. Her fairytale world is vivid, scary and filled with strange creatures, one of which is a very creepy eyeless monstrosity. The Faun itself, while appearing benevolent, has the air of threat about it too. Nothing is safe in the world that Ofelia has discovered and the faerie world is interspersed with the real one in a deliberate manner, that the viewer is never sure whether Ofelia's discoveries are real, or just a figment of her overactive imagination.

But, 'Pan's Labyrinth' is held back terribly by an ill-fitting "real-world" setting that never once matches the fascination of the fantasy. Although the "real-world" setting is just as fantastical too. The Nationalist Captain Vidal is such a ridiculously one-dimensional "Fascist" caricature, straight out of the most amateurish left-wing propaganda, that he really only exists to perform some sort of atrocious act to further his hate-figure effigy...and I say that as a person of left-wing leanings!

It's disappointing, because if Del Toro had simply focused on Ofelia and her journey, things would have progressed in a finer and more satisfying manner. 'Pan's labyrinth' never seems unified in its parallel story lines and they just never compliment each other for one moment.


'Pan's Labyrinth', like 2001's 'The Devil's Backbone', in the end, just isn't a satisfying whole, despite flashes of excellence and an engaging visual style from Del Toro.

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

Jesus Wept

Red Lights, one of the worst movies I have ever seen in the cinema.
I should have known better than to go to anything with De Nero in it.

sancho panza

FishBowel wrote: »

Stalag 17 - one of the first Hollywood POW movies and far better than the more famous titles.

Which is on this afternoon on Channel 4, at 1pm!!

staying home from work cos daughters got chicken pox rocks!

Loughc

Andy Carroll wrote: »

Red Lights, one of the worst movies I have ever seen in the cinema.
I should have known better than to go to anything with De Nero in it.

Saw the trailer for it and thought meh. It really feels like De Niro has been phoning it in for the past 5 or more years.

Bassboxxx

Kill List

I don't know what to make of it really. It kept me interested mainly because I didn't know what was going on most of the time. But in the end it left me a bit disappointed, I got that crazy for crazys sake feeling at the end:mad:

nacho libre

Bassboxxx wrote: »

Kill List

I don't know what to make of it really. It kept me interested mainly because I didn't know what was going on most of the time. But in the end it left me a bit disappointed, I got that crazy for crazys sake feeling at the end:mad:

So did I.

Bassboxxx

Killing Bono

Liked this one, Some genuinely funny moments and a good story told well.

johnny_ultimate

All About Lily Chou-Chou:

An odd one. Presented wonderfully by director Shunji Iwai and his crew - I'd highly recommend it for fans of the Tree of Life as this features the same hyperstylised level of cinematography. Maybe not quite as majestic, but this is certainly as close to a Malick film as a story of Japanese teenagers is going to get. Wavy grass and all! Also has perhaps the best nighttime photography I've seen, and the film shifts between formats and styles cleverly.

The story is mostly engaging - telling of a group of increasingly self-destructive teens over a number of years (non-linearly, naturally). The main character Yuichi seeks solace in the music of Lily Chou-Chou while his peers harass, bully and abuse. One subplot is similar to Kim Ki-duk's Samaritan Girl, critiquing the very peculiar culture of teenage Asian prostitutes. There are some powerful emotional insights in there, although may prove to obtuse for some tastes. There's an extended mid-film diversion to Okinawa, for example, filmed on handheld camcorders, that is a huge tonal and stylistic departure from the rest of the film. If you're able to put up with two and a half hours of plot ambiguity and odd structural decisions, there are certainly plenty of rewards.

A dreamlike and very cinematic experience then. It perhaps takes too long emphasizing simple points, but it's also a perceptive and intelligent film. Strange, challenging yet well worth a watch.

That_Guy

Cosmopolis: What an absolute stinker of a film. Hated every minute of it. The screening had about 25 people at the start. I'd say at least 14 people walked out after 40 minutes.

Somebody told me that "I wasn't intelligent enough to understand a film like that".... Funnily enough they never did explain to me what the hell was going on themselves. :rolleyes:

Avoid avoid avoid.

Fysh

That_Guy wrote: »

Cosmopolis: What an absolute stinker of a film. Hated every minute of it. The screening had about 25 people at the start. I'd say at least 14 people walked out after 40 minutes.

Somebody told me that "I wasn't intelligent enough to understand a film like that".... Funnily enough they never did explain to me what the hell was going on themselves. :rolleyes:

Avoid avoid avoid.

Yeah, a total turd in the punchbowl of a film. It had some nice flourishes visually, and both Samantha Morton & Paul Giamatti put in a good turn making the most of what they're given...but between some dreadful dialogue (it may work on the page but far too much of it comes off as tin-eared nonsense on screen), some cringey sex scenes and Robert Pattinson's dreary attempt at a performance, it was a big disappointment.

It did serve as good proof that Pattinson's career will depend on the Twiglet brigade continuing to follow him around on the basis of his turn as Bella's Bat-dildoEdward.

Judgement Day

"Nothing Personal" (1995) on a Daily Star promo DVD. Quite a scarce movie but worth tracking down at the right price (.50 cents in this case!)

A hard hitting and grippingly realistic recreation of "the troubles" in 1970s Belfast but filmed in and around the old gasometers in Ringsend, Dublin. Michael Gambon is superb in his role as a loyalist godfather surrounded by leather jacketed minders. James Frain is also excellent as a loyalist commander trying to keep control of wilder elements of his tribe. I'd put it on the school curriculum, if I could, as a reminder to those who didn't live through that period in Irish history, as to why we don't want to go back to it. 9/10