What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

splashthecash

The Imposter

A documentary about a young 13 year old boy from Texas who went missing in the 90's and then out of nowhere, the family receive a call from a Spanish policeman claiming that an indivudual had turned up who claims to be the missing boy...As you can imagine all is not what it seems. Queue a lot of twists and turns, a finely executed film in terms of timeline and interviews with the family, investigators and the missing individual himself

Solid 8/10

Silver Linings Playbook

A fine drama with an oscar nominated\winning cast - Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence defo outdo themselves here - found the story very interesting with very good supporting cast particularly De Niro as the long suffering dad with problems of his own. One of those films that comes along that is just a breath of fresh air (similar vein to Little Miss Sunshine)

7/10

Wichita Lineman

'Moon' from 2009 stars Sam Rockwell as a lunar technician out in space on his own on a 3yr contract. Shades of '2001: A Space Odyssey' for sure but it's entertaining in it's own right and Rockwell is superb.

krudler

Andy Dunne11 wrote: »

'Moon' from 2009 stars Sam Rockwell as a lunar technician out in space on his own on a 3yr contract. Shades of '2001: A Space Odyssey' for sure but it's entertaining in it's own right and Rockwell is superb.

watch Oblivion for the Tom Cruise remake :pac:

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Super 8

Have had this on DVD for ages. There's a huge JJ Abrams feature in this months Empire magazine which was actually really interesting and got me thinking I should watch it. So I did.

I liked it. It reminded me of the likes of Stand by Me, or The Goonies. Not as good as either of those, of course, but that same kind of vibe. I imagine if I'd seen it when I was 12 or so I'd have been in love with it. Having read a lot about Abrams in that Empire feature you could really see it was a big nod to his own childhood and love of sci fi and imagination and kids being creative and all that good stuff. I think these are the kinds of films people need every now and then. Just a good old fashioned kids adventure to get lost in for an hour or two.

I will say that the lens flares do get a bit annoying at times. I don't mind the ones that are clearly coming off lights that are in shot but sometimes there's just blue lines across the screen and it's probably that thing where people photoshop shots from other films to have lens flares as if directed by Abrams has made me really aware of them but I did find them distracting at times.

Corkfeen

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Super 8

Have had this on DVD for ages. There's a huge JJ Abrams feature in this months Empire magazine which was actually really interesting and got me thinking I should watch it. So I did.

I liked it. It reminded me of the likes of Stand by Me, or The Goonies. Not as good as either of those, of course, but that same kind of vibe. I imagine if I'd seen it when I was 12 or so I'd have been in love with it. Having read a lot about Abrams in that Empire feature you could really see it was a big nod to his own childhood and love of sci fi and imagination and kids being creative and all that good stuff. I think these are the kinds of films people need every now and then. Just a good old fashioned kids adventure to get lost in for an hour or two.

I will say that the lens flares do get a bit annoying at times. I don't mind the ones that are clearly coming off lights that are in shot but sometimes there's just blue lines across the screen and it's probably that thing where people photoshop shots from other films to have lens flares as if directed by Abrams has made me really aware of them but I did find them distracting at times.

I sort of found that it lacked personality. It felt like Abrams was trying to simply emulate while at the very same time he offered nothing new. I also found that the entire film began to fall apart going into the third act.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Corkfeen wrote: »

I sort of found that it lacked personality. It felt like Abrams was trying to simply emulate while at the very same time he offered nothing new. I also found that the entire film began to fall apart going into the third act.

Yeah, I did find a bit towards the end I was thinking to myself it was dragging a bit. It did feel very like an homage to all the films of his youth, and you're probably right, it didn't do anything new or special, but I still thought it was enjoyable. Maybe more because it reminded me of all the films I loved when I was a kid, than because of itself, if that makes sense.

bnt

Finally got round to watching M the other day: Frizt Lang's 1931 film about a child-murderer in Berlin. It's a deeply subversive film regarding what Lang felt was wrong with Germany at the time. The Nazis were in the process of taking over, even though they didn't officially take power until 1933.

It's a city where law and order has basically broken down: plain clothes police stealing people's property (including guns) after a beer cellar bust, while officials are doing the headless chicken thing in the face of a bad man who captures and kills little girls. The local gangsters are getting so much official attention that they decide to apprehend and try the murderer themselves.

Lang's Berlin is not a "pristine" world like that of Metropolis. Bars look like bars, not sets - plenty of broken glass and spilled beer. There's a scene in which the camera cuts between two meetings in smoke-filled rooms - one with the police chiefs, one with the gangster bosses - and after a while there's so much smoke that it's hard to tell who is who. :cool:

Anyway - absolutely brilliant, especially the direction and camerawork. It's the earliest film I know of with so much camera movement, including crane work and what might be handheld - no mean feat considering how big the cameras were then. It was Lang's first picture with sound, but he couldn't afford to use it at all times, so there is a lot of atmospheric silence in there. M also made a star of Peter Lorre (as the murderer): he moved to the USA a couple of years later, but thankfully a few directors had seen M, so he found work there. The film inspired no little controversy, partly since it appeared only slightly sympathetic towards an obviously evil character.

ThirdMan

Grave of the Fireflies is an animated feature from Japan's Studio Ghilbi. Unlike a lot the studio's previous output, this contains no fantastical elements (although it is no less magical in it execution). It follows the fate of a recently orphaned adolescent boy and his younger sister. It's a very powerful story of honour and loss.

budgemook

Re: king of the travellers and between the canals - kott is truly awful stuff but was between the canals really that bad?

I don't really remember it but if I thought it was really bad I'd remember thinking that.

I won't be forgetting king of the travellers for a long long time.

The place beyond the pines

Saw this tonight. It's okay, nothing special. It looks great in some parts but, even though it's 2 hours 20, it seems quite rushed. I'm almost certain loads from the first half was cut and in the second half there's no real character development. The characters just are as they are with no real reason or explanation why.

Wait for directors cut.

budgemook

budgemook wrote: »

Re: king of the travellers and between the canals - kott is truly awful stuff but was between the canals really that bad?

I don't really remember it but if I thought it was really bad I'd remember thinking that.

I won't be forgetting king of the travellers for a long long time.

Just after checking my note book and have the following scribbled down from when I saw Between the Canals. A truly, exceptional piece of ineptness. It's rare to find a film that fails in every department but Between the Canals does so magnificently. The acting is nonexistent with characters who exist solely to spout a line of dialogue, the script that hasn't enough style or substance to fill a 3 minute short film and could very easily have been printed on one side of a napkin. The cinematography and direction or lack of either give the film the impression of a poorly shot wedding video from the early 90s. There is nothing here to like and at 70 minutes the film feels over long and could easily lose 67 minutes and tell the same cliched story..

johnny_ultimate

budgemook wrote: »

Re: king of the travellers and between the canals - kott is truly awful stuff but was between the canals really that bad?

I don't really remember it but if I thought it was really bad I'd remember thinking that.

I won't be forgetting king of the travellers for a long long time.

I think Between the Canals ineptitude is emphasised by two things. The first is the pointless five minute long credit sequence, featuring archival footage of Dublin for literally no reason whatsoever other than "****, my film is going to be less than an hour long without it" - a trick O'Connor sees fit to repeat it in King of the Travellers.

Secondly is that, to justify a feature length (at 70 minutes it barely makes it there anyway) the director sees fit to send his characters to an almost entirely meaningless house party for ten-fifteen minutes. Wouldn't be so objectionable if O'Connor didn't add insult to injury by trading in racially ignorant stereotyping at the same time.

Frankly, I don't think the man could juggle a credible, coherent plot for a fifteen minute short film.

budgemook

Was going to say I must watch it again but don't think I will now. Did I not hear it got a standing ovation in the IF? Will have to double check.

johnny_ultimate

budgemook wrote: »

Was going to say I must watch it again but don't think I will now. Did I not hear it got a standing ovation in the IF? Will have to double check.

May the cynic in me suggest that such a screening was attended by "friends of the production?" (the same ones, incidentally, who spammed our film review forum in advance of release) :pac:

But yeah bafflingly both films have gotten at least mildly positively reviews in some quarters. I personally struggle to think of two films that act as better tutorials in what not to do.

budgemook

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

May the cynic in me suggest that such a screening was attended by "friends of the production?" (the same ones, incidentally, who spammed our film review forum in advance of release) :pac:

But yeah bafflingly both films have gotten at least mildly positively reviews in some quarters. I personally struggle to think of two films that act as better tutorials in what not to do.

I may actually watch between the canals again y'know. Will post here if/when I do

johnny_ultimate - do you mean the film review forum here on boards?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

There's a review in Empire for King of the Travelers, they give it 3 stars and call it "a solid addition to the surging Irish New Wave."

johnny_ultimate

budgemook wrote: »

johnny_ultimate - do you mean the film review forum here on boards?

I do indeed!

Never trust Empire, by the way. Other more reliable sources have also given it vaguely positive reviews - including Variety and Sight & Sound - which I'm quite surprised by. It's not just Irish begrudgery - it's a genuinely appalling film.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I do indeed!

Never trust Empire, by the way. Other more reliable sources have also given it vaguely positive reviews - including Variety and Sight & Sound - which I'm quite surprised by. It's not just Irish begrudgery - it's a genuinely appalling film.

I don't really trust any reviews. I just saw it there this morning and thought of this thread.

budgemook

budgemook wrote: »

Was going to say I must watch it again but don't think I will now. Did I not hear it got a standing ovation in the IF? Will have to double check.

You can guarantee a warm reception when the audience is full of cast and crew and their families. It happens at every festival and there's nothing worse than attending a screening like it as more often than not the smug, film maker will give a Q&A and every question will be along the lines of "omg, I can't believe how good it is. You're like that Scorsese bloke only better. What are you doing next?"


I think that outside Ireland a lot of people will be far more forgiving of Irish cinema. Some of the reviews for King of the Travellers are quite encouraging but I don't believe it's possible that someone could make Between the Canals a d after come back with a good film. It's impossible.

Wichita Lineman

'Niagara' 1953 film noir starring Marilyn Monroe as a bored housewife holidaying at Niagara Falls. She is married to an older man, a former soldier who is suffering from mood swings and battle fatigue after serving in the Korean War.

darced

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TICKLE_ME_ELMO

darced wrote: »

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Opinion is begrudgery?

darced

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darced

darced wrote: »

The level of begrudgery on this thread is actually astonishing.

As I'm sure that's directed towards those of us discussing certain Irish film makers I assure you that there is Absolutely no begrudgery involved. I'm simply looking at the films from a critical standpoint and they fail in every aspect. If you read through the forum you will find that I have repeatedly championed Irish films, for example What Richard Did was one of last years best releases and I repeatedly said as much. Just because a film is Irish dies not mean that I will judge it less harshly than any other film. Being Irish made dies not get you a pass and as such, a film as poorly made as Between the Canals or Charlie Casanova will be torn apart. I've yet to see King of the Travellers but I have no doubts that it too will be poor as the film maker responsible has proven himself to be one of the most bland, talentless and insid I have ever come across. I'd love for KotT to be a good film and if O'Connor was a good film maker I'd be the first to support but he isn't.

I do hate how the second an Irish Perron criticises another Irish person it's begrudgery. It seems to be uniquely Irish as I never once read anyone say that Mark Kermode's repeated criticism if Danny Dyer was begrudgery nor have I ever read anyone claim that Ebert's negative reviews of film makers was begrudgery.

darced

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TICKLE_ME_ELMO

darced wrote: »

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And often people are too kind on their own leading to an inflated sense of talent or ability. The "ah, sure they tried" attitude often applied to sport in this country is a joke. Praising mediocrity leads to more mediocrity.

Also I've read plenty of really harsh reviews in this thread for a variety of non Irish films.

darced

darced wrote: »

It's a level of harshness not seen that often.Sometimes people reserve a special kind of hate for their own,read back through it,it does'nt read well.

Anyway sorry for the off topic posts.

I reserve no special hatred for other Irish people. I judge all film equally and I won't go easy on a film just because its Irish. I take it you haven't seen Between the Canals as if you had you may not be do quick to accuse people of begrudgery. Every year sees hundreds of truly terrible films released and Between the Canals was easily the worst film released last year. Jack and Jill had more artistic merit than BtC.

ricero

Olympus has fallen. I found it to be a very good action movie. Die hard 5 should of been this

Technocentral

Deleted User wrote: »

I reserve no special hatred for other Irish people. I judge all film equally and I won't go easy on a film just because its Irish. I take it you haven't seen Between the Canals as if you had you may not be do quick to accuse people of begrudgery. Every year sees hundreds of truly terrible films released and Between the Canals was easily the worst film released last year. Jack and Jill had more artistic merit than BtC.

We are just not a film making country for some reason, I would find it very hard to name 5 great Irish films ever, plenty of awful, loads of mediocre but fcuk all that would be up with say "Trainspotting" or "Mr. Nice", I use those two as examples as they are small scale stories done on low or average budgets, I'm not expecting an Irish "Prometheus" because of budget availability, I haven't seen "What Richard Did " yet but off the top my head "Garage" is the best Irish film ever.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Technocentral wrote: »

We are just not a film making country for some reason, I would find it very hard to name 5 great Irish films ever, plenty of awful, loads of mediocre but fcuk all that would be up with say "Trainspotting" or "Mr. Nice", I use those two as examples as they are small scale stories done on low or average budgets, I'm not expecting an Irish "Prometheus" because of budget availability, I haven't seen "What Richard Did " yet but off the top my head "Garage" is the best Irish film ever.

Depends on what you consider as "Irish made". Ruairi Robinson is currently making a scifi film about Mars and astronauts and what not with a fairly big cast. I've no idea who is backing it, but he's Irish, so does that count?
Obviously I can't say whether it's any good or not as it's not out, but does it count as an Irish film in that he wrote and directed it?

Personally I think the best Irish films are ones that are character driven. We're historically good story tellers, so that's what we do best. I really liked My Brothers which was released last year. It was far from perfect but it was a simple story that was well told and I thought it was better than most other films I saw last year.

Bozo Skeleton

Technocentral wrote: »

We are just not a film making country for some reason, I would find it very hard to name 5 great Irish films ever, plenty of awful, loads of mediocre but fcuk all that would be up with say "Trainspotting" or "Mr. Nice", I use those two as examples as they are small scale stories done on low or average budgets, I'm not expecting an Irish "Prometheus" because of budget availability, I haven't seen "What Richard Did " yet but off the top my head "Garage" is the best Irish film ever.

Most Irish films I've seen seem to play to the American/ international market, so potentially good ones are far too often spoiled. There's not many I would regard as good artistic movies, which is a shame. Off the top of my head, some good Irish movies:

Garage
Trojan Eddie
The Dead
Adam And Paul
The Field
My Left Foot

Feel free to add, I'm sure there's more I can't think of off the bat.