What have you watched recently? 3D!

Sugarlumps

Reprisal - Bruce Willis stars. Amazed how he still gets offers. Even Bruce couldn't save this travesty. Made it to the halfway point. Nil points.

al87987

Mizu_Ger wrote: »

Timecrimes

Spanish Sci-fi suspense/thriller. Not sure what i can say about this without spoiling anything, but I loved it. A real low budget sci-fi concept film that plays on the conventions usually found here. Maybe a little like Primer, but less disorienting!

Free Solo

Janey Mac!!! I have no head for heights, so rock climbing in general is not my thing. What Alex Honnold attempts is crazy. Even after watching this it's hard to understand what was driving him. The photography is great and the relationship he has with his girlfriend is interesting. On the face of it there's no room for that kind of distraction in what he does, but they, somehow, have stayed together. I thought her attempts to get him to express his feelings would have driven him away (especially at key points in his exploits).

Timecrimes was very good, I think you will like The Invisible Guest, Wild Tales and Mirage if you enjoyed this one. They similar-ish.

Free solo is amazing, 1 thing I learned from it too is to eat my food straight from the pan when cooking for 1.

al87987

Mirage - 8/10

Watched this after enjoying the writer/directors (Oriol Paulo) previous film The invisible guest/contra tiempo (9/10).

Good story here told in a similar vein, kept me hooked throughout. Up on Netflix too. Can't say much more. Watch it.

Fysh

Eighth Grade - caught an Unlimited screening of this last night and really enjoyed it. Elsie Fisher as the lead gives a strong, convincing performance of an early-teen struggling with an environment that demands performative confidence of everyone, and it balances a thoughtful character study with some hilarious moments. Narratively and humourously, it's similar to The Edge Of Seventeen, but with a more believable protagonist and less of a First World Problems undercurrent. Anna Meredith was an unusual but good choice for the score, too.

pixelburp

Siege of Jadotville (2016)

An efficient variation of the "Base under Siege" narrative template, told with a minimum of fuss & bombast that often limits these kind of tales of moral victories. The tension was neatly wrought, the action effective on an obviously middling budget; and while the dialogue was boilerplate military banter, the cast were grounded and able enough to, again, reduce any sense of bombast or melodrama normally found in the genre - though I'd stop short of calling any of them 'characters', as depth or arcs were nowhere to be seen.

The only true letdown was every time the narrative left the siege to explain the political backdrop; the pacing died on each occasion and were a total chore - even if they were a necessary evil to explain why Irish soldiers were trapped in the middle of 1960s Congo in the first place.


Vice (2018)

A bit of a wasted opportunity this, feeling like the cinematic equivalent of Preaching to the Choir - maybe even worse than that: it did the absolute bare minimum to apply any depth or context to the life of Dick Cheney, but I always got the sense Adam McKay was itching to get back to the polemical, mocking tone. Not that Cheney isn't deserving of castigation, but the film didn't even try to pretend it was being evenhanded - which to me is the essence of true satire, that ability to stay (relatively) neutral while allowing its subjects to hang themselves with their own actions. Slick and stylish at times - while Christian Bale's performance was fantastic (ditto the FX to age him, this was far from the rubbery prosthetics of something like Anthony Hopkins' 2012 Hitchcock) - but the whole felt like Tabloid Cinema.

Bobby Baccala

I know this isn't exactly the right place but I'm re-watching bits and pieces of The Sopranos at the moment. Was just wondering if there's a thread for the prequel movie they're filming? Couldn't find one.

Sad Professor

Bobby Baccala wrote: »

I know this isn't exactly the right place but I'm re-watching bits and pieces of The Sopranos at the moment. Was just wondering if there's a thread for the prequel movie they're filming? Couldn't find one.

Has been discussed a bit in the Television forum:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=109231379

There doesn't seem to be a thread here for it but feel free to start one.

joombo

Glass - 6/10.
I enjoyed it for the most part, but felt that certain scenes, especially toward the end, let it down.

Heckler

The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot.

The schlocky B-movie title caught my attention and as I was about to dismiss it I saw Sam Elliot and Ron Livingston (in a small role) were involved so gave it a look.

Not what I was expecting. Elliot was great as he always is.

joombo

Interstella

Finally got round to watching this. Thought it was a let down to be honest, not to say its a bad film but just wasn't the masterpiece I've heard it to be.
Visually I expect the small screen does not do it justice.
Story wise I thought it could of missed some parts and went further with the final act.

Tony EH

:pac:

Interstella sounds like a cheap SYFY Channel knock off.

Del.Monte

"Black '47" (2018) on Netflix.

Not too sure about some of the historical facts but it's a satisfying movie for those of us who like to see baddies getting their comeuppance.
Atmospheric too with plenty of good tourist scenery. 7/10

"The International" (2009) on Netflix.

Interpol thriller, money laundering banking, assassinations - it has it all. Well crafted movie with Clive Owen in the lead role. 8/10.

joombo

Life - 5/10
Cliché, predictable but entertaining at times.

pixelburp

Glass (2019)

With The Visit & Split, to me it felt like Shyamalan had finally found his groove or level, producing a couple of trashy, entertaining, disposable thrillers. I certainly enjoyed the latter, despite the clunker of a final scene acting as Shyamalan's indulgence for 'twists' . Glass however, came off like a full & unabashed return to exactly the kind of ... well, rubbish, the director was producing before The Happening & The Last Airbender finally tanked his reputation. Blumhouse is a pretty efficient operation, and I speculate that Split's success ($250 million profit from a $9 million budget!) allowed Shyamalan greater creative wriggle-room in its sequel. The end result was exactly as amateurish, plodding, ungainly & devoid of subtly as you'd expect from the director. Pretentious too: but pretentious in the sense of someone gripped by the Dunning-Kruger Effect, totally overestimating their abilities and artistry. The dialogue was risible, dunking the film into unintentional comedy as actors spouted lines so horrible I was reminded of Harrison Ford's lament ("you can type this sh*t, but you can't say it"); it's little wonder the actors looked bored, apart from McAvoy whose commitment to the multiple personalities was admirable. Sam Jackson was left spouting exposition about comics - seriously, this film beat the audience over the head so relentlessly it was a bit exhausting - while Bruce Willis barely woke enough to mumble his lines.

The very first scene was a warning sign that Shymalan had learnt nothing: still guilty of characters only reacting to events once they've entered the frame, despite common sense telling you they must have seen it (in this case, a punch) coming.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

I don't re-watch many movies but did with this recently. What an absolute blast from start to finish. You wouldn't have thought that so much action could lead to a good movie but the pacing is excellent. A complete visual assault also that is brilliantly achieved.

8.5/ 10

buried

Arcadia (2017)
Director Paul Wright makes great use of 100's of film clips from the last 100 years, taken from the BFI national archive and others from around England, Scotland and Wales to create a stunning visceral and visual narrative story exploring how its people have changed their relationship with the countryside and landscape they exist in. Some stunning footage of rural festivals based on ancient pagan celebrations. The soundtrack by Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Will Gregory (Goldfrapp) is also brilliant. Highly recommended. Great and fascinating watch what with all the brexit noise going on. This is a view of a Britain that is literally gone. This could well still be on the BBC player if you can hack into it. Its just simply stunning. 10/10

The Ritual (2017)
Starts off well enough in first 20 minutes, then rapidly veers off into the pit of the terrible. Writing and acting becomes dreadful stuff. Really goes into the ditch around the 40th minute mark. Its all just been done to death anyways. Mish mash of everything from Blair Witch Project to Deliverance to whatever else you can think of that you would be better off watching instead of this. Awful waste of time. 2/10

A Field in England (2013)
A proper film about a bunch of boyos lost in the wilderness then it all goes rightly pear shaped. Wheatley's best work IMO. Nothing ever came like it before and nothing has come like it since. Totally original modern film tinted with glorious weirdness but totally accessible with the great acting and enjoyable dialogue. The rewards from watching this thing a number of times are great. Great writing and proper characters to go with the total weirdness. "WE are not running away.... WE are going for beer!!" 9/10

Widows (2018)
The main characters in this thing, how they interact within the story, how they are portrayed within the style of the film and its genre, its just all over the shop. This thing wants to be a gritty heist/political crime film but our 4 main protagonists have no experience of any sort of criminal enterprise, no experience of even knowing each other and we are supposed to believe they can all carry off some huge dangerous heist as a team? There is a scene in this, the gang are looking for a getaway driver, then a professional babysitter enters the room (a character the majority of the gang has never even met) the gang then ask this babysitter - "Hey can you drive?", - "Yes" the babysitter replies. - "Good stuff you're our getaway driver". I'm all for letting things go, but not to this extent in a film that wants to be a supposedly grim and gritty stylistic crime thriller. It don't work. The whole thing is done like a p!ss pull of some sort. Every single male character in this is either a total eegit or a total bastard. And some of the actors are badly cast. Daniel Kaluuya plays the role of a sinister villain like a lettuce leaf trying to play the role of a T-Bone steak. Its just terrible. Real cartoon stuff. Elizabeth Debicki did her best but that was about it. Weak/10


Taxi Driver (1976)
Just stuck it on again one of the nights recently. Its just so brilliant. Its probably the best movie from the 1970's when that decade was making so many classics. I seen it a good few times but this was the first time I copped the first of the two appearances of Scorsese in it, always knew the one where he played the passenger spying on the wife, there's another one of him sitting down looking at Cybill Shepherd as she walks into the campaign office. Never clocked that before until this recent watch. Its just aged so well, it still holds up today even though that grim world of downtown Manhattan from that particular time is completely gone. Just written so so well, the first person almost dreamlike viewpoint of the lone person hitting the edge. Top class. 10/10

Gwynplaine

Just finished The Aviator. I had missed many opportunities to see this, but finally got around to see this today.
Excellent movie, maybe a tiny bit too long, but a great look into the life of a very strange man.
I'll be reading up on Howard Hughes for the next hour.

9/10.

barrymanilow

Glass

This was a dissapointment. Unbreakable and Split were highly entertaining and well put together. The Horde is a great character. I was looking forward to this sequel but they just really made a hames of it. Ridiculous plot and plot devices , awful pacing , lacked the class of the previous two, thumbs down unfortunately.

ButtersSuki

Haven't been around for a while for various reasons but I watched Moneyball last night as a rewatch after reading the book over the weekend. I have this on Blu Ray but it shows how lazy one becomes when you stick on Netflix instead. Anyway, to the movie itself; it's quite possibly the best sports movie of this century, and while that might sound like very high praise I guess it's not had much competition, and one its strengths is it doesn't actually have all that much baseball action in it at all. You certainly don't need to know too much about baseball to enjoy it, though a basic knowledge would likely add to same. As someone with a high interest in American Sports it is a fascinating insight into how Data Analytics have transformed a number of those sports over the last 15-20years, but don't let that put you off, it's not a nerdy story per se. Aaron Sorkin's fingerprints are all over the script and Brad Pitt delivers arguable the finest acting performance of his career. Philip Seymour Hoffman is great in his minor role, and Jonah Hill is surprisingly good in his - from memory this was Hill's breakthrough non-comedy role. Spike Jonze also makes a short cameo appearance. It's not a wholly accurate dramatisation of the book, but the changes make it more engaging and don't differ from the central story hugely. I considered going to an 8, but I'm going to give it a strong 7.5/10.

Extra: oh and a skinny Chris Pratt is also in it, skinny as in even before Parks & Recreation Chris Pratt.

Fysh

I finally got around to catching Avengers: Infinity War yesterday, and found it somewhat tedious and overlong, with some fun moments but not enough to justify the running time. Not for me, I guess.

I also watched Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, which was excellent - a great performance from Finney and a sharp script.

Mizu_Ger

The Guilty

Danish thriller. Set completely in a police "999" call reception office (can't think of what they are called!). Very tense and doesn't try to drag out the situation any longer than it can. Uses silence effectively to build tension where other films would ramp up the music. Well worth watching.

Captain Marvel

I'm getting tired of these films now. I liked them at first, but it's getting hard to tell them apart now. This really hammers home the point that she's suffered from being labelled a woman in the air force. It would have been better if they could have worked this more subtlely.

Also, when she unleashes her powers towards the end, they may as well have just given her a couple of massive guns. Her powers are not particularly exciting. Just lots of fire power.

Dades

Just watch The Silence on Netflix.

Entertaining monster horror without being either too gross or too scary.

Nice short 90 mins runtime and Stanley Tucci is always good.
And good to see Éowyn still kicking some butt since the Witch-king of Angmar.

batgoat

Dades wrote: »

Just watch The Silence on Netflix.

Entertaining monster horror without being either too gross or too scary.

Nice short 90 mins runtime and Stanley Tucci is always good.
And good to see Éowyn still kicking some butt since the Witch-king of Angmar.

I've watched two seasons of Sabrina and never realised that was Eowyn...

Mizu_Ger

The Vanishing (2018)

Story built around the (true) unexplained disappearance of three lighthouse keepers on a remote Scottish island (not a spoiler as we're told this at the very beginning). Generally very good with good performances all round (even Gerard Butler!) and the two pivotal scenes

finding the shipwrecked sailor and the sailors looking for him arriving on the island

are very tense and well handled. It's reminiscent of Shallow Grave. The only thing that didn't quite work for me was

Butler's character's change after killing the first boy, the change in his character didn't seem to work completely for me

branie2

Greta in the cinema on Saturday. I thought it was very good

rednik

Alien 4K, simply stunning.

pixelburp

The Kid Who Would be King (2018)

The presence of a young, eccentric and almost alien Merlin kept making this film feel like an off-brand episode of (Matt Smith era) Doctor Who; and while that in of itself is not a criticism, it did leave it lacking an identity, more like Joe Cornish wanted to make an episode of the quintessentially British show, and this was the next best thing. Nor was it quite as strong as Cornish's previous film, Attack the Block, elements like the humour and action not hitting the mark quite the same as that previous, more punchy feature. The last act also descended into a bit of a generic CGI mess, completely losing the human, relatable element that had grounded everything up to that point. Despite that, the cast were great throughout, selling all the moments with the right amount of childish charisma - and had enough dramatic chops to sell some of the sadder, smaller revelations amidst the magic.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2018)

Finally got a chance to sit down and re-watch this, as I was curious to see if it still held up, having had more praise for this than other at time of, and since, release. My opinion hadn't changed: what worked still worked, and what didn't still jarred. The comedy remained poor, the 'conference call' right at the start of the film undermining what was otherwise a tense, exciting action set-piece that echoed back to the 'Dambusters', ww2 influence of that original Trench Run. The emotional core still hit the mark, maybe even more so, with the ability to rewatch certain scenes or moments, appreciating them a little more the second time around. A splashy, messy experiment of a blockbuster, but one that still sits well with me.

branie2

Avengers: Endgame in the cinema on Saturday; I really enjoyed it.

Night Falls on Manhattan 1996 Sidney Lumet on form directing Andy Garcia in a gritty legal drama where a green prosecutor is hired by the city to prosecute a cop killer. The tricky thing was the cop killer had a bunch of cops on his payroll. Ron Leibman plays the DA and is a really good actor, very strange to see he has not done a lot of stuff. Entertaining drama

Power 1989 Another Lumet drama this time with Richard Gere as a media fixer who specializes in getting people elected. As usual Lumet is dealing with a theme of corruption, and as Gere takes on a new questionable client who is backed by the oil industry things begin to unravel. Love the intro to the movie where Gere shows off his drumming skills, and a young Denzel has a very interesting role. Very enjoyable and possible set Gere up for his role as a media mogul in Mother Father Son which is probably the performance of his career.

Also watched Disney's Game of Thrones yesterday.

NIMAN

The Mule

Disappointing.

Had the feel of a straight to video film, despite the big star names.
A bit predictable too.

Only a 4/10 for me.

When I checked afterwards, it seems as much fiction as 'based on a true story'.

And hasn't Andy Garcia let himself go! Didn't recognise him.