What have you watched recently? 3D!

johnny_ultimate

Sad Professor wrote: »

^ I really liked Vox Lux, but I thought Portman was too old for the role. Rooney Mara was originally cast and I spent the whole film thinking how perfect she would have been.

I’m usually a big Portman fan, but yeah I wasn’t convinced by her casting. She really dialled it up to 11, and while that’s spectacular to behold in its own way I’m not entirely sure it’s beneficial to the film :pac:

barrymanilow

FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY


Based on a true story about an English Family who started their own wrestling federation , WWF not the Olympic wrestling. Started off being a bit of a laugh , not taking itself too serious but then it started to get a bit hollyoaks so not overly impressed with it in the end

joombo

Kong Skull Island 7/10.

There are some good moments but editing is all over the place. The whole film I was like - "oh I guess that scene is over. On to the next one then"
Some really great visuals though. Also, Tom Hiddleston is miscast.

Sugarlumps

Blackkklansman - Speech at the beginning, close ups of people faces kinda like Bohemian Rhapsody. Last Spike Lee film I'll ever watch.

As good as it gets - Superb acting all round, Verdell the dog should of received an oscar.

funkey_monkey

Too late to die young
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt8726098/

Slow paced with things randomly happening without any further reference.
First time I've been bored at the cinema and looking at my watch ina long time.

4/10.

branie2

Rocketman at the cinema on Friday, which I thought was very good.

The Seventh Seal on Blu-Ray last night, a brilliant Ingmar Bergman film, and my favourite of his.

pixelburp

The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)

I remember enjoying the first one a little more, but either way this was a pleasant, good-natured romp for a Sunday evening; a few chuckles and the characters were sweet (and fluffy), so that's really all that can be said. Hasn't quite shaken off the "Toy Story but Pets" comparisons mind you.

Jump_In_Jack

The Professor (2018)
Johnny Depp at his best, very dark yet moving film, worth the watch for Depp's expert rendering of the irreverent professor, but be prepared for the depressing undercurrent throughout that builds to a tear-jerking finale.

pixelburp

Speed

The lines are cheesy, Keanus acting wooden, but damnit this film remains a magnificent thump of explosive 90s action. Saw it in the Lighthouse as part of a season dedicated to Keanu, and up on the big screen Speed remains something that doesn't exist anymore: a self contained action film of stuntmen, stunt vehicles and squibs, paced brilliantly. Sure it was made as a blatant Die Hard knock off in the cinemas, and the third act goes a bit off the rails but it's hard to fault the action and entertainment. I love this movie and not ashamed to admit it.

Heckler

pixelburp wrote: »

Speed

The lines are cheesy, Keanus acting wooden, but damnit this film remains a magnificent thump of explosive 90s action. Saw it in the Lighthouse as part of a season dedicated to Keanu, and up on the big screen Speed remains something that doesn't exist anymore: a self contained action film of stuntmen, stunt vehicles and squibs, paced brilliantly. Sure it was made as a blatant Die Hard knock off in the cinemas, and the third act goes a bit off the rails but it's hard to fault the action and entertainment. I love this movie and not ashamed to admit it.

is
I love that film. Just non-stop. Like you said the pacing is fantastic. Throw it on a couple of times a year at least. Right up there with Die Hard for me.

branie2

Booksmart at the cinema this evening. It was very funny.

Fysh

I caught Madeline's Madeline last night. It was a bit of a challenge to get into for the first half an hour, but the central performances are excellent and the dynamic between the three core characters is fascinating to watch, with a great payoff. It reminded me a bit of The Wolfpack in that sense (even though that's a documentary and Madeline's Madeline is fiction).

joombo

Stan & Ollie 7.5/10

Really enjoyed this film. Heartwarming and good performances. Recommended.

RickBlaine

Last Action Hero

Haven't seen it since the late 90s but I'm aware of its reputation as one of Arnie's worst films. To be fair, I don't think it deserves it bad reputation. It is my no means a good film but it is often very entertaining. I actually think Arnie gives one of his best performances here. Charles Dance gives an absolutely brilliant villainous performances too. I kinda wish he was in a better film because he is so good.

I definately think it is better than some of his random 80s action films like Raw Deal and Red Heat.

There are some cool blink and your miss them cameos too, most notably Sharon Stone as her character from Basic Instinct and Robert Patrick as the T1000 (literally blink and your miss them).

Ian McKellen has a small scene at the end and it is crazy how much like Galdalf his performance is.

On Netflix so worth a watch if you are willing to give it a chance and are in the mood for mindless 80 / 90s action.

I read that its weak box office was due to the fact it was released the week after Jurassic Park. Arnie pleaded with the distributors to change the date but they held their ground.

3/5

joombo

Worlds Greatest Dad 5/10

It wasn't a hugely entertaining film in my opinion, but it worked well, the grief was very believable, the acting was good in most places, the ending was weak and a little disappointing.

Watched a 4 part mini series called The Virtues with Stephen Graham in the lead -Directed by Shane Meadows (Dead Mans Shoes).

To say this is powerful stuff is an understatement, with the final episode being some of the most emotionally intense sequences I can remember seeing on the small screen.

Graham players an alcoholic struggling with his past which gradually gets revealed in a very clever way by the director. As we descend into the depths of despair with Graham with his life falling apart, he returns to Ireland to visit his long lost sister, who is a brilliant actress both stern and hilarious, and we find out what went wrong.

The dialogue in this is often fly on the wall, very simple and mundane, but because of it incredibly real.
This wasn't made on a big budget at all, but its something else that makes it all the more spectacular achievement by the director, who amazingly went through something very similar to his lead actor in this - who is in fact playing out the role of Meadows alter ego as he mentioned in the one and only interview he's done about his traumatic childhood.

We have a director here who has been able to write something as good as anything Jimmy McGovern has done but also direct it brilliantly. I expect something a lot bigger financially in his next outing.

Dades

I rewatched the rebooted Mummy, with Tom Cruise last night. Not sure why, it just popped up on Netflix. It got a lot of grief, but I really enjoyed it. Now I've somewhat disappointed their Dark Universe is on hold because of the reaction.

Their idea to front up about a whole universe before the first movie was even released was a mistake, though.

(Nothing can touch the Stephen Somers Mummy... )

ziedth

RickBlaine wrote: »

Last Action Hero

Haven't seen it since the late 90s but I'm aware of its reputation as one of Arnie's worst films. To be fair, I don't think it deserves it bad reputation. It is my no means a good film but it is often very entertaining. I actually think Arnie gives one of his best performances here. Charles Dance gives an absolutely brilliant villainous performances too. I kinda wish he was in a better film because he is so good.

I definately think it is better than some of his random 80s action films like Raw Deal and Red Heat.

There are some cool blink and your miss them cameos too, most notably Sharon Stone as her character from Basic Instinct and Robert Patrick as the T1000 (literally blink and your miss them).

Ian McKellen has a small scene at the end and it is crazy how much like Galdalf his performance is.

On Netflix so worth a watch if you are willing to give it a chance and are in the mood for mindless 80 / 90s action.

I read that its weak box office was due to the fact it was released the week after Jurassic Park. Arnie pleaded with the distributors to change the date but they held their ground.

3/5

There is a brilliant Article on Last Action Hero from Empire magazine back in the day and how it basically collapsed under its on weight in production etc. If i remember right the original script was a Shane Black like buddy cop movie where it wasn't a kid but a film buff who goes into the film etc. Having said that I agree, it gets an awful lot of hate but it is quite clever for its day how it pokes fun at action films and Charles Dance is always an extra star out of 5 all by himself.

Anyway, I watched Molly's game on Prime during the week. It is enjoyable enough but like with most bio's I feel it paints Molly Bloom in the best possible light. It's a watchable enough affair but ends with a bit of a whimper.

El Duda

Deleted User wrote: »

Watched a 4 part mini series called The Virtues with Stephen Graham in the lead -Directed by Shane Meadows (Dead Mans Shoes).

To say this is powerful stuff is an understatement, with the final episode being some of the most emotionally intense sequences I can remember seeing on the small screen.

Graham players an alcoholic struggling with his past which gradually gets revealed in a very clever way by the director. As we descend into the depths of despair with Graham with his life falling apart, he returns to Ireland to visit his long lost sister, who is a brilliant actress both stern and hilarious, and we find out what went wrong.

The dialogue in this is often fly on the wall, very simple and mundane, but because of it incredibly real.
This wasn't made on a big budget at all, but its something else that makes it all the more spectacular achievement by the director, who amazingly went through something very similar to his lead actor in this - who is in fact playing out the role of Meadows alter ego as he mentioned in the one and only interview he's done about his traumatic childhood.

We have a director here who has been able to write something as good as anything Jimmy McGovern has done but also direct it brilliantly. I expect something a lot bigger financially in his next outing.

Agree with all this.


Having the climax of Chernobyl and The Virtues on in the same week felt like a milestone moment in TV. Both utterly sensational.

branie2

Men in Black International at the cinema on Friday. I thought it was very good.

is_that_so

Watched Thoroughbreds - well-regarded it seems. I waited 92m for it to get anyway interesting. Actresses are decent enough but just found it a pointless story with meandering script and neither remotely black nor comedy.

barrymanilow

Eight Grade ;

Really enjoyed it , not usually my thing but was taken back by how real a portrayal I imagined it was of a young persons experience. Not precocious like Juno or any of that nonsense , think boyhood or one of the better coming of age films out there.Deals with a young teen girl deals with the challenges of transitioning to high school in the current tech focused social media popularity contest pressure bubble that is a modern young persons life . Very real and honest , laugh out loud , moving and disturbing all at once , full of life lessons and so very current.


8/10

branie2

Late night at the cinema on Friday evening. It was very good

RocketRaccoon

Deleted User wrote: »

Watched a 4 part mini series called The Virtues with Stephen Graham in the lead -Directed by Shane Meadows (Dead Mans Shoes).

To say this is powerful stuff is an understatement, with the final episode being some of the most emotionally intense sequences I can remember seeing on the small screen.

Graham players an alcoholic struggling with his past which gradually gets revealed in a very clever way by the director. As we descend into the depths of despair with Graham with his life falling apart, he returns to Ireland to visit his long lost sister, who is a brilliant actress both stern and hilarious, and we find out what went wrong.

The dialogue in this is often fly on the wall, very simple and mundane, but because of it incredibly real.
This wasn't made on a big budget at all, but its something else that makes it all the more spectacular achievement by the director, who amazingly went through something very similar to his lead actor in this - who is in fact playing out the role of Meadows alter ego as he mentioned in the one and only interview he's done about his traumatic childhood.

We have a director here who has been able to write something as good as anything Jimmy McGovern has done but also direct it brilliantly. I expect something a lot bigger financially in his next outing.

Meadows has been flying under the radar for years now. This is England and the series that followed were arguably the best output by any English director in history.

is_that_so

is_that_so wrote: »

Watched Thoroughbreds - well-regarded it seems. I waited 92m for it to get anyway interesting. Actresses are decent enough but just found it a pointless story with meandering script and neither remotely black nor comedy.

yes, over-rated indie fare I thought.

pixelburp

Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

A much different beast to the previous film, that boilerplate, slasher version of Groundhog Day; different to the point where the sequel is better described as a madcap, college sci-fi comedy. Usually sequels simply try to hew (too) closely to the first film, often throwing more money at set-pieces, but kudos to Blumhouse for trying a different approach. This gear-shift in register mostly worked, maintaining the likeable cast and their character beats, while downplaying the thriller aspects in favour of more brazen comedic moments (the dean, for instance, was straight out of every 1980s college comedy ever produced). Most of the times the comedy got a laugh, with only a few misfires where the jokes were the wrong side of dated & a little hokey. That there was a sequel in the first place was probably down to Jessica Rothe's performance, and where the first film she skilfully played her character slowly learning some empathy and compassion, the sequel asked for more comic timing and knowing exasperation at being trapped in the scenario again. She definitely nailed it, hopefully she goes on to bigger things.

See You Yesterday (2019)

A low stakes, personal time-travel story that put its character front and centre, the science-fiction simply a thin membrane to connect with the main inciting incident; as is often with these sort of films, success or failure hung off the young cast, and thankfully they knocked it out of the park. Both leads were likeable, believable and relatable teenagers - but not insufferably hip and obnoxious in the way Hollywood can write its adolescents. This was important as it made said inciting incident all the more impactful & devastating when it happened, being as it was a topical subject that let the film stand a little higher than being a silly, trivial SciFi story. Only quibble might be my own mistake in presuming the tone; at first blush I thought this was a kids movie (with an adult message & twist), which lasted up until the first F-bombs started dropping.

branie2

Yesterday at the cinema this evening. I thought it was very good.

8mv

branie2 wrote: »

Yesterday at the cinema this evening. I thought it was very good.

For a moment or two that post was very confusing.

TerrorFirmer

The Ritual on Netflix. Heard mixed things about it but I really enjoyed it, solid horror flick with great performances.

Dades

Shazam, last night.

I don't know what the purpose of that movie was but I was not impressed.