What have you watched recently? 3D!

El Duda

Monster (2003) – 7.5/10

After completing the second season of Mindhunter, I have been sent down a serial killer rabbit hole. One of the first big movie recommendations I came across was this, Patty Jenkins helmed film, from 2003.

The film is based on 'the hooker from hell' Aileen Wuornos who was found guilty of shooting 9 men dead whilst working as a prostitute. The film is deeply sympathetic towards Aileen and does a good job of conveying how horrific her life was. Sure, a lot of her predicament was self-inflicted, but she was also a victim of male abuse and her trial/conviction was questionable at best.

The film itself is decent but it is massively elevated by a phenomenal performance from an unrecognisable Charlize Theron. Arguable one of the greatest female performances of all time and certainly one of the most deserved Oscars ever awarded. You can see that she put in a lot of groundwork into researching the character and she absolutely nails Aileen’s mannerisms and care-free spirit. The descent into madness and subsequent psychological breakdown are expertly performed and directed. Interestingly, Charlize has a credit as an executive producer on Mindhunter so it’s clear that serial killers are of great interest to her.

The big weak link of the film for me is Christina Ricci who is out of her depth and overacts a lot of her major scenes. Perhaps the reason she stood out to me was because Theron’s performance was far superior.

johnny_ultimate

pixelburp wrote: »

Feels like a film that gets more obsession & attention by dint of its famously near-disastrous production than the end-product

Gonna have to throw in a hard disagree here.

Troubled production or not, the end product is a remarkable one, and one of the crowning achievements of peak American cinema (I’d personally put The Conversation as Coppolla’s masterpiece, but there’s three or four films that are *very* close).

I caught the final cut in the cinema recently and that’s a revelatory experience. Not for tweaks or anything like that, but to fully immerse oneself in the overwhelming experience of the thing. The sound design and editing are among the absolute best examples of those respective disciplines. The way the cuts conjure that mad, surreal vibe or how the sound immerses you in the utter hellscape without just becoming an indistinct wall of noise (it is loud though). Also shot like the fever dream it is - few outside Herzog have managed to distill both beauty and dread into the very same image quite like you see in Apocalypse Now.

It’s a sprawling, messy film - more so in the later edits, which definitely impact pacing. But also the way it gradually drifts out of control until its near stream-of-distorted-consciousness final act is fantastic. It’s a towering achievement of commercial cinema colliding with wild, inventive craft - and the film stands far above the behind the scenes drama

pixelburp

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Gonna have to throw in a hard disagree here.

Troubled production or not, the end product is a remarkable one, and one of the crowning achievements of peak American cinema (I’d personally put The Conversation as Coppolla’s masterpiece, but there’s three or four films that are *very* close).

I caught the final cut in the cinema recently and that’s a revelatory experience. Not for tweaks or anything like that, but to fully immerse oneself in the overwhelming experience of the thing. The sound design and editing are among the absolute best examples of those respective disciplines. The way the cuts conjure that mad, surreal vibe or how the sound immerses you in the utter hellscape without just becoming an indistinct wall of noise (it is loud though). Also shot like the fever dream it is - few outside Herzog have managed to distill both beauty and dread into the very same image quite like you see in Apocalypse Now.

It’s a sprawling, messy film - more so in the later edits, which definitely impact pacing. But also the way it gradually drifts out of control until its near stream-of-distorted-consciousness final act is fantastic. It’s a towering achievement of commercial cinema colliding with wild, inventive craft - and the film stands far above the behind the scenes drama

Like I said, I haven't seen it in ages and maybe after that gap of 20 years since that first time (sidebar, OH.GOD.IM.SO.OLD), perhaps my own change or growth in personality will result in a a new or different perspective. Wouldn't be the first time that happened after all. I'm definitely willing to try, even if as I said I don't believe its reputation is entirely deserved.

Definitely disagree about the "stream-of-distorted-consciousness final act", insofar as it pertains to Marlon Brando. That entire sequence sounded like a farce, a bout of extreme unprofessionalism by Brando as he threw a metaphorical grenade into the production. Though I guess to his credit he at least gave some kind of performance, unlike modern-day work-shy actors like Bruce Willis who sleepwalk through their contracts.

El Duda

Apocalypse Now is a film that both me and my film nerd cousin just can't get on with. I've tried watching it a couple of times and it just a gruelling slog. Almost an endurance test rather than entertainment.

I assume that seeing it on the big screen would change our opinions but I have no motivation to seek it out. Johnny_ultimates praise is almost glowing enough to make me interested again though tbf.

Maybe I'll buy the 4K when it's cheap and try again.

Tammy!

El Duda wrote: »

Monster (2003) – 7.5/10

After completing the second season of Mindhunter, I have been sent down a serial killer rabbit hole. One of the first big movie recommendations I came across was this, Patty Jenkins helmed film, from 2003.

The film is based on 'the hooker from hell' Aileen Wuornos who was found guilty of shooting 9 men dead whilst working as a prostitute. The film is deeply sympathetic towards Aileen and does a good job of conveying how horrific her life was. Sure, a lot of her predicament was self-inflicted, but she was also a victim of male abuse and her trial/conviction was questionable at best.

The film itself is decent but it is massively elevated by a phenomenal performance from an unrecognisable Charlize Theron. Arguable one of the greatest female performances of all time and certainly one of the most deserved Oscars ever awarded. You can see that she put in a lot of groundwork into researching the character and she absolutely nails Aileen’s mannerisms and care-free spirit. The descent into madness and subsequent psychological breakdown are expertly performed and directed. Interestingly, Charlize has a credit as an executive producer on Mindhunter so it’s clear that serial killers are of great interest to her.

I've havent seen it but read a bit about Aileen Wournos. Anyway Charlese Theron was witness to her own mother shooting her father, killing him and also injuring his brother in self defense when she was younger.

Fysh

I must admit I remember being unimpressed by Apocalypse Now on first watch because I'd read Heart Of Darkness not long before and thought that the film was a poor enough adaptation of the book (though that first watch being the Redux cut didn't help!). I do think the Theatrical cut is definitely better than Redux, but even then I think the ending lets it down - Brando is just sort of there and unconvincing as the forceful personality who has lost his mind & built a cult of personality about himself, which doesn't really work when Sheen's character is deliberately a damaged vacuum. It's hard to buy into any notional tension when the apparently magnetic personality at the heart of the plot is just this aging fat bloke who sits there and whispers to himself, while anything interesting or shocking he might have done is exposited at the audience in a fairly blatant way. I mean, yeah, the production design and cinematography is great - but it would've been nice if a narrative with an actual conclusion were part of it (beyond the blatant "I AM TRIPPING BALLS RIGHT NOW" aspect, that is)...

I suspect the whole thing is a very apt metaphor for 70s cocaine-fuelled excess. But perhaps that's because even the first time I saw it was already 20+ years after it came out...

El Duda

Tammy! wrote: »

I've havent seen it but read a bit about Aileen Wournos. Anyway Charlese Theron was witness to her own mother shooting her father, killing him and also injuring his brother in self defense when she was younger.

:eek:

Arghus

The Dead Don't Die - I was amazed to see this getting savaged when it was released. Jim Jarmusch? Zombies? Bill Murray, Adam Driver? How could they fuck that up? Surely, every film reviewer must be on crack, or something.

No. Every film reviewer is not on crack, or something. Well, not every single one at least. The Dead Don't Die is quite likely to absolutely bore the arse of 90% of people who watch it. But, yet, I don't know if that wasn't the whole point of it - and while I wouldn't actively recommend it to most people, because they will undoubtedly hate the film’s dry dreariness. I'm not fully convinced that the film is outright bad - in fact, it might actually be kind of good in its own daft way, even if that is mainly in retrospect, as opposed to when you are actually watching it.

The story is very straightforward. Zombies attack an archetypal - quite intentionally archetypal, everything is intentional in this film - American small town, characters react with predictably Jarmuschian levels of deadpan. Everything is very dry and very on-brand. The dialogue is stilted and the lame jokes in the script that don’t land the first time are repeated over and over again - and not to the point where the fact that they’re being endlessly repeated becomes the joke; they’re just repeated inertly, you get to luxuriate in their flatness.

You can never forget that you’re watching a movie that’s winking at you the whole time - and the film is profoundly meta to the point that you’re purposely alienated from any form of genuine investment in the action on-screen by the end of it. So, if people want to bash the movie for being a 100 minute short cure for long term insomnia, they are, in many ways, completely right. If you want to have a rollicking good time, look elsewhere.

But - and now I am going to sound like a complete film-wanker here - maybe, to get something out of it, it has to be appreciated for what it is.

I don’t believe that it was Jarmusch’s intention to to make a straightforwardly entertaining zombie movie and the air of detached flatness that presides over everything is really what the film is all about. He doesn’t care that you are bored - it’s all an exercise in deliberately on the nose social commentary, befitting the history of on the nose social commentary in the genre, which he’s aware of and references time and time again during the film.

The apathy and listlessness displayed by the characters in the film is allegorical for how, as he sees it, there’s nothing to do now to win out against the forces of mindless destruction except to struggle on in vain, until you’re eventually turned into walking worm-feed yourself. The world is fucked according to The Dead Don’t Die and even ironically arch Zombie movies won’t save us. The more I think about it, the more depressing the central message of the movie starts to feel.

I realise that I’m letting the film off the hook here - saying it’s boring and then praising it, kinda, for that. As a piece of entertainment, it really doesn’t work. But, I think it can be admired as being a personal and - once you get past all the surface level irony and meta mucking around - sincere attempt on Jarmusch’s part to use the medium of a silly zombie movie as a canvas to paint a picture about what he thinks of the present day and what ails us. And the prognosis is bleak.

Sugarlumps

Black 47 - No positives, looked like it was filmed on a phone. Unable to hit the target from 5 feet. Suddenly taking dudes out from distance. Take away modern day guns, arm the world with these - just for kicks.

Creed 2 - Long winded, fast forward button got a work out. Stallone is in his 70's. Your not supposed to look like that.

Tony EH

'48 Hrs.'

Classic, or "classic" 1982 action flick from Walter Hill, starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy (originally Clint Eastwood and Richard Pryor!) and filled with sexism, racism, violence and everything else you could possibly hope for from a cop film of the era.

The reality is, though, is that that's all it really has going for it. The script is rubbish and antagonists are incredibly one note, with a particularly ridiculous turn from James Remar. Everyone else is just background noise, including Frank McRae as a shouty black police Captain (ripped from 'Starsky and Hutch') and a bit - of totty - part from Annette O'Toole, whose entire existence is to give an extra layer to Nolte's gravel voiced stereotype.

The thin script sees Remar play a career criminal/cop killer (plus equally nefarious buddy, Sonny Lindham) busting out of jail and hardened cop (Nolte) has to use a con (Murphy) who knows Remar to hunt him down. The thing is, he only has his services for 48 hours. For what it's worth, it serves its purposes, but its entertainment value is largely drawn from the onscreen chemistry between Nolte and Murphy which, in fairness, were inspired choices. Although their characters, grizzled cop and smart mouthed con, were hardly ground breaking and neither was the racial buddy dynamic, which had been around since Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier. But, it's easy to see why this was Murphy's breakout picture and why he became a hot property in Hollywood during the rest of the decade.

It's sequel, 'Another 48 Hrs.' from 1990, largely repeats the frenemies angle, but replaces the cliched Hollywood crazy killers with a cliched Hollywood biker gang. Unlike the original film, which reaped in a very positive reaction from both critics and audiences, the sequel was largely panned. Although, it was largely the equal of its predecessor in some ways. Maybe critics and audiences were just sick of these types of films by its release date.

5/10

Tony EH

Tony EH wrote: »

'48 Hrs.'


5/10

Booooo!

HalloweenJack

I watched the original Godzilla film this afternoon.

It was a fascinating story, considering the context of Japan at the time. I'm not long back from a trip to Japan so I wanted to learn more about what is a big cultural reference point. The story is great when you think about what the country was recovering from at the time.

It's obviously aged pretty badly but there were some attack scenes that held up. I was amazed by the pace of the film, especially at the beginning. I wouldn't say it's a great film from a technical point of view but that's sixty-five years later. It would be a whole different story if I'd seen it at the time.

santana75

The Informer

Absolutley crackin' film. Dont know how this isnt doing really well because it deserves a lot of credit. Acting is superb, the script is tight and it zips along at a good clip. Saw IT chapter 2 the other night and that will earn a lot more at the box office than the informer, based on hype alone. But the informer is the vastly superior film. Go figure.

pixelburp

Men in Black: International (2019)

An utterly nondescript film, perfunctory in almost every facet of execution, yet missing anything of the oddball charm or imagination from the original MiB films. This was structured with all the care and attention of an assembly line, plot beats and tropes to match. Tessa Thomspon's character was woefully written, vacillating between starry-eyed newbie and know-it-all expert, the film forgetting to put any groundwork into either aspect; meanwhile, Chris Hemsworth floated around on autopilot, channeling a lukewarm Thor while presumably imagining what he'll buy with the fat cheque Sony wrote him. Not a terrible film, just a perfect example of a forgettable one - if anyone can remember watching it after the fact.

Decuc500

Like Father, Like Son

Working my way through the Hirokazu Kore-eda blu ray box set from Arrow Academy.

This 2013 film is another gem from Kore-eda. The story of two couples who learn after 6 years that their sons were switched at birth in the hospital could have been mawkish and sentimental in the hands of another director.

But it’s such an assured movie. Kore-eda brings his humanity and empathy.

It’s a tough subject but in the end an uplifting and beautiful film.

Dades

X Men: Dark Phoenix.

All a bit paint by numbers, save for the bizarre antagonists. I'm amazed all the big hitters signed up for this. Got through it but I'll never be inclined to watch it again.


Also saw Rocketman. Really enjoyed it. Like Elton's glasses it's possibly a bit rose-tinted, but it was a good watch. Really like Taron Egerton.

Sugarlumps

Predator Reboot - Travesty.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I watched Lady Bird last night and I didn't really like it that much...
Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf are great in their roles but the whole thing felt very.... empty? I dunno. Not for me.

Sleepy

Little Darlings (1980), a movie that couldn't possibly get made in the current climate about two 15 year old girls from opposite sides of the tracks who end up in a bet over which can lose her virginity first.

Starring Tatum O'Neal and Kristy McNichol and with early career performances from Matt Dillon and Cynthia Nixon, I really enjoyed this. It's one of the more authentic coming-of-age flicks I've seen in a while and, given my love of the genre, frankly I'm amazed I hadn't come across it before. The portrayal of the summer camp is fascinating in that what, through a modern lens, appears like jingoistic nationalism is being shown as happy, normal memories of childhood summers.

7/10 and worth tracking down.

Jurgen The German

HalloweenJack wrote: »

I watched the original Godzilla film this afternoon.

It was a fascinating story, considering the context of Japan at the time. I'm not long back from a trip to Japan so I wanted to learn more about what is a big cultural reference point. The story is great when you think about what the country was recovering from at the time.

It's obviously aged pretty badly but there were some attack scenes that held up. I was amazed by the pace of the film, especially at the beginning. I wouldn't say it's a great film from a technical point of view but that's sixty-five years later. It would be a whole different story if I'd seen it at the time.

Criterion are releasing a boxset shortly of all the originals. I havnt seen any of them in over 25 years when channel 4 used to show them on friday nights.

El Duda

Murder Party - 5/10

After seeing Blue Ruin, Green Room and Hold The Dark I decided to complete the Saulnier set and watch his first feature. This being the film that Saulnier jokingly said is the start if the 'Hapless protagonist trilogy'.

This is easily the weakest of his four films so far. It's very small in scale and low budget. It has a 'fresh out of film school' vibe and the script feels a little flat and empty at times.

The performances are good and there is plenty of splatter for gore fans. It always feels more comical than scary but there are wince inducing moments. Only 79mins long so doesn't overstay its welcome. If you're unfamiliar with Saulniers work i'd suggest skipping this and starting with Blue Ruin.

Fysh

You Might Be The Killer

One of the more fun self-aware and 80s-throwback-y horror films in recent years, this relies on Fran Kranz and Alyson Hannigan as much as it does on the script. It's very much about riffing on slasher movies and their clichés, but it's done in an entertaining way, doesn't get too bogged down in the trappings (unlike, say, Final Girls, which for me felt a bit too shackled by its reverence for ropey slasher films) and doesn't outstay its welcome. Definitely worth a watch.

Mum & Dad
A not entirely successful horror-comedy outing, I thought this was a bit unfocused. There were a couple of great Nicholas Cage moments, but at least as many bad-Cage moments, because his character is a secondary one who doesn't get enough focus for Cage to properly go bananas as he does in his best roles. So a lot of what we see here is just gurning Cage, not crying-and-screaming-in-his-underwear-while-necking-vodka-in-the-bathroom Cage. But then none of the characters are really developed much, because this isn't a film predicated on individual characters - it's essentially a horror comedy take on parents who resent the loss of freedom and added responsibility that parenthood has brought, and put the blame for this on their kids.

The last ten or fifteen minutes are pretty entertaining for reasons the trailer insisted on spoiling

Cage's parents coming round for dinner, hence having two sets of parents trying to murder their kids in the same family

But overall the story is too thin, fragmented and oddly paced to really hold up, and it doesn't so much conclude as just lurch to a halt after running out of ideas.

Dades

Spiderman: Far From Home

I have had total superhero ennui for the last while, but this was the most caped fun in ages. Proper laugh out load bits, and a young, fresh likeable cast.

Tom Holland is so perfect in this role. The plot is, well, whatever, but who cares. It's fun, and the only stakes we care about are whether Peter can get with MJ. Everything else is incidental.

The Avengers are mostly gone (yay) but at least they've left us the fun one.

barrymanilow

Sweet Country

Really liked this one , low budget western set in Australian Outback at the turn of the century.

Watch if you liked goldstone or samson and dalihla or rabbit proof fence.

Deals with the treatment of aboriginals in that era.

No big names , just earnest story telling and good cinematography.

Nerdlingr

Yesterday.

Great premise but the film is absolute tosh. 4/10

Del.Monte

Three from YouTube:

"Dead Silence" (1997)
Starring James Garner. A bus-load of deaf schoolgirls are taken hostage by three escaped convicts....A poorly crafted production but it's always nice to see the late, great Jim Rockford. 3/10.

"Rumpole of the Bailey" aka "Rumpole and the Confession of Guilt" (1975)

Based on the writings of John Mortimer and starring Leo McKern.

I had forgotten just how superb this series was and I'm now going to re-watch the entire 44 episodes. 10/10.

"Callan" (1974)

Another forgotten gem. A spin off movie from the earlier TV series - and starring Edward Woodward and Eric Porter.

Callan is a disgraced British Secret Service operative brought back into the organisation for a specific hit which, if successful, will see him reinstated into his old job.

Plenty of action and no CGI. Again, I will probably re-watch the TV series as there's precious little worth watching on Netflix these days. 9/10

Tony EH

^
Some real blasts from the past there.

My old man used to love 'Rumpole of the Bailey'. Kid me thought he was mad.

El Duda

Now streaming on Amazon Prime...

Stan & Ollie – 7/10

An honest inspection into the latter stages of the great duo’s career, that avoids sensationalising their legend and instead opts to wallow in the melancholy of a bygone era. The performances and make-up are exceptional but if I had to pick an MVP, it would have to be John C. Reilly who brilliantly embodies Oliver Hardy. There is a lot more to making a biopic performance like this work than just conjuring up a passable impression. Both leads succeed in elevating the material and adding plenty of depth to two of our finest comedic icons.

The decision to focus on the latter stages of their career when their star wasn't burning as brightly is an interesting one and serves as a good antidote to the sycophancy that was displayed in Bohemian Rhapsody.

I would have preferred to see more recreations of some of their comedic set pieces as the door routine is timeless and easily the highlight of the movie. Nothing spectacular and not worthy of Oscar nominations (it got none) but still charming and enjoyable.

beauf

Not posted a review before. Hope this is right.

Black Rain 1989

American action thriller film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Michael Douglas, Andy García, Ken Takakura, and Kate Capshaw. Two cops escort a member of the Yakuza back to Japan. He escapes, and the two officers find themselves dragged deeper into the underworld.

One of my favourite movies. More 80s than I had remembered. Every cliche in the book, yet stylish. Blade runner meets Miami vice and hill Street blues.

8/10

beauf

Shōgun 1980 mini series

Based on 1975 novel by James Clavell, who was executive producer of mini series. People tend to remember it for the actor Richard Chamberlain.

Filmed on location entirely in Japan. About englishman stranded in Japan in 1600 his experiences and political intrigues in feudal Japan in the early 17th century.

Loved this at the time. Got it on Blu-ray it's in 4:3 and another very 80s production. If you can get past that it's very informative. Great cast and I would say decent acting for the period.

I've never read the book, but after watching this again I will.

8/10

I'd score it higher only some might not find it accessible and might not get past the 80s production.