What have you watched recently? 3D!

johnny_ultimate

Mangrove / Lovers Rock - I mean, if most of 2020 has been a write-off, at least we get FIVE new Steve McQueen films out of it.

His BBC Small Axe series of films is two for two so far. Mangrove is sort of a much-needed counter-programming to the fairly iffy Trial of the Chicago 7: a courtroom drama that really centres and amplifies the political and social concerns at the centre of it all, without devolving into ludicrous grand-stranding. A smart, engaging piece of work.

But Lovers Rock... wow. A truly special piece of work I'd have loved to see on a big screen. A wonderful celebration of music and the sensuality of a good gaff party. Has this relaxed, good-natured atmosphere to it (although like most parties, interrupted occasionally be someone being an ass) that is built right into the camerwork. There's a few scenes where McQueen just lets the characters sing along to the music for minutes on end - and it's fairly ****ing magnificent. One of the year's best.

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets - from a great party movie to a great bar movie. Without going too much into the intriguing and purist-infuriating back story of this 'documentary' (I'd recommend watching the film first and then reading about it), this is a lively, provocative film about the closing night of a Las Vegas bar and the regulars who come to send the place off. Moments of true affection are plenty, as well as some when drunken tempers flair over the absolute stupidest things. In other words, it's people getting pissed and having a mostly good time. Well worth a look.

The Fugitive - damn this holds up well. Peak no-nonsense 90s action thriller. Clockwork plotting, delightfully committed performances, and just the right amount of iconic / ridiculous set pieces. I mean, they didn't have to make the train crash quite as dramatic as it is, but I'm glad they did.

Hook - To the best of my recollection, this was the first film I was old enough to actually get excited about. I had the Lost Boy toys... I had the VHS... I was all in on Hook. In my defence, I was five.

It's a strange beast to watch now. It's hard to separate scenes like the delightfully multi-coloured food fight from how vivid they seem as a child. Much of the set and art design is gorgeous, and as an adult one it's actually the non-Neverland book-ends that really stand out as being the best examples of what Spielberg was trying to do here. And moments like 'there you are Peter' certainly have that patented Spielberg kick.

But so much of it is maddeningly half-baked. Smee, Tinkerbell and Hook have startlingly little to do - Hoffman may gotten top billing, but he has barely any material to work with. The plot is peculiarly brittle, and full of head-scratching moments (such as the bizarrely

brutal and immediately forgotten offing of Rufio, or Hook being eaten by a... erm... clock?

). Even some of the largely impressive set design feels haphazard - the port / pirate ship set feels so much like a mere set that it's distracting.

But hey, the Williams score is good.

Retr0gamer

I remember watching hook a few years ago with the parents and got to the bit when they rolled the fat kid at the bad guys.

I turned around to my parents and said I'm sorry I dragged you to see this **** in the cinema.

Tony EH

I'll have to give 'The Fugitive' a spin again some time. Haven't seen it since I saw in the pictures.

gmisk

Tony EH wrote: »

I'll have to give 'The Fugitive' a spin again some time. Haven't seen it since I saw in the pictures.

It holds up well imo, I watched it again recently.
It's on amazon prime if you have it.

flasher0030

The Equalizer – with Denzel.
Really enjoyed it. There is nothing groundbreaking plotwise. But the movie is done in such a stylish way, you can just switch off for 2 hours, and enjoy a bit of action with good acting from the leads. Great soundtrack towards the end as well.
Going to try to catch Equalizer 2 tonight. Hopefully it’s as good.

gmisk

flasher0030 wrote: »

The Equalizer – with Denzel.
Really enjoyed it. There is nothing groundbreaking plotwise. But the movie is done in such a stylish way, you can just switch off for 2 hours, and enjoy a bit of action with good acting from the leads. Great soundtrack towards the end as well.
Going to try to catch Equalizer 2 tonight. Hopefully it’s as good.

The second one is watchable imo. But the first one was better

pixelburp

Tony EH wrote: »

I'll have to give 'The Fugitive' a spin again some time. Haven't seen it since I saw in the pictures.

I've seen it a couple of times since its release and always holds up: as Johnny says it's peak 90s action thriller, perfectly weighted like the work of an expert craftsman; also a good reminder about what mid-range blockbuster entertainment used to be before "Four Quadrant" led production took over, and crowd-pleasers became more about superficial highs.

On that, if anyone IS looking for something along those lines, 21 Bridges from last year is a good example. Nothing spectacular but a solid concept - if a little underused - built around small scale thrills.

flasher0030

pixelburp wrote: »

I've seen it a couple of times since its release and always holds up: as Johnny says it's peak 90s action thriller, perfectly weighted like the work of an expert craftsman; also a good reminder about what mid-range blockbuster entertainment used to be before "Four Quadrant" led production took over, and crowd-pleasers became more about superficial highs.

On that, if anyone IS looking for something along those lines, 21 Bridges from last year is a good example. Nothing spectacular but a solid concept - if a little underused - built around small scale thrills.

I actually saw 21 Bridges a couple of nights ago. I thought it would be much better. I'm not just saying that to disagree for the sake of it. But it was so shallow. The main cop trying to be the smart-ass “I know everything about everything” type guy.
The money shot of the film was identifying who were the bad-a$ses. And the “surprise” when revealed. Stevie Wonder could see how that was going to pan out - the to-be-revealed-as-criminals characters going off on suspicious phone calls, shooting cops when no need to etc. etc.
Anyway, in my opinion there are far better cops versus crims movies out there.

Tony EH

gmisk wrote: »

It holds up well imo, I watched it again recently.
It's on amazon prime if you have it.

Don't have AM.

But I'm pretty sure someone has it in DVD, which will do for a rewatch.

Tony EH

pixelburp wrote: »

I've seen it a couple of times since its release and always holds up: as Johnny says it's peak 90s action thriller, perfectly weighted like the work of an expert craftsman; also a good reminder about what mid-range blockbuster entertainment used to be before "Four Quadrant" led production took over, and crowd-pleasers became more about superficial highs.

Yeah, I remember it being a solid enough, workmanlike, film. If a little bland in that glossy 90's fashion. Hard to believe that it's 27 years old now.

The only scene that I can fully recall is the "I don't care" one, where they threw an obvious dummy off of a dam. :pac:

flasher0030

gmisk wrote: »

The second one is watchable imo. But the first one was better

Watched Equalizer 2 last night. It’s really not up to much. Not a patch on the first one.
There was no creativity to it at all. I know there’s always going to be comparisons between films when there are sequels, but even as a stand alone movie it would be weak.
If you took Denzel out of it, it would be a disaster. At least he brought something to it.
The final bad guys versus good guy scenes were ridicules. Bunch of baddies going around individually out in the open when they know there’s a trained assassin a few metres away. I do like action films, but I hate when they have a villain who can go around killing half humanity, but then when it comes to the final showdown will do things that a 5 year old would know better. Without giving anything away, the main villain climbs up on the open roof of a building that’s about 4 stories high – in a hurricane in which the whole town is evacuated. And of course he takes the customary fall and bumps his head.

Avoid. Just enjoy the first one.

Sugarlumps

Once were warriors – Had an impact when l was younger, still worth a watch.

Near Dark – Bill Paxton is great as per usual, Lance Henriksen was born looking old.

Fuascailteoir

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Mangrove / Lovers Rock - I mean, if most of 2020 has been a write-off, at least we get FIVE new Steve McQueen films out of it.

His BBC Small Axe series of films is two for two so far. Mangrove is sort of a much-needed counter-programming to the fairly iffy Trial of the Chicago 7: a courtroom drama that really centres and amplifies the political and social concerns at the centre of it all, without devolving into ludicrous grand-stranding. A smart, engaging piece of work.

But Lovers Rock... wow. A truly special piece of work I'd have loved to see on a big screen. A wonderful celebration of music and the sensuality of a good gaff party. Has this relaxed, good-natured atmosphere to it (although like most parties, interrupted occasionally be someone being an ass) that is built right into the camerwork. There's a few scenes where McQueen just lets the characters sing along to the music for minutes on end - and it's fairly ****ing magnificent. One of the year's best.

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets - from a great party movie to a great bar movie. Without going too much into the intriguing and purist-infuriating back story of this 'documentary' (I'd recommend watching the film first and then reading about it), this is a lively, provocative film about the closing night of a Las Vegas bar and the regulars who come to send the place off. Moments of true affection are plenty, as well as some when drunken tempers flair over the absolute stupidest things. In other words, it's people getting pissed and having a mostly good time. Well worth a look.

The Fugitive - damn this holds up well. Peak no-nonsense 90s action thriller. Clockwork plotting, delightfully committed performances, and just the right amount of iconic / ridiculous set pieces. I mean, they didn't have to make the train crash quite as dramatic as it is, but I'm glad they did.

Hook - To the best of my recollection, this was the first film I was old enough to actually get excited about. I had the Lost Boy toys... I had the VHS... I was all in on Hook. In my defence, I was five.

It's a strange beast to watch now. It's hard to separate scenes like the delightfully multi-coloured food fight from how vivid they seem as a child. Much of the set and art design is gorgeous, and as an adult one it's actually the non-Neverland book-ends that really stand out as being the best examples of what Spielberg was trying to do here. And moments like 'there you are Peter' certainly have that patented Spielberg kick.

But so much of it is maddeningly half-baked. Smee, Tinkerbell and Hook have startlingly little to do - Hoffman may gotten top billing, but he has barely any material to work with. The plot is peculiarly brittle, and full of head-scratching moments (such as the bizarrely

brutal and immediately forgotten offing of Rufio, or Hook being eaten by a... erm... clock?

). Even some of the largely impressive set design feels haphazard - the port / pirate ship set feels so much like a mere set that it's distracting.

But hey, the Williams score is good.

Is the small axe series not available in prime in ireland? I can't find it

johnny_ultimate

Fuascailteoir wrote: »

Is the small axe series not available in prime in ireland? I can't find it

This is one of those unfortunate situations where we have to rely on BBC’s broadcasts - since we fall under their rights, but don’t have (easy) access to the iPlayer.

Hopefully it’ll pop up on Prime shortly, much like Fleabag.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Fuascailteoir wrote: »

Is the small axe series not available in prime in ireland? I can't find it

Set your DVR for Sunday night at 9 on BBC1, you'll still be able to get the next 3

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Bad Education (2019 - Cory Finley)

Based on a true story, Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney star as a high school superintendent and his assistant who get caught up in an embezzlement scandal after a student accidentally uncovers it while writing a fluff piece for the school paper.

Cory Finley directed Thoroughbreds a few years ago and I loved it a lot so my expectations were high for this and thankfully it delivered. The script is tight, the cast are excellent, the pacing is perfect and it's just really enjoyable. Watched it on Now TV, highly reccomend it.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Bad Education (2019 - Cory Finley)

Based on a true story, Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney star as a high school superintendent and his assistant who get caught up in an embezzlement scandal after a student accidentally uncovers it while writing a fluff piece for the school paper.

Cory Finley directed Thoroughbreds a few years ago and I loved it a lot so my expectations were high for this and thankfully it delivered. The script is tight, the cast are excellent, the pacing is perfect and it's just really enjoyable. Watched it on Now TV, highly reccomend it.

Hugh Jackman's Michael Corleone

budgemook

Just hearing about the Small Axe series now. So they are all standalone right? Will definitely check it out tomorrow night on BBC1.

barrymanilow

Possessor 2020

I love a good sci -fi/black mirror type of stuff and really wanted to enjoy this but the body horror gore stuff was just way too heavy for me.If there had been less effort put into the body horror stuff and more into story telling and making the characters more compelling it would have been great. I think it focused too much on the antagonists character where she was quite cold and uncompelling when it should have focused more on the possessed victims viewpoint who i really felt myself root for throughout.

I used to go here


Easy comedy drama / rom com about a struggling young author who is invited back to her University to speak about her new novel. Enjoyable and easy to watch stuff , 7.5/10

shrapnel222

budgemook wrote: »

Just hearing about the Small Axe series now. So they are all standalone right? Will definitely check it out tomorrow night on BBC1.

yep. first 2 are really good. haven't watched the 3rd yet but top of my list for this week

Say my name

shrapnel222 wrote: »

yep. first 2 are really good. haven't watched the 3rd yet but top of my list for this week

I haven't watched the first two.
But channel hoping this evening I got to see the one about Leeroy Logan.

Absolutely brilliant piece.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55109363

Let him go - 2020

Set in the 1950's in the Midwest, it's not the most complicated story in the world of two families going head-to-head over a grandson, and the odds being a bit lop-sided due to age and numbers. It was pretty decent overall. The two female protagonists Diane Lane and Lesley Manville stand out but Costner is also good. Some nice scenery too. Certainly worth a watch in these slim-pickings times.

6.75 / 10

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9340860/

homerun_homer

Happiest Season

Watched this last night, was going to hold off until nearer Christmas but was seeing too many tweets and things about it so stuck it on early. I enjoyed it a bit mainly because I like the cast, though the direction and script were a bit lacking and could have served them better. It looks better than your run of the mill Netflix Christmas movie which helped but it was not up to the level people were going on about it (Kermode included). I found the family in the movie to be

a bit OTT and harsh. Initially they can't stop sympathizing and mentioning Abby's dead parents, and then the rest of it they ignore and are generally rude around her throughout the movie. I like Mackenzie Davis but her character does a complete turn from loving to being ignorant of Abby that I was rooting for Aubrey Plaza to swoop in an take over the relationship.

There's a better version of this to have been made but it'll do I guess.

chrislad

Watched Rocketman last night. It was decent, not amazing, though the music is excellent, as were the performances. Not a lot of substance, but enough there to make me buy his autobiography!

6/10

IAMAMORON

Monsoon - 2020

I thought it wasn't great. The plot/story was quite weak and I am still struggling with what is was really about? I have some mild theories but I haven't the energy to spoil them. Think of that what you will.

On a more positive note, the cinematography was fantastic and it did serve as a wonderful postcard of modern Vietnam from an urban perspective, I think? There was some nice cityscapes of both Saigon and Hanoi and I did feel immersed in both cities, kind of.

Disappointing for me personally, but it was only 80 minutes long and despite my lack of enthusiasm for the film, it could possibly be your bag, but I found it poor enough all things considered.

SimonTemplar

His House (2020)

I saw this on Netflix. A very strong multi-layered horror from a debut director. A refugee couple makes a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan, but then they struggle to adjust to their new life in an English town that has an evil lurking beneath the surface.

I get the impression that the film looks a lot more expensive than its actual budget. Some great horror imagery that will linger in your mind after the end credits. Brilliant performances by the two leads too.

dubstepper

Mindhorn

Julian Barratt comedy based on a washed up 80s tv detective who is called in to help on a abduction case by the police. I really like Barratt and am a fan of Mighty Boosh but I found this a little boring. About 60 mins in I was done.

It's a pity because it has some great actors in it; Simon Farnaby, Essie Davis, Anrea Riseborough, Kenneth Branagh & Steve Coogan to name a few. Didn't really put the talent to any great use.

5/10

johnny_ultimate

Wolfwalkers - amazing stuff from those animation heroes in Kilkenny. I didn't know what to think at the start - seemed like it could be a l'il bit more o' the same. But I was quickly swept up in its lush visuals and rich storytelling. A more 'accessible' film in some ways than Cartoon Saloon's previous work, but this still has that mature storytelling, deep affection for this country's culture & history, and a full commitment to the studio's idiosyncratic aesthetic obsessions. I loved this wholeheartedly - a very, proudly Irish triumph that puts Pixar to shame (and there's more than a few similarities to Brave here).

On The Rocks - the other big Apple TV+ cinematic gamble, and less successful than Wolfwalkers. An almost defiantly minor work from Sofia Coppola, and it takes a while to feel any sort of sympathy for the low-stakes problems of these extremely wealthy New Yorkers. But Bill Murray and Rashida Jones are both delightful, and work very well together - occasionally, the film even manages to match their frequency in a rather delightful way. Pleasant enough overall, just not particularly substantial.

Mank - (copied from the Netflix thread) It’s more in line with The Social Network than Fincher’s other work.. right up my alley. Was also a pleasure being immersed in its cynical, gossipy yet quietly affectionate take on 1930s/40s Hollywood. The visual panache is present and correct, enlivened by a real, obsessive commitment to emulating the look and sound of classic cinema and little winks and nods to Citizen Kane throughout. Often dips into conventional biopic territory, but most fun when it's something cheekier and more playful.

It’s an overtly political work, which is good... but it does have a tendency to meander in its second half particularly. Some of its layering and intercutting of flashbacks is a bit clunky, especially compared to the film whose making its documenting (only worth comparing to Kane when the film invites it). But most of the time I was engrossed, and there are a few scenes that would rank among the absolute best of the year (there’s a stunning party scene which feels like the next level up from The Social Network’s classic opening scene).

dubstepper

olvias wrote: »

I watched Top Secret! Possibly one of the funniest films ever made.

So long since I watched it. I remember thinking it was comical when I was younger.

Homelander

The 2013 remake of Evil Dead, the uncut version. A really good film and very gruesome.

I'd put it up there with The Hills have Eyes and Dawn of the Dead as a rare remake that does great justice to the name.