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What have you watched recently? 3D!

johnny_ultimate

You people just keep on watching films, don't you?

We have reached the contractually-mandated 10,000 post limited in thread 2, so here's another one. It's like the first two, but with gimmicky 3D added and a no-name director taking over from the well-known one who directed the first two.

Here's the first thread: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055488699
And the second: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056732038

So... what have you watched recently?

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bnt

It's been years since I watched Heat (1995): it's almost three hours long and demands your full attention for all of it, but I did it last night and it's well worth it.

For starters, it has Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer and others at the top of their game. The film is an exploration of men who are so focused on what they are doing that they have more in common with each other than with the other people in their live. It's famous for the scene with cop Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) buying criminal Neil McCauley (Robert de Niro) a coffee, and discussing how similar they are, even thougjh they are on opposite sides of the law. They're so busy pursuing things that they don't stop to think about what they're doing until it's too late to stop.

It's very much a movie about men doing manly things, on both sides of the law: a feminist reading might call it a critique of toxic masculinity. It would definitely fail a Bechdel Test. Take Lauren (Natalie Portman in her second-ever movie after Leon), a neurotic teenager for whom her barely-there stepfather is still more reliable than a real father who's always letting her down. The women's lives revolves around the men, but not in an uncritical fashion e.g. we have Eady (Amy Brennemann) who is being asked to give up her life and work to follow a man to New Zealand, and is clearly ambivalent about the prospect: she's not going to blindly follow McCauley just like that. Justine (Diane Venora) decides, during the movie, that it's not working, but has to "demean myself" (her words) with another man to get "closure". The other man is right there when she says that - not that he minds.

The other great reason to watch Heat is that it's such a visually stunning film. All scenes were shot on location - no sets at all - and nearly all locations were unusual ones that make LA look like it's on a different planet to most Hollywood movies. Mostly practical lighting, starting with the audacious ambush of an armoured car in broad daylight. Then there's the bank robbery in downtown LA, followed by a shootout on the busy streets, with the real sounds of the gunfire echoing off the buildings.

Another thing that struck me was how the final scenes, on the airfield between the runways at LAX, imposed an almost Greek sense of tragic inevitability on events. Aircraft have to land - they can't stay up there forever - and so it seemed fitting that the final showdown took place with planes landing on either side of them, drowning out all other sounds in the process. We knew it was going to end, but still cared to know just how that was going to happen.

p to the e

Thunder Road (2018) This came on my radar a few years back when I read about it and it was added to the "must watch" pile. Finally saw it and I was dutifully impressed.

A few years before this film Jim Cummings wrote, directed and starred in a short film with the same name and he took up the same duties for the feature length of which the first 10-15 minutes is that short film reshot for the big screen.

It's probably best to go in blind but that opening scene is one of the most funny/uncomfortable/cringey scenes I've ever seen. We're witnessing a man at the beginning of a breakdown and it's extremely funny/uncomfortable/cringey. If you decide to watch then afterwards the short film is available online for a comparison.

El Gato De Negocios

In Search of Darkness

Mammoth documentary clocking in at just shy of 4 and a half hours cataloging a plethora of 80s horror. It has talking heads from a whos who of horror movies from Kane Hodder to the late Stuart Gordon to lesser known stars and directors and goes through each year of the decade looking back at some of the horror films from each year.

Enjoyable stuff for a horror aficionado though I felt it focused entirely too much on the three big franchises - Elm St, Friday the 13th and Halloween, every one of the movies in these three franchises released in the 80s were featured, it would have been much better if other movies got a mention. It seems to me that the movies featured reflected directly on who they could get to speak, all of Stuart Gordons 80s films for example are featured. The makers have been on the receiving end of a huge amount of blow back from backers. They raised the guts of €300,000 via crowd funding but alot of backers are still waiting on the disc, received poorly authored BDR's, posters that were folded rather than rolled (a big no no for collectors).

Still, as a love letter to arguably the golden age of horror, this is worth checking out if you are a fan.

7/10

Tony EH

'Escape Room'

A number of incredibly irritating characters go to an implausible building that contains the most ridiculous "escape rooms" that you could think of, all in the pursuit of a $10,000 prize. Of course, failure to complete the puzzles in the rooms results in death.

A low budget B flick that takes more than a cue from 'Cube', but has little of its entertainment. It's not completely dreadful, although it has some truly awful, awful, dialogue and it's just too silly to be really enjoyable. It did, however, make a ton of money (relatively), bringing in nearly $200 million against a $9 million cost.

4/10

Dades

"The Platform"

Relatively new to Netflix watched it this week.

Pretty grim Dystopian stuff, and gory as f*ck. But an interesting premise kept me engaged throughout.
The lead character needed to carry the movie and nailed it.

pixelburp

Free Fire (2016)

In many respects this would work as an interesting compare & contrast with the John Wick franchise. While the latter enhanced gunplay into something of a balletic art-form, Free Fire took the opposite approach, imagining how a gun fight would more likely happen in reality: loud, confusing with combatants hastily taking scrambled, blind potshots at each other while huddled behind cover. Each gunshot possessed exactly the kind of ear shattering riposte you'd imagine it to have, adding a dangerous unpredictability to the story.

It had that pulse of something of the Tarantino mould, albeit without that A+ crackle in its script and staging; the cast were eager, each riffing within an ensemble of outsized characters, but none had enough charisma to make them more likeable. And while I respect his work in general, and an eagerness to dip into various genres, Ben Wheatley's strong points do not include understanding the geography of action. Maybe it was by design given the aforementioned chaos of the fight, but it was never all that clear which character was where within the abandoned warehouse location. Mind you, if Tarantino is the A+ as mentioned, this was still solid B entertainment, just lacking in a few vital qualities.

shrapnel222

the hunt

lots of violence. simple set up. wasn't expecting much but enjoyed its mindlessness

[Deleted User]

Underwater

Completely missable drilling-station 10km down in the sea caper that borrows from movies such as the abyss and alien that are far far superior to it. Very pedestrian, boring and utterly cliche-ridden. Kristen Stewart is in it and actually is reasonable but the film is just bad.

a solid 3/10 "don't bother"

[Deleted User]

shrapnel222 wrote: »

the hunt

lots of violence. simple set up. wasn't expecting much but enjoyed its mindlessness

the "it wasn't real but you wouldn't let it go and ruined us so we made it real" part was bordering on clever.

[Deleted User]

Del.Monte wrote: »

"The International" (2009) on Netflix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mDi49Qj1xk

Clive Owen stars in this action packed thriller about corrupt bankers, arms dealers and hit men. Can't say much more without giving away the plot but there's plenty of excitement and the movie never flags right to the end. I had watched it before but enjoyed a repeat viewing. 8/10

co-incidentally I also re-watched this recently also (one of the few perks of getting a bit older is that you can forget enough to watch a movie again after 10 years lol) and also re-enjoyed it - 7.5 /10

bnt

Just watched A Quiet Place: I wish I had seen it before details of the sequel came out. The new film's cast list gave away a major spoiler for the first film:

the absence of John Krasinski indicates that his character didn't make it to the sequel

. The opening sequence was very effective in setting things up: they didn't pull their punches there. I think it went on a bit too long, with multiple endings, but with that nice little twist at the end.

barrymanilow

The Way Back

Ben Afleck plays a bereaved alcoholic who takes up the job of Basketball Coach for the struggling team of his old high school for which he was once the star player.

Good , think the mighty Ducks but a lot less Disney , more real and more adult themed.

8/10

shrapnel222

Watched Downhill last night. What absolute garbage. to think it's a remake of force majeure, a Brilliant swedish comedy from a few years ago is painful to see.

Don't watch it, watch force majeure instead

Tony EH

'Dressed to Kill'

Brian De Palma's 1980 movie focuses on a killer who first stalks a sexually frustrated, 50 something, housewife (Angie Dickinson) and then a prostitute (Nancy Allen) in a pretty tepid and conventional, but highly regarded thriller.

I say "highly regarded", but I'm at a loss, somewhat, to see why really. It's a fairly straightforward yarn and only those with a barely functioning brain would miss the central "surprise" of the film's story. However, it does have a certain fascination to it and my attention was kept throughout. It's kind of like a lot of those 70's/80's Italian Giallo movies. There's a heightened sense to everything that's going on and it all feels very unreal, but they're just not that good in the end. Watchable, weird, but ultimately unsatisfying. But, this is a general thing for me where De Palma is concerned, who's a director I've never truly warmed to. Even with his films that I consider to be his best, like 'Casualties of War', 'The Untouchables' or 'Carlito's Way', there's always something that sticks in my craw. 'Scarface' is, probably, the only film of his that I can say is great and free of the worst of De Palma's inherent flaws as a film maker and I disliked that movie for a long time.

'Dressed to Kill', like so much of De Palma's output, demonstrates these flaws amply. Some of the film feels so amateurish, it's difficult to believe that it gets a pass from a lot of folk. However, at other times, it comes off as very accomplished, proving that De Palma can put out good work. The scene in the subway, where Nancy Allen's character is pursued by the killer, is very well staged and shot, even if it is sort of scuppered by the introduction of some ridiculous gang members. Likewise, the cat and mouse antics of Angie Dickinson's character and a stranger she's attracted to in the art gallery is very well done. Elsewhere, Keith Gordon's character has some interesting things to do. But, these scenes are all offset by a simple (even simplistic) story that's all but telegraphed to all the audience members that aren't asleep at the wheel and several sequences are rather laughable.

5/10

'The Hunt'

Lambasted by President Trump, who I reckon hadn't even seen it or knew what it was actually about, and given a rough ride by most critics, 'The Hunt' is neither awful, nor good and instead occupies that middle ground - that huge area of middle ground - which is average fare. It's a fairly mediocre "people being hunted" movie. A kind of subgenre of a subgenre. Although what that genre is exactly, I don't know. But there seems to be a number of those types of movies out there, from 1932's 'The Most Dangerous Game', to 'Battle Royale' to 'The Hunger Games'.

After a brief setup, 'The Hunt' drops us into the action and we follow a number of people - the "deplorables" - who wake up, gagged, in a field. Pretty soon, it becomes evident that they are the quarry of some people who don;t wish them well. A crate in the middle of the field they wake up in provides them with weapons to use as a defence. But, it's clear that they are at an extreme disadvantage. Inevitably, one character steps up to the challenge and decides to confront their tormentors.

If you've seen any of this type of film before you'll know where it's going after 15 minutes, and while that in itself is ok, it's the heavy handed political satire that lets the film down. Simply put, it's just too on the nose to be likeable and if it was only handled a little smarter or in a more subtle way, the film would have been a more successful result.

To its credit, there is some enjoyable darkly comic moments sprinkled here and there and a couple of nice unexpected turns. But, it never rises above it's "OK" status.

5/10

'The Invisible Man'

A 2020 update of the classic H.G. Wells story that's been put on the screen (large and small) in nearly every decade since the Claude Rains Universal classic from 1933. The basic story of invisibility remains the same here, but everything else has been changed and in some ways for the better too. The focus of this particular iteration is not really on the invisible man, but on a different character. Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) is the girlfriend of a talented optics engineer, Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who treats her abusively and from whom she wishes to escape from. She does so one night and subsequently finds out that her Adrian has committed suicide as a result of her exit. However, strange things start to occur and she becomes convinced that her beaux might not be so dead after all.

'The Invisible Man' in its 2020 form is very much a departure from its former incarnations. But, it's a smart update that has its own reasons for existing and isn't just another remake that only stands on the shoulder of a former giant like so many remakes and reboots do. There's enough here that makes it its own story and in that respect there's a lot to recommend it. It's also helped too by a great starring performance by Elisabeth Moss, whose physical expressions are a definite boon to the production over all. But, while she is sympathetic as a put upon unfortunate, she doesn't drown in a pool of her own victimhood, but instead becomes a heroine worth getting behind as she takes it upon herself to tackle the situation that presents itself to her.

As a fan of the 1933 film, which is the best movie adaptation of Well's story, I was a bit hesitant about this modern update. But, after a while, it won me over. It's not perfect by any means and it's probably a tad over long, but it's still a decent film in its own right. However, whether it revives the flatlined Universal "Dark Universe" attempt at a franchise remains to be seen.

7/10

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Emma (2020)

Watched this last night. I love the book and I've seen several adaptations of it before but I still really enjoyed this version. Visually it's very stylish and the music and movement complement each other so well. There's a few little changes here and there, just enough to set it apart from previous versions.

Del.Monte

Bored with Netflix for the time being, last night I returned to my favourite hunting ground - YouTube.

"The Only Way" (1970)

A wartime movie about Danish Jews being spirited out of Denmark to Sweden as the Nazi round-up began. It's quite slow moving yet very watchable - helped by the screen presence of the gorgeous, 19-year-old Jane Seymour in her first credited part. Worth a look if you're feeling jaded with all the latest drug/crime movies on Netflix. 7/10

pixelburp

The Aeronauts (2019)

Spectacular scenery once afloat, but the characterisation occasionally hit clichés so hard it could cause concussion. Most - if not all - of the kind of tropes you'd expect with Scientific Biographies could be found: the stuffy academic consensus, mocking the foolish pioneer; the tutting family members; the rousing "Science Is The Best!" speech at the end; the lead scientist, comfortable in facts & statistics, but not the chaos of LIFE damnit; and so on. Basically, do not think to play "take a drink" here, your liver can't take it. To be fair, the cast were enthusiastic and gave some good, charismatic performances, the actual writing was just too baggy and stilted. At least, as said, the actual effects and vistas were spectacular; there were a number of set pieces that were genuinely hair-raising and tense.

Nerdlingr

Watched "collateral" , which is didnt think much of. Bit of silliness towards the end and the from the moment the film started you just knew who the last target was gonna be. 6/10

Also "JoJo rabbit" which I enjoyed. Brilliantly acted by the young leads. The gut punching scene (no spoilers) really got me too. 7.5/10

Del.Monte

"Justified Force" 2019

On YouTube.

JUST%2BFORCE.jpg

Police drama with a serious amount of action. One of the best crime movies I've watched in years and I won't say more than that. 9/10

NIMAN

For the times we are in, decided to watch Contagion.

If there are any family members who are really scared about the coronavirus, don't let them watch this.

Interesting how close it mimicked the current crisis, complete with nonsense on the internet that millions believed.

Mad_maxx

the post with tom hanks and meryl streep

incredibly boring

Dades

Little Women

Was on the Lockdown list. I expected this to be better, tbh. Timeline all over the shop - was quite confused throughout the whole first hour (as was my missis). Very hard to go on a journey with the characters when the movie is spoilering itself throughout. Odd decision to tell the story this way. Finished reasonably strongly, albeit more like a romcom at times.

I remember the brouhaha around Oscar time about Greta Gerwig not getting a directing nom. Well to my mind if she had if would have been clear tokenism.

A nice update of a story for women about women, but too flawed to be much more.

Irish Aris

with the lockdown I started using my Mubi subscription - which in general I don't use that much. The first three films I saw:

The Miracle Of The Sargasso Sea (2019)

I am from Greece and back home the film has gotten rave reviews and a ton of nominations for the annual Hellenic film academy awards.
I found the presentation of life in a small provincial town well made. The characters and situations are obviously a bit over the top for dramatic purposes but for the most part they are believable - at least for me that I am a bit familiar with the Greek countryside reality. Some good performances as well, especially from the 2 leading ladies. I also liked the music - even the songs in the nightclub, which aren't really my thing but I thought they fitted nicely. My only issue was that I didn't like any of the characters enough to care what would happen to them, so by the time the reveal happened, I have lost interest and wasn't thoroughly wowed. Kind of liked it but not necessarily recommending it.

Le Doulos (1963)

First time I watched a Jean-Pierre Melville film. I'm not familiar with his work so not sure if this is one of his "trademark" films, but I really enjoy it. The story kind of reminded me the novels of James Ellroy who I also like as a writer. The black and white cinematography was beautiful and enhanced the noir feel of the film. And Jean-Paul Belmondo is cool as a cucumber!!! Highly recommended and got me interested in Melville's cinema - Mubi tuns a retrospective at the moment, I have already missed a couple of them but his 3 last films (Army of Shadows, Le Circle Rouge, Un Flic) are still available

The Rite (1969)

One of the lesser known Ingmar Bergman films, I read that this was a TV film. I'm not really sure what to make of it which makes me wonder if I really understood it. The main story is really interesting: a judge interrogates three actors who perform in a play that has been considered pornographic. The chapters/scenes of the film switch between the interrogation of the actors and what appears to be scenes of the play- that's how I interpreted many of them, as they wouldn't make sense otherwise. The ending was quite unexpected, to me at least - but in a way that makes the whole thing intriguing. It's just that most of the dialogue (especially in the non-interrogation scenes) is a bit obscure, so other than a comment on censorship I didn't get much out of the film. If anyone else has seen it I would be interested in their opinion of what the film is about.

Hector Savage

The Shawshank Redemption
What an absolute classic!! and Stephen King too - such an amazing story teller ... those last 15 minutes when Red gets out and goes to the hayfield, followed by the bus and the blue pacific .... amazing!!!

Mike Litoris

Mad_maxx wrote: »

the post with tom hanks and meryl streep

incredibly boring

Yeah, was expecting something closer to All the Presidents Men and was disappointed. It just meandered into nothingness.

Just on that YT movie posted by Del Monte above, Justified Force. Don't watch the trailer, just jump straight in. It's seriously low budget but all the better for it!

[Deleted User]

@ irish aris,seeing your from greece you might be interested in a greek movie called the last note (2017) very good and poignent movie about 200 greeks selected from the prison camps to be executed for a reprisal on an attack on a german unit by the greek resistence in greece during ww2

Mad_maxx

Mike Litoris wrote: »

Yeah, was expecting something closer to All the Presidents Men and was disappointed. It just meandered into nothingness.

Just on that YT movie posted by Del Monte above, Justified Force. Don't watch the trailer, just jump straight in. It's seriously low budget but all the better for it!

I loved bridge of spies so it's not like you can't make a story like this entertaining

bnt

This evening I finally got around to something I've been meaning to do for years: watch Pulp Fiction in chronological sequence. It really puts a whole different spin on things, in particular with the character of Vincent Vega (John Travolta). (Spoilers ahead.)

In chronological sequence, you get a better chance to see how he changes over the three days over which the film is set. To cut a long story short: after the crazy events of the first day, after which Jules (Samuel L Jackson) has had enough, it's not too surprising that Vega wants some drugs the next day, to take the edge off before he takes his boss' wife out to dinner, but he's sloppy and nearly causes her to die. By the third day, when he's staking out Butch's apartment with Marcellus, he's a physical and nervous wreck and makes a fatal mistake when Marcellus is out getting coffee.

Tony EH

^
That sounds interesting. Where did you see that? I'd like to give that a whirl myself.

Del.Monte

"Ignatius" 2020

I watched this thought provoking short yesterday. Domestic abuse and a two-faced, aspiring politician makes for compulsive if uncomfortable viewing in this 10 minute film shot in Enniscorthy, Co.Wexford.

The complete movie is available on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/404328451

With a cast drawn drawn from the local drama group, I found it absorbing. Well worth a look. 10/10