What have you watched recently? 3D!

In & of itself

This is basically Derek Delgaudio's broadway show but what a show it is! incredibly powerful and moving, mixed with some great story telling and magic.

Underwater - good under water sci-fi horror. Bottom of the ocean drilling facility is hit by a catastrophic collapse. A group of survivors attempt to get free. There is more than water pressure to worry about. Not a classic but enjoyable. 6/10

Hell House LLC - above average found footage horror. A bunch of people decide to run a haunted house attraction in an old abandoned hotel. End is a bit predictable. 6/10

3032 - space thriller. A bunch of astronauts are half way through a 10 year mission. They are struggling with keeping their sanity when it appears a catastrophic event happens to earth. This was enjoyable as it concentrates more on the psychological repercussions rather than set pieces. 5/10

Greenland - no bad from Gerard Butler. Has been covered on previous posts. 6/10

One cut of the dead - I had turned this off previously after 30 mins as I though it was a really poor horror. Based on people's advice here I gave it another go and watched to the end. It is quite inventive but not really my cup of tea. I though it was a horror but more of a comedy I guess. 6.5/10

Dogtown and z-boys - I really love this documentary on the skateboarders in the mid 70s but hadn't watched it in ages. You really get a feel for the excitement and the times. It's fairly poignant at points when some of the members talk about their regrets. 8/10

Crash

One of the few Cronenberg movies I'd never seen, it got a shiny 4k release from Arrow recently so I watched it the other night. Basically it follows James Spader and and bunch of other sexual deviates who get their jollies by watching/having car crashes. Notorious at the time of its release, its a pretty empty movie, performances are grand and as a character study of what drives fetishism (pardon the pun) its OK but its not one I'd ever be arsed with watching again.

The BIg Short

True story about events leading up to the world economic crash in 2008 this is a riveting watch. Its actually mind boggling how much corruption and double dealing went on and most likely still goes on on Wall Street and beyond. There is a monologue at the end narrated by Ryan Gosling that is more relevant in a post Trump world and its like a sledge Hammer, even more so considering it was made well before the Donald got near the white House.

8/10

JohnK wrote: »

The Kid Detective
A once-celebrated kid detective, now 32, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity. Until a naive client brings him his first 'adult' case, to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.

Well worth a watch.

Going to give this a spin tonight. Is it pure senseless comedy or more of a thriller, mystery etc.

flasher0030 wrote: »

Going to give this a spin tonight. Is it pure senseless comedy or more of a thriller, mystery etc.

It's a great film. It's sort of a bleak comedy-drama really, but it's an excellent watch.

Just finished Call Her Savage (1932), after reading about the days before the Hays Code of 1934 effectively neutered Hollywood for decades. This was one of the last two films Clara Bow starred in before she retired from acting at just 28 years old. Clara had been the "It Girl" in the 1920s, the top sex symbol of her time, and for the two comeback talkies she was paid the then-astonishing sum of $250,000. The whole movie is on YT now, if you want to watch it (which you should), and I'll be giving away some spoilers next.

If you don't know about the Hays Code, you might have trouble imagining that a major Hollywood production from 1932 could contain scenes such as the following:

• A woman whipping a man repeatedly in the face. "I was practising in case I ever get married";
• Violence against women played for laughs;
• Two women having a horrendous catfight, literally tearing the clothes off each other;
• Many scenes of Clara Bow in clothes that are barely there or falling apart, no underwear.
• A musical number in a gay bar (in 1932), followed by a knock-down drag-out fight in which Clara lays in to men twice her size;
• prostitution (which has tragic consequences, of course)
• Mixed-race relationships;
• Using her mixed race as an explanation for why she is such a savage;

Don't get me wrong - Clara Bow is a knockout in her starring vehicle, and in some scenes she seems to be doing "method" before "method" was a thing. This is a sensationalist, moralising film, containing things almost designed to offend the prudes in conservative parts of the USA.

Some of the story must have hit Clara Bow hard, knowing what we do about her early life, especially her relationship with her mother. According to reports she was already a wreck, additionally stressed out by the transition to "talkies", and her problems didn't end when she retired, sadly.

Trivia: this is possibly the first movie to show the Empire State Building, a year before King Kong.

50 States of Fright Quibi series explores stories based on urban legends from different places in the United States, taking viewers deeper into the horrors that lurk just beneath the surface

Decent is you're a fan of Twilight Zone etc.

The Gentleman
A rewatch of a recent classic for me. Grant and Farrell are just both pure class in this. Some great montages throughout and an engaging plot. Great film to sit through.

Reservoir Dogs
Could have been my mood but this missed the mark for me last week. Plenty of scenes to chew through but a lot of dialogue was over the head for me. Enjoyed it more a few years ago so again, maybe just mistimed.

John Q (2002)
Denzel Washington, Kimberly Elise, James Woods, Robert Duvall.
Dir. Nick Cassavetes.

Washington plays the titular John Q Archibald, a desperate father out of options who takes a drastic step in an attempt to save his dying son.
A movie that has a message but beats you over the head with it repeatedly to the point it gets annoying. The relationship between John and his wife (Washington and Elise) is well done but the other characters just don't act intelligently, especially Ray Liotta's Police Chief and the hospitals financial director is portrayed as the most 1 dimensional villain.

3/10 Watch Dog Day Afternoon or The Negotiator instead.

Little Miss Sunshine
8/10
Had never seen this before but heard great things and really enjoyed it without thinking it was groundbreaking - though for 2006 I reckon it would have been a breath of fresh air. Alan Arkin stole the show in this one, but all the performances are quite strong and you can't help but smile at the way it finishes.

The Godfather
10/10
Nothing else to say, absolute gold standard


The Godfather II
8/10
I might get slated for this given all I've heard is how II is a masterpiece compared to the first but I thought the pacing of the first was much better, the 2nd I was knackered for a finish but it seemed more all over the place that the first which seemed much more simple and polished in it's story but sure look.....have at that opinion I guess


Interstellar
8/10
Sparked a rewatch based on a Kermode podcast where he rated Nolans top 10 movies and this was well further down the list than I expected given how much I enjoyed it when it came out, but the story does seem to get cobbled together and have a bow slapped on top for a finish. I still think the soundtrack and the docking scene are two of the best things to come out of movies I've watched in the last 10 years though - remember being blown away by both in the cinema.

Inception
8/10
As above, podcast inspired with this being up much higher than I expected it to be. I'd seen it once in the cinema and didn't like it all that much barring the ending and how it was left but I didn't quite appreciate the full story, this time I did, thought it was quite well put together, an original screenplay with a good budget to allow it to be pulled off - a blockbuster with a bit more nuance I guess

Judas and the Black Messiah
8/10
I think Daniel Kaluuya & LaKeith Stanfield are two fantastic actors, who I hope get to see more and more of in future. A story worth telling and relatively well told, there may be areas that could have been expanded upon a bit better perhaps, but it's a movie that lets you make up your own mind on Stanfields character particularly which I like - he seems conflicted at times but ultimately out for himself first and foremost.

Glad to see The Kid Detective getting positive reviews here, it's on the list.

glasso wrote: »

Birds of passage

Interesting film set in Colombia that was highly touted and billed as based on a true story.
Doing some research it appears that it's all made up from the events not actually taking place in the Wayuu tribe to the US Peace Corps being in that part of Colombia at the time and instigating demand for drugs.

6.5/10

Was it marketed as a true story? In Colombia it was very much marketed as a fictional film.