What have you watched recently? 3D!

Check out the recent multi-part documentary RoboDoc about the making of RoboCop. It covers almost anything related to the making of the film and interviews pretty much anybody that appeared in it and is still alive. I do wish Verhoeven would do just one more ultra-violent, action satire.

RoboDoc: The Creation Of RoboCop

4 episodes 2023

Excellent deep dive into what it took to make RoboCop before CGI in movies really took off. Such a charismatic cast and crew. A great watch.

Men

An unsettling film. Simple enough set up: a woman gets away to the countryside after her husband's suicide. She is then seemingly surrounded by a bunch of local oddballs, all played by the same actor (Rory Kinnear, fair play to him for taking on several different roles).

Some nice camera work involved. There are plenty of times where it feels like you're spying on the main character as she's going about things. Its a very cleanly shot film too, no blemishes on the screen.

I can't say that I really got it. There's a hint of examining the points where Christian theology intersects with pre-Christians beliefs but its not fleshed out as properly as the Wicker Man or Midsommar. I'd say it does a better job critiquing toxic masculinity and the treatment of "hysterical" women.

Found the movie itself only ok, but I did love the sustained tension. The mood of it worked a lot better than the bludgeoned-over-the-head message, but for something as contained as it was, just sitting with that tone was nearly enough for me.

Surprised how much I liked Kneecap myself, I believe it will be our submission to the Oscars too.

^

Tops the Murnau original by a country mile, IMHO, despite it being a "long" watch. Herzog's film is so lethargic it makes the running time of 1 hour 47 mins feel much longer. But it, bizarrely, doesn't impact the film in a negative way at all.

Several scenes are standouts. Harker meeting the Count for the first time and he never makes a single remark about how weird he looks, he just gets on with things like there's no problem. A short scene where the Count is pushing Renfield away in absolute disgust even though he's a pathetic creature himself and the plague in the city with people having an outdoor last supper as rats run riot in the streets is just so odd and fits the picture so well.

And, of course, Isabelle Adjani is just stunning and Popol Vuh's music is an inspired choice.

I must give it another spin.

Watched a few scary flicks given the time of year.

Abigail - 5/10

Not great at all, started well enough but then the film turns poor about 30 mins into runtime, best avoided.

Longlegs - 6/10

Wanted to like this more, incredible cinematography, but I didn't think the film had too much going on.

The Coffee Table - 8/10 (Spanish)

Maybe not for everybody (especially new parents) and not scary in the traditional sense but incredibly tense scenes and really great execution. A difficult watch if ever there was one. Shot on a small budget in 10 days. This one will stick with me for a while. Will be keeping an eye on what the writer/director does going forward.

Happiness (1998)

Had heard alot about this over the years and just watched it for the first time this evening. Not sure how I feel about it (if you've seen it you'll know what I mean). It's essentially a film about nothing really other than the intersecting lives of 3 sisters.

Dylan Baker as Bill provides a deeply unsettling and all too believable performance, Philip Seymour Hoffman is excellent too. It's as dark as dark comedy gets and despite the heinous actions of some of the characters, one feels a weird kind of sympathy for them.

The final scene between Bill and his son is as uncomfortable a viewing experience as I've ever had and the glib chatter of the closing section jars considering what's preceeded.

A movie I don't think that would have any chance of being made in 2024, it's well worth watching for those that like their cinema very much on the edgy side.

8/10

Alien Romulus

Spoilers ahead

Was looking forward to it as a big Alien fan who hated everything after Alien3

It's good , has some great ideas and thrilling set pieces and overall was entertaining but I was a little disappointed. It kept referencing the old Movies and falling back on their Tropes down to Literally repeating iconic Lines. Didn't have the kahunas to stand alone and be its own thing. I couldn't believe that they imported the very worst aspect(humanoid Alien hybrid) of the worst Alien Movie ( Ressurection) for the grand finale.

Good to see a new Alien film but still not the movie I've been waiting for.

A fun little movies for sure. Gave me sort of Trainspotting vibes with all the interlinking stories.

Fassbender was a side note to the trio who were all (acting-wise) fantastic.

Dublin stands in for Berlin iirc in that film

Wicked Little Letters - very funny & enjoyable, Olivia Coleman and Jessie Buckley are superb. Had a little bit of a Sunday afternoon vibe but the performances of the above carried it.

Captive State - a good performance from John Goodman that kept my interest for the runtime. Probably a little low on action but stuck to the human side when earth is invaded and ruled by an alien force.

Gonna stick up for Industry.

I won't argue that any of the characters are likeable but I think it's similar to Succession in that way and the more you learn, the more you understand why most of them are like that.

The writing is great (watch with subs to catch some great background dialogue on the trading floor), just finished season 3 which is definitely the best of the lot so far.

The Count Of Monte-Cristo. Movie released 2024.

Nearly 3 hours in French with subs but it flew. Didn't know the story before watching. An engrossing tale of love and revenge. Gripping stuff and a great watch.