What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

marwelie · 18-01-2013 4:20pm

Watched Brazil for the first ever, on Blu-Ray over the weekend.Not sure what to make of it. Very strange but entertaining, a bit long though, over 2 and a half hours long.

The Breakfast Club, again on Blu-Ray. If you have seen it I don't need to tell you how good it is. If you haven't seen it you should. Brilliant 12 part documentary on the making and legacy of the film, worth the price of the disc IMO.

siblers · 18-01-2013 5:24pm

City Of Life and Death- Pretty stark drama about the Japanese invasion of Nanking in 1937. This film is really good but its also really harrowing and quite brutal. There are lots of scenes of mass murder, execution and pretty uncomfortable scenes of mass rape. It's wonderfully shot with some outstanding performances. Not not for everyone but if you like historical chinese/japanese films then it's well worth a watch.

Mike Litoris · 18-01-2013 6:34pm

MiloYossarian wrote: »

It's a pity that I can't fancy Jennifer Lawerence because she's the spitting image of my niece.

There's a difference between can't and don't!!:p

Either way it was a great movie. Some really good performances and a great outcome. Nice to see De Niro in something decent for a change.

Alpish · 18-01-2013 8:22pm

Superbad

Watched this for the third or fourth time recently. Found it just as funny this time as the first. Obviously it won't be to everyone's taste as a coming of age gross out comedy but I would say its one of the best in this mould of film.

don ramo · 19-01-2013 2:28am

scouttio wrote: »

Hugh Pacino? Who's he?

no idea, who hugh pacino is, i was talking about Al Pacino, i really hope you were joking

DazMarz · 19-01-2013 6:42am

L.A. Takedown

Michael Mann's original Heat. A shorter, more concise version of the aforementioned classic. No big names here. But still a decent film. It truly is just like a short version of Heat, with a bit less character development. At times, the soundtrack does not suit, but that's a minor complaint. It really also has a feel of Miami Vice about it, not surprising really considering it is Mann who made it and that the aforementioned TV Series was still airing at the time.

A good film that foreshadowed the greatness that was to follow. I especially liked the guy who would be played by Robert deNiro. He is so cold, so detached, he is every inch the professional.

MiloYossarian · 19-01-2013 3:53pm

Mike Litoris wrote: »

There's a difference between can't and don't!!:p

Either way it was a great movie. Some really good performances and a great outcome. Nice to see De Niro in something decent for a change.

Ya, I agree with you, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, however there is one thing that is annoying me in the days after I watched it, and that's all the oscar nominations it has. Silver Linings Playbook is just a romantic comedy. A run of the mill romantic comedy. It's just fluff. Good performances, but it's a romantic comedy.

The reason that this slightly irks me is that the Academy has the option to nominate 9 films for best picture but it only nominated 8, leaving off 'The Dark Knight Rises.' Now I'm not saying the film is deserving but I am saying that the series is. And if you have a free space just lob it in, just to say, 'well done on the trilogy. You did a good job.'

Perfect Getaway

I enjoyed it. I'm a big David Twohy fan (even though I probably just mispelled his name.)

rednik · 19-01-2013 5:36pm

The Campaign - decent comedy worth a rent.

kearneybobs · 19-01-2013 6:53pm

don ramo wrote: »

no idea, who hugh pacino is, i was talking about Al Pacino, i really hope you were joking

It's 'huge' not 'hugh'.

jefreywithonef · 19-01-2013 10:21pm

Just watched Stand Up Guys. It was poor enough - contains the usual tropes about viagra and reliving "the old days" - but somehow it doesn't descend into something truly awful. There were a couple of redeeming things like Alan Arkin entering the fray and not having Pacino in shout mode. Also, Walken didn't play the same psychotic oddball character he's been playing for the last twenty years so that was refreshing.

With a better script this might have been something other than forgettable. As it is, there's not a good enough balance between the drama and comedy unfortunately. Shame as it did have some potential. 'Mikey and Nikey' had a similar plot, only it didn't bother with the crap jokes, and made it into a memorable drama.

pixelburp · 19-01-2013 11:02pm

Just watched Senna; very moving film that I think even non-F1 fans could enjoy (lapsed one myself, but most of the names involved were familiar to me). It focuses primarily on Senna the man & his infamous rivalry with fellow driver Alain Prost. The entire movie is presented in the form of archive footage from races & private recordings, with audio snippets from those involved used for periodic narration & reaction.

Just under 2 hours long but it zipped by & would have happily watched twice that length; the pitlane politics & simple decency of Senna striving against it gave the film a narrative that you wouldn't think could exist in a (sports) documentary. And as someone who remembers that fateful weekend in '94, watching the raw footage of the crash & ensuing emergency gave me a lump in the throat.

Easily one of the best sports movies I've seen (which, like films such as Moneyball mostly sidesteps the sport itself & focuses instead on the human drama): though my one gripe is that the presentation of Prost as the villain of the piece was sometimes overly biased, and people like Jackie Stewart came across as a bit of an douche.

MiloYossarian · 20-01-2013 3:34am

Les Miserables

Jesus Christ, Susan Boyle's lost a lot of weight.

dango · 20-01-2013 4:09am

McCullin in the Lighthouse Cinema.

Harrowing and powerful. Documents the work of war-time photographer Don McCullin. Brutal in its portrayal of how little compassion there is in war. Marvelous and thoroughly recommended.

ButtersSuki · 20-01-2013 3:04pm

Watched 2 Aussie movies over the last few days which I had recorded from Film 4, both coincidentally featuring Joel Edgerton. I quite liked both which says something as I find the Aussie accent somewhat grating!

I think Animal Kingdom has been discussed here before but there are so many good performances in it - Guy Pearce (and his moustache), aforementioned Joel Edgerton, Jackie Weaver as the mum are all great but Ben Mendelsohn steals the show as Pope. Not for everyone though so be warned. OH found it a bit upsetting in places. I think she was expecting Home and Away tbh! A strong 8/10.

The Square is a story of one man's affair and life spiralling out of control after his mistress hatches a plan to steal some cash from her husband. Really enjoyed this.....way more than I thought I would. The suspense builds nicely in a very film noir fashion. Edgerton also wrote this which was a surprise to me, and it's directed by his brother. 7/10.

Looks like I may have to get over my dislike of the Aussie accent!

ButtersSuki · 20-01-2013 3:08pm

pixelburp wrote: »

Just watched Senna; very moving film that I think even non-F1 fans could enjoy (lapsed one myself, but most of the names involved were familiar to me). It focuses primarily on Senna the man & his infamous rivalry with fellow driver Alain Prost. The entire movie is presented in the form of archive footage from races & private recordings, with audio snippets from those involved used for periodic narration & reaction.

Just under 2 hours long but it zipped by & would have happily watched twice that length; the pitlane politics & simple decency of Senna striving against it gave the film a narrative that you wouldn't think could exist in a (sports) documentary. And as someone who remembers that fateful weekend in '94, watching the raw footage of the crash & ensuing emergency gave me a lump in the throat.

Easily one of the best sports movies I've seen (which, like films such as Moneyball mostly sidesteps the sport itself & focuses instead on the human drama): though my one gripe is that the presentation of Prost as the villain of the piece was sometimes overly biased, and people like Jackie Stewart came across as a bit of an douche.

Pretty accurate depiction then. Met him once and sat at his table at an f1 race junket. Probably the biggest tool I've ever met - and I've met Bertie Ahern too for context!

siblers · 20-01-2013 6:42pm

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Watched 2 Aussie movies over the last few days which I had recorded from Film 4, both coincidentally featuring Joel Edgerton. I quite liked both which says something as I find the Aussie accent somewhat grating!

I think Animal Kingdom has been discussed here before but there are so many good performances in it - Guy Pearce (and his moustache), aforementioned Joel Edgerton, Jackie Weaver as the mum are all great but Ben Mendelsohn steals the show as Pope. Not for everyone though so be warned. OH found it a bit upsetting in places. I think she was expecting Home and Away tbh! A strong 8/10.

The Square is a story of one man's affair and life spiralling out of control after his mistress hatches a plan to steal some cash from her husband. Really enjoyed this.....way more than I thought I would. The suspense builds nicely in a very film noir fashion. Edgerton also wrote this which was a surprise to me, and it's directed by his brother. 7/10.

Looks like I may have to get over my dislike of the Aussie accent!

Animal Kingdom is superb, really enjoyed it. I have The Square recorded but not got round to it yet,.

mikemac1 · 20-01-2013 7:44pm

Summersby

Richard Gere, Jodie Foster, Bill Pullman

Charming & charismatic man comes back from the US Civil War and is embraced by the wife and the villagers. But who is he?

Good acting but I think this is an example of a superb book and an average film.

6.5/10 which is decent, worth a watch

The Star Chamber

A young Michael Douglas is a judge.
You'll see a few examples of cold blooded scum being caught by superb police work but the judge has to let them off on a technicality.

Eventually he gets sick of this, he gets promoted to a higher court and the wily judges up there have a way of dealing with the scum

Great acting and superbly written
I loved this film! 9/10, thumbs up

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 20-01-2013 8:50pm

siblers wrote: »

Animal Kingdom is superb, really enjoyed it. I have The Square recorded but not got round to it yet,.

+1.

Watched it after seeing it discussed on here, then discussed it on here after I watched it, now doing it again.....

Mike Litoris · 20-01-2013 10:21pm

Just watched Cloud Atlas. Despite being perplexed for the 1st half of it I thought it was brilliant. Cant wait to watch it again.

livinsane · 21-01-2013 12:13am

Speaking of Australian movies, I watched Snowtown last week. And by god can the Aussies do bleak. Difficult to watch with up close and personal violent scenes, brought to life by one of the most menacing characters I've ever seen on screen. The performances were phenomenal and apparently only two of the actors were professionals.

I watched Sling Blade tonight. Absolutely superb film written, directed and starring Billy Bob Thornton. Story of a simple minded man who is released from a state secure hospital years after committing a double murder as a child. Billy Bob is virtually unrecognisable as the lead role with amazing mannerisms and speech. Beautiful performance by Lucas Black as the child he befriends.

Barna77 · 21-01-2013 1:25am

Django Unchained. It was good altogether, wouldn't disappoint Tarantino fans. Hilarious funny bits (the head bag

). Samuel L. Jackson is a right bastard.

A bit long though. The arse feels numb....

Mike Litoris wrote: »

Just watched Cloud Atlas. Despite being perplexed for the 1st half of it I thought it was brilliant. Cant wait to watch it again.

I saw it last weekend. Loved it. Sw the trailer for it in the cinema tonight, I wouldn't mind paying to watch it again on the big screen.

Judgement Day · 21-01-2013 10:56am

"A Man of No Importance" (1994) on .50c promo DVD. I had watched this before so knew what to expect but it was well worth a second view. 1960s Dublin - well recreated - and middle aged Dublin bus conductor Albert Finney struggles with his own sexuality while trying to stage a production of Oscar Wilde's risque play - Salomé. A strong cast including Brenda Fricker, Michael Gambon, Mick Lally, Patrick Malahide and David Kelly put in good performances. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers appears very briefly in an unnamed part - his first movie appearance. 7/10

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Sugarlumps · 21-01-2013 12:32pm

The Grey

I watched this last night expecting it to be god damn awful, I knew nothing about it. I’m not a massive fan of Neeson. I thought it was his best film to date, pleasantly surprised.

Technocentral · 21-01-2013 1:48pm

Sugarlumps wrote: »

The Grey

I watched this last night expecting it to be god damn awful, I knew nothing about it. I’m not a massive fan of Neeson. I thought it was his best film to date, pleasantly surprised.

Granted, all his recent films are muck, but better than "Schindlers List" or even "Michael Collins" are you serious?

DazMarz · 21-01-2013 9:39pm

Django Unchained

While not anywhere near my favourite Tarantino films, I thoroughly enjoyed this. A bit long, clocking in at 2h 45m, it was a cracking film all the same. My personal favourite of the whole thing was the appearance of Don Johnson (Sonny Crockett from the TV Series Miami Vice) as the bigoted cotton plantation owner. Add in the "bag scene" and it's just genius.

Invictus

Clint Eastwood directed and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Cannot go wrong with it. In the aftermath of Apartheid, Nelson Mandela (Freeman) tries to unite the nation by using sports and trying to get the Springboks to win the World Cup that South Africa will be hosting. Damon is superb in the role of Bokke captain Francois Pienaar. Emotive and moving, a brilliant film and well worth a watch.

toodleytoo · 22-01-2013 12:20am

Silver Linings Playbook. Really enjoyed it, real feel good movie. It definitely had a stronger start than finish but I was very impressed with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence!

johnny_ultimate · 22-01-2013 1:51am

The Untouchables - Gangster Squad rips this off so blatantly it probably counts as some sort of copyright infringement. This is significantly better though, probably because it features 100% more Ennio Morricone and Battleship Potemkin homages.

Flirting With Disaster - amiable, go-for-broke screwball comedy from David O. Russell. Saw it years ago and enjoyed it, and enjoyed it again this time around. Genuinely madcap setpieces and interesting characters, and it both playfully subverts and obeys rom-com tradition. Good work from the cast that includes Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Tea Leoni, Alan Alda, Josh Brolin, Lily Tomlin, Richard Jenkins... Probably overall a more satisfyingly offbeat film than the ones O. Russell eventually received mainstream recognition for.

candy-gal1 · 22-01-2013 6:03pm

Snuff Movie - bought this on random out of curiosity and have to say its an actually good movie, good twist too, and just a little bit cliched! Didnt really disturb me though, as it said on the dvd cover :pac:, but I could still find it scary in parts alright.

Drop Dead Gorgeous - finally saw this after about 10 or so years of seeing the trailer of it before other movies :rolleyes:, good funny tongue in cheek movie imho! get a tad mixed up near the end but still better than most teen movies out these days!

Australia - wasnt sure what to expect of it at all tbh but after seeing it now, very memorable story, with hints of Moulin Rouge/Romancing the Stone to it, which is a good thing in my book

Legend Of The Guardians - not usually a fan of most cartoon movies of today but i really liked this one, great imagery, nice story, and some very teary bits, but a happy ending

Asylum - as a horror type movie, tis a bit meh overall tbh.

Prom Night - finally getting to see this, lead characters named after me, yes i know im sad but its the little things!

:P:pac::o

rednik · 22-01-2013 8:31pm

Shadow Dancer - Pretty good effort on the Northern conflict with a great performance by Andrea Riseborough ably assisted by Clive Owen. Good atmosphere and well directed. Aidan Gillen not used enough is my only gripe.

8mv · 22-01-2013 10:43pm

Source Code - I enjoyed it. Could have taken the serious sci-fi route, but instead was quite light and humourous in places. The odd knowing wink to Groundhog Day. The time travel had what sounded like a reasonably plausible explanation. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan are decent leads. Vera Farmiga is excellent in support but the exceptional talents of Jeffrey Wright are underused.

What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

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