What have you watched recently? 3D!

Decuc500 · 25-05-2020 2:16pm

Bad Times at the El Royale

This would have been labelled Tarantinoesque had it been made in the 90’s. It’s got all the ingredients: wise cracking dialogue, a shifting time frame, period soundtrack, great ensemble cast, sudden violence etc. But Drew Goddard makes it his. If it’s not quite as ‘out there’ as The Cabin in the Woods, it does keep on pulling the rug out from underneath you with some neat plot twists.

The Vikings

Classic viking yarn starring Hollywood royalty Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Stunning scenery from Norway’s fjords and a dizzying final sword fight on top of a castle tower. They don’t make ‘em like they used to etc. Fun fact: Ernest Borgnine, who played Kirk Douglas’ father, was a month or so younger than Douglas.

Fysh · 25-05-2020 8:42pm

cdgalwegian wrote: »

I remember Night Watch pushing the envelope of what subtitles can do when I saw it in the pictures, as it adds to the visuals, but also the feel of the film, and reading after that how it had influenced tv and film which folllowed it (many series and films now have interesting cleverly animated titles)
I searched "Nightwatch", "subtitles" and "innovative", and got this interesting piece about the subtitles in Nightwatch:
https://readingsounds.net/subtitles-as-art/
The film is visually interesting, and the story ok, but I wouldn't bother retreading Daywatch. You know you shouldn't.

Yeah, I found that article as well when I was trying to figure out if any of the home releases had kept the original hardcoded subs. I have since discovered that the 2-disc edition I have includes the version with the animated titles on disc 2, so that'll be the version I watch in future.

I probably will still rewatch Daywatch, even if only to remind myself that ultimately it's probably no bad thing the planned third film never happened...

26-05-2020 7:33am

Take Shelter 2011 I don't always want to watch the constant furrowed brow of Michael Shannon because you know you are always in for something heavy duty, but this was certainly worth it, and perhaps his best performance. A normal working family man who's family has a history of schizophrenia starts having terrible dreams and hallucinations about a storm coming and decides to build out his storm shelter as his life starts to fall apart.

The Black Oil · 26-05-2020 9:56am

Disturbia

I was hoping this would be better. It starts OK, but turns into a complete snoozefest later on. Not even David Morse can save it.

Extraction

Fairly solid. Positives are that it's got a bunch of faces we don't know and it's set somewhere we don't usually see. Did feel like there was a nod or two to Bourne, Mission: Impossible, etc. The action was good in the sense it felt like you were being pulled through the camera at times, with its momentum. Violence was a bit on the nose, admittedly.

The Terminal

This is very pleasant and a large portion of it is just lovely. I don't think there's a better word for it. I smiled a good deal and laughed too. There are some nice touches such as the crackers and mustard, the trolley sequence and a construction scene which is just great. It does manage, for the most part, to restrain itself from being too sweet, though the end is deserved. Overall, it comes from the right place.

Margin Call

I had put off watching this for a while due to Kevin Spacey. Really no waste to this at all. Strong cast, no showy acting. Given his academic qualifications here, I couldn't help but think they were calling Zachry Quinto Spock. By coincidence, Kevin Spacey has to deal with something

he also has to do in the House of Cards pilot.

On the plot end, the writing starts to appear on the wall very quickly and you certainly feel the weight of it shredding all those in its path. An impressive directorial debut. Very watchable and shows the ugly end of capitalism and perhaps - this could be too much - maybe it's a dead dog after all. Lord knows at this rate we'll need a boxset of financial crisis films.

Snake Plisken · 26-05-2020 11:22am

I bought and watched Heartbreak Ridge on iTunes last night as I remember enjoying when it came out in the 80's still pretty enjoyable with Clint coming out with some great put downs as Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway as he whips a recon platoon into shape.

El Gato De Negocios · 26-05-2020 10:42pm

Class of 1984

Idealistic teacher goes to rough school and gets involved in an increasingly violent dispute with the top gang in the school. Unmistakably 80s, crappy acting, by the numbers story and characters but an enjoyable enough final confrontation. Most notable thing about it was a pre BTTF appearance from a chubby Michael J Fox. Roddy McDowell crops up also as one of the teachers.

5/10

buried · 26-05-2020 11:45pm

Star Wars - The Rise of something somethingwalker

From watching this thing its pretty clear to me that JJ Abrams is not a fan of film-making but of fan film trailers. Every shot, every scene, is designed in some way to look cool on a film trailer. Things like story, characters, structure or dialogue, y'know, the basic things needed in an actual motion picture film, these things don't seem to interest this lad. JJ just wanted some cool shots and basically once again copy the original films to the nth degree. He even managed to copy other Spielbergian works such as the f**king Goonies in this one. Good job JJ. The bit when Luke dragged the X wing out the water in the exact same f**king way and to the exact same music score as the scene in The Empire Strikes Back was a great laugh.

9lols out of lol

loyatemu · 27-05-2020 10:35am

having worked our way through the Bourne films with the kids, we've moved onto the Cruisemeister and the Mission Impossible franchise.

We watched the first 2 over the weekend. The original is now 24 years old - to put this in context it's older than Dr. No was when I saw my first Bond movie in the 80s. And it is quite dated, but still a lot of fun - good action sequences, a twisty plot and a decent supporting cast (Voight!, Reno!) 7/10

MI:2 though is a dog. I thought I'd seen all the MI films but this one rang no bells. I like some of John Woo's other films (Face/Off is a gonzo classic) but everything about this is terrible; the dull plot, the nu-metal reworking of the theme tune, the direction that makes the whole thing look like a Calvin Klein ad. And some really dreadful acting, particularly from Dougray Scott as the villain and Thandie Newton playing a "sexy thief". 2/10

mikhail · 27-05-2020 1:15pm

MI:2 is definitely the low point of that franchise.

El Duda · 27-05-2020 2:51pm

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer – 9/10

This one packs one hell of a punch. Fearless and ferocious filmmaking. It shows just what you can achieve on a $100,000 budget if you utilise the camera to its full potential. The simplest of camera movements result in eery shots that make you feel dirty and anxious.

At first, I thought the two supporting performances were a bit ropey, but they grow on you as the film progresses. Michael Rooker is a cut above though. His performance makes everything feel real. This one has really stayed with me since I saw it. You almost feel like you need to take a shower afterwards.

The 2001 DVD release I have comes with a booklet that goes into full detail about the release history of the film and exactly what has/hasn’t been cut from each different version. This small extract is pretty eye opening and gives you a good idea of what you’re in for if you choose to watch it;

“…in an attempt to reduce the potential for the sequence to be used as ‘masturbatory aid’ by disturbed individuals, James Ferman insisted that a reaction shot should be inserted earlier in the scene.”

Tony EH · 27-05-2020 7:11pm

^
I remember in the 90's, that film having such a reputation that I had to go through silly lengths to see it. I eventually got hold of a dodgy US copy on VHS and I have to say I was mightily underwhelmed.

Over the years though, the film has grown on me and I now consider it very good. But, the way some people lost their shit over it 30 years ago was embarrassing.

The 90's was a really odd time for horror movies. The MPAA was cutting everything to shreds before it even got to a cinema and the BBFC was cutting films before they were released on video over here. Well, in the UK, but we followed suit. I lost count of the amount of times I'd buy a video from Virgin in town and get home to find that it had been trimmed. And the censor, James Ferman, was more lenient than Trevelyan, who in turn was more lenient than Nicholls.

Ferman had some really odd fixations though. He practically foamed at the mouth about nunchucks, in a most unreasonable way. He even cut a scene from 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' because one of them was swinging a string of sausages around that reminded him of them. Bizarre to say the least.

It's gas to think that under his watch, some of the most popular movies of the decade were almost impossible to see too. Films like 'The Exorcist' or 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' remained out of reach for years. Thankfully the BBFC realised they were pissing against the wind with the advent of DVD and the internet, where punters could pretty much get what they wanted to get and the BBFC eventually ended up having no power.

It's gas to think that a film like 'Zombie Flesh Eaters', banned for years by the BBFC has, by this stage, been released on DVD and Blu-Ray about a thousand times and has, recently, even got a 4K remaster!

buried · 27-05-2020 7:25pm

Joker

This is alright, dont understand the hype. A lot of the twists and things can be seen coming a mile off so when the supposed twist pay off arrives it just waters down the whole thing even further. The director must have liked "you were never really here" and just wanted to do a version of it incorporating a comic book character. 5/10

Hail Ceaser

Boring beyond belief. Looks lovely but the two boys just seemend more interested creating the look of golden era Hollywood and totally forgot to incorporate a story to go with it. Vapid. 2/10

Raising Arizona

Hasn't aged at all well but the heartfelt story and the characters keep the whole thing enjoyable and the chase scene still holds up for the laugh. Nostalgia 7/10

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

The comedic timing and editing in this thing is so good, proper belly laughs in places especially concerning the kitchen staff pirate crew. Really enjoyed it again. 8/10

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Comedic timing kind of takes a back seat in this one for more a visual technical buzz and kinda suffers for it. Still very enjoyable. Anytime Ralph Fiennes loses his $hit in some some of minor mental rage is always a good laugh. 7/10

The Burbs

Still highly watch enjoyable. Great characters and comedic timing. Was nice watching it over the COVID lockdown where every neighborhood is probably acting the same way. With Joe Dante you cant go wrong 8/10

Apocalypse Now

Probably one of the greatest pieces of art ever made. The only war film with a proper esoteric and occult vibe behind it made on such a realistic scale that will never ever be seen again. Holds up again and again on such a level it goes beyond a film. 10/10

CastorTroy · 27-05-2020 9:51pm

Tony EH wrote: »

^
Ferman had some really odd fixations though. He practically foamed at the mouth about nunchucks, in a most unreasonable way. He even cut a scene from 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' because one of them was swinging a string of sausages around that reminded him of them. Bizarre to say the least.

You mean this scene. It was actually nunchucks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiBSrocGagM

Though they also cut a bit from the end of the film as well.
I remember the bad edit in Enter the Dragon to remove the nunchucks.
Sure remember The Exorcist even got a cinema release when it finally got released.
Had to google here to see if Natural Born Killers was still banned here as I remember one time after it finally got released in the UK, we could watch it on Channel 4, but TV3 advertised it but they were told they weren't allowed as it was still banned here.

Anyway, sorry for being off topic.

On Topic, I watched Scoob!.
Film was entertaining for what it was, but, and I'm saying this as someone who isn't a big fan but watches the occasional animated show/movie and I liked the 2 movies

), it didn't feel like Scooby Doo. Shaggy didn't sound like Shaggy (They replaced Matthew Lillard, who's been in the role since the first film) and Scooby talked too much. I know he's a talking dog but unless it's a recent thing, I've never heard him have full conversations.

there were a appearances from other HannaBarbera characters

But I would compare it to the Sonic film. Enjoyable but outside some parts, they could've swapped out the characters and it would've been the same film.

Tony EH · 27-05-2020 10:19pm

CastorTroy wrote: »

You mean this scene. It was actually nunchucks

No. The story I remember (this was over 25 years ago now) was that Ferman demanded a scene cut that involved one of the turtles jokingly swinging sausages around.

I dunno, maybe I have it wrong.

Either way, Ferman still had a chronic aversion to nunchucks. I believe that the scene you posted was removed also.

CastorTroy · 27-05-2020 10:41pm

Yeah that scene was cut. It just goes from the foot entering, a bit of talking then Donnie jumping over Mikey. I was only aware of the 2 scenes being cut. This one and the one at the end.
Okay, just googled and looks like the scene you're on about was from the second film.

And now I have Turtle Power stuck in my head. At least it's not Ninja Rap

branie2 · 27-05-2020 11:43pm

Pulp Fiction on Blu-ray

28-05-2020 7:58am

El Duda wrote: »

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer – 9/10

This one packs one hell of a punch. Fearless and ferocious filmmaking. It shows just what you can achieve on a $100,000 budget if you utilise the camera to its full potential. The simplest of camera movements result in eery shots that make you feel dirty and anxious.

At first, I thought the two supporting performances were a bit ropey, but they grow on you as the film progresses. Michael Rooker is a cut above though. His performance makes everything feel real. This one has really stayed with me since I saw it. You almost feel like you need to take a shower afterwards.

The 2001 DVD release I have comes with a booklet that goes into full detail about the release history of the film and exactly what has/hasn’t been cut from each different version. This small extract is pretty eye opening and gives you a good idea of what you’re in for if you choose to watch it;

“…in an attempt to reduce the potential for the sequence to be used as ‘masturbatory aid’ by disturbed individuals, James Ferman insisted that a reaction shot should be inserted earlier in the scene.”

Michael Rookers finest hour. And a great soundtrack.

A cool version of it here:

https://youtu.be/57leQ-HqZLA

shrapnel222 · 28-05-2020 12:20pm

the devil's double

must have missed this when it came out in 2011. directed by Lee Tamahori, he of once were warriors acclaim (although he's done plenty of garbage since also). This is the brutal story of the body double of one of Saddam Hussein's son (the complete nutjob obviously). Grim tale very well put together and superbly acted by Dominic Cooper in this double role. Well worth a watch.

7.5/10

johnny_ultimate · 29-05-2020 6:19pm

Promare - imagine the vibrancy of Into the Spiderverse, but if the creators snorted pure sugar every day before heading into work. Promare is an insane explosion of colour and energy that's equal parts exhausting and dazzling. The outrageously cheesy soundtrack almost (almost!) makes Makoto Shinkai's films feel reserved, while the action fairly incredibly stays *mostly* coherent as rainbows explode and physical laws of the universe are repeatedly disregarded. The story is beyond nonsense and barely coherent, but it does to its credit avoid the sleazier aspects of fan service that tend to permeate a lot of anime these days. Don't expect anything other than empty calories, but boy is the eye candy impressive. Boss-level use of block capital title crashes, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO91f-C_hlA

The Assistant - Not what I was expecting, but in a good way. Kitty Green's film follows a day in the life of a young office assistant Jane (an excellent Julia Garner, continuing to impress after some strong TV work) who has a horrible boss. The film isn't built around any one big moment or incident, but instead is more about the insidious moments of harassment and corporate apathy that chip away at her morale. Good, solid stuff - not particularly remarkable, but reserved and focused in a way that's quietly effective.

30-05-2020 1:26am

I see you 2019

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6079516/

Actually a pretty decent under-the-radar thriller that has a couple of tricks up its sleeve in terms of how it chooses to tell the story. Not wholly unoriginal overall which might please the jaded thriller-heads out there a little.

7 / 10

IrishJedi75 · 30-05-2020 1:32pm

Bad Boys For Life.

Not bad at all but hardly the huge upgrade in quality from the first two.Also,its the third film iv watched in a row ( After Tomb Raider and Pacific Rim:Uprising ) that has a post credit scene setting up a potential sequel.Marvel has a lot to answer for.

freak scence · 30-05-2020 5:25pm

his dark materials

highly enjoyable

31-05-2020 8:30am

Wake in Fright 1971 Quite the Aussie movie this, about a teacher in the middle of nowhere heading back to Sydney for the summer but on the way he gets caught up in hick towns and starts drinking. And he doesn't really stop drinking for a few days and life falls apart fairly quick. Its a surreal kind of movie as it seems so normal yet there is a horror to it, a horror of reality.
What probably has this billed as a horror movie is an actual real Kangaroo Hunt that is filmed for the film, and very hard to watch. This is a weird one for sure, but its very good for what it is.

gmisk · 31-05-2020 8:55pm

Top secret!
It's on Amazon prime...not seen it in years still hilarious...not quite airplane but close!

barrymanilow · 01-06-2020 10:01am

The Gentlemen

This was fairly poor I thought. Buy any other standard I'd consider it an ok, watchable but messy and badly cast overly ambitious crime romp. But by the standard of Guy Ritchie's other stuff its a bit of a disaster. It's kind of all over the place , really unrealistic to the point of farce and to the point where you wonder if a Charachter is there for comic relief or to actually be taken seriously. The casting is diabolical. Matthew Mcconaughey does not pull off a crime lord at all , Colin Farrell is paddied up to the nines and acts like he's in a panto. Hugh Grant also hams it up big time and his dialogue is pretty awful. It's Full of crap Clichés and a bit too Long.

4/10

El Gato De Negocios · 01-06-2020 2:43pm

Serpico

A very young Al Pacino stars as a cop that is exposed to and wages war against corruption within the department. Based on true events, the levels the corruption reached is staggering. Events currently unfolding in the states show that this problem has not gone away. Not the usual screen eating performance from Al he became known for, he goes from wide eyed naivety to downtrodden acceptance that he is only a tiny cog in an ultimately rotten to the core machine. I really enjoyed this, hadn't seen in in donkeys years and it's as much a mystery (as in who can he trust, who isn't actually corrupt) as a cop drama. Really brilliant piece of work and arguably Al's best movie.

9/10

Taxi Driver

Unhinged Vietnam vet DeNiro slowly comes unscrewed as he witnesses depravity on a nightly basis as he drives a yellow cab around an endlessly seedy NYC. RDN is excellent as always, Harvey Keitel is delightfully sleazy as Iris' pimp but it's a movie that not alot really happens. Very much a character study about the effects of war and the largely unseen dank underbelly of 70s NY, it's worth a watch for the performances but it left me a bit flat. The happy ending felt really tacked on and was a complete about face to the overall tone of the film. Was my first time watching it in over 20 years and I did rate it very highly historically, not so much now.

6/10

megaten · 01-06-2020 7:25pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Promare - imagine the vibrancy of Into the Spiderverse, but if the creators snorted pure sugar every day before heading into work. Promare is an insane explosion of colour and energy that's equal parts exhausting and dazzling. The outrageously cheesy soundtrack almost (almost!) makes Makoto Shinkai's films feel reserved, while the action fairly incredibly stays *mostly* coherent as rainbows explode and physical laws of the universe are repeatedly disregarded. The story is beyond nonsense and barely coherent, but it does to its credit avoid the sleazier aspects of fan service that tend to permeate a lot of anime these days. Don't expect anything other than empty calories, but boy is the eye candy impressive. Boss-level use of block capital title crashes, too.

While the actual plot is nonsense I would give the story in general a little bit more than that especially in regards to the main villain. In particular

the main villain being a tech/corporate mogul with a savior complex who possesses the technology to fix the problems of the world, but would rather abandon it and start anew in a world where they lead as a savior has more than a touch of real life counterparts like Elon Musk.

johnny_ultimate · 03-06-2020 12:42am

Indiana Jones And The Crystal Skull - continuing my revisits if widely beloved Spielberg sequels

So The Lost World is mediocre at best, but I do have a hot take about Crystal Skull: the first half of the film is, in my honest opinion, great. It has its awkward moments (still hate the CG gophers) but there’s so much good stuff in the first hour or so - heck, it’s some of the most fun Spielberg has had in the past two decades (said as someone who believes he’s a better blockbuster filmmaker than serious drama filmmaker.

I love the clarity of the action sequences - the warehouse sequence is a delight, and the chase through the university town later on is a tonne of fun. I’m even pro nuking the fridge - it’s goofy as all hell, but the scenes where Indy realises what’s actually going on in the weird ghost town are a blast (followed by a literal blast). But beyond the action, I think there’s lots of stuff here that has Spielberg operating at his most playful. Take the scene in the diner where Mutt and Indy first meet. It’s such a lively, witty piece of filmmaking - what should be an exposition dump becomes much more as the background energy and the characters’ unspoken gestures and actions start filling us in about who they really are.

Regrettably, the film goes over several cliffs - and not just in terms of the plot - when they reach the jungle. There’s just enough payoff to stick around - I like the way they have Indy grapple with his past life decisions while still ensuring he’s the committed adventurer we know so well. But it’s a downgrade of major proportions. The whole 30 mins stretch of the jungle car chase, killer ant sequence and triple waterfall dive is seriously rough. It’s the worst sort of weightless, unnecessary CG gubbins.

But you know, I have a strange sort of affection for this film while acknowledging its very real, very serious flaws. There’s enough of that classic Indiana Jones spirit in there - especially in its rollicking, delightful first half - that I can’t bring myself to come down as hard on it as so many others have. I’d happily take it over your Marvels or Jumanjis or whatever. It may only be ~40-50% a good film, but it could be worse - it could be Rise of Skywalker.

mikhail · 03-06-2020 1:31am

Oh, I don't think that's a hot take really. "Nuking the fridge" became a thing precisely because it's the moment people latched onto as the pivot from a good movie to a bad one. Defending that scene itself is another matter.

Ipso · 03-06-2020 7:19am

Deleted User wrote: »

Wake in Fright 1971 Quite the Aussie movie this, about a teacher in the middle of nowhere heading back to Sydney for the summer but on the way he gets caught up in hick towns and starts drinking. And he doesn't really stop drinking for a few days and life falls apart fairly quick. Its a surreal kind of movie as it seems so normal yet there is a horror to it, a horror of reality.
What probably has this billed as a horror movie is an actual real Kangaroo Hunt that is filmed for the film, and very hard to watch. This is a weird one for sure, but its very good for what it is.

I’ve been interested in seeing this. Heard it described as an Australian Deliverance.

Tony EH · 03-06-2020 7:25am

Ipso wrote: »

I’ve been interested in seeing this. Heard it described as an Australian Deliverance.

I wouldn't call it that. But it is well worth seeing. It's an odd ride though. Very...um...70's Australian film making.

Tony EH · 03-06-2020 7:33am

Re: Crystal Skull, I made a lot of excuses for that film when I first saw it. But I just have to be honest and mark it up to a bad film. Sure, the opening is fine and I was even on board with son of Indy for a bit. But it just ends up rubbish.

The scene were Marion literally drives off of a cliff smiling was just terrible, when she couldn't possibly have known that a fortuitous branch would be there to break their deathly plunge was beyond forgivable.

So, so, much unnecessary nonsense going on in the movie elsewhere too.

It's always been a shame what the Indy movies became. It started off so well with Raiders, which is really the only great film in the series. Temple is a very good follow up. But with Crusade and Crystal shull, the films became just stupid.

I'd like the see the whole thing just buried now. It's been dead since 1984.

03-06-2020 8:00am

Tony EH wrote: »

I wouldn't call it that. But it is well worth seeing. It's an odd ride though. Very...um...70's Australian film making.

Yeah Deliverance it ain't. Probably needs to be watched fully oiled to be on the Directors page in retrospect.

pixelburp · 03-06-2020 12:17pm

A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood (2019)

I had wondered how you shoot a biopic on a man as thoroughly decent and humane as Rogers; the simply answer was to cast Tom Hanks and use A Christmas Carol as the foundation for the narrative. The end result being a beautiful treatise on the value of compassion, empathy and forgiveness. Forgiveness, especially, of yourself. The one minute silence at the mid-point was one of the more masterful, incisive 4th wall breaks in recent cinema.

CrankyHaus · 03-06-2020 12:38pm

Clockers (1995)
Spike Lee's film about crack dealers in a Brooklyn project, called clockers as they clock on early in the morning and work until late in the day. Strike wants to move up in the business and is told by his boss Rodney that he needs to shoot another dealer to do so, which has severe consequences for Strike and his hard-working family man brother when they come to the attention of Harvey Keitel's Homicide Detective.

I liked this film a lot more than I remembered when I first watched it. An excellent cast too; including Keitel, John Turturro, Keith David, Michael Imperioli and even a very young Brendan Fraser in a small role.

Lee has an approach to films that can sometimes be heavy handed but here it all comes together. 8/10

24 Hour Party People (2002)
Steve Coogan plays Manchester music scene visionary Tony Wilson, as a kind of cooler Alan Partridge who signs Joy Division to his new Factory Records label, cultivates a new wave music scene in his Factory venue, makes a loss on every copy of New Order's Blue Monday sold, signs the Happy Mondays, helps create rave club culture in the Hacienda, and screws it all up spectacularly as a result of his hippie business ethics.
An entertaining, if messy, film. Some parts have aged terribly, both in terms of CGI/Technical effects and how the culture has moved since. Some very good performances.
7/10

D'Agger · 03-06-2020 7:43pm

L4yer Cake (2004)
Had all but forgotten the plot to this but an enjoyable watch with some excellent pieces of direction in it at times - one particular use of Craigs eyes to move between scenes whilst also pointing to what's going to happen next is very good. Michael Gambon with a decent cameo too.

Blade I (1998)
Had never seen this and would only recommend it to somebody who has a massive bag of weed to smoke beforehand. Classic 90's movie so it was enjoyable to an extent but nowhere near the Michael Jordan of blockbusters for that era: The Rock

TomSweeney · 04-06-2020 9:14am

Tony EH wrote: »

Re: Crystal Skull, I made a lot of excuses for that film when I first saw it. But I just have to be honest and mark it up to a bad film. Sure, the opening is fine and I was even on board with son of Indy for a bit. But it just ends up rubbish.

The scene were Marion literally drives off of a cliff smiling was just terrible, when she couldn't possibly have known that a fortuitous branch would be there to break their deathly plunge was beyond forgivable.

So, so, much unnecessary nonsense going on in the movie elsewhere too.

It's always been a shame what the Indy movies became. It started off so well with Raiders, which is really the only great film in the series. Temple is a very good follow up. But with Crusade and Crystal shull, the films became just stupid.

I'd like the see the whole thing just buried now. It's been dead since 1984.

I agree with everything except The Last Crusade come on that's the the best of the trilogy!!

TomSweeney · 04-06-2020 9:19am

Terminator Dark Fate
What an appalling utter pile of ****e, it's hard to believe it's part of the Terminator series .. wasn't quite as bad as Genisys but an awful awful film, I have some friends who actually thought it was good !!! wtf is wrong with people!

The whole franchise is done, has been since T2, Salvation at least tried it's own thing, and was decent enough but still far too short of the originals.

CrankyHaus · 04-06-2020 1:07pm

TomSweeney wrote: »

Terminator Dark Fate
What an appalling utter pile of ****e, it's hard to believe it's part of the Terminator series .. wasn't quite as bad as Genisys but an awful awful film, I have some friends who actually thought it was good !!! wtf is wrong with people!

The whole franchise is done, has been since T2, Salvation at least tried it's own thing, and was decent enough but still far too short of the originals.

I agree with this. Watched T4 Salvation for the first time recently. Not nearly as bad as its reputation. There were some good elements and the casting wasn't bad either. In the hands of a better Director with a tighter script it could have been a worthy sequel to the first 2.

I think it was Donald Clark who said the franchise has exhausted all of the considerable goodwill earned by the first 2 films and I'd agree.

Tony EH · 04-06-2020 1:12pm

TomSweeney wrote: »

I agree with everything except The Last Crusade come on that's the the best of the trilogy!!

No, no and...um...no.

pixelburp · 04-06-2020 5:44pm

The Vast of Night (2020)

Technically impressive for a first time director, the film having a richer & more cinematic feel than most zero-budget, debut features manage; so on that point alone, the plaudits feel deserved. In terms of substance though, little landed for me. The plot was thin and kinda rote, often feeling excessively padded out; while the cute rapid-fire dialogue became shelved for ponderous, rambling exposition - giving the film a bit of a split personality. The intermittent fades to black just perplexed. Still, I'll be keen to see what the director does next.

Harry Palmr · 04-06-2020 10:43pm

The Hand of Night 1968
Oddball British low budget horror drama which is slightly elevated by the location shooting in Morocco. William Sylvester fresh from er 2001:A Space Odyssey is Prof of falistism (actually archeology) who gets mixed up with a local cult of vampirism while searching for a friend. A potentially decent lurid thriller in here somewhere but never found.

Educating Rita 1983
Lewis Gilbert's filming of the Willy Russell smash hit now plays like a very nice drama made for BBC One at Christmas rather than a multi award winning feature film. Julie Walters is great but no way was she 27 (actually 33 but looking nearer 40 already)! Dublin standing in for unnamed northern English city very well.

Bullitt 1968
Peter Yates American debut feature is still absorbing but this is what I realised - the car chase is not the highlight at all, the cat and mouse at the airport is much better. The score from Lalo Schifrin, William Fraker's cool colour grade cinematography and those uber styled opening credits give the film a distinct feel that has aged far better than most film from that era.

brevity · 05-06-2020 12:57pm

The Vast of Night

The picture quality/style bothered me a little bit. I think they might have gone too far with the sepia filters but I enjoyed it. It felt like an episode of X-Files/Twilight Zone/The Outer Limits which I liked.

Sorcerer

I watched this a while back when it was on Film 4. Had never heard of it before but my twitter feed recommended it. Its very good. Super tense and the soundtrack is excellent. 4 men do a runner from their problems and end up in South America trying to get nitroglycerin to an oil fire. I loved the way it was shot. I loved that everyone was paranoid and pissed off at their situation. A must watch imo.

Tony EH · 05-06-2020 3:44pm

I'd go so far as to say that 'Sorcerer' is superior to the original film in many ways. Shame it nose dived at the BO. I think Vincent Canby even called it an "insult to film making" or something stupid like that.

However, Friedkin did himself no favours with his choice of title, which just confused the crap out of everybody and I reckon that contributed to its downfall some what. He should have just called it 'The Wages of Fear' and been done with it. Not to mention there was a little thing called 'Star Wars', too, which basically siphoned off the audience for every other film that summer.

pixelburp · 05-06-2020 4:15pm

Yeah, Star Wars arguably killed off Sorcerer's chance, while its name would have also had a hand in its marketing. Wonder would it have fared better these days of the internet and greater power of word-of-mouth. Definitely one of those forgotten classics. A really, tense grubby thriller where you can practically smell the sweat and mud of the location.

Also in its favour is another fantastic soundtrack from Tangerine Dream.

brevity · 05-06-2020 8:39pm

As I was watching it I couldn’t figure out why it was called Sorcerer (it’s the name of one of the trucks). I initially thought they were going to meet some lost tribe in the rainforest as I think there was Aztec type symbolism in the title sequence.

Glebee · 09-06-2020 1:13am

After not watching a film in ages watched 5 great movies over the last few days. In no particular order were , The Darkest Hours, Dunkirk, 1917, Knives Out and Parasite. Parasite was brilliant, best movie ive seen in a long while.

p to the e · 09-06-2020 10:17am

Kajaki: The True Story. This was on the watch list for a while and I just happened to notice it was on Netflix last week. This film tells the true story of a British unit who become trapped in a mine field in Afghanistan. Although a little "hoo-rah" at times the tension is solid throughout. The first ten minutes may as well be subtitled with the jargon that is spoken but it kind of just adds to the realism. Recommended.

cdgalwegian · 09-06-2020 10:52am

p to the e wrote: »

Kajaki: The True Story. This was on the watch list for a while and I just happened to notice it was on Netflix last week. This film tells the true story of a British unit who become trapped in a mine field in Afghanistan. Although a little "hoo-rah" at times the tension is solid throughout. The first ten minutes may as well be subtitled with the jargon that is spoken but it kind of just adds to the realism. Recommended.

Be warned, this starts off really slowly. But once it gets into it, it's gripping.

splashthecash · 09-06-2020 11:32am

The Report

I saw this on Prime Video - it stars Adam Driver as a senate staffer who starts working on a report on request of a senator, to investigate the goings on behind the scenes of how intelligence was gathered post 9/11 by the CIA. He starts out idealistic but soon starts uncovering the methods which were used and the cover-up by various elements of the government. Based on true events - found it very interesting. The amount of stuff that is happening in the background in every government even right now I'd say would make us all gasp, most of it all under the pretense of "keeping citizens safe"

What have you watched recently? 3D!

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