What have you watched recently? 3D!

20-05-2020 6:10am

Did Red Road last night. A little too high on the bleak scale for me. Good film, but lacked the rays of hope in Fish Tank that gave it the range of emotions to elevate it into outstanding. Much harder to connect with the characters also.

j.s. pill II · 20-05-2020 12:34pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Did Red Road last night. A little too high on the bleak scale for me. Good film, but lacked the rays of hope in Fish Tank that gave it the range of emotions to elevate it into outstanding. Much harder to connect with the characters also.

Vastly different subject matter from Fish Tank - bleak it is

.

barrymanilow · 20-05-2020 10:53pm

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Very nice uplifting and heart warming film , based loosely on Lyod Vogels research for his for Esquire Magazine article on Children's TV Presenter Fred Rodgers aka " Mr Rodgers" . Very human and touching film about human imperfection , forgiveness and connection. Tom Hanks knocks it out of the park again in the lead roll. A refreshing watch after some of the bleaker , heavy stuff I have been watching.

8/10

pixelburp · 21-05-2020 12:41pm

Le Mans '66 (Ford v. Ferrari) (2019)

It skirted dangerously into "plucky Anglophones put one up on greasy foreigners" territory without ever falling in - though neither CEO came off well in fairness - instead being a genuinely entertaining ride. Not least for the racing scenes: obviously any sport film that focuses on events on the track or field needs to nail that action - and thankfully Mangold got it right. The driving set-pieces had heft, physicality and that sense of barely restrained danger inherent in fast cars, with only a couple of moments of suspected CGI instead of cars driven by stunt-drivers.

The off track material was affecting too, and I can see why the film has been cheerfully called a quintessential "Dad Flick": its two male leads were so thoroughly decent, competent and emotionally reliable, they almost derailed the narrative with their impeccable morality. I could easily imagine an alternative version of this film: one where Christian Bale's mercurial Ken Miles had his prickliness dialled up to 11, his home life a disaster zone 'cos his wife just doesn't "get" his genius. Instead, Miles was a loving father to his son & wife, they loving him back, with no contrived conflict or friction. Honestly, it made a refreshing change to see the Eccentric Genius character function normally in life.

Now, I'm off to buy a cardigan, a pipe & some slippers. Maybe take up gardening, listen to Radio 4. Or whatever else counts as "stereotypically Dad".

mikemac2 · 21-05-2020 1:01pm

Once upon a time in London

It's on Netflix. Traces organised crime from the Sabini and White families in the 20´s & 30´s to a Jewish gangster and his turf war during the WWII years. Finishes in the 60´s with the Krays

I thought this was awful.

There was a lot of decades to cover but it was a mess. A few 3-4 minute sequences using period music from the time but this is no Goodfellas, it just doesn't work

There is a plenty of violence for sure but then a second later a couple embracing in the sun filled stairway awwww. This film didn't know what it wanted to be with the constant changing of scenes.

There is an Irish actress too named Nadia Forde and it seems she did some reality TV stuff for TV3. This film won't be advancing her career. A few other actors you would recognise from the likes of Green Street and The Football Factory

johnny_ultimate · 24-05-2020 3:02pm

Mad Max: Fury Road - the 2010s were really the decade when endless sequels and franchise films came to dominate mainstream film to an overwhelming degree. And yet only a handful of them IMO had lasting worth beyond (at best) a fun, forgettable night at the cinema. There's Toy Story 3. Mission Impossible Fallout. The Last Jedi. Kinda start running out quickly after that. But, above all of them, towers Fury Road.

I remember being slightly underwhelmed when I first watched it - I mean very slightly, but still that tad less gushingly enthusiastic than others. That said, I think I've watched it four times now, and it just gets better and better. To see those hundreds of millions pumped into a wildly idiosyncratic vision of next-generation action movie carnage... it pretty much stands alone in that sense. As great and hypnotic as the endless action is, it would mean little if the storytelling wasn't so blissfully economical. The world and ideas and characters are rich here, but they simply exist naturally in the post-apocalyptic fever dream: exposition is at a bare minimum, and the sheer pace of the chase is reflected in its zero-nonsense storytelling.

THE greatest, most blistering aberration in recent mainstream cinema history.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park - if I were to choose my two favourite popcorn flicks, it'd probably boil down to Fury Road and Jurassic Park. But as a kid The Lost World was the one I got to see in the cinema, having only caught up with the original on VHS. Saw this sequel twice at the time, but pretty sure I hadn't seen it since the big screen release (maybe on ITV or something one quiet schoolnight).

Oh boy. Spielberg definitely didn't capture the magic twice. I mean, in some ways, that was inevitable. Part of the magic of JP is how it waits patiently to show you what everyone's there for. But once you've seen a raptor or t-rex, that trick can't be repeated. Sequels, in a sense, are doomed by that inability to pull off the same reveals, so perfectly realised in 1993. Maybe that's built into the franchise - the idea of a dinosaur theme park is an amazing one, but hardly robust or complex enough to count the four and counting sequels it has spawned.

But I think this fails in ways beyond that too. The middle act is the strongest: the action scenes are pretty well-crafted, and supporting characters are dutifully picked off in fun, dino-tastic ways. But it's the final act where all falls apart. It's clearly tacked on, but worse it's so terribly contrived. I'm no fan of plot hole nitpicking, but this just descends into ill-explained nonsense (

what in the name of hell happened on the ship?!

) to justify its big dramatic dino-rampage at the end. Main characters just disappear, and even the primal thrill of a t-rex rampaging through an American city feels hollow and poorly realised. Spielberg, at his best, is one of the smartest of blockbuster filmmakers - but this sequel is just dumb.

Le Corbeau - recent Mubi watch, and a fascinating one. Henri-Georges Clouzot's is a valuable relic of occupied France - even down to the morally-murky production history of the movie. But the film itself is a great exercise in the cinema of mid-century paranoia: a small town's social fabric being torn asunder by anonymous letters revealing secrets and making wild allegations. The final reveal is barely significant: the damage the eponymous raven does is what drives the film forward, and the motivations are secondary. It remains a straight-talking, provocative film to this day - tackling the kind of taboo social issues other countries wouldn't get around to cinematically for decades.

Harry Palmr · 24-05-2020 10:12pm

Castle Keep 1969 Dir Sydney Pollock

A curious but absorbing mordant story about fatalism and the almost cosmically inevitable. During the Battle of the Bulge a small group of retreating US soldiers alight on an ancient snowy castle as a place to take refuge and take a stand. Great cast, striking visuals, a fiery climax and plenty of witty darkly comic dialogue pointing up the absurdity of the circumstances to new world Americans in a corner of olde world Europe. This film is part of Burt Lancaster's fatalist/philosophical strand - see The Swimmer, The Gypsy Moths, Ulzana's Raid, Twilight's Last Gleaming and The Train which shares a theme with this film about the value of art in culture and why it's fought over.

barrymanilow · 25-05-2020 10:48am

Beautiful Boy

There are a few films that I think have really captured the hell of addiction. The Basketball Diaries , Trainspotting , Requiem for a Dream and the Haunting of Hill House stand out for me but Beautiful Boy might be the most harrowing , not particularly because its as gritty , graphic or intense as those others but in that it more very vividly portrays the pain and anguish that the family and loved ones of addicts go through as they watch someone they care for become engulfed and lost to them through substance abuse.

The Soundtrack for this is smashing , all independent artists , but the songs are very well chosen and play a major role.

Steve Carrell and Tim Chalamet are both outstanding in this. Steve Carrell has such great range as an actor and Tim Chalamet is just bloody good.

9/10 for me

Fysh · 25-05-2020 11:19am

I watched my DVD copy of Night Watch. I was disappointed to notice that unlike the theatrical release's very clever use of hard-coded animated subtitles, the DVD version just has normal subtitles, but otherwise still enjoyed the film as a frenetic action film with a distinct sense of identity. I haven't watched it in absolutely ages, but I'm glad I did and still think it's a pity that the planned trilogy closer never materialised (particularly since that meant Bekmambetov went off to make the two-flusher that was Wanted, although given that the comic is in my opinion some desperate edgelord bollox that was pretty much a given...). I'll probably stick on Daywatch in the next few days, though I recall not enjoying that as much.

cdgalwegian · 25-05-2020 11:55am

Fysh wrote: »

I watched my DVD copy of Night Watch. I was disappointed to notice that unlike the theatrical release's very clever use of hard-coded animated subtitles, the DVD version just has normal subtitles, but otherwise still enjoyed the film as a frenetic action film with a distinct sense of identity. I haven't watched it in absolutely ages, but I'm glad I did and still think it's a pity that the planned trilogy closer never materialised (particularly since that meant Bekmambetov went off to make the two-flusher that was Wanted, although given that the comic is in my opinion some desperate edgelord bollox that was pretty much a given...). I'll probably stick on Daywatch in the next few days, though I recall not enjoying that as much.

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.

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

What have you watched recently? 3D!

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