What films have you watched recently?

EricTheWeary

Paddington 2. 

I wasnt as charmed as with the first one although it’s a perfectly good film. 

Sporky

Philly_Q said:

Then he did Signals, The Village, Lady in the Water, The Happening.... and became a laughing stock which he's only slightly redeemed with his last couple of films.

The Happening was hilarious.

I'm not sure it was meant to be, but it is. Absolutely awful, but very funny because of it.

boogieman

Deadman said:

Sightseers

A Film 4 black comedy about a couple who go off in a caravan to see exciting things like Keswick pencil museum. Made me laugh. A lot. 9/10.

Great film. 

Philly_Q

Rogue One: a Star Wars Story

A bit darker in tone and certainly one of the better Star Wars films, I never got bored but I didn't find it particularly involving either.

I was surprised to see two of my work colleagues got "special thanks" right at the very end of the credits, just above "the Estate of Peter Cushing OBE".  They must have saved Disney an awful lot of tax...

Fuengi

Watched 'Mud' last night on Amazon Prime. Beautifully shot in rural, river soaked Arkansas from the perspective of two 14 year old boys who find a boat on on an island and evidence of someone living on it.

Gritty, laconic, lovelorn, scenic and narratively strong. Great characters, really well played. 

Alvin

All the original Planet of the Apes movies , make up rubbish and very dated 70's styling , but great fun , the first two were the best though .

EricTheWeary

As part of my weekend of apathy and Hugh Grant films I watched Florence Foster Jenkins. I remember it coming out and the impression was of something more comedic than what was quite sad. 

quarky

The Wolf of Wallstreet. 

I hadn't seen it before, because working in Canary Wharf, I see enough traders on a daily basis, but it was a great film actually. A good story (based on true events), great 80's cars, and a good soundtrack. DiCaprio is one of those actors who puts me off films sometimes (for no rational reason), but is normally pretty good in them when I see them.

RMJ

I watched Whiplash last night on Netflix. Had heard it was a good film, but it's bloody brilliant. Very difficult to watch at times but couldn't take my eyes off it. Great acting and story. Highly recommended

Philly_Q

The Ritual

Atmospheric British horror which overcomes its low budget with good actors and great locations.  Despite only being released last year, it's inexplicably only available on DVD, not a Blu-ray anywhere in the world as far as I can tell.

boogieman

quarky said:

The Wolf of Wallstreet. 

I hadn't seen it before, because working in Canary Wharf, I see enough traders on a daily basis, but it was a great film actually. A good story (based on true events), great 80's cars, and a good soundtrack. DiCaprio is one of those actors who puts me off films sometimes (for no rational reason), but is normally pretty good in them when I see them.

I never liked LDC much either, he always looked far too young and little boyish for some of the roles he got. Got to admit though, he’s really come of age in the five years or so and he’s a cracking actor. 

RMJ

Also watched wolf of wall Street recently. The scene when the old drugs kick in and he has to drive the Lamborghini home had me in stitches! Very good film

Elwood

quarky said:

The Wolf of Wallstreet. 

I hadn't seen it before, because working in Canary Wharf, I see enough traders on a daily basis, but it was a great film actually. A good story (based on true events), great 80's cars, and a good soundtrack. DiCaprio is one of those actors who puts me off films sometimes (for no rational reason), but is normally pretty good in them when I see them.

In case you missed it, watch Blood Diamond. Excellent Di Caprio film. 

Kebabkid

'Wonder' - not too dissimilar to 'Mask' with Cher but a very touching film

Blueingreen

The Stranger, directed Orson Welles, 1946.  Surprisingly unaware of this; I must have heard of it before but I'd forgotten.  Popped up on Netflix and I didn't even realise it was his movie until I saw the opening credits.  Welles also stars, along with the always watchable Edward G Robinson.

I gather it's his attempt to bring in a piece of mainstream entertainment (for 1946) under budget.  Bit of a hodge-podge: the basic premise (a Nazi war criminal escaped to small-town America and living there as a sleeper waiting for the chance to restore Nazi power) seems utterly preposterous now, and there are plenty of other implausibilities along the way.

There's plenty of Welles's trade-mark flair though - quirky, eerie and imaginative visuals and good use of music.  A nice atmospheric piece, not one of his best but well worth seeing if it sounds like your kind of thing. 7/10.

Philly_Q

Blueingreen said:

The Stranger, directed Orson Welles, 1946.  Surprisingly unaware of this; I must have heard of it before but I'd forgotten. 

@Blueingreen ; It has a degree of notoriety with Blu-ray geeks - like me - because it's a public domain title and no-one has put out a really good Blu-ray release yet.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-ray_reviews53/the_stranger_blu-ray.htm

Blueingreen

Philly_Q said:

Blueingreen said:

The Stranger, directed Orson Welles, 1946.  Surprisingly unaware of this; I must have heard of it before but I'd forgotten. 

@Blueingreen ; It has a degree of notoriety with Blu-ray geeks - like me - because it's a public domain title and no-one has put out a really good Blu-ray release yet.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-ray_reviews53/the_stranger_blu-ray.htm

I didn't know that.  Not a Blue-Ray geek by any stretch - in fact I barely use my Blue-Ray player now it's so easy to stream stuff.

schrodinger1612

Let The Right One In.

A great Swedish film about a boy who befriends a vampire. That’s it on the surface, but there’s some interesting subtext underlying it all. 8/10

EricTheWeary

schrodinger1612 said:

Let The Right One In.

A great Swedish film about a boy who befriends a vampire. That’s it on the surface, but there’s some interesting subtext underlying it all. 8/10

It's great, the book is great too. The US remake isn't so great.

At my son's office they have a film night once a month ( sounds like a terrible idea to me but there you go) and it's his turn to pick the film this month. He has chosen Let the Right One In as it happens. 

Philly_Q

EricTheWeary said:

schrodinger1612 said:

Let The Right One In.

A great Swedish film about a boy who befriends a vampire. That’s it on the surface, but there’s some interesting subtext underlying it all. 8/10

It's great, the book is great too. The US remake isn't so great.

At my son's office they have a film night once a month ( sounds like a terrible idea to me but there you go) and it's his turn to pick the film this month. He has chosen Let the Right One In as it happens. 

One of the best films I've ever seen, and all the better because I went in knowing absolutely nothing about it, it was just the first film of the day at a horror film festival.

I think the American version is actually very good.  It's not just a watered-down, by-the-numbers retread like all the US remakes of Asian horror movies.  They changed some plot details and made some interesting directorial choices.  One thing I remember is that it really focuses, visually, on the kids - the adult characters like the boy's mother are peripheral, their voices often muffled, their faces offscreen or hidden in the shadows.

Both well worth watching!