What films have you watched recently?

hollywoodrox

ooh I want to watch that downsizing one I remember it being advertised 

JezWynd

Pain and Glory. Almodóvar in reflective mood.  A beautiful film in every respect. Story, picture, performance; everything is pitch perfect. I can’t think of another filmmaker whose delight in the cinematic frame shines through as brilliantly.

equalsql

Wild Rose. Just excellent. Jesse Buckley puts in an amazing performance.

SRich

Blaendulais said:

1917.....PS why not fly a message there.....

Not sure how practical that would have been in 1917. Saw this a few hours ago and found it typically stunning and still very sad.

Amazing camerawork which must figure highly at the Oscars.

goldtop

SRich said:

Blaendulais said:

1917.....PS why not fly a message there.....

Not sure how practical that would have been in 1917.

The Brits had their aircraft over the area - fly slow over the Devons and throw out a few 'FYI' leaflets, or a dead carrier pigeon with a note attached, or even just crash land a plane to get the message across.

Of course, if the Lions/Donkeys trope is accurate, then perhaps the British officers thought it was simply unfair to do any of those things when there was plenty of cannon fodder available.

Sassafras

Blue is the Warmest Colour.

One of those great French films where nothing much happens for hours but you can't drag your eyes away from the screen.
I did find the main character's sexiness very distracting. It stopped me concentrating on the film in general
It was surprisingly explicit for a non-porno film but at the same time the sex scenes were quite cartoonish in a strange way.
3 hours well spent IMO.
Gave me vital insight into the world of sexy lesbians (they're not all sexy).

Haych

Fisherman’s Friends. 

Based on a true story apparently. Decent and easy watching British film set in Cornwall about a crew of fishermen who inadvertently find fame as a folk group singing sea shanties.  

Nothing really dramatic happens and there are no twists and turns but it’s still a very watchable and lightly comedic film. It doesn’t have many laugh out loud moments but it’s still a light hearted and feel good movie. 

Not the best thing I’ve ever watched but neither was it disappointing either. If you have a couple of hours to kill jump on amazon prime and check it out. 

ICBM

Z For Zachariah

Post-apocalyptic drama with Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine. (And unusually, literally no-one else.) I read the book it’s based on when I was a boy, and it must have made a strong impression on me since I remembered a fair bit of it, although the plot of the film is quite different in several ways.

Very well-acted but rather simplistically directed, and felt a bit contrived and lacking tension - not bad but not really convincing.

6/10

tony99

ICBM said:

Z For Zachariah

Post-apocalyptic drama with Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine. (And unusually, literally no-one else.) I read the book it’s based on when I was a boy, and it must have made a strong impression on me since I remembered a fair bit of it, although the plot of the film is quite different in several ways.

Very well-acted but rather simplistically directed, and felt a bit contrived and lacking tension - not bad but not really convincing.

6/10

hahah I watched that last night too (having also read the book in school)

Margot Robbie was very impressive I thought

Haych

The Da Vinci Code. 

The wife and I were searching for something to watch last night and she suggested it (and then fell asleep after 30 minutes in typical Mrs Haych fashion). 

She’d seen it before and for some reason I was convinced I had but had memories of enjoying it so was happy to watch it again. 

I kept saying during the first 20 minutes that the wife was awake, “ I don’t remember any of this at all”, and as the film progressed I resigned myself to the fact I hadn’t ever seen it before so it was quite a nice surprise really. 

I really enjoyed it but at the same time, as with anything else Dan Brown, found it quite contrived and over complicated. The over complication is what keeps it interesting but as something of a realist I can’t help thinking that nothing like it could ever happen in real life, it’s just too fantastical. 

I’ve also studied biblical history so the theme was entertaining from that perspective too, although the suggestion that the film was making is a bit out there and again too fantastical to take seriously. That centuries of ancient codes and concealed meanings are hidden in plain sight waiting for some scholar to unlock and decipher in the space of a few days is a bit too Hollywood. 

The twist with the girl being what she was could be seen way off in the distance from about halfway through the film although I didn’t identify the real baddie until it was revealed. 

Despite its fantastical nature and over egged plot it was an enjoyable film, probably the best of the Dan Brown series that I’ve seen. 

JezWynd

Bombshell. The film about Roger Ailes takedown by the Foxy vixens. Not a cinematic film but an interesting watch. As much for its depiction of many Fox regulars - Judge Jeanine Pirro comes over as a particularly unpleasant piece of work (no surprises there). It’s hard to feel much sympathy for the women, it’s not like he chased them around the office a la Weinstein, rather that they transacted sexual acts for plum presenting jobs with big bucks attached. The most interesting parts deal with the culture at Fox - very revealing about Ailes/Murdoch/Trump and the cynical chasing of ratings that resulted in Trump in the White House.

Skipped

The Irishman.

A decent, enjoyable film. Felt like watching a very high budget 4 part mini series, in one sitting.

Judged as a  movie, (not as a technological masterpiece), I did not feel like I was watching the Oscar winner for best picture.

I rated it 7 out of 10.

The youtube run through of HTF did they do that, I rated at 9 out of 10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF-lElIlZM0

zepp76

I watched Sicario 1&2 last night, a very enjoyable watch. Benicio del toro was brilliant in it.

not_the_dj

goldtop said:

SRich said:

Blaendulais said:

1917.....PS why not fly a message there.....

Not sure how practical that would have been in 1917.

The Brits had their aircraft over the area - fly slow over the Devons and throw out a few 'FYI' leaflets, or a dead carrier pigeon with a note attached, or even just crash land a plane to get the message across.

Of course, if the Lions/Donkeys trope is accurate, then perhaps the British officers thought it was simply unfair to do any of those things when there was plenty of cannon fodder available.

I saw this at the weekend. Reminded me of the Mel Gibson character in the early 80s film Gallipoli running through trenches to deliver a message and stop a massacre.

skullfunkerry

We've watched a few films that have stuck in my head recently:

Backtrack - Adrien Brody is a psychologist who's having visions etc and it all seems related to his past. Found it by accident on Amazon or Now, and gave it a go without high expectations; it was pretty good.

Anon - Clive Owen sci-fi, long moody shots and atmosphere rather than lasers and fights. Only had two stars on NowTV, but we both really enjoyed it.

Paycheck - higher rated than Anon on NowTV, but genuinely one of the worst films either of us have seen in recent memory! Just awful: paper thin plot, ridiculous characters... meh

SRich

'Longshot' - Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron. This is SUCH an improbable pairing although to be fair, that's what they set out to portray. I'm usually phobic about Rogen's movies but I stuck with this one and I'm pleased I did.

Good mindless escapism if that's 'your bag'.

7/10 

ICBM

Heathers

Another old one that I’d never seen. Very black satirical teen comedy from the 80s, with Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.

A bit dated now but still good, with great performances from Ryder and especially Slater - the best thing is how your view of his character changes... he plays it to perfection.

8/10

Gallagherone

Ended up seeing 1917 on a whim on Sunday night whilst waiting for my wife at the O2 Arena... What a treat it ended up being. Cinematic excellence. Not a film you should wait to watch at home in a few months, the type of film that you need to see in the cinema. 9/10

HAL9000

David Copperfield. Very enjoyable. 8/10.

HAL9000

Gallagherone said:

Ended up seeing 1917 on a whim on Sunday night whilst waiting for my wife at the O2 Arena... What a treat it ended up being. Cinematic excellence. Not a film you should wait to watch at home in a few months, the type of film that you need to see in the cinema. 9/10

^ This. Definitely needs the big screen to be experienced at its best. I was fortunate enough to see it in IMAX and am glad I paid the extra pennies.