What films have you watched recently?

earwighoney

ICBM said:

The Lighthouse

Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson go mad in an atmospheric period psychological horror inspired by Edgar Allan Poe with a bit of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Intense and unsettling. Dafoe in particular is brilliant, as is the direction and photography. Not comfortable viewing but compelling, and although it’s not *really* horrific I think you’ll remember some of the more disturbing imagery for a long time. The use of a near-square aspect ratio increases the feeling of claustrophobia too.

A strong 9/10

I think it might be one of the better films I've seen for a very long time,

This article below is worth reading if you've seen the film

https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/features/lighthouse-robert-eggers-literary-visual-influences-melville-lovecraft-dads-army

(don't read it if you've not seen the film as it is very spoiler heavy)

I thought it was very cine literate in it's consideration, I thought there were references to Bela Tarr, Jean Vigo & Carl Dreyer.

andyp

Tried amazon quickly there and seem to be able to pre-order it only. I am not a fan of the Prime app etc though, really awkward to use and hard to find stuff. Plus it’s misleading what’s included and what isn’t and it changes every day.

Dunno what I’m doing wrong but I’ll try it again later.

Blueingreen

EricTheWeary said:

goldtop said:

EricTheWeary said:

goldtop said:

Notes on a Scandal. Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett as teachers at an inner-city school. Bitter spinster Dench has the hots for Cate, but Cate has the hots for ... well, someone she shouldn't. Dench is awesome, as usual. Bill Nighy also stars and just does his usual soppy character well enough. Well told, but needed the ending to build to more of ... something. 7/10

I have fonder memories of the book than the film...'she was so posh she didn't know what a three piece suite was.'


[ I don't know how accurate that is just from memory!]

I don't remember it, but that quote sounds about right. And reminds me of Maggie Smith delivering "What's a weekend?" in Downton Abbey.

Is the book famous? The writing - especially of Dench's character's bitter and cutting inner-voice - is excellent.

I think the novel is reasonably well known in it's own right, quick Google says it was a Booker runner up. My attempts at reading prize winning novels usually over by about page 70 so it mustn't have been too challenging if I finished it! 

I read the book first and enjoyed the film despite flaws.  In particular it fails to make the relationship between Cate Blanchett and (omit spoiler) remotely plausible.   I do think the book is better.   It's hard to find a cinematic equivalent to the books' narrator gradually revealing that her version of events isn't to be trusted, but resorting to voice-over feels like a bit like a cop-out.

breakstuff

Mercy Black on Netflix.

Possibly some of the worst practical special effects I've ever seen. 

Laugh out loud funny, but for all the wrong reasons. 

Avoid.

TheMarlin

Going to watch original 70’s version  of ‘Dawn of The Dead’ tonight. 

One of my favourite films.  I love the whole feel of it. It has something special about it.  Best Zombie movie ever!

The newer version, made about 10 years ago, is crap in comparison. 

Moominpapa

Just rewatched A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. I loved it the first time around  but on this second viewing I noticed so much more. This is a really dense film that repays all the attention you can give it, as well as being quite funny in a very understated way. (And there is an adorable cat in it as well)

goldtop

Moominpapa said:

Just rewatched A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. I loved it the first time around  but on this second viewing I noticed so much more. This is a really dense film that repays all the attention you can give it, as well as being quite funny in a very understated way. (And there is an adorable cat in it as well)

That's an absolutely cracking film. I loved the soundtrack, too. Bit obscure but you can hear most of it on YT. Might rewatch this one tonight! Thanks for the reminder.

@Danny1969 - Private Life. Looks good, I like Giamatti. We'll have to wait for FOPP to re-open (fingers crossed that it survives this lockdown)

Haych

Nothing new for tonight’s viewing. 

The 2003 remake of The Italian Job. I have a real conflict with this film. In its own right it’s quite a decent action movie. However, it’s not even close to a remake of the original Italian Job - the link is tenuous and in name only. The fact that nearly every car and motorbike used in the film is made by BMW is telling and the driving sequences aren’t nearly as good as the original. 

That said, try to watch it completely without attachment to the 1969 original and it’s a pretty good movie and rolls along fast enough to keep you engaged. 

Next up tonight was Jason Bourne. A reasonable follow-on from the first three Bourne films (not including The Bourne Legacy). I like it but I’m a fan of the series anyway so my opinion is hardly unbiased. 

It does seem to have some signs of a film made for the sake of it (I.E., if we make another film in the franchise we can make a ton of money) but it was pulled off quite well. Tommy Lee Jones was miscast in my opinion, though. 

notanon

This topic will be popular, please share your experiences ;-)

ICBM

The Love Punch

Pierce Brosnan and Emma Thompson in a romantic comedy with a daft plot and improbable set-pieces that just doesn’t work. Tedious, clichéd, forced and only vaguely funny in places. Probably the worst film I've seen either of them in. I only just managed to get to the entirely predictable ending and I’m not sure why I bothered.

3/10

Snap

Fermat's room - very good
Primer - very good

sweave

Captain Fantastic (netflix)

This has been out a while but only just got round to watching it and thought it was excellent. Basic plot involves a couple who decide to bring their children up in a life that is a mixture of back-woods survivalist meets philosopher king, until circumstances mean they have to engage with the "real world". I found it very moving and funny, and have already watched it twice.

EricTheWeary

Rudeboy: the story of Trojan records.

Nice ramble through the history of Trojan, ska and early reggae. I couldn’t say it’s essential viewing but the label had a few cracking choons. 

Blueingreen

Witness.  This must have felt old-fashioned even when it was released in 1985, but it's so well-made, well-directed, good to look at and well-acted that it's still a thoroughly engaging piece of mainstream entertainment. 7.5/10

EricTheWeary

Blueingreen said:

Witness.  This must have felt old-fashioned even when it was released in 1985, but it's so well-made, well-directed, good to look at and well-acted that it's still a thoroughly engaging piece of mainstream entertainment. 7.5/10

I saw that was on iPlayer and was quite tempted, although I suspect my memories of it might be better than the film itself. 

ICBM

Blueingreen said:

Witness.  This must have felt old-fashioned even when it was released in 1985, but it's so well-made, well-directed, good to look at and well-acted that it's still a thoroughly engaging piece of mainstream entertainment. 7.5/10

As well as the sheer quality of the film-making, the beauty of it is that by being about a community outside the normal rush of the modern world, those parts of it will never date. Still probably Harrison Ford's best film.

stickyfiddle

Knives Out

The sort of film they don't make very often any more. Good enough, though I wouldn't quite put it up with all the plaudits it's had. Makes me want to go and re-watch Brick

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Odd. Good. Typical Coens, if there is such a thing. I enjoyed the Tom Waits section most.

thumpingrug

I watched Blinded by the Light at the weekend.  It helps that I like Bruce, but I thought it was a reasonably good social commentary/coming of age film.  Not sure if it was historically accurate, my memory of 1987 was slightly different, but I was living in Yorkshire at that time and the focus was very much on dealing with the fall out of the recessions and miners strike.

munckee

Kids picked a movie yesterday and chose Clue the 90s film based on cluedo. 

Utterly ridiculous and saved by Tim Curry. Quite enjoyed rewatching. 

Philly_Q

munckee said:

Kids picked a movie yesterday and chose Clue the 90s film based on cluedo. 

Utterly ridiculous and saved by Tim Curry. Quite enjoyed rewatching. 

A friend of mine regards that as his number one favourite film of all time.  I think it's OK.