What films have you watched recently?

Snap

breakstuff said:

Moominpapa said:

goldtop said:

Snap said:

Anyone seem Midsommar? 
Mooted for a family watch om Friday (kids are 15 & 20 btw). 
I've heard its a bit weird.

It is indeed weird. And rather brutal. Not much gore, but what there is seems awful because of the setting. I won't say much more, because spoilers. It's OK and freaky, IMHO, but not great.

15-20 should be OK (they'll have seen worse), but probably don't watch it as a double-feature with the equally weird Dogtooth.

Agree with @goldtop - not a masteroiece, but a very individual film that I think is definitely worth watching. The 'horror' aspects are far more  of an unpleasantly disturbing nature than splatterfest gore.

I really enjoyed it, end yes, it's probably fine for kids of that age. To me, it's a film that plays on your mind more than outright shocks you, although there are a couple of WTF moments.

The bright side of it is that it stars Florence Pugh who is absolutely lovely. 

cheers all. I found the original Wicker Man, of which the trailer to Midsommar reminds me, made me feel similar, a bit weirded out.

They are now talking about Emma instead. I can see me falling down a bored spiral of IPA during this one.....ha.

Philly_Q

Snap said:I found the original Wicker Man, of which the trailer to Midsommar reminds me, made me feel similar, a bit weirded out.

The Wicker Man's my all time favourite film.  Midsommar definitely covers similar territory, you know pretty much where it's heading and it gets there at a very deliberate pace, but it's very effective.

ICBM

Toy Story 4 - The Fork Awakens

It isn’t called that, but it should be .

It’s well-made like all the others, but somehow it seems contrived and unnecessary - like The Force Awakens it feels more like a reboot rather than a continuation of the story, it has too many elements that are re-runs of bits of the previous films, and lacks the emotional power of the original trilogy. The old characters are surprisingly dull and the new ones two-dimensional - I’d have left the fork to its own devices after about the third time rescuing it out of the bin, to be honest - the best by far is the new baddie, and actually the only bit I found at all moving is when she’s finally saved. Although I did also like the sheep .

Edit: perhaps a tad harsh. I did like Duke Caboom as well - perfectly 1970s .

7/10

I just hope they aren’t tempted to make it the first in a new trilogy...

Haych

National Treasure

The most implausible movie I’ve seen for a long while. Everything falls into place at just the right moment throughout the movie, things just happen to be there at the right moment. And don’t get me started on 200 year old ropes still being in tact and strong enough to support the weight of over half a dozen people. Then there’s the 200 year old torches that just happen to be in just the right place at the right time AND the fuel in them hasn’t evaporated and dried up over the last two centuries. 

For all that still a really enjoyable movie. As my wife would call it, easy watching bubblegum for the mind. Not complicated and lucky for the viewer Riley is conveniently placed as the somewhat dipstick sidekick that needs everything explaining to him so the viewer doesn’t have to think and isn’t made to feel stupid. 

equalsql

What If

On Netflix.. Delightful little indie film that was a nice 'lift' for the missus and me in these shyte times.

EricTheWeary

War for the Planet of the Apes.

The only one of the reboot series I hadn’t seen. The first one I think is really good, the second one isn’t awful it just isn’t as interesting. 

The look of this is amazing really, so much so you just take it for granted that all the apes are chatting to each other and riding horses,etc. There are obvious references to the original Planet of the Apes ( use of the names Cornelius, Nova,etc) but if you don’t  get these ( and I probably missed some) it doesn’t matter. There was a brief moment when I thought Dr Joan Bushwell might appear but otherwise it’s serious war movie stuff with analogies you could draw with a lot of classic war films ( a chunk of Bridge on the River Kwai for starters). 

Just perhaps a film based on the idea of an inter species flu wiping out most of the human race not my best choice of viewing at the moment. 

Snap

Knives Out.

Excellent, really good. Enjoyed it a lot. Daniel Craig is superb as well

Haych

Shooter.

A 2007 action thriller about a retired sniper who's set up as the fall guy for the assassination of a foreign leader.

Some well known names including Mark Walbergh and Danny Glover.  

It was pretty good to be fair, a bit flag waving in places, not terribly violent or sweary - it had it's moments but on the whole it was quite restrained.

Not sure I would have cast Mark Walbergh as the lead, I think there would have been far better actors to play that role but he did a convincing job of it in the only way Walbergh knows how to.

The scene in which the bad guys are trying to fake the suicide of Michael Peña was quite disturbing, not in a visual sense but it made me feel sick to my stomach just knowing it's possible and there are people trained to do that kind of thing.

The plot wasn't bad either and it moved along at a fast enough pace to keep the viewer engaged.

7/10

boogieman

Snap said:

Knives Out.

Excellent, really good. Enjoyed it a lot. Daniel Craig is superb as well

Each to their own, I thought it was truly awful. Nonsensical plot, DC’s Southern accent wandering from Swedish to Mexican, phone in performances from Don Johnson and Jamie Lee Curtiss, not to mention that the ending was utterly predictable. 

ICBM

Haych said:

Shooter.

Yes, I thought that was pretty good too.

boogieman said:

DC’s Southern accent

I saw a brief snippet of that and it would make the whole thing unwatchable for me as well. Just laughably bad.

merlin

Philly_Q said:

Midsommar definitely covers similar territory, you know pretty much where it's heading and it gets there at a very deliberate pace, but it's very effective.

What I liked about Midsommar was that every horror film needs at least one dark room, or corridor or night time where dark stuff happens.... but not this one. The whole thing takes place in the broadest of all possible daylight. And it has great drugs. 

earwighoney

Philly_Q said:

Snap said:I found the original Wicker Man, of which the trailer to Midsommar reminds me, made me feel similar, a bit weirded out.

The Wicker Man's my all time favourite film.  Midsommar definitely covers similar territory, you know pretty much where it's heading and it gets there at a very deliberate pace, but it's very effective.

@Philly_Q

Is Midsommar a revisionist take on Wicker Man akin to some of Darren Aranovsky's films eg Mother/Rosemary's Baby etc?

Fine choice on Wicker Man, which isn't my favourite film but Christopher Lee is my favourite actor of all time by quite some margin.

Philly_Q

Haych said:

Shooter.

A 2007 action thriller about a retired sniper who's set up as the fall guy for the assassination of a foreign leader.

Some well known names including Mark Walbergh and Danny Glover.  

It was pretty good to be fair, a bit flag waving in places, not terribly violent or sweary - it had it's moments but on the whole it was quite restrained.

Not sure I would have cast Mark Walbergh as the lead, I think there would have been far better actors to play that role but he did a convincing job of it in the only way Walbergh knows how to.

I've read a few of the books (by Stephen Hunter) and casting Mark Wahlberg as Bob Lee Swagger seems almost as weird as casting Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher.  In the books Swagger is older and is described as looking a bit like Clint Eastwood.

The books are pretty good, but as they went on they seemed to turn more and more into firearms porn and I gave up on them.

I see there's also a Shooter TV series with Ryan Philippe.

Philly_Q

earwighoney said:

Philly_Q said:

Snap said:I found the original Wicker Man, of which the trailer to Midsommar reminds me, made me feel similar, a bit weirded out.

The Wicker Man's my all time favourite film.  Midsommar definitely covers similar territory, you know pretty much where it's heading and it gets there at a very deliberate pace, but it's very effective.

@Philly_Q

Is Midsommar a revisionist take on Wicker Man akin to some of Darren Aranovsky's films eg Mother/Rosemary's Baby etc?

Fine choice on Wicker Man, which isn't my favourite film but Christopher Lee is my favourite actor of all time by quite some margin.

I don't think Midsommar's meant as a revisionist take on The Wicker Man.  Ari Aster acknowledges the similarities and he says he wanted to set up certain expectations then go in a different direction (which it does... and doesn't).  It creates a similar sort of atmosphere, but at times the weirdness is a bit irritating whereas in The Wicker Man it always makes me smile.  There's more of a lightness of touch in The Wicker Man.

I think Neil LaBute probably was trying to be revisionist in his Wicker Man remake, but he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.  That said, I like it for its sheer awfulness!

zepp76

1917 = Meh
Midway = ok
 Zombieland 2 = good, I enjoyed it as much as the first but weak ending.
Rocket man = As I’m newly out about my sexuality this was a fantastic camp fest that appealed to me as well as the darker sides to Elton’s mental health resonating with me.

GuyR

School for Scoundrels was on TV this afternoon. My favourite film. Terry-Thomas, Alastair Sim, Ian Carmichael in the driest Ealing comedy. A delightful temporary diversion.......

earwighoney

Philly_Q said:

I don't think Midsommar's meant as a revisionist take on The Wicker Man.  Ari Aster acknowledges the similarities and he says he wanted to set up certain expectations then go in a different direction (which it does... and doesn't).  It creates a similar sort of atmosphere, but at times the weirdness is a bit irritating whereas in The Wicker Man it always makes me smile.  There's more of a lightness of touch in The Wicker Man.

I think Neil LaBute probably was trying to be revisionist in his Wicker Man remake, but he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.  That said, I like it for its sheer awfulness!

Thanks for the info @Philly_Q .

I had a few doubts about the film as after seeing the trailer as I thought it could be a little too much alike the Wicker Man/other horror films where outsiders go to a rural setting and things descend but your description makes it sound like it's worth checking out; I really enjoyed Hereditary, even if the pacing was a little inconsistent at times.

I've not seen the remake of the Wicker Man, the one with Nick Cage. What an actor! I saw Vampire's Kiss a few months ago which had me waking in the middle of the night retelling the alphabet in a Nick Cage manner.

Philly_Q

earwighoney said:

I've not seen the remake of the Wicker Man, the one with Nick Cage. What an actor! I saw Vampire's Kiss a few months ago which had me waking in the middle of the night retelling the alphabet in a Nick Cage manner.

You have to watch the Wicker Man remake.  It has so many moments where you simply can't believe what you just saw or heard, not because they're scary or disturbing but because Cage's performance is so completely and utterly unhinged.

Nic Cage is such a strange actor.  So many people hate him or just take the piss out of him, but I think he can be amazing.  He can be almost comatose in an action role, then completely demented playing a supposedly regular guy.  He elevated Con Air by playing a lovable doofus who's somehow also a convincing action hero.  He's starred in just about the only two rom-coms I've ever liked - Honeymoon In Vegas and It Could Happen To You.  He's made a lot of terrible films - and been terrible in a lot of films - but there's just something about the guy.

earwighoney

Philly_Q said:

earwighoney said:

I've not seen the remake of the Wicker Man, the one with Nick Cage. What an actor! I saw Vampire's Kiss a few months ago which had me waking in the middle of the night retelling the alphabet in a Nick Cage manner.

You have to watch the Wicker Man remake.  It has so many moments where you simply can't believe what you just saw or heard, not because they're scary or disturbing but because Cage's performance is so completely and utterly unhinged.

Nic Cage is such a strange actor.  So many people hate him or just take the piss out of him, but I think he can be amazing.  He can be almost comatose in an action role, then completely demented playing a supposedly regular guy.  He elevated Con Air by playing a lovable doofus who's somehow also a convincing action hero.  He's starred in just about the only two rom-coms I've ever liked - Honeymoon In Vegas and It Could Happen To You.  He's made a lot of terrible films - and been terrible in a lot of films - but there's just something about the guy.

I see what you mean about Nic Cage in the Wicker Man, it sounds a bit like Vampire's Kiss, where I couldn't quite believe what I was watching and whether I should laugh, cry or scratch my head; I didn't know as the viewer whether he was the joke or whether I was being punked but nonetheless I had an absolute ball watching the film.

I'm in agreement about all those films and something about the guy which cannot be said is that he doesn't have a screen presence, which IMO a few modern leading men seem to lack in comparison. In addition to the films you mentioned, I thought he was a lot of fun in Kick Ass; which I think is one of the more enjoyable superhero films and Herzog's Bad Lieutenant IMO is a modern classic (the lizards!).

He's in a new Lovecraft film which was supposed to be good fun, have you see it yet? Btw, if Frightfest is on this year (big if) I'd like to join you for a film or two (I think I said that a few years already)

Philly_Q

earwighoney said:

He's in a new Lovecraft film which was supposed to be good fun, have you see it yet? Btw, if Frightfest is on this year (big if) I'd like to join you for a film or two (I think I said that a few years already)

Color Out of Space (sorry about the spelling), Richard Stanley's first film in donkey's years.  It was on at the London Film Festival last year, but it was the only film I couldn't get tickets for!  Reviews have been positive, I'll be buying it on Blu-ray.

No decision on FrightFest this year, I suspect it won't happen because even if things are starting to get back to normal their process of finding films to show will have been severely curtailed.  And as my brother said, by the end of August will we actually feel comfortable sitting in a cinema with 700-odd people?

Maybe it'll be back for the Halloween day, then return to full force next year.