What films have you watched recently?

Philly_Q

@TheMarlin All good stuff! 

tony99

Philly_Q said:

EricTheWeary said:

There is a mini series version of The Shining that King was more involved in, I’ve never seen that. 

I remember it - quite possibly unreliably - as fairly weak, but to be fair it was made in an era when TV didn't have movie-like production values and budgets like it does now.

I've often read King's criticisms of Kubrick's The Shining, but I think the book and the film just have to be separated.  I don't care how faithful an adaptation it is, it's a brilliant film.  And I don't even like Jack Nicholson in most things (I think King wanted Michael Moriarty for the role, who I think would've been very good).

I thought it was supposed to be John Voight. Nicholson is great but let's face it he is fucking batshit crazy, the point of The Shining is that the struggling writer who ISN'T nuts goes off his barnet, a complete 180

I always wonder if Voight could've pulled this off

Philly_Q

tony99 said:

Philly_Q said:

EricTheWeary said:

There is a mini series version of The Shining that King was more involved in, I’ve never seen that. 

I remember it - quite possibly unreliably - as fairly weak, but to be fair it was made in an era when TV didn't have movie-like production values and budgets like it does now.

I've often read King's criticisms of Kubrick's The Shining, but I think the book and the film just have to be separated.  I don't care how faithful an adaptation it is, it's a brilliant film.  And I don't even like Jack Nicholson in most things (I think King wanted Michael Moriarty for the role, who I think would've been very good).

I thought it was supposed to be John Voight. Nicholson is great but let's face it he is fucking batshit crazy, the point of The Shining is that the struggling writer who ISN'T nuts goes off his barnet, a complete 180

I always wonder if Voight could've pulled this off

I only remembered Moriarty being mentioned and reading it somewhere a long time ago, but Wikipedia says "King had suggested that a more "everyman" actor such as Jon Voight, Christopher Reeve, or Michael Moriarty play the role, so that Jack's descent into madness would be more unnerving." 

I think Voight could've done it, at that stage in his career.  He's turned into as much of a fruitloop as Nicholson in his later years.

Haych

Hannibal

Not bad, not great. It took an unnecessary build up to get going - the first half hour at least was a bit pointless and didn’t add anything to the story at all. 

Quite predictable but still not bad for all that. A bit more bloody and graphic than the previous two films. 

Seeing Julianne Moore as Clarice Starling having watched Jodie Foster the previous evening in SotL was a bit weird. Also, at times she was trying to do the whole southern accent Jodie Foster thing and then in other parts of the film just not bothering at all. 

Ray Liotta didn’t quite seem to work well in his role either but it was a relatively small part so it was forgivable.

The ending wasn’t quite what I expected. I hate having to make up my own ending so leaving it open like that wasn’t satisfactory enough! Ridley, please don’t do it again!

I don’t score very often but I’d give this a 6/10 

Moominpapa

  @TheMarlin ; Have you seen The Wailing?If not, I strongly recommend it - great film.

TheMarlin

Moominpapa said:

  @TheMarlin ; Have you seen The Wailing?If not, I strongly recommend it - great film.

I haven’t. Will watch it this week

Haych

Night Hunter

Oh my goodness, I don't know where to start with this one.  It was awful and then it was really alright.  I don't know who directed it and can't be bothered to find out but whoever it was s/he needs sorting out.  Or maybe it was just an editing thing.

The plot was okay, nothing wrong there and it seemed to get going quite quickly, nothing wrong there either.  But it just seemed to jump around without any continuity and the viewer is left to try to decide why one scene has ended and another begun.

Then there's the characters.  Ben Kingsley and some young girl started the story and seemed to be carrying it quite well, then this British guy comes into the picture, takes over, kicks Kingsley out of his own party until the plot needs him about 45 minutes later in the film and he comes back into the story like he's been there all along!

Then there was the dialogue, which was mumbly and indistinct much of the time which I find really irritating and unacceptable in modern film.  The main antagonist character seemed to have been modelled after Gollum from The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, it was seriously a what-the-fudge moment, and good luck trying to understand a single word of what he says in the first half of the film.

However, after the film is about 2/3 finished the director seems to have found another gear and it suddenly becomes coherent and the last half hour is really quite alright.

I thought it was just me but after the film was over Mrs Haych made exactly the same comments as I did.  It was like David Bowie had put the film together by drawing scenes out of a hat and randomly splicing them together hoping it would make some sort of sense.

ICBM

Last Vegas

Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas and Kevin Kline - from that list you'd expect something heavyweight and meaningful - but no, it's a light comedy about four former high-school friends who are now pensioners on a bachelor weekend in Vegas.

It's entirely predictable, clichéd, and very funny in a mild, getting-older-in-joke sort of way - you can see some of the set-ups coming a mile off and they're still amusing. There are no remotely Oscar-worthy performances, but the four leads - and Mary Steenburgen - simply radiate effortless subtle acting class and charisma, the script is sharp and there are a couple of good moments where it's slightly more serious that stop it being totally throwaway and allow the actors to work a little.

In contrast to the reviews, I thought it was really pretty good, and I'd probably watch it again some time - maybe being over 50 myself now helps . And although I really enjoyed it, it's probably cured me of any need to actually go and see Las Vegas .

7/10

Haych

ICBM said:

Last Vegas

Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas and Kevin Kline - from that list you'd expect something heavyweight and meaningful - but no, it's a light comedy about four former high-school friends who are now pensioners on a bachelor weekend in Vegas.

It's entirely predictable, clichéd, and very funny in a mild, getting-older-in-joke sort of way - you can see some of the set-ups coming a mile off and they're still amusing. There are no remotely Oscar-worthy performances, but the four leads - and Mary Steenburgen - simply radiate effortless subtle acting class and charisma, the script is sharp and there are a couple of good moments where it's slightly more serious that stop it being totally throwaway and allow the actors to work a little.

In contrast to the reviews, I thought it was really pretty good, and I'd probably watch it again some time - maybe being over 50 myself now helps . And although I really enjoyed it, it's probably cured me of any need to actually go and see Las Vegas .

7/10

Completely agree, watched this some time ago with Mrs Haych at her recommendation and thoroughly loved it. A brilliant and heartwarming comedy piece with some quite heavyweight actors who absolutely shine in their respective roles. 

Now that you’ve mentioned it I think I need to watch it again!

Bellycaster

Managed to watch Mad Max for the first time last night. It was only released 41 years ago, so I don't think I took too long to get round to it.

BigBearKris

Extraction on Netflix.

Chris Hemsworth doing the very extracting. Action packed and really well shot. Plot is predicable and acting could be much better, but it was enjoyable 2hrs imho. Switch your brain off and enjoy the shooting/fighting/car chasing scenes.

6/10

Haych

Going in Style. 

Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin are three old time buddies who’ve fallen on hard times. 

Caine is behind with his mortgage and then all three get stuffed over their pension. 

While Caine is at the bank to ask for help, which isn’t forthcoming, three masked and armed men enter and rob the bank. 

This causes Caine to hatch a similar plan. 

Very easy watching and quite funny comedy crime caper. While not hilariously laugh out loud it’s still a really good and light hearted movie and made a welcome change to all the heavy, serial killer type stuff I’ve been watching recently. 

Not outstanding but still highly recommended. 

ICBM

The Day The Earth Stood Still

The original 1951 version - I haven’t seen the remake and I’m not really interested. I had seen it before, as usual decades ago, but I remembered most of it pretty accurately. It’s visually striking for its time and has some very memorable scenes.

It’s a little creaky in the way that pretty much any  film that old seems now, but it’s still fantastic for its age - and considering the prevailing attitudes in the early years after WWII, the message is both surprising and appropriate, but also perhaps illustrates the way society expected to conform - in the end peace will still be imposed by force, as well as cooperation.

It is an all-time classic, worth seeing if you haven’t.

9/10

EricTheWeary

BigBearKris said:

Extraction on Netflix.

Chris Hemsworth doing the very extracting. Action packed and really well shot. Plot is predicable and acting could be much better, but it was enjoyable 2hrs imho. Switch your brain off and enjoy the shooting/fighting/car chasing scenes.

6/10

Extraction.

I think the plot is: Chris Hemsworth is India’s favourite Avenger let’s make a film with Chris Hemsworth and set it in India now that Netflix is really big there. 

The 11 minute fight sequence in the middle ( not a plot spoiler this as it gets mentioned in all the publicity and the film is essentially a series of fight sequences) is quite breathtaking. The body count is quite phenomenal, there’s a lot of running around and shooting and the cinematography is great in parts. There is one very funny line and there are a couple of woah moments. 

Otherwise what Kris said. 

Haych

Get Smart

Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway head up a secret mission for an ultra secret government agency to foil a nemesis organisation from detonating a nuke in downtown LA. 

It’s meant to be a comedy but apart from a couple of scenes it’s not that funny. To be fair the swordfish scene is laugh out loud hilarious but that’s the funniest part of the movie and it’s left to Alan Arkin to deliver the comedy payload. 

Steve Carrell does his usual thing, playing the fool in an ultra serious manner in an attempt to be funny but in this film it doesn’t really work and it becomes a bit cringy. 

I’m not sure what it’s trying to do, in parts it has moments of Austin Powers but fails to capture the same vibe and in other parts it tries to be slapstick in an almost Police Squad kind of way but again fails to make it work. 

It’s watchable but I felt disappointed afterwards. 

5/10

west

ICBM said:

The Day The Earth Stood Still

The original 1951 version - I haven’t seen the remake and I’m not really interested. I had seen it before, as usual decades ago, but I remembered most of it pretty accurately. It’s visually striking for its time and has some very memorable scenes.

It’s a little creaky in the way that pretty much any  film that old seems now, but it’s still fantastic for its age - and considering the prevailing attitudes in the early years after WWII, the message is both surprising and appropriate, but also perhaps illustrates the way society expected to conform - in the end peace will still be imposed by force, as well as cooperation.

It is an all-time classic, worth seeing if you haven’t.

9/10

Gort ...klatu barada nikto ... 

tony99

just watching Road to Bali now, starring Bob and Bing.

Fairly sure most of the supporting cast are not actually balinese here.

EricTheWeary

tony99 said:

just watching Road to Bali now, starring Bob and Bing.

Fairly sure most of the supporting cast are not actually balinese here.

Filmed in Hollywood so probably not. Apparently much of the sand they used for a beach sequence became the bunkers on Bob Hope’s golf course afterwards. 

breakstuff

Mark of the Devil. 

Mexican possession movie currently showing on Netflix. 

Contender for possibly the worst film on Netflix, and that's saying something. An hour and twenty minutes long, but feels twice as long. 

Seriously, don't bother. 

Moominpapa

Stalker (1979)  I first saw it when it came out and I was a student and cineaste. Over the intervening decades my willingness to indulgence Tarkovsky's philosophical dialogues and very long held shots has dwindled, so I find myself giving this 7/10 now rather than the 9 or 10 my younger self would have done. Nevertheless, it's still an amazing visual treat and a deeply serious meditation on what counts as a meaningful life.