What films have you watched recently?

hollywoodrox

Ready player one ( I thought I’d watched it after reading the book but remembered when I went to watch it the first time it was in Russian )

equilibrium . Second time I’ve seen it. Very excellent film 

hollywoodrox

Isn’t the director a stunt coordinator who worked  on some big movies ?

Philly_Q said:

Extraction

There's nothing remotely original about it but it's good entertaining stuff with lots of fighting, shooting, helicopter explosions etc.  Good effort from the first-time director to make something on such a big scale.  But I have to say, less than 24 hours later it's already starting to fade in my memory.

Philly_Q

hollywoodrox said:

Isn’t the director a stunt coordinator who worked  on some big movies ?

Philly_Q said:

Extraction

There's nothing remotely original about it but it's good entertaining stuff with lots of fighting, shooting, helicopter explosions etc.  Good effort from the first-time director to make something on such a big scale.  But I have to say, less than 24 hours later it's already starting to fade in my memory.

Yeah, he's been stunt coordinator on a couple of Marvel films working with the Russo brothers, who also produced and co-wrote Extraction.  Still a big step up to direct something like this.

ICBM

Love & Mercy

About Brian Wilson, the making of Pet Sounds, and his descent into mental illness and eventual rescue from his controlling personal doctor.

It starts a bit slowly and disjointedly and I wasn’t hooked at first - partly because the main star John Cusack isn’t totally convincing as the middle-aged Wilson, although Paul Dano as his younger self is, very - as are the rest of the cast in the 60s sections - but it quickly becomes compelling. It’s slightly surreal, but I suspect that’s not inaccurate... and for musicians, the live and studio scenes are fantastic, with what appears to be amazing detail accuracy for a movie. The 80s bits are like something out of a TV drama, but having read up on what actually happened to him, that’s also disturbingly accurate!

MrsICBM was very impressed too, although knowing very little about him, so it’s not just for recording-studio geeks .

8/10

Philly_Q

The Invitation

A man struggling to deal with the death, a couple of years earlier, of his young son is invited to a dinner party with his ex, her new partner and a group of friends.  Lots of simmering tension, and I honestly didn't know if it was going to explode into violence or just be a tale of folks finding different ways of dealing with grief and loss.  Not very cheerful, but very well done.

ICBM

Metropolis

Fritz Lang’s 1927 dystopian future classic. After Battleship Potemkin, probably the earliest film I’ve seen - I had never seen the whole thing before, although like most of us I was familiar with elements of it, including via Queen’s Radio Gaga video.

The whole movie is in heavily damaged condition and parts of it are difficult to see detail in now, but it must have been astounding in its day - some of the imagery is remarkable given when it was made, and has clearly directly influenced sci-fi movies right up to the present. As well as the iconic robot, one of the things that struck me most was a scene which includes what is effectively CCTV - in 1927, Baird had only demonstrated a very primitive form of television a year earlier, and nothing like the detailed picture here.

The characters and acting do appear very cartoonish by modern standards, but it can’t really be judged on that. If you’re at all interested in this type of film or even just in the history of film-making, it’s well worth seeing. Probably one of the most important films ever made.

10/10

Haych

The BlackkKlansman

I’d wanted to see this for a while but missed it at the cinema and it’s taken me this long to convince Mrs Haych to give it a go. 

It’s a bit slow starting, the wife wasn’t bought in and thought she might give up but when the story picks up it’s worth sticking with. 

From the start I was extremely impressed by the visual quality of the film, the photography, lighting, camera angles have all been thought about and it’s beautifully filmed. 

The film is based on true events, which I wasn’t aware of when I first started watching, and it obviously carries a very strong social message. It handles the message very well and has some moments of dark humour throughout. The fact that some moments aren’t easy to watch is testament to the acting, particularly on the part of those playing the white supremacists - the injustice, bigotry and hate pours out of the film and we certainly felt sick for it, not at the film but knowing the attitudes portrayed are real and not just entertainment. 

I really enjoyed, for want of a better word, the film and glad I stuck with the slow start. The end of the story was hilarious when Ray finally tells Duke he’s been talking to a black man all along. 

The film ends with a few minutes of footage from 2017 black lives matter marches. It’s clear that though the film is set in the 70s the attitudes portrayed are still alive and kicking well into the 21st century. 

If I had to give it a score I think 8/10 would be fair. 

EricTheWeary

Haych said:

The BlackkKlansman

I’d wanted to see this for a while but missed it at the cinema and it’s taken me this long to convince Mrs Haych to give it a go. 

It’s a bit slow starting, the wife wasn’t bought in and thought she might give up but when the story picks up it’s worth sticking with. 

From the start I was extremely impressed by the visual quality of the film, the photography, lighting, camera angles have all been thought about and it’s beautifully filmed. 

The film is based on true events, which I wasn’t aware of when I first started watching, and it obviously carries a very strong social message. It handles the message very well and has some moments of dark humour throughout. The fact that some moments aren’t easy to watch is testament to the acting, particularly on the part of those playing the white supremacists - the injustice, bigotry and hate pours out of the film and we certainly felt sick for it, not at the film but knowing the attitudes portrayed are real and not just entertainment. 

I really enjoyed, for want of a better word, the film and glad I stuck with the slow start. The end of the story was hilarious when Ray finally tells Duke he’s been talking to a black man all along. 

The film ends with a few minutes of footage from 2017 black lives matter marches. It’s clear that though the film is set in the 70s the attitudes portrayed are still alive and kicking well into the 21st century. 

If I had to give it a score I think 8/10 would be fair. 

I mentioned it a few pages back ( I think). I hadn’t been interested because it was promoted as a wacky comedy,  which it isn’t - there is humour but it’s more intelligent and interesting than I thought it was going to be. 

goldtop

Snowpiercer. Ludicrous premise, super-linear storyline, but many twists and turns while delivering the obvious message. Tilda Swinton superb. Not sure about the ending. 7/10

boogieman

The Colony. SciFi thing free on Prime. It had Lawrence/Larry “I’ll do anything for a pay check” Fishburne as the lead, which should tell you plenty. Ludicrous sub-Mad Max crossed with climate change plot. 

I’ve taken one for the team and saved you all the bother of watching this tosh. Thank me later. 2/10. 

AlexC

goldtop said:

Snowpiercer. Ludicrous premise, super-linear storyline, but many twists and turns while delivering the obvious message. Tilda Swinton superb. Not sure about the ending. 7/10

Where did you see this? Been wanting to watch it for a while but's not avaible on UK DVD - was it on a streaming service?

goldtop

AlexC said:

goldtop said:

Snowpiercer. Ludicrous premise, super-linear storyline, but many twists and turns while delivering the obvious message. Tilda Swinton superb. Not sure about the ending. 7/10

Where did you see this? Been wanting to watch it for a while but's not avaible on UK DVD - was it on a streaming service?

Um... I accidentally found it on Youtube when I was looking for a LOLcat compilation. I'm sure it's legit and the Indonesian subtitles are just a glitch.

(It's still there.)

Moominpapa

ICBM said:

Metropolis

Fritz Lang’s 1927 dystopian future classic. After Battleship Potemkin, probably the earliest film I’ve seen - I had never seen the whole thing before, although like most of us I was familiar with elements of it, including via Queen’s Radio Gaga video.

The whole movie is in heavily damaged condition and parts of it are difficult to see detail in now, but it must have been astounding in its day - some of the imagery is remarkable given when it was made, and has clearly directly influenced sci-fi movies right up to the present. As well as the iconic robot, one of the things that struck me most was a scene which includes what is effectively CCTV - in 1927, Baird had only demonstrated a very primitive form of television a year earlier, and nothing like the detailed picture here.

The characters and acting do appear very cartoonish by modern standards, but it can’t really be judged on that. If you’re at all interested in this type of film or even just in the history of film-making, it’s well worth seeing. Probably one of the most important films ever made.

10/10

Agree, it is an amazing film for its time. I can't remember when I saw it - would have been at least 40 or more years ago, but I remember it being a decent copy at the time. Would be a tragedy if such an iconic piece of cinema history were no longer viewable all the way though.

EricTheWeary

The Eagle Has Landed.

( on BBC2 earlier and on the iPlayer)

To the best of my memory the first ever film I saw at the cinema ( whilst on holiday in Dunoon). Those on here who like spotting inaccuracies would probably have a field day with it and it isn’t really a great film. Filmed in England in the long hot summer of 1976 so it all looks oddly sunny. Some funny lines and a young Jenny Agutter in a rare non topless role. Based on a novel it’s a WWII movie shot from a German perspective which must have been a bit of an oddity at the time. Classic, old style war movie. I look forward to watching it again in another forty years.

Does include this place:

https://i.imgur.com/ETZZsqQ.jpg

AlexC

goldtop said:

AlexC said:

goldtop said:

Snowpiercer. Ludicrous premise, super-linear storyline, but many twists and turns while delivering the obvious message. Tilda Swinton superb. Not sure about the ending. 7/10

Where did you see this? Been wanting to watch it for a while but's not avaible on UK DVD - was it on a streaming service?

Um... I accidentally found it on Youtube when I was looking for a LOLcat compilation. I'm sure it's legit and the Indonesian subtitles are just a glitch.

(It's still there.)

Haha! Thanks!

DrJazzTap

Freejack......it was made in the early 90s and it's got Mick Jagger in.  That's all you need to know.

SteveRobinson

Just watched The Matrix. Twenty years on its still pretty good.

tony99

Philly_Q said:

The Invitation

A man struggling to deal with the death, a couple of years earlier, of his young son is invited to a dinner party with his ex, her new partner and a group of friends.  Lots of simmering tension, and I honestly didn't know if it was going to explode into violence or just be a tale of folks finding different ways of dealing with grief and loss.  Not very cheerful, but very well done.

that sounds interesting, where can I see this?

Haych

Dangerous Lies

A 2020 made for TV thriller on Netflix. 

A young couple starting out struggle financially. The wife gets a job as a carer for a lonely and wealthy old man (Elliot Gould) who learns of the couple’s difficulties and tries to help. An estate agent turns up and wants to buy the house but is told it’s not for sale. 

Old man dies and after the funeral a lawyer informs the lass that the man has left everything in his estate to her in his will. 

Then the trouble and mistrust begins. 

It’s alright, certainly not terrible, but has all been done before. It’s most certainly predictable to a point and the plot demands at least one big question that can’t be answered in a satisfying way. 

It seemed to be a fairly low budget affair, the main actors I’ve never heard of before and the director is unknown to me. The plot was decent but it needed more tension and paranoia to sell it, which the director and the two actors playing husband and wife weren’t able to pull off. 

6/10

ICBM

Immortal Beloved

Gary Oldman as Beethoven, with a mystery surrounding which one of his various mistresses he’s supposed to have written a letter to. It’s unlikely to be historically accurate... but Oldman is brilliant as usual, the rest of the cast is good, and it’s well directed with some very memorable and emotive imagery. It probably suffers a bit from having followed Amadeus, and being judged by comparison - there are certainly similarities in the way the story is told - but it’s still a very good film in its own right, and I think better than it was given credit for at the time.

8/10