What films have you watched recently?

Philly_Q

tony99 said:

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?

It's on Netflix, not sure about anywhere else - I'm very new to streaming channels and I don't know if the same films appear in lots of different places!

I also watched another "dinner party" film called Would You Rather, which is more of a horror movie.  It's got Jeffrey Combs in it so there's some dark humour but it's pretty bleak.  Not bad.

Haych

Philly_Q said:

I also watched another "dinner party" film called Would You Rather, which is more of a horror movie.  It's got Jeffrey Combs in it so there's some dark humour but it's pretty bleak.  Not bad.

Watched this a couple of years back and thought it was nothing more than shock horror for the sake of it. No actual plot, just a bunch of people trapped in a room forced to choose between two unspeakable actions by a sadistic captor. 

If you want a better film along the same lines then The Killing Room is equally uncomfortable to watch but executed (pardon the pun) far better. 

EricTheWeary

Award winning British independent short film Beverley -  the racial turmoil of Leicester in 1980, ska and reggae. It’s probably not life changing stuff but it’s an interesting 25 minutes: 

https://youtu.be/6vbibz40Usw

Also features a brief appearance by Christine Staple whom I have met, she did a DJ set at a gig I played once and I got to say hello to her and hubby Neville Staple. 

Philly_Q

Haych said:

Philly_Q said:

I also watched another "dinner party" film called Would You Rather, which is more of a horror movie.  It's got Jeffrey Combs in it so there's some dark humour but it's pretty bleak.  Not bad.

Watched this a couple of years back and thought it was nothing more than shock horror for the sake of it. No actual plot, just a bunch of people trapped in a room forced to choose between two unspeakable actions by a sadistic captor. 

I probably cut it some slack due to Jeffrey Combs - fond memories of Re-Animator, The Frighteners etc.  He's always good even in bad films.

JezWynd

Just finished watching Darkest Hour. I was a bit unsure initially - the heavy makeup, while brilliantly done, left occasional glimpses of Gary Oldman within which I found distracting at first; trying to work out what was Gary - eyes and mouth I eventually figured. Finally, in the last 40 mins, the drama took over and I was completely sold on his Churchill. A remarkable film and I’m now interested enough to seek out bio’s of Churchill to find out if he was as fumbling and uncertain as the film indicates.

boogieman

Den of Thieves. Gerard Butler as a loud, overbearing, aggressive US cop trying to solve a series of crimes that he knows are done by a certain crook but can’t prove. Has echoes of Heat but not nearly as well as well done. It’s ok, it’s well paced and has some good action scenes, but there’s some pointless scenes, some gaping plot holes and the ending didn’t make a whole lot of sense. (But maybe I missed something vital?) Worth a watch if you’re bored I guess. 

ICBM

JezWynd said:

Just finished watching Darkest Hour. I was a bit unsure initially - the heavy makeup, while brilliantly done, left occasional glimpses of Gary Oldman within which I found distracting at first; trying to work out what was Gary - eyes and mouth I eventually figured. Finally, in the last 40 mins, the drama took over and I was completely sold on his Churchill. A remarkable film and I’m now interested enough to seek out bio’s of Churchill to find out if he was as fumbling and uncertain as the film indicates.

I thought his performance was fantastic, but that the rest of the film wasn't really in the same league. I think you might be surprised about Churchill too - it seems obvious to us now that he was the great inspirational figure with a sense of destiny who led us to victory, but that was far from clear at the time.

Blueingreen

The Untouchables.  Saw this many years ago, remember think of it as solid MOR entertainment but nothing special. I liked it much more this time around. Partly I think because the first time I would have been irritated by implausibilities I now happily accept as genre conventions:  for example, the putting together of the "gang" is ludicrously far fetched as a piece of realism but works just fine as narrative set-up. referencing Seven Samurai and similar films.

I'm not a huge De Palma fan but this had his trademark visual flair but with a bit more heart than usual - and Connery is magnificent. My main criticism is that it is a film of two halves: I'd give the set up 9/10, the development and denouement 7.5.  The "homage" to the Odessa Steps scene in Battleship Potemkin was a bravura demonstration of skill but self-indulgent.  8/10 overall.

Haych

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

A touching and funny feel good movie set in New Zealand. 

Ricky is a troubled young teenager who’s been in, and failed by, the system all his life. He’s fostered by an old couple, Bella and Hector, who live in the middle of the bush. Hector doesn’t really want the kid and makes it quite apparent but Bella dotes on him. 

Bella dies and after the funeral Ricky runs away into the bush to escape being sucked back into the system again. Hector goes looking for him and after finding him breaks his ankle so they spend the next few weeks living wild while his ankle heals. 

While they’re off grid a manhunt begins for Hector who they assume has gone mad after the death of his wife and has abducted the kid. 

They spend the next few months hiding and running from authority in the New Zealand outback and they finally forge the relationship both of them have clearly been craving. 

Most of the cast is unknown and apart from Sam Neill as Hector the only other face I recognised was Rhys Darby who plays a crazy hermit towards the end of the film. 

It’s easy watching, sometimes a bit slow but still quite delightful. The scenery, being set in New Zealand, is stunning and Sam Neill is excellent as the weathered, old, illiterate bushman. 

7/10

tony99

Haych said:

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

A touching and funny feel good movie set in New Zealand. 

Ricky is a troubled young teenager who’s been in, and failed by, the system all his life. He’s fostered by an old couple, Bella and Hector, who live in the middle of the bush. Hector doesn’t really want the kid and makes it quite apparent but Bella dotes on him. 

Bella dies and after the funeral Ricky runs away into the bush to escape being sucked back into the system again. Hector goes looking for him and after finding him breaks his ankle so they spend the next few weeks living wild while his ankle heals. 

While they’re off grid a manhunt begins for Hector who they assume has gone mad after the death of his wife and has abducted the kid. 

They spend the next few months hiding and running from authority in the New Zealand outback and they finally forge the relationship both of them have clearly been craving. 

Most of the cast is unknown and apart from Sam Neill as Hector the only other face I recognised was Rhys Darby who plays a crazy hermit towards the end of the film. 

It’s easy watching, sometimes a bit slow but still quite delightful. The scenery, being set in New Zealand, is stunning and Sam Neill is excellent as the weathered, old, illiterate bushman. 

7/10

Sam Neill is unbelievably good in that, watched it the other day

boogieman

tony99 said:

Haych said:

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

A touching and funny feel good movie set in New Zealand. 

Ricky is a troubled young teenager who’s been in, and failed by, the system all his life. He’s fostered by an old couple, Bella and Hector, who live in the middle of the bush. Hector doesn’t really want the kid and makes it quite apparent but Bella dotes on him. 

Bella dies and after the funeral Ricky runs away into the bush to escape being sucked back into the system again. Hector goes looking for him and after finding him breaks his ankle so they spend the next few weeks living wild while his ankle heals. 

While they’re off grid a manhunt begins for Hector who they assume has gone mad after the death of his wife and has abducted the kid. 

They spend the next few months hiding and running from authority in the New Zealand outback and they finally forge the relationship both of them have clearly been craving. 

Most of the cast is unknown and apart from Sam Neill as Hector the only other face I recognised was Rhys Darby who plays a crazy hermit towards the end of the film. 

It’s easy watching, sometimes a bit slow but still quite delightful. The scenery, being set in New Zealand, is stunning and Sam Neill is excellent as the weathered, old, illiterate bushman. 

7/10

Sam Neill is unbelievably good in that, watched it the other day

Just as a side point, Sam Neill has his own winery called Two Paddocks. We tried a bottle of the Pinot Noir when we were in NZ a few months back, delicious stuff. Amazon sell it here but charge £40 a bottle. 

fields5069

I just watched Joker. He's quite a good actor, that Joaquin Phoenix.

Dopesick

November

One of the most visually stunning movies I’ve seen in a while. Set in 19th Century Estonia, it’s a mix of romance, dark fantasy and drama, with a bewildering plot and strange contorted man-made creatures called ‘kratts’. I got lost quite a few times but carried on watching because it was so pleasing to look at. May give it another go at some stage.

Moominpapa

Dopesick said:

November

One of the most visually stunning movies I’ve seen in a while. Set in 19th Century Estonia, it’s a mix of romance, dark fantasy and drama, with a bewildering plot and strange contorted man-made creatures called ‘kratts’. I got lost quite a few times but carried on watching because it was so pleasing to look at. May give it another go at some stage.

@Dopesick Agreed. The whole Family Moomin loved this film, so much so that son #1 commissioned son #2 to do a piece of November  themed artwork to use as background for a series of songs he's putting on YouTube. The image was given a Japanese twist (don't ask) but anyone who knows the film will immediately recognize it. If you're interested, the first one is here:

(The written text is a central quote from the film, done in kanji)

Do watch the film again - I picked up on plenty of things I missed the first time around.

Haych

Tried watching The Angriest Man in Brooklyn this evening. 

Thought it would be a goodun since it stars Robin Williams but it started off a bit sweary and it had none of the usual Robin Williams hilarity. 

It was promptly given the off button after the c-bomb was dropped about ten minutes in!

JezWynd

ICBM said:

JezWynd said:

Just finished watching Darkest Hour. I was a bit unsure initially - the heavy makeup, while brilliantly done, left occasional glimpses of Gary Oldman within which I found distracting at first; trying to work out what was Gary - eyes and mouth I eventually figured. Finally, in the last 40 mins, the drama took over and I was completely sold on his Churchill. A remarkable film and I’m now interested enough to seek out bio’s of Churchill to find out if he was as fumbling and uncertain as the film indicates.

I thought his performance was fantastic, but that the rest of the film wasn't really in the same league. I think you might be surprised about Churchill too - it seems obvious to us now that he was the great inspirational figure with a sense of destiny who led us to victory, but that was far from clear at the time.

Yes, in retrospect it is a bit of a mixed bag. Gary Oldman’s performance is astonishing but the parts of him that showed through the makeup didn’t seem like Churchill - they were too soft, youthful perhaps. It dragged my attention away at first but the drama grabbed me eventually. 

After trawling through a bunch of bio’s of Churchill, I’ve settled on Max Hastings war years book. After that one I’ll read Churchill’s own My Early Life. 

starwarsnosebleed

Recently watched The Fanatic.  

Produced by Fred Durst, with John Travolta playing a ...well.. fanatical fanboy who seems to have some sort of autism, and obsessive tendancies.

Really liked it, pleasantly surprised. 

not_the_dj

Watching a few War Movies this week.

Patton (1970) Never seen this before, proper old school war movie, mass battle scenes and bloody long....the DVD even had an Intermission! Seems pretty close to the real story after reading up about him afterwards. Oscar winning performance in the title role by George C Scott. Brilliant.

Hurricane (2018) The story of the Polish airmen (including Ramsey Bolton from GoT) who came over to fly for the RAF in WW2. 
Certainly a story that needs to be told, but massively let down by the really poor CGI aerial footage, and some lazily written cliche characters. A let down.

Blaendulais

Extraction

Dismal unbelievably bad action movie with rotten script.  Chris Hemsworth has given up the juice and paid for it.  

BigBearKris

Blaendulais said:

Extraction

Dismal unbelievably bad action movie with rotten script.  Chris Hemsworth has given up the juice and paid for it.  

Visually stunning and thoroughly entertaining though. 
Proper lockdown movie ;-)