What films have you watched recently?

Haych

The Joneses

David Duchovny and Demi Moore as Mr & Mrs Jones move into a luxury home in an affluent area of New York State (I think) joined by their two teenage kids.

They have the perfect life, looking in from the outside, but not all is as it seems.  The family are actually a manufactured unit placed deliberately for a purpose.  Mr Jones clearly has the hots for Mrs Jones but she is all about doing her job and is stand-offish and mechanical.

By the middle of the film the cracks are starting to show in their perfect family but you actually see a glimpse of them as a real family, which was the point I think, and Mrs Jones starts to soften towards Mr Jones.

It's a very intriguing but enjoyable slow burner for the first half of the movie but it turns into a very rewarding watch.  Duchovny has aged incredibly well, as has Demi Moore and they work well together in their roles as the perfect couple.

I'm not sure the film was made with the intention to carry a social message but it's an interesting look into where priorities lie, relationships vs possessions and the caustic nature of materialism.

7.5/10

hollywoodrox

I just watched The Prestige again , I think I read someone on here watched it. Anyway I thought it was going to be the Illusionist at first ,then realised it was the other story. Anyway I really enjoyed my second watching of the film, and the Tesla bit is always quite interesting.

im going to watch the illusionist next  both great films that you would never dream could be so entertaining

hollywoodrox

Haych said:

Bokeh

2017 film about a young American couple on holiday in Iceland. 

One morning they wake up to find out they are alone and everyone else in the country, and possibly the world, has vanished. TV and radio channels are only broadcasting test signals and static and websites are no longer being updated. 

As they try to make sense of what is happening the female character, Jenai, starts to become depressed and longs for the old life while her boyfriend, Riley, wants to make the most of the life they have now and continues to photograph everything on an old Roliflex camera, which I assume is where the film title comes from. 

Beautifully shot with some great photography and quite a captivating film even in the bleakness of the setting and scenario. 

Not much happens in terms of the plot but it’s more about the characters reaction to being the last people alive and the actors, Matt O’Leary and Maika Monroe, do a convincing job. 

Unfortunately, I’m unable to watch a film like this without feeling frustrated there’s no why. I don’t like open endings or make-up-your-own-mind situations. That said I also recognise it’s partially what makes the film so captivating - the why is irrelevant no matter how much you want to know. 

A solid 7/10

That sounds quite good, I was always fascinated by the idea of being the last person left ,especially when younger, imagining what vehicles I would use , dirt bikes and 4wd were faves ,and where I would live and how I would fortify it, just in case of monsters or even worse, other humans. Where I would get weapons from etc , I used to ponder it a lot . I even started to write a story once 

Haych

Eurovision Song Contest

No explanation needed really.  Just a comedy about Iceland in Eurovision.

The real thing bores the tits off me and the film is certainly more entertaining than the contest itself in that respect.

However, it's not really funny, apart from maybe one or two rediculous scenes, and Will Ferrell is just as annoying as in any other film he's in - I think I've only seen him in one film where he didn't irritate me.

The final scene from the contest is a feel good moment so that's a win and if Rachel McAdams is really singing then she's got some good pipes.

Good to see Pierce Brosnan, thought, he's aged well and I'm 100% straight and still think he's probably the second most handsome man I've ever seen on screen.

Can't say it lived up to the hype or its promise.  A mere 6/10 at best.

EricTheWeary

Haych said:

Eurovision Song Contest

No explanation needed really.  Just a comedy about Iceland in Eurovision.

The real thing bores the tits off me and the film is certainly more entertaining than the contest itself in that respect.

However, it's not really funny, apart from maybe one or two rediculous scenes, and Will Ferrell is just as annoying as in any other film he's in - I think I've only seen him in one film where he didn't irritate me.

The final scene from the contest is a feel good moment so that's a win and if Rachel McAdams is really singing then she's got some good pipes.

Good to see Pierce Brosnan, thought, he's aged well and I'm 100% straight and still think he's probably the second most handsome man I've ever seen on screen.

Can't say it lived up to the hype or its promise.  A mere 6/10 at best.

Listened to a review of this yesterday: funny moments but too long and essentially an expensive remake of the Father Ted Eurovision episode. Ferrell's wife is Swedish, I think, so apparently she introduced him to Eurovision and he became fascinated by it. I still might watch it. 

Haych

EricTheWeary said:

Haych said:

Eurovision Song Contest

No explanation needed really.  Just a comedy about Iceland in Eurovision.

The real thing bores the tits off me and the film is certainly more entertaining than the contest itself in that respect.

However, it's not really funny, apart from maybe one or two rediculous scenes, and Will Ferrell is just as annoying as in any other film he's in - I think I've only seen him in one film where he didn't irritate me.

The final scene from the contest is a feel good moment so that's a win and if Rachel McAdams is really singing then she's got some good pipes.

Good to see Pierce Brosnan, thought, he's aged well and I'm 100% straight and still think he's probably the second most handsome man I've ever seen on screen.

Can't say it lived up to the hype or its promise.  A mere 6/10 at best.

Listened to a review of this yesterday: funny moments but too long and essentially an expensive remake of the Father Ted Eurovision episode. Ferrell's wife is Swedish, I think, so apparently she introduced him to Eurovision and he became fascinated by it. I still might watch it. 

Only the Father Ted episode was actually very funny and very good.  It's not an awful film and it wasn't painful to watch but just isn't anywhere near as good as the trailers or hype would make it out to be.

GavRichList

Haych said:

EricTheWeary said:

Haych said:

Eurovision Song Contest

No explanation needed really.  Just a comedy about Iceland in Eurovision.

The real thing bores the tits off me and the film is certainly more entertaining than the contest itself in that respect.

However, it's not really funny, apart from maybe one or two rediculous scenes, and Will Ferrell is just as annoying as in any other film he's in - I think I've only seen him in one film where he didn't irritate me.

The final scene from the contest is a feel good moment so that's a win and if Rachel McAdams is really singing then she's got some good pipes.

Good to see Pierce Brosnan, thought, he's aged well and I'm 100% straight and still think he's probably the second most handsome man I've ever seen on screen.

Can't say it lived up to the hype or its promise.  A mere 6/10 at best.

Listened to a review of this yesterday: funny moments but too long and essentially an expensive remake of the Father Ted Eurovision episode. Ferrell's wife is Swedish, I think, so apparently she introduced him to Eurovision and he became fascinated by it. I still might watch it. 

Only the Father Ted episode was actually very funny and very good.  It's not an awful film and it wasn't painful to watch but just isn't anywhere near as good as the trailers or hype would make it out to be.

we watched it the other night. Felt about 7 hours long, and prompted about one laugh. Not offensively bad, but little better than that and perhaps the most pointless film I've ever seen. Only redeeming feature was the brief appearance of Jamie and Natasia Demitriou.  

Philly_Q

I'm a little intrigued by Eurovision Song Contest just to see if they manage to capture any of the feel of the real thing, or if they're completely clueless.  I suspect the latter.

goldtop

Cloud Atlas. Bloody hell - that required strong concentration for 3 hours! :-/ And I'm still not convinced. The switching between eras/genres is at first thought-provoking and then a bit jarring. Acting was mostly good. The end of the love affair between Wishaw's character and the bloke with the trilby was very moving (Scott tower?). The Neo Seoul story was silly but then more and more unsettling, but the 'Soylent Green' reference in the farcical storyline seemed to poke fun at it. A bizarre almost-epic movie. 6/10

boogieman

Fallen. Decent cast (Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland and James Gandolfini) and an interesting  supernatural plot idea but it never really takes off. It’s like it can’t make its mind up whether it wants to be a cop thriller or The Omen and just ends up being a bit meh. It’s too long as well. 

Worth a watch though, if just to remind you that James Gandolfini was a brilliant actor and Denzel, well, isn’t. 

EricTheWeary

The French Connection.

Use of the N word but a whole variety of racial slurs to choose from. Part of the gritty realism approach and  women appear pretty much only as arm candy. Based on a real case from the early 1960s, apparently the movie made with the cooperation of the police involved and many of the extras were off duty policemen. 
The heroin smuggling plot was so complex and involved so many people I can only imagine that it would have run at a loss anyway. Whereas I normally complain that films are too long this one seems to cut off about ten minutes too soon as the ending is so abrupt. 
However, the shots of New York in 1971 are great ( the World Trade Center as a work in progress in the background) and the central chase sequence still works. The music is all kinds of weird ( oh, guest appearance by The Three Degrees) and Gene Hackman is gripping every second he's on screen. 

andyp

So, after the chat above I did go ahead and watch Hereditary... but did so tentatively.

It was pretty good actually. But weird. Not quite as scary as I thought based on what I’d heard (both on here and many other places) but very unsettling and definitely a horror film. Like every horror film for me (except Scream) I have absolutely no desire to watch it again. But I’d say I “enjoyed” Hereditary.

Haych

Beverly Hills Cop

Oldie but a goodie - not amazing as a lot of people make it out to be but still entertaining for all that.  The plot isn't that strong but Murphy has the charisma to work with it and the chemistry between the characters/actors adds to the films success.

7/10

Beverly Hills Cop II

Since I watched the first one with the Lad he wanted to see the second movie, too.  I don't mind as I think instalment #2 is an improvement on the first.  The relationship between the characters is already explained and set in #1 so the movie is more immediate and the plot is much better too.

8.5/10

Local Hero

I have seen this before but it was on offer from the iTunes Store so for a couple of quid just had to have it.  Delightful, charming and quite brilliant.  Performances from all involved are superb and the story is a gem.

I'll have to watch it again, and I will, as every time I do I always notice something I'd not spotted before that adds to the film's charm and a small internal penny will drop - it's all the tiny subtleties that make the film so wonderful to watch and add up to create a film that seems greater than the sum of its parts.

The scenery is stunning to boot and it doesn't hurt that the score is quite famous in its own right.

No question 10/10

ICBM

Alice Through The Looking Glass

Sequel to the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham-Carter/the usual gang Alice In Wonderland... not much to do with the book.

Visually amazing, especially the animated characters - some of which are a cross between Beauty And The Beast and Blade Runner - but the ‘human’ characters are all somehow flat and a bit irritating, apart from Sacha Baron Cohen, who I’m not normally a huge fan of but is the best thing in this, and the plot is both predictable and disjointed at the same time. I lost interest in the last five or ten minutes for some reason... it seems over-long, even though it’s actually under two hours.

Not quite as bad as the reviews, but still not brilliant.

5/10

EricTheWeary

Philly_Q said:

I'm a little intrigued by Eurovision Song Contest just to see if they manage to capture any of the feel of the real thing, or if they're completely clueless.  I suspect the latter. It's not a very engaging film and the humour is basically let's speak English in bad European accents. 

It's not a very engaging film and the humour is basically let's speak English in a variety of bad European accents.
 Despite some technical points that aren't correct about the contest ( although some of them are correct so I guess it's just stuff done for the sake of what might be described as the plot) this does look the part. And sound the part - there are performances that could pass as the real thing. Someone has done their homework. I've recognised quite a few cameos from Eurovision contestants and I suspect fans would recognise more. There is one big cameo ( if it's a big cameo does it cease to be a cameo?) that came as a nice surprise. 
Err, it makes Iceland and Edinburgh look really nice and there are some attractive people. And Pierce Brosnan is still a hunk at 67 even if his Icelandic accent is pants. 
Really needs chopping down a bit and even then it would still be essentially crap but it is quite a homage to the contest. Anyone entirely unfamiliar with the contest would probably be quite confused by the film.
No nudity, one ( I think) swear word, no violence, mild jeopardy - it's a family film I guess. 

FarleyUK

Machete Kills

Completely ridiculous, over-the-top cheesy B-movie exploitation romp.

Danny Trejo resumes his role as Machete, the pissed off Mexican ex-federale. It's utterly bonkers, and SO GOOD. By just looking at the cast, you know what to expect - Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lady Gaga, Walt Goggins, Emilio Estevez, Antonio Banderas, Michelle Rodriguez etc.

Very recommended!

Haych

Mickey Blue Eyes

Oddly enough I've been wanting to watch this again for a while and then it popped up on Netflix.

I've seen it before a couple of times and really enjoyed it but this time round I noticed a definite drop-off point about two thirds of the way through.

I think all the good stuff in the film comes from Mickey (Hugh Grant) as he inadvertently and reluctantly becomes more and more involved with the mob.  Once he's neck deep the novelty wears off a bit and the film becomes a bit hum-drum.  It's still good, don't get me wrong, but Mickey getting out of sticky brown stuff isn't as much fun as watching him getting dragged in.

I hate to say this but Hugh Grant is rather good, in a bad way - he's the one actor I really want to hate but every time I watch him I can't help but like him, he just has a very disarming charm about him, which paradoxically makes me want to hate him more.  He can't really act for toffee but somehow manages to pull off being the same hapless character in every single film.

7/10

EricTheWeary

The Equalizer 2. 

In this one how to get that classic mid scooped thrash metal...no it’s Denzel Washington stabbing people. I really like the first film, I’m not one for very violent films but the fight scenes were wrapped around some quite touching bits of human interaction and I liked the character of McCall played by Washington . That isn’t totally lost in 2 but it’s struggling to be heard in an otherwise fairly off the shelf revenge movie which contains absolutely no surprises as it progresses. 

But as stabby revenge movies go it’s not unintelligent and it’s well paced and there’s an attempt to take things to a different level ( okay, weird camera angles). 

My memory of the first one says it’s better and will give you a bit more background -  that’s also currently on Netflix so I’d start there if you haven’t seen it. 

Haych

I quite liked both the EQ movies but thought they were a bit OTT in the violence shown. It was a bit unnecessary and didn’t add to the movie. 

My biggest issue is Washington. He’s ok but he just didn’t fit the character in my mind. Will Smith would have fit the role much better IMHO.  

EricTheWeary

Haych said:

I quite liked both the EQ movies but thought they were a bit OTT in the violence shown. It was a bit unnecessary and didn’t add to the movie. 

My biggest issue is Washington. He’s ok but he just didn’t fit the character in my mind. Will Smith would have fit the role much better IMHO.  

I like that Denzil is an ordinary guy with a past, I think Will Smith might have been a bit too much Black Bond maybe. They are very violent although I’m okay with a small amount of graphic violence - I guess that it’s seen to have consequences. I was more shocked by watching The Mandalorian on Disney+ which has a massive body count, no blood spilled and is sold as family entertainment.  At least in the EQ movies we can see that violence is a nasty thing and they make some attempt to engage in the morality of it.