What films have you watched recently?

John_P

The Old guard  on netflix with Charlize Theron playing an updated version of highlander idea.   
A few plot holes and (mostly) quite predictable but I thought it was great. Some of the action scenes are great with clever use of their highlander like powers.   It's set up for a sequel so hopefully that goes ahead.        

Snap

Yearofthegoat said:

My son (and I) realised that the 'last' film in the Marvel set (EDIT: 'Infinity Saga', apparently) is actually Spider-Man Far From Home, not Endgame.

So, we got hold of that and watched it the other night. He's 9 and he thought it was bloody fantastic.

I'm way over 9 and I thought it was, well, actually pretty good. Some very good Spider-Man action and some fairly good plot twists and turns along the way. Better than I expected and it does kind of add something to the wider story, post-Thanos/Endgame events.

Well worth it if you're a fan of Marvel and/or the Friendly Neighborhood webslinger and while not the best in the set it's far from the worst.

9/10 (him)   7.5/10 (me)

I am a big Marvel fan having grown up on the comics in the 70s, Spider Man being my favourite. I think the new films are terrible. Spider Man wasn't a 15 year old kid, and these new ones are too much like Grange Hill with webs. The Andrew Garfield ones are better IMO, especially the second one which is quite dark. 

Spidey is a young adult working as a photographer, not a mid teen doing his GCSEs. Doesn't work. Also, Spidey is pretty hard too, and teeny weedy Tom doesn't carry it off. He's like a boil washed Tom Daly. Not having it!!!

Michael Keaton was good as the Vulture though, but the new take on Mysterio - crap! He was a top baddie in the comics.

RandallFlagg

Greyhound

The new 2020 WWII Battle of the Atlantic movie starring Tom Hanks revolving around a US convoy crossing the black pit of the Atlantic out of reach of air cover as they are hunted by a German wolf pack of U Boats.

I love a good WWII movie and this one is fast paced, gets straight into it, looks great and is tense. It's a little melodramatic at the very end with the usual US soldiers cheering for "'m-er-i-cu" but that's easily overlooked. The taunting messages from the U Boat commanders was a nice touch.

It's no Band Of Brothers but Tom Hanks is excellent, as usual, as is Stephen Graham.  

8/10 for me.

jdbwales

Snap said:

Yearofthegoat said:

My son (and I) realised that the 'last' film in the Marvel set (EDIT: 'Infinity Saga', apparently) is actually Spider-Man Far From Home, not Endgame.

So, we got hold of that and watched it the other night. He's 9 and he thought it was bloody fantastic.

I'm way over 9 and I thought it was, well, actually pretty good. Some very good Spider-Man action and some fairly good plot twists and turns along the way. Better than I expected and it does kind of add something to the wider story, post-Thanos/Endgame events.

Well worth it if you're a fan of Marvel and/or the Friendly Neighborhood webslinger and while not the best in the set it's far from the worst.

9/10 (him)   7.5/10 (me)

I am a big Marvel fan having grown up on the comics in the 70s, Spider Man being my favourite. I think the new films are terrible. Spider Man wasn't a 15 year old kid, and these new ones are too much like Grange Hill with webs. The Andrew Garfield ones are better IMO, especially the second one which is quite dark. 

Spidey is a young adult working as a photographer, not a mid teen doing his GCSEs. Doesn't work. Also, Spidey is pretty hard too, and teeny weedy Tom doesn't carry it off. He's like a boil washed Tom Daly. Not having it!!!

Michael Keaton was good as the Vulture though, but the new take on Mysterio - crap! He was a top baddie in the comics.

Have all the wisdoms - the new Spider-Man films are bloody awful. He was supposed to be resourceful and clever, he spends most of the new films falling over and being unable to do anything at all without technology or Tony Stark. 

andyp

I finally watched Almost Famous this week. My brother used to go on about it back when it was new. I knew nothing about it and had no idea what to expect. It was brilliant!

I had always pictured it being dark, deep and druggy but it was nothing like that, and I loved it.

Blueingreen

My Favourite Wife

1940.  Typical Cary Grant vehicle screwball comedy, not among his best but entertaining enough if it's your sort of thing. Irene Dunne co-stars: her performance is perfectly serviceable but she's no Katherine Hepburn.  Slightly risque for the period - the plot has Dunne, Grant's wife and the mother of his children, stranded on an island for 7 years with beefcake Randolph Scott, and there's a "did they or didn't they" anxiety for Grant that never gets resolved, deliberately leaving open the possibility (or, given the 7 years, probability?) of her infidelity.  7/10

Haych

Cape Fear

The 1991 remake. Can’t believe I’ve never seen this before. Almost everyone I know who has seen it rates it as an amazing film. 

They’re all wrong. 

It’s ok, but not worth of the praise it seems to attract. It’s very much of its time and hasn’t aged particularly well. 

Performances are good even if Nick Nolte is a bit over dramatic but the plot has no hidden twists and it much of a muchness, a standard format for these types of movies. 

The film score is particularly annoying and relentless. Overloud and over dramatic and is just plain irritating. 

6/10

The Last Boy Scout

 Mrs Haych has been wanting me to see this for ages so we finally watched it last night. As usual, Mrs Haych fell asleep on the sofa well before the end. 

It’s Bruce so can’t be terrible (Hudson Hawk accounted for) and doesn’t disappoint. It’s worth watching just for the one liners Bruce gets to deliver. 

The plot isn’t complicated but it is convoluted and takes too long to get to the last stop on the journey. 

The dialog is quite mumbly which makes it annoying to watch and it’s very sweary which, as I’m sure I’ve said many times before, is unnecessary and adds nothing. I don’t know anybody who talks like that in real life. 

6/10 for the mumblyness, swearing and plot that goes round too many houses. 

boogieman

The Mummy. Late 1950s “horror” with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing (plus lots of other British actors where you think “oh, it’s him” but can’t actually name them). The fact that the film was shown at 9 in the morning should tell you how horrific it was.  

EricTheWeary

Baby Driver.

I guess everything Spacey is a bit tainted now. Anyway, I have seen it before but didn’t remember it well. I’m slightly torn between thinking the use of music is what elevates this into something extraordinary or what takes a thriller and makes it slightly silly. But some great moments.

Philly_Q

EricTheWeary said:

Baby Driver.

I guess everything Spacey is a bit tainted now. Anyway, I have seen it before but didn’t remember it well. I’m slightly torn between thinking the use of music is what elevates this into something extraordinary or what takes a thriller and makes it slightly silly. But some great moments.

I found the synchronisation of the music and on-screen action quite distracting at first, to the extent that I almost felt I might have to stop watching.  But I got used to it.  I think it's a very good film and Edgar Wright's an extremely talented writer-director.  Hot Fuzz isn't just a great action-comedy film, it's a great action film AND a great comedy film.  And similarly for Shaun of the Dead as a comedy-horror.

UnclePsychosis

EricTheWeary said:

Baby Driver.

I guess everything Spacey is a bit tainted now. Anyway, I have seen it before but didn’t remember it well. I’m slightly torn between thinking the use of music is what elevates this into something extraordinary or what takes a thriller and makes it slightly silly. But some great moments.

I love Baby Driver, I thought it was incredible. The cinematography is so well done. 

Re-watched Labyrinth this weekend. Bowie is pretty good but I remain convinced that the only reason people like this film is nostalgia. The puppets are cool but everything else is a bit of a mess.  

EricTheWeary

Philly_Q said:

EricTheWeary said:

Baby Driver.

I guess everything Spacey is a bit tainted now. Anyway, I have seen it before but didn’t remember it well. I’m slightly torn between thinking the use of music is what elevates this into something extraordinary or what takes a thriller and makes it slightly silly. But some great moments.

I found the synchronisation of the music and on-screen action quite distracting at first, to the extent that I almost felt I might have to stop watching.  But I got used to it.  I think it's a very good film and Edgar Wright's an extremely talented writer-director.  Hot Fuzz isn't just a great action-comedy film, it's a great action film AND a great comedy film.  And similarly for Shaun of the Dead as a comedy-horror.

UnclePsychosis said:

EricTheWeary said:

Baby Driver.

I guess everything Spacey is a bit tainted now. Anyway, I have seen it before but didn’t remember it well. I’m slightly torn between thinking the use of music is what elevates this into something extraordinary or what takes a thriller and makes it slightly silly. But some great moments.

I love Baby Driver, I thought it was incredible. The cinematography is so well done. 

It is incredibly well done so it's something to be appreciated even if you don't like the film. I wonder if some people watch the whole film and don't even realise it's synchronized. 

zedhex

The Sisters Brothers on Netflix. Bloody excellent - I'm normally very reticent about giving recommendations for movies, as I usually find something to whinge about. Not this time, great script, beautifully acted, well shot, and an excellent story. 

Philly_Q

The Old Guard

Charlize Theron plays the leader of a small group of immortal soldiers who've lived through centuries fighting for what's right, or something. 

I was expecting a bit of mindless action, what I got was mind-numbing boredom.  For the most part it's talky, dull and humourless.  Theron's standard badass character is becoming decidedly old hat, although she does eventually have a couple of good action scenes.  Quite what Matthias Schoenaerts and Chiwetel Ejiofor are doing in this load of old tosh is anyone's guess.  The whole thing seems like its main purpose is to set up a sequel - or series - which will probably never happen.

Haych

The Princess Bride

I've seen this sooooooo many times before but it's still a winner in my mind.

Just a fabulous film with a perfect mix of action, humour and even the romance bit is okay.

Performances are great in the context of the film and the cameo appearances of Mel Smith and Billy Crystal are perfectly placed in the film's sequence.

The writing is wonderful and it's the kind of film that knows it's a little bit ridiculous and is comfortable with it.

Just love it - 10/10

Aidanspaghetti

Haych said:

The Princess Bride

I've seen this sooooooo many times before but it's still a winner in my mind.

Just a fabulous film with a perfect mix of action, humour and even the romance bit is okay.

Performances are great in the context of the film and the cameo appearances of Mel Smith and Billy Crystal are perfectly placed in the film's sequence.

The writing is wonderful and it's the kind of film that knows it's a little bit ridiculous and is comfortable with it.

Just love it - 10

ANNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDD Nigel Tufnel is in it =0

DrJazzTap

Parasite. 9/10 A seriously good film, every bit as good as the reviews make it out to be.

not_the_dj

Rambo:Last Blood.

Pretty horrible film really, wish I'd spotted the review at the top of this page suggesting it's one to avoid...it certainly is.

goldtop

Jupiter Ascending. Meh.Nonsensical story in a nonsensical universe. The CGI set piece fight/battle scenes are very, VERY protracted, with too much distracting detail. Sean Bean plays ... well, Sean Bean (again). And Redmayne is woefully miscast as this sort of villain. 3/10

BigBearKris

''The Silencing''.

2020 Drama/Thriller with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

 Old animal hunter finds himself in the middle of serial killer spree, hunter is being hunted...
 I'm a sucker for a good US rural drama, and this one didn't disappoint in regards to the setting. Plot is fairly predictable, acting is OK, climate is great.  Reminded me a little about ''Wind River'' which I rate highly, it wasn't that good, but very watchable.

6/10