What films have you watched recently?

sinbaadi

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Quite fascinating.  If you don't know everything about Vietnam war protests already then this will be an eye opener.  Corruption, prejudice, scapegoating, brutality, all the good stuff.   
We really enjoyed it, even if it is quite exasperating in a "how can this have happened but what could you do about it?!" kind of way, all the way along.

Good cast and some really good performances.

It's on Netflix, I'd recommend it!

not_the_dj

“Overlord” on Netflix. 

American soldiers in WW2 have to knock out a radio tower the night before D-day, but discover the nasty nazi’s secret experiments.

Starts all gung-ho war film then descends into horror. 

Reminded me a bit of ‘Dog Soldiers’, but nowhere near as good. 

Still a bit of stupid fun for late night viewing. 

Philly_Q

not_the_dj said:

“Overlord” on Netflix. 

American soldiers in WW2 have to knock out a radio tower the night before D-day, but discover the nasty nazi’s secret experiments.

Starts all gung-ho war film then descends into horror. 

Reminded me a bit of ‘Dog Soldiers’, but nowhere near as good. 

Still a bit of stupid fun for late night viewing. 

I saw an extended trailer/preview for that and thought it looked amazing.  When I actually watched it I was very disappointed by the scale of the thing, all set in that one location - I was imagining something epic with whole armies of Nazi monsters.

Still worth a low-expectation watch though.

Dopesick

‘I’m Thinking Of Ending Things’

Saw this about a week ago but can’t quite work out if it’s one of the best or one of the dullest nonsensical movies I’ve seen for ages. The car scenes went on for waaaay too long.

boogieman

Platoon. Haven’t seen this for donkeys years and it’s been on ITV recently so I thought I’d give it a whirl. Firstly, I have to say the broadcast quality was terrible..the darker lit scenes look really stripey and pixelated. It also hasn’t aged particularly well in terms of effects and some of the acting is a bit stilted. Great story though and still very moving at times (the raid on the village particularly). I also hadn’t realised Johnny Depp was in it, he looks really baby faced. 

EricTheWeary

My son is watching The Selfish Giant so I’m watching chunks of it. The name is taken from an Oscar Wilde short story about Jesus.

Gritty British drama, it’s miserable living oop North (Bradford in this case), all the kids swear at adults, teachers are pompous gits,etc. Sort of a modern Kes. 

When I was a kid I lived part of the time with my grandmother in Princes End when my mother was ill. Basically Princes End was/ is the arse hole of the West Midlands. 

Across the road from her house was a big field, full of holes, just rough ground. Beyond that was the steelworks. There used to be horses and ponies belonging to the local tatters and travellers loosely tied up there. Not obviously looked after, local kids would jump on them, that kind of thing. There’s a housing estate there now. I’d run around the field with the neighbour’s son Ian and then I’d go watch him shoplift from Asda. Or we would go buy sweets from Fags’n’Mags, I think that began my love affair with terrible pun names for shops. 
Anyway it transpires that Bradford in 2013 was surprisingly reminiscent of Princes End in the mid 1970s. 

ICBM

The Guardians (Les Gardiennes)

French WWI drama about the civilian women left behind. It’s the usual sort of thing I like... probably not one for action movie fans . Absolutely beautifully made, emotionally powerful and totally convincing - although it has to be said, a little predictable... but possibly because it’s so authentic and represents the mundane reality of life rather than any great events. There’s a twist of sorts, but in a way it’s better for being less of one than would usually be expected.

9/10

(iPlayer)

goldtop

Oblivion (Amazon Prime): Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise, getting to fly a helicopter, shoot guns and ride a motorbike, in a post-apocalypse, barely sci-fi setting. Don't bother. 3/10

Moominpapa

Legend of the Mountain (1979) Directed by King Hu (Taiwanese director probably better known for Dragon Gate Inn and A Touch of Zen). I watched the recently restored version released in the Masters of Cinema series in 2018. It's a long film, just over 3 hours, and has a particular slow style of storytelling that can be demanding on your patience (I ended up watching it in chunks over 3 nights). But it is beautifully shot, and once you agree to take it on its own terms is actually quite engaging. The plot is based on a Song era ghost story and revolves around a young scholar who is tasked to copy a powerful sutra. He travels to a remote fort to find the proper surroundings of peace and quiet for the work, but soon finds himself mixed up with ghosts and demons. If you are looking for Western style horror or the supernatural you won't find it here. The supernatural elements are quite 'tame' compared to what we normally see in American or European cinema. I ended up quite enjoying it. (If anyone else has seen the film, please private message me to let me know your interpretation of the ending, because I confess to being a bit confused )

ICBM

The Babadook

Psychological horror/drama about a single mother and her son's imaginary (or is it?) monster. Watched it because it got excellent reviews...

Not sure why. Not scary really, not especially plausible, dreadful character stereotyping, not much plot development, the little there is was totally predictable, and a weak ending.

4/10

(iPlayer, if you really want to.)

zepp76

ICBM said:

The Babadook

Psychological horror/drama about a single mother and her son's imaginary (or is it?) monster. Watched it because it got excellent reviews...

Not sure why. Not scary really, not especially plausible, dreadful character stereotyping, not much plot development, the little there is was totally predictable, and a weak ending.

4/10

(iPlayer, if you really want to.)

I tried to watch it a while ago, managed about 40 minutes and just changed channels in the end.

Philly_Q

ICBM said:

The Babadook

Psychological horror/drama about a single mother and her son's imaginary (or is it?) monster. Watched it because it got excellent reviews...

Not sure why. Not scary really, not especially plausible, dreadful character stereotyping, not much plot development, the little there is was totally predictable, and a weak ending.

4/10

(iPlayer, if you really want to.)

I somewhat agree, I can see why it got good reviews and parts of it are very effective, but I personally found the mother and the child extremely irritating.

The best thing about it is the pop-up book.  I have a copy.

Sassafras

Avengers Infinity War.

Why do I always fall into this trap of watching naff superhero films?
The only ones I ever enjoyed were the Deadpool films. All the others are shite and a waste of what seems like 20 hours. If they were about 90 minutes long they might be more engaging but I just lose the will to live before even the opening titles begin.
And whoever does the editing should reduce their crystal meth intake.

Moominpapa

Raining in the Mountain (1979 - restored 2018) This is the other film which was shot by King Hu in 1979 concurrently with Legend of the Mountain, which I posted about earlier in this thread. Interestingly, this film was completely different from its companion. The plot revolves around two powerful men each trying to steal a priceless Buddhist scroll from a temple, while paying lip service to Buddhist beliefs and principles. The film is set predominantly in an extensive temple complex in the mountains. The set is used brilliantly - there are wonderful action sequences with almost no dialogue that involve movement around the temple. There are elements of Western farce, where characters avoid detection by split-second concealments, and there are clear elements of the 'heist caper' as the two crooked groups each try to get hold of the scroll while thwarting the other group's attempt. But the film is much more than that - it is a also a serious meditation on the true meaning of repentance, forgiveness, and non-violence. I have to say I enjoyed this film immensely: it's clever, funny, and profound at the same time. Got to give a shout out to the editing, too, which is exceptional.  All in all I highly recommend it. If you are interested in seeing it, get the restored version which is put out by Eureka in the "Masters of Cinema" series, #215.  This restored version looks gorgeous and they did a fantastic job - it looks like it could have been shot in 2018 rather than 1979 on crappy 70s film stock.

underdog

Sassafras said:

Avengers Infinity War.

Why do I always fall into this trap of watching naff superhero films?
The only ones I ever enjoyed were the Deadpool films. All the others are shite and a waste of what seems like 20 hours. If they were about 90 minutes long they might be more engaging but I just lose the will to live before even the opening titles begin.
And whoever does the editing should reduce their crystal meth intake.

Have you tried the guardian of the galaxy ones? They are pretty good too.

Sassafras

underdog said:

Sassafras said:

Avengers Infinity War.

Why do I always fall into this trap of watching naff superhero films?
The only ones I ever enjoyed were the Deadpool films. All the others are shite and a waste of what seems like 20 hours. If they were about 90 minutes long they might be more engaging but I just lose the will to live before even the opening titles begin.
And whoever does the editing should reduce their crystal meth intake.

Have you tried the guardian of the galaxy ones? They are pretty good too.

  

EricTheWeary

Sassafras said:

Avengers Infinity War.

Why do I always fall into this trap of watching naff superhero films?
The only ones I ever enjoyed were the Deadpool films. All the others are shite and a waste of what seems like 20 hours. If they were about 90 minutes long they might be more engaging but I just lose the will to live before even the opening titles begin.
And whoever does the editing should reduce their crystal meth intake.

That's about the same as me - I get sucked in or watch them with my sons but they are all too long, too many yawnsome CGI battles,etc,etc. I liked the Deadpool ones which had humour and invention. The only other one that really stood out as a decent film that happened to be about superheroes was Logan. I wouldn't make too many claims for it but there are recognisable people  in it and not just CGI blobs. 

EricTheWeary

Suzi Q

On Sky Arts. Fairly straightforward rockumentary about Suzi Quatro. Lot of touring, lot of basses. Many talking heads ( including a couple of Talking Heads) and Suzi reminiscing. 

dtr

Philly_Q said:

ICBM said:

The Babadook

Psychological horror/drama about a single mother and her son's imaginary (or is it?) monster. Watched it because it got excellent reviews...

Not sure why. Not scary really, not especially plausible, dreadful character stereotyping, not much plot development, the little there is was totally predictable, and a weak ending.

4/10

(iPlayer, if you really want to.)

I somewhat agree, I can see why it got good reviews and parts of it are very effective, but I personally found the mother and the child extremely irritating.

The best thing about it is the pop-up book.  I have a copy.

Huh, that's caught me by surprise a bit.  I think it's a remarkable film.  As a parent of a kid with behavioural difficulties (autism) it totally nails playing on the fears you have of how the wider world might treat your child, but it's treatment of how the experience of overwhelming grief affects you as a parent (lost a brother to an industrial accident and my best friend to illness before my kid turned 7), and the cycle of guilt that builds from fears you've let your grief contaminate your child's world, that you're a bad parent for grieving... well, I found that really close to the bone and powerful.  For me it was a deeply uncomfortable experience and a film I think about a lot years later (don't know that I'll ever want or need to give it a second viewing though).  

But for sure me and my kid really are extremely irritating

hollywoodrox

Baby driver , I thought it was very good