What films have you watched recently?

Longtallronnie

not_the_dj said:

Midnight Sky (Netflix)

I quite enjoyed this. Post Apocalyptic story, one lone survivor at an Artic weather station, and one crew aboard a spaceship heading back to earth without knowing about “the event”. 

Nicely shot and a great scene after a space walk (trying to avoid spoilers). 

Got half hour of this to go, just pausing to refill drinks etc. Enjoying it so far but the actual space walk annoyed the fuck out of me. Looked like they were only using one tether so basically free floating whenever they unhooked. Things like that don’t usually bother me - I don’t sweat the details so much but that one and the whole singing bit really took me out of it. 

Longtallronnie

...meh. It was ok, some really stupid bits, some predictable bits, it killed a couple of hours of this bleak existence masquerading as a life I guess. 

jonnyburgo

Zappa Doc, excellent.

The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie fackin geezers n that being smart arses, was good fun actually, Hugh Grant was excellent

ICBM

Early Man

Aardman animation about a Stone Age tribe taking on a Bronze Age civilisation at football.

It had to happen eventually... Aardman make a film that isn’t brilliant. It’s as well-crafted as usual, there are some funny bits, but overall there just isn’t a great plot or characters, and the whole thing just seems a bit contrived and trying too hard compared to the likes of The Wrong Trousers or Chicken Run. Not terrible, and younger kids will probably still love it, but...

6/10

(iPlayer)

Haych

Over the last couple of days the lad an I have watched the three Bourne films. Identity, Supremacy and Ultimatum. 

I know they divide opinion but I really like them. I’ve seen them all so many times now but can still watch them and not be bored. 

Identity is good all on its own, it didn’t need the second and third film. The latter two take on a different mood but are still good for all that, in many ways better than Identity but neither is complete without the other. 

Hard to give them a score but overall I’d give the trilogy (I know there are two more films) 8/10

not_the_dj

ET (on DVD)

Loved it as much as I did as a kid, and my kids (9 and 12) loved it as well. I wasn’t sure how well the creature FX would be but still tugged at the heartstrings. 

Haych

R40 Live

OK, so not strictly a film but well worth mentioning since it was so good.

They certainly went out with a bang, and it's a surprisingly good concert - some live albums/DVDs put out by Rush in the last 20 years have been a bit dodgy in places, particularly the sound quality, but this one is excellent.  Neil's drums sound epic, Geddy's bass is punchy and you can actually hear Alex's guitars, rather than the mushy mess on say, Different Stages.

I can only give it a 9/10 since Hemispheres sounded odd tuned down and, I've thought this for a while on other recent live albums, Geddy's singing doesn't have the clarity and distinction it once did.  In places he could be singing anything into the mic' and nobody would know different.

Still a great show and pleased to have had a self indulgent afternoon watching it.

Haych

Turn it up! A Celebration of the Electric Guitar (Prime)

Fairly informative documentary presented by Kevin Bacon and including clips from a lot of well known players (and some I've never heard of before).

It starts in the 1930s with the Rickenbacker Frying Pan and ends in the present day with the Line 6 Variax.  Mostly, though, it's a history of main Fender and Gibson models and their rivalry over the decades since the 50s.  Very few other brands get a mention apart from a passing glance at a Gretsch.  A couple of PRS Guitars are seen in passing shots but they're never mentioned by name and it seems to bypass a lot of other big makers in the industry.

Worth a watch if you like guitars.  Is it an objective overview of the instrument?  Not really, although it gives a bit of insight into what the guitar means to ordinary players.

HAL9000

Hidden Figures
First Man

...and just to complete the hat-trick, I recorded Apollo 13 just a few days ago.

First two were both excellent.
Somehow I’ve never seen Apollo 13 but am looking forward to it. 

VimFuego

Hostiles. fantastic cinematography and the score by Max Richter is sublime. Bale acted excellently and was well supported by a solid cast. I just felt his transformation felt a bit forced, there didn't seem to be a natural flow to it. But worth it for the scenery and fiddle playing. 

poopot

The mrs picked “skins” on Netflix to watch last night...

About a woman with a bum for a mouth!...

It was odder than odd and really didn’t last long....

axisus

After the mention of Coco on another thread I decided to watch it again having not seen it for many years. Bloody good animated film, has a lot of heart. I actually got a lump in my throat and a tear in the eye at the last scene. Amazing that animations can be so moving.

alalalkasar

Scare me.
two people telling stories in an attempt to scare each other. Me and Mrs kasar enjoyed it but we are simple people.

fretmeister

Tenet.
Might have been great. Might have been terrible. Audio mix was so bad I gave up.
0/10


Soul.
Loved it. Heartfelt and beautifully made.
8/10

Kalimna

axisus said:

After the mention of Coco on another thread I decided to watch it again having not seen it for many years. Bloody good animated film, has a lot of heart. I actually got a lump in my throat and a tear in the eye at the last scene. Amazing that animations can be so moving.

That last scene, i think, ranks amongst the best of Pixar. In fact, the whole film might just be their most accomplished. From the story, the music and the cinematography (the bridge made of petals). Stunning.

However, tonight we watched Pixels. It is not a 'good' film by any normal standard. The acting is mostly dire (though Peter Dinklage seems to have a ball), the story and script preposterous (alien invaders in the form of 80's arcade video games), fx actually very very good. But it is the epitome of brain-switch-off entertainment. It pretends to be nothing more than it is, and the actors involved seem in on the joke. A crap film, wholeheartedly recommended!

EricTheWeary

Most of the original Jumanji on Channel 5 this afternoon. Maybe the longest our TV has ever spent on Channel 5. 
The effects have dated but in quite a charming way by and large. It's a bit different than I remembered it and probably more intelligent than I recalled as well. It's not a masterpiece but it is a very likeable film. 

khaotic

Wonder Woman 84. Unbelievably bad, even by DCEU standards. If I hadn't been in my own home I would have walked out; as it is I gave up before the hour mark,  Don't believe the high scores from the critics - across the board dreadful: acting, FX, plot, dialogue, fight scenes... everything.

lovestrat74

poopot said:

The mrs picked “skins” on Netflix to watch last night...

About a woman with a bum for a mouth!...

It was odder than odd and really didn’t last long....

Are you talking out of your arse @poopot ;

Haych

Last night we all watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl together as a family. 

Ages since I last saw it and despite knowing exactly what was going to happen I thoroughly loved it from start to finish. 

Jonny Depp is excellent and it doesn’t really matter whether anybody else is any good as he and Geoffrey Rush carry the film all by themselves. 

Also doesn’t hurt that Kiera Knightly has a major role in the film  

Haych

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Prime)

A nicely put together film which manages to take a very sensitive subject and make it tactfully and tastefully funny. 

Frances McDormand plays her part very well and is supported by all round excellent performances. 

The story isn’t happy at all and it has a strange ending, or at least Mrs Haych and I thought so in any case. I also thought that Dixon going from complete a-hole to being the good guy in the end was a bit fake. 

7/10 - I would have scored it higher but had to dock a couple of points for being unnecessarily sweary in places. 

Silver Linings Playbook

Didn’t survive the 15 minute rule (we gave it the benefit of the doubt and allowed 20) Either very slow or just rubbish. Got turned off for being boring.