What films have you watched recently?

Devil#20

As others have mentioned The Queen's Gambit was a pretty good series. You know it's good when you wish there were more episodes. 

I've just finished binge watching all 8 episodes of The Serpent on BBC over the last week and can recommend that. It's based on real life events and he was one sick puppy. I can't work out if the actor who plays the part of Charles Sobhraj was really good or whether his aloof persona was his take on the person he plays. I found the guy Ajay particularly creepy, insofar as he was really friendly to his victims whereas Charles was somewhat a bit suave amongst the hippy fraternity. 

Haych

Tremors

Bit of a cult classic that isn’t quite as good as I remember from last time but still a decent afternoon’s entertainment for all that. 

My daughter enjoyed it too. 

6.5/10

guitartango

zepp76 said:

News of the world

 Predictable, uninspiring and basically just made up of Hollywood cliches. But it has Tom Hanks in it so I’ll give it:

4/10

I quite enjoyed the film, I would said it was a 7/10.

EricTheWeary

My eldest having his first lockdown birthday so it's been movies and cake. 

IT Chapter Two.

My memory of the book is that it was long and meandering and any scares were mitigated by my struggle to maintain attention so I guess it stayed true to the book. 

axisus

Haych said:

Gambit (Prime). The 2012 remake.

A film that I remember being released and that I've wanted to see ever since but for some reason never did.

Not at all what I expected.  When it started and the plot of the con on which the film is based is rapidly unveiled I immediately thought it was going to be one of those con the conman type endings, kinda like Matchstick Men.

But, no.  It's bit cleverererererer than that.

Very enjoyable, easy to watch and delightfully entertaining.

Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz and Alan Rickman put on a great show, and where have I heard the voice of Tom Courtenay before? That's going to bug me - I didn't recognise his face but his voice is incredibly familiar!

8/10

We saw that about 4 years ago, really enjoyed it. I was a big fan of the original starring Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine. I could probably enjoy watching either again.

axisus

Just saw Shrek 4 again for the first time in years.

Shrek 1 - brilliant when it came out
Shrek 2 - OK
Shrek 3 - disastrous waste of time

Shrek 4 was actually a very good finale, a return to form. I enjoyed it.

SPECTRUM001

The Conversation - 1974

An early masterclass by Coppola. Very atmospheric, and swathed in paranoia. Actually a very relaxing film about surveillance and deception in a slightly seedy San Francisco.

Gene Hackman is outstanding, and Harrison Ford in a different role from his other early films.

another 9/10

Keiko

The Favourite - 2 /10 - Boring pretentious rubbish with too much gratuitous use of the c word and random shagging. I guess thrown in to spice up what would be a ridiculously boring film without it. One of those films were you think "that can't be the end", and yes that's the end. If I hadn't paid to watch it I would have switched it off very early on.

Forgot to mention the incredibly annoying soundtrack in places too. Slowly repeating: *thunk, violin, thunk, violin, thunk, violin, thunk, violin, thunk, violin, thunk, violin, thunk, violin, thunk, violin, thunk, violin, thunk, violin, thunk, violin thunk, violin... that went on for far too long. Aural hell.

merlin

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. 

Tom Hanks really, seriously pulls it out of the bag in this. Simultaneously loveable and really annoying. He seems to be going up in my estimation as an actor, playing in this film children's TV entertainer Fred Rogers and focussing on the narrative where an article is written about him by an angry journalist Lloyd Vogel, played equally well by Matthew Rhys. All "scene changes" are done with traffic, planes etc as models like in the intro to the show. It's very cute. 

I don't like scoring, but I'll give it a shining 8.5.

No guns, no explosions. 

Philly_Q

merlin said:

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. 

Tom Hanks really, seriously pulls it out of the bag in this. Simultaneously loveable and really annoying. He seems to be going up in my estimation as an actor, playing in this film children's TV entertainer Ted Rogers 

Sorry.

ICBM

The Dig

Little to add to what's already been said - a very good film, beautifully made and with brilliant performances from Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes. I do admit I'm fussy and although I can easily overlook things like Carey Mulligan being a bit too young for the role, and I understand that it's a movie not a documentary, I did find the addition of a fictitious character just to sex things up a bit unnecessary and slightly irritating (as well as Lily James being, a little).

8/10

zepp76

You all may have seen these already, I’ve seen them both over a dozen times.

Nell

 with Jodie Foster and Liam Neeson

 If you expect action and adventure don’t bother watching, if you want to see the kindness, caring and understanding of human nature with a dash of the despicable side of those who should know better, watch it. Jodie Fosters acting is sublime.

Warning: some nudity for those who are offended by that kind of thing.
 

10/10

Powder,

A woman in Labour runs through the rain to the hospital and gets struck by lightning. The kid grows up dealing with the affects of that, that’s all I’ll say. It’s a wonderful film.

Warning: the deer scene may have an effect on you.

10/10

EricTheWeary

SPECTRUM001 said:

The Conversation - 1974

An early masterclass by Coppola. Very atmospheric, and swathed in paranoia. Actually a very relaxing film about surveillance and deception in a slightly seedy San Francisco.

Gene Hackman is outstanding, and Harrison Ford in a different role from his other early films.

another 9/10

I mentioned it in here probably late last year, I’m a big fan of it. Very subtle, atmospheric, Hackman plays it wonderfully. 

Brio

I loved Hackman in the gung ho adventure version that was Enemy of The State.

EricTheWeary

Brio said:

I loved Hackman in the gung ho adventure version that was Enemy of The State.

I rewatched The French Connection as well not long ago, shows it’s age a bit but he is great in that as well. 

SPECTRUM001

EricTheWeary said:

Brio said:

I loved Hackman in the gung ho adventure version that was Enemy of The State.

I rewatched The French Connection as well not long ago, shows it’s age a bit but he is great in that as well. 

Yes, he is sheer quality - I even loved him as Lex Luthor in Superman.

SPECTRUM001

All the Presidents Men - 1976

Seems like I just watched a trio (The Graduate, The Conversation and All the President's Men) of US films surreptitiously discussing the Great American Dream - and how the US was conned by it.

All the President's Men cracks along at a fast pace, So much so it is nearly impossible to keep up with the names and significance within the Watergate cover up. Nevertheless, it is entirely watchable, gripping and highlights just how much power existed within the free press. What a different world now - considering how certain US politicians currently behave.

At least Nixon resigned !!

7.5/10

SPECTRUM001

ICBM said:

The Dig

I did find the addition of a fictitious character just to sex things up a bit unnecessary and slightly irritating (as well as Lily James being, a little).

8/10

I initially thought the same (Mrs 001 was researching as we were watching), and then decided, what the hell, I want to be entertained. Plus, IMO they actually segued the fiction in quite believably.

Haych

The Vanished (Netflix)

Clever and tense psychological thriller.  A couple with a young daughter go on a camping trip by a lake but the daughter goes missing soon after arrival.

All is not what it seems and pretty soon paranoia sets in and people start dying.  I can't say more without adding spoilers but Mrs Haych and I thought it was really quite a good movie.  Clearly not a huge budget blockbuster, the only member of the cast I recognised was Anne Heche who plays the role of the missing girl's mother.

There are many deliberate red herrings that point to a whole host of creepy characters, any one of whom could feasibly be responsible for the girl's disappearance, to keep the viewer guessing.  I did call the ending right but not until a fair way through the film.

Well made, well played and worth a watch if you have a couple of hours spare.

Brio

SPECTRUM001 said:

All the Presidents Men - 1976

All the President's Men cracks along at a fast pace, So much so it is nearly impossible to keep up with the names and significance within the Watergate cover up.

I took Gordon Liddy for a curry when he was over here promoting his book back in the early 80s.