What films have you watched recently?

bobblehat

Jolt - Amazon Prime - Total nonsense but Kate Beckinsale 10/10 

HAL9000

Nowhere Boy. Tells the story of a teenage John Lennon and focuses on the relationship between him, his Aunt Mimi (who he lives with), and his mother (who abandoned him - sort of). Interesting and certainly very watchable. Unfortunately the ‘John Lennon’ character lacks the wit and charm of the real thing and often comes across as a bit of a knob. Still entertaining though (and apparently fairly accurate). 7/10.

rze99

Winter's Bone (2010) Netfilx

A 17 year old daughter has to find her dad or face the bailiffs and give up the family home. Jennifer Lawrence is absolutely brilliant as the youngster putting it all on the line to save the family and battle extreme poverty, organised crime and the weight of family history.

Brilliant.

9/10

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1399683/

rze99

Midsommer (2019)

US Students including a couple in bereavement and relationship trauma, go on a trip to Sweden to a pal's isolated folk clan's special 90th year Midsommer celebrations and face the insane consequences.

This is some really transporting horror trip! Fans of the Whicker Man (yep, me) will love it. This is properly psychedelic and at numerous, times, utterly viscerally magnificent. Not for the lightweights. Appalling cult horror in golden 24 hour sunlight. 

Utterly, appallingly, fabulous
 
9/10

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8772262/

Philly_Q

rze99 said:

Fans of the Whicker Man (yep, me) will love it. 

Sorry, couldn't resist.   The Wicker Man is my favourite film.

ICBM

HAL9000 said:

Nowhere Boy. Tells the story of a teenage John Lennon and focuses on the relationship between him, his Aunt Mimi (who he lives with), and his mother (who abandoned him - sort of). Interesting and certainly very watchable. Unfortunately the ‘John Lennon’ character lacks the wit and charm of the real thing and often comes across as a bit of a knob. Still entertaining though (and apparently fairly accurate). 7/10.

I haven’t seen it yet, but - speaking as a fairly big Beatles and Lennon fan - the real thing could often come across as a bit of a knob despite his considerable wit and was not always very charming… so probably quite accurate!

Philly_Q

ICBM said:

HAL9000 said:

Nowhere Boy. Tells the story of a teenage John Lennon and focuses on the relationship between him, his Aunt Mimi (who he lives with), and his mother (who abandoned him - sort of). Interesting and certainly very watchable. Unfortunately the ‘John Lennon’ character lacks the wit and charm of the real thing and often comes across as a bit of a knob. Still entertaining though (and apparently fairly accurate). 7/10.

I haven’t seen it yet, but - speaking as a fairly big Beatles and Lennon fan - the real thing could often come across as a bit of a knob despite his considerable wit and was not always very charming… so probably quite accurate!

Wasn't that Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Lennon, directed by his future wife?  I haven't seen it, but he doesn't strike me as remotely Lennon-like in any way.

bobblehat

ICBM said:

HAL9000 said:

Nowhere Boy. Tells the story of a teenage John Lennon and focuses on the relationship between him, his Aunt Mimi (who he lives with), and his mother (who abandoned him - sort of). Interesting and certainly very watchable. Unfortunately the ‘John Lennon’ character lacks the wit and charm of the real thing and often comes across as a bit of a knob. Still entertaining though (and apparently fairly accurate). 7/10.

I haven’t seen it yet, but - speaking as a fairly big Beatles and Lennon fan - the real thing could often come across as a bit of a knob despite his considerable wit and was not always very charming… so probably quite accurate!

I was going to say the same. Not sure Mr Lennon was particularly witty or charming. Great film though. 

VimFuego

Sully - 2016. Seen it before, and I still think it's a great film. Hanks is a genius level actor, and he really carries the role well. Directed by Clint Eastwood, and I do think he's a great director, but he can, on occasion, be a bit heavy handed on the allegory. In this, he has clearly stood back from that and let the story and the characters do the heavy lifting, and the film is so much better for that. 10/10.

Offset

Blood Red Sky.  I really, really shouldn't have liked it - it's Snakes On A Plane meets From Dusk Till Dawn but lacking the wit of either.  That said, I enjoyed it despite myself.  Reasonably good performances, fairly well-paced but with a pretty predictable and frankly silly plot.  But all in all a diverting bit of hokum. 6/10

Greatape

Offset said:

Blood Red Sky.  I really, really shouldn't have liked it - it's Snakes On A Plane meets From Dusk Till Dawn but lacking the wit of either.  That said, I enjoyed it despite myself.  Reasonably good performances, fairly well-paced but with a pretty predictable and frankly silly plot.  But all in all a diverting bit of hokum. 6/10

Watched also. Concur

Lead actress good. Acting generally ok, actually.  Better than 'Tomorrow War', certainly.

boogieman

Bladerunner 2049, watched with my wife who had never seen it before. I’d recorded it off the tv where it was shown in two parts.. 60 mins and 2 hours plus. We only realised we were watching part two after about 20 minutes. It still mostly made sense but did seem to jump straight in and seemed odd with having no titles at the start. (Maybe that means it could safely lose an hour? )  Anyway I’m an idiot and we started again.  

It wasn’t much different second time around for me. Beautifully shot, superbly well done sfx, good soundtrack, some nice nods to the original. Against that: a hugely dragged out plot, too many lingering shots for no apparent reason and the most awful wooden acting from Ryan Gosling. I don’t like him much anyway but he’s woeful in this. 

Wife’s reaction: well that’s three hours of my life I’m not getting back. 

SPECTRUM001

Philly_Q said:

ICBM said:

HAL9000 said:

Nowhere Boy. Tells the story of a teenage John Lennon and focuses on the relationship between him, his Aunt Mimi (who he lives with), and his mother (who abandoned him - sort of). Interesting and certainly very watchable. Unfortunately the ‘John Lennon’ character lacks the wit and charm of the real thing and often comes across as a bit of a knob. Still entertaining though (and apparently fairly accurate). 7/10.

I haven’t seen it yet, but - speaking as a fairly big Beatles and Lennon fan - the real thing could often come across as a bit of a knob despite his considerable wit and was not always very charming… so probably quite accurate!

Wasn't that Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Lennon, directed by his future wife?  I haven't seen it, but he doesn't strike me as remotely Lennon-like in any way.

Philly_Q said:

ICBM said:

HAL9000 said:

Nowhere Boy. Tells the story of a teenage John Lennon and focuses on the relationship between him, his Aunt Mimi (who he lives with), and his mother (who abandoned him - sort of). Interesting and certainly very watchable. Unfortunately the ‘John Lennon’ character lacks the wit and charm of the real thing and often comes across as a bit of a knob. Still entertaining though (and apparently fairly accurate). 7/10.

I haven’t seen it yet, but - speaking as a fairly big Beatles and Lennon fan - the real thing could often come across as a bit of a knob despite his considerable wit and was not always very charming… so probably quite accurate!

Wasn't that Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Lennon, directed by his future wife?  I haven't seen it, but he doesn't strike me as remotely Lennon-like in any way.

I saw this at the cinema (remember them ??) when it came out and was quite impressed. My memory is that Johnson nailed the confused and (slightly) troubled young Lennon.

As a period piece, I thought it held up well, and certainly indicated that Sam Taylor-Wood had more in the tank beyond being a YBA...

Zoolooter

I watched Under the Volcano with great nostalgia and melancholy.  Really excellent documentary about George Martin’s Air Studios in Monserrat. Covers Dire Straits, Stones, Police, Elton, Duran, etc. It’s packed with interviews from the artists and locals that worked there. Ultimately very sad the way it ended up with a hurricane wiping it out, as it’s still siting there derelict to this day. A timely example of how things just change and move on with digital taking over from the custom (1 of 3) massive Neve consoles. I think Bryan Adams bought the one from Monserrat.

boogieman

Zoolooter said:

I watched Under the Volcano with great nostalgia and melancholy.  Really excellent documentary about George Martin’s Air Studios in Monserrat. Covers Dire Straits, Stones, Police, Elton, Duran, etc. It’s packed with interviews from the artists and locals that worked there. Ultimately very sad the way it ended up with a hurricane wiping it out, as it’s still siting there derelict to this day. A timely example of how things just change and move on with digital taking over from the custom (1 of 3) massive Neve consoles. I think Bryan Adams bought the one from Monserrat.

I was going to say John Otway made an album (Montserrat oddly enough) there not long back so I didn’t think it was derelict. You’re right though, Wiki says Otway actually recorded it in Olveston House, George Martin’s old place. 

Greatape

Zoolooter said:

I watched Under the Volcano with great nostalgia and melancholy.  Really excellent documentary about George Martin’s Air Studios in Monserrat. Covers Dire Straits, Stones, Police, Elton, Duran, etc. It’s packed with interviews from the artists and locals that worked there. Ultimately very sad the way it ended up with a hurricane wiping it out, as it’s still siting there derelict to this day. A timely example of how things just change and move on with digital taking over from the custom (1 of 3) massive Neve consoles. I think Bryan Adams bought the one from Monserrat.

What service is it on? Would like to watch it

Zoolooter

Greatape said:

Zoolooter said:

I watched Under the Volcano with great nostalgia and melancholy.  Really excellent documentary about George Martin’s Air Studios in Monserrat. Covers Dire Straits, Stones, Police, Elton, Duran, etc. It’s packed with interviews from the artists and locals that worked there. Ultimately very sad the way it ended up with a hurricane wiping it out, as it’s still siting there derelict to this day. A timely example of how things just change and move on with digital taking over from the custom (1 of 3) massive Neve consoles. I think Bryan Adams bought the one from Monserrat.

What service is it on? Would like to watch it

I’d get a torrent of abuse if I told you 

Skipped

A Quiet Place Part II

An outstanding film. As good as Part 1. But there is a massive problem. The film ends with (text removed due to spoilers) and without (text removed due to spoilers) and I found this frustrating.

Philly_Q

Zoolooter said:

Greatape said:

Zoolooter said:

I watched Under the Volcano with great nostalgia and melancholy.  Really excellent documentary about George Martin’s Air Studios in Monserrat. Covers Dire Straits, Stones, Police, Elton, Duran, etc. It’s packed with interviews from the artists and locals that worked there. Ultimately very sad the way it ended up with a hurricane wiping it out, as it’s still siting there derelict to this day. A timely example of how things just change and move on with digital taking over from the custom (1 of 3) massive Neve consoles. I think Bryan Adams bought the one from Monserrat.

What service is it on? Would like to watch it

I’d get a torrent of abuse if I told you 

Not GB News is it?

Offset

boogieman said:

Zoolooter said:

I watched Under the Volcano with great nostalgia and melancholy.  Really excellent documentary about George Martin’s Air Studios in Monserrat. Covers Dire Straits, Stones, Police, Elton, Duran, etc. It’s packed with interviews from the artists and locals that worked there. Ultimately very sad the way it ended up with a hurricane wiping it out, as it’s still siting there derelict to this day. A timely example of how things just change and move on with digital taking over from the custom (1 of 3) massive Neve consoles. I think Bryan Adams bought the one from Monserrat.

I was going to say John Otway made an album (Montserrat oddly enough) there not long back so I didn’t think it was derelict. You’re right though, Wiki says Otway actually recorded it in Olveston House, George Martin’s old place. 

Slightly off-topic (apols) but seen Otway more times than I'd care to remember, and thoroughly enjoyed each performance.  Also met him a fair few times (haven't we all?!) and whilst being as mad as a box of frogs, he's a really great guy and as close to being a national treasure as you could get.  A close friend's young daughter pinged him on social media and asked him if he'd record a video message for her Dad, who was about to celebrate a major birthday and was and is a massive fan.  John did so with massive aplomb and real genuine warmth.  Top fella.