What films have you watched recently?

tone1

I watched Sliding doors last night because I couldn’t be arsed to switch channels…..Bloody awful acting

jonnyburgo

Licorice Pizza, I like PTA's movies but this just didn't click with me, didn't really know what was going on.great performances and masterful cinematography as expected but yeah whatever...

ICBM

The French Dispatch

Wes Anderson… hard to describe what type of film it is! Three different stories linked to a fictional magazine of the title in one film. If you like his visual style and themes you will like it. If you don’t or don’t think you do, I probably wouldn’t start with this one - it’s like all his other stuff but turned up to 11. Surreal and subtly hilarious throughout, but it can seem a bit too contrived in places - perhaps slightly overdoing it. The cast is fantastic, and especially in the third part the number of cameos is almost funny by itself - you start playing spot the actor, although not in a distracting way.

Work of (possibly demented) genius… not quite, but it’s very good.

8/10

(Disney+)

Stratavarious

Amélie 

Nice, oddball romantic movie. Very French.  Outstanding visually and lots of cinematic mastery in the many little details. 8/10.

My wife loved it.  We knew it would be good, just been skipping it for years.

Grangousier

I love The French Dispatch, though generally I love Wes Anderson's movies, so I would. One nice thing about his recent films is that there's been an accompanying exhibition on The Strand (in London) - for example, they had the ten murals at the French Dispatch exhibition (they're very impressive - you could put them in the Tate Modern under the name of Moses Rosenthal and I'm guessing relatively few people would notice they're fakes), along with a lot of written material and props and clothes. For example, a lot of things (buildings, the plane that takes the paintings across the Atlantic) are models, which are fantastically detailed. I'm looking forward to the opening of the Wes Anderson museum some day.

alalalkasar

MagicPigDetective said:

Started watching Indian films on Netflix (I believe these are Tollywood films, not Bollywood), and finding them very entertaining.

RRR: set in the last days of Empire, two friends seek revenge etc. 
Bahubali: set in ancient India, a totally bonkers film, over the top fx and huge set pieces... but so entertaining. This was the most expensive Indian film ever.... only to be topped by the sequel, which I will watch next. 

Once you get used to the style, over-the-top acting, some cheesy romance, super hero strength powers and unrealistic action (and accept there will always be some musical set pieces, which I tend to skip through, though there are only a couple in these films... one dance/battle scene in RRR is incredible though), these two films are fantastically entertaining, a feast for the senses. Some of the best action set pieces I've ever seen. Such a breath of fresh air, something so different; I'd never thought of watching an Indian film before, now open to more. 

Same here. Suspend your disbelief and strap yourself in. The Tollywood action movie is Hollywood reimagined by a 9 year old boy, hyperactive, super macho and yes a song and dance number. 
If you've got Amazon prime i can strongly recommend Jallikattu, its a bit different to the two you mentioned but if your getting in to films from that part of the world its well worth a look.

EricTheWeary

I watched Dirty Harry on Channel 5 the other night. Iconic moments but it’s not the tightest of plots. 

He’s the meanest, dirtiest cop of all and he wears a sports jacket and jumper combo…

Danny1969

If you like your films a little different and quite dark in content then The Devil all the time ..... on Netflix is a hidden gem. Set in Ohio from 1945 ish to the mid sixties It tackles the hypocrisy of church elders and the violence born from ignorance in the rural hills. 
Really great film, seen it twice and enjoyed it just as much the 2nd time. 

Shrews

Teen Spirit (iplayer)

Surprisingly, quite good.  Nothing to do with Nirvana, but all about a young hopeful in an X-factor competition.  Interesting enough to make you wonder what happens next and what happened before. That I suppose means that you care about the characters and that's not an easy feat to pull off for any director.

7/10  - worth a watch. 

goldtop

Rewatched A Girl Walks Alone at Night - Iranian vampire movie. Tiny cast, low budget, and just plain weird. Brilliant - nothing like it. 9/10

Philly_Q

Philly_Q said:

Brio said:

Ooh, looking forward to this.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/aug/10/fall-review-wildly-effective-survival-thriller-delivers-seat-edge-suspense

I read another review yesterday saying it doesn't work and is at least 30 minutes too long.  I'm sure the truth is somewhere inbetween.  The plot synopsis sounds like a variation on Frozen (no, not that one).

Fall
I was at the UK premiere this evening, introduced by the writer and director.  The review which said it's too long got that part right, but it's very good entertainment and pretty scary if you have a fear of heights.  Probably best seen on a big screen.

Offset

Philly_Q said:

Philly_Q said:

Brio said:

Ooh, looking forward to this.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/aug/10/fall-review-wildly-effective-survival-thriller-delivers-seat-edge-suspense

I read another review yesterday saying it doesn't work and is at least 30 minutes too long.  I'm sure the truth is somewhere inbetween.  The plot synopsis sounds like a variation on Frozen (no, not that one).

Fall
I was at the UK premiere this evening, introduced by the writer and director.  The review which said it's too long got that part right, but it's very good entertainment and pretty scary if you have a fear of heights.  Probably best seen on a big screen.

It's on my watch-list.  And now bumped up a few places :-)

SPECTRUM001

Paris Texas - 1984

I saw this Wim Wenders gem when it came out and then again probably around 1992. So was intrigued to see how it fares now. Happily, it does not disappoint...

Harry Dean Stanton gives a masterclass as he embraces Travis; the troubled soul wandering the Mojave Desert looking for peace and reconciliation after a failed marriage. The supporting cast of Dean Stockwell, Natassja Kinski and Hunter Carson also deliver sensitive and thoughtful performances, surely aided by the stellar direction.

It is a heart wrenching story that manages to combine absence of dialogue, comic dialogue and heavyweight dialogue relating to family, parenthood and the modern American dream. There are parallels with David Lynch and Werner Herzog however the film is always owned by Wim Wenders.

So here we go - the cinematography is mind blowingly good. Expanses of the desert plains, dust clouds, abandoned towns, cars and life; all shot in glorious technicolour that is not saturated nor bland.

The acting has the perfect balance of understatement and cool dynamic - lines delivered with amazing timing and plenty of cinematic homage.

Sam Shepard's story is a slow, gripping yarn that pulls you into its intensity (the film is 150 minutes, but does not drag) - and once in Wenders' hands manages to heighten emotion from pretty much the getgo. I had a lump in my throat from about ten minutes in ! Natassja Kinski's final scene is so beautifully and happily sad. 

And the music - Ry Cooder's scintillating score is well known, and whilst baring resemblances to Performance, acknowledges the landscape and knife edge precision of the shoot with its own identity. It is just beautiful. 

Like our love for music, we have listened to thousands of records and seen as many films. The exceptional ones do rise to the top - so whether it is Casablanca, The Godfather and Alien, or Clear Spot, The White Album and Closer it is quite apparent when watching or hearing greatness.

Pretentious as this review may read, I was completely blown away - 10/10.




ps - I first saw the film at Cinema City in Norwich and this time at The Little Theatre in Bath - both now owned by the Picturehouse chain. Glad they are still with us.

pps - Back in 1988, myself and a colleague used to recite Travis' final monologue word for word. We used to work in a record shop and be able to turn off the tape, substituting ourselves for HD. Very indulgent.

fretmeister

EricTheWeary said:

I watched Dirty Harry on Channel 5 the other night. Iconic moments but it’s not the tightest of plots. 

He’s the meanest, dirtiest cop of all and he wears a sports jacket and jumper combo…

Took me ages to realise that Andrew Robinson was Garak too.
A fine actor!

FarleyUK

Top Gun: Maverick

Very rare case of the sequel being better than the original (IMO).

Really enjoyed it - and the cinematography and stunts are incredible.

(However, every Tom Cruise film now is just Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise).

9/10

Kalimna

fretmeister said:

EricTheWeary said:

I watched Dirty Harry on Channel 5 the other night. Iconic moments but it’s not the tightest of plots. 

He’s the meanest, dirtiest cop of all and he wears a sports jacket and jumper combo…

Took me ages to realise that Andrew Robinson was Garak too.
A fine actor!

He's less an actor, more just a simple taylor.......

BigBearKris

FarleyUK said:

Top Gun: Maverick

Very rare case of the sequel being better than the original (IMO).

Really enjoyed it - and the cinematography and stunts are incredible.

(However, every Tom Cruise film now is just Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise).

9/10

This film is absolutely slaughtered here but I enjoyed it too... Top Gun sequel - surely nobody bought tickets to cinema expecting depth, great story and Oscar worthy acting performances? 
It was loud, flying scenes were great and music was good... pure entertainment and it brought just that.

boogieman

SPECTRUM001 said:

Paris Texas - 1984

I saw this Wim Wenders gem when it came out and then again probably around 1992. So was intrigued to see how it fares now. Happily, it does not disappoint...

Harry Dean Stanton gives a masterclass as he embraces Travis; the troubled soul wandering the Mojave Desert looking for peace and reconciliation after a failed marriage. The supporting cast of Dean Stockwell, Natassja Kinski and Hunter Carson also deliver sensitive and thoughtful performances, surely aided by the stellar direction.

It is a heart wrenching story that manages to combine absence of dialogue, comic dialogue and heavyweight dialogue relating to family, parenthood and the modern American dream. There are parallels with David Lynch and Werner Herzog however the film is always owned by Wim Wenders.

So here we go - the cinematography is mind blowingly good. Expanses of the desert plains, dust clouds, abandoned towns, cars and life; all shot in glorious technicolour that is not saturated nor bland.

The acting has the perfect balance of understatement and cool dynamic - lines delivered with amazing timing and plenty of cinematic homage.

Sam Shepard's story is a slow, gripping yarn that pulls you into its intensity (the film is 150 minutes, but does not drag) - and once in Wenders' hands manages to heighten emotion from pretty much the getgo. I had a lump in my throat from about ten minutes in ! Natassja Kinski's final scene is so beautifully and happily sad. 

And the music - Ry Cooder's scintillating score is well known, and whilst baring resemblances to Performance, acknowledges the landscape and knife edge precision of the shoot with its own identity. It is just beautiful. 

Like our love for music, we have listened to thousands of records and seen as many films. The exceptional ones do rise to the top - so whether it is Casablanca, The Godfather and Alien, or Clear Spot, The White Album and Closer it is quite apparent when watching or hearing greatness.

Pretentious as this review may read, I was completely blown away - 10/10.




ps - I first saw the film at Cinema City in Norwich and this time at The Little Theatre in Bath - both now owned by the Picturehouse chain. Glad they are still with us.

pps - Back in 1988, myself and a colleague used to recite Travis' final monologue word for word. We used to work in a record shop and be able to turn off the tape, substituting ourselves for HD. Very indulgent.

I need to watch it again, haven’t seen it since it was released but I remember it being very good. Harry Dean Stanton was my favourite actor for ages, I can’t think of anything duff that he’s been in. 

Gassage

North by Northwest 
(on TV tonight)

In the top three films of all time. Stylish, skilful, suave, satirical, stunning. Hitchcock on fire. 

A cinematographic Mona Lisa.

Masterpiece.

10/10 

rze99

North By Northwest. 

Again. 

Wonderful old school stuff. 

10/10