What films have you watched recently?

Haych

I Came By

British made for Netflix suspense drama. 

A couple of antiestablishment youths take it upon themselves to break into the homes of the wealthy to daub graffiti on the walls in an act of rebellion against the system. 

During one such act of vandalism dark secrets are discovered in the basement of a successful and upstanding member of the community. 

It’s not that great, to be honest. The idea is ok but the plot is clumsy and relies too much on happenstance and writing liberties to be convincing. It’s also just so predictable that you know how it will end and anyone with a modicum of common sense would find it implausible. 

Watch if you must but this viewer only rates it at 4.5/10. 

Lodious

Respect 

Aretha Franklin biopic. Nicely shot, decent performances and some good music, but ultimately I found it pretty uninvolving.

6/10

Dominic

Don't Worry Darling
Olivia Wilde ,Harry Styles
Superbly stylised 50s period drama with a strange twist.......it was a bit bewildering with many strange concepts and designed to leave you trying to work it out which is frustrating
A lot of inconsistencies but much better the next day than the way you feel when leaving the cinema
It's been highly applauded but it is strange
Harry Styles is disappointing........Wilde is very good

Dominic

Trip To Paradise
Cheesy tale of reconciling long term divorced couple but some innocent humour and feel good vibes
A bit thin and corny but enjoyable lightweight nonsense
Clooney.....superb
Julia Roberts ........don't see why she was ever considered attractive

Brio

The new Helraiser on Hulu.
Adds nothing to the series.
Don't bother.
5/10

Offset

The Postcard Killings (Netflix)

Decidedly average serial killer flick.  Entirely predictable, not much tension, silly premise, OK acting.

4/10.

mikeyrob73

boogieman said:

Saw a few new-ish films on a couple of long haul plane trips. 

Belfast. Very poignant story and well acted, the young lad playing the lead part was particularly good I thought. I wasn’t sure about the black and white treatment but it suited the theme and the times. 8/10

Lightyear. “The film that the Buzz action figure from Toy Story was based on”. Beautifully rendered CGI and pretty funny in parts (the cat robot especially). I got quite confused about Buzz meeting his future self due to all his hyperspeed trips, I don’t know what kids would make of that…. or maybe it was just me being dim. Up or Toy Story it ain’t but it’s not bad either. 6/10

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was the pick of the bunch for me. Tarantino films can be very wordy and too stylised for me but this one really hit the spot. Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are both superb, a nice cameo from Al Pacino too. I liked the way the real life events of Polanski and Tate were cleverly worked in to the story and didn’t see the twist coming till late on. The house attack scene was a bit OTT, almost cartoonish in the violence, but I couldn’t fault it otherwise. Great soundtrack too, Tarantino has a knack with finding the perfect music to fit the scene. 10/10. 

I absolutely loved once upon a time in Hollywood 

Haych

Midnight in the Switchgrass

Urgh! Just don’t. 

Slow plot straight from the 80s, wooden acting, an artificially enhanced Megan Fox (why, she used to be pretty, now she just looks like ever other plastic supermodel/actress who is scared of getting older) and an ageing Bruce Willis who seems to be making ever dire movies. 

Oh, and a mediocre cover of Brothers In Arms is used for some kind of emotional effect. Meh, thought that song was about war, not some trucker/serial killer murdering prostitutes? I fail to see even a tenuous link with the plot to use the song.

0/10 - I’m not going to even tell you which streaming service it’s on, in case one of you is mad enough to waste two hours of your life watching it. 

You’re welcome!

Emp_Fab

Just watched ARGO for the umpteenth time.  Bloody great film.

Brio

"and an ageing Bruce Willis who seems to be making ever dire movies. "

I thought we'd agreed that with his remsining acting career and quality of life being measured in months rather years that he started taking anything to get money in for his family?

Haych

Brio said:

"and an ageing Bruce Willis who seems to be making ever dire movies. "

I thought we'd agreed that with his remsining acting career and quality of life being measured in months rather years that he started taking anything to get money in for his family?

This is very possible, but I’ve probably slept many times since then. 

Anyway, how much money does he and his family need? I can’t imagine he’s broke after being a megastar for several decades. 

Haych

Into the Deep: The Submarine Murder Case

Netflix documentary about Peter Madsen and the murder of Kim Wall, the journalist who went missing after going for a ride on his submarine in 2017.

Mostly made up from footage from before the incident with some interviews with his friends/associates after the fact.

The man seems to have been seriously twisted, and not just a little bit mad.  Apart from the sub, he was building rockets with the intention of going to space!  OK, people with a lot of money are doing this, but his outfit was run from an abandoned boatyard and his rockets and "space station" was welded together from bits of steel!

An informative documentary and contains stuff I'd not heard about in mainstream news before.

historyisjunk

Motherless Brooklyn

Written, directed & everything by Edward Norton. My ever wise other half said it seemed like he was trying a bit too hard. I understood what she meant about the writing, but I thought the acting was very good, especially Edward Norton.
Might just be me being dim, but I couldn't quite see why he was initially lead to the anti slum clearance campaign, maybe clearer in the book. What I liked best was the evocation of the late 50's** which I thought was masterful (though I wasn't alive)

Also a great sound track mostly by Wynton Marsalis, there is also a song by Thom Yorke & Flea.

Whatever it's flaws it was so much better than the last film I saw.  Solid 7.8/10

**Including beautiful 1954 Dodge Coronet or Royale(?) you could imagine people like the characters hanging on to this, particularly if it had the first Hemi engine. Though I may be over thinking things.

Danny1969

Haych said:

Midnight in the Switchgrass

Urgh! Just don’t. 

Slow plot straight from the 80s, wooden acting, an artificially enhanced Megan Fox (why, she used to be pretty, now she just looks like ever other plastic supermodel/actress who is scared of getting older) and an ageing Bruce Willis who seems to be making ever dire movies. 

Oh, and a mediocre cover of Brothers In Arms is used for some kind of emotional effect. Meh, thought that song was about war, not some trucker/serial killer murdering prostitutes? I fail to see even a tenuous link with the plot to use the song.

0/10 - I’m not going to even tell you which streaming service it’s on, in case one of you is mad enough to waste two hours of your life watching it. 

You’re welcome!

Your warnings a little late for me, watched it (or tried to watch it) a coupe of nights ago. Complete pile of shit and indeed a terrible cover of BIA ... I should have switched the film off as soon as I heard that. 

Dav275

Into the Deep: The Submarine Murder Case

Wot @Haych ;  said, +1

Haych

The Ghost Writer

Well, did I go and pick a decent movie to watch for a change?

Political thriller from 2010 with a decent cast, an excellent plot and directed by Roman Polanski. 

Ewan McGregor is hired as a ghost writer to finish the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan) after the original writer hired for the job dies under suspicious circumstances. 

In picking up the story using the dead man’s manuscript, the new ghostwriter (I don’t think his character’s name is ever revealed in the film, he’s just know and “The Ghost”) starts to uncover a web of carefully concealed secrets. 

There’s a twist right at the end which I did see coming but even if you know, it’s still a bloody good film!

8.5 - on Netflix

Philly_Q

Watched this weekend at the London Film Festival...  All good so far, and some may be coming to your local cinemas or streaming services soon:

Chee$e
The Origin
Klokkenluider
Holy Spider
Attachment
Emily the Criminal

stufisher

Dead Poets Society

Me & Mrs F just watched it again tonight for the first time in over 10 years. It's timeless ... fantastic movie and a top three Robin Williams movie for me.

If you haven't seen it and decide to watch it then my counsel is to really concentrate for the first quarter hour or so ... I absorbed a few more nuances this time round because I was right into it from kick-off.

Never less than 9/10

Snap

Dominic said:

Don't Worry Darling
Olivia Wilde ,Harry Styles
Superbly stylised 50s period drama with a strange twist.......it was a bit bewildering with many strange concepts and designed to leave you trying to work it out which is frustrating
A lot of inconsistencies but much better the next day than the way you feel when leaving the cinema
It's been highly applauded but it is strange
Harry Styles is disappointing........Wilde is very good

I liked this film. It unsettled me tbh, made me feel a bit weird. Which is sort of good, no? I had twigged the twist, but only just before the denoument, so that was good. 

I thought Harry Styles was fine tbh. But Florence Pugh was the real star. Chris Pine was excellent too, v sinister.

I'd watch it again, if only for the slick Palm Springs vibe.

Haych

The Watch

On Prime Video, where it has a rating of 4.5/5 stars and is described as a close encounter of the funniest kind in this hilarious no-holds-barred comedy that'll keep you laughing 'till the cows explode.

Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughan, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade form a neighbourhood watch group after a security guard is murdered at the local Costco by an extra-terrestrial.  Obviously the ET isn't known when they start the watch group.

Unfortunately, it's not that funny and certainly not hilarious.  There are a few mild chuckles along the way but it's all a bit puerile and Vince Vaughan is at his most annoying.  How it ended up with 4.5/5 is anyone's guess but it was a bit crap, if I'm honest.

3/10