What films have you watched recently?

RocknRollDave

fretmeister said:

RocknRollDave said:

The Phantom Menace.

Having agreed to watch all the Star Wars movies again over the Xmas break, I was somewhat horrified that my other half insisted on doing them in chronological order, in terms of the story itself, rather than starting with the original Star Wars film.

Hence I’ve been putting it off until after xmas…

but….well, it’s no classic, there are some huge casting missteps and it’s obviously flawed, but if you let that go and take it for what it is.. it’s enjoyable enough.

Should be in the machete order.

https://www.t3.com/news/star-wars-machete-order

4,5 to start. Than 2,3 as flashbacks. Then 6,7,8,9

Bin 1 completely as it does nothing for the story and then removed the midichlorians and most of jar jar.

It also preserves the Vader / Luke reveal.

That makes sense, but I’m not in control of the remote control box in my own house. 

ICBM

fretmeister said:

Should be in the machete order.

https://www.t3.com/news/star-wars-machete-order

4,5 to start. Than 2,3 as flashbacks. Then 6,7,8,9

Bin 1 completely as it does nothing for the story and then removed the midichlorians and most of jar jar.

More importantly, bin 9 completely and read the never-to-be-made Colin Trevorrow Duel Of The Fates script instead.

Rogue One after 3 and before 6, and Solo after 6 and before 7 as well (I do actually think it's worthwhile).

Danny1969

Mothering Sunday - Netflix

Dull as hell and had it not been for the huge amount of nudity I would have switched it off. 

Can't even tell you what is was about, nothing really as far as I could tell but the amount of nudity is staggering. I'm gonna watch it another 3 or 4 times in case I did miss something though. 

Gassage

My Xmas Covid watching

This Island Earth

Literally, the cheesiest 1950's sci-fi of all time with special effects that are beyond dreadful and a predictable storyline of aliens trying to colonise earth.

However....

Make no mistake- this was the Avatar of its day, the Star Wars of the 50s- a groundbreaking film that played upon fear of UFO's, with effects never used before in the history of movies.

The lead is played by the wonderfully named 'Rex Reason'- a superhero name if ever I heard one.

An absolute classic piece of movie history and a must watch film sometime in your life.

9/10

North by North West

In my opinion, the greatest film of all time.

It has the lot, brilliant performances by Cary Grant, James Mason, Leo G Carroll and of course, Eve Marie Saint. Shout out too for Jessie Royce as Roger Thornhill's mother.

Useless info- James Mason is Belinda Carlisle's father in law.

Words cannot express how good this film is.

10/10

Mission Impossible 2.

John Woo's direction for this film was so bad it almost killed the MI Franchise. Almost unwatchable at times, cliched and dreadul. Thandwie Newton is abysmal as the token female cohort and Dougray Scott wheezes his way through the least realistic fight scene seen since Neymar was fouled in Qatar.

Appalling.

1/10

Goodfellas

Need I say anything other than - 1) the best mobster film ever 2) one of the best soundtracks ever 3) De Nero, Pesci and Liotta's greatest performances. 4) Scorsese's greatest film.

Masterpiece.

10/10

equalsql

Christmas Chronicles (2018 Netflix)
A surprisingly entertaining romp about two kids who have to help Santa get Christmas back on track after accidentally screwing up his deliveries on Christmas eve.
Kurt Russell absolutely having a ball playing Santa. Lots of very funny scenes and Russell's Santa as Elvis is both perfect and hilarious. 
Very enjoyable and well worth your time. A solid 8/10.
The follow up film Christmas Chronicles 2 is, sadly, nowhere near as good though. Only 3/10.

BigBearKris

Gassage said:

My Xmas Covid watching

This Island Earth

Literally, the cheesiest 1950's sci-fi of all time with special effects that are beyond dreadful and a predictable storyline of aliens trying to colonise earth.

However....

Make no mistake- this was the Avatar of its day, the Star Wars of the 50s- a groundbreaking film that played upon fear of UFO's, with effects never used before in the history of movies.

The lead is played by the wonderfully named 'Rex Reason'- a superhero name if ever I heard one.

An absolute classic piece of movie history and a must watch film sometime in your life.

9/10

North by North West

In my opinion, the greatest film of all time.

It has the lot, brilliant performances by Cary Grant, James Mason, Leo G Carroll and of course, Eve Marie Saint. Shout out too for Jessie Royce as Roger Thornhill's mother.

Useless info- James Mason is Belinda Carlisle's father in law.

Words cannot express how good this film is.

10/10

Mission Impossible 2.

John Woo's direction for this film was so bad it almost killed the MI Franchise. Almost unwatchable at times, cliched and dreadul. Thandwie Newton is abysmal as the token female cohort and Dougray Scott wheezes his way through the least realistic fight scene seen since Neymar was fouled in Qatar.

Appalling.

1/10

Goodfellas

Need I say anything other than - 1) the best mobster film ever 2) one of the best soundtracks ever 3) De Nero, Pesci and Liotta's greatest performances. 4) Scorsese's greatest film.

Masterpiece.

10/10

LOL awarded for Neymar bit! 

Wish I could give a wis as well for NbNW - great film!

Offset

Gassage said:

My Xmas Covid watching

This Island Earth

Literally, the cheesiest 1950's sci-fi of all time with special effects that are beyond dreadful and a predictable storyline of aliens trying to colonise earth.

However....

Make no mistake- this was the Avatar of its day, the Star Wars of the 50s- a groundbreaking film that played upon fear of UFO's, with effects never used before in the history of movies.

The lead is played by the wonderfully named 'Rex Reason'- a superhero name if ever I heard one.

An absolute classic piece of movie history and a must watch film sometime in your life.

9/10

North by North West

In my opinion, the greatest film of all time.

It has the lot, brilliant performances by Cary Grant, James Mason, Leo G Carroll and of course, Eve Marie Saint. Shout out too for Jessie Royce as Roger Thornhill's mother.

Useless info- James Mason is Belinda Carlisle's father in law.

Words cannot express how good this film is.

10/10

Goodfellas

Need I say anything other than - 1) the best mobster film ever 2) one of the best soundtracks ever 3) De Nero, Pesci and Liotta's greatest performances. 4) Scorsese's greatest film.

Masterpiece.

10/10

Wow.  Your taste in movies closely matches mine.

This Island Earth is one of my fave '50s sci-fi movies.  It's up there with Forbidden Planet, and the injured mutant scared the living crap out of a young me.

NBNW would be in my top 10 faves.  Hitchcock's finest, surely?

Goodfellas - my #1 for many years now.  I never tire of watching it.  Scorsese's greatest?  There's a lot of competition in the eyes of many but yes, agreed.

I watched the first two relatively recently but Goodfellas (and Casino) will get a viewing this holiday period.

Hope the Covid exits stage left pdq :-)

stufisher

1917
Haven't watched it since its release ... enjoyed it much more this time round.
It is famed for 'that cinematic, panoramic, scene' and Mendes' obvious gift of capturing it in a single take but to me the story is so much more.
I think it displays the human condition in extremis ... how and why we are all driven, for different reasons, our flaws, our fears, our elation, our pain, our deference, our vulnerability ... pick a theme and it'll be in here.

It made me reflect on my mum's dad who fought in the 2nd Boer War with his half brother, which I uncovered to through research. Now I want know if they fought together in WW1 ... I have my Papa's records and medals so I now have a new Winter project.

For a film to shift me into action like this it has to get under my skin so for me it's a 9.5/10

boogieman

Labyrinth. Well, some of it, because I turned it off. If it wasn't awful enough already with creaky acting, terrible fx and dodgy muppet characters, Bowie ruins it further by bursting into song.  

chris_john

Started watching the Irishman, but stopped halfway just because it is so long. I’ll get around to the 2nd half later. The de-aging of the actors looks a bit weird, and doesn’t really work when you see them actually try to move like young men. The scene where DeNiro gives the shopkeeper a kicking looked like an old geezer trying to stamp out a fire. It kind of took me out of the movie tbh.

skullfunkerry

stufisher said:

1917
Haven't watched it since its release ... enjoyed it much more this time round.
It is famed for 'that cinematic, panoramic, scene' and Mendes' obvious gift of capturing it in a single take but to me the story is so much more.
I think it displays the human condition in extremis ... how and why we are all driven, for different reasons, our flaws, our fears, our elation, our pain, our deference, our vulnerability ... pick a theme and it'll be in here.

It made me reflect on my mum's dad who fought in the 2nd Boer War with his half brother, which I uncovered to through research. Now I want know if they fought together in WW1 ... I have my Papa's records and medals so I now have a new Winter project.

For a film to shift me into action like this it has to get under my skin so for me it's a 9.5/10

That's just reminded me that a month or so ago I watched the Netflix remake of All Quiet on the Western Front. Was absolutely rivetted to it all the way through. It was gritty, gruesome, tense, and I enjoyed it (if "enjoyed" is the right word) just as much as all the big-ticket war films like Saving Private Ryan, 1917 etc. Also works as a perfect example of how fucking stupid war is, and what a waste of life it causes. 10/10 from me.

Offset

1923 (Netflix series)

OK, so it's a series not a film but hey - it has the feel of a sprawling movie.  Fantastic scenery and cinematography, excellent  cast including Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren and good plot which kept us riveted.  We watched the first two episodes B2B last night and can't wait for the next installment.  Recommended.

9/10

stufisher

Good call @skullfunkerry ; ... I haven't seen the Netflix remake of AQOTWF but I recall the original ... and its power.

I've decided to re-watch Band Of Brothers (HBO series box set) ... which I haven't re-visited since I watched it and discussed it with my dad, who was a Normandy veteran and was actually there.

I know I'll be shedding tears soon because of the above ... the Bastogne episode (e6 I think) will be a tester. My dad actually told me (as we watched it together in my snow-bound house) that was the coldest Winter of his life (Ardennes 1944) and he could still remember the pain of it.

Yes ... war is just utterly futile.

goldtop

Offset said:

1923 (Netflix series)

OK, so it's a series not a film but hey - it has the feel of a sprawling movie.  Fantastic scenery and cinematography, excellent  cast including Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren and good plot which kept us riveted.  We watched the first two episodes B2B last night and can't wait for the next installment.  Recommended.

9/10

Oooh .... wait, what sequel to Yellowstone ... missed that, too ... (ahem) ... on Paramount!   

I wondered how I'd overlooked it on Netflix.

Offset

goldtop said:

Offset said:

1923 (Netflix series)

OK, so it's a series not a film but hey - it has the feel of a sprawling movie.  Fantastic scenery and cinematography, excellent  cast including Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren and good plot which kept us riveted.  We watched the first two episodes B2B last night and can't wait for the next installment.  Recommended.

9/10

Oooh .... wait, what sequel to Yellowstone ... missed that, too ... (ahem) ... on Paramount!   

I wondered how I'd overlooked it on Netflix.

Ooooh shit - sorry @goldtop - I think it may have been on Paramount +.  The girls put it on and I walked in just after it started.

Wait until all the episodes have been released and then claim your free 7-day trial :-)

bertie

watched "most" of Great Escape again,   TBH first time in 30 odd years probably...............  fantastic "name check"  movie these days............ the 30 year gap probably added to the enjoyment

CaseOfAce

Banshees of Inisherin.
My god what an absolute slog this was to get thru - I haven't struggled this much with a film since watching "The Road".
I wasn't expecting the black comedic brilliance of In Bruges from the same crew - but you can't hang a 2 hour film solely off one guy abruptly refusing to talk to another cos he thinks he's dull - no matter how incredible the western isle of Ireland scenery, period correct 1923 settings and quality acting.
Last of the Summer Wine for hipsters. Sorry.

and on a completely different tack 
My Cousin Vinny (on Disney+) - hadn't seen it for years but they don't make 'em like this anymore. File under Groundhog Day, Roadhouse etc.. 

...and made time to watch both Knives Out.
I wasn't keen on the first - it was ok - but the second was decent for first half hour before the plot twists just lost my interest.

Haych

Rebecca (Netflix)

Lily James is the travelling companion of an elderly lady, who meets a wealthy young widower, Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer) while in the south of France.

After a quick holiday fling they get married and he then takes her back to his imposing country estate where the new Mrs de Winter is constantly in the shadow of Rebecca, her new husband's dead wife.

A bit of a slow burner to begin with but progressively gets better.  You know something isn't right and to be fair the plot isn't so complicated that it isn't quite obvious, but the real twist is quite subtle and unexpected.

Based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier and set in the mid-late 1930s it's really worth watching.  I was a bit dubious at first as it did take a while to get going but ended up being really good.  I also enjoyed the period in which the film is set where everyone dresses nice all the time, even if they're going to the beach.

8/10

strumjoughlamps

The Wonder (Netflix) very interesting story well acted and directed. Unique way to start and end a film.

fretmeister

Top Gun: Maverick.

The most enjoyable tosh I’ve seen for years.