What films have you watched recently?

Offset

Off the top of my head, I can't think of single film Liam Neeson has been in that I like.  And I can think of a fair few that I don't.

However, many years ago a friend of mine who works in the industry worked on a film with LN and said he was a really nice chap.  So I'll cut the guy some slack for that alone.

Kalimna

goldtop said:

boogieman said:

Haych said:

Calm down, Emp, but yeah, I agree with you on all points above.

But, but…. it had Liam Neeson in it, honestly what did you expect? He’s like Jason Statham’s dad these days. 

What he does have is a very particular set of skills. Skills he has acquired over a very long acting career. Skills that make him a nightmare for people like me.

Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame does a phenomenal take on that oft-quoted line, voiced as Kermit the Frog. 

Philly_Q

Offset said:

Off the top of my head, I can't think of single film Liam Neeson has been in that I like.  And I can think of a fair few that I don't.

However, many years ago a friend of mine who works in the industry worked on a film with LN and said he was a really nice chap.  So I'll cut the guy some slack for that alone.

I had to go and look at his filmography.... Darkman?  Batman Begins?  And he's done a few decent voice roles.  But you're not far wrong.

Apparently he's going to be playing Frank Drebin Jr. in a new Naked Gun movie.  Which sounds all kinds of wrong.

ICBM

Offset said:

Off the top of my head, I can't think of single film Liam Neeson has been in that I like.

Schindler's List. But even that - although it's a truly great film and I think everyone should see it once - I didn't actually *like* in the sense of enjoying it to watch. And Ralph Fiennes does by far the better acting in it anyway.

bertie

Amsterdam   -   really enjoyed it

Philly_Q

Men (Amazon Prime)

The term "folk horror" always attracts me, but I had a feeling I was going to either love this film or really hate it... as it turns out it was neither.  One of those films where I didn't know what to expect... but it still wasn't what I expected.

It's beautifully shot, the performances from Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear are excellent, and as a horror movie it gets pretty full-on in the second half.  But it's a shame that the underlying metaphor/message is so heavy-handed and clumsy. Also...

...it's very clear from early on that most of what we see is not really happening, it's all in Harper's (Buckley's) head.  Supernatural horror may be pure fantasy, but I prefer it to be "real" in the world of the film, at least.

Haych

Rogue Agent (Netflix)

Completely different to how I thought it would be given the title - I imagined your typical car chases, bombs going off and guns blazing type action flick.

Turns out it's based on true events, which I did read up on after the film.  Can't really write a synopsis without ruining it for anyone who wants to watch it, but it ended up being quite a good film and was very well made.

The events are true to life with a bit of embellishment in that they've rolled several events that were stretched out over many years and compressed them, consolidated them, and wrapped them up in an easy to digest two hour story.  Nothing is over egged or even sexed up for the sake of making a film out of it - in that respect it's been handled very well.

I'd recommend it.  It's ever so slightly slow to start with and if you haven't read the blurb before watching (as I didn't) then it doesn't really give anything away until about halfway through the film and keeps the viewer wondering what the deal is.

There are no dramatic twists, one or two implausibilities which are forgivable for the sake of keeping the flow and drama going, but still pleasantly different to anything I've watched recently.

It's worth watching and I'd give it 7.5/10

boogieman

Philly_Q said:

Men (Amazon Prime)

The term "folk horror" always attracts me, but I had a feeling I was going to either love this film or really hate it... as it turns out it was neither.  One of those films where I didn't know what to expect... but it still wasn't what I expected.

It's beautifully shot, the performances from Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear are excellent, and as a horror movie it gets pretty full-on in the second half.  But it's a shame that the underlying metaphor/message is so heavy-handed and clumsy. Also...

...it's very clear from early on that most of what we see is not really happening, it's all in Harper's (Buckley's) head.  Supernatural horror may be pure fantasy, but I prefer it to be "real" in the world of the film, at least.

Ooh I do like me a bit of folk horror, thanks for the heads up. 

strumjoughlamps

goldtop said:

White Noise (Netflix). I suppose genre-defying is another way of saying WTF. It's an absurd take on existentialism and suburbia, sometimes funny, mostly just weird. Some great cinematography here and there and a lot of nods to movies (e.g. Repo Man) and movie cliches - some bits are very 'meta'. A few clues here and there to help connect the dots, but I can't be bothered to watch it again. 4/10

Probably 6/7 out of 10 for me.

It definitely a film in my indie lowish budget non box office area that I choose to watch but it's just too long it becomes forgettable, and I am not an Adam Driver fan although it does his job well in this.

The attention to detail in the scenes tho are tip top spot on, the scene where he goes to the basement to rip the rubbish apart looking for something is perfection in every aspect.

It's a shame it drags on as you do come away feeling like you have just sat and listened to 2 1/4 hours of White Noise.

Jfingers

We watched Lion on netflix last night.

We both had dust in our eyes almost throughout it, my experience was made even darker having travelled around/through India back when that was a thing.

Excellent, 9.5/10

DrCornelius

strumjoughlamps said:

goldtop said:

White Noise (Netflix). I suppose genre-defying is another way of saying WTF. It's an absurd take on existentialism and suburbia, sometimes funny, mostly just weird. Some great cinematography here and there and a lot of nods to movies (e.g. Repo Man) and movie cliches - some bits are very 'meta'. A few clues here and there to help connect the dots, but I can't be bothered to watch it again. 4/10

Probably 6/7 out of 10 for me.

It definitely a film in my indie lowish budget non box office area that I choose to watch but it's just too long it becomes forgettable, and I am not an Adam Driver fan although it does his job well in this.

The attention to detail in the scenes tho are tip top spot on, the scene where he goes to the basement to rip the rubbish apart looking for something is perfection in every aspect.

It's a shame it drags on as you do come away feeling like you have just sat and listened to 2 1/4 hours of White Noise.

I gave up after 20 mins last night  . It felt like a Zappa album in that it jumps around all over the place and you have to be really paying attention to get the most out of it . I was knackered so just got frustrated ……maybe one for another day

Blueingreen

axisus said:

Gassage said:

North by North West

In my opinion, the greatest film of all time.

I saw it for the first time about 3 months ago. It was good but nowhere near greatest ever for me. I don't even think it's the best Cary Grant film, personally I rate Charade higher - a wonderful film with really surprising twists and turns.

As a young Hitchcock fan I'd have ranked NbNW well down my list of favourite Hitch films. It definitely wouldn't have made the top 10.  But over the years it's kept creeping up in my estimation.  It's lightness of touch seems to stand up to repeat viewing better than some of the more typically sardonic stuff.  Still not quite my favourite Hitch, but it's probably top 5 now.

I agree Charade is superb.

Devil#20

sinbaadi said:

Brio said:

You want realism in action films?!!
Every time I watch Top Gun Maverick I find something new to be amazed at, but I ignore it because it isn't a documentary.
The scene where Maverick without orders does a high speed run up the attack course to show it can be done shows him (on the computer plot) approaching the course.
He then rolls inverted and enters the course, when of course he should be heading away from it.
Am I dummy spitting?No.
It's only a movie.
And I enjoyed it.

Not seen it but why does rolling to inverted change your direction of travel?

It doesn't. He had to roll inverted to fly the route under positive g. Roll inverted and pull. This is the piloting technique to lose altitude quickly. If he had pushed the stick forward to fly down then he would have pushed several negative g and the blood would have rushed to his head and ruptured his eyeballs more than likely. This is why a fighter aircraft is typically stressed to fly in the range -2 to 9g. g-suits and straining techniques protect you from blacking out at high g by keeping the blood in your upper body. Under negative g there are no equivalent protections and you red out. You really don't want to be flying at negative g for very long if at all. 

Incidentally, it's usual on a maiden flight to fly inverted at 1g to check there's nothing loose in the cockpit (like the odd screw or fastener). You can then pick it off the inside of the canopy and file it as an incident in the de-brief. 

Devil#20

Brio said:

Sorry, didn't explain, if when inverted you pull back on the stick, lots, which seems to be the new standard manoeuvre.

There's nothing new about it. It's always been the standard manoeuvre to dive an aircraft rapidly. 

bertie

DrCornelius said:

strumjoughlamps said:

goldtop said:

White Noise (Netflix). 

I gave up after 20 mins last night  . It felt like a Zappa album in that it jumps around all over the place and you have to be really paying attention to get the most out of it . I was knackered so just got frustrated ……maybe one for another day

this, probably 10 minutes  - not for me and Mrs B,   I like my movies to be candy-floss for the brain



started watching  The Pale Blue Eye -  seems good, but Mr Bale appears to be playing the same  "Pacino/Columbo" character as in Amsterdam

Brio

"There's nothing new about it. It's always been the standard manoeuvre to dive an aircraft rapidly. "

I know, its just the way see it so much in movies now. My point was he was heading towards the course on the plot on screen so why did he have to reverse direction?
Also for the first part of the attack simulation run, how did they find a convenient matching valley to fly up for the cameras so it wasn't ALL over boring flat desert? 

Stratavarious

For A Few Dollars More

Oldie but a goodie…. Up there with The Good The Bad and The Ugly

8/10

Philly_Q

Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount+)

Well, if you can get through the first 90 minutes of bullshit, the last 40 are pretty good.

CavemanGrogg

The Pale Blue Eyes - Netflix 7/8 out of 10

Hard to give a brief description without spoilers, but it involves Edgar Allen Poe's days in the military shortly after he published his first collection of poems under the pen name ''A Bostonian''.

Stratavarious

The Ninth Gate

Trending on Netflix apparently..  an old and not so greatly well done supernatural forces /devil worshipping cult yarn involving a hunt for some old books.  Acting from Johnny Depp is a bit wooden and the twist ending a bit weak.

6.66/10