What films have you watched recently?

Haych

97% Owned

A slightly dated documentary (made in 2012) made after the financial crash that explains how money is created and how the banks and financial markets operate. 

Really interesting stuff and also goes some way into explaining why successive governments haven’t got a grip on the banks. 

Towards the end a couple of financial analysts suggest a couple of ways financial reform could happen, although it’s unlikely it ever will. 

It’s quite complicated in parts and I can’t pretend I fully understood everything but the message I got was that banks are bastards and have too much power. 

Of course, I already knew that but at least now I kinda know why. 

Netflix

boogieman

The Dark Tower. Based on the Stephen King books, but a sort of sequel using some of his plotlines and characters. Such a strange film...a mixture of really good and absolutely awful. It doesn’t help that the action and storyline randomly jump around all over the place, like it was edited by a 10 year old. Somehow it’s still got Ron Howard’s name as producer attached to it, which can’t have done his cv much good. However Idris Elba is pretty good as the Gunslinger, Matthew McConnaughey hams it up terribly but still makes a decent villain and some of the effects are good. The rest…. meh. 

It was never going to be easy to make a film of the original books as they’re a sprawling mess with some really weird and probably unfilmable plot ideas but I think this could’ve been a whole lot better with some decent pacing and editing. 

A towering 5/10.  

Reggaebass

Watched The Bank Job on Netflix, 2008 film based on a true story, really enjoyed it 

bertie

CavemanGrogg said:

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''.

if you havent,  watch Amsterdam,   compare Bale's characters 

CavemanGrogg

bertie said:

CavemanGrogg said:

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''.

if you havent,  watch Amsterdam,   compare Bale's characters 

I thought Bale was in it, the guy who played Poe was brilliant.

Offset

Brightburn (2019)

Childless couple in a rural setting find a baby in a crashed alien spaceship and adopt him as their own.  However, young Brandon isn't quite what he seems and when he turns 12, he starts behaving very strangely indeed.

I didn't really have any expectations for this, but it was really REALLY good.  Whilst the premise is pretty simple, it's very well executed, has some believable characters and is unsettling in places.  I won't telegraph the very obvious and deliberate parallels as they become evident fairly early on.  But it's a great little low budget film which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Recommended - 8.5/10.

bertie

CavemanGrogg said:

  the guy who played Poe was brilliant.

he was Dudley in the Harry Potter films...................   

bertie

Offset said:

Brightburn (2019)

Childless couple in a rural setting find a baby in a crashed alien spaceship and adopt him as their own.  However, young Brandon isn't quite what he seems and when he turns 12, he starts behaving very strangely indeed.

I didn't really have any expectations for this, but it was really REALLY good.  Whilst the premise is pretty simple, it's very well executed, has some believable characters and is unsettling in places.  I won't telegraph the very obvious and deliberate parallels as they become evident fairly early on.  But it's a great little low budget film which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Recommended - 8.5/10.

I had Barry Normans voice in my head while reading that

Philly_Q

bertie said:

I had Barry Normans voice in my head while reading that

Was he saying "your grandmother says hello" or "run to the light"?

fretmeister

Get on up.

The James Brown bio.

Top quality performances from Boseman and others but not a lot of story. I would have liked to know more about the man.

10/10 for the music and the acting

5/10 for the script.

sev112

Watched the Menu last night on Netflix or Prime or whatever we’ve got.
Ralph Fiennes as an executive/ celebrated chef.  Completely not what I expected .  The Holt chap from Wokingham is in it, as is Anya Taylor whatshername from the Chess series,  quite enjoyed it,  lots of food in it but it is not  foodie film,  worth a couple of hours,  

Offset

Philly_Q said:

bertie said:

I had Barry Normans voice in my head while reading that

Was he saying "your grandmother says hello" or "run to the light"?

...and all the while, 'Unchained Melody' played in the background...

mikeyrob73

boogieman said:

The Dark Tower. Based on the Stephen King books, but a sort of sequel using some of his plotlines and characters. Such a strange film...a mixture of really good and absolutely awful. It doesn’t help that the action and storyline randomly jump around all over the place, like it was edited by a 10 year old. Somehow it’s still got Ron Howard’s name as producer attached to it, which can’t have done his cv much good. However Idris Elba is pretty good as the Gunslinger, Matthew McConnaughey hams it up terribly but still makes a decent villain and some of the effects are good. The rest…. meh. 

It was never going to be easy to make a film of the original books as they’re a sprawling mess with some really weird and probably unfilmable plot ideas but I think this could’ve been a whole lot better with some decent pacing and editing. 

A towering 5/10.  

I think your super generous with 5/10 

i have read the full series of books a couple times over the years and thought it was bloody awful 

Offset

mikeyrob73 said:

boogieman said:

The Dark Tower. Based on the Stephen King books, but a sort of sequel using some of his plotlines and characters. Such a strange film...a mixture of really good and absolutely awful. It doesn’t help that the action and storyline randomly jump around all over the place, like it was edited by a 10 year old. Somehow it’s still got Ron Howard’s name as producer attached to it, which can’t have done his cv much good. However Idris Elba is pretty good as the Gunslinger, Matthew McConnaughey hams it up terribly but still makes a decent villain and some of the effects are good. The rest…. meh. 

It was never going to be easy to make a film of the original books as they’re a sprawling mess with some really weird and probably unfilmable plot ideas but I think this could’ve been a whole lot better with some decent pacing and editing. 

A towering 5/10.  

I think your super generous with 5/10 

i have read the full series of books a couple times over the years and thought it was bloody awful 

It was utter shite.  2/10 from me.

goldtop

The Pale Blue Eye. 2/10

alalalkasar

Barbarian on Disney plus.
Very good setup, not such a great finale with a bit of B-movie fun inbetween. I'm sure if it had been made in the 70s it would be a cult film but it wasn't so it isn't.
7/10

Shrews

Radioactivity

The Marie Curie story basically, with Rosamund Pyke in the lead role, looking like Helen Mirren and sounding like Helen Mirren. It didn't really tell me anything about Marie Curie I didn't know and although well acted I doubt I will remember it in a few months.

Apart from Rosamund Pyke looke like Helen Mirren

6.5/10

ICBM

Mary Queen Of Scots

Historical drama with Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as Mary and Elizabeth I. Well, sort-of historical…

Actually, despite the questionable accuracy and some of the casting which was widely criticised at the time, it works perfectly well - the quality of the acting and direction makes it completely possible to ignore the dubious historical bits and just enjoy a brilliantly made film. Jack Lowden steals it as Darnley, but there’s also a fantastic cameo from David Tennant as John Knox.

8/10

(BBC)

Haych

The Pale Blue Eye

Gave it a go and couldn't really get into it.  It was all very well done, though, and I do like Christian Bale a lot but his character seemed to be from the border between America and Derbyshire.

When it got to the part about devil worship and the young girl talking to the dead it went off - that stuff freaks me right out, and for good reason.

Philly_Q

Haych said:

The Pale Blue Eye

Gave it a go and couldn't really get into it.  It was all very well done, though, and I do like Christian Bale a lot but his character seemed to be from the border between America and Derbyshire.

When it got to the part about devil worship and the young girl talking to the dead it went off - that stuff freaks me right out, and for good reason.

And now you've got me interested.... I've got a feeling I've read the book, ages ago, but I don't remember anything about it.