What films have you watched recently?

Brio

Erin Brockovic. 
Because it is my guilt movie pleasure. 9/10

Offset

Black Sea (2014)

Treasure hunt suspense/action malarky with Jude Law.  Must admit I'd never heard of it (or if I had, I'd swiftly forgotten all about it).

Basic plot is (without revealing anything you won't glean very early on in the movie) that Jude Law is asked to assemble a bunch of submariners, re-commission an old Soviet-era sub and use it to hunt down a load of gold contained in another sunken sub lying at the bottom of the ocean.

We really enjoyed this.  It was slightly switch-off-brain time but none the worse for it.  A few twists and turns in the plot, a well-maintained level of suspense and, of course, sub movies always have an aura of dread/claustrophobia to them and this was no exception.  I liked Law's performance too.

The Burke-from-Aliens-alike character made me grin - I don't know if it was a deliberate homage to that movie or just a coincidence.

Anyhow - a solid 6.5/10 from me.

BigBearKris

Offset said:

Black Sea (2014)

Treasure hunt suspense/action malarky with Jude Law.  Must admit I'd never heard of it (or if I had, I'd swiftly forgotten all about it).

Basic plot is (without revealing anything you won't glean very early on in the movie) that Jude Law is asked to assemble a bunch of submariners, re-commission an old Soviet-era sub and use it to hunt down a load of gold contained in another sunken sub lying at the bottom of the ocean.

We really enjoyed this.  It was slightly switch-off-brain time but none the worse for it.  A few twists and turns in the plot, a well-maintained level of suspense and, of course, sub movies always have an aura of dread/claustrophobia to them and this was no exception.  I liked Law's performance too.

The Burke-from-Aliens-alike character made me grin - I don't know if it was a deliberate homage to that movie or just a coincidence.

Anyhow - a solid 6.5/10 from me.

Good shout,  I've seen this popping up on Netflix and added to my list. Good to hear that it's decent.

fretmeister

Greatape said:

'Star Trek: Into Darkness'. 

Saw the plot twist coming a mile off, and Cumberbatch chews the scenery, but it was diverting enough. Shit ending but decent cgi. 

The third one is better.

rze99

Palm Springs
Prime Movie 2021

Groundhog Day time-loop re-hash concept romance set around a wedding but here we get not one, but two (fairly tediously self-obsessed) protagonists stuck reliving the same family Wedding day (itself an idea as dull as ditchwater), one of whom has been there for a while. I can see the sell to the backers. "not one person stuck in the loop but two, so will they or won't they get it together!?" Yeah.... we can sell that. 

I watched this with my wife and a dear old close friend (who selected this movie herself from a list of possibles...). They both enjoyed it and I'm afraid I didn't particularly. Yes, there are a few quirky scenes that mildly amuse, but no I didn't really like the characters, the Wedding setting or the actors and even in the shared time loop concept .

The reviews of this are quite good but I'm afraid I don't really agree. If I'd been watching it by myself I might have changed movies. Still we had some nice snacks and wine along the way and I was pleased they liked it.

Me 5/10
based on their reactions - Wife 7/10  Friend 8/10

Lodious

Bank of Dave. Entertaining enough, and was happy going along with the plot until the totally unbelievable ending....Phil Collen did a gig wearing a shirt.  

Shrews

Annie Hall

I've seen it a few times but can never really remember the characters that well. I tend to get it muddled with Manhattan which is superior IMO. Woody Allen basically plays Woody Allen and Diane Keaton is well, Diane Keaton. She plays her character to perfection. Mixed-up, seeing a psychiatrist and seemingly wanting Woody Allen's character (Arty) but not really wanting him, which of course is enough to drive anyone bonkers let alone Woody...I mean Arty, who is clearly bonkers anyway. She oozes sex appeal in an 'I'm available-but nuts-do you want me-you'll suit me temporarily-whilst I look for someone better, kinda way.'

There are plenty of laugh out loud moments but if you hate Woody Allen stuff, then is the one you'll probably hate most of all.

(7.5/10)

Haych

What Happens in Vegas

An oldie but a goodie. Another Ashton Kutcher rom-com, paired this time with Cameron Diaz. 

He gets fired from his job, she gets dumped by her fiancé so they both decide to have a blow out in Vegas, where they meet, spend a drunken night together and get hitched. 

The next day he wins $3m on a one armed bandit with her coin and during the marriage annulment hearing the judge freezes the money and sentences them to six months marriage. 

Both do everything they can to sabotage the other and claim the full three-mil, but the inevitable happens and the rest is predictable. 

Kutcher is on form and Diaz is ok but annoying as she usually is, but the chemistry seems to work and makes for quite an entertaining and funny couple of hours. 

On Prime I think. 

7/10

Springywheel

Took my nieces to the cinema to watch the new Puss in Boots. Didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did - a very decent and amusing family film. 8/10

LastMantra

Murder on the Orient express.

For some reason I thought it was more of a spoof. So that was a disappointment. Just thought it was pretty dull and never really got into it. 

Reggaebass

The Mummy with Tom cruise on Netflix, seemed to go on for ages and nothing really happens 5/10

Philly_Q

LastMantra said:

Murder on the Orient express.

For some reason I thought it was more of a spoof. So that was a disappointment. Just thought it was pretty dull and never really got into it. 

Which version?  The Kenneth Branagh one, I'm guessing.

chillidoggy

Black Sea

For anyone technically-minded, or who knows anything about submarines, it's about as authentic as a Chibson LP. Actually, I think I may have been onboard that sub a few years ago when it was moored in Folkestone, but cannot be sure. The plot is about as plausible as a politician's excuse as to why taxpayers cash paid for a duck-house renovation, so basically it's a load of hokum.

On the plus side, great, but wasted, performance by Jude Law, and overall it's entertaining, if only to watch in disbelief. 5/10 on the Chilli Scale.

stickyfiddle

Ant Man Quantumania. Good fun and certainly much better than the critics suggest. 

Not hurt by having an entire ~200-seat screen to ourselves. Though I'm guessing that's not a great sign on opening weekend...  

axisus

On a whim I watched Carry on Doctor yesterday. Needless to say, a film of its time. I don't think you'd get all those script elements through today! But it was a lot of fun, with a healthy dose of nostalgia. 

Jim Dale was a cracking comedy actor, and I'm sure that his 'physical' style must have influenced Jim Carrey. The usual cast all did their thing, and the big treat was the utterly delectable Anita Harris in a pink nurse uniform! A firm favourite of my teen years, especially the bit on the roof where she loses her skirt!

Also superb in this one was Frankie Howerd, a complete one-off comedian with a fabulous sense of timing and expression. I think that I appreciate him much more now than I did in my youth - The same for Peter Butterworth, who only had a small role in this film.

I feel reluctant to give it a score, it can't really get a high one but that's not to say it isn't an enjoyable watch.

Jfingers

Slumberland

Netflix

Enjoyable romp for a Sunday evening. Can't say much without spoilers. If you enjoyed Bridge To Terabithia you might well enjoy this.

It might make your eyes dusty at times, it did mine. 7/10

Philly_Q

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Amazon Prime)

Washed-up actor Nick Cage (Nic Cage) gets invited to Majorca by a wealthy super-fan... and ends up in the middle of a CIA investigation which also endangers his estranged wife and daughter.  The thriller/action movie elements are a bit meandering but Cage is great as "himself", the supporting cast is good, it's endearingly absurd and very funny at times.  I liked it.

We Need To Do Something (Shudder, also on Amazon Prime)

A dysfunctional family of four are trapped in their own house, seemingly by the aftermath of a storm, but has something much stranger really happened?  This low budget horror gets pretty grim, certainly not one to watch with the kids - and maybe not if you have kids - but for a film with, essentially, a cast of five and a single location, it's a commendable effort.

Jfingers

@Philly_Q I love a bit of Cage, my faves are Leaving Las Vegas, 8mm and Con Air in that order.

Unfortunately I don't do prime yet...

You've made me sad!

stufisher

Patch Adams

Robin Williams in a perfect role for him. Released in 1998 but I hadn't seen it previously.

If you're happy to be uplifted and removed from the trudgery of current day to day living in Blighty ... if you like to have a pop at 'authourity' and rules ... if you like true stories then I'm confident that you'll enjoy this.

I'm always happy to be reminded of how good Robin Williams was ... 8.5 / 10

Haych

Speaking of Cage, we watched National Treasure last night on Disney +

It's actually pretty good in that it's a bit of Indiana Jones meets Dan Brown kind of adventure movie.  

Completely ridiculous in places - torches that have been left for hundreds of years still burst into flame at a mere spark, and 200 year old ropes will still take the weight of several people.  Cage and his companions can move across cities in mere minutes and dig up a ship buried in ice for a couple of centuries in just an afternoon!

But for all that, if you turn off your brain it's really quite good.