What films have you watched recently?

rze99

November Man 2014

Great! Movie channel

Pierce Brosnan and the absolutely gorgeous Olga Kurylenko star in a Post-Bond Bond-like Bourne-like movie where he plays a recently retired CIA officer Peter Devereaux who is called back into neo-cold war duty to help extract an agent embedded deep in Russian political establishment with whom he has a relationship. Hardly original spy movie plot devices.

Set in Moscow and Belgrade but probably shot somewhere else it is full of ridiculous gun fights, car-chases, unrealistic computer and drone use. Fast pacing, posh sets and quick story telling can't disguise the fact that it is not quite up there with Bond and Bourne, but it's still a bit of fun and an OK Friday night Hollywood wine and crisps fodder.

6/10   

Jfingers

Gully - Netflix

A bit grim, 2/5 somewhere on reviews. Myself and Mrs J enjoyed it.

Quite short, someone way back ^ up there enjoyed Charlie Plummer in Lean On Pete etc.

It's an 'art' film I think. I didn't really understand the bad reviews.

I'd give it a solid 7.5.

Philly_Q

The BFI, in partnership with Cinecitta in Rome, have a season of Dario Argento's films this month, all recently restored.  And I couldn't resist, I've booked to see most of them...

Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)

Roberto, a jazz-rock drummer, accidentally kills a man he believes has been following him... and is then blackmailed by a mysterious witness, who also starts murdering several of Roberto's friends and associates. 

In retrospect I think this is the weakest of Argento's early films.  The plot makes even less sense than usual - Roberto himself is never suspected of the murders, although he's connected with all the victims.  He's also a bit of a shit.  The killer's identity and motive, when revealed, are totally random, although that's not unusual in Giallo films.

Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005)

Film student Giulio spies on his sexy neighbour and begins to suspect she's planning a murder... Made for Italian TV (although there's a surprising amount of blood and nudity), Argento's Hitchcock tribute is full of references to Rear Window and Strangers on a Train, and it has a pretty good Bernard Herrmann influenced score. 

I thought the film was a laugh riot when I first saw it, but it's actually much better than I remembered - I think it was the ridiculously over-long "action" scenes which had us in hysterics last time.  Watching it again, it's actually one of Argento's better recent efforts.

Surprisingly, both films were shown in Italian with subtitles, perhaps due to the Cinecitta involvement.  I think I've only seen them with English dubs before.  

thing

Just watching The Producers on BBC 1. Not seen it for years and forgotten how brilliantly bonkers it is. 

Grangousier

We went to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 at the IMAX on Friday. Given how much folks around here dislike my favourite films, I regret to inform you that I enjoyed it very much. As people say, a bit darker than previous, but not flippantly so. And an unexpected Adrian Belew call-out. 

SteveRobinson

The Menu (2022) Disney+

A group of diners travel to an exclusive restaurant on an island run by an obsessive celebrity chef.

It's reasonably entertaining with a pleasing twist at the end.

Haych

The Clovehitch Killer (Netflix)

Added it to the watchlist a while back thinking it was a documentary. Wrong!

Young lad of about 16 brought up in a strictly religious household meets a young girl obsessed with a serial killer who once operated in the area but has since gone quiet. 

After finding some disturbing material in his dad’s truck he begins to suspect his dad of being the killer. 

It was made in 2018, seems to be set in about 2010 and has the feel of a mid 90s straight to TV thriller. 

It’s slow, overlong, has absolutely no tension and is really quite boring. I don’t know how I managed to sit through it all. 

A generous 4/10

Keiko

Haych said:

A Quiet Place Part II (Netflix)

Despite the obvious plot killers in the first film, I did quite enjoy it.  

The second film provides some background into how the whole alien-beastie things came to be on our planet with its flashback to their arrival (more questions) and then picks up right where the first film ended.

To be fair, I thought it was on par with film number 1, it was tense in places and, not only that, it poses some equally baffling questions that can't really be answered.

Cillian Murphy, who normally I find difficult to watch, was very good I thought.  Of course, it's worth watching just for Emily blunt, who seems either never to age or just she just gets better with age.

Overall a good 7/10 I reckon.

 

I would agree with that. Just watched them both back to back, and would say they are both as enjoyable to watch as each other. In a 'switch your brain off and don't question the plot too much' kind of way. 7/10 from me too for both. Found myself saying "why would you do that?" way too much. The plot is silly, or should I say, some of the characters are clearly thick and deserve to die due to the stupid things they do, but just enjoy it for what it is. Emily Blunt not that hot in my opinion, reminds me of Donald Duck, but whatever floats your boat.

Philly_Q

M3GAN

Robotics engineer turned toy designer Gemma presents her orphaned niece Cady with a new best friend - M3gan, an artificially-intelligent robotic doll.

Yes, it's basically Chucky without the wisecracks... although there is some dark humour and some fairly obvious commentary/satire about consumerism and the dangers of artificial intelligence gone out of control.  M3gan herself is an interestingly creepy character - there's bound to be a sequel - but as a horror movie I found the whole thing a bit undercooked.

(Amazon Prime, £4.99 at the moment)

HerbieTheRadDorklift

Philly_Q said:

M3GAN

Robotics engineer turned toy designer Gemma presents her orphaned niece Cady with a new best friend - M3gan, an artificially-intelligent robotic doll.

Yes, it's basically Chucky without the wisecracks... although there is some dark humour and some fairly obvious commentary/satire about consumerism and the dangers of artificial intelligence gone out of control.  M3gan herself is an interestingly creepy character - there's bound to be a sequel - but as a horror movie I found the whole thing a bit undercooked.

(Amazon Prime, £4.99 at the moment)

They had to meet a PG-13 rating in USA

Philly_Q

HerbieTheRadDorklift said:

Philly_Q said:

M3GAN

Robotics engineer turned toy designer Gemma presents her orphaned niece Cady with a new best friend - M3gan, an artificially-intelligent robotic doll.

Yes, it's basically Chucky without the wisecracks... although there is some dark humour and some fairly obvious commentary/satire about consumerism and the dangers of artificial intelligence gone out of control.  M3gan herself is an interestingly creepy character - there's bound to be a sequel - but as a horror movie I found the whole thing a bit undercooked.

(Amazon Prime, £4.99 at the moment)

They had to meet a PG-13 rating in USA

Yeah, but only because they chose to target that audience... and it's not impossible to make a film effectively scary at PG-13.  I'm not asking for a gorefest, just a bit more atmosphere and excitement.

Offset

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

With Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale as Ken Miles.  A biography of Ford's race to beat Ferrari at Le Mans.  Ford's appetite came from a failed tie-in with Ferrari which led to a personal battle between the towering egos of Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari.  Enter Carroll Shelby, ex-racing driver and former Le Mans winner and now an engineer who is drafted in by Lee Iacocca, a Ford exec, to make it happen.  Central to Shelby's plans is Ken Miles, an English driver.

This is an absolutely brilliant film.  Politics, racing, excitement. classic cars, great performances and a true story.  We were both glued to the screen throughout and the racing scenes are fantastic.  Yes, there is CGI but it's scarcely noticeable and the machinery is very convincing.

I can't recommend this enough.

9.5/10.

equalsql

Rye Lane Disney+

A true rare gem of a film, just about perfect.
A rom-com set in Brixton about a guy whose trying to come to terms with his girlfriend dumping him who meets a girl who  hears him crying in the stall of a unisex toilet. 
Very funny with a fast witty script that see the two of them talking out their issues as they wander around Brixton.
Great performances from David Jonsson as Dom and Vivian Oparah as the free spirited Yas.
The film is like a comedic British version of Before Sunrise.
A special shout out to a wonderfully funny performance from Benjamin Sarpong-Broni who plays Eric, Dom's oldest but clueless friend who has shacked with up Dom's former girlfriend. 
Absolutely worth your time.
A solid 10/10

Keiko

Offset said:

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

With Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale as Ken Miles.  A biography of Ford's race to beat Ferrari at Le Mans.  Ford's appetite came from a failed tie-in with Ferrari which led to a personal battle between the towering egos of Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari.  Enter Carroll Shelby, ex-racing driver and former Le Mans winner and now an engineer who is drafted in by Lee Iacocca, a Ford exec, to make it happen.  Central to Shelby's plans is Ken Miles, an English driver.

This is an absolutely brilliant film.  Politics, racing, excitement. classic cars, great performances and a true story.  We were both glued to the screen throughout and the racing scenes are fantastic.  Yes, there is CGI but it's scarcely noticeable and the machinery is very convincing.

I can't recommend this enough.

9.5/10.

It's called 'Le Mans 66' now isn't it? It is a good film, Bale's accent bugs me throughout though.

LastMantra

Offset said:

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

With Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale as Ken Miles.  A biography of Ford's race to beat Ferrari at Le Mans.  Ford's appetite came from a failed tie-in with Ferrari which led to a personal battle between the towering egos of Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari.  Enter Carroll Shelby, ex-racing driver and former Le Mans winner and now an engineer who is drafted in by Lee Iacocca, a Ford exec, to make it happen.  Central to Shelby's plans is Ken Miles, an English driver.

This is an absolutely brilliant film.  Politics, racing, excitement. classic cars, great performances and a true story.  We were both glued to the screen throughout and the racing scenes are fantastic.  Yes, there is CGI but it's scarcely noticeable and the machinery is very convincing.

I can't recommend this enough.

9.5/10.

Where did you see it please? 

Offset

Keiko said:

Offset said:

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

With Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale as Ken Miles.  A biography of Ford's race to beat Ferrari at Le Mans.  Ford's appetite came from a failed tie-in with Ferrari which led to a personal battle between the towering egos of Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari.  Enter Carroll Shelby, ex-racing driver and former Le Mans winner and now an engineer who is drafted in by Lee Iacocca, a Ford exec, to make it happen.  Central to Shelby's plans is Ken Miles, an English driver.

This is an absolutely brilliant film.  Politics, racing, excitement. classic cars, great performances and a true story.  We were both glued to the screen throughout and the racing scenes are fantastic.  Yes, there is CGI but it's scarcely noticeable and the machinery is very convincing.

I can't recommend this enough.

9.5/10.

It's called 'Le Mans 66' now isn't it? It is a good film, Bale's accent bugs me throughout though.

It's called 'Le Mans 66' in some European countries apparently.  Bale's accent was one of my pernickety reasons why I didn't give it a 10, but I was being really nit-picky. 

@LastMantra - we bought it on Prime.  Worthwhile as I'll definitely watch it again

NB - if anyone happens to find themselves at a loose end in Las Vegas, visit the Carroll Shelby Museum.  It's fantastic.

fretmeister

https://www.justwatch.com/

It tells you what platforms have what films for free or subs streaming.

It’s very useful.

Brio

Ford vs Ferrari annoyed me by missing this:

"As project engineers, they chose Eric Broadley, whose Lola GT was considered groundbreaking, and John Wyer, who had won Le Mans with Carroll Shelby driving for Aston Martin as the race manager. This established a four-pronged team with Lunn and Broadley designing and building the cars, Wyer establishing the race team and Shelby acting as the front man in Europe. With ten months until the 1964 race, a workshop was established in Broadley’s garage in Bromley, south of London. But when established as Ford Advanced Vehicles moved the operations to Slough."

That is from Ford's history of the GT40.

LastMantra

Offset said:

Keiko said:

Offset said:

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

With Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale as Ken Miles.  A biography of Ford's race to beat Ferrari at Le Mans.  Ford's appetite came from a failed tie-in with Ferrari which led to a personal battle between the towering egos of Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari.  Enter Carroll Shelby, ex-racing driver and former Le Mans winner and now an engineer who is drafted in by Lee Iacocca, a Ford exec, to make it happen.  Central to Shelby's plans is Ken Miles, an English driver.

This is an absolutely brilliant film.  Politics, racing, excitement. classic cars, great performances and a true story.  We were both glued to the screen throughout and the racing scenes are fantastic.  Yes, there is CGI but it's scarcely noticeable and the machinery is very convincing.

I can't recommend this enough.

9.5/10.

It's called 'Le Mans 66' now isn't it? It is a good film, Bale's accent bugs me throughout though.

It's called 'Le Mans 66' in some European countries apparently.  Bale's accent was one of my pernickety reasons why I didn't give it a 10, but I was being really nit-picky. 

@LastMantra - we bought it on Prime.  Worthwhile as I'll definitely watch it again

NB - if anyone happens to find themselves at a loose end in Las Vegas, visit the Carroll Shelby Museum.  It's fantastic.

@Offset Cheers bud, one to watch with the oldman methinks. 

Brio

You know Gary? 8-)