What films have you watched recently?

hollywoodrox

FM  (Excellent I used to have the Soundtrack album )
https://youtu.be/ub9t5QtkBzM?si=r4Y_6lVoIks6UrMz

hollywoodrox

Corvette Summer (very good )

https://youtu.be/XC-GW2L7QuU?si=gy53mv3QnpNdLvyF

Philly_Q

The Wages Of Fear (2024) (Netflix)

Somewhere or other in North Africa, two brothers agree to drive 200kg of nitroglycerin across 500 miles of treacherous desert roads in order to put out a fire at an oil well close to a refugee camp.

This is a remake of the classic 1953 film by Henri-Georges Clouzot, based on a novel which was also adapted, as Sorcerer, by William Friedkin in 1977.  In the original film, the drama and tension arise from the danger of transporting the unstable cargo... that wasn't enough for these filmmakers, so they turned it into a shoot-'em-up action film.  If it wasn't French, it could quite easily have been directed by Guy Ritchie and starred Jason Statham.

It's all perfectly alright, I suppose, but not a patch on the original.

rze99

A Haunting in Venice
Movie 2023
Prime

It's 1947 in Venice and Hercule Poirot (Branagh) is retired living in luxury in He is visited by an old friend, a crime writer named Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) whose books turned him into a celebrity. 

She implores him to come to a séance, hosted by a famous medium named Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh), whom, she says, seems to be the real deal but she wants Poirot to check if she is a fraud. It’s Halloween, and the seance will take place in a famously haunted palazzo.

Poirot soon finds himself presented with numerous bodies and is immersed in familiar whodunnit territory, albeit with supernatural and gothic aspects.

The film mixes elements of traditional Christie, horror and thriller. It is visually absolutely stunning especially the first 3rd especially has some fantastic and unusual shots of Venice. 

Enjoyable. Worth seeing just for the settings and cinematography.

7/10

ICBM

Philly_Q said:

This is a remake of the classic 1953 film by Henri-Georges Clouzot, based on a novel which was also adapted, as Sorcerer, by William Friedkin in 1977.  In the original film, the drama and tension arise from the danger of transporting the unstable cargo... that wasn't enough for these filmmakers, so they turned it into a shoot-'em-up action film.  If it wasn't French, it could quite easily have been directed by Guy Ritchie and starred Jason Statham.

Oh dear... I'll have to remind myself not to watch that.

It does at least let me say that I think Sorcerer is even better than the original Wages Of Fear though, which I know makes Mark Kermode think I'm an idiot .

Philly_Q

ICBM said:

Philly_Q said:

This is a remake of the classic 1953 film by Henri-Georges Clouzot, based on a novel which was also adapted, as Sorcerer, by William Friedkin in 1977.  In the original film, the drama and tension arise from the danger of transporting the unstable cargo... that wasn't enough for these filmmakers, so they turned it into a shoot-'em-up action film.  If it wasn't French, it could quite easily have been directed by Guy Ritchie and starred Jason Statham.

Oh dear... I'll have to remind myself not to watch that.

It does at least let me say that I think Sorcerer is even better than the original Wages Of Fear though, which I know makes Mark Kermode think I'm an idiot .

I haven't watched Sorcerer, or if I have it was so long ago that I don't remember.  I do intend to.  I'd be surprised if it's better than the Clouzot film, which is one of my absolute favourites.  So does Kermode not rate it?  He normally loves all things Friedkin.

ICBM

Philly_Q said:

I haven't watched Sorcerer, or if I have it was so long ago that I don't remember.  I do intend to.  I'd be surprised if it's better than the Clouzot film, which is one of my absolute favourites.  So does Kermode not rate it?  He normally loves all things Friedkin.

He rates it very highly, but said that anyone who thinks it's better than the original is an idiot. It's my favourite Friedkin film and I do genuinely think it's better.

Philly_Q

ICBM said:

Philly_Q said:

I haven't watched Sorcerer, or if I have it was so long ago that I don't remember.  I do intend to.  I'd be surprised if it's better than the Clouzot film, which is one of my absolute favourites.  So does Kermode not rate it?  He normally loves all things Friedkin.

He rates it very highly, but said that anyone who thinks it's better than the original is an idiot. It's my favourite Friedkin film and I do genuinely think it's better.

We shall see.   I should probably watch both in quick succession to judge fairly.

Gulliver

Deadpool and Wolverine

Millions spent on good visual moments and jokes, strung together with about £6.50 spent on coherent story. Slightly too meta and self-referential, most of the cameos and extended cast are under-utilised.

Stratavarious

Find Me Falling. Netflix

Oh dear…. 

stylesforfree

Safe House - great fun action romp. Denzel Washington grits his teeth and does the emotionally pent-up hardman ex-CIA highly trained operative rebel-for-a-cause type thing while Ryan Reynolds offers a softer dynamic to the anti-hero duo out to get each other schtick.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Twisters (2024)

2hrs 02mins of absolute "meh". Excellent special effects and a half decent performance from the leading lady, but aside from that it was about as predictable and generally flat as you could imagine a film to be. And I've never seen/heard so much sciencey explanation dialogue awkwardly wedged into a screenplay in my life!

5/10

VimFuego

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare - bit of a boys own ripping yarn with oodles of blood and gore. Cavill is pretty decent in it, although I admit to being a bit of a fanboi. All in all, 2 hours of silly fun, I enjoyed it.

a solid 7/10. 

stylesforfree

Just watched Shot Caller, first watch it was a solid 7.5/10 nearly an 8/10. If you just watch it once it's a great movie. 

Haych

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

Twisters (2024)

2hrs 02mins of absolute "meh". Excellent special effects and a half decent performance from the leading lady, but aside from that it was about as predictable and generally flat as you could imagine a film to be. And I've never seen/heard so much sciencey explanation dialogue awkwardly wedged into a screenplay in my life!

5/10

The missus and stepson went to see this last week, they were equally unimpressed, especially my stepson who is a bit of a movie critic and likes to pull all the VFX apart.

Last night we watched Twister from 1996.

Seen it a bunch of times but it's good enough to return to every so often.  A decent story which manages to have the romantic subplot not be too dominant as to override the main plot of mad people chasing storms and getting themselves almost dead several times.

Helen Hunt is rather lovely and quite superb, Bill Paxton is a decent sidekick but never seems to lose Hudson to me, whatever he's in.  The rest of the supporting cast do a very good job, although it is a little unrealistically gung-ho in places.

Cary Elwes as the slick and well financed competition to the bunch of misfit storm chasers doesn't quite work for me, and his character is painted as rather too thick at all things as to be convincing.

Still a solid 7.5/10 from me though.

guyinlyon

Just saw Deadpool & Wolverine.

Bloody Marvelous.

robgilmo

A quiet place, Day one.

They really shouldnt have, its like, give something new to the story, but they just havent. Its Ok, I wont watch it again though.

strumjoughlamps

guyinlyon said:

Just saw Deadpool & Wolverine.

Bloody Marvelous.

Loved it… did you watch it til the very very end of the credits?… hilarious.

Jfingers

Lucky Logan, Netflix.

I really enjoyed it, like Oceans Eleven directed by Guy Ritchie in a trailer park.

rze99

Wicked Little Letters
2023 Movie
Netflix

Ealing-esque comedy based on a true story about a hamlet undergoing a spate of potty mouthed poison pen letters.

The main suspect of most but not all the town is free-wheeling sweary Irish next-door neighbour, (Jessie Buckley) of conspicuously pious Christian spinster woman (Olivia Coleman) who reads the bible 5 times a day and looks after her deeply old fashioned Mum and Dad.

It's wonderfully acted by a stellar cast but doesn't offer anything surprising. Entertaining for the performances mainly.

6/10