What films have you watched recently?

boogieman

Haych said:

Alien: Romulus

This is a difficult one to unpack without taking into account where it sits in the Alien cannon and without giving away any spoilers.

Thankfully, it is a better Alien film than Prometheus and most certainly better than Covenant.

It plays like a greatest hits of moments from the first two movies, and therein lies the problem - more on that later.

The characters are so well written that you only care about the fate of two of them, the rest are, as Ash so eloquently stated in Alien, expendable.

The main protagonist is a young lass named Rain, she looks about 15.  A definite nod to Ripley but possibly to appeal to a much younger audience.  That is another problem, the cast are all very young and while there is nothing wrong with that or any of the performances of the cast, it just doesn't seem grounded the way it would if the cast and characters were ten years older.  

When Ripley went up against the xenomorph in Alien you got the sense she'd seen and done things and knew her way around a problematic situation.  The characters in Romulus were so young that they couldn't have very much life experience so pitching them up against a nasty space beastie just doesn't gel.  They'd all be dead probably before they met the xenomorph.

But, we're back to good old xenomorph action, none of this origin BS of the other prequels.

On its own it's not too bad a film but it's difficult to watch without thinking about where it falls in the timeline of Alien and Aliens and for me it ruins them both.  The writers insist on continuing to add new plot mechanisms surrounding the xenomorph, how it functions and its lifecycle - no doubt to add plausibility to the plot but also laying groundwork for future films maybe.

The ending did stray into Resurrection/Prometheus territory a little, it was unnecessary and a little bit cringy, but it was done a bit better.

Effects were mostly very good.  Less CGI and more rubber monsters, although they did use a whole heap of CGI to bring back a blast from the past, not extremely convincingly, I might add.

Once again much is made of the "perfect organism" and it went a little off piste in the middle but thankfully didn't stay in the rough for more than it was necessary to set up the ending.

But there we have it, the perfect organism was introduced in the perfect film back in 1979.  James Cameron did a remarkable job of making an excellent second film and together they are quite brilliant.

After that there's nowhere really to take the story, not that makes any sense in any case.  It's not scary any more, generations know what a xenomorph looks like even if they haven't seen the film, so the insistence on making more and more films in the same overall storyline is futile, it adds nothing and Romulus does that in droves.

Now it is just a case of making a film because they can and they should have just stopped after Aliens.

Yes, it's a better film but it isn't a great film because it can't be for all the above reasons.  It's tense in places and there was one really good jump scare, but only the one.

Not everything made sense, there are still things I'm trying to unpack and there are still holes in the plot large enough to fly the Nostromo through.

But the best film of the series since Aliens.

I’ll still watch it because it’s in the franchise and Alien is one of my all time favourite films ever. You’re right though, it was all going to be downhill after the original because the element of surprise had been and gone after the very first reveal of the xenomorph. 

I actually watched Covenant last night on Film4. I’ve seen it a couple of times before but it seemed more tolerable this time around. It is filled with clichés… for instance the “ hang on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride” landing craft going through the storm scene has been done to death, let alone the eggs and the chestburster bits, but I guess you can count those as homages to Alien. It’s atmospheric enough and has the odd jump, however  I still don’t understand the how and whys of David needing to spread the pathogen, unless it’s just he’s a bit of an arsehole?  

robgilmo

I w2atched the new Alien film last night,




SPOILER ALERT!!




































All I could see, or couldnt unsee, is every memorable scene of all the other movies re-written into this one and done in a very obvious way, it was a good film but I would rather not have seen all the second hand scenes in there, it kind of spoiled it for me and rather than get lost in the movie my mind tracked into the forced nostalgia and the story became thin.

It was still very enjoyable despite this and if you have never seen any other Alien movies it wont be an issue.
Also, am I getting old or was the cast really young? Like kids young? I think it was aimed at a younger generation who havent seen the older films in an attempt to draw them into the franchise.

Haych

I think this is a good explanation of the Alien films and why successive sequels have generally been quite poor. 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/MzJtfoGB6A133ifX/?mibextid=UalRPS

Stratavarious

Hawk The Slayer (DVD)

In the lists of the ‘so bad it’s good’, it reigns supreme!

Spectacularly bad!  Perfection. The synth soundtrack just adds to the wonderfulness.

10/10

Philly_Q

Halloween (2018)

Halloween Kills (2021)

Halloween Ends (2022)

I've been waiting to watch these as a triple bill, without having to pay too much, and Halloween Ends has just arrived on Netflix (the other two were £3.49 each on Amazon Prime).

Halloween takes up the story exactly 40 years after John Carpenter's 1978 original - writing off everything which happened in the intervening nine films.  Michael Myers has spent those four decades in a mental institution, but Laurie Strode has devoted her life to preparing for his inevitable return.  She lives in a fortress of a house, semi-estranged from her daughter and granddaughter.  The film is both a sequel and a sort of remake, with much of the storyline echoing the original film.  Apart from one or two eye-rolling plot twists, this is a good effort and would have ended the series nicely.  But sequels were already planned... 

Although the original Halloween II has been dismissed, along with all the other sequels, Halloween Kills does follow its story to some extent, with much of the action taking place in a hospital, immediately after the events of Halloween.  There's also a sub-plot dealing with the rights and wrongs of mob justice, and a few characters from the 1978 film are brought back into the story, but for the most part the film justifies its title, with a lot of killings but very little advancement of the main storyline.  It feels very much like a stop-gap between Halloween and...

Halloween Ends.  Which is the very embodiment of a totally unnecessary sequel.  This one jumps forward four years, killing any sense of continuity, and introduces new characters, new storylines, whole new metaphysical concepts.  All of which would be fine if this was the second film in a new franchise, but here it borders on taking the piss.  The shark has been well and truly jumped.  The ending, when it eventually arrives, is pretty good... but also utterly ridiculous. 

It would've been so much better if they just hadn't bothered with the last two films.  I'd like to think that really is the end of the Halloween series.  But let's wait and see.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Haych said:

Alien: Romulus

This is a difficult one to unpack without taking into account where it sits in the Alien cannon and without giving away any spoilers.

Thankfully, it is a better Alien film than Prometheus and most certainly better than Covenant.

It plays like a greatest hits of moments from the first two movies, and therein lies the problem - more on that later.

The characters are so well written that you only care about the fate of two of them, the rest are, as Ash so eloquently stated in Alien, expendable.

The main protagonist is a young lass named Rain, she looks about 15.  A definite nod to Ripley but possibly to appeal to a much younger audience.  That is another problem, the cast are all very young and while there is nothing wrong with that or any of the performances of the cast, it just doesn't seem grounded the way it would if the cast and characters were ten years older.  

When Ripley went up against the xenomorph in Alien you got the sense she'd seen and done things and knew her way around a problematic situation.  The characters in Romulus were so young that they couldn't have very much life experience so pitching them up against a nasty space beastie just doesn't gel.  They'd all be dead probably before they met the xenomorph.

But, we're back to good old xenomorph action, none of this origin BS of the other prequels.

On its own it's not too bad a film but it's difficult to watch without thinking about where it falls in the timeline of Alien and Aliens and for me it ruins them both.  The writers insist on continuing to add new plot mechanisms surrounding the xenomorph, how it functions and its lifecycle - no doubt to add plausibility to the plot but also laying groundwork for future films maybe.

The ending did stray into Resurrection/Prometheus territory a little, it was unnecessary and a little bit cringy, but it was done a bit better.

Effects were mostly very good.  Less CGI and more rubber monsters, although they did use a whole heap of CGI to bring back a blast from the past, not extremely convincingly, I might add.

Once again much is made of the "perfect organism" and it went a little off piste in the middle but thankfully didn't stay in the rough for more than it was necessary to set up the ending.

But there we have it, the perfect organism was introduced in the perfect film back in 1979.  James Cameron did a remarkable job of making an excellent second film and together they are quite brilliant.

After that there's nowhere really to take the story, not that makes any sense in any case.  It's not scary any more, generations know what a xenomorph looks like even if they haven't seen the film, so the insistence on making more and more films in the same overall storyline is futile, it adds nothing and Romulus does that in droves.

Now it is just a case of making a film because they can and they should have just stopped after Aliens.

Yes, it's a better film but it isn't a great film because it can't be for all the above reasons.  It's tense in places and there was one really good jump scare, but only the one.

Not everything made sense, there are still things I'm trying to unpack and there are still holes in the plot large enough to fly the Nostromo through.

But the best film of the series since Aliens.

Saw it yesterday and I agree with a lot of what you said, and agree that it was the "best of the rest" of the Alien films after the first two stone-cold classics.

I really liked the whole aesthetic of it, going very much back to the 70s/80s style flashing LEDs, chunky physical buttons and grainy TV screens rather than ultra slick touchscreens, holograms and HUDs of Prometheus and Covenant. 

I thought the lead actress was terrific, but knew she would be as she was good in Civil War and outstanding in Priscilla. I felt the other characters were all a bit anonymous though - there were no strong secondary characters like Dallas/Parker/Hicks/Hudson/Vasquez/Burk of the early films. 

Although I didn't particularly mind the CGI reimagining of a former character, I do agree with Mark Kermode that it would have worked much better if they'd just left it as a mashed up rubber mask like when they first found him. The CGI was unecessary.

As a proper nerd of the Alien series I did get a kick out of all the clever visual nods and winks to the previous films, but even I felt it went a step toio far when they churned out a certain famous line from Aliens verbatim. I felt it strayed a bit too far into the Schwarzenegger style "I'll be back" kind of trope/cliche. Wasn't necessary. 

I thought the pacing and the tension were excellent and there were a couple of really good jump scares and plenty of wince-inducing gruesome moments. Overall, I was pretty well entertained throughout, and as a massive Alien fan I'm just thrilled that it wasn't shite like so many of the other films have been!

7.5/10

SteveRobinson

rze99 said:

Emily the Criminal
2022 Crime drama movie
Netflix

Smart and edgy Emily (brilliantly played Aubrey Plaza) is a New Jersey artist designer saddled with huge student debt and locked out of the design agency job market due to a minor criminal record,.

She's moved to LA to try her luck there and is doing fill in work doing zero contract food delivery orders. Increasingly desperate for income, she takes a tip and follows up on a contact. This leads to her taking work as a a "dummy shopper," - buying goods with stolen credit cards for cash in hand.

Although still pursuing straight jobs, Emily soon finds herself seduced the fast good cash of crime and increasingly raises the risks for greater rewards, getting closer to one of the criminal gang leaders, which inevitably leads to more extreme consequences.

This called to mind in the '90s at a party I met a US doctor visiting the UK and she told me about her student debt which, even back then, was $60,000. I was gobsmacked.

Strong and taut tale, directed with pace and intent.

Excellent and highly recommended.

9/10

Watched last night, really enjoyed it thanks.

BigBearKris

Going to see Alien on Thursday so tried to avoid the discussion above. 

On the other hand - I've just seen Gladiator II trailer. Oh dear... anyone?

rze99

Thunderball

Bond, 1965. ITV HD

Spectre hijacks a Vulcan and obtains 2 nuclear missiles and wants 100m quid in ransom.  All the 00s are called in to receive assignments to get them back. 

007 knows the place to head is Nassau, Bahamas where it is beautiful and all the chicks and beaches are. And a Spectre agent equipped with mansion and shark pool awaits. 

Hadn’t seen this for many years. Location shots look glorious. Bond is basically an amoral rapist with a DB5. It’s been so sent up it’s fun to see post-parody. The many underwater scenes are slow and dull and drag the whole thing to tedium ruining any tension.  

Shag-wig-tastic baby. 

10/10 location shoots
10/10 DB5 
4/10 most of the rest. 

Philly_Q

Loop Track (Arrow Channel)

An extremely nervous, socially awkward man named Ian takes a solo hike in a forest park and reluctantly falls in with three other hikers (or trampers, as they seem to say in New Zealand).  Ian is anxious, unable to sleep and claims some kind of shadowy creature is following them... his new friends worry for his sanity, but could he be right?

Written, directed by and starring Tom Sainsbury, whose work I've never seen before, this is a really odd mix of comedy, paranoid thriller and horror.  I don't think there's any allegory or hidden meaning here (although I could be totally wrong about that), but much is left unexplained.  Whatever was going on, I found this very effective and liked it a lot.

Jfingers

Philly_Q said:

Jfingers said:

Up next on Netflix - Final Destination.

I'm contemplating a Final Destination week, like my Scream week a few months back.  I don't think Netflix have all five of them, but I'll track them down somewhere.

Mr Q, just in case you haven't checked again, Netflix now have 1,2,3 and 5. It seems 6 is coming out next year.

Haych

The Union (Netflix)

Predictable and forgettable action comedy with Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry.

Wahlberg is a steelworker in New Jersey, I think, I don't quite recall - told you it was forgettable.  

Berry is his old high school sweetheart who he hasn't seen for decades.  Suddenly she turns up, drugs him and he wakes up in London.  

She then fast track recruits him into a shadowy secret security agency named The Union for a secret mission requiring a nobody.  The aim is to reacquire a dossier of stolen confidential intel due to be sold to the highest bidder in a criminal underworld auction.

This is very formulaic stuff, particularly for Wahlberg who seems to make this kind of film on repeat.  That said, it's not awful and it's fairly good fun if you just want to switch off for a couple of hours.

Halle Berry looks well for someone in her late 50s, apart from the ridiculous haircut, that is.

Some decent choreography in the fight scenes and a half decent, but not amazing, car chase adds to the action.

Some lovely scenery in the latter part of the film, too.  It was partially shot in Slovenia and I think I want to live there, looks gorgeous.

5.5/10

Offset

Jfingers said:

Philly_Q said:

Jfingers said:

Up next on Netflix - Final Destination.

I'm contemplating a Final Destination week, like my Scream week a few months back.  I don't think Netflix have all five of them, but I'll track them down somewhere.

Mr Q, just in case you haven't checked again, Netflix now have 1,2,3 and 5. It seems 6 is coming out next year.

I thought it was just me who couldn't find #4 - anyone know why it isn't available?

Brio

Haych said:

The Union (Netflix)

Predictable and forgettable action comedy with Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry.

Wahlberg is a steelworker in New Jersey, I think, I don't quite recall - told you it was forgettable.  

Berry is his old high school sweetheart who he hasn't seen for decades.  Suddenly she turns up, drugs him and he wakes up in London.  

She then fast track recruits him into a shadowy secret security agency named The Union for a secret mission requiring a nobody.  The aim is to reacquire a dossier of stolen confidential intel due to be sold to the highest bidder in a criminal underworld auction.

This is very formulaic stuff, particularly for Wahlberg who seems to make this kind of film on repeat.  That said, it's not awful and it's fairly good fun if you just want to switch off for a couple of hours.

Halle Berry looks well for someone in her late 50s, apart from the ridiculous haircut, that is.

Some decent choreography in the fight scenes and a half decent, but not amazing, car chase adds to the action.

Some lovely scenery in the latter part of the film, too.  It was partially shot in Slovenia and I think I want to live there, looks gorgeous.

5.5/10

It passed time but wasn’t helped by the fact I saw The Family Plan also starring Wahlberg a few days back 
I like him but two similar films in four days was overload.

I'll probably watch 2 Guns or Shooter to cleanse my palate.

Philly_Q

Offset said:

Jfingers said:

Philly_Q said:

Jfingers said:

Up next on Netflix - Final Destination.

I'm contemplating a Final Destination week, like my Scream week a few months back.  I don't think Netflix have all five of them, but I'll track them down somewhere.

Mr Q, just in case you haven't checked again, Netflix now have 1,2,3 and 5. It seems 6 is coming out next year.

I thought it was just me who couldn't find #4 - anyone know why it isn't available?

Thanks chaps, I have deferred my Final Destination marathon until after FrightFest.  I don't know why FD4 isn't on Netflix, I haven't looked but I was assuming it would be available to rent on Amazon.  It is the worst of the series, so no big loss if it's not available anywhere!

boogieman

BigBearKris said:

*snip:  I've just seen Gladiator II trailer. Oh dear... anyone?

I was thinking it can’t be that bad surely? Then I saw the rhino. Oh dear indeed. 

Jfingers

Thanks chaps, I have deferred my Final Destination marathon until after FrightFest.

Er, chap...

Philly_Q

Jfingers said:

Thanks chaps, I have deferred my Final Destination marathon until after FrightFest.

Er, chap...

Eh?  Oh, are you not a chap?  I do apologise!

Offset

.Philly_Q said:

Jfingers said:

Thanks chaps, I have deferred my Final Destination marathon until after FrightFest.

Er, chap...

Eh?  Oh, are you not a chap?  I do apologise!

Lots of people (both men and women) use 'chaps' as a gender-neutral pronoun.  That includes me :-)

Jfingers

I was the only bloke/geezer/ Man/ chap that commented on your potential Final Destination binge, for clarity.