What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Biscuits]

Whiplash - amazing film.

Totally glued to it the whole way through. The last scene is one of those times when you're watching a film and you realise that you've forgotten to breath for a while.

9/10

[Albino Rover]

Inherent Vice

The first thing I have to say about Paul Thomas Anderson's new film is that the plot is too hard to follow. I get the feeling that after multiple viewings I'll discover that the story makes sense, that it isn't contrived but actually incredibly clever, but on the first watch I think one has to take the plot out of the equation and just enjoy the ride- in my doing so, the results were very satisfying. Indeed, the film has no need for a plot; the main focus on the personalities and relationships is a story in itself- even in a PI mystery Paul Thomas Anderson was brave enough to draw primarily on the characters, because with the characters he writes, that's compelling enough.

Earlier in his career people were claiming Anderson as the next Scorsese, but as his career develops there seems to be more of a streetwise Terrence Malick in his filmmaking. Whether you like it or not, in cinema narrative can be anything, and there are more ways than one to handle it. Anderson is trying to unlock new methods of storytelling, and just like There Will Be Blood and The Master this is a work of discovery, one of the most forward-thinking 21st century movies, whose original and complex characters, moods and focuses manage to reach interesting and strange new depths. It plays a bit like a unique film noir- narrated not by the usual hard-nosed voice of a male protagonist but by a whiny Californian female who seems to be talking to both us and the hero. It isn’t up there with my favourite private detective movies, like Chinatown or Vertigo, but I think it draws lots of comparisons with them- definitely in the character focus, and the strange portrait of the setting, through which the film takes a downward journey- those are two of the most important things that this film gets right.

This is not Anderson’s best film but I believe it is his best portrait of California. Set in the year of his birth, I got a real feeling that this film is at least partly about himself- in many ways it's indulgent but to any fan of the director that should be heaven. The film takes you into 1970, and when you're watching it it really is 1970- the clothes, cars, constantly-changing haircuts and interior designs are right on. All over it you can see the post-1960s decline of flower power and identity crises of "hippies-for-life" in transition; the drugs- a staple part of the California diet; the sex- which is casual, including prostitution and statutory paedophilia, contrasted with the establishment's unashamed fascism and institutional homophobia- leading to mass closet homosexuality.

Phoenix and Anderson’s last creation, Freddie Quell, was an ex-marine obsessed with sex and alcohol. This protagonist is a private investigator named Larry Sportello, known as "Doc". At first glance his inherent vice appears to be hallucinogens, but as the narrator later points out, especially in liberal '70s CA, his biggest problem might be with his "ex-old lady" from whom he's never been completely free- uninvited, she infrequently reappears into and disappears from his topsy-turvy life, and all the while his drug-influenced pursuits as a private detective get him into very strange situations- those are the ones that are hard to understand. When there are scenes of a sexual nature or sudden bursts of action, the sex isn't voyeuristic or exploitative, and the violence comes in the form of very strange, dazed and confused nightmare scenarios- none of those are exactly straight-forward either.

When Doc meets his clients he takes notes, not about the case, but about the person- and ultimately I think that’s what Paul Thomas Anderson is trying to do with cinema. That's part of why I think he's one of the most important filmmakers around- although I'm not sure whether I'd prefer him to do something more simple or to go even further. Whatever he does, there will be no dip in quality or technical excellence- he’s right to show so much confidence in his own style, which avoids all the traps and clichés of the standard, and eludes genre and classification. Whatever you think of the script, I'm sure anyone will agree that is the triumph of Inherent Vice.

9/10

[Ira Gaines]

A Most Violent Year

About as deliberately paced a movie as you'll find that doesn't outstay it's welcome. I DO think it drags at times, and it brings the score down a touch, but I don't think the movie would have the same impact without the pace that it had, which is why I say it doesn't outstay it's welcome. Any quicker and it becomes a different movie. The performances are magnificent, especially from Oscar Isaac who is one of very few actors who strikes me as just a total class act.

8/10

[Boostin' Kev]

Thought his character was the best ive seen in a new movie for a long time.

[Ira Gaines]

Billy Dynamite, on 06 Feb 2015 - 22:35, said:

Thought his character was the best ive seen in a new movie for a long time.

I think his progression is where the pace was so vital. You couldn't get from point A to point B so believably if you start rushing everything. And so it seems like a very gradual shift.

[BFTD]

Horns - odd little drama about Harry Potter growing horns of truth after his girlfriend is murdered. Strange small-town tale, with a good performance by yon laddie Radcliffe, who's proving the doubters wrong in recent years. The whole thing feels like a standard murder-mystery that someone sprinkled a dose of unnecessary batshit-insane on to, but it's quite entertaining in its own way, and is a surprisingly restrained effort from Alexandre (The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors) Aja. Subtitles on Netflix are truly appalling though, like they were typed by someone who was lip-reading the characters.

Mortified Nation - documentary about the popularity of a show in which the audience members read extracts from their adolescent diaries. Nice idea, but most of the extracts are as dull as you'd imagine, with the more interesting ones coming across as made up. Depressing how many of the homosexual contributors spent their formative years convincing themselves that they were straight, however.

Best Worst Movie - documentary made by the (now adult) child star of the infamous former IMDB Bottom 100 topper Troll 2, about the modern celebration of the film's awfulness. The film features interviews with virtually all of the film's cast, along with the Italian director, and follows some of the stars on a successful Q&A tour of the States and beyond. Definitely worth seeing if you've been exposed to the original film and wondered what the hell they were thinking.

Deliver Us From Evil - exorcism horror about a NYPD detective who uncovers an occult link to crimes that he's investigated. One of those "based on a true story!" pieces of shit that should truthfully be in a category entitled "stories made up by flagrant (and obvious) liars". The main character is basically portrayed as Catholic Superman by the end of the film, so the self-aggrandisement by the original author is off the charts. The story is the same tired, risible crap that you'll have seen a million times before in cop dramas and exorcist films, just mashed together into an unholy mess. It's also one of the gloomiest films I've ever seen, to the point that I really couldn't see exactly what the hell was going on through large parts of it. The city is permanently bathed in night, with tropical rainstorms pounding down throughout the running length. There are a number of attempted jump scares, which fail miserably - when a horror film can't get the most base of genre staples correct, you know you're in for a rough ride. And the possessed female character, who is clearly meant to put the shits right up the audience, is unexpectedly hilarious. Wrap it all up in that horrible lapsed-Catholic-having-his-faith-renewed cliche, and your eyes will be rolling every which way by the end.

Oh, and it's a buddy cop film too! Eric Bana gets teamed up with an "undercover priest", I shit you not! It sounds much funnier than it actually is; don't watch it.

[BFTD]

Greedy Lying b*****ds - documentary about the corporate campaign to discredit science and prevent action being taken to combat climate change. An interesting enough piece to listen to while working, but nothing that should come as much of a surprise to any but the most innocent.

Dreams of a Life - documentary about a 38 year old woman whose corpse lay undiscovered for three years in her London flat. The authorities couldn't track down any friends or family for the deceased, so started an advertising campaign to gain information about the woman, which piqued the interest of the filmmakers. They started their own investigation, the results of which told a story of a woman who had been anything but the reclusive loner that most would assume. An interesting tale, which will probably inspire viewers to get in touch with friends they've allowed to slip from their lives.

tallhotblond - the tale of two co-workers who come to blows over a girlfriend they met on the Internet, with the end result being murder and life imprisonment. This documentary is part of the "dangers of the internet" sub-genre, and takes the viewer down a couple of different online fear routes, but anyone net-savvy will see the big reveal coming within the first five minutes. Still, it's an interesting enough story to pass some time with, and it's always good to have a reminder that the genial corpulent dude who posts about movies on your favourite forum is most likely a sociopathic torture freak who's secretly planning to make bongos out of your cold, dead butt-cheeks. Before having sex with them

[Tamdunk]

West Side Story 8/10

Hadn't seen this film since I was a kid and it still holds up. think it won best picture at the oscars, which is a pretty good achievement for any film, let alone a musical. I suppose everyone knows the story, it's a kind of Romeo & Juliet affair, set in 60s new york, ex gang member falls in love with sister of other gang leader etc. I didn't really get the social commentary aspects of the songs when I was younger, particularly officer krupky and I want to be in America, but the themes still ring true today. Great music, sets, costume design it all fits really well and is great film. I only really marked it down because I don't really get dance, and it's very hard to pull off menace and aggression when you're prancing around - the big fight at the start is particularly amusing.

For some reason Tony totally reminded me of Seth McFarlane too. Weird.

[Albino Rover]

Shoah

Made across the 1970s and 1980s, this documentary is a mass recording of interviews and contemporary footage of the sites of the worst and most gruesome crime in history- the mass murder of the European Jews by the Third Reich.

A lot of interviews are carried out in this film, but not a second is wasted. It’s long, in fact at 9-and-a-half hours it’s the longest film I’ve ever seen, but every word spoken is important historical evidence which gives us the best possible chance of understanding what happened on the streets, in the ghettos and concentration camps, and the Final Solution, carried out at nine death camps. This film concerns itself mostly with survivors and witnesses at Chelmno, Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau- as well as a tribute to the Warsaw ghetto, notably the Jewish Rebellion who, four years into the War, decided to stand up to the Nazis and, when necessary, died on their feet fighting for Jewish freedom.

The documenter, Claude Lanzmann, is a French Jew who fought in the Resistance as a teenager. As he conducts his interviews he is a stickler for detail- we see him pressing his interpreter, who is clearly already under strict instruction, for more precise translations, and asking even the most repressed Jewish survivors to speak as vividly as they can, reducing many of them to tears. That may seem cruel but I’m glad he pressed them for those descriptions- having these interviews on record was necessary, and for our enlightenment and education he dared to get as much from them as he could. He shows his artistic bravery in other ways, too- not least by secretly filming some of his interviews with Nazi officers, and in one of them promising Unterscharführer Franz Suchomel that he won’t reveal his identity. Later he tracks down an ex-officer now working as a bartender, brandishes a photograph of Christian Wirth and asks him bluntly if he recognises Wirth, or remembers the overflowing graves. The Nazi refuses to talk.

I don’t think Lanzmann particularly resented those Nazis, at least the film doesn’t go out of its way to condemn or disgrace them, foremost they are treated as important witnesses. He asks them similar questions to those he asks the prisoners, asking for simple details rather than moral explanations. I think he only raises his voice once, to a commander who oversaw the corpse-filled, disease-ridden Warsaw ghetto and insisted he was foremost concerned about Jewish safety. He also talks to people who lived nearby the death camps during the War, putting an end to rumours that the public knew nothing about the camps- although he also recognises the confusion and fear that caused them not to speak. Some of them are more keen than others to atone for their silence.

There is no need for any archive footage or graphic representation: in a way the close-up shots of the eye-witnesses recollecting the scenes of the Holocaust are more horrific than the scenes themselves; and the slow point-of-view tours of the death camps and surrounding areas, even in a modern setting, will make you feel completely helpless as you walk in the footsteps of the millions.

Shoah alone puts a definitive end to any attempt at revisionism or Holocaust denial, the volume of eye-witness proof has ensured that, but it also gives a striking, hard-going and emotional account of those conditions and events- the testaments to which moved me more than any drama, and scared me more than any horror film. For those reasons I think this film should be compulsory viewing for everyone, although I would recommend watching it alone- because it is so intimate and personal, and because if you’re like me you’ll need to take two or three breaks.

10/10

[The Naitch]

On a slightly lighter note...

Kinky Boots - 8/10

Brilliant film, based on a true story. A star turn from Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lola and the whole thing has a charm about it that you can't help but like.

It's since been made into a musical by Cyndi Lauper and has had rave reviews on Broadway. Not surprised one bit.

[BFTD]

American Mary - strange tale about a medical student who willingly enters the world of body modification as a means of making ends meet. Quite an interesting, twisted story for the most part, which sadly doesn't go anywhere satisfying in the end.

Edit: there doesn't seem to be any reason for this to have 'American' in the title. Considering how many film titles used that word for no clear reason, one can only assume that it somehow helps with profits

Edited February 7, 2015 by BigFatTabbyDave

[wellboy1991]

Life of a King

Film based on the true story of Eugene Brown who created an Inner City Chess Programme in Washington.

Enjoyable film, decent turn by Cuba Gooding Jnr.

7/10

[tongue_tied_danny]

Ex Machina

An intelligent sci-fi flick.

8/10

[11thHour]

Big Hero 6 - 7/10.

Not a classic by any means but still highly enjoyable. Phil & Beymax were the standouts.

[JogaBonito]

Blade Runner

First time watching. Visually stunning, soundtrack was awesome, Roy scared the shit out of me. Top, top film 8/10

Anchorman 2

Beating a dead horse. Joke after joke just thrown in for the sake of it. Brick's gf was cringe-worthy, didn't laugh at her scenes.. 3/10

Ghost in the shell

Interesting anime about self-identity and ai. 2 cops go on the hunt for the "puppetmaster" who's been hacking into brains and implanting fake memories. Aesthetically pleasing, maybe too much dialogue.. 6/10

[mojito]

Watched Gone Girl last night.

Managed to miss all the chat and hype around this film so knew fairly little around it.

Thought the lead up and the twist was really good although the ending was a bit of a let down.

Good solid 7/10

[~~~]

Point Break 9/10

[Ira Gaines]

Big Eyes

Well... that... was fucking dreadful. The plot, based on a true story, is about as uninteresting a plot as I've encountered in a while, and there doesn't seem to be much of an effort to make it moreso. Waltz plays Walter, a supposed charmer with zero charm whatsoever, and because of this, Margaret, played as well as she could be by Amy Adams, just comes across as completely pathetic for the entire duration. And thus the whole thing is just completely unpleasant. By the time the reveal comes and we go to the final act, it's almost a chore to get through the rest. Points for Amy Adams' performance at least, but this is pretty bad.

3/10

[peasy23]

Shaun the Sheep movie, well it is half term after all. Usual Aardman fare though not in the same league as some of their previous stuff like Wallace and Gromit and the Pirates/Scientists. Enough belly laughs to keep me going. 7/10

[1320Lichtie]

The interview - 6.5/10

Shite but good