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What Was The Last Movie You Watched?


Rugster

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Brokeback Mountain (DVD)

7/10. A love story that starts at a languid pace and doesn't really increase that, even though it's set across 20 years. The first half of the film is set across a single year as well, meaning the last 19 years are squeezed in to the second half. Despite that it doesn't feel as though they whizz along.

Lovely landscapes abound, especially in scenes that take place on the eponymous mountain.

It's a tale that wasn't really ever going to have a happy ending, and shows how love can be great but also pretty terrible. The scene near the end at the edge of the lake, when Jack and Ennis are about to leave, sums this up perfectly, with Jack lamenting that so much of his life has been thrown away on waiting to see Ennis and how he blames his love for Ennis for derailing his life. We see that whilst their love for each other is strong, even across 20 years, it does leave casualties behind, most notably themselves, but also their partners, with Ennis ending up divorced from his wife and ruining another relationship with a waitress, while Jack seemingly grows more distant from his wife and later admits to a relationship with another woman. We also learn later that he had a relationship with the women's husband as well.

I suppose a lot of the film is about being true to yourself, as we see both Jack and Ennis struggle with things, such as Jack staying silent at his obnoxious father in law for a long time (until he memorably snaps in an amusing scene). Ennis, with the last scene, encapsulates this nicely when his daughter invites him to his wedding, and whilst he initially expresses doubt due to work commitments, he decides he will be there and will quit his job if necessary.

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Black Panther (Cinema)

7/10. Solid Marvel film. Wakanda was depicted fantastically on screen, both physically and in terms of their outlook and way of life. I liked how many of the peoples still wore traditional garb yet had mad advanced technology. Great use of colours as well. The first scene at the waterfall, when T'Challa ascends to the kingship, is a great example, with the various tribes all outfitted in tribal colours (the lad with the lip disc in his green suit is most memorable!).

I can see why folk say this film sags a little in the second half. The first half is excellent and whizzes by, and does a great job of really letting us know about Wakanda and the Black Panther itself, as well as T'Challa as a man.

After his fight with Killmonger though it does drop a bit, with things being rushed towards the end, and Killmonger become more contrived as a bad guy instead of advancing his pretty valid point in a better manner. That tribe suddenly supporting Killmonger as well, even when he was doing some bad shit, was a bit off as well. The final fight between T'Challa and Killmonger was frankly a bit w**k and too CGI-ey for my liking. Still, we all knew T'Challa would end up as king, given the events of Civil War and the trailers for Infinity War. Be interesting to see what happens with Wakanda sharing their technology

Anyway, good film, definitely worth a watch. Great soundtrack as well. 

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On 01/01/2018 at 23:36, jimmy boo said:

The Guard

Brendan Gleeson plays a smalltown Irish cop who doesn't give a f**k.....apart from with prostitutes. FBI agent Don Cheadle arrives to investigate a drug smuggling operation. Great wee low budget film played for laughs..........8/10. 

Excellent film.  Brendan Gleeson's attitude . . .  he just couldn't care less. 

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Call Me By Your Name (cinema)

 

Fantastic film that really deserves its award nominations. Also quite relatable in parts (minus the Italian sunshine) and the speech by Michael Stuhlbarg near the end really got to me.

Also I thought it was quite good how the ending basically forces you to watch the credits!

I would certainly recommend watching!

 

9/10

Edited by Sooky
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Phantom Thread (2018):

Some it really drew me in, mainly due to the intrigue of the three main characters. Reynolds and Cyril bounced off each other wonderfully, and the film could have simply focused on the Woodcock family which wouldn't have resulted in the film losing much. 

I kept getting frustrated throughout it as it jumped between being a romantic comedy and a psychological horror. The problem is that this film gave me enough evidence to convince me to watch a two-hour PT Anderson romantic comedy, and enough evidence to convince me to watch a two-hour PT Anderson romantic comedy, but when they get in each other's way it just becomes irksome. 

The romantic comedy aspects were enjoyable due to the fluent yet tight script and diametrically opposed characters. Reynolds is a scrupulous, almost sociopathic, man who can't escape his meticulous routine and confides in the making of dresses, weaving in secrets deep-rooted in the dresses and, more pertinently, his life. However, Alma likes to upset the apple cart, impinge on Reynold's crucial breakfast and sticks out the way that you would imagine a young, seemingly working class, country girl to stand out in a wealthy environment.

While the comedic aspects were down to Anderson's writing, direction towards the actors and their acting, the horror was more down to the technical side of things. The score by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood was mostly haunting thanks to it largely (I think) being played on a piano, slowly tapping away and speeding up as Reynolds' anger began to take control. His antagonistic side made for some wonderfully cruel scenes of lashing out, and his tormented mind allowed Daniel Day-Lewis to sink into haunting monologues while the piano tapped and his eyes became distant. The cinematography often painted a strange orange glow which harks back to the fantastical aspects weaved throughout the talk of curses etc., or it would occasionally seem over-lit to provide a hard and flashy frame. It would switch between warmth and coolness with regularity. 

I think that it's more about freedom of expression than creativity: the constant appearances of food (which is associated with expression), Woodcock's solace in his dressmaking, the escapism that characters find when cooking, dancing or drawing. These things can distract from everyday issues, but they will always find a way to be weaved in - the hidden messages in the dresses is an apt metaphor. 

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On 2/8/2018 at 21:13, MONKMAN said:

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Saw this at the cinema last night, and I really can’t decide what I thought. It was very good in parts, while a bit awkward when it tried to be too funny. I’ll need to watch it again.

Just watched this, thought it was superb with parts that were truly moving. Just give Frances McDormand the Oscar now, you won't see a better performance this year.

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Fair enough. Never heard of that one. He's one of these actors though that will make you watch something just because he's in it.


Lake Placid is a solid B-Movie type creature feature and Brendan Gleason is once again excellent in it.
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Saw Black Panther today and whilst I enjoyed it I’m not quite getting the hype around it. Don’t think it’s anywhere near Marvel’s best.

Saw it today too, instantly forgettable, too much fighting, got to the point I didn’t know who the f**k was fighting who, then out of nowhere the rhinos appeared. Seen better.
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