What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Ira Gaines]

29 minutes ago, tongue_tied_danny said:

Yeah. Capricorn One is a particular fave of mine.

Telly Savalas absolutely steals the show with his brief appearance. 

Nazi war criminal thrillers are another 70s sub genre. Marathon Man and The Boys From Brazil are a couple of great examples. 

The Boys from Brazil is one of the first ones I seen. I had no idea who Gregory Peck was at the time! So when I rewatched it, I was stunned.

[stumigoo]

Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984

I thought the first Wonder Woman was very decent, but I didn’t care much for Suicide Squad.

For a complete switcharoonie I thought Wonder Woman 1984 was a boring mess but I found Birds of Prey brilliant fun.

Still, by and large the DC movies continue to be pretty rubbish in comparison to Marvel.

[BFTD]

You Were Never Really Here - Joaquin Phoenix plays a psychologically scarred hitman who discovers his latest job - rescuing a senator's daughter from a paedophile ring - is more complicated than it first appears.

A fairly straightforward tale made interesting by the way it's told. Phoenix's character is clearly quite unwell mentally; we're treated to disturbing glimpses of his past in brief, jarring flashback throughout the running time, and there's a generally hallucinatory feel about the whole affair. Haphazard editing of audio and images help the viewer understand the nature of his fractured psyche, and the soundtrack is quite a clever mix of tunes that are always just a little bit off and veer into the discordant.

Phoenix has been a been a terrific actor for some time, and he's very much on form here, completely convincing as a man haunted by the past to the extent that he barely exists in the present. The film's more of a character experience than an engrossing narrative, but it's a fascinating watch if you have the patience.

[velo army]

Just watched "Instant Family" on Netflix. It's an adoption movie that deliberately moves away from "The Blind Side" and its mawkish white saviourism. Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne star as a couple who decide to adopt, kind of on a whim. It shows actually how tough it is and how the children react. The comedy doesn't exactly land and often feels a bit clumsy, although the laughs that are had during the support group scenes feel beautifully cathartic and real. The rest of the comedy is a bit too goofy and jars the tone at times. I'm not a fan of that American style "awkward" comedy.  Surprisingly Octavia Spencer is in this, phoning it in but still managing to dominate every scene she's in. I'm an adoptee so I cried buckets at this, but also got quite angry at parts (American adoption is pretty fuckin weird and horrible tbh; one of these things that should never ever be privatised). It was a heartwarming movie with characters I did care about, and it gave space for even some of the many side characters to develop.

All in all 7/10.

 

[velo army]

8 minutes ago, BFTD said:

You Were Never Really Here - Joaquin Phoenix plays a psychologically scarred hitman who discovers his latest job - rescuing a senator's daughter from a paedophile ring - is more complicated than it first appears.

A fairly straightforward tale made interesting by the way it's told. Phoenix's character is clearly quite unwell mentally; we're treated to disturbing glimpses of his past in brief, jarring flashback throughout the running time, and there's a generally hallucinatory feel about the whole affair. Haphazard editing of audio and images help the viewer understand the nature of his fractured psyche, and the soundtrack is quite a clever mix of tunes that are always just a little bit off and veer into the discordant.

Phoenix has been a been a terrific actor for some time, and he's very much on form here, completely convincing as a man haunted by the past to the extent that he barely exists in the present. The film's more of a character experience than an engrossing narrative, but it's a fascinating watch if you have the patience.

Good summation of this movie. I loved it. Had this movie been made in the 90's he would be a knight errant in a Steven Seagal/Sly Stallone mould. Hell, he could have been Jason Statham in the Transporter who have pithy lines but seldom seem to be psychologically affected by the life they lead. Phoenix is still a knight errant, but this film leaves us in no doubt of the psychological and emotional price he has paid. The social effect too. He has no friends, he loses his mother and in the end he doesn't seem to have anyone and we're left feeling unsatisfied by it all, like (to quote the great Danish poet Ebbe Skovdahl) the operation went well but the patient died.

[The Naitch]

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Netflix) - 9/10

Loved this. Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman produce a masterclass. Not a lot happens but there's a lot going on.

[accies1874]

You Were Never Really Here - Joaquin Phoenix plays a psychologically scarred hitman who discovers his latest job - rescuing a senator's daughter from a paedophile ring - is more complicated than it first appears.
A fairly straightforward tale made interesting by the way it's told. Phoenix's character is clearly quite unwell mentally; we're treated to disturbing glimpses of his past in brief, jarring flashback throughout the running time, and there's a generally hallucinatory feel about the whole affair. Haphazard editing of audio and images help the viewer understand the nature of his fractured psyche, and the soundtrack is quite a clever mix of tunes that are always just a little bit off and veer into the discordant.
Phoenix has been a been a terrific actor for some time, and he's very much on form here, completely convincing as a man haunted by the past to the extent that he barely exists in the present. The film's more of a character experience than an engrossing narrative, but it's a fascinating watch if you have the patience.

Lynne Ramsey is the don.

[Shandon Par]

I thought You Were Never Really Here was a pile of shite! Couldn’t believe what a load of pretentious tosh it was after the reviews. Watched Blue Ruin around the same time and thought it was so much better (in the sub-genre of damaged beardy guys in peril).

[Shandon Par]

The Dig

Netflix

A terminal disease does little to make Carey Mulligan any less attractive. She gets Ralph Fiennes to come round and dig up a Viking that’s buried in her back garden. That would have been a decent enough film with a tighter edit but they crowbarred in some romance and lots of shots of Lily James wearing hot but not very 1930s building site outfits. That all felt a bit unnecessary. This year’s grey pound smash. Had it been in cinemas the codgers would be queued round the block to catch this. 

Edited February 7, 2021 by Shandön Par

[coprolite]

1 hour ago, Shandön Par said:

The Dig

Netflix

A terminal disease does little to make Carey Mulligan any less attractive. She gets Ralph Fiennes to come round and dig up a Viking that’s buried in her back garden. That would have been a decent enough film with a tighter edit but they crowbarred in some romance and lots of shots of Lily James wearing hot but not very 1930s building site outfits. That all felt a bit unnecessary. This year’s grey pound smash. Had it been in cinemas the codgers would be queued round the block to catch this. 

A viking? I thought it was Sutton Hoo? 

 

I watched The 6th Day. One of my favourite Arnie films. It looks terrible, the acting is sub Neighbours level (except an incongruous turn from Robert Duval) and the plot is completely rudiculous. The visual style includes a couple of gimmicks that are unpleasant to watch. The "science" is just ludicrous. 

The baddie is very very bad, and his henchpeople are brilliantly useless and evil. Arnie's 2 performances are more kindergarten cop than terminator. 

Very entertaining. 7/10

[Mark Connolly]

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (Sky)

Can't believe I hadn't seen this before, absolutely superb, and Spencer Tracy is magnificent. Amazing to think the priest was the most progressive of the "grown-ups" as well.

[stanton]

22 hours ago, tongue_tied_danny said:

Yeah. Capricorn One is a particular fave of mine.

Telly Savalas absolutely steals the show with his brief appearance. 

Nazi war criminal thrillers are another 70s sub genre. Marathon Man and The Boys From Brazil are a couple of great examples. 

I'm sure Marathon Man was my old dentist's favourite film

[BFTD]

11 hours ago, Shandön Par said:

I thought You Were Never Really Here was a pile of shite! Couldn’t believe what a load of pretentious tosh it was after the reviews. Watched Blue Ruin around the same time and thought it was so much better (in the sub-genre of damaged beardy guys in peril).

Aye, I'd say Blue Ruin is the better film, and also has an excellent central performance - YWNRH is more of an "experience", which I enjoyed, but I can understand why somebody else wouldn't.

Ugh, that was far too reasonable; you're a poopyhead and wouldn't know a good film if it bit you on the arse. There.

Revenge - a young woman finds herself hunted after being raped by one of her boyfriend's friends.

Really surprised that this has been hailed as some kind of feminist twist on the rape-revenge genre; the camera absolutely leers over the young star's body, even after the revenge portion of the story kicks in. Thankfully, we're spared most of the rape section, but it's still a really formulaic entry with little in the way of surprises, and only some attractive cinematography to sustain interest. The closest it gets to tension is during a long tracking shot at the climax, but even that ends exactly as expected, and the plot's littered with stupid character decisions and events that defy belief. Pretty mediocre.

Edited February 7, 2021 by BFTD
Didn't finish a

[Shandon Par]

9 hours ago, coprolite said:

A viking? I thought it was Sutton Hoo? 

 

 

Spoiler!

[Ira Gaines]

I think the Blue Ruin protagonist is much more sympathetic, mainly down to the air of vulnerability about him. Phoenix is an outright dickhead at times. You never get that sense from Blair, despite what he's doing.

[Silverton End]

Atomic Blonde (2017)

Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Toby Jones, spy adventure set mainly in Berlin around 1989, just before the wall came down.

All style and no substance, filmed in a blue tint Berlin looks great but the script is shit.

Disappointing movie 4/10 

 

[BFTD]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - fading TV actor Leonardo DiCaprio copes with a career crisis with his stuntman friend Brad Pitt, while his neighbour Sharon Tate enjoys the start of her film career in late '60s Hollywood.

Well, this was quite the pleasant surprise, in more ways than one. I don't remember feeling that any character was just a cipher for Quentin Tarantino, who also decided not to make his customary horrible cameo, and nobody referred to "n*ggers" at any point. There were, of course, the customary foot fetish scenes for QT to fap over, but if that's the trade-off then I'll happily take it.

This was a very enjoyable film - no great plot to follow, just Pitt and DiCaprio pootling about as the hippie era comes to an end, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them. I've never been a DiCaprio fan, but I thought he was excellent in this, and I really fell for the bromance he had going on with Pitt, for whom this kind of thing is like breathing. Of course, anyone familiar with Sharon Tate will know what the film is building towards, and...

Spoiler

...frankly, I was surprised and delighted that Tarantino decided to right wrongs in a similar fashion to Inglourious Basterds - there's absolutely no need to go over the Manson Family murders again, and QT obviously feels a fair bit of anger towards the people responsible, so his rewriting of history was a blessed relief.

Sharon Tate isn't so much a character in the film as a backdrop, cut off entirely from the rest of the film and viewed from afar as a happy young woman enjoying the life she's started to build. It was a good choice to leave the film without that being destroyed.

My only gripe was that a sudden fast-forward and voiceover from Kurt Russell was jarring and felt like the original cut of the film had been substantially longer, but nobody could satisfactorily edit it down. It's a flaw, but I'd forgiven it by the end. Quality stuff.

[Twinkle]

Adu - 8/10

 

Three stories (loosely) intertwined. One is a small child trying to flee Africa. The second is a man and his daughter trying to rekindle their broken relationship and the last is a group of border patrols coming to terms with the death of an illegal immigrant due to their mishandling. Im hardly selling this but its a heartbreaking watch especially young Adus story. In fact, the other two stories are quite weak compared to his. Worth a watch

[JustOneCornetto]

In Fabric (2018)

Caught this on BBC iPlayer and have to say it's one of the weirdest films I've ever seen. A red dress is possessed and causes all sorts of horror to anyone who has it. Very stylistic way it's filmed by director Peter Strickland and there are some good, in a  strange way, comic scenes but overall it didn't quite hit the mark for me.

5.5/10

[BFTD]

Headhunters - Norsk adaption of the Jo Nesbo novel. A top corporate recruiter supplements his lavish lifestyle with art theft. His attempt to steal a new client's priceless painting causes his life to unravel and spiral out of control.

Thankfully, this was a lot better than the painful adaption of Nesbo's The Snowman that Michael Fassbender sleepwalked through. It's a decent crime thriller that occasionally gets a bit silly, and has plenty of contrivance and unlikely plot twists, but it's no worse for it. If you're in the mood for a fairly lightweight twisty-turny mystery, then you could do a lot worse.

Ad Astra - when dangerous power surges are traced to a long-dormant project on the outskirts of the solar system, astronaut Brad Pitt is tasked with establishing communication with the facility and his father, the project lead, whom he hasn't seen since his teens.

This is one of those ponderous "man's place in the grand scheme of things" space flicks, in the style of Solaris or Sunshine, with a bit of Event Horizon thrown in, and a fair debt to Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now. Unfortunately, it's just not as interesting as any of those films, and the plot's main theme amounts to Pitt's character resolving his relationship with his father. He's an actor that I like, but his performance is pretty bland in this, and it would really require a compelling lead to make up for the slightly meh story. The space scenes and soundtrack have their moments, however.