What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[BFTD]

54 minutes ago, Bully Wee Villa said:

I can only assume those are stylised Roman numerals and he means he has watched Children of the Corn I-II. There can't be eleven of them!

He's not wrong.

Almost as perplexing as when you discover that there are ten (soon to be eleven) films in the Hellraiser franchise, seven of which have managed to be released without anyone being aware of it.

[Bully Wee Villa]

Mind. Blown.

[sfha]

ELEVEN! f**k. Off.

Edited August 20, 2021 by sfha

[Christophe]

On 19/08/2021 at 09:45, 101 said:

Limbo (2020) 8.5/10

Brilliant film especially relevant just now with the ongoing situation in Afghanistan. The cinematography is class as is usually the case when filming on the Outer Hebrides. The acting and directing doesn't feel small budget at all and infact it's absolutely best seen at the cinema especially for the last 10 mins.

So get out to your local cinema and get it watched.

Don't think this delivered. Thought the bits played for laughs (i.e - the postman in the cul-de-sac bit) undermined the whole thing. Too many Roy Andersson meets The League of Gentlemen bits for me. 

Two major sticking points I had...

i. Am increasing pissed off with "isn't it sad" slices of social commentary from films like this. No it's not sad (the political reality of the last 20 years of western nations bombing the shit out of these countries), it's fucking awful, don't think it's enough to tackle this issue and "mean well" 

ii. The stylisation missed the mark. Oscillated between distant art housiness doing that thing where the dialogue would only ever be spoken in the real world by two parties who had suffered major head injuries, and the aforementioned postman type wacky vignettes. The photography WAS lovely, but got a bit tired quickly when it was obvious the director was trying to frame everything in that kitch post-Wes Anderson manner which turns everything into a Cath Kidston advert. 

Didn't hate it, thought the central relationship was very good, filled with subtext that wasn't overly explained into your face. But ultimately knew this wasn't for me by the time the wacky couple from the 'funny' scene at the beginning done another patronising thing to show us who's good and who is bad.

5/10

[101]

2 minutes ago, Christophe said:

Don't think this delivered. Thought the bits played for laughs (i.e - the postman in the cul-de-sac bit) undermined the whole thing. Too many Roy Andersson meets The League of Gentlemen bits for me. 

Two major sticking points I had...

i. Am increasing pissed off with "isn't it sad" slices of social commentary from films like this. No it's not sad (the political reality of the last 20 years of western nations bombing the shit out of these countries), it's fucking awful, don't think it's enough to tackle this issue and "mean well" 

ii. The stylisation missed the mark. Oscillated between distant art housiness doing that thing where the dialogue would only ever be spoken in the real world by two parties who had suffered major head injuries, and the aforementioned postman type wacky vignettes. The photography WAS lovely, but got a bit tired quickly when it was obvious the director was trying to frame everything in that kitch post-Wes Anderson manner which turns everything into a Cath Kidston advert. 

Didn't hate it, thought the central relationship was very good, filled with subtext that wasn't overly explained into your face. But ultimately knew this wasn't for me by the time the wacky couple from the 'funny' scene at the beginning done another patronising thing to show us who's good and who is bad.

5/10

I'm not sure I agree with you, I didn't feel like it made out that the whole situation is anything more than reality, however all the characters were sad and I think that's appropriate and realistic, they are in a holding pen with no money waiting to hear if they are going to be thrown back to the wolves I don't think any other emotion than sad would feel appropriate.

 

I'm not sure about the dialogue, it was meant to be between people who had learnt English recently or spoke very little meaning it would be weird if it was perfect.

The filming I thought was good although I get what you mean about Catch Kidston, everything until the final scene played on it being filmed in a perfect square with everything being symmetrical which is what made the last scene so nice. Imo.

[jimmy boo]

The Conspiritor

James McAvoy was a captain in the northern army during the US civil war who after the war returns to being a lawyer. Following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln he reluctantly agrees to defend the only female suspected of being one of the conspiritors.....8/10.

The Marksman

Liam Neeson is a rancher on the  Arizona border who takes a young Mexican boy under his wing who is being pursued into the US following his family crossing a drugs cartel. Wasn't expecting much from this and it was quite predictable but ended up enjoying it.....7/10.

Nowhere Special

James Norton is a single dad bringing up his 4 year old son alone after his mother walked out soon after his birth. The father has cancer with just a few months to live and is searching for a suitable family to adopt his son after his death. Norton is tremendous as is Daniel Lamont who plays the wee boy. Based on a true story, this one brought a tear to my eye at the end.........9/10.

[SweeperDee]

Interstellar - 9/10, right up my alley. Should have watched it in a cinema or iMax.

[coprolite]

Free Fire (2016)

Very silly (not sure how intentional) heistish movie. Like Reservoir Dogs meets Die Hard but no where nearbas good as that sounds. Thin idea and unsurprising plot, but well executed. Not an ounce of fat on it. 

The characters are quite caricaturish but the quality of the acting and the pace makes them work. The South African lad out of District 9 is great again. The Seventies styling looks great, feels authentic and makes it feel abit like a Seventies film, which is a good thing. 

Overall very entertaining but just too silly. 6/10.

 

[Shandon Par]

My Octopus Teacher

Is it a heartwarming tale of how the animal kingdom can teach us valuable life lessons and restore our faith in the world? Or is it some boy having a breakdown over some fish? Needed bigger sharks IMO.

[sfha]

16 hours ago, SweeperDee said:

Interstellar - 9/10, right up my alley. Should have watched it in a cinema or iMax.

Brilliant film.

[BFTD]

Been introducing the wean to the Exorcist series.

The Exorcist (DVD) - a young girl (Linda Blair) develops an array of...unusual behaviours after messing around with a Ouija board.

We watched The Version You've Never Seen, as I didn't have the original. I think it's a bit weaker, with all the unsubtle superimposed demon faces, and they didn't/couldn't do justice to the spider-walk scene - much creepier in the book. Despite the younger generation apparently finding it hilarious now, and some acting that hasn't aged well, it's a very good film, building nicely to the inevitable showdown that always comes later (and is much briefer) than I remember. 

The Exorcist II: The Heretic - naturally, we did not watch this.

The Exorcist III: Legion (Blu-Ray) - fifteen years after the events of the original film, investigating detective Bill Kinderman (George C. Scott) is perplexed by a series of cruel murders that seem impossibly linked to a closed case from his past.

Surely one of my top ten films of all time, this. William Peter Blatty directs his screenplay of his own book (Legion) and imbues it with something of a unique, sinister, still atmosphere, with a lot of sharp editing, and plenty of background detail for picking up on repeated views. Superb performances pretty much across the board, unsettling sound design, and it's an interesting story. Surprisingly, very funny too, considering the grim subject matter.

As an aside, this film was completely re-edited after filming had finished, with an entirely new third act and additional scenes being inserted by the studio. Fans of the film assumed for years that Blatty's original version must have been superior, but the original print was "lost" by Morgan Creek and was only released as a low-quality screener print a few years ago. Frankly, I prefer the original, despite the extra scenes with Brad Dourif, and Blatty was on something of a hiding to nothing adapting his book, as a lot of the ideas would not have lent themselves well to cinema (especially the ending). Doesn't excuse the studio greenlighting it then changing their minds, however.

Exorcist: The Beginning (DVD) - an origin story for the elderly priest from the original film, Father Merrin (here played by Stellan Skarsgard), and his original encounter with the demon.

Don't get me wrong, this film's absolutely honking, but there's a lot of entertainment to be had in the schlocky B-movie action and absolutely atrocious CGI. Even reliable old Stellan is terrible in this, saddled with some awful dialogue and weighed down with masses of cliché and cheese, and the whole thing drips with teenage edginess and desperation to offend. If that sounds amusing, then there's something enjoyable here.

Don't think I can quite bring myself to watch Dominion: a Prequel to The Exorcist again, which was the original film made for Morgan Creek by Paul Schrader (and also starring Stellan Skarsgard!). When they were handed the final film, the studio decided it was too boring to release (hard to argue with), so scrapped the whole thing and got B-movie maestro Renny Harlin in to make a cheesetacular shitfest with lots of gore and an action-packed CGI exorcism with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. We were getting an Exorcist prequel whether we liked it or not, apparently.

[NotThePars]

10 hours ago, Shandon Par said:

My Octopus Teacher

Is it a heartwarming tale of how the animal kingdom can teach us valuable life lessons and restore our faith in the world? Or is it some boy having a breakdown over some fish? Needed bigger sharks IMO.

I felt bad for the cool octopus spending the majority of its life with this loser

[coprolite]

High-rise (2016)

Tom Hiddleston in a a dystopian 1970s tower block. Something sinister seems to be going on. Or he might be going nuts. Or maybe both. 

Good looking film with lots of good bits, memorable scenes but not a lot of memorable dialogue. There's an obvious metaphor which is way overcooked. 

Starts off really well but the middle part is a complete muddle. Starts making sense for the end but the damage was done. 

Had the components to be much better, 5/10.

[Fullerene]

On 20/08/2021 at 09:34, BFTD said:

He's not wrong.

Almost as perplexing as when you discover that there are ten (soon to be eleven) films in the Hellraiser franchise, seven of which have managed to be released without anyone being aware of it.

I recall somebody talking about John Travolta starring in Ladder 49 and made the comment

"Oh no.  Not another Ladder film".

[NotThePars]

High-rise (2016)
Tom Hiddleston in a a dystopian 1970s tower block. Something sinister seems to be going on. Or he might be going nuts. Or maybe both. 
Good looking film with lots of good bits, memorable scenes but not a lot of memorable dialogue. There's an obvious metaphor which is way overcooked. 
Starts off really well but the middle part is a complete muddle. Starts making sense for the end but the damage was done. 
Had the components to be much better, 5/10.

Assume you’ve read but the book is terrific

[coprolite]

4 hours ago, NotThePars said:

 

Assume you’ve read but the book is terrific

 

I've not read any Ballard. Might check it out. 

[Shandon Par]

10 hours ago, NotThePars said:

I felt bad for the cool octopus spending the majority of its life with this loser

Watched that new Nilsen doc. Warmed to him more.

[coprolite]

The Town (2010)

Written, directed by and Starring Ben Affleck. The first 20 minutes was shit enough for me to turn it off, and i watched all of Godzilla v Kong. 

[BFTD]

7 hours ago, NotThePars said:

Assume you’ve read but the book is terrific

I love Ballard, but he didn't half stretch credulity. What was the one where the boy gets stuck on the roundabout?

Still got plenty of his stuff to work through before I cark it, but Empire of the Sun's surely still my favourite. Probably one of his more extraordinary stories and it's semi-autobiographical.

[NotThePars]

9 minutes ago, BFTD said:

I love Ballard, but he didn't half stretch credulity. What was the one where the boy gets stuck on the roundabout?

Still got plenty of his stuff to work through before I cark it, but Empire of the Sun's surely still my favourite. Probably one of his more extraordinary stories and it's semi-autobiographical.

I only got halfway through that. High Rise is tremendous just a really enjoyable novel.