What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Shandon Par]

Cruella

Emma Watson in the back story of Cruella Devil. Tonally it’s a mess. For long periods it’s like Joker but then it tries to ape some of the cute slapstick of Paddington. Some amazing cars, clothes, music and the camera is on Emma Watson’s face for the bill of the film so it’s no hardship to watch. 

[Gianfranco]

I think you’ve got the wrong Emma.

[pawpar]

Just watched the shawshank redemption because everyone keeps raving about it. Thought people were maybe exaggerating about it. Could not have been more wrong. Only one word to describe it. Beautiful. 

[Bully Wee Villa]

On 12/02/2022 at 00:40, Shandon Par said:

Cruella

Emma Watson in the back story of Cruella Devil. Tonally it’s a mess. For long periods it’s like Joker but then it tries to ape some of the cute slapstick of Paddington. Some amazing cars, clothes, music and the camera is on Emma Watson’s face for the bill of the film so it’s no hardship to watch. 

Can't believe they've already remade that so soon after the Emma Stone version.

[MSU]

008 -- Death on the Nile. It seemed the 1970s version of this with Peter Ustinov was always on TV on a Sunday afternoon so I knew the story and had a vague idea of whodunnit, although not quite sure of the why or the how. The Kenneth Branagh version is solid and steady enough, but maybe a bit too uniform in pace, a bit lacking in excitement, and has the odd curiosity value of having an incredibly understated performance from Russell Brand. It suffers from the fakery of all the CGI backdrops and the fact that no one seems to be having an awful lot of fun. Still, a decent enough way to spend a couple of hours. 6/10

[Rodhull]

Terminator Dark Fate. Surprisingly not nearly as bad as I expected but more because after the last couple my expectations for Terminator movies are Rock bottom. That is to say it is in no way good but could have been worse.

[Squalor Vic]

House of Gucci. I liked it, took a while to get used to the accents, which are pretty much ditched by the end by most of the folk. Gaga was great and Jared Leto was in a different film from everyone else, don't know if he was terrible or great in it. 

[Fullerene]

12 hours ago, MSU said:

008 -- Death on the Nile. It suffers from the fakery of all the CGI backdrops and the fact that no one seems to be having an awful lot of fun. Still, a decent enough way to spend a couple of hours. 6/10

On the flip side I recall "A Caribbean Mystery" with Helen Hayes as Miss Marple.

At one point, despite the fact that people had been murdered, she declares, "this really has been jolly good fun.  We must do it again".

How can anyone have fun if Poirot or Marple are about.  Bad omen if ever there was one.

Edited February 13, 2022 by Fullerene

[accies1874]

29. A Shot in the Dark (1964)* - Film4

A fantastic opening and title sequence that aren't really matched for the rest of it but still a well-constructed comedy. 

30. Belle (2022)* - Cinema

Spoiler

Should start by saying that despite not consuming any anime films or TV shows, I'm just not really a fan of the art style. I think it's because it reminds me of rubbish childhood cartoons on Jetix etc that might not even be anime or, tbh, even exist, but there's just something about it that doesn't connect with me. Between that and the fact it was dubbed, and the fact I saw it in the worst cinema itw and the fact there was an annoying-ass kid there who wouldn't shut the hell up, I really didn't see it in the best environment. But still, lots to like. 

It starts with two juxtaposed character introductions - the "irl" Suzu and her online persona Bell - which makes for quite an impactful shift from one to the other, although it's somewhat deceptive in where we meet each of them and I was more interested in what it initially promised. 

While the film is good and has interesting ideas (which I'll get to), the script does falter quite a bit. Firstly, it's disappointingly on-the-nose at times which is just weird, explaining exactly what characters are feeling at times which takes away from the emotion of scenes. Secondly, some plot progressions come out of nowhere - confusing. Finally, and most annoyingly, the ending had a big issue for me. Its climax has Suzu travelling to another part of Japan because her online romantic interest is in trouble, but they make it very clear that his danger is immediate and it will take her a long time to get to him. This made for a climax that was completely devoid of any tension as I just assumed that the guy in danger (The Beast) was getting battered and there was nothing our protagonist could do about it, but not in a No Country was as her arrival is depicted as heroic. Plus, for some reason they decided to have The Beast believing that Suzu is Bell twice and I'm not sure why. 

However, there's a lot of good here and it's a very balanced portrayal of digitisation and fame that I haven't really seen done before. 

We slag social media and the fucking metaverse but you can see here that someone who has an unfulfilling life can find solace in a community who know nothing about her and her baggage. For better or worse, the internet can empower people due to its anonymity and/or only showing a tiny sliver of themselves which can give them a platform and a voice in the real world. The Beast and Bell also find connection over the internet when they had very little in the real world. 

There's also a respect for privacy and an understanding of the dangers of doxing. A lot of characters use the internet to find a better version of themselves that they can shape in any way they want (again, this can obvs be bad) and taking that agency away can be harmful. It's also established early on about half of the world's users hating Bell which would be overwhelming - who'd want that spilling into real life? Including a celebrity in the film's real world as a side character and writing them an arc was clever too. A lot of society constantly look to dig deeper into celebrities etc to try and expose a persona or facade when, in reality, so much of the population has parts they want to hide irl which is no different, as shown by the popular girl having an admittedly boring revelation. This is obviously completely disrespectful of their privacy for no reason other than the fact they have an audience (that they often didn't ask for). However...

... that audience investment can be used for good - aka "virtue signalling" by The Losers. When famous people choose to expose their issues, it can legitimise them for those who might not have a voice or people to understand how they feel. The allure of celebrity gives off an impression of strength to a lot of people so if they can use their audience and talent to inspire and help then surely that's good? It is here, but I always felt that undercurrent of how legitimising the voiceless can be dangerous - neo-Nazis! The Beast, perhaps deliberately, gave off big school shooter vibes to me too. 

What Belle does most importantly, though, is to emphasise the genuineness of irl connection. The Bell persona only worked thematically as it grew Suzu as a character and she embraced what she previously succumbed to as opposed to running away from herself. The internet and celebrity is all well and good but that's nothing compared to pure connection - even if her friend is an a-hole which never seems to be resolved?

The songs were shit though. 

31. Murders at the Lake (2019)* - Channel 5

Actually a bit better than the usual Channel 5 TV movies which is slightly disappointing. Still trash, obviously, but it actually resembles a film at points which is unheard of for this genre. 

[MSU]

009 -- The Tinder Swindler. Pretty interesting Catch Me If You Can style documentary of a fake diamond trader who successfully hoodwinks a series of unsuspecting victims to finance his lavish lifestyle. Gets a bit samey after a while, maybe runs a bit too long, but has an entertaining sting in its tail. 8/10

Edited February 13, 2022 by MSU

[accies1874]

13 hours ago, MSU said:

008 -- Death on the Nile. It seemed the 1970s version of this with Peter Ustinov was always on TV on a Sunday afternoon so I knew the story and had a vague idea of whodunnit, although not quite sure of the why or the how. The Kenneth Branagh version is solid and steady enough, but maybe a bit too uniform in pace, a bit lacking in excitement, and has the odd curiosity value of having an incredibly understated performance from Russell Brand. It suffers from the fakery of all the CGI backdrops and the fact that no one seems to be having an awful lot of fun. Still, a decent enough way to spend a couple of hours. 6/10

Whodunnits belong in the autumn/winter so I think I'll give this a go then. Branagh's directing actually suited most of Orient Express although he handled the ending exactly how you'd expect. 

I liked the 70s Death on the Nile until I remembered being bored for pretty much the first half of it, although that'll probably be better in retrospect.

[MSU]

1 hour ago, accies1874 said:

Whodunnits belong in the autumn/winter so I think I'll give this a go then. Branagh's directing actually suited most of Orient Express although he handled the ending exactly how you'd expect. 

I liked the 70s Death on the Nile until I remembered being bored for pretty much the first half of it, although that'll probably be better in retrospect.

Yeah, this one does its best to inject a bit of interest in the opening but lots of the first 45 minutes is introducing the characters and there's only so much you can do about that.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

On 10/02/2022 at 09:57, Lester Freamon said:

The Kingsman

I didn't mind the 1st 2 Kingsman films, they're silly and never take themselves too seriously. This one isn't great. Terrible bad guy, bizarre and abrupt changes in tone, the use of the historical characters is wonky and that MCU end credits scene is just wtf.

4/10, extra point for Ralph Fiennes.

Yeah, I watched this last night. Fiennes is rarely less than decent value, and Gemma Arterton always brightens a movie up. I completely agree on the use of historical characters, especiall Rasputin, and the piss-poor villain.

A relatively harmless way to spend a couple of hours but, had this been the first of these, I'd never have bothered with the other two, thereby missing Colin Firth going mental in a church and Elton John camping up his róle as Elton John. Oh, and becoming so invested in Mark Strong's Merlin that I was genuinely unhappy when he got stiffed. Although there's theories out there he may be resurrected, I can't see it happening given the backward (chronological and quality) step taken with this half-arsed "origins" effort.

[Paul Kersey]

Extract

An embattled factory owner struggles to deal with various problems in his personal and professional life.

This is a workplace comedy directed by Mike Judge and intended as a companion to his earlier move Office Space.

This is amusing rather than hilarious. Some of the jokes are pretty clever and well observed while others are kinda laboured and miss the mark completely.

Entertaining enough but nowhere near as good as office space.

6/10

[Scotty Tunbridge]

Uncharted - fell asleep in the cinema, from what I seen it didn’t look very good.

[accies1874]

There's so much of Uncharted in the 2011 Tintin film. Would be interesting if some poindexters on here knew who ripped off who?

[Mark Connolly]

I thought Uncharted was OK.

Some of the stunts were utterly ridiculous though

[Savage Henry]

The French Dispatch.  Probably the most Wes Anderson thing Wes Anderson has ever done. Unlikely to win any converts.  I lovec it, if not quite as much as The Grand Budapest Hotel.  

[scottsdad]

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

A fun, enjoyable film that was 1 hr 40 m long (much better than some of the other Marvel/DC movies that go on for aeons).

The only real issue I had was with one piece of casting. The baddie was apparently a teenager in 1996, and was an adult in 2021. So someone in their late 30s is what was needed, maybe early 40s at a push.  Who did they cast? Woody Harrelson in a dodgy wig.

[BFTD]

Death on the Nile - infamous Belgian murderer Hercule Poirot gets away with it again, this time on board a steamer in Egypt.

After a dynamic opening, the gradual introduction of characters gets a little dull (as others have mentioned), but once we get into the swing of murder and Poirot doing his intense thing, that's easily forgiven. I've a feeling that American audiences might appreciate the cast slightly more, as it's hard to get over the feeling you're watching a French & Saunders sketch at times, and the sight of Russell Brand might be a tad distracting, although I have to admit that I didn't recognise him at first and he's actually not too bad in quite an underplayed role. Other than that, there's some sprightly scenery consumption and outrageous accent work, but Gal Gadot is once again the least expressive thing on screen by some distance, and that includes the CGI scenery, which I didn't find as distracting as some - they can get away with that stuff a lot better these days, I think.

I enjoyed Kenneth Branagh's first shot at Poirot far more than I was expecting, so my expectations were higher this time; it's slightly disappointing, but an enjoyable watch nonetheless. No hints dropped about another film in the series this time, but I could happily watch more of these, so fingers crossed.