What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[BFTD]

John Wick 4 (cinema) - Keanu Reeves shoots many, many people.

I saw the first one when it was new out and liked it, but haven't seen the others. The wean actually asked if he could spend time with me and go to see this one, so I couldn't really say no. I don't think I missed too much in the interim, as it's really just Keanu and his mates murdering hundreds of mooks, so there wasn't much to be confused by.

I really enjoyed it. Very stylish and moody; tremendously artistic ballet of violence, with some nice humorous moments and a terrific cast playing some memorable characters. I really like the stuttery movement they've worked on during the fights, as it helps disguise the choreographed nature and makes the whole thing seem a little more feasible (and the fight scenes are just utterly ridiculous in scale). There's a few bits of shonky CG, but it's not the kind of film where that spoils your enjoyment. Most surprisingly, it didn't feel overlong at just under three hours, which is pretty impressive for a film where action is more important than dialogue. Nice score too.

The wean mentioned afterwards that a couple of scenes reminded him of video games (namely Cyberpunk 2077 and Hotline Miami), and I'd been thinking the exact same thing. Not a criticism - it's just the kind of film where taking kinetic inspiration from action games can work out really well.

[54_and_counting]

On 03/04/2023 at 16:46, Mark Connolly said:

Although he was absolutely suited to the style of the films he was in, Moore was the worst Bond for me. More about the way Bond was written at the time than about him though.

Brosnan was the perfect blend of moore and connery, thought he was an excellent Bond, plus as you say the films he was in helped that

[BFTD]

2 hours ago, 54_and_counting said:

Brosnan was the perfect blend of moore and connery, thought he was an excellent Bond, plus as you say the films he was in helped that

Brosnan's films were generally pretty poor IMO. Goldeneye is obviously a classic, but Tomorrow Never Dies was very mediocre and The World is Not Enough was pretty dire. I actually liked Die Another Day, probably because I appreciate unintentionally bad films, but it regularly ends up at the bottom of Bond film lists.

He was quite unlucky in the films they wrote for him, as he was perfect for the role.

[scottsdad]

Off to see the new Dungeons and Dragons tonight. Hoping it'll be good.

[54_and_counting]

2 hours ago, BTFD said:

Brosnan's films were generally pretty poor IMO. Goldeneye is obviously a classic, but Tomorrow Never Dies was very mediocre and The World is Not Enough was pretty dire. I actually liked Die Another Day, probably because I appreciate unintentionally bad films, but it regularly ends up at the bottom of Bond film lists.

He was quite unlucky in the films they wrote for him, as he was perfect for the role.

Quite liked tomorrow never dies lol, but they quickly went poor after that, but i liked brosnan overall, think the faster paced and heavier action suited him, plus he still had the looks to pull off the charming agent vibe

[ScotiaNostra]

Villian 2020 - Everything about this movie suggests it wont be any good. Low budget, a played out gangster storyline and setting, Craig Fairbass as the lead but somehow it manages to be ok. Some decent cinema topography, a good music score and some good acting even from Fairbass and some of the other characters especially the actress playing his daughter who was really excellent. It also contains one of the most explosive realistic scene of violence Ive seen in movies. It lacks depth and some of the characters would be better served with some more storyline. It has plenty moments where its verging on the farcical but just does enough to keep you watching. 

5/10

Edited April 5, 2023 by ScotiaNostra

[scottsdad]

Dungeons and dragons, Honour among thieves. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this. The trailer I saw at the cinema looked good, so we went. The trailer on TV made it look awful. But the final movie was fun, action and adventure with a lot of good comedy thrown in. Chris Pine was well cast and had most of the one liners. 

Coming out of the cinema the kids were babbling away about the film. So glad we chose this over Super Mario. 

I've never played the game, and you didn't need to to enjoy this. There might have been references for players in there I didn't see but I don't care. 

If you are looking for a fun movie to watch, I really do recommend this one. 

[Uncle Psychosis]

Took the kids to see Mario.

Its very pretty, the soundtrack is awesome, and it's well cast. I laughed out loud a few times and the kids loved it. Loads of Easter Eggs for the nerds. 

That said, there are definitely better "kids films that adults can enjoy too" out there. The whole thing feels a bit like an excuse to cram in all your favourite Mario bits together rather than an actual film. 

Worth seeing if you have kids and/or love Nintendo, but I doubt you'll want to watch it repeatedly. 

[sfha]

The Deep House on Netflix got the usual raves....

Dear, oh dear.

[MSU]

084 The World is Not Enough -- I went to see this in 1999 and fell asleep in the cinema, something I've always put down to having had "a few" beforehand. Watching it now, that's probably still partially to blame but I think the lion's share goes to the fact that this is a very boring movie. I wonder if the premise is just too focused on the well-being of an oil heiress, or the cast list included Goldie and I'm assuming a comedy turn from John Cleese is a bit too questionable, or the fact that the franchise's fascination with the nautical has seldom got my pulse raised. I still think Brosnan is a good, maybe even great Bond, but there's not much that can fix a shite story. Good theme tune, tho. 4/10

085 Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves -- I've never been a D&D fan in real life, and I don't think I've seen any of the previous attempts to put it on the big screen, but I was a massive fan of the cartoon series in the 80s and from I saw from the trailers, it looked like writers and directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein were too. This thought was confirmed about five minutes into the movie. And even though it's a completely different movie, you can see and hear Game Night in the style and the beat of the jokes.

The CGI works better on backgrounds than it does on some of the things zipping around the screen, the story isn't about to surprise anyone, and most of the twists and turns are reliant on fairly convenient events. The McGuffin is with Jobby the Whiffy? Well, guess what, Doric saw Jobby the Whiffy just the other day and knows where he is. If anything, though, that just makes it more authentic D&D. Convenience is part of the game. The way to escape the dungeon is in the dungeon or the thing that was picked up just before entering the dungeon turns out to be the thing that'll find us the key. Either way, I can forgive these shortcomings because the movie is enormous fun, it doesn't take itself too seriously, the actors are committed to the roles, the script is funny throughout, the landscapes are gorgeous, the action scenes thrilling -- maybe one too many examples of one-versus-many? -- the pay-off is just about worth the runtime, and Hugh Grant really is THAT good. And it was nice to see the hat-tip to the cartoon towards the end when those characters appear to be in a cage about to be killed. I can see myself enjoying this a few more times before the inevitable sequels start coming out. When they do, I hope they retain the mood and the spirit of this. 8/10

[JustOneCornetto]

(26) Dog Gone (2023) – Netflix

Based on a true story about a dog that goes missing which mirrored something that happened to my neighbour’s dog a few weeks ago when it went missing in Devilla Forest and it took four days for him, his wife and 2 young daughters to find Brendan (yes they’re ‘tic supporters) after camping out on an estate where he was spotted. This film is obviously on a much bigger scale with Rob Lowe’s son getting himself a dog in last year at high school but while they are out on the Appalachian Trail the dog gets lost. It's all pretty predictable with father and son bonding, the mother staying at home organising all the flyers, social media and phone calls. Dog lovers should lap it up though. 6/10

 (27) Emily The Criminal (2022) – Sky Cinema

Not a bad wee film.  Aubrey Plaza,  who I know nothing about but who gets great reviews for her part in Parks & Recreation, plays a young woman struggling to pay off her student loans working as a food delivery driver. She is really good as she naively gets involved in a small-time credit card fraud but is then sucked into a much bigger scam operation. Some good action scenes and nice twist at the end. 7/10

 (28) Lynch/Oz (2022) – Film4

As a massive fan of anything David Lynch does this was a must see for me. It’s well documented that Lynch has a handful of films which have influenced him like Sunset Boulevard and 81/2 but probably his most influential is The Wizard of Oz and this documentary analyses all his films and Twin Peaks to show the comparisons. It’s done in 6 Chapters exploring everything from dream reality to the sound of wind to red shoes and even curtains. Loved it but you really need to know all of his films to fully appreciate this documentary. 8.5/10

 (29) Moonage Daydream (2022) – Netflix

Having just watched Lynch/Oz this really does feel like a companion piece as the life of both Davids have followed a very similar path, Lynch through his films and Bowie through his music. In this film you see, like Lynch, that Bowie liked to do a lot of artwork and sculpting which verged on the surreal and by creating his various persona he was using himself as a canvas. It’s all very transcendental, again like Lynch, with some great footage I hadn’t seen before and at times it feels like you’re on a psychedelic journey into the mind of Bowie. Great stuff. 8.5/10

[MSU]

3 minutes ago, JustOneCornetto said:

 (27) Emily The Criminal (2022) – Sky Cinema

Not a bad wee film.  Aubrey Plaza,  who I know nothing about but who gets great reviews for her part in Parks & Recreation, plays a young woman struggling to pay off her student loans working as a food delivery driver. She is really good as she naively gets involved in a small-time credit card fraud but is then sucked into a much bigger scam operation. Some good action scenes and nice twist at the end. 7/10

Been meaning to watch this for a while. Sounds like something I'd enjoy.

[Newbornbairn]

The Big Man

 

Liam Neeson gets offered money to fight a guy.

His wife says dinnae. 

He starts training.

She fucks off with the kids and shags Hugh Grant.

Neeson fights the guy, gets a sair pus and a bag of money.

His wife comes back and says she doesn't want the money.

Neeson gives the money back.

 

Seems to me the film basically amounts to Neeson getting a sair pus and his wife shags around behind his back.

[djchapsticks]

Went and saw Mario today with my stepdaughter's wee girl.

It comes full circle. As a 9 year old, I went in 1993 to see the Mario movie with my dad and was absolutely beyond buzzing as a massive Nintendo and Mario franchise fan. The Wizard had been my undoubted favourite film as a child so It was a dream to see Mario on the big screen...I came out of the cinema wondering WTF I had watched.

30 years later, I went and watched the new movie with a 10 year old family member of my own and it was everything that I had hoped at her age it would be back in 1993. It's an easy watch, nothing complicated or cynical in there, not even a nudge nudge to the parents in the audience as it didn't really need it - the nostalgic Nintendo references were enough to raise a smile. Was visually very nice, amazingly animated, musically wonderful (as it's the Mario score FFS) and definitely not warranting the criticism that journalists seem intent on throwing its way. A good wee easy watch that will set up for an entire line of Nintendo movies given the performance of its first weekend and I'm all for that happening.

7.5/10. Would watch again.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

Attempted to watch Banshees of Inisherin - genuinely bored by it.

The odd chuckle and some good acting but god it was life-draining.

[RuMoore]

Kidulthood- 9.5/10

Adulthood - 7/10

Anuvahood - 8/10

[velo army]

On 09/04/2023 at 19:48, Newbornbairn said:

The Big Man

 

Liam Neeson gets offered money to fight a guy.

His wife says dinnae. 

He starts training.

She fucks off with the kids and shags Hugh Grant.

Neeson fights the guy, gets a sair pus and a bag of money.

His wife comes back and says she doesn't want the money.

Neeson gives the money back.

 

Seems to me the film basically amounts to Neeson getting a sair pus and his wife shags around behind his back.

I haven't seen the film, but McIlvanney is my favourite author so I've read the novel mibbe three times (definitely twice).

Much of the genius of the book is in the descriptions of events and the inner workings of the characters. I don't imagine it translating that well to the big screen.

Obviously I recommend the book.

[accies1874]

14. God's Creatures - Cinema

This takes a long time to get going as it establishes the relationships between Brian and his maw as well as the simmering tensions in the village, but I quite enjoyed it once things got going. It is pretty standard overall and reminded me a lot of Beast from a few years ago in that there's a "dubious" predator at large and we get to see how a tight-knit community responds to him, but God's Creatures spin on that is is that (i) the alleged predator is exonerated by the community, and (ii) we watch the drama unfold from the perspective of the accused's mum. I liked that perspective; it felt pretty fresh and was actually quite interesting to think about. The instinctive protection, guilt, the doubt - they're all engaging emotions to watch between two people so close, and the film does a decent job of letting it all unravel at its own pace. Most of that is achieved through Emily Watson, and in particular her goddamn stares - boy can that woman stare. It can feel a bit hollow, and maybe it is, but I do need to account for the fact that it's also very reserved. The alleged victim is also given a decent amount of recognition within the film despite never being the focal point. That kind of plays in the background and informs the arc of the film until they gradually begin to converge. 

Minor complaint that might be my fault: I did struggle to make out what everyone was saying which can sometimes happen with Irish accents on film. That's balanced out by it being quite unconventionally good-looking; the colour palette is grimy yet it utilises a variety of different colours to give that effect which I liked. 

15. Godland - Cinema

Godland is a slow foreign (Danish-Icelandic) film about religion wonderfully shot in a grainy and vignetted 4:3 frame. It genuinely feels like it was plucked from the mid 20th century, despite being in colour. If that sounds like your bag then give it a go. 

Fairly early on, there's a nicely framed shot of the main character through a tent which made me think "nice shot", but then it's reversed to tell us something that plays throughout the whole film right up until the final act. It uses the Kuleshov Effect but cranks it up a notch to divert your attention onto the action playing out and the nice framing to ensure that the viewer is genuinely surprised when it's reversed. That's when I knew I was in for a wild ride. There are a lot of great, simple transitions and editing moments. Reverse shots, random shots, a sequence dedicated to erupting lava that doesn't affect the narrative in any way whatsoever - it's really impressive how they make the random make complete sense within the context of the story they're exploring. 

Something I found interesting in the first half was its approach to fleshing out the world. Of course, there are nice landscapes that actually reminded me of The Northman due to taking these landscapes and framing the characters and action in a way that makes them look insignificant against the backgrounds. However, what I found most interesting was how the world was fleshed out in closeups: the way they prepare food, how feet squelch on the marshy ground, the way the main character creates the wet plate photographs the entire film is based on. All these tiny wee details that help transport us into the world and also play into the ideas of nature/human nature vs religion. I'm not 100% sure why, but the concept of an incomplete church really played with my head (I'm not religious but I was thinking about it from the point of view of the characters). The film might not even be about any of this, but it's almost all told through a naturalistic script so you're left to make your own mind up through the characters' actions and the images. 

As soon as I saw the main character before even seeing the film, he immediately reminded me of the main dude from Mother Joan of the Angels - they have similar body shapes, fairly similar faces from a distance and both don a black cloak that is weirdly menacing given they're priests. Where this differs from Mother Joan, though, is that Godland doesn't have a scene like the long conversation between the priest and the rabbi. Instead, there are literal physical confrontations between characters at points - fights that are driven by established ideas. 

It flows in an interesting way too. The first hour or so is pretty brutal as the priest and some expeditioners travel to the mission, then it becomes somewhat pleasant (summed up by a shot that circles around an outdoor party) before coming to a natural conclusion that makes sense of everything that came before. There's a mishmash of tones too - headiness, humour, hopelessness - but they're nicely tied together under the banner of Odd. That overarching tone is what allows all of the others to exist in harmony. 

I wasn't necessarily emotionally invested, but I was completely engrossed by the filmmaking and ideas. It's probably the best 2023 release I've seen so far. 

[Savage Henry]

On 06/04/2023 at 04:53, scottsdad said:

Dungeons and dragons, Honour among thieves. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this. The trailer I saw at the cinema looked good, so we went. The trailer on TV made it look awful. But the final movie was fun, action and adventure with a lot of good comedy thrown in. Chris Pine was well cast and had most of the one liners. 

Coming out of the cinema the kids were babbling away about the film. So glad we chose this over Super Mario. 

I've never played the game, and you didn't need to to enjoy this. There might have been references for players in there I didn't see but I don't care. 

If you are looking for a fun movie to watch, I really do recommend this one. 

Against all my expectations, it was actually alright.  About an hour too long, but most films are.  Even Michelle Rodriguez singing garners a laugh. 

[MSU]

086 80 for Brady -- I hate the Patriots and I hate Tom Brady but I love Sally Field and I hoped that there'd be a few laughs to be had from this. Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and the aforementioned Sally Field star as four unlikeable elderly Pats and Brady fans who decide as a last hoorah to go to Super Bowl LI. There's the most meager of plots surrounding the means in which the ladies get tickets in the shadow of ill-health, but mostly this is an excuse to have multiple set pieces where the friends enter a wing-eating competition, play high stakes poker, consume edibles, and other activities which are supposed to be funny because the women are old and dottery. The movie also hopes that we've forgotten how that particular Super Bowl ended up. Really poor stuff. 3/10

087 Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum -- A Korean found footage horror movie, anyone? I had my doubts but it turned out to be an unexpected hit. The story might not be based on truth, but as far as I can make out, it's a real location that has its own real urban legends, so it's at least based on commonly accepted falsehoods. Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital was closed down in the 1970s, but not because of any mass suicide from its patients as the movie would have you believe. A group of friends, filming for part of a web series called Horror Times, get all GoPro'd to the hilt and break into the abandoned hospital to film the ghostly goings-on. This means lots of close-up shots of a static face while the background moves about, a method that always freaks me out a bit at the best of times. It's a slow burn toward the denouement, which for me is not a bad thing at all, and all the way through there is a simmering level of dread that amplifies as the story progresses. The atmosphere of the dark hospital at night is pretty much perfect for scares and jumps and catching glimpses of weird shapes in the shadows. The subtitles are a bit rubbish but it's well-acted, genuinely scary, and the final third is nuts. 7/10

088 Murder Mystery 2 -- The first one hasn't lingered much in my memory but out of all the shite Adam Sandler movies, the ones that feature Jennifer Aniston seem to be slightly less shite. The two of them have good chemistry together, they just do. Nick and Audrey Spitz are invited to a private island and the wedding of a billionaire character who may or may not have been in the first movie -- I honestly can't remember -- along with some other characters I may or may not have been introduced to previously. It doesn't matter. Once all the potential suspects have shown up, the billionaire is kidnapped. Nick and Audrey, with the addition of Mark Strong's hostage negotiator, and the investigation leaps to Paris where matters that are already complicated take a few additional twists and turns. It's quite good fun while not being enormously funny, but a setpiece in a van in Paris makes it just about worthwhile. It's billed as 89 minutes long but there are 10 minutes of credits at the end and the miserly runtime is in its favor. I think I kinda liked it. 6/10 

089 Renfield -- Urgh. I'm not thinking much of Nicholas Cage's cosplay adventures so far in 2023. I really didn't like his cowboy movie The Old Way, and I really didn't care much for him being a vampire in this. Nicolas Hoult plays the same sort of character as he does in everything I've seen him in, only this time he's called Renfield and he's Dracula's "familiar" -- basically a servant who ensures his master is looked after (not like that) and well fed.  From this perspective, we get the script's only interesting twist, which is the co-dependent relationship between master and servant, both of whom need the other to survive. The jokes, such as they are, threaten to land best in the adult support group that Renfield joins in New Orleans. But inexplicably, this aspect of the storyline spends a lot of its time in the backseat while a storyline of a drugs cartel, the Lobo Family, takes the wheel, presumably as a method to introduce Awkwafina to proceedings.

I'm trying to remember the last time I enjoyed Awkwafina in a movie, and it might be back in Oceans Eight, which was terrible, but I seem to have fond memories of her performance. Here, she's phoning it in as Officer Quincy, the only good apple in a barrel full of bad who are all in the Lobo's back pockets. She's so wooden that with a decent aim at Dracula's heart, she could've wound the movie up within 10 minutes, which would at least have spared us from the attempts to convince us that Renfield and Quincy had any romantic potential whatsoever. In the absence of anything better, McKay tries a sleight of hand to distract us with the ropiest CGI blood and gore I've seen in a long time and if it's meant to shock or turn the stomach, it flat-out fails. There is, though, an awful lot of it, far more than can be considered necessary or effective. But surely the biggest crime of all is that there are long periods of the movie where Nicholas Cage just disappears, and given that he's about 110% Nick Cage when he's at his Nick Cagiest, this is unforgivable. 4/10