What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[welshbairn]

7 hours ago, Arch Stanton said:

Asteroid City.

Now we all know Wes Anderson is a unique and quirky director. 

The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel are great movies but in AC he is pretentious to the point of disappearing up his own arse.

Genuinely, try explaining it to someone who hasn't seen it. There's no protagonist, no plot, no jeopardy.

Just a series of set plays involving bizarre characters.

I was in high hopes after enjoying The French Despatch which doesn't have much of a plot either but this was taking the pish, he even has a bit at the end with the cast trying to wake up the audience. Quite enjoyed the first hour as a bit of scenic art but that was plenty.

Spoiler

It should have ended after the first alien landing.

P.S. Good advice here I think for Barbageddon.

I survived the Barbie-Oppenheimer double-bill and I don’t recommend it

[SweeperDee]

Oppenheimer. Just left me profoundly sad. Can’t really express why. Just in awe.

 

[stanton]

21 minutes ago, SweeperDee said:

Oppenheimer. Just left me profoundly sad. Can’t really express why. Just in awe.

 

I’m probably going to go see it sometime this week 

[Squalor Vic]

Rough day on the couch, watched Bird Box: Barcelona. ..was okay if a bit stupid, and Vesper an indie sci-fi which I thought was really good and shows what can be done when you use a budget right. Looked tremendous. 

Both on Netflix 

[MSU]

137 Mission: Impossible -- I saw Deep Reckoning Pt 1 last weekend and as that was my first venture into the MI franchise, I thought I'd go back to the beginning. This really doesn't feel like the same franchise at all in a lot of ways, and it feels like someone had a Brian De Palma mask on during filming because this doesn't feel like a De Palma movie either. Lower on action and fun, higher on chat, and boy does 1996 tech feel like a VERY long time ago now. It's enjoyable enough but it took me quite a while to relax into the tone. Admittedly, the wire drop into the CIA safe room was unbearably tense. I was quite excited to go through these movies, but at this point I'm not so sure that this isn't going to turn into a bit of a slog. 5/10

138 Mission: Impossible II -- These get better, right? Coz this is pretty much the first one again, except not as good, longer, and directed by John Woo. Thandiwe Newton is about the only positive difference between this and the original. Too many slo-mo shots, too many overlong scenes. The motorcycle sequence is pretty neat but it's remarkable how dull the movie is otherwise. And I'm tempted to knock another half-star off for Tom Cruise's hair. Yikes. 4/10

139 Mission: Impossible III -- Oh, thank God. Just as I was about to give up on this franchise and write off Dead Reckoning as a fluke, along comes JJ Abrams and it starts to make sense again. Well, as much sense as a Mission: Impossible movie can make. The difference, apart from a director with a better vision for the franchise and something to prove, is undoubtedly Philip Seymour Hoffman as the baddie, Owen Davian, who isn't just a great MI baddie, he's a great cinema baddie, and the introduction of some Simon Pegg shaped fun. It's also somewhat appropriate that we never find out what the Rabbit's Foot really was, making the McGuffin an absolute McGuffin, but maybe choosing not to show how Ethan Hunt retrieves the thing is a plothole too far. 7/10

140 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol -- You kinda get the feeling that they started with Tom Cruise climbing outside the Burj Khalifa and then built the rest of the movie out from there. Brad Bird's history of directing animated movies seems to stand him in good stead here as the action does seem to amp up the cartoonish over-the-top feel. It's all good fun, though, Tom Cruise is taking himself less seriously at this point, keeping Simon Pegg was a great decision, and Paula Patton was a great addition. I'm starting to doubt that the thing that I think I missed out on most in Dead Reckoning about Mrs Hunt, was never a thing. 7/10

141 Oppenheimer -- Christoper Nolan's biopic of the Father of the Atomic Bomb isn't really like any other Christopher Nolan movie. This isn't what would happen if Batman invented a weapon of mass destruction. Instead, it is very much a movie of men talking in rooms, of men talking quickly in rooms, of men talking quickly in rooms about cerebral subjects. Now, occasionally a woman is present, and occasionally these conversations happen outdoors, but this is dialogue-heavy and it lasts for pretty much three hours. Granted, things explode, but that's very much the exception rather than the rule. I knew very little about J Robert Oppenheimer other than the obvious, but this character study, with surely an Oscar-worthy performance from Cillian Murphy, paints a complicated, difficult soul. So much so that about half an hour in I was confused because I didn't like him and I expected that I would. I didn't like him at all. He's a bit of a womanizing arsehole. He's a bit of a PT Barnum. His personal life is as chaotic as the atoms he's trying to wrangle. The movie does garner and earn some sympathy for Oppenheimer and the others involved in the Manhattan Project as they race to discover a method to destroy the world because if they don't do it first, it just means someone else will do it a little later. The genie is out of the bottle when the atom splits. So the work is done almost with a sense of resignation. Nolan uses color and black and white to differentiate between timelines and he uses quick flashes out of place to reinforce who's who. Normally, I'd complain about the intrusion but here it felt like a handy crib sheet that I appreciated. Ironically enough for a movie so dense in dialogue, he also relies on close-ups, particularly of Murphy, to gain access to the inner torment of what they're doing. And then when the big moment comes it's nothing like I imagined it to be and it's all the more powerful because of it. Matt Damon is as good as I've ever seen him as General Groves, Oppenheimer's military supervisor, and Robert Downey Jr is probably in line for an Oscar himself as Lewis Strauss, the chair of the Atomic Energy Commission who manages to get his own movie within the movie. Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh, though, get totally short-changed, particularly Blunt, Oppenheimer's wife, who thinks in terms that her husband is incapable of when dealing with politics and people. Both take up very little in terms of screen time and most of the scenes that feature Blunt keep her in the background, out of focus. And while I'm moaning about a movie that is pretty much a masterpiece, the sound for 95% of the time is stunning, but for whatever reason, there are a few scenes where I couldn't make out a word of what was being said. Still, it was only quantum mechanics they were talking about. I doubt it was that important. Go see it. Maybe don't go see Barbie twenty minutes later. 9/10

142 Barbie -- It's Barbenheimer weekend and I saw this second, so part of me was expecting a biopic of SS officer Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon. Thankfully not. Still, I'd rather have seen this first, or seen it second with more time in between. Greta Gerwig just makes good movies and her creation is pretty remarkable. The dazzling production and costume design will surely be rewarded in the first quarter of 2024 and rewarded handsomely if there is any justice. But the movie is so much more than the attention to detail. Barbie and Ken spend each day like the last in their perfect Barbieworld, with women succeeding in every walk of life, running the world, and generally being awesome while the Kens can't be happy unless their gaze is on their Barbies. When the stereotypical Barbie, Margot Robbie, suddenly starts having thoughts of death and discovers the start of cellulite, she must travel to the Real World to find her owner to fix things, but there she discovers that the impact she thought she'd had was quite the opposite. I must admit, I groaned a bit when the second trailer revealed the Real World element. It felt a little like Beavis and Butt-head Do The Universe and any number of other fish-out-of-water comedies, and why would you want to spend any time outside of Barbieworld where everything looks so incredible? Thankfully, the movie seems to realize this and quickly remedies it. It's cute, it's very funny, it's necessary, and it walks the line very well between satire and nostalgia. Surprisingly, it spends a lot of time ripping the pish out of Mattel, whose board are depicted as 100% old, white, and male and led by Will Ferrell of all people.  If I'm honest, I think there's a better ending somewhere although I didn't hear many complaints on the way out. There should be more movies like this. Maybe if that was the case, those bemoaning male representation wouldn't be so surprised. 8/10

Edited July 24, 2023 by MSU

[Mark Connolly]

3 hours ago, MSU said:

138 Mission: Impossible II -- These get better, right? Coz this is pretty much the first one again, except not as good, longer, and directed by John Woo. Thandiwe Newton is about the only positive difference between this and the original. Too many slo-mo shots, too many overlong scenes. The motorcycle sequence is pretty neat but it's remarkable how dull the movie is otherwise. And I'm tempted to knock another half-star off for Tom Cruise's hair. Yikes. 4/10

One thing that is important to remember when watching M:I2 is that the filming delays meant that Dougray Scott missed out on the part of Wolverine in X-Men. Fortunately, the actor who took over the role achieved nothing going forward...

[BFTD]

On 22/07/2023 at 22:42, Mr. Brightside said:

The only issue I had was the audio mixing was poor for maybe the first 20/30 minutes, it was quite hard to make out what people were saying at points.

3 hours ago, MSU said:

the sound for 95% of the time is stunning, but for whatever reason, there are a few scenes where I couldn't make out a word of what was being said.

Whoa, a Chris Nolan film with terrible dialogue mixing? Surely not?

There's a boat scene in Tenet where I spent the entire thing hoping that none of the dialogue was going to be important, because I couldn't make out a fucking word of it. It's becoming his trademark. There are a few articles and videos about why this is happening in films now - IIRC, it amounts to the soundtrack being so busy that mixers are struggling to give dialogue the required prominence without it sounding like everything else has been noticeably and unnaturally turned down.

[sparky88]

7 hours ago, MSU said:

 

142 Barbie -- It's Barbenheimer weekend and I saw this second, so part of me was expecting a biopic of SS officer Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon. Thankfully not. Still, I'd rather have seen this first, or seen it second with more time in between. Greta Gerwig just makes good movies and her creation is pretty remarkable. The dazzling production and costume design will surely be rewarded in the first quarter of 2024 and rewarded handsomely if there is any justice. But the movie is so much more than the attention to detail. Barbie and Ken spend each day like the last in their perfect Barbieworld, with women succeeding in every walk of life, running the world, and generally being awesome while the Kens can't be happy unless their gaze is on their Barbies. When the stereotypical Barbie, Margot Robbie, suddenly starts having thoughts of death and discovers the start of cellulite, she must travel to the Real World to find her owner to fix things, but there she discovers that the impact she thought she'd had was quite the opposite. I must admit, I groaned a bit when the second trailer revealed the Real World element. It felt a little like Beavis and Butt-head Do The Universe and any number of other fish-out-of-water comedies, and why would you want to spend any time outside of Barbieworld where everything looks so incredible? Thankfully, the movie seems to realize this and quickly remedies it. It's cute, it's very funny, it's necessary, and it walks the line very well between satire and nostalgia. Surprisingly, it spends a lot of time ripping the pish out of Mattel, whose board are depicted as 100% old, white, and male and led by Will Ferrell of all people.  If I'm honest, I think there's a better ending somewhere although I didn't hear many complaints on the way out. There should be more movies like this. Maybe if that was the case, those bemoaning male representation wouldn't be so surprised. 8/10

Wanted more Barbie World in the film overall.  Surprised Gerwig went down the route of the "George of the Jungle" bit as I'm not sure it added much, apart from introducing Will Ferrell.

[accies1874]

Great write-ups @MSU. My thoughts on Oppenheimer will be very similar, although I'm gonna give it a go in Imax before doing post. 

You allayed my fears about the fish out of water stuff in Barbie but then @sparky88 had to go and shit over that. Still have high hopes for it though (when I'm finally able to stomach watching it in the cinema).

[coprolite]

Saw the opening half hour of Dune (2021) then fell asleep. It was definitely telling the story better than the Lynch version. Looks like a tv movie with a big CGI budget and the music was an intrusive drone. Showed just enough to make me want to watch it when I’m less tired, but not sure I’d have felt the same if I wasn’t a bit of a sci fi nerd. 

[pub car king]

Barbie, 6/10

This is a strange one really, you have one of the best selling toys of all time, loved by children of multiple generations.

They then make a film that isn't for children. There are some spectacular set pieces the sets look huge, some laughs (for the adults) and the cast are very good, Ryan Gosling steals the show rather ironically. 

The second half it attacks the "patriarchy" which is going to go over the head of your average child. It also done in a very ham-fisted way with an ending that doesn't really resolve anything.

But I'm not really the target audience in fairness. My 8 year old said she was bored for bits of it, and my 12 year old said she got the adult jokes but that it went on a bit. 

Edited July 25, 2023 by pub car king
.

[JustOneCornetto]

(52) Big Boys Don’t Cry (2020) – Netflix

Michael Socha is really good as he plays the part of Paul Connolly in the true story about abuse in a children’s home in the 70s and the effect it had on the boys abused. It switches between his life in the home and 20 odd years later when he’s released from prison and goes back to his job as a bouncer. When he finds out that the home is under investigation and that some 7 or 8 boys had subsequently committed suicide you see his anguish and unresolved anger at what happened to him and his pals. Bit harrowing at times but well made and worthy film. 6.5/10

(53) They Cloned Tyrone (2023) – Netflix

Billed as a sci-fi comedy it’s all very daft but just nonsensical enough to make it a decent enough watch. The 3 main leads, John Boyega, a drug dealer, Jamie Foxx, a pimp, and Teyonah Paris, a prostitute, are all good as they get together to try and find out what’s happening in the ‘hood’ as it seems some sort of mind control project and cloning of main players in the Black community is being conducted.The humour is not laugh out loud but more satirical and it’s all very self-deprecating. 6/10

(54) Gravity (2013) – BBC

My first rewatch since seeing it 10 years ago in 3D on the big screen and you definitely don’t get anywhere near the same impact on the small screen. Saying that I love films set in space and this is still visually stunning and without a complex or even much of a plot it’s more of a survival film which keeps you engaged and the run time of 90 minutes is just perfect. 8/10

(55) Oppenheimer (2023) – Cineworld

This is a big story to tell and Nolan certainly does that in this 3 hour epic. Like previous comments I agree that most of the film is dialogue driven and it does help to have some understanding of the subject matter. I thought the sound throughout was ok and didn’t miss anything they said but it is a film that requires a lot of concentration and must admit I was getting a bit mixed up with some of the names of the scientists and officials. Robert Downey Jr puts in a great performance so much that you really hate him by the end of the film. For me the standout scene was the test explosion with the delay between sight and sound both breathtaking and gut wrenching. That scene made me think of David Lynch’s interpretation of that moment which you can see in Episode 8 of Twin Peaks The Return (which is the best hour of tv I have ever seen). Interesting that Nolan cast his own daughter to show the image of a burn victim which Oppenheimer sees in his mind. Still thinking about the film a day after watching it which is always a sign at how good it was. Sure to pick up a few Oscars. 9/10

Edited July 27, 2023 by JustOneCornetto

[MSU]

41 minutes ago, JustOneCornetto said:

(53) They Cloned Tyrone (2023) – Netflix

Billed as a sci-fi comedy it’s all very daft but just nonsensical enough to make it a decent enough watch. The 3 main leads, John Boyega, a drug dealer, Jamie Foxx, a pimp, and Teyonah Paris, a prostitute, are all good as they get together to try and find out what’s happening in the ‘hood’ as it seems some sort of mind control project and cloning of main players in the Black community is being conducted.The humour is not laugh out loud but more satirical and it’s all very self-deprecating. 6/10

This is next up on my watchlist. I tried to start it last night but it didn't grab me so I ended up watching Shaun of the Dead again instead.

[Mark Connolly]

Thought Oppenheimer was absolutely tremendous.

Not much I can add to what everyone else has said, other than I didn't clock that it was Gary Oldman playing Truman until the credits, and it must have been tough on Cillian Murphy having to go to work and hang out with Florence Pugh and Emily Blunt

[well fan for life]

On 23/07/2023 at 19:42, SweeperDee said:

Oppenheimer. Just left me profoundly sad. Can’t really express why. Just in awe.

 

Aye. Went to the IMAX at Silverburn last night for it. Visually spectacular and really well paced. But for sure when the credits started rolling I just felt really, really sad. 
 

The cast is so unbelievably stacked as well. Shout out your man from Drake & Josh rising to the occasion and being the guy on the big red button.

[Mark Connolly]

[Wee-Bey]

Not been on this thread for a while. Shout out to Miguel's withering reviews of dross Hollywood blockbuster franchises, some great lines.

Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse.

I enjoyed the 1st alongside the wee man and the sequel manages to match it and leaves a nice wee cliffhanger for the 3rd installment, although I do wonder how long before people get tired of multiverse plots in films (if they aren't already)

The Flash

More multiverse stuff. Film only kicks in once Keaton gets involved after a dreadful start and weird looking CGI/effects and there's some neat cameos. It's at least equal to the recent declining in quality Marvel output.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

It's better than Crystal Skull, although that's a particularly low bar to clear. The opening scenes are fantastic until we abruptly cut to an old man in his pants, then shortly after, a ridiculous car chase. There's something about Waller-Bridge I can't take to which means I find her characters annoying and unlikeable. Hopefully this brings an end to the arc after this films ending and if the franchise has a future, it's certainly not with a geriatric Ford hobbling around chasing an unlikeable sidekick (huge lol at wee Shia getting bumped off off screen) and surely in a computer generated prime Han Solo punching Nazi's in the face to stop them grabbing a world ending Macguffin.

 

[Wee-Bey]

Barbie

Barbs deserves a post of her own. Thought it got the mixture of sickly sweetness, satire, silliness, sarcasm and seriousness spot on. Gosling and Robbie were perfect as was Barbieland. Enjoyed it far more than I ever thought I would.

[Miguel Sanchez]

A Quiet Place Part II (2020/2021): Did A Quiet Place need a sequel? Not really. Does it need the further sequel it's getting? Not really. Does it need the prequel it's getting? Not really. Does it need the video game it's getting? Not really. At least I live on an island. 

Armageddon (1998): Spectacular. Surprisingly hard to follow when they're actually on the meteor, even by Michael Bay's standards, but still spectacular. There's also a character in the credits listed as "Nerd" which I found hilarious.

Arrival (2016): A genuinely great film, ironically spoiled by the fact I'd seen it before. The visuals and premise of the first half are still engrossing though. I'd like to live in Amy Adams' house. 

Braveheart (1995): Quite possibly the strongest concentration of nonsense ever committed to film. 

Robocop (1987): The world's worst police force fail to protect capitalism's wet dream. Capitalism tries to replace them with robots. Hilarity ensues. The first time I saw this I thought it was rubbish and lacking Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Ironside, the more I see it (I think this was the third time) the sadder and less dated it gets.

Edited July 28, 2023 by Miguel Sanchez

[accies1874]

I quite liked A Quiet Place 2. It's a retread of the first in a lot of ways, which is kinda good as it maintains the grounded nature when it would've been predictable to go bigger, but it still fleshes out the world in decent ways. A solid 7/10 imo.

The only idea I have for how the game could play out is if it's entirely the Don't Move/Breathe sections from Until Dawn and The Quarry. Sounds kinda shite.