Ira Gaines Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call, New Orleans What a total joy this movie is. Nicolas Cage plays a drug using cop who is going deeper and deeper into total madness. So... Cage going mad. We've seen it before of course, but not quite like this. The more straight laced side is done fairly well, and the gradual descent, including some bizarre iguana stuff, is a joy to watch. At his most crazy, it's absolutely hilarious, and this time, it's not unintentional humour, as some really daft shit gets reeled out. It's a thriller though, and it delivers on that count with the centre piece being his job as a cop and the unsavoury people and situations he deals with. Not so well at times. Well worth a look I'd say. 9/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 The Grand Budapest Hotel; 10/10 There are three types of people in this world; 1. people who adore Wes Anderson's films, 2. people who can't stand them, and 3. people who haven't seen any. I am unapologetically in group 1. I finally got around to seeing his latest. This might be my favourite, and and that's saying a lot - The Darjeeling Limited is easily in my top three films of all time. I'm sure the plot is well known, so I'll just say that Anderson's blend of funny and heartbreaking is probably funnier and sadder in this film than any of his others. A magisterial piece of work. And a glorious soundtrack. Loved it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScotlandGer Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 The Grand Budapest Hotel; 10/10 There are three types of people in this world; 1. people who adore Wes Anderson's films, 2. people who can't stand them, and 3. people who haven't seen any. I am unapologetically in group 1. I finally got around to seeing his latest. This might be my favourite, and and that's saying a lot - The Darjeeling Limited is easily in my top three films of all time. I'm sure the plot is well known, so I'll just say that Anderson's blend of funny and heartbreaking is probably funnier and sadder in this film than any of his others. A magisterial piece of work. And a glorious soundtrack. Loved it. Agreed, Darjeeling Limited cracks me up. Darjeeling Limited, Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom and Life Acquatic are films I go back to again and again. Grand Budapest Hotel is right up there for me too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 The Grand Budapest Hotel; 10/10 There are three types of people in this world; 1. people who adore Wes Anderson's films, 2. people who can't stand them, and 3. people who haven't seen any. I am unapologetically in group 1. I finally got around to seeing his latest. This might be my favourite, and and that's saying a lot - The Darjeeling Limited is easily in my top three films of all time. I'm sure the plot is well known, so I'll just say that Anderson's blend of funny and heartbreaking is probably funnier and sadder in this film than any of his others. A magisterial piece of work. And a glorious soundtrack. Loved it. Saw this on Sunday night with Mrs Shandon Par and we're firmly in group 1 too. Style-wise I thought it was a very similar looking film to the Royal T's and I can see why some people just wouldn't go with it. I saw Baz Lurman's Great Gatsby earlier in the year and he does a very similar thing with the whole hyper-reality/cartoon-esque scenes but that just made my skin crawl I hated it so much! I liked all the cameos too - I know that can be a bit of a lazy cliche these days but again I think he gets away with it. Agree about it being sadder and more downbeat than expected but I think his films are a real treat - the acting, the visuals, the soundtrack, the humour. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Apologies if I'm repeating myself, but we had a REC-stravaganza recently and I'm not sure if I mentioned them here. [REC] - Spanish found-footage movie about a film crew following the night shift at a fire station. They find themselves quarantined in an apartment building after attending a routine call, and all hell breaks loose. This is a very decent and effective horror film, successfully combining several genres while building to a nice "WTF?" ending. The female lead turns into an annoying warbling mess after a while, but in general it provides plenty of interesting characters to go along with. [REC] 2 - Direct follow-on to the above, following a SWAT team sent into the apartment building to find out what's been going on...or so they think. This starts out like an average unnecessary horror sequel; decent, but uninspired. However, it builds nicely as it goes, throwing a few curveballs into the narrative, and ends up being a worthy addition to the series. Required viewing once you've seen the original. [REC] 3 - Chaos breaks out at a wedding reception after one of the guests shows signs of infection by the virus from the first two films. A poor third installment in the series, that sadly has very little to do with the previous movies. The film takes the interesting decision to abandon the found-footage formula early on, but quickly degenerates into a mediocre zombie movie, with little to distinguish it from the hundreds of others in the genre. There's also a streak of attempted levity throughout that doesn't sit well, considering that everything has been played straight up until this point. It's easy to get the impression that this only exists to make some money for a proper sequel to #2. Quarantine - American remake of the original [REC}. This is almost a scene-by-scene copy, with a few inconsequential additions. It's not awful, but just isn't quite as well done as the Spanish film, and doesn't have the same feel of realism. Not a bad watch, but it would spoil [REC] for anyone who hadn't seen it, so should be avoided for that reason alone. Check out the director's unreleased The Poughkeepsie Tapes if you can, as it's much more interesting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FifeSons Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) I recently watched two wonderfully intriguing and disturbing films. The first, Irreversible, a French film where the events over the course of an evening are shown in reverse chronological order, tells the story of two men seeking revenge for the brutal rape and beating of a woman they are both close to. This film contains a scene that is one of the most uncomfortable and prolonged that I've ever seen. However, the film's ambition is clearly not to glorify the violence on display, but rather to make the audience question it. Safe to say this one isn't for everyone, and it would be difficult to actually 'enjoy' this film, but it does have some really interesting themes going on. The second, Under the Skin, sees Scarlett Johnansson play the role of an alien life-form that decides to come to Earth and drive around Govan, amongst other places in Scotland, in a white van to pick up unsuspecting, lonely men. This is undeniably the strangest film I've ever seen. There is very little dialogue, but SJ puts in a tremendous performance. As for whether it was any good or not? Absolutely no idea. Edited July 31, 2014 by FifeSons 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banana Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Apologies if I'm repeating myself, but we had a REC-stravaganza recently and I'm not sure if I mentioned them here. WTF is REC? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19QOS19 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 WTF is REC? The title of the film. It makes more sense when you say it on the cover, as it's the 'Record' button of a camcorder. It's a shaky camera type film so it makes sense. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustOneCornetto Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Went along to Behind The Wall in Falkirk yesterday for a series of short films as part of Falkirk's Art Festival. Got the chance to speak to Adam Stafford, a very talented local musician and film maker who showcased his short film No Hope For Men Below about the 1923 Redding pit disaster. Also spoke to Gordon Robertson who showed his film Martyr Harry a black comedy with an outstanding performance by Paul Sneddon (aka Bob Doolally). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Saw this on Sunday night with Mrs Shandon Par and we're firmly in group 1 too. Style-wise I thought it was a very similar looking film to the Royal T's and I can see why some people just wouldn't go with it. I saw Baz Lurman's Great Gatsby earlier in the year and he does a very similar thing with the whole hyper-reality/cartoon-esque scenes but that just made my skin crawl I hated it so much! I liked all the cameos too - I know that can be a bit of a lazy cliche these days but again I think he gets away with it. Agree about it being sadder and more downbeat than expected but I think his films are a real treat - the acting, the visuals, the soundtrack, the humour. Great Gatsby was so different from my expectations, I had to admire it. Like Cold Mountain, it was an interesting film rather than a good one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11thHour Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Crimson Tide - 8/10. Surprisingly hadnt seen this before. Cant go wrong with a bit of Denzel and Gene. Didn't feel it needed the slight racist undertones though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I recently watched two wonderfully intriguing and disturbing films. The first, Irreversible, a French film where the events over the course of an evening are shown in reverse chronological order, tells the story of two men seeking revenge for the brutal rape and beating of a woman they are both close to. This film contains a scene that is one of the most uncomfortable and prolonged that I've ever seen. However, the film's ambition is clearly not to glorify the violence on display, but rather to make the audience question it. Safe to say this one isn't for everyone, and it would be difficult to actually 'enjoy' this film, but it does have some really interesting themes going on. A double bill of Irreversible and A Serbian Film would put most folk on suicide watch. Both really well made, but bleak as all hell, and take a perverse pleasure in rubbing your nose right in it. Apparently Gaspar Noe had a lot of low-frequency sound included on Irreversible's soundtrack to make the audience feel nauseous. Worked pretty well IMO. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I think Irreversible is one of the most morally bankrupt films I've ever seen. Repulsive, and not in any kind if artistic way. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FifeSons Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 A double bill of Irreversible and A Serbian Film would put most folk on suicide watch. Both really well made, but bleak as all hell, and take a perverse pleasure in rubbing your nose right in it. Apparently Gaspar Noe had a lot of low-frequency sound included on Irreversible's soundtrack to make the audience feel nauseous. Worked pretty well IMO. A Serbian Film is stylish and well made, but has absolutely no merit beyond that, whereas Irreversible was bleak but not just for the sake of shock value IMO. The former is just a pretty poor film, really. A film that gets this particular sub-genre spot on, for me, is Martyrs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Gaines Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Thought Martyrs had a good first half, and then just degenerated into utter shit. Girl Most Likely Kept me interested for the duration at least, but there's so much needlessly cheesy and schmaltzy shit that I just couldn't help disliking it a lot of the time. 3/10 Promised Land I always try to just take a move as entertainment, but when a movie is throwing it's message in your face as hard as this one does, it's kinda hard to ignore. Matt Damon plays a guy who works for an energy company. He's going into a town to convince them that fracking is the way forward and will make the people of the town prosperous. There is dissenting voices, including one from an environmental advocate. It's all a bit forceful in it's approach, but as a story, it's not too bad I suppose. I enjoyed the movie on the whole. 7/10 Guardians of the Galaxy And thus we come to the best of the three, and by a considerable distance. Probably my favourite of the Marvel movies so far now. It hits the ground running and doesn't slow down much. It feels like a Joss Whedon script for a start, but except it isn't Joss Whedon, so his bad tendencies, of which he has many, don't come to the fore. I thought Drax was an absolute joy, especially the plays on his inability to understand phrases that get used. The one about things going over his head was fantastic. All of the guardians are great actually in their own way. The villain is the one weird point. The villains have always been a bit hit and miss in the Marvel movies. This is a thumbs in the middle villain. Comes across as a threat, but you still don't really give a f**k. I won't take any points away for that though, because this is spectacular stuff, and that also includes visually, and this a movie that DOES look fairly good in 3D. I can't justify going lower here. 10/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Martyrs is a quality film too, IMO. Disagree with the negatives on Srpski Film and Irreversible; all three were very successful at what they set out to do, assuming that was to make the viewer's skin crawl. Worked for me, but I guess not for everyone. Jesus Christ, did they work for me 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SodjesSixteenIncher Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 The entire trilogy is well worth watching even if it does drop in quality as it goes on. Three relatively solid crime thrillers. Thanks for recommending the other two. Wouldn't have bothered otherwise because sequals or so often pish. Couldn't disagree more that they drop in quality though. Would go: Pusher 2: 8.5 1 and 3: 8 Quite an achievement to keep a trilogy that consistent. Really thought the second was an excellent film. Mikkelson was absolutely sensational. I think Irreversible is one of the most morally bankrupt films I've ever seen. Repulsive, and not in any kind if artistic way. I don't even know what I think about Gaspar Noe's films. I can hardly say I enjoy them but as others have said, they stay with you and have an impact. His argument with Irreversible is that films which feaure rape in a sanitiised, easily watchable way, are morally bankrupt. I can sort of see his point, that scene is absolutely horrific but isn't that actually the correct way to deal with it? The whole gay club thing where they're all portrayed like a bunch of demonic beasts is extremely dodgy though. Especially when the lad's getting his face smashed and everyone just enjoys it. Alllllltighty then. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SodjesSixteenIncher Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) Apparently Gaspar Noe had a lot of low-frequency sound included on Irreversible's soundtrack to make the audience feel nauseous. Worked pretty well IMO. Was that definitely Irreversibe and not Enter The Void? I hadn't heard this story but there was something about ETV that just made me feel a bit feint and queasy the whole time. Would certainly make sense to me if he used it there. Edited July 31, 2014 by SodjesSixteenIncher 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I don't even know what I think about Gaspar Noe's films. I can hardly say I enjoy them but as others have said, they stay with you and have an impact. His argument with Irreversible is that films which feaure rape in a sanitiised, easily watchable way, are morally bankrupt. I can sort of see his point, that scene is absolutely horrific but isn't that actually the correct way to deal with it? The whole gay club thing where they're all portrayed like a bunch of demonic beasts is extremely dodgy though. Especially when the lad's getting his face smashed and everyone just enjoys it. Alllllltighty then. Right enough; it's been years since I've seen it, so I'd forgotten. WTF was that all about? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Was that definitely Irreversibe and not Enter The Void? I hadn't heard this story but there was something about ETV that just made me feel a bit feint and queasy the whole time. Would certainly make sense to me if he used it there. Apparently so; just checked the IMDB, and he used it during the opening half-hour. If it worked once, it wouldn't surprise me if he tried it again. I need to check out more of his films, actually. I think the only other one I've seen is Sodomites, which did exactly what it said on the tin. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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