What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[BFTD]

Horns - odd little drama about Harry Potter growing horns of truth after his girlfriend is murdered. Strange small-town tale, with a good performance by yon laddie Radcliffe, who's proving the doubters wrong in recent years. The whole thing feels like a standard murder-mystery that someone sprinkled a dose of unnecessary batshit-insane on to, but it's quite entertaining in its own way, and is a surprisingly restrained effort from Alexandre (The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors) Aja. Subtitles on Netflix are truly appalling though, like they were typed by someone who was lip-reading the characters.

Mortified Nation - documentary about the popularity of a show in which the audience members read extracts from their adolescent diaries. Nice idea, but most of the extracts are as dull as you'd imagine, with the more interesting ones coming across as made up. Depressing how many of the homosexual contributors spent their formative years convincing themselves that they were straight, however.

Best Worst Movie - documentary made by the (now adult) child star of the infamous former IMDB Bottom 100 topper Troll 2, about the modern celebration of the film's awfulness. The film features interviews with virtually all of the film's cast, along with the Italian director, and follows some of the stars on a successful Q&A tour of the States and beyond. Definitely worth seeing if you've been exposed to the original film and wondered what the hell they were thinking.

Deliver Us From Evil - exorcism horror about a NYPD detective who uncovers an occult link to crimes that he's investigated. One of those "based on a true story!" pieces of shit that should truthfully be in a category entitled "stories made up by flagrant (and obvious) liars". The main character is basically portrayed as Catholic Superman by the end of the film, so the self-aggrandisement by the original author is off the charts. The story is the same tired, risible crap that you'll have seen a million times before in cop dramas and exorcist films, just mashed together into an unholy mess. It's also one of the gloomiest films I've ever seen, to the point that I really couldn't see exactly what the hell was going on through large parts of it. The city is permanently bathed in night, with tropical rainstorms pounding down throughout the running length. There are a number of attempted jump scares, which fail miserably - when a horror film can't get the most base of genre staples correct, you know you're in for a rough ride. And the possessed female character, who is clearly meant to put the shits right up the audience, is unexpectedly hilarious. Wrap it all up in that horrible lapsed-Catholic-having-his-faith-renewed cliche, and your eyes will be rolling every which way by the end.

Oh, and it's a buddy cop film too! Eric Bana gets teamed up with an "undercover priest", I shit you not! It sounds much funnier than it actually is; don't watch it.

[BFTD]

Greedy Lying b*****ds - documentary about the corporate campaign to discredit science and prevent action being taken to combat climate change. An interesting enough piece to listen to while working, but nothing that should come as much of a surprise to any but the most innocent.

Dreams of a Life - documentary about a 38 year old woman whose corpse lay undiscovered for three years in her London flat. The authorities couldn't track down any friends or family for the deceased, so started an advertising campaign to gain information about the woman, which piqued the interest of the filmmakers. They started their own investigation, the results of which told a story of a woman who had been anything but the reclusive loner that most would assume. An interesting tale, which will probably inspire viewers to get in touch with friends they've allowed to slip from their lives.

tallhotblond - the tale of two co-workers who come to blows over a girlfriend they met on the Internet, with the end result being murder and life imprisonment. This documentary is part of the "dangers of the internet" sub-genre, and takes the viewer down a couple of different online fear routes, but anyone net-savvy will see the big reveal coming within the first five minutes. Still, it's an interesting enough story to pass some time with, and it's always good to have a reminder that the genial corpulent dude who posts about movies on your favourite forum is most likely a sociopathic torture freak who's secretly planning to make bongos out of your cold, dead butt-cheeks. Before having sex with them

[Tamdunk]

West Side Story 8/10

Hadn't seen this film since I was a kid and it still holds up. think it won best picture at the oscars, which is a pretty good achievement for any film, let alone a musical. I suppose everyone knows the story, it's a kind of Romeo & Juliet affair, set in 60s new york, ex gang member falls in love with sister of other gang leader etc. I didn't really get the social commentary aspects of the songs when I was younger, particularly officer krupky and I want to be in America, but the themes still ring true today. Great music, sets, costume design it all fits really well and is great film. I only really marked it down because I don't really get dance, and it's very hard to pull off menace and aggression when you're prancing around - the big fight at the start is particularly amusing.

For some reason Tony totally reminded me of Seth McFarlane too. Weird.

[Albino Rover]

Shoah

Made across the 1970s and 1980s, this documentary is a mass recording of interviews and contemporary footage of the sites of the worst and most gruesome crime in history- the mass murder of the European Jews by the Third Reich.

A lot of interviews are carried out in this film, but not a second is wasted. It’s long, in fact at 9-and-a-half hours it’s the longest film I’ve ever seen, but every word spoken is important historical evidence which gives us the best possible chance of understanding what happened on the streets, in the ghettos and concentration camps, and the Final Solution, carried out at nine death camps. This film concerns itself mostly with survivors and witnesses at Chelmno, Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau- as well as a tribute to the Warsaw ghetto, notably the Jewish Rebellion who, four years into the War, decided to stand up to the Nazis and, when necessary, died on their feet fighting for Jewish freedom.

The documenter, Claude Lanzmann, is a French Jew who fought in the Resistance as a teenager. As he conducts his interviews he is a stickler for detail- we see him pressing his interpreter, who is clearly already under strict instruction, for more precise translations, and asking even the most repressed Jewish survivors to speak as vividly as they can, reducing many of them to tears. That may seem cruel but I’m glad he pressed them for those descriptions- having these interviews on record was necessary, and for our enlightenment and education he dared to get as much from them as he could. He shows his artistic bravery in other ways, too- not least by secretly filming some of his interviews with Nazi officers, and in one of them promising Unterscharführer Franz Suchomel that he won’t reveal his identity. Later he tracks down an ex-officer now working as a bartender, brandishes a photograph of Christian Wirth and asks him bluntly if he recognises Wirth, or remembers the overflowing graves. The Nazi refuses to talk.

I don’t think Lanzmann particularly resented those Nazis, at least the film doesn’t go out of its way to condemn or disgrace them, foremost they are treated as important witnesses. He asks them similar questions to those he asks the prisoners, asking for simple details rather than moral explanations. I think he only raises his voice once, to a commander who oversaw the corpse-filled, disease-ridden Warsaw ghetto and insisted he was foremost concerned about Jewish safety. He also talks to people who lived nearby the death camps during the War, putting an end to rumours that the public knew nothing about the camps- although he also recognises the confusion and fear that caused them not to speak. Some of them are more keen than others to atone for their silence.

There is no need for any archive footage or graphic representation: in a way the close-up shots of the eye-witnesses recollecting the scenes of the Holocaust are more horrific than the scenes themselves; and the slow point-of-view tours of the death camps and surrounding areas, even in a modern setting, will make you feel completely helpless as you walk in the footsteps of the millions.

Shoah alone puts a definitive end to any attempt at revisionism or Holocaust denial, the volume of eye-witness proof has ensured that, but it also gives a striking, hard-going and emotional account of those conditions and events- the testaments to which moved me more than any drama, and scared me more than any horror film. For those reasons I think this film should be compulsory viewing for everyone, although I would recommend watching it alone- because it is so intimate and personal, and because if you’re like me you’ll need to take two or three breaks.

10/10

[The Naitch]

On a slightly lighter note...

Kinky Boots - 8/10

Brilliant film, based on a true story. A star turn from Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lola and the whole thing has a charm about it that you can't help but like.

It's since been made into a musical by Cyndi Lauper and has had rave reviews on Broadway. Not surprised one bit.

[BFTD]

American Mary - strange tale about a medical student who willingly enters the world of body modification as a means of making ends meet. Quite an interesting, twisted story for the most part, which sadly doesn't go anywhere satisfying in the end.

Edit: there doesn't seem to be any reason for this to have 'American' in the title. Considering how many film titles used that word for no clear reason, one can only assume that it somehow helps with profits

Edited February 7, 2015 by BigFatTabbyDave

[wellboy1991]

Life of a King

Film based on the true story of Eugene Brown who created an Inner City Chess Programme in Washington.

Enjoyable film, decent turn by Cuba Gooding Jnr.

7/10

[tongue_tied_danny]

Ex Machina

An intelligent sci-fi flick.

8/10

[11thHour]

Big Hero 6 - 7/10.

Not a classic by any means but still highly enjoyable. Phil & Beymax were the standouts.

[JogaBonito]

Blade Runner

First time watching. Visually stunning, soundtrack was awesome, Roy scared the shit out of me. Top, top film 8/10

Anchorman 2

Beating a dead horse. Joke after joke just thrown in for the sake of it. Brick's gf was cringe-worthy, didn't laugh at her scenes.. 3/10

Ghost in the shell

Interesting anime about self-identity and ai. 2 cops go on the hunt for the "puppetmaster" who's been hacking into brains and implanting fake memories. Aesthetically pleasing, maybe too much dialogue.. 6/10

[mojito]

Watched Gone Girl last night.

Managed to miss all the chat and hype around this film so knew fairly little around it.

Thought the lead up and the twist was really good although the ending was a bit of a let down.

Good solid 7/10

[~~~]

Point Break 9/10

[Ira Gaines]

Big Eyes

Well... that... was fucking dreadful. The plot, based on a true story, is about as uninteresting a plot as I've encountered in a while, and there doesn't seem to be much of an effort to make it moreso. Waltz plays Walter, a supposed charmer with zero charm whatsoever, and because of this, Margaret, played as well as she could be by Amy Adams, just comes across as completely pathetic for the entire duration. And thus the whole thing is just completely unpleasant. By the time the reveal comes and we go to the final act, it's almost a chore to get through the rest. Points for Amy Adams' performance at least, but this is pretty bad.

3/10

[peasy23]

Shaun the Sheep movie, well it is half term after all. Usual Aardman fare though not in the same league as some of their previous stuff like Wallace and Gromit and the Pirates/Scientists. Enough belly laughs to keep me going. 7/10

[1320Lichtie]

The interview - 6.5/10

Shite but good

[deadasdillinger]

A Most Violent Year

As good a film as I've seen in a while. Really liked the slow burning, deliberate pace. Oscar Isaac was excellent, as he has been in anything I've seen him in.

[Christophe]

Blue Ruin 8.5/10

Bloody great

[Christophe]

Selma 7/10

Better than I expected this, it's hard to do anything v interesting with well known historical events I usually find but it was quite captivating viewing.

[JustOneCornetto]

I have a couple of Giuseppe Tornatore films on my must see list, Cinema Paradiso and Malena, but thought I'd give this one a shot first after it was recommended to me.

The Legend of 1900

This is a fantastical tale about a baby boy who is found on an ocean liner in 1900 and grows up to be a music prodigy. Tim Roth is far removed from his usual role as he smiles and charms everyone aboard the liner going back and forward from Europe to America. There are plenty of great scenes but none are better than when Jelly Roll Morton hears about this upstart and challenges him to a piano duel which is played out in great style by Roth and has an incredible finale. You're left guessing if '1900' will ever leave the ship but it's pretty easy to know the answer, even so the final scene is still quite a shock, both sad and heart warming at the same time.

9/10

[yoda]

Inherent Vice.

2/10

Inherent Vice

9/10

I sort of agree with both these reviews. I probably need to see it again.

It's a refreshing film, as all of Paul Thomas Anderson's last three films have been. His character driven films feel real - life isn't a simple three-act process where everything gets resolved. He's perhaps the most important "Hollywood" director to emerge from the 90s: he's certainly the most accomplished (sorry Tarantino, Fincher, et al). It does feel like it's leading you somewhere before going down a different track, very much in the same vein as The Master. Bizarrely, it felt like psychedelic neon-noir cross between The Long Goodbye, The Big Lebowski, and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

It's probably just about alright. Inherent Vice will inevitably be a cult classic but I'm not sure if it's for me. Great to see Joanna Newsom though, even if she is making us wait for another album.

Edited February 10, 2015 by yoda