What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Heywood Floyd]

I really enjoyed Interstellar, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again. Nolan can bore me sometimes, it's all a bit clever-clever, I absolutely hated Inception, but I just really enjoyed the questions a film like Interstellar makes you ponder. Terrific score as well, and McConaughey is on top form.

Last film I saw was called The Company You Keep, directed by Robert Redford , he stars in it too. Outstanding cast; Susan Sarandon, Shia le Bouf , Stanley Tucci, Nick Nolte, Julie Christie, Chris Cooper, Richard Jenkins , Terence Howard, and the one and only Sam Elliot. Worth watching for that little lot alone.

7/10

[lichtie23]

The Theory of Everything

Just superb. Brilliantly acted from the main cast members and understand totally why Eddie Redmayne won the Oscar for best actor. Beautifully touching at times as well

10/10

[stumigoo]

John Wick.

It was okay, had some really decent bits and some really poor bits. Keanu Reeves is a terrible actor but I already knew that.

5/10

[BFTD]

The Keep - Nazis stationed at an ancient Carpathian keep find themselves being picked off by a mysterious creature they've unleashed.

This is one of those films with a cast of unknowns that went on to be household names - it looks absolutely stellar from a modern perspective, although Ian McKellen's performance leaves a little to be desired, for once. There's a lot of lovely Eighties neon FX thrown around the place, but possibly the film's biggest weakness is that it's a Michael Mann film - his screenplay is quite predictable and straightforward, and there's an awful lot of Garth Marenghi-style slow-mo in order to pad out the running time. It also has one of his trademark Eighties synth scores, which seems completely out of place in a WWII setting. You get the impression that the film could've been much more interesting with another director.

The Divide - a nuclear attack on New York leaves a group of survivors holed up in the basement of a apartment block. Do the biggest dangers come from outside, or within?

Fairly mundane character study that hits all the expected beats and doesn't go anywhere satisfying. The main thing to take away from this film is that you should lock your doors fast when the bombs drop, as everyone is a c**t. Poor old racist Michael Biehn.

Bats - a genetic experiment unleashes hordes of aggressive killer bats on a small Texas town. The local sheriff and a bat expert must team up to blah blah blah.

Thought Tom Savini was in this for some reason, but sadly the closest we get is Sheriff Lou Diamond Phillips (still alive and working, apparently). It's a poor effort that could've been written by a bot given the words 'Flying Monster Movie', and even has the obligatory scene where the species specialist is picked up on location and strong-armed by government spooks into joining the task force. Hot Scientist de jour is Dina Meyer, who is sadly under-used and doesn't even offer much Starship Troopers-style eye candy to distract from everything else. There's a lot of "What Hell Hath Science Wrought?" moralising, with a fair bit of dialogue that'll have your eyes rolling out of your head. Worst of all, the action is curiously uninvolving, which is criminal for this kind of film. Needs moar Savini, IMO.

[BFTD]

Afflicted - American laddie takes his hipster douchebag friend on a world tour after discovering he could suffer a fatal brain aneurysm at any moment. An unpleasant encounter with a woman in Paris leaves him with an infection that defies classification.

Found-footage territory again, with the main characters filming their adventures in Europe for their friends back home. Don't want to give away too much about the nature of the infection, as realising that is probably part of the fun. Can't say that I found the characters terribly appealing initially, but soon it doesn't matter and I found myself quite engaged by the main boy's descent. Really quite good TBH, and a decent example of the genre

As Above, So Below - a student of alchemy embarks on a exploration of the catacombs under Paris in order to find a fabled stone with true alchemical properties.

Another found-footage film from the Dowdle Brothers, who have developed a track record in the genre. It's an interesting idea, and it's probably not giving much away to say that there's an Inferno theme going on here, but unfortunately it's not terribly interesting when the shit starts to hit the fan. In fact, there's occasionally a derivative feel to what our spelunkers are subjected to. Shame, as it's interesting enough up to that point, and the production certainly benefited from being allowed to film in the actual tombs of the dead.

Irresistible - a married woman begins to suspect her husband's work colleague of orchestrating a campaign to undermine her sanity.

Very odd whimsical feel to this Australian film; at the beginning, it's filmed like a horror movie in which there isn't actually anything hiding in the closet, but eventually turns into a drama more inkeeping with what you'd expect from the synopsis. Susan Sarandon's always worth seeing, and Emily Blunt makes for a good dramatic foil, with Sam Neill being his usual self. You're left wondering if Sarandon's crazy or not for most of the running time, but there are some twists thrown in for good measure, including a final one that might possibly seem like a twist too far. Not a bad watch overall; not stellar, but decent enough to kill some time with.

The Devil Inside - a young woman travels to Rome to visit her mother in a psychiatric hospital after discovering that she killed three priests during an exorcism twenty years previously.

Forgot that I'd already seen this - a repeat viewing didn't make it any better. It's a found-footage film again, and one that doesn't really bother trying to seem logical about how and when the footage is being shot. Our heroine hooks up with some student exorcists in an attempt to have her mother examined by the Holy See, and there's a lot of pissing and moaning about that damned Catholic Church refusing to allow the kids to run off and perform exorcisms willy-nilly, which is fucking hilarious when they inevitably do so and get their arses handed to them. There's a lot of sound and fury designed to make you forget that nothing much is happening, along with a bit of contortion and some CG wall-climbing, but this whole demonic bad language thing is really old these days and about as shocking as an episode of Doctors. Possibly in an attempt to surprise the audience, the film forgets about the third act and just ends, which is something of a relief, but also dreadfully lazy; at least try to redeem yourself, hmm?

[Ira Gaines]

Agree with the majority of that.

Afflicted's main strength is definitely it's main character. Too many found footage movies just have faceless clichés rather than good characters, but this movie made you care about the main guy's plight. Reminiscent of the recent Paranormal Activity spin off in that respect for me. Ultimately, I've seen much better found footage than this, but I think credit is due for the way this is done.

[Twinkle]

The Lives Of Others - 9/10

Watched this on the advice of other posters and i wasnt disappointed. Excellent film, well acted, well written, well directed....

I dont tend to watch that many foreign films but that might change if this is the standard being put out

[tongue_tied_danny]

The Lives Of Others - 9/10

Watched this on the advice of other posters and i wasnt disappointed. Excellent film, well acted, well written, well directed....

I dont tend to watch that many foreign films but that might change if this is the standard being put out

There's been a few really good films about Germany's murky political past. Downfall and The Baader-Meinhof Complex are well worth checking out.

[Stuart]

Lost River

Ryan Gosling directorial debut. Not as bad as I expected based on the review but not that good either.

4/10

[DA Baracus]

The Keep - Nazis stationed at an ancient Carpathian keep find themselves being picked off by a mysterious creature they've unleashed.

This is one of those films with a cast of unknowns that went on to be household names - it looks absolutely stellar from a modern perspective, although Ian McKellen's performance leaves a little to be desired, for once. There's a lot of lovely Eighties neon FX thrown around the place, but possibly the film's biggest weakness is that it's a Michael Mann film - his screenplay is quite predictable and straightforward, and there's an awful lot of Garth Marenghi-style slow-mo in order to pad out the running time. It also has one of his trademark Eighties synth scores, which seems completely out of place in a WWII setting. You get the impression that the film could've been much more interesting with another director.

Saw this film late one night whilst I was eating cheese.

Thought it was brilliant.

[deadasdillinger]

Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck

I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't without its problems. Overlong, glossed over certain things, gets caught up in being too stylised rather than giving insight at times.

Some of the new footage was brilliant, some felt unnecessary.

The rotoscope style animations and the use of loud, live, alternate versions of their music were fucking brilliant.

[BFTD]

Saw this film late one night whilst I was eating cheese.

Thought it was brilliant.

In fairness, I can entirely see how it could be quite an experience whilst under the influence of 'cheese'.

[BFTD]

The Asphyx - a Victorian scientist discovers the existence of an astral being that appears at the point of death, and becomes obsessed with obtaining immortality by trapping the creature.

Surprising how often this film evokes the feel of a turn-of-the-century Ghostbusters. It's a bit staid and old-school cardboard set-like, not unlike an old BBC special but it's still not a bad watch, although the plot would probably feel a tad straightforward to a modern audience.

Open Water 2: Adrift - bunch of dobbers go out at sea on a yacht owned by the head dobber, only to find themselves...ADRIFT!!!

Quite unbelievable levels of stupidity on display from the characters in this film, who get themselves into an utterly moronic situation, only to compound said idiocy by snatching defeat from the jaws of victory at every possible turn. Which isn't to say that the script is necessarily bad, just that the people portrayed are mind-meltingly dense. The film itself isn't bad, with the tension mainly coming from how they'll f**k up next. I actually enjoyed it more than the original, which was pretty dull and wildly overrated. Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but engaging enough if you like to scream disbelievingly at fictional people.

[lichtie23]

Get on up

Film on the life of James Brown. It dragged a bit and missed out big chunks of his musical career but was still a decent watch. The boy that played Brown was absolutely superb

6/10

[BFTD]

There's been a few really good films about Germany's murky political past. Downfall and The Baader-Meinhof Complex are well worth checking out.

Indeed. I found Baader-Meinhof particularly interesting as I knew very little about the group, but I remembered hearing about them on the news all the time when I was a wean. Works especially well as the tail in a double-bill with Downfall, considering the former essentially brought about the latter.

[BFTD]

There are some films that are much better under the influence of "cheese". Inception being one of them.

Cape fear is definitely not one.

I'd love to see Altered States in the cinema while aff ma tits on 'cheese'. Woo, just imagine!

Think I'd pass on a screening of my favourite film, The Thing. Pretty certain I'd end up hysterical in the car park outside, frantically trying to set myself on fire. Again.

[lichtie23]

71

Gritty drama set Northern Ireland at the height of the troubles in 1971 and is about a British soldier who becomes detached from his squad and is being hunted by IRA extremists. Jack O'Connell plays the soldier and is pretty decent in it though he doesn't say much throughout the film. Really tense in places with some violence thrown in for good measure.

7.5/10

Imitation Game

Oscar nominated film about the top secret military operation to try and crack the famous Nazi "enigma" code during WW2. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the lead role of Alan Turing who was the mastermind behind the breaking of the code. Was really looking forward to seeing this but it turned out to be a bit of a slow drag.

5/10

[11thHour]

Transformers: Age of Extinction - 5/10.

They really need to stop with these.

[BFTD]

Transformers: Age of Extinction - 5/10.

They really need to stop with these.

I gave up with the second one. Can you actually make out what they look like yet? It's like an explosion at a mirror factory.

[Shandon Par]

Watched Interstellar last night. Blubbed a few times. Agree with this:

I really enjoyed Interstellar, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again. Nolan can bore me sometimes, it's all a bit clever-clever, I absolutely hated Inception, but I just really enjoyed the questions a film like Interstellar makes you ponder. Terrific score as well, and McConaughey is on top form.

Also saw Spongebob the Movie at the cinema yesterday. Some very funny bits but a bit of a poor man's Lego Movie.

Saw John Wick at the cinema on Saturday night. 6.5/10. Perfectly watchable, stylish but just move fluff - nothing life changing. Cute puppy the highlight.