What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[ICTChris]

The Witch
I love horror films but my wife hates them so I don't really get to see much of them. Today my wife was out so I stuck this on and I enjoyed it.

It tells the story of a 17th century New England Puritan family who leave their community due to theological disagreements and move to an isolated farm to build a life for themselves, alone. The family are intensely religious and all their interactions are rooted in the gospel, the idea of original sin, damnation. Early on you see the oldest daughter, played superbly by Anya Taylor-Joy, pray for forgiveness in secret for her sins but the mysterious disappeared of her baby brother begins to drive the family into self destruction.

I've read some about this beforehand and it's an interesting concept, telling the story of this family as they would've understood it, believing in evil, witches, a vengeful God and what it would be like to face up to things like the death of an unbaptised child while having these beliefs. While the supernatural is laid bare (literally at some points) I think the real drama is in the unraveling of the family, the grief, the turning against each other. The ending makes sense when you see what has gone before.

As well as Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie are superb as the parents and the twins are excellent, unsettling without falling into the tired 'evil child' horror cliche.

The only criticism I'd have is that the climactic scenes perhaps jar with the atmosphere of the rest of the film although that a minor grumble really.

[dogmc]

7 psychopaths.....again 10/10 kinda film tarantino wishes he could still make

[jagfox]

See No Evil, Hear No Evil - Brilliant 9/10

[jester]

On 8/12/2016 at 22:41, wellinwigan said:

The shallows

7/10

Not too bad a film and Blake lively in a bikini.ridiculous ending though 

Yeah, I know.

Those Go-Pro cases are ridiculously hard to open, there's no way a kid could manage that. That's not to mention the sub menus.

[jester]

The Purge: Election Year 7/10

Quite enjoyed this one, if you've seen the previous Purge films you'll know roughly what to expect...almost.

Good to see Arlo Givens and Ellstin Limehouse of Justified in this. I didn't realise that Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson) was Bubba in Forrest Gump. 

Edited September 4, 2016 by jester

[killienick]

The Lady in the Van 6/10

Very strange, slightly jarring, story telling style. In essence, a playwright is telling the story of a woman who lived in his driveway for 14 years, in her van. The medium used is essentially a monologue but visually a dialogue between the writer and himself. It's just rather annoying and doesn't work on film IMO.

I know that this was a very successful West End play based on a true story but what works in theatre doesn't necessarily work in film and this is certainly true of the Lady in the Van.

Maggie Smith is utterly brilliant as the lady though and more of the film's time should have been spent with her.

[GrahamJags]

The Purge: Election Year - 2/10. Utter dross. Couldn't get into it, plus the overly black stereotyping just annoyed the life out of me.

Bad Mums - 5/10. Not great, but Mila Kunis.

Cafe Society - 7/10. Not seen too many Woody Allen films, and I can't stand Jesse Eisenberg but I thoroughly enjoyed this. Great storyline and fantastic performances from Steve Carrell and Kristen Stewart (who I'm generally not usually arsed with). Thought it was very Great Gatsby at times though (not necessarily a bad thing)

[nelsjfc]

Spider's Web - A pigs tale

My youngest daughter saw this dvd in a second hand shop for 50p and I didn't have the heart to say no. It was 50p too much, spectacularly shit. Offensively bad voice overs, brutal MS paint-level animation and utterly bizarre storyline including an outcontrol killer tv. YouTube of it below if your brave enough

[banana]

Spider's Web - A pigs tale

My youngest daughter saw this dvd in a second hand shop for 50p and I didn't have the heart to say no. It was 50p too much, spectacularly shit. Offensively bad voice overs, brutal MS paint-level animation and utterly bizarre storyline including an outcontrol killer tv. YouTube of it below if your brave enough

Aye but did your wee lass enjoy it?

[19QOS19]

Spider's Web - A pigs tale

My youngest daughter saw this dvd in a second hand shop for 50p and I didn't have the heart to say no. It was 50p too much, spectacularly shit. Offensively bad voice overs, brutal MS paint-level animation and utterly bizarre storyline including an outcontrol killer tv. YouTube of it below if your brave enough

[ICTChris]

2 hours ago, throbber said:

 

Me and my Mrs put that off after 20 minutes as both thought it was pish.

 

Well this just proves that I'm right and you and your wife are wrong and stupid and I'm the best.

 

Last night I continued my descent into horror heaven/hell with It Follows.

One one level It Follows is a slasher flick, a supernatural entity pursues sexually active suburban teenagers.  However, the details and ideas in the film really elevate it to the top echelon of slashers.  The plot is that a 19 year old student, Jay, has sex with her new boyfriend in a car after several dates.  Immediately afterwards he drugs her and ties her up, revealing that he has passed on a sexually transmitted curse.  A 'thing' (the 'It' of the title) will now pursue her until she passes it on to someone else through sex.  If the 'thing' catches her it will kill her.  The 'thing' takes the form of a person, who only the cursed and previously afflicted can see, who walks directly towards you.  It never runs, it never speaks, it can't be killed.  Written down the premise sounds a little daft but in the film it was very creepy.  You find yourself looking for people walking in a straight line and when you spot the 'thing' it's eerie and it's not.  Rather than having some horrible deformed creature jumping out in a haunted house shouting "Boo!" you have this sense of dread when you see someone out of place walking serenely in the mid-distance.  I think focusing on this for a long time also makes it more chilling, more scary, reminding me a bit of the denouement of the Ring, which, for me, is about the most terrifying thing I've seen in cinema.

The film also focuses more on the characters of the main group of friends, which works very well, adding depth to the drama and a different aspect, as well as the 'thing' you also have to deal with the jealousies, manipulations and desires of the group.  The idea that sex curses you but that it also saves you from the curse causes tensions in the group and gives the film more depth.  The acting is excellent, all the main cast are natural and give a lot more than running around screaming.  It's odd to say but the actors playing the 'thing' are also really good, although walking in a straight line isn't the most challenging role.

I read the Kermode review before watching the film and absolutely agreed with the comparisons he made to Halloween (one of my all-time favourite films).  The scenes walking about the suburban streets could be taken from the early scenes in Halloween and the way that the 'thing' appears in the background echoes what Carpenter did with The Shape (Michael Myers).  Another big nod is the soundtrack, a super-creepy squishy synth delight.  It reminded me a lot of the Drive soundtrack, maybe not as good as a standalone but perfectly suited to the film.  I really liked the scenes in and around Detroit, the broken down derelict houses and buildings were atmospheric without being cliched.

Overall I loved it and really liked the ending as well.  

 

 

[lichtie23]

Suffragette

Started slow but was quite invested towards the end. Carey Mulligan was very good in the lead role as was Brendon Gleeson as the copper.
6/10

[nelsjfc]

Aye but did your wee lass enjoy it?

She got bored pretty quickly and her older sister was a bit bemused by it.

They did put it on again yesterday though leading to my rage.

[Shandon Par]

On 9/4/2016 at 17:42, ICTChris said:

The Witch
I love horror films but my wife hates them so I don't really get to see much of them. Today my wife was out so I stuck this on and I enjoyed it.

It tells the story of a 17th century New England Puritan family who leave their community due to theological disagreements and move to an isolated farm to build a life for themselves, alone. The family are intensely religious and all their interactions are rooted in the gospel, the idea of original sin, damnation. Early on you see the oldest daughter, played superbly by Anya Taylor-Joy, pray for forgiveness in secret for her sins but the mysterious disappeared of her baby brother begins to drive the family into self destruction.

I've read some about this beforehand and it's an interesting concept, telling the story of this family as they would've understood it, believing in evil, witches, a vengeful God and what it would be like to face up to things like the death of an unbaptised child while having these beliefs. While the supernatural is laid bare (literally at some points) I think the real drama is in the unraveling of the family, the grief, the turning against each other. The ending makes sense when you see what has gone before.

As well as Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie are superb as the parents and the twins are excellent, unsettling without falling into the tired 'evil child' horror cliche.

The only criticism I'd have is that the climactic scenes perhaps jar with the atmosphere of the rest of the film although that a minor grumble really.



 

I can't wait to see this. Sounds right up my street. Listened to an American film review show the other day that did a comparison of this and the Wicker Man (not the Nick Cage one) and all the contributors were big fans of both. 

[Christophe]

13 minutes ago, Shandon Par said:

I can't wait to see this. Sounds right up my street

It's been out from around the start of the year. Just in case you're waiting to see it pop up in the cinema listings! Are you perhaps thinking of something else? It's nothing like Wicker

Edited September 6, 2016 by Christophe

[Shandon Par]

8 minutes ago, Christophe said:

It's been out from around the start of the year. Just in case you're waiting to see it pop up in the cinema listings! Are you perhaps thinking of something else? It's nothing like Wicker

I meant to say it's on Sky on Demand, Amazon etc. Don't worry - will leave turning up to films on the wrong date to my missus (who bought her ticket and tried to get in to Bridget Jones last Friday). 

[paranoid android]

11 hours ago, throbber said:

Me and my Mrs put that off after 20 minutes as both thought it was pish.

 

 

Kermode's review of The Witch was very favourable.

Nae offence, but I'd likely be swayed by his assessment.

I should probably just shut the f**k up, and watch it for myself, tbf.

[ICTChris]

I was just trying to undermine the detailed critique given by Chris - we just weren't in the mood for it at the time but I will watch it again and probably enjoy it.

It's kind of a slow burner - Kermode wrote in his blog that a lot of people had criticised the marketing of the film, the trailer and poster made it look a bit more like the Conjuring, Insidious type of film but it really isn't.

The similarities to Wicker Man are in the atmosphere of the film, the pacing, the way it builds up to the climactic scenes, although obviously nothing can match The Wicker Man for its ending.

[paranoid android]

39 minutes ago, ICTChris said:

It's kind of a slow burner - Kermode wrote in his blog that a lot of people had criticised the marketing of the film, the trailer and poster made it look a bit more like the Conjuring, Insidious type of film but it really isn't.

The similarities to Wicker Man are in the atmosphere of the film, the pacing, the way it builds up to the climactic scenes, although obviously nothing can match The Wicker Man for its ending.

 

 

The (original) Wicker Man is magnificent - I watched the documentary that tells how the studio's official cut of the movie omits some important scenes that would have been in the director's cut - while I don't really agree with the company interfering with the director's vison for the movie, I'm not convinced it would be any better with the additional scenes included.

[ICTChris]

I much prefer the Nicolas Cage remake myself. Did Edward Eoodward ever punch an old woman in the face?

Bending the rules a bit for tonight's horror show, with Let The Right One In. It isn't *really* a horror film but I can see how it's characterised that way. This is one of my favourite films, really well played and poignant, with two of the most amazing performances from child actors I think you'll ever see.

For those who haven't seen it, it's a Swedish film telling the story of an awkward bullied 12 year and the effect his new neighbour, a young girl called Eli has on his life.

I won't go into too much detail in the plot but the relationship between Eli and Oskar is so well written and acted that you are drawn into the story and the drama. The portrayal of bullying is picture perfect as well, especially the fact that most of the bullies are clearly scared and don't really know what they are doing or what is happening. My experience of childhood bullying certainly chimes with that.

The prominent adult characters are well drawn as well - Oskar's parents are deliberately left in the background, emphasising his isolation but Eli's "guardian" is devotedly creepy (SPOILER - in the novel the fact that he is a paedophile is made plain) and Lacke, whose life is basically destroyed by Eli and Oskar is cast in shades of grey rather than as a villain.

It's really a great film about the relationship between two isolated children and very touching and warm, despite being set in four feet of snow and ice. Oh, and it features the most feel-good mass child killing in cinema history.