What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[BFTD]

Widows - remake of the old Lynda La Plante TV series. After a group of criminals die during a robbery, their wives are forced to enact an ambitious heist that their husbands had planned, or face retribution from the dangerous and powerful gangsters they had been stealing from.
An enjoyable heist movie, with an excellent cast in every role. Not quite at the very top of the genre, but there's a lot of background detail that a lesser film wouldn't have thought to include, and there's a definite feeling that it would have been nice to spend a bit more time with the characters, so it obviously did its job well.

Raw - a young woman follows her vegetarian family into veterinary school, and has a powerful desire to consume flesh awakened when she eats meat for the first time.
Yeah, so, it's a sex allegory, I guess, which is a bit odd considering that there's also some sexual awakening stuff going on too, but whatever. It's a decent film, but not quite as interesting as the rave reviews would imply, and the people fainting during initial screenings must not be used to watching horror films, as it's pretty mild for a film about cannibalism.

Hellboy - reboot of the comic book series about a big horny lad trying to make his way in a world that doesn't understand him. In this installment, Milla Jovovich appears and tries to seduce him. Will he? Well, tune in to find out.
This wasn't quite as bad as I'd been expecting, but it's not a patch on the Del Toro films, and they had their problems too. David Harbour does a decent job filling in for Ron Perlman, but there's a terribly perfunctory feel about everything else, and it's hard to give a shit about either the characters or the fate of the world. The most interesting thing about the film is the decision to push into proper horror film territory - there's a ton of really graphic gore and an effort to make some of the creatures into proper nightmare fuel. Really surprised that it managed to sneak in at a 15 certificate, but none of it does anything to help with the central problem that it just isn't very interesting.

[GNU_Linux]

The End of Evangelion (1997).
Apocalyptic Anime Sci Fi. Visually incredible. Makes you work a bit to work out what's going on or has been going on, but not too hard. A bit avant garde in the structure. Only criticism is that the jism in the opening scene could have been better drawn. 8/10

The films existence is wholly unecessary imo as the ending of the anime series was fine & the film was only made to appease fans who were upset at the ending.

[UpInTheAyr]

Quite liked Hellboy despite it being obvious you could tell it was a troubled production. Was like they couldn't tell what kind of tone they were going for so just threw a bunch of them together, and it kinda worked in a weird way. Thought that attack on London at the end was pretty well done horror with some great scenes

[Silverton End]

Searching (2018)

A father tries to find his missing daughter using her social media, the whole movie is shown through smartphones, computer screens, websites, cameras etc. 

It works really well, a very good, unique thriller which Film4 have been showing lately.

9/10 

 

[coprolite]

11 hours ago, GNU_Linux said:

22 hours ago, coprolite said:

The End of Evangelion (1997).
Apocalyptic Anime Sci Fi. Visually incredible. Makes you work a bit to work out what's going on or has been going on, but not too hard. A bit avant garde in the structure. Only criticism is that the jism in the opening scene could have been better drawn. 8/10

The films existence is wholly unecessary imo as the ending of the anime series was fine & the film was only made to appease fans who were upset at the ending.

It did feel like there might have been other parts that had gone before. I never saw the series and thought it worked well on its own. 

[NotThePars]

It did feel like there might have been other parts that had gone before. I never saw the series and thought it worked well on its own. 

Wait. Did you just watch the film as a stand-alone experience?!?

[coprolite]

41 minutes ago, NotThePars said:

 

Wait. Did you just watch the film as a stand-alone experience?!?

 

Yes. I quite like anime but i'm not a massive fan, so i don't really know the culture or anything and it came up on Netflix as a film, so i watched it. 

[NotThePars]

Yes. I quite like anime but i'm not a massive fan, so i don't really know the culture or anything and it came up on Netflix as a film, so i watched it. 

That’s class. I have no idea how you would approach that without watching the series.

[coprolite]

7 minutes ago, NotThePars said:

 

That’s class. I have no idea how you would approach that without watching the series.

 

I thought that the minimal exposition was just part of the style.  I quite like not fully grasping why stuff is going on. 

[tongue_tied_danny]

On 03/02/2021 at 14:48, Detournement said:

 

To back up my point I watched The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie directed by John Cassavettes last night.

Ben Gazarra plays a nightclub owner who gets into gambling debts which leads towards the Chinese bookie. Gazzara's performance is brilliant and he has the smoothest voice, the hoods are genuinely nasty guys and the girls that work in the club have some of the best tits in cinema history. The final action sequences really ramp up the tension but it ends in an interesting original way. 

These days it would have to be a Ryan Gosling type but old scummy looking actors are the best. I immediately recognised the guy in the middle as the sniper rifle guy from Kubrick's The Killing. Googled him and he is Timothy Carey and apparently a bit of a lunatic in real life which comes across vividly on screen. 

Agreed. The 70s is my favourite movie decade.

I love how the likes of Chinese Bookie or Pelham 123 generally star sleazy middle aged men with beer bellies, combovers and raincoats. These days it's all The Rock or Vin Diesel with white vests, rippling muscles and shaved nappers.

I tried to watch Chinese Bookie on DailyMotion a couple of weeks ago but I had to give up as there were really annoying adverts popping up every five minutes at random points in the film. That made it completely unwatchable.

[Ira Gaines]

The conspiracy thriller is a side genre I absolutely love and the 70s is just filled with so many absolutely stunning examples.

[pub car king]

The karate kid, original 80s one.

Despite cobra kai ruining this slightly I sat down with the kids (and wife) for their first ever viewing. It was great they all loved it and my missus even cheered at the end.

The 80s were fucking brilliant for films. 

[stanton]

Birds of Prey ( and the fabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn )  . Margot Robbie is back as Harley Quinn  and she kicks ass and swings a mighty baseball ball bat as she tries find a missing  diamond and save a young girl from Ewan McGregor's villianus Roman Sionis ( Black Mask )  . Along the way she teams up with an ex cop , a nightclub singer and a woman on a mission to avenge the murder of her parents. Enjoyable nonsense   perfect viewing for a wet a Friday night  8/10 

[tongue_tied_danny]

On 05/02/2021 at 17:58, Andre Drazen said:

The conspiracy thriller is a side genre I absolutely love and the 70s is just filled with so many absolutely stunning examples.

Yeah. Capricorn One is a particular fave of mine.

Telly Savalas absolutely steals the show with his brief appearance. 

Nazi war criminal thrillers are another 70s sub genre. Marathon Man and The Boys From Brazil are a couple of great examples. 

[Ira Gaines]

29 minutes ago, tongue_tied_danny said:

Yeah. Capricorn One is a particular fave of mine.

Telly Savalas absolutely steals the show with his brief appearance. 

Nazi war criminal thrillers are another 70s sub genre. Marathon Man and The Boys From Brazil are a couple of great examples. 

The Boys from Brazil is one of the first ones I seen. I had no idea who Gregory Peck was at the time! So when I rewatched it, I was stunned.

[stumigoo]

Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984

I thought the first Wonder Woman was very decent, but I didn’t care much for Suicide Squad.

For a complete switcharoonie I thought Wonder Woman 1984 was a boring mess but I found Birds of Prey brilliant fun.

Still, by and large the DC movies continue to be pretty rubbish in comparison to Marvel.

[BFTD]

You Were Never Really Here - Joaquin Phoenix plays a psychologically scarred hitman who discovers his latest job - rescuing a senator's daughter from a paedophile ring - is more complicated than it first appears.

A fairly straightforward tale made interesting by the way it's told. Phoenix's character is clearly quite unwell mentally; we're treated to disturbing glimpses of his past in brief, jarring flashback throughout the running time, and there's a generally hallucinatory feel about the whole affair. Haphazard editing of audio and images help the viewer understand the nature of his fractured psyche, and the soundtrack is quite a clever mix of tunes that are always just a little bit off and veer into the discordant.

Phoenix has been a been a terrific actor for some time, and he's very much on form here, completely convincing as a man haunted by the past to the extent that he barely exists in the present. The film's more of a character experience than an engrossing narrative, but it's a fascinating watch if you have the patience.

[velo army]

Just watched "Instant Family" on Netflix. It's an adoption movie that deliberately moves away from "The Blind Side" and its mawkish white saviourism. Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne star as a couple who decide to adopt, kind of on a whim. It shows actually how tough it is and how the children react. The comedy doesn't exactly land and often feels a bit clumsy, although the laughs that are had during the support group scenes feel beautifully cathartic and real. The rest of the comedy is a bit too goofy and jars the tone at times. I'm not a fan of that American style "awkward" comedy.  Surprisingly Octavia Spencer is in this, phoning it in but still managing to dominate every scene she's in. I'm an adoptee so I cried buckets at this, but also got quite angry at parts (American adoption is pretty fuckin weird and horrible tbh; one of these things that should never ever be privatised). It was a heartwarming movie with characters I did care about, and it gave space for even some of the many side characters to develop.

All in all 7/10.

 

[velo army]

8 minutes ago, BFTD said:

You Were Never Really Here - Joaquin Phoenix plays a psychologically scarred hitman who discovers his latest job - rescuing a senator's daughter from a paedophile ring - is more complicated than it first appears.

A fairly straightforward tale made interesting by the way it's told. Phoenix's character is clearly quite unwell mentally; we're treated to disturbing glimpses of his past in brief, jarring flashback throughout the running time, and there's a generally hallucinatory feel about the whole affair. Haphazard editing of audio and images help the viewer understand the nature of his fractured psyche, and the soundtrack is quite a clever mix of tunes that are always just a little bit off and veer into the discordant.

Phoenix has been a been a terrific actor for some time, and he's very much on form here, completely convincing as a man haunted by the past to the extent that he barely exists in the present. The film's more of a character experience than an engrossing narrative, but it's a fascinating watch if you have the patience.

Good summation of this movie. I loved it. Had this movie been made in the 90's he would be a knight errant in a Steven Seagal/Sly Stallone mould. Hell, he could have been Jason Statham in the Transporter who have pithy lines but seldom seem to be psychologically affected by the life they lead. Phoenix is still a knight errant, but this film leaves us in no doubt of the psychological and emotional price he has paid. The social effect too. He has no friends, he loses his mother and in the end he doesn't seem to have anyone and we're left feeling unsatisfied by it all, like (to quote the great Danish poet Ebbe Skovdahl) the operation went well but the patient died.

[The Naitch]

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Netflix) - 9/10

Loved this. Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman produce a masterclass. Not a lot happens but there's a lot going on.