Paul Kersey Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Last Flag Flying This is an "unofficial" sequel to the Jack Nicholson classic The Last Detail. A Vietnam veteran's son has been killed while serving in Iraq, so he looks up a couple of old buddies and they travel across America together to attend the funeral. Although they are clearly the same three characters as in The Last Detail the names and some biographical details have been changed. Bryan Cranston stars in the Nicholson role. He is very convincing as the cynical, hard drinking veteran, but he is just isn't Nicholson. This shares the same blend of humour and tragedy as the original but tones it down quite a bit. Overall, I'd say that in it's own right this a decent enough film, even though it's about 20 minutes too long. However, I'd probably have enjoyed this a lot more if I wasn't such a big fan of the original. 6/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hampden Diehard Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 Guy Ritchie's "Revolver". Jason Statham being the exact same character he plays in every film he's in. Surely he's even bored with that? He's laughing all the way to the bank, so why change it, I suppose? He's released from 7 years in jail and he reckons Ray Liotta owes him. Loads of guys get shot; dodgy accents; an unintelligible script that jumps all over the place. A waste of time. 2/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSU Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 005 -- The Rescue. A National Geographic documentary about the kids football team who got trapped in a flooded cave system in Thailand. A remarkable and emotional story of courage and ingenuity and perseverance, made all the more enjoyable from the heroes being people you'd least expect. I remember this from the time it happened, but I would've sworn it was longer ago than 2018. Even though I sort of knew how it ended, the characters involved are so engaging as they tell their story, it felt brand new. A triumph and at no point does anyone ask what Elon Fucking Musk thinks about matters. Highly recommended. 10/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocketman Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 On 16/01/2022 at 18:12, Squalor Vic said: Ghostbusters Afterlife Thought it was pretty slow and didn't feel like a Ghostbusters film. I didn't hate it but it was just 'awright' 6.554/10 more nostalgic than cinematic... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Connolly Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 The Matrix Resurrections Its not very good, is it? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaboz Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 10 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said: The Matrix Resurrections Its not very good, is it? I thought it was okay, but I didn't feel at anytime there was a sense of threat or...high stakes like the original trilogy. Quite enjoyed the early part wondering where the f**k they were going with it, but the ending left me a bit...meh. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Connolly Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Stellaboz said: I thought it was okay, but I didn't feel at anytime there was a sense of threat or...high stakes like the original trilogy. Quite enjoyed the early part wondering where the f**k they were going with it, but the ending left me a bit...meh. Pretty much exactly my thoughts. Spoiler The initial part with all sorts of mentions about Warner Brothers and reboots and retreads had me thinking they might do something very different, then they basically had the entire first trilogy in one film with a younger cast other than Reeves and Moss (and Jada Pinkett) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detournement Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 It would have been far better if they had just stuck with the opening premise and done something like Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind in The Matrix. As I said before the action sequences were half assed. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sliced Bread Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 The new Ghostbusters film. I guess it was just what it needed to be, new and youthful enough to attract a young audience and reboot the franchise, but plenty from the original films to hook in us old farts who watched it in the 80s. It was ok, a bit too long, Bill Murray looks decrepit and it wasn’t the same without Harold Ramis. I did prefer it to the Paul Feig one a few years ago. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch Stanton Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Munich: The Edge of War (2021) Boring 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Kersey Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Betty Blue A badly dressed French bloke and a barely dressed French burd go around doing incredibly stupid stuff. This was pretty boring tbh. Must be one of the most overrated films ever. The only plus point is Bèatrice Dalle in the scud. 4/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotThePars Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 (edited) Watched a few things over the last week or so Spider-Man (2002) dir. Sam Raimi The melodrama is very over the top and it's incredibly goofy but it's all in good fun. Lot of good OTT performances with Dafoe in the lead. I far prefer this to the MCU monstrosities and Garfield's flops. Con-Air (1997) dir. Simon West What did I think at the end? Yeeha, that's right. Movies were much better back when they made no sense and nobody gave a shit cause it was all in service of cool actors doing cool shit. Superbad (2007). dir. Greg Mottola This surprisingly really holds up and I think it might be the comfortable best of that slew of US comedies from the mid-noughties maybe because it has such a simple premise: teens get a fake ID and try to buy booze to get their hole. The Big Short (2015) dir. Adam McKay Having watched this and Don't Look Up I think it's pretty obvious that McKay is on much firmer ground with economics. It's a bit preachy like everything he does but that works and is fine when he understands who he thinks is to blame. The Other Guys (2010). dir. Adam McKay It's been years since I watched this and while it stops being as funny after the first half hour or so I still enjoyed it. Also it's funny in hindsight how much of the plot of this is focused on a somewhat niche bit of financial fraud and the credits is all about the onset of neoliberalism and the financial crash. Man knew what his interests were. Licorice Pizza (2021) dir. Paul Thomas Anderson PTA's pure vibes movie. I loved this even if me and my gf were squirming at the end scene. Hoffman and Alana are so great in this in what is their first role and the whole cinema was howling the entire time with laughter. The scenes with the Japanese wives especially were horrendous but I couldn't stop laughing every time it happened. Edited January 24, 2022 by NotThePars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accies1874 Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 16. Licorice Pizza (2021)* - Cinema Finally got to see it. Hanging out in this film with these characters is enjoyable. It lingers on a lot of moments which is often really pleasant, and the two leads are terrific, really buying into that youthful immaturity, lashings of anger and the contentedness and frustration of being in each other's company. That said, I'd be lying if I said it didn't become a bit repetitive being dropped into one too many similar scenario. It wasn't a massive problem at the time, but I'm wondering now how the film would be without one or two of those moments and situations. What would it lose? I accept that it more than deserves a rewatch though - all his films do. A lot of the plot points are bizarre, somewhat unrealistic, which along with the cinematography (especially at the 35mm screening) added up to the film feeling like someone looking upon a life that may not actually reflect the reality of events. A nostalgic yearning for how we think youth played out, or maybe wish it played out. A lot of it is like a teen summer hangout movie with Alana dropped in and she doesn't quite know how to feel about that. 17. The Shape of Water (2018) - Channel 4 There's a new Del Toro out so I've been watching and rewatching a few of his others. This is his Best Picture winner for the majority of you who have probably already forgotten, and it's got some really great elements (score, production and costume design and cinematography), a good lead performance, a multi-genre narrative and some ideas that were relevant when it's set, when it was released and are relevant now. So why was I bored for much of it? 18. Pacific Rim (2013)* - Netflix & 19. Crimson Peak (2015)* - Film4 Combining these two as I have pretty much the same thing to say about them. Wasn't a big fan of either but what makes Del Toro admirable is that he's more than happy to venture into almost schlock/pulp stories and give them the same respect he would his Oscar-winning stuff. Tbf I'm not sure he intended for Crimson Peak to be considered that way, but it has all the twists and melodrama of a classic sensational Gothic romantic drama (with a blend of good horror elements) that naturally brings about ridiculousness - so many of them are daft! With Pacific Rim, he takes big, stupid monster/robot bashing and completely commits to the grandiose fights and huge scale as well as that lore shit that losers care about. I don't know why it was lit like... that, though. 20. The Devil's Backbone (2001) - DVD I watched this during one of the lockdowns but couldn't remember much about it. HOW? This is fucking great. A tale that blends coming of age with mortality and lets child actors lead the way - in fact, they make it all work thanks to their childhood innocence effectively on a timer with the war going on around them and death that they're not yet aware of. There are some big themes that could've been trite if not told in a wonderfully put together film. It effortlessly sets things up in plain sight that lead into moments later in the script. Stuff that you don't think about at the time but are impressed by when it links into the story later on. It's got a cool look too, pretty much using three dominant colours with quite impactful flashes of red. Even the simple effects on the ghost are impressive. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpInTheAyr Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 The 355.Looking at the stacked cast you would think this would be worth a watch. You would be wrong. Awful script, awful acting, awful action scene. As generic a spy/action film as you can get. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Stewart Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Just watched Boiling Point on Prime, and it is very, very good. One shot throughout, Stephen Graham plays the head chef who’s just started in his own restaurant with not everything going to plan either personally or professionally. As per usual, his performance is fucking incredible. No one does angry, apologetic, intense, vulnerable in a single character better than Graham, one of the absolute best actors around.The way it’s shot, coupled with the performances and the story itself make it tense from the very first moment to the very last. An easy 7 out of 10 on the Uncut Gems scale of movie relentlessness. Well worth a trip to the cinema, or the tenner to rent it at home. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 The Power of the Dog Netflix’s algorithms tick various boxes marked “Oscar judges will like this”. Just felt a bit cynical. Or maybe that’s just me being cynical? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSU Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 (edited) 006 -- Parallel Mothers. Penelope Cruz in Pedro Almodóvar's latest effort. The audience realize what its secrets far far earlier than any character in the movie so the events that contrive to push Cruz's Janis, and fellow new mother Ana together are nowhere near as satisfying or interesting as the secondary storyline of confirming the fate of Janis's great-grandfather during the Spanish Civil War. Cruz's performance and some delicious looking plates of food make it just about worth a gander. 5/10 Edited January 30, 2022 by MSU 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detournement Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 There is only one Boiling Point as far as I'm concerned. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSU Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 1 hour ago, welshbairn said: ^^^How many spoilers can I fit into 100 words type post. You're absolutely right. It was late. I wasn't thinking. I'll redact. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 2 minutes ago, MSU said: You're absolutely right. It was late. I wasn't thinking. I'll redact. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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