What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[coprolite]

I thought the Marvels was quite good fun. Better than Quantumania. Not actually good obviously. 

[scottsdad]

On 10/11/2023 at 19:57, DeeTillEhDeh said:

The Marvels - 1/10 - absolute pish.

 

16 hours ago, Mark Connolly said:

Just seen it.

I’m marvelling at how shite it was. Down there with Eternals, Batman and Robin, and Howard the Duck in the all time comic book movie list.

My daughter is nagging me to take her

[accies1874]

52. The Killer - Cinema

I'd never seen a David Fincher film in the cinema before, so I didn't want to wait for this to come to Netflix, though I ended up rewatching it there after it dropped the next day. It was a wise choice to see it in the cinema as I can't think of a slicker director around, and he's especially excellent at controlling the audience's eyes. That slick editing and sharp camera movements are obviously present as you'd expect from him, but a touch that I appreciated early on was how he found ways to make the killer blend into the background. When I think of the look of Gone Girl or Mindhunter (which I only got around to watching earlier this year), I think of the protagonist wearing an outfit that stands out against a dingy set - something like a blue shirt against a brown backdrop - however, in the opening chapter of The Killer, the killer himself wears an outfit that has him becoming one with his surroundings. That sometimes changes throughout the film, to the point where it's flipped towards the end, and I haven't got a handle on all of the costume changes, but it's a minor detail that shows the audience how the killer operates and plays into the theme of individualism. It's also a clear Fincher technique applied to a certain genre, and those techniques were more than enough to see me through some of the more generic moments. 

I was initially a bit put off by the voiceover. At first, it felt like it might have been redundant due to the effective visual storytelling at play, but the longer it went on, the more I realised that it was essentially the killer trying to convince himself of what he was saying, convincing himself of his function in society and what it means or doesn't mean. He then eventually fucks up, which was a great payoff to that obsessive voiceover. It was also worth the trip to the cinema just to hear the voiceover, too, as it really boomed through the screening. Great sound throughout. 

Of all Fincher's films depicting mass killers, I think this might be the first one that has a killer as the protagonist, which was quite an interesting take, although I can see some finding the lack of an emotionally grounding character to be quite detaching. As a depiction of an assassin, I think it worked really well. It has a lot of the staples you might expect from this kind of film - scoping, hiding, fighting etc - but also plays into the boredom of the scoping, the paranoia from the hiding and the ramifications of the fighting. There's external commentary on modern society as well as the internal character stuff, though I've found it hard to pinpoint, so much so that it almost felt like it became what Fight Club criticised: an edgy take on consumerism. There's something comical about a master assassin who kills people with the help of products from McDonald's, Amazon and delivered by FedEx, but it's also an interesting idea to present them as key functions of capitalist society that can be flipped to kill the rich. There's an intentional dichotomy between what the killer wants to present himself as and what he really is, but I also felt that what the film depicted might have undercut its critique of him. Maybe it is just another Fight Club where it can work on two different contrasting levels, and this time, unlike Fight Club, I'm interested in the part that the creators didn't want the audience to be interested in. There's fun stuff to unpack for what seems on the surface to be a run-of-the-mill Fincher b-movie. 

Despite probably disliking as many of his films that I love, he still remains someone whose work I'm gonna be desperate to see as they're just so brilliantly put together. 

[SouthLanarkshireWhite]

3 hours ago, accies1874 said:

52. The Killer - Cinema

I'd never seen a David Fincher film in the cinema before, so I didn't want to wait for this to come to Netflix, though I ended up rewatching it there after it dropped the next day. It was a wise choice to see it in the cinema as I can't think of a slicker director around, and he's especially excellent at controlling the audience's eyes. That slick editing and sharp camera movements are obviously present as you'd expect from him, but a touch that I appreciated early on was how he found ways to make the killer blend into the background. When I think of the look of Gone Girl or Mindhunter (which I only got around to watching earlier this year), I think of the protagonist wearing an outfit that stands out against a dingy set - something like a blue shirt against a brown backdrop - however, in the opening chapter of The Killer, the killer himself wears an outfit that has him becoming one with his surroundings. That sometimes changes throughout the film, to the point where it's flipped towards the end, and I haven't got a handle on all of the costume changes, but it's a minor detail that shows the audience how the killer operates and plays into the theme of individualism. It's also a clear Fincher technique applied to a certain genre, and those techniques were more than enough to see me through some of the more generic moments. 

I was initially a bit put off by the voiceover. At first, it felt like it might have been redundant due to the effective visual storytelling at play, but the longer it went on, the more I realised that it was essentially the killer trying to convince himself of what he was saying, convincing himself of his function in society and what it means or doesn't mean. He then eventually fucks up, which was a great payoff to that obsessive voiceover. It was also worth the trip to the cinema just to hear the voiceover, too, as it really boomed through the screening. Great sound throughout. 

Of all Fincher's films depicting mass killers, I think this might be the first one that has a killer as the protagonist, which was quite an interesting take, although I can see some finding the lack of an emotionally grounding character to be quite detaching. As a depiction of an assassin, I think it worked really well. It has a lot of the staples you might expect from this kind of film - scoping, hiding, fighting etc - but also plays into the boredom of the scoping, the paranoia from the hiding and the ramifications of the fighting. There's external commentary on modern society as well as the internal character stuff, though I've found it hard to pinpoint, so much so that it almost felt like it became what Fight Club criticised: an edgy take on consumerism. There's something comical about a master assassin who kills people with the help of products from McDonald's, Amazon and delivered by FedEx, but it's also an interesting idea to present them as key functions of capitalist society that can be flipped to kill the rich. There's an intentional dichotomy between what the killer wants to present himself as and what he really is, but I also felt that what the film depicted might have undercut its critique of him. Maybe it is just another Fight Club where it can work on two different contrasting levels, and this time, unlike Fight Club, I'm interested in the part that the creators didn't want the audience to be interested in. There's fun stuff to unpack for what seems on the surface to be a run-of-the-mill Fincher b-movie. 

Despite probably disliking as many of his films that I love, he still remains someone whose work I'm gonna be desperate to see as they're just so brilliantly put together. 

Watched it yesterday on Netflix. Couple of things - I don't particularly like voice overs, always comes across as a bit false, but this was one  of the less irritating examples.

Spoiler alert - 

Spoiler

The old guy at the end - why the change of outcome?

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by TheGreenElves

[Mark Connolly]

7 hours ago, scottsdad said:

 

My daughter is nagging me to take her

She might enjoy it.

It felt a bit like an episode of Power Rangers, and not in a good way

[accies1874]

19 hours ago, SouthLanarkshireWhite said:

Watched it yesterday on Netflix. Couple of things - I don't particularly like voice overs, always comes across as a bit false, but this was one  of the less irritating examples.

Spoiler alert - 

  Reveal hidden contents

The old guy at the end - why the change of outcome?

 

Spoiler

Fincher's given a very literal answer to this here:

https://www.gq.com.au/culture/entertainment/the-killers-surprisingly-murderless-ending-explained-by-david-fincher/news-story/5ba7982d3710aecbb41bd408461ee050#:~:text=So Claybourne pisses his pants,an air of anti-climax.

I think it also showed the effect that the conversation with Tilda Swinton had on him too, either because it changed his perception of his victims or because it showed the power that fear can have as opposed to stealthy murders.

 

[JustOneCornetto]

(82) Closely Watched Trains (1968) – Youtube                                                                                                                                                  

I saw this Czechoslovakian film a few years ago and after hearing a talk about the 75 year history of that country decided to watch again. It’s full of dark humour and is basically a coming-of-age story about an apprentice Stationmaster set during Nazi occupation. While there is a lot of satire poked at the autocracy of the Germans it’s obvious, considering the film was made in the lead up to the Prague Spring, that it’s the Russians being made fun of. It’s pretty good and has an explosive ending, literally. It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, and you can see why. 7.5/10

(83) Dream Scenario (2023) – GFT

Nicolas Cage tends to divide opinions, but I like most of his films and this is another to add to the list. He’s just an ordinary University lecturer until he finds out that people are starting to see him in their dreams and at first shrugs it off but then realises he has gone viral with thousands making comments on social media about seeing him in their dreams. He now thinks of himself as cool and laps up the fame but when his involvement in the dreams becomes more malign rather than passive his life starts to spiral downwards. A lot of funny moments some of them very cringey and overall, I loved it. 8.5/10

(84) Master Cheng (2019) – BBC iPlayer

Recommended to me as a ‘wonderful film’ I thought it was very lightweight and saw the ending a mile off. Saying that there are some amusing moments as a Chinese chef arrives in a small Finnish town with his son as he’s looking for a Finn he met in Shanghai and wants to repay him a favour. He connects with Sirkka who runs a small restaurant with only a few old regulars as customers and agrees to cook some meals which everyone likes especially two old codgers as it helps with their various ailments. It’s ok but nothing to write home about. 5/10

(85) The Book Thief (2013) – DVD

I saw Sophie Nelisse in the film Monsieur Lazhar earlier this year and she is the lead in this film, set in Nazi Germany, as Liesel who is given up for adoption by her mother, who is accused of being a Communist. Considering the film is over 2 hours long and Liesel is in every scene it’s a pretty amazing performance by her and I’m surprised she didn’t get an Oscar nomination. Her adoptive parents are played by Geoffrey Rush. the ‘good cop’, who helps Liesel to read and encourages her to write down her thoughts. Emily Watson is the stern, unforgiving mother, but you know she has a heart of gold which you eventually get to see. There’s a narration by Death which seems odd at first but it does add depth and context to the story and there is also a lot of tension when Liesel’s parents hide a Jewish boy. Based on a book by the same title I really enjoyed this. 8/10

Edited November 14, 2023 by JustOneCornetto

[BFTD]

I liked The Marvels. It suffers greatly from the same problem as most Marvel films since Dr Strange 2, in that they really want you to have watched their TV shows beforehand; I knew nothing about Ms Marvel, or why the wee curly-haired girl from Captain Marvel was a grown adult with her own superpowers, or why Nick Fury was living on a space station, but the worrying thing is that those fairly important elements don't seem to matter too much once the thing gets going, as it's pretty cookie-cutter formulaic stuff.

It was enjoyable and entertaining for what it was - Ms Marvel was endearing and cute, I really like Brie Larson in the Captain Marvel role, and the other lassie was also there. They had some nice lighthearted scenes together. The actress playing the baddie did a good job and deserved more to do, like a number of other actors playing one-off villains in prior films. It is now, however, very obvious that Disney don't have a clue where they're going with any of this in terms of a grand overarching story; certainly nowhere interesting.

Also, the CG in this is the worst so far - they're clearly still crunching people at their effects sweatshops. A lot of the digital effects have a weird blown-up-to-a-higher-resolution look to them, which I've seen in a couple of films lately, and I wonder if it's some kind of attempt to mask rushed work. The cats in particular looked terrible. There's also a credits cameo from an entirely CG character at the end which is just shockingly bad, considering it's a big reveal for future films, looking like a video game character with dreadful movement (which seems to be a real problem with rushed CG; unnatural animation).

But yeah, I still quite liked it as a fun trip to the cinema, but I doubt I'd watch it again, and it certainly hasn't made me any more enthusiastic for future films.

[Ewanandmoreagain]

All the President's Men ( again )

still brilliant !

[Arch Stanton]

Just finished The Killer.

Can only echo what was said... great direction by Fincher, Fassbender as good as always, loads of The Smiths tunes, two scenes which literally made me LOL (the table leg up the arse and Swinton's bear story) and a superb soundtrack by the NIN boys.

 

[MSU]

230 Halloween: Resurrection -- Halloween begat Halloween II. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers begat Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Even Halloween 2018 begat Halloween Kills. Seems that every high point in this franchise always delivers something much poorer straight after. I don't think it's ever been so stark as it is here. H20 to Resurrection is a staggering fall from grace. In H20, Michael is famously decapitated and Resurrection spends the opening few scenes dreaming up the most ridiculous pish to explain all that away so another 90 minutes can be added to the total. It then kills off Laurie Strode, apparently at Jamie Lee Curtis's insistence, in the most dreadful manner. From there, things happen, Michael kills people, Busta Rhymes turns up a few times, and then it's done and we never have to speak of it again. 1/10

231 The Holdovers -- Paul Giamatti is what the dictionary and no doubt every review is going to call a curmudgeonly teacher at a fancy New England prep school in 1970. There he tries and fails to get his students interested in his classical history classes while dismissively burning them with clever and witty putdowns they don't understand. Over the Christmas break, he's left looking after Angus, a troubled 17-year-old student who has been abandoned by his mother and stepdad. Along with the school cook, Mary, who has recently lost her son in Vietnam, this motley crew kinda learns to get on with each other over the next two weeks in the empty school. The movie really doesn't offer much in the way of surprises, particularly as teacher and student discover they have much in common, but it's the performances that really set this apart. Giamatti in particular does a fantastic job as a functioning alcoholic at a time when no one really knew what a functioning alcoholic was, who manages to bury his true self. Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Mary is also excellent although disappointingly her character is demoted to the sidelines just as it was getting interesting. It's the sort of heartfelt movie that becomes a traditional rewatch at Christmas, and for those of a certain age from a certain part of the US, I'm sure it'll keep those member berries satisfied into New Year. 7/10

[Savage Henry]

The Killer.  Huge David Fincher fan but boy, what a snooze fest.  

[guinness]

A man Called Otto...Highly recommended  

[accies1874]

53. Bottoms - Cinema

Great supporting cast which makes the world feel alive while also being an exaggerated version of high school life. The football team never change out of their kits, the (only?) teacher openly reads a magazine depicting scantily clad women, a random student is locked in a cage - these all add up to make it feel like this high school is a living, breathing place despite the stupidity of it all. And the film is stupid. I was smiling along during the climax due to just how stupid it was. It's disarmingly violent at points, which is just accepted and barely addressed, and uses violence as a punchline to good effect. The worldbuilding from the supporting cast was what I liked most about Bottoms, but that's not to take anything away from the two leads who bounce off of everyone really well, kind of providing a more grounded cynicism to the nonsense going on in their school. This is the third film I've seen Rachel Sennott in, and she's been the standout performer in three pretty different roles. The combination of the riffing between the actors and the stylised setting made for a really funny film, though there were things about it that made me wonder if the script is actually quite weak: the credits take pride in how much improv there was, some of the weaker jokes seemed to be more scripted, and the structure flits between being fluid and dully regimented. Minor complaints, though, as none of that affected my enjoyment of the film, however the dodgy projection in Hamilton's VUE almost did. It was the first time I'd been there since seeing Pearl back in March and, given how bad the projection was in their biggest screen, I won't be back any time soon. 

54. The Royal Hotel - Cinema

I was really looking forward to this, as Kitty Green's other film, The Assistant, was one of my favourites from 2020. That had a pretty good script with a brilliant lead performance from Julia Garner (who also leads this) but, most of all, had a lot of filmmaking techniques that I found really interesting. The Royal Hotel seems to me to have been a bit more conventional in its storytelling compared to The Assistant - not compared to other films of its ilk though - but treads familiar ground thematically as they're both about Julia Garner being landed in a toxic male environment - a movie studio in The Assistant and a dingy Australian hotel pub here. They're also both slowly paced and very reliant on their atmosphere, characters of Death by 1000 Cuts approach to building tension, depicting very real scenarios and inviting the viewer to share the protagonist's discomfort and helplessness. The BBFC gave The Royal Hotel an 18 which, combined with the trailer, led me on that it was going to have a much more bombastic conclusion - despite what I learned about Kitty Green's style from The Assistant - but it's really just about simmering tension and paranoia playing out in a way that leaves enough doubt about characters' intensions for it to be engaging but gives you a fair sense that they're pretty shite people which creates unease. The 18 certificate is just because it's set in Australia and they call everyone "c**t."

Where it felt most different to The Assistant for me was that the toxic workplace of a movie studio is, to an extent, a manmade environment where there is something more societal about The Royal Hotel's setting, sort of like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre where it leaves you asking questions about the set of circumstances that created this environment. Another difference was the fact that Julia Garner had a pal in this one, her fellow backpacker Jessica Henwick who's a bit more of a partier than her. This led to a wee bit of friction, but, more importantly, it results in a greater sense of loneliness when they have a difference of opinion, as losing a friend in a story can often be more impactful than simply not having one in the first place. I've also seen/heard other reviews which said that the film beginning during their holiday poses questions about their friendship, what they're running away from etc., and while that wasn't really going through my head as I was watching it, I can see how it would have that effect on other people. 

It's a solid follow-up to an excellent debut, and I'm still interested to see what Kitty Green does next as she's now made two films with really tactile environments and has a clear style. I wouldn't say that folk have to see this in the cinema though. Hugo Weaving's in it too, but if you're like me then you won't actually know it's him until you get home and check the cast. 

55. Paris Memories - Digital Rental

A film about a woman reconciling with herself after surviving the 2015 Paris terrorist attack. It starts as a day-in-the-life piece which lingers in a serene moment where people have no idea what's coming, then that's immediately cut through by an attack in a restaurant. That jarring tonal shift is a perfect depiction of a terrorist attack and is the kind of thing that is likely to stick with me, but it's only around 15/20 minutes into the film. The rest is about the main character trying to find closure through various means which feel very true to how someone would cope with such an event. 

[DA Baracus]

Saw Napoleon this afternoon.

An enjoyable film. However, despite being well over two hours long I felt it was very rushed. It often leaped to different years, spending little time in each.

Battle scenes were immense though. Wish they were longer and that there were more of them.

Waterloo is a better film and delivers, big time, on the longer battle front.

[MSU]

232 Scott Pilgrim vs the World -- After watching the new Netflix anime series, which I loved, I had to come back to this one more time and it's still an absolute joy for me, definitely one of my favorite movies of all time, and despite not really featuring anything I can cling on to as reminiscent of my life, it still manages to speak to me on a personal level, and I feel so connected to Scott, which is as confusing as it is comforting. Hello again, friend of a friend. 10/10

233 Saltburn -- Emerald Fennell's follow-up to Promising Young Woman took me in directions I didn't see coming and has made sure that I will never look at a certain Sophie Ellis-Bextor song in the same light ever again. Mousy Oliver Quick is a bit of an outsider having trouble settling in at Oxford University until he falls into the orbit of fellow student and super-wealthy Felix Catton. After the two become close and Oliver explains the difficult relationship he has with his parents back on Merseyside, he is invited to summer at the Catton country residence, the palatial Saltburn estate where he slowly integrates with the family and its hangers-on. For probably half of the movie's two-and-a-bit hours runtime, I was led to believe that this was a year-late entry into 2022's spread of movies about rich people being p***ks in a place (Triangle of Sadness, Glass Onion, The Menu). However, Fennell has a few tricks up her sleeve to ensure that until the final act, you're never quite sure what you're watching. Barry Keoghan, along with Paul Mescal, is becoming one of those actors who I've come to realize I have no idea how they actually speak. He flits from accent to accent flawlessly and here, he's Scouse, and he brings so much mystery to the role of Oliver in a really confident performance. His eyes search deep into your soul, and it's easy to understand how his seductive character manages to bridge the wealth and entitlement gaps between him and his hosts. Contrasting this, we have Jacob Elordi as Felix, about a million times more engaging here than he was in Priscilla, Rosamund Pike and Richard E Grant as his parents, and Archie Madekwe as cousin Farleigh who puts Gran Turismo firmly in his rearview mirror. The acting talent here is absolutely as decadent and plush as the surroundings. Fennell's script and direction are crisp and precise and it's wonderfully subtle how the power dynamic and expectations shift through the movie, and how the punctuation points manage to revolt and entice in equal measure. If I have a couple of complaints, one would be the aspect ratio which feels inexplicably tight at around 4:3, and secondly, there is a moment when Felix gives Oliver a birthday present that felt purely there, against the characters' better judgment, just so the rest of the movie could happen. That said, though, it's a delicious and often hilarious way to spend a couple of hours, I'd be surprised if it doesn't make it to my top 10 movies of the year. It's just a shame that it doesn't seem to be finding its audience in the US judging by the 90% empty screening I attended. 9/10

234 Arrival -- Arrival is one of those rare movies that I saw twice in the cinema, but this is the first time I've seen it since 2016, after which Amy Adams went on to somehow not win Best Actress at the Oscars. I still love this movie, maybe even more since I read Ted Chiang's The Story of Your Life, which is definitely worth checking out. I love sci-fi like this, where the story is as much about destiny and free will and parenthood as it is about aliens and it's as much seen through the lens of linguistics as anything else. It's a beautiful, slow-paced movie that builds through jumps in timelines that all come together at a singular point and the emotional toll it took on me was not insignificant. The minor problems I had with the movie seven years ago still ring true. Jeremy Renner's character is a passenger that plays no discernible role until right at the end where he delivers one of the clunkiest, stinkiest lines of dialogue I've ever heard that is surely only there to double-check that the audience is following what's going on. And it's a real shame because Denis Villeneuve's direction is so focused all the way through that I'm surprised he let that line go. Tremendous stuff. 9/10

[accies1874]

Arrival is wonderful on first watch and even better the second time around. 

[BFTD]

2 hours ago, MSU said:

233 Saltburn -- Emerald Fennell's follow-up to Promising Young Woman took me in directions I didn't see coming and has made sure that I will never look at a certain Sophie Ellis-Bextor song in the same light ever again. Mousy Oliver Quick is a bit of an outsider having trouble settling in at Oxford University until he falls into the orbit of fellow student and super-wealthy Felix Catton. After the two become close and Oliver explains the difficult relationship he has with his parents back on Merseyside, he is invited to summer at the Catton country residence, the palatial Saltburn estate where he slowly integrates with the family and its hangers-on. For probably half of the movie's two-and-a-bit hours runtime, I was led to believe that this was a year-late entry into 2022's spread of movies about rich people being p***ks in a place (Triangle of Sadness, Glass Onion, The Menu). However, Fennell has a few tricks up her sleeve to ensure that until the final act, you're never quite sure what you're watching. Barry Keoghan, along with Paul Mescal, is becoming one of those actors who I've come to realize I have no idea how they actually speak. He flits from accent to accent flawlessly and here, he's Scouse, and he brings so much mystery to the role of Oliver in a really confident performance. His eyes search deep into your soul, and it's easy to understand how his seductive character manages to bridge the wealth and entitlement gaps between him and his hosts. Contrasting this, we have Jacob Elordi as Felix, about a million times more engaging here than he was in Priscilla, Rosamund Pike and Richard E Grant as his parents, and Archie Madekwe as cousin Farleigh who puts Gran Turismo firmly in his rearview mirror. The acting talent here is absolutely as decadent and plush as the surroundings. Fennell's script and direction are crisp and precise and it's wonderfully subtle how the power dynamic and expectations shift through the movie, and how the punctuation points manage to revolt and entice in equal measure. If I have a couple of complaints, one would be the aspect ratio which feels inexplicably tight at around 4:3, and secondly, there is a moment when Felix gives Oliver a birthday present that felt purely there, against the characters' better judgment, just so the rest of the movie could happen. That said, though, it's a delicious and often hilarious way to spend a couple of hours, I'd be surprised if it doesn't make it to my top 10 movies of the year. It's just a shame that it doesn't seem to be finding its audience in the US judging by the 90% empty screening I attended. 9/10

I also saw Saltburn this week and enjoyed it, despite guessing what the denouement was going to be fairly early on. The aspect ratio didn't bother me past the first ten minutes or so, although I don't think anything was gained artistically from it, which is the usual reason given.

Not surprised if it doesn't find an audience in the US, as it's a very English film. Not sure if they'd know what to make of it.

[MSU]

Just now, BFTD said:

I also saw Saltburn this week and enjoyed it, despite guessing what the denouement was going to be fairly early on. The aspect ratio didn't bother me past the first ten minutes or so, although I don't think anything was gained artistically from it, which is the usual reason given.

Not surprised if it doesn't find an audience in the US, as it's a very English film. Not sure if they'd know what to make of it.

Exactly! I expect a 4:3 to give it an old movie feel or a sense of claustrophobia, but here it did neither and the side edges just reminded me I was paying full price to see 2/3 of a screen. It is very English and there's class stuff going on that I'm not sure translates all that well. Everyone who saw it with me seemed to love it, though, so there may be word-of-mouth hope for it yet.

[Savage Henry]

Tetris on Apple TV+.  Ideal Sunday afternoon fare.  Superficially nonsensical but passed a couple of hours with no numb bum.