What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Albino Rover]

Does anyone really make their choice of viewing based on box office?

Dunno about anyone else, but if I haven't seen one of Marty's films lately, it's because it didn't look interesting to me personally. Plus I haven't enjoyed much of his more recent work, no matter how serious and passionate it may have been.

I think his point is that, lest we forget, the value of film is way beyond the financial, and that cinephiles chatting casually about millions and worldwide grosses are what trivialises the medium.

[forehead7]

Where are you getting those figures from? IMDb shows a loss at the US box office for almost everything he's made in recent years, which is generally considered to be the benchmark for success from US funders, as I understand it.

Fair play to him if those are worldwide grosses; he's obviously doing very well for himself. But he's quite fortunate to have found some sensible backers. And his wife too, the b*****d

Edit: just looked up the worldwide grosses; that's an incredible swing between US and RoW takings. $20m box office for Three Musketeers vs $112m elsewhere Maybe one of the few occasions that the US can claim to have better taste than Europe

I took them from Wikipedia, which cites Box Office Mojo (which I just checked to confirm).

[Stuart]

wasn't sure where to post this but for anyone who has access to multiple regions, The Wolf of Wall Street is now on Argentinian and Mexican Netflix.

[Raidernation]

The Italian Job (1969)

Fantastic fun, and so much better than the shitey modern version

[BFTD]

I took them from Wikipedia, which cites Box Office Mojo (which I just checked to confirm).

Pretty impressive. Cap doffed, etc.

To Paul Anderson, not you

[BFTD]

The Box - a movie that seeks to answer the age-old question; would you open the door to Frank Langella? Cameron Diaz is offered a million bucks in exchange for pressing Dracula's button. Only problem is, a random stranger will die. Of course, life isn't that simple, and consequences ensue.

Didn't realise this was directed by the Donnie Darko guy until the credits went up, but it's obvious in hindsight. It's an obtuse thriller that piques the interest as to where the plot is going, before turning out to be very straightforward, and a wee bit silly too. Langella's a little underused, and Diaz doesn't cheat on husband James Marsden, which will surely get somebody's Hollywood Card revoked. The film was clearly supposed to be chilling and a bit disturbing, but sadly doesn't manage to pull it off, and is ultimately unsatisfying.

BigFatTabbyWife tells me that the story was originally adapted as a decent Twilight Zone episode, so maybe try that instead.

[Enigma]

Just watched Spirited Away for the first time. A wonderful film that everyone should see at some point in their lives.

If you haven't already dive into the rest of the Ghibli back catalogue. I found the more obscure Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves to be two of the more rewarding, they are both not fantasies, which most associate Ghibli closest with, but both are lovely films.

I saw The Wind Rises on Friday. It's a sure fire 9/10. It a biopic and therefore unlike anything Ghibli or Miyazaki has done before so it's it little hard to compere it to anything they've done previously. I heard a lot of people say "aww but it's not a proper Ghibli film" due to it not plowing a furrow similar to Spirited Away orHowl's Moving Castle, but those people can do one because I think Ghibli has always tried to be diverse in its output (perhaps they've been selective in their Ghibli viewing) and this one certainly isn't a kids film, I would question whether children would even enjoy it. Outside of animation a biopic about a Japanese aircraft designer would have been right up me street anyway so it was always going to be a winner with me. I'm sure in years to come, while I doubt it will rank with Grave of the Fireflies, Totoro of Spirited Away it will rank along side the best of the rest of Ghibli's output and certainly above the likes of Ponyo or The Cat Returns. It actually left me wanting to find out more about the protagonist... I enjoyed how it didn't follow him from cradle to grave, rather focussing more on simply on his life between c1920-1938, his most interesting years, he actually died in 1982.

[Raidernation]

Island of Terror (1966)

Hokey British horror, terrible effects but great fun to watch Peter Cushing

[Biscuits]

Man on a ledge - 6/10. Bit far fetched but watchable plus the wonderfully named Genesis Rodriguez

[P.C]

Having finished work and fuelled by my love of Agents of Shield, I've watched Thor, Captain America, Hulk and The Avengers in 2 days. As well as watching the new Spider-Man (as in the first one)

It was strange seeing Coulson in a whole different light. Especially given what you find out!

The Marvel "shorts" tie in between films and theres a good one between Iron Man and Thor with Coulson in it

If you get the chance Id def recommend seeing Captain America 2 and Amazing Spiderman 2 both on par if not a bit better than Avengers

[P.C]

If you haven't already dive into the rest of the Ghibli back catalogue. I found the more obscure Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves to be two of the more rewarding, they are both not fantasies, which most associate Ghibli closest with, but both are lovely films.

I saw The Wind Rises on Friday. It's a sure fire 9/10. It a biopic and therefore unlike anything Ghibli or Miyazaki has done before so it's it little hard to compere it to anything they've done previously. I heard a lot of people say "aww but it's not a proper Ghibli film" due to it not plowing a furrow similar to Spirited Away orHowl's Moving Castle, but those people can do one because I think Ghibli has always tried to be diverse in its output (perhaps they've been selective in their Ghibli viewing) and this one certainly isn't a kids film, I would question whether children would even enjoy it. Outside of animation a biopic about a Japanese aircraft designer would have been right up me street anyway so it was always going to be a winner with me. I'm sure in years to come, while I doubt it will rank with Grave of the Fireflies, Totoro of Spirited Away it will rank along side the best of the rest of Ghibli's output and certainly above the likes of Ponyo or The Cat Returns. It actually left me wanting to find out more about the protagonist... I enjoyed how it didn't follow him from cradle to grave, rather focussing more on simply on his life between c1920-1938, his most interesting years, he actually died in 1982.

Spiritied away is a great film, i have to admit over the years ive watched less anime films in favour of series

Its a bit graphic but if you get the chance Attack On Titan has some fantastic animation

[DAFC]

The Fighter

Had the DVD for a while and put off watching it for some reason.

Wish I had watched it earlier. Wahlberg and Bale were excellent, especially Bale.

A must see film if you like boxing.

9/10

[P.C]

The Fighter

Had the DVD for a while and put off watching it for some reason.

Wish I had watched it earlier. Wahlberg and Bale were excellent, especially Bale.

A must see film if you like boxing.

9/10

Warrior is a good film as well

Rewatched Willow for the first time in years on blu ray yesterday, still a classic

7/10

[Kyle]

If you haven't already dive into the rest of the Ghibli back catalogue. I found the more obscure Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves to be two of the more rewarding, they are both not fantasies, which most associate Ghibli closest with, but both are lovely films.

I saw The Wind Rises on Friday. It's a sure fire 9/10. It a biopic and therefore unlike anything Ghibli or Miyazaki has done before so it's it little hard to compere it to anything they've done previously. I heard a lot of people say "aww but it's not a proper Ghibli film" due to it not plowing a furrow similar to Spirited Away orHowl's Moving Castle, but those people can do one because I think Ghibli has always tried to be diverse in its output (perhaps they've been selective in their Ghibli viewing) and this one certainly isn't a kids film, I would question whether children would even enjoy it. Outside of animation a biopic about a Japanese aircraft designer would have been right up me street anyway so it was always going to be a winner with me. I'm sure in years to come, while I doubt it will rank with Grave of the Fireflies, Totoro of Spirited Away it will rank along side the best of the rest of Ghibli's output and certainly above the likes of Ponyo or The Cat Returns. It actually left me wanting to find out more about the protagonist... I enjoyed how it didn't follow him from cradle to grave, rather focussing more on simply on his life between c1920-1938, his most interesting years, he actually died in 1982.

Agree with all of this really. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with it being a biopic as it does kind of move away from Ghibli's comfort zone a bit, but I needn't have worried. Not a story I was familiar with, but it was certainly interesting. I must admit to struggling with the timeline a bit when watching, not that it really, truly mattered.

I didn't realise Miyazaki had announced his retirement. A really sad day for Anime features and Ghibli.

[Enigma]

Agree with all of this really. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with it being a biopic as it does kind of move away from Ghibli's comfort zone a bit, but I needn't have worried. Not a story I was familiar with, but it was certainly interesting. I must admit to struggling with the timeline a bit when watching, not that it really, truly mattered.

I didn't realise Miyazaki had announced his retirement. A really sad day for Anime features and Ghibli.

I don't think he'll direct again but he's certainly not sitting in a chair smoking a pipe with his baffies on waiting for the inevitable. He's working on a manga based on the sengoku period and is writing the script for a planned sequel to Porco Rosso, set during the Spanish Civil War.

The way the film moved along remind me of films like This Happy Breed (1944) or Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939), both of which were set over a longer period of time and moved along in a similar fashion.

Looking forward we obviously have Takahata's The Tale of Princess Kagura, released in Japan last autumn, to look forward to. It looks magnificent and I was/am more excited about this than I was The Wind Rises. Takahata's films, while not as well known as Miyazaki's are probably some of my favourites in the Ghibli cannon, Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday are as good as anything Miyazaki has made. I keep meaning to watch some of his pre-Ghibli films, Chie the Brat is on youtube for example.

When Marnie Was There, adapted from the English novel of the same name (my mum read the book in school apparently) is directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Arrietty). It's about a girl and her friend who is a kind of apparition. I hope Ghibli doesn't fall into the trap of just doing adaptations, it was the original stories that made Ghibli's films so original and unique. Yonebayashi will then direct the aforementioned Porco Rosso sequel.

We also have Miyazaki Jnr.'s latest project to look forward too. In a complete departure for Ghibli it will be a TV series based on Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren. I know nothing about the subject matter that I haven't learnt from google.

If you enjoy Ghibli, particularly the early films like Nausicaa and Castle in the Sky I can't recommend the series Future Boy Conan highly enough, Miyazaki and Takahata directed almost all of the episodes and were involved heavily in the scripts, storyboards and character development. Set in a post apocalyptic world some 25 years after the Earth's destruction, a boy and his grandfather are the last survivors from a ship which crashed while evacuating Earth and due to tectonic chaos they believe they may be on the last piece of land, a small idyllic island with nature and food aplenty. Their understanding of this post apocalyptic world is shaken when a young girl is found washed up on the beach, dehydrated and unconscious. She explains how she escaped captivity from a rival nation who seek her uncle, the last man who knows how to create the technology which formerly provided energy for the world. When one if this nation's search planes recaptures the girl our hero, Conan (the boy), set out on an adventure to find the girl, her uncle and save the world for the mistakes of its past and the destructive rival nation.

[SimplyTON]

Jack Ryan - Shadow Recruit (2014) 6/10

Pretty predictable but decent spy thriller.

[BFTD]

Hotel Transylvania - in a world where monsters are terrified of humans, Dracula sets up a remote hotel where they can feel safe on holiday. Drama ensues when a backpacking human finds his way to the castle and sets the undead heart of Drac's daughter aflutter. Features most of the classic Universal gang and a host of celeb voice acting, including most of Adam Sandler's usual crew. A nice straightforward kids movie that raises a few smiles and probably sets itself up quite nicely for more elaborate sequels. I'm also guessing that a fair few folk that can't stand Adam Sandler will still find this watchable. One to enjoy with the weans, I think.

[11thHour]

The Worlds End - 1/10.

Absolutely fucking shite. After Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz this was an amazing let down.

[BFTD]

Godzilla - big green lizard

[Raidernation]

Just watched the Blues Brothers again. Might not me the best film in the world, but it has made me smile today!