Rate the last film you watched out of 5

[Boothjan]

Spoiler

2023's 200 Film Challenge:

 

1. The Reader 4/5

2. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore 2/5

3. The Reef: Stalked 1/5

4. Ghostbusters: Afterlife 3.5/5

5. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery 4/5

 

6. Black Widow

 

Just the most averagely average film I can remember seeing for a long time.  Bloody love Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh, but really didn't think this held my attention well at all, despite looking pretty good in places.  A very <partridge_shrug.gif> of a film

 

2.5/5

 

7.  Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge

 

Quite enjoyed this, thinking it would be a shocker but I thought it was better than most of the previous instalments.  Some superb CGI in places, and loved some of the references that went into the PotC Sea of Thieves tie in!  Though it's hard to deny that the franchise feels a bit tired now. 

 

3/5

 

8. My Left Foot

 

One of those 'how have I never seen this?' films - absolutely incredible performance by Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Flicker telling the story of artist Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy.  Gripping and whimsical when it would have been easy to have made it maudlin, this is a masterpiece.

 

5/5

[Floyd]

The Hatchlings 

 

4/5 Worth watching, though, showing it's age

 

 

[Bluejam]

Smile

 

hmmm, a high 3.5. Seems to lose it at the end but it gave the other half a few jumps. Soundtrack is weird

[glb]

M3gan - 3/5 (work screener)

 

Your mileage with this will absolutely vary depending on your tolerance for silliness. IMDb really should add comedy to its genre because it's tongue-in-cheek throughout, but give me a horror that sets out its stall and has fun with its plot any day of the week. Very daft, very OTT and, much like Malignant last year, I enjoyed every second.

 

(#1... oh wait, I'm not doing that this year)

[tejinashi]

Rocky IV: Rocky Vs Drago - The Ultimate Director’s Cut,
The High Seas,
5 STARS

 

“-if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change.”

 

It was daunting going into this viewing of Sylvester Stallone’s recut, as I hold the original version in such high regard. Thankfully, I can report that the alterations are largely worthwhile. Unfortunately, Paulie’s robot has been completely removed and the famous ending speech reworked, but on the whole the new added footage and dialogue help to flesh out the characters.

 

The film itself is peak 80s action. A tortured Rocky must take on his toughest opponent, in a bleakly hostile environment. Along the way, his relationships and his very physicality will be tested to extremes.

 

The boxing scenes are fantastic, brutal and prolonged. We go every round with the competitors in thrilling, heightened reality.

 

Special praise must be given to Dolph Lundgren. There is no one else in the world that could have played Ivan Drago to such effect. A career-defining performance.

 

The soundtrack is truly awesome. Of course, there is the unforgettable “Living in America” sequence, but there are many other memorable power anthems, such as “Burning Heart”, “Heart’s on Fire”, “No Easy Way Out”, and Vince DiCola’s gift to humanity, “Training Montage”. At times the movie does become very MTV, but it’s all part of the charm.

 

This has always been my favourite of the Rocky series, and I would still recommend the theatrical cut for a first viewing, but this new version is most welcome. Well done, Sly!
 

[Nick R]

@tejinashi If you haven't seen it, I recommend watching the documentary on YouTube about the making of the new cut:

 

 

 

[tejinashi]

Oh nice! Will watch, thanks!

[Mike S]

On 02/01/2023 at 00:06, Dark Soldier said:

Playground (2022)

 

French film about a seven year old girl who attends her new school, that her older brother is already at, and witnesses her brother being bullied.

 

It is shot, entirely, from the height level of the seven year old girl. Stunningly shot in places.

 

Absolutely captures that child like feel, the way in which they communicate and see the world.

 

Its a gut wrenching thing. It isn't brutal in the 'classic' sense but the themes of alienation, fear, panic, anxiety which many kids feel as they grow (and im sure we felt back then) are portrayed so vividly that it can be a hard watch. Totally nails that naive cruelness children possess, that cinema rarely likes to show.

 

By far and away the greatest example of child acting I have seen. The girl who plays the seven year old deserves an Oscar and all the world.

 

Adults are kept at arms length, we only see snippets of their faces and are often off camera

 

Absolutely astonishing film and only 72minutes long.

 

5/5

 

 

Thanks for highlighting this as I'd likely have missed it otherwise.

 

Agree 100% with your review. This is an incredible, challenging, film with some very high quality acting from all but, as you say, the girl playing Nora is astonishingly good. Not once does she look anything other entirely natural and totally convincing which is quite something given that she is on camera for 90% of the running time and that camera is generally very close up.

 

 

5/5

 

[tejinashi]

Creed II, Netflix, 4 stars.

 

A sequel to two movies, I really enjoyed my time with these characters again. The Rocky formula shows no signs of ageing; the unique blend of personal drama, training montages and epic fights still holds up.

 

This time around it’s Adonis Creed Vs Viktor Drago, with Rocky and Ivan in their respective corners. History repeats itself, and the stakes couldn’t be bigger. Both fighters are in phenomenal shape, and it really shows that Michael B. Jordan is taking the legacy seriously.

 

It’s a personal thing, but I didn’t like the music in this one much, apart from the Tessa Thompson ring intro which had some feeling behind it. But as far as nitpicks go, that’s about it.

 

The third film is set to be released in March, this year, and I have every confidence that the franchise will continue to entertain.

[The Tall Man]

The Menu (Disney +)

 

A pretty good thriller/ black comedy with some solid acting, especially from Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy. The film creates an unsettling air which pays off for the fourth course, but sadly isn’t sustained throughout. 

 

3.5/5

 

 

The Stranger (Netflix)

 

Slow burn thriller based on a true story, but it never dragged. Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris were both fantastic and created a tense but believable friendship. Best to go in cold and immerse yourself in the unfolding story. 

 

4/5

[Protocol Penguin]

A Scene at the Sea (1991)

 

Astonishing piece of film-making. Demonstrates the power of visual storytelling coupled with relatively minimal dialogue when a competent director is in charge, rounded off with a genuine gut-punch of an ending.

 

5/5

[Monkeyboy]

Fear is the Key (1972)

 

Starring Barry Newman. The only other film I've seen of his is Vanishing Point (which I love). If you're going to watch this, go in cold. A bit like another film I watched recently -- Last Embrace -- you have no idea where the film is going or why. Unlike Last Embrace, it's less confusing and more entertaining as the plot takes shape.

 

4 out of 5

[Couch Corpse]

On 03/01/2023 at 11:28, tejinashi said:

It has made me want to check out more Yeoh films though.

Check out some of her early HK stuff like Yes Madam.

[glb]

The Good Shepherd - 3/5 (Netflix)

 

Directed by Robert De Niro, this spy thriller centered around the formation of the CIA is pretty dry and weighty, but is still absorbing thanks to an excellent cast.

 

Watching made me want to do some further reading on espionage as the whole subject fascinates me, even though the reality is it is probably pretty matter-of-fact and routine.

[Floyd]

5 minutes ago, glb said:

The Good Shepherd - 3/5 (Netflix)

 

Directed by Robert De Niro, this spy thriller centered around the formation of the CIA is pretty dry and weighty, but is still absorbing thanks to an excellent cast.

 

Watching made me want to do some further reading on espionage as the whole subject fascinates me, even though the reality is it is probably pretty matter-of-fact and routine.

 

Is that the prequal to 'meet the parents'?

 

har har har

[tejinashi]

The Gray Man, Netflix, 3 stars.

 

Average action-thriller. Some decent set pieces, nice locations, good cast - but it just didn’t hold together very well. Gosling was fine, de Armas impressed with the limited role. I’m part of the problem, but I’d watch another, sure.

[Clipper]

(Watching sealed/unwatched physical discs)

 

I got the Dirty Harry bluray boxset cheap, I have seen them all before but wanted them on bluray as a perfect slice of 70s dystopian cop grime. I watched the first one when i got it (5/5  Andrew Robinson is superb) and the others languished til now!)

 

Magnum Force

 

Superb sequel. I remember the sequels as being diminished returns/tv movie level stuff but I was wrong about Magnum Force it is almost as good as the original. Holbrook is fantastic whereas the younger protagonists are merely ok. Eastwood is on perfect form as Harry and whilst he is a cartoonish anti-hero hbe transcends that a bit with this film with some great moral quandry stuff.

 

The film oozes the grit and grime of the 70s with the cars and the setting perfect. The score from Lalo Schiffrin is brilliant but also the way the film uses it at times and at others we get scenes accompanied with only silence is hauntingly effective at times. Some of the scenes are still quite gritty and shocking, the murder of the prostitute by her pimp for instance still holds power. The pacing is also lovely and slow, there is no rush here as we follow the action, it isn't the modern way of making films but letting a scene breathe is so refereshing to see. When the film flies it soars high and there aren't too many negative points. The partner is a token that is handled poorly (a common issue with DIrty Harry films) and the love interest is woefully misjudged.

 

All in all well worth a watch and morally not quite as bullishly republican as the first film.

 

4/5

 

As an aside as it was on BLuray I watched the documentary called the Politics of Dirty Harry thinking it might touch on the latter point and give some insight. Don't bother it is absolute trash filled with right wing talking heads. Magnum Force makes a point that Harry is tough but sticks with the system and half this documentary is saying Harry ignores the system. They show clips of how harry shoots first etc using clips from MAgnum Force when he didn't shoot first - it is spectacularly terrible to the point that one talking head talks about a scene and gets it wrong. Then they have to take a sharp turn part way through to say "well yes but in Magnum Force he showed he respected the system". It is a bafflingly shit extra - I know the Harry films get more problematic after this point but the first two are very good and this documentary actually makes the discs worse!

[Bazjam]

Aftersun 5/5 (MUBI)

 

This film had me in absolute bits. An astonishing debut feature.

[ImmaculateClump]

This Place Rules - ****

[Steve McQueef]

Violent Night (2022)

 

"It's like Die Hard meets Home Alone."

 

The next person who puts those two movies into a sentence together, while recommending this one, WHY I OUGHTA! 

 

This could have been brilliant. It should have been brilliant. 

 

All the ingredients are right there, however, it needed an extra hour in the oven. 

 

2½/5

 

 

[Hawklord]

Full Metal Jacket 4.25/5

 

I haven't watched this since I went to the cinema when it was released. Birth of so many meme phrases as well lol

[schmojo]

The Menu

 

I can see how it divides audiences, but I got everything I wanted from this. Every choice it made had me entirely along for the ride. 

 

Yes, it's full of fucking nonsense, but I had a huge smile on my face throughout. Ideal Dry January Friday fodder.

 

4/5

[ImmaculateClump]

I was very surprised it had reviewed so well. I do wonder if that's why it was such a let down for me. Maybe if I had zero expectations going in I would have come away a bit more satisfied.

I really wanted to like it, but it was trying far too hard. My eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets at points. Very heavy handed. I found it predictable and boring once it had shown it's hand as well.

I was all in from the start but it lost me about a third of the way through and just fizzled out from there.

 

I liked her in the witch but I thought Anya was really flimsy in this.

[Masterbeef]

12 days of Christmas meant 12 best picture winners for me, most of which I hadn’t seen before.

 

 

Annie Hall

 

An extremely funny film with two cracking central performances. I’ve not seen many Allen films before, but I found this to be a very well made film.

 

4/5.

 

Braveheart 

 

Apparently this is a bit dodgy from a historical perspective. I found it to be a good film if rather overlong. Gibson was on fine form apart from his stupid hair.  Supporting cast was excellent and the sense of time and place was well realised. 
 

4/5

 

 

The Departed

 

Well this was just brilliant. I’m not normally a huge fan of Di Caprio, but his performance here was impeccable. Everyone puts in good work. There was one plot point that seemed very daft, apart from that this was perfect.

 

5/5

 

Parasite.

 

A masterpiece. Pure cinema from a director who knows exactly how to frame a shot which is a rarity nowadays. I loved every second of this. Utterly bonkers, utterly brilliant.

 

5/5

 

Birdman

 

Well, the quality had to stop somewhere. Just found this to be pretentious bollocks where nothing really happens and a great cast is wasted. I didn’t like The Revanant much either but at least it had a tangible plot. 
 

1/5

 

The Artist

 

Not seen this since the cinema and had largely forgotten it. It was just amazing, made with real passion and brilliantly realised. If anyone here hasn’t seen it then I would recommend it wholeheartedly. 
 

5/5

 

Chicago

 

Another poor film. Tried to watch it once before and turned it off half way in. Luckily the music is amazing. Not a fan of Renee whats her face and an inspired performance from Zeta Jones isn’t enough to save the film.

 

5/5 for the songs

1.5/5 for the film 

 

 

The Kings Speech

 

As a staunch anti royalist I had put this off for years. Well, silly me as it is a great film with 3 utterly stunning performances from Rush, Firth and Bonham-Carter. Handsomely shot this made me feel sympathetic for The King which is no mean feat. 
 

4.5/5. 
 

Ghandhi

 

Far too long, this film tries to fit too much  of the great man’s life into its running time. Kingsley is beyond perfect and always keeps you captivated even when you feel like nodding off.  Some stunning cinematography. Luckily the subject matter is so interesting that I could somewhat forgive the  plodding simplicity of the pacing. 
 

4/5

 

Lawrence of Arable 

 

Ive often fallen asleep while watching this over the years. I know the first two hours intimately but the second half I’m much less familiar with. One of the best true stories ever committed to film, I consider this to be close to perfect (again, it’s just too damn long).

 

5/5

 

 

The Sting

 

Seen bits of this over the years. It doesn’t quite stick the ending which felt slightly anti climatic to me. Still, there was an awful lot to enjoy in this sweet hearted movie. The 2 leads are, of course, impeccable. Shaw doesn’t disappoint either. Also, what a fantastic score, just a lovely film to listen to.

 

4/5

 

Spotlight

 

An extremely well told tale. You can’t really go wrong with a cast like this and when you add in a sharp script and a well observed view of this horrible true story then you get a fantastic film.

 

4.5/5

 

i think that’s 12. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[schmojo]

27 minutes ago, ImmaculateClump said:

I really wanted to like it, but it was trying far too hard. My eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets at points. Very heavy handed. I found it predictable and boring once it had shown it's hand as well.

 

I enjoyed how over the top it was but, in regards to the second point,

Spoiler

it showed its hand throughout. You knew what courses were coming, a la a menu, and it wanted to be predicted. Just like the meal, it's the individual execution and the journey that is the point more than knowing what is coming.

 

It's not the world's most clever motif (and knowing it's there won't have necessarily made it more entertaining for you), but I don't think it's setting out to be a particularly clever film. I think the biggest confusion I had was why a film about this kind of tasting menu had taken so long to get made. Feels like it should've been out ten or more years ago.

 

[Vimster]

Had a go round some charity shops today and picked up a few bits including a box set that was right up my street: 6 Flight Disasters. Yes, six no-mark flight-based disaster movies for £1.49. Here's the first:

 

Maximum Velocity (2003)

Near-miss meteor creates a megastorm that threatens the US! Top Secret government storm-weapon programme headed up by Michael Ironside gets repurposed to save the day. This didn't get a 3.2 on IMDB for nothing. Sort of feels like The Asylum Does Bruckheimer. It's tricky to convey the scale and impact of a huge storm on a budget this small. Mind you, credit where it's due, there's a pace and cut-price intensity and am-dram melodrama about this that keeps it ticking along. Don't get too excited about Michael Ironside being in this. He spends 98% of his screen time stood in a control room.

 

2/5

[lolly]

Once upon a time in Hollywood 

 

DiCaprio is outstanding and some of the movie making stuff is great,the violence at a certain point is ridiculously OTT and doesn't sit with the tone of the rest of the film. QT very obviously likes the smell of his own farts , it's quite self indulgent but not bad for all that.

 

3.5/5

[Vimster]

Flight 747 (2003)

This DTV mid-air heist caper seems to be going for a Soderbergh Ocean's Eleven vibe on a budget, and for what it's worth it succeeds on its own merits. That's not to say this is amazing. The Soderbergh-lite bits are fooling no-one. It borrows heavily from other similar films and consequently isn't hard to figure out, although it does try to get some twists in there. Lance Henriksen fits the bill as the big boss, and Lorenzo Lamas knows what to do in this sort of production. Definitely one for the person who goes into it with suitably low expectations and can extract enjoyment from strictly B-movie material like this.

 

3/5

[Silent Runner]

Had a blast with The Menu. Loved Fiennes performance and even though it showed it's hand early doors there were enough twists to keep me interested all the way though.

 

4/5

[PK]

Yeah really enjoyed The Menu, 4/5.

 

I wasn't expecting

 

Spoiler

haute cuisine Saw

 

but it was highly entertaining nonsense.

 

Also, at the end, am I imagining things or 

 

Spoiler

when the rest of the kitchen staff are shouting "we love you chef", does the actor's PA character say "I love you Dad"?