Rate the last film you watched out of 5

[multi]

On 09/01/2023 at 22:15, Mikes said:

It's a cracker. You'll love it.

 

Correct, that was fucking great.

 

A pretty desolate world the directors built there with some very grim scenes 

Spoiler

The horribly injured Jug fairly early on was one of the most disturbing scenes I've watched in a while. But I do love a hopeful ending.

 

Excellent work on what I've read was a pretty limited budget. Glad I bought it as it really deserves a second watch

 

4/5 

 

Spoiler

Soz, spoiler box accidentally activated, dunno how to remove

 

[Mikes]

I'd love to see more, but it would stand as a classic on its own.

[RubberJohnny]

The Fabelmans - As mentioned by others, this is so stagey, it’s almost West Side Story in its larger than life presentation. Just as some directors are unable to do the smaller moments, Spielberg seems unable to do something down to earth at this point. There’s a couple of interesting things here, but overall I was bored by it. 2/5

 

The ending did make me almost bump it up to 3/5 alone though, a very good setup and punchline, I wish the film did more of that.

[Bazjam]

Nothing puts me off a film more than when I hear its a personal pet project inspired by their childhood.

[glb]

Devotion - 3/5 (work screener)

 

Set around the Korean war, this largely dedicates itself to honouring the life of Jesse L. Brown, who was a pioneering pilot for the US Navy. As a film it's pretty by-the-numbers, but elevated by Jonathan Majors - soon to be seen as Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - and Glen Powell, recently Hangman in Top Gun: Maverick. I've seen some lazy comparisons between this and Maverick, which is unfair because this is a much more - pun unintended - grounded drama with moments of war thrown in. That said, there are plenty of aerial shots, and these are nicely done, with some great footage of the Vought F4U Corsairs among other historical planes.

 

When I watch screeners, I often think about the best time to view them: this would nicely fit a Sunday afternoon when its a bit cold and grey out and you need something solid and engaging to pass a couple of hours.

[Festoon]

8 hours ago, Bazjam said:

Nothing puts me off a film more than when I hear its a personal pet project inspired by their childhood.

 

And there's fucking loads of them out at the moment - two of them by super pompous, gasbag filmmakers, Inarrtu and Mendes.

 

I was hoping the Speilberg one would be good, except for 'Fableman' as the family name. Unsubtle as a brick.

[Bazjam]

9 hours ago, Festoon said:

 

And there's fucking loads of them out at the moment - two of them by super pompous, gasbag filmmakers, Inarrtu and Mendes.

 

I was hoping the Speilberg one would be good, except for 'Fableman' as the family name. Unsubtle as a brick.

Their does seem to be a glut of wanky vanity projects at the moment. Will be giving they all a wide swerve.

[Festoon]

2 minutes ago, Bazjam said:

Their does seem to be a glut of wanky vanity projects at the moment. Will be giving they all a wide swerve.

 

Bet they all have a moment where the main character discovers the joy of CINEMA.

 

And none of them will be a patch on Cinema Paradiso.

[glb]

The Whale - 3/5 (work screener)

 

The buzz around this is mostly because of Brendan Fraser's performance, which is terrific, and if there's any good in the world he'll win an Oscar and we'll get another entry in The Mummy franchise. Sadie Sink is also fantastic in her role, showing she'll go onto bigger and better things once Stranger Things wraps up. Beyond the performances, I think the film is good rather than great. Very good in places, but felt there was just something lacking to truly elevate the film. But hey, Fraser is as good as reviews suggest, and for him alone it's worth a look, with the added bonus of some excellent supporting performances.

 

Also received a screener for Babylon, but think I'll wait for the cinema release in a week or so. Been a while since I went and as the film is over three hours can probably justify a posh night out at Everyman.

[Clipper]

The Menu

 

This is a fun little film, I have seen quite a bit of fuss about it but I don't think it lives up to that level. Fiennes is chewing the scenery admirably and taking the film as seriously as it deserves (not very). The unease and tension when watching chunks of it is palpable, great stuff.

 

As it is a newer film I'll remain pretty much spoiler free but just in case I have spoilered it for anyone who wants to go in blind

 

Spoiler

The plot is fairly obvious and progresses as expected once you work out the central conceit but it is really entertaining and it doesn't outstay its welcome. I can see why others have plumped for 4/5 but, for me, it has no rewatch value. Once you work out the signposted twists it sags a bit in the middle as it obviously has no other twist to offer at that point it just plays out (without dragging). There is one moment that almost lets the film soar (see spoiler) but after the soggy middle it just redeems itself.

 

The one thing it really does well in the 1st and 2nd act is the tension and unease when watching it - it reminded me of the famous dinner scene in Parents or the slightly off kilter oddness of suburbia in Society. Just that feeling of tension that something is twisted and odd but you can't put your finger on it. The last third lacks this as it has shown its hand and the tension bleeds out

 

Spoiler

The Cheeseburger scene is genuinely a gorgeously shot, well acted and touching moment. If the film had a teeny bit more of that sprinkled it would have been a classic.

 

 

3/5

[choddo]

Ambulance (2022)

1/5 for the The Rock joke. Otherwise absolutely fucking rancid awful.

[The Tall Man]

Paranormal Activity 2 (Netflix)

 

A prequel to the first film, it explores how the demon comes to attach itself to Katie and Micah. There are some effective scares and it ties in successfully with the original. 

 

3/5

 

Prey For The Devil (Rental)

 

Recent exorcism film which is mostly well acted but obvious with its twist. Don’t waste your time, watch the original and best The Exorcist instead. 

 

2/5

 

I’ll Take Your Dead (Prime Video)

 

The ‘Candy Butcher’ disposes of dead bodies for criminals, however when some are dropped off and one is still alive, trouble ensues. What could have been a good thriller disappointments with an unnecessary and convenient paranormal plot point. 

 

2.5/5

 

True Lies (Disney+)

 

A long overdue rewatch which recently appeared on D+. It’s still a solid action flick but does notably sag in the middle with the overly sexualised depiction of Jamie Lee Curtis before the story resumes. Jim Cameron hasn’t made such a good film since. 

 

4/5

[Silent Runner]

Triangle of Sadness
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7322224/

 

A fashion model celebrity couple join an eventful cruise for the super-rich.
(I absolutely love these 'burying the lede' IMDB descriptions ^)

Spoiler

This won the Palme Dor last year but got some mixed reviews at the time. It's an 'eat-the-rich' satire that's about as subtle as Don't Look Up. A group of awful, super-rich people and an influencer couple are on a yacht that sinks and leaves them fighting for survival on a desert island. The power-dynamic quickly shifts.

 

I thought this was absolutely brilliant. The cast are all excellent (Woody Harrilson as the Marxist captain of the boat and Harris Dickinson as a gormless but handsome model especially), it's really funny and switches between clever satire and gross-out humor, there's some proper shocking bits and a quality ending. 

 

This would make a great double-bill with The Menu.

4.5/5

 

Edited January 14 by Silent Runner

[iknowgungfu]

On 08/01/2023 at 21:02, Art Vandelay said:

The Beach – I remember this one being a bit of a shiter and time has done it no favours. You've got to admire the fact it overtly shows Apocalypse Now near the start to remind you how much better that film is and where this tried to nick its completely unearned third act from. Highlights have surely got to be whatever accent it was Johnson is attempting throughout, that truly shocking computer game bit and generally Leo's overall performance, which to this day will never understand how it didn't tank his career. Very bad. 2/5.

I remember being so disappointed with that film. I absolutely loved the book and really couldn’t understand some of the changes they made for the film. 
 

Still like that All Saints track though. 

[Minion]

11 hours ago, Silent Runner said:

Triangle of Sadness
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7322224/

 

A fashion model celebrity couple join an eventful cruise for the super-rich.
(I absolutely love these 'burying the lede' IMDB descriptions ^)

 

....

4.5/5

 

 

Too many spoilers dude, it's like a Bradshaw review, don't read his post if you don't want the film spoiled for you.

[Silent Runner]

Oh really - shit, sorry. Didn't think there was anything there that would be considered a spoiler. Hidden now.

[Vimster]

Another one from the 6 Flight Disasters boxset:

 

Shootdown (1988)

TV movie based on the shooting down of Korean Air Lines flight 007 in 1983 when it strayed into Soviet airspace killing all on board. The late Angela Lansbury plays the mother of one of the passengers, she is trying get the truth about the incident from the American government, her tenacity alienating the people in her life. The film largely plays on the theory that the 747 was flown deliberately into Russian airspace in order to allow the US to monitor the Soviet response, with the US keeping certain information secret. The whole story is interesting, and Lansbury is always watchable, her inquisitive middle-age mother character similar to her most famous role in Murder She Wrote, albeit more serious, but the incident is presented more as a human interest story of a mother's search for justice over the circumstances of the incident itself, other than a few scenes near the end including a reconstruction/explanation. It's a bit too Hallmark and not particularly compelling, very mawkish and over-sentimental.

 

2/5

[Ork1927]

Cinema this week

 

The Enforcer 

 

Antonio Banderas is a criminal who has a new MMA discount Aaron Paul protégée. Banderas befriends a 15 year old girl who is then TAKEN.

 

This looked shit in the trailers, but I was fine with it being mindless violent shit, but despite it being 90 minutes it skimps on the violence and has far too much plot going on.

 

And had the same cliche occurring twice within 5 minutes of each other.

 

Spoiler

Female character appears from nowhere to shoot bad guy before they kill one of the protagonists.

And one of the dafter co-incedences I’ve seen in a film.

 

Spoiler

Banderas give his money clip to the girl who gets TAKEN. The next day after finding out she has gone he does some debt collecting and the guy he collects money from has his money clip.  The guy brought it from a pawn shop that day and it has been sold to the pawn shop by the owner of the hotel from where the girl was taken.

2/5 - not 1/5 as there were some nice shots and very, very occasional good Banderas/violence.

 

Dance with Somebody

 

Very good biopic of Whitney Houston. 
 

Thought it was going to peter out like a lot of biopics do, but it finished really strongly and Stanley Tucci was really good as her music exec mentor.

 

4/5

 

M£gan

The trailer gives the whole film away and even if you haven’t seen the trailer you can probably guess what will happen, but it’s well put together, Alison Williams was good as the lead and M£gan was really creepy at times so it’s nothing amazing, but an enjoyable horror toy/robot goes bad flick.

 

3.5/5

 

[Vimster]

And another...

 

Ground Control (1998)

Low-key yet surprisingly engaging drama revolving around air traffic controllers, with Kiefer Sutherland's character helping out on a shift, battling the memory of losing a plane five years earlier. It's definitely not a classic, not a great deal of actual action, about 90% of the drama takes place in the air traffic control centre and probably half the dialogue is callsigns and headings, but I slowly got to like the bunch of people trying to deal with various crises, and The Fonz being the comic relief electrical genius gave it a lift. Sutherland's character's flashbacks didn't amount to much more than a bit of sweating and some of the interpersonal drama didn't develop much. The final segment was tense although I couldn't say how technically accurate any of it was. Credit for trying to make hand-calculating fuel burn and headings exciting.

 

2.5/5

[Silent Runner]

Benediction
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6852178/

 

Legendary 20th Century war poet Siegfried Sassoon's life-long quest for personal salvation through his experiences with family, war, his writing, and destructive relationships goes unresolved, never realizing it can only come from within.

 

This was a pretty interesting biography spanning 40 years in the life of Sassoon, his experiences in the war and the troubles he lived through when he got home. Jack Lowden and Peter Capaldi play Sassoon in the different periods of his life. Other cultural figures like Iver Novello and Wilfred Owen also feature.

 

I thought this was very impressive. It's very 'stage-y' and it does feel like watching a play at times and some of the dialogue is a bit heavy-handed but there's an intensity that pulls everything together. The cast are excellent - special shout-out to Jeremy Irvine who puts in a great turn as Ivor Novello. It's relentlessly miserable, interspersed with Sassoons poetry and real footage from WW1 and the men who came home.

 

You definitely need to be in the mood for this but if you are, or have an interest in WW1 poetry (a niche interest for sure) you'll get a lot here.

 

3.75/5

[Monkeyboy]

Microwave Massacre (1979)

 

Absolute shite.

 

½ out of 5

[Jamie John]

Film #2/52: The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)

 

 

This was very good. A stark, brutalist and often understated production of my favourite of Shakespeare's plays, but one that stands out in the memory. Directed by Joel Coen, every frame is composed beautifully, and the whole thing has this (fittingly) theatrical, artificial, otherworldly quality to it that positively emanates gravitas. It won't be for everyone, but if you enjoy the source material then this is absolutely worth seeking out.

 

4/5

 

Watched in 2023

Spoiler

#1/52: Good Time (2017) - 3/5

#2/52: The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) - 4/5

 

[RJames]

Just saw Tár. Shame there doesn’t seem to be a thread for it (and I’m too lazy).

 

Intricately constructed masterpiece. Cate Blanchett’s performance is only about the 3rd best thing about it.

 

Shot choice, cinematography, acting, respecting the audience’s intelligence all at an all time high.

 

Very easy 5/5

[Capwn]

Oh yeah Tar:

 

I kept admiring the film but was never really entertained. It’s a great performance though.
 

2/5

 

puss in boots

 

this was unexpectedly good. Lots of creativity, actually got some laughs from me. If you have kids I would imagine this is a win-win situation.

 

3/5

 

 

[strider]

Megan

Critics are acting like this is a clever satirical take on consumerism and that it asks deep questions about death.

it’s like we watched a different film.

2/5

 

Bodies Bodies Bodies

solid performances and some nice deaths. Quite enjoyed this one and only £4 on Apple TV

3/5

 

Buried

I love this film. Ryan Reynolds is great in it, there’s a gut punch finale and it has some wonderful sound design.

4/5

[Vimster]

The Stone Killer (1973)

Prime era Charles Bronson/Michael Winner no-nonsense cop drama. Not much in the way of subtext here, just sticks to delivering a solid crime drama albeit not totally coherent at times. Seen this compared to Dirty Harry but this doesn't have the dry humour even if Bronson brings the grit. Special mention for the absolutely killer Roy Budd soundtrack that really adds some class.

 

3.5/5

 

 

[Bazjam]

Thirteen Lives 5/5

 

Thought this was fantastic. Hearing this was by Ron Howard, I feared it may be a little overplayed, but that couldn't be further from the truth. A fascinating story told in a brilliantly no nonsense way. 

 

I seem to remember people saying there was a really good documentary film about this as well. Am I right in thinking it's on Netflix?

[ScouserInExile]

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 

 

Continuing watching the Star Wars films with my son and we're on Star Wars 2. I actually think this is only the second time I've watched it all the way through, the first time being about 15 years ago.

 

Yet again, I have to say it's only alright. At best.

 

It's difficult to talk about it without comparing it to A New Hope. It's more coherent than the first film, the acting is much better and the special effects are just as good, if not better. While the majority of the sets are great, Yoda's swamp planet is really obviously a set most of the time. Like all the stuff on space ships and the cloud city are fairly believable as what they're supposed to be, the swampy bits feel like a stage.

 

I think the big problem I had with it was a lack of action. There's a couple of bits - Hoth and when they're trying to escape in the Millennium Falcon, but the rest just isn't that interesting. My son asked how long was left a couple of times, which is a sure sign he's bored. I kinda was as well. I know it was meant to be a bit darker and more grown up in tone, but it's all just a bit dull.

 

And there's a couple of issues with special effects, specifically around scale and something the first one had problems with - laser bolts where laser bolts shouldn't be.

 

And it all feels like it's just there to set up the next film.

 

2/5, I'm afraid.

[Waggo]

Last Night In Soho - 3/5

 

Great cast and acting with a very strong opening hour, but does not quite manage to stick the landing in the second half.

 

The Incredible Hulk 1977 TV pilot movie - 5/5

 

Top marks for this on pure nostalgia alone.  Yes the FX, plot and just general 70’s attitude to any number of issues (sexism, homophobia, race etc etc) are shonky as hell, but I still loved it.  The first time Banner transforms in the thunderstorm is a genuinely iconic tv moment, and for all it’s faults I would watch this a 100 times before rewatching either of the recent Hulk movies.  I hope Netflix follow up with reshowing the whole series now.

[Monkeyboy]

8 hours ago, Vimster said:

The Stone Killer (1973)

Prime era Charles Bronson/Michael Winner no-nonsense cop drama. Not much in the way of subtext here, just sticks to delivering a solid crime drama albeit not totally coherent at times. Seen this compared to Dirty Harry but this doesn't have the dry humour even if Bronson brings the grit. Special mention for the absolutely killer Roy Budd soundtrack that really adds some class.

 

3.5/5

 

 

 

Been a while since I watched The Stone Killer. Might give it another watch. Also, Roy Budd was a legend who died way too young at the age of 46.