Rate the last film you watched out of 5

[Silent Runner]

To Catch a Thief
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048728/

 

A retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.

 

Alfred Hitchcocks follow up to Rear Window, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Set in the south of France and full of colour and romance but lacking in drama and thrills. Cary Grant is trying to track down a jewel thief that's copying his MO and as a result has the cops on this trail. 

 

There's some Hitch magic here but never really hitting the heights of his best work - which is some of the best cinema ever made. The cast are good but the age difference between Grant and Kelly is a bit gross. The final sequence at a masked-ball is really good though. 

 

3/5

[Ry]

Sinister -3/5

 

First time seeing this. Ethan Hawke was great as always and the film gave me the biggest jump scare of my life I think. It has the thing I dislike about horror of this kind as fundamentally it falls into the same trap that the protagonist is a fucking idiot and I can't believe the stupidity. 

 

Felt it went downhill in the second half. 

Spoiler

The scariest parts undoubtedly are when it's steering towards a serial killer. Him watching the 8mm tapes is undoubtedly creepy as hell. The part with the lawnmower nearly gave me a fucking heart attack. And the murders were genuinely disturbing. 

 

 

[Bazjam]

23 hours ago, SeanR said:

it’s a little disjointed. 

I highly recommend the sequel. I really liked the first one, but the sequel is something else. Top tier GDT for me.

[Bazjam]

The Tale Of Zatoichi - 4/5

The Tale Of Zatoichi Continues - 4/5

 

Decided to treat myself to the Criterion box set (a thing of beauty) of 25 Zatoichi films. A bit of a punt at £150, as I hadn’t seen a Zatoichi film before, apart from the Takeshi Kitano one. Thoughts the first two were really great. Think I’m in for a treat.

[SaintAnselm]

On 28/01/2023 at 20:33, cassidy said:

3/5 needs some explaining when you have time. If you don't mind 😂

After reading all the comics, I would give the film a 2/5, sure the film looks pretty but it doesn’t really capture of essence of what makes the comics so good.

[SaintAnselm]

On 28/01/2023 at 20:33, cassidy said:

3/5 needs some explaining when you have time. If you don't mind 😂

After reading all the comics, I would give the film a 2/5, sure the film looks pretty but it doesn’t really capture of essence of what makes the comics so good.

[Stig]

3/5 for Hellboy seems perfectly fine.

[The Tall Man]

The Raid (Netflix)

 

Such. A. Good. Film. Full of action and tension from the moment Rama’s special forces unit enter a drug kingpins high rise block. Visceral fights are the order of the day and it never disappoints. I love it!!

 

4.5/5

 

Hard to Kill (Tubi)

 

Another rewatch which is best remembered through the old rose tinted specs. Not as action packed and bone crunching as Seagal’s other early films in his glory years. 

 

2/5

 

Stir of Echoes (Freevee)

 

Kevin Bacon starring horror/mystery which starts with him pressured into being hypnotised. Big mistake as he’s now open to the titular echoes of what happened previously in his rented house. I was disappointed on this rewatch as it hasn’t held up too well against vastly superior creepy films such as The Shining or The Sixth Sense. 

 

2.5/5

 

 

Triangle of Sadness (Rental)

 

A wonderful black comedy which pokes fun at the rich and beautiful, then gloriously subverts social standings after the events of the second act. Full of pathos throughout, it’s a fun watch which doesn’t outstay its 2:30 hour runtime. 

 

4/5

[Clipper]

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (from pile of shame*)

 

Such a delightfully silly film. The VHS rental shelves were stuffed full of B movies and horror fodder in the 80s but you occasionally got a gem and this one is a nice shiny one. The budget is all on screen even when it obviously ran out (the last act is a bit threadbare). The acting and plotting are shaky at times and pacing is all over the shop. On the acting side officer Moody is a good lynchpin and his ventriloquist scene is hilariously done.

However the high concept along with the time spent and the love lavished on the practical effects married to the "set piece" gags make the whole thing fun. The clown costumes are fantastically detailed, I know the Chiodo brothers were excellent puppeteers and you can see this all over the film. The clowns themselves are silent and in lots of the set piece gag scenes there is no dialogue which helps things immensely as comic timing is down to effects and visuals instead of the acting (where it is shaky). The visual humour makes the film almost better as a silent film and the downsides are the talky bits

 

4/5

 

 

*This film actually has a connection with my Dirty Harry rewatch - no prize if anyone gets it

[The Tall Man]

Good call, I love Killer Klowns! No idea on the Dirty Harry angle though?

[David Kenny]

John Vernon is in both right. He's the Mayor in Dirty Harry, and the cop in Killer Clowns ? 

[Vimster]

Survivor (2015)

Slick enough but ultimately tedious cat-and-mouse thriller. Milla Jorovich is running around London after surviving a bombing that kills her US embassy colleagues. She's been framed for something and it's all vitally important she is caught but there's Pirece Brosnan who is this terrorist/bomb-maker running about too and- yeah, it just feels so bland, it's difficult to get excited about any of it. On a technical level it's fine, the bombing near the start is suitably explosive, and the streets of London look the part, moody and cold. I want to apologise to Frances de la Tour, every time she came on screen I couldn't help but liven things up with a cry of "Miss Jones!" Well, I had to do something to get through the tedium.

 

2/5

[Clipper]

2 hours ago, The Tall Man said:

Good call, I love Killer Klowns! No idea on the Dirty Harry angle though?

 

1 hour ago, David Kenny said:

John Vernon is in both right. He's the Mayor in Dirty Harry, and the cop in Killer Clowns ? 

ding!

 

I only got the connection as I watched them so close together, the first time I watched Killer Klowns years ago I didn't get the link at all.  John Vernon is absolutely chewing the scenery as Officer Moody but it fits the film perfectly and him acting as a ventriloquists dummy was great, could've had more of that

 

 

[ImmaculateClump]

Alan Partridge: Stratagem - *½

[Vimster]

3 hours ago, ImmaculateClump said:

Alan Partridge: Stratagem - *½

Tried watching this this afternoon. It has some good lines but overall lacked the tightness of earlier Partridge. It's about 90 minutes of Steve Cougan basically riffing on his character, probably felt confident enough to do this but couldn't see it was all a bit aimless.

[choddo]

The Eiger Sanction (1975)

I watched this because I remember seeing it as a kid and my dad raving about it. Funny, some of the scenes immediately came back to me.

 

1/5 for some of the mountain cinematography.

Otherwise awful.

[ZOK]

It’s a stunning looking film for sure, but story wise mostly tripe. 
 

It should however get another point for Thayer David’s terrific turn as Dragon:

 

[Masterbeef]

Marathon Man

 

Daft but extremely entertaining thriller. Perfect casting and a cracking script but the directing is a mixed bag. 
 

3.5/5

 

World War Z

 

Inspired by the brilliance of The Last of Us Tv show I sought this out. I found this to be loads of fun. Some insanely daft plot contrivances aren’t enough to derail this big budget zombie fest. Pitt is pure charisma in the main role and one of my favourite character actors, David Morse, pops up in one scene. 
 

4/5

 

The Wild Geese

 

Glad to revisit this after 35 years even if it isn’t actually all that good. Another good cast is somewhat wasted. The only bits I remembered where Moore’s opening bit with the drugs, cyanide tipped bolts and the very ending with Burton and the little boy. The rest I had completely forgotten. It’s a shame that the film needs to have a sort of almost Carry On humour vibe running through much of its running time. It would have been a better film without it. 
 

3/5 and that’s mainly for the cast

 

Cobra

 

Few films are actually improved with a better picture quality. Cobra is one such movie. I think it was about 2k and the first rate cinematography really shone through. It made a quantifiable difference to my enjoyment of the film. Didn’t like Stallone’s partner and his annoying cap but thought everything else was hugely entertaining.

 

3.5/5

 

 

 

[ImmaculateClump]

2 hours ago, Vimster said:

it was all a bit aimless.

 

The Coogan live shows were always a lot broader with very "that'll do" writing, so I was ready for that, but blimey, daylight robbery for anyone who bought a ticket.

 

Spoiler

"eggs, eggs, eggs", followed by "which is self explanatory" was my only chuckle.

 

It's weird, the Gibbons era stuff is all over the shop quality wise.

At the top end you've got mid morning matters, the oasthouse, the books, and the specials, then on the lower end you've got alpha papa and this time, but this live show. Sheesh. Hopefully that's the bottom scraped and there's no lower they can go than that.

Even the weaker stuff is worth watching for Coogan's performance, and there's always some good moments, but man, that was a slog.

 

Louis CK - Back To The Garden - ***

[Girth Certificate]

I Lost My Body - 5/5 Gs

 

Lovely French animation about trying to find your place in the world. Everything about it was great. 

 

[Tequlia]

Triangle of Sadness - 2 Audemars Piguets out of 5.

 

I absolutely loved The Square & Force Majeure (The Square especially) but this was a struggle.  It’s just so completely unsubtle - and ended up feeling too smug and too pleased with itself.

 

(2/5 is unfair because the acting is strong, the dark humour is properly laugh out loud at times, it’s wonderfully shot and the trademark lingering camerawork/scenes that go on a bit too long make it truly uncomfortable in places.)  But I just think the previous films have set the bar high and this didn’t feel like it was offering anything new or different or especially clever.

 

Sorry as I know quite a few of you like this

[Clipper]

I do read this thread and it often inspires me to give a film another shot.

 

World War Z

 

A big budget attempt at a zombie film should be right up my street but when I first watched this I was unimpressed. It felt like a disconnected jumble of scenes and stories strung together into a rough narrative. The cgi was really obvious and reminded me of the "I am Legend" cgi atrocity for the zombies. And there was only one real character to hold the whole thing together and I felt his performance was weak.

 

So on rewatch I realised I was being unfair on the film slightly as I was hoping for the perfect big budget zombie film, a film that could present a worldwide zombie story, a film that would show the impact across all facets of the human condition. This is of course impossible in a two hour film but this film gave it a good stab. The first act and third act are the best ones by far. The initial outbreak stuff is brilliantly done and super effective (about the first 30 mins). Then the film sags as it globe trots to South Korea and Jerusalem. The former is just weird as it could be anywhere as it looks like it was shot in a warehouse in the dark anywhere. The latter has the worst, absolute worst cgi. I can see what it is trying to do with the globe trotting sections but they need to be better. The final section in Wales WHO is also very good indeed.

 

SO the irony is that this global zombie big budget film is only really good when it tells/shows a smaller story. I think it is too ambitious to work as a 2hr film and needs a tv series  (massive budget) to properly handle it.

 

I was unkind to it ont he original release and it has some good stuff going for it. So given all that I have raised my rating by 1 to give it...

 

3/5

[lolly]

Robot Jox (1989)

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102800/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

 

In the distant future, mankind has forsaken global wars for battles of single combat. The world has been divided into two opposing super powers, with each side represented by trained champions.

 

 That fails to mention that these champions fight in giant Mechs with stands of spectators incredibly close  with little or no regard to  the most basic of OHS guidelines.

 

I remember seeing this in and around when it came out in ’89 and I wasn’t particularly impressed with it then so I’m not sure what  I expected this time around,  is it as bad as I remember?

 

Happily, no, it’s worse!

 

The sets are poor, the cast largely awful and it’s very much of it’s time attitude wise. This might be partially forgiven if the special effects were decent but some good stop motion work, which would have been acceptable, are undermined by cuts to static models doing the square root of fuck all except getting a few sparklers and bangers chucked their way.The martial arts segments in the training rooms  and elsewhere looks like a bunch of actors that have had about 3 weeks to prepare.The ending is fucking risible.

While all of that  is largely negative there are a few positives in this, there's nods  to a greater dystopia  withing the setting during the  lulls in action, the opening scene is reasonably well done  and sets a pretty dark tone even if you can see how cheap it is and there’s clearly the ambition there to get a “live action “ giant  mechs fighting  movie made, as mentioned some of the stop motion  is good (if you like that kind of thing) and this seems like an early ancestor to Pacific Rim for obvious reasons.

 

It’s not worth it though, even as a curiosity. 1.5/5

[Couch Corpse]

On 28/01/2023 at 19:18, Dark Soldier said:

Top Gun: Madlad

Spoiler

This is fucking shite as it is basically just the first film but with Kilmer and Cruise with additional botox.

 

Loved the bit where they were in the big action scene and as Cruise was flying through the skies a literal goose flew next to the plane and he saluted it crying.

 

Fly fly zip zoop stuff is enjoyable but it's the cheesiest bag of shit since out of date Wotsits. I don't have a hard on for macho BIG MACHINE OILY MUSCLE MEN MOUSTACHE stuff though so mileage may vary.

 

2.5/5

 

This is simulatanuously 100% correct and 100% wrong.

[Stig]

Babylon (2023)

 

Being a big fan of Chazelles other films, I was really looking forward to this, despite the negative press it's received. However, I've come away from it feeling rather underwhelmed.

 

There's a lot to love about this film but also way too much bloat in there that ultimately drags it down.

 

It looks incredible, the music is amazing and Robbie is outstanding, but there's also huge sections of this film that could have been cut without it changing a thing and I found one particular section near the end to be downright stupid. I'm sure Chazelle was trying to paint a horrible picture of Hollywood's seedy underbelly but I thought it was ridiculous and completely out of step with the rest of the film, even with the raunchy parties seen earlier in the film.

 

For 2 hours this is a solid 4/5 film and then the last hour absolutely shits the bed and it crawls to a very unsatisfactory ending.

 

Also whilst I'm sure he was just trying to pay homage to Singin' In The Rain with certain aspects of the film it came across as downright ripping it off instead. If you want to see a film about classic Hollywood with great music and the beginning of the talkies, just watch that instead.

 

3/5

[glb]

If These Walls Could Sing - 3/5 (Disney+)

 

Whistle-stop but interesting love letter to Abbey Road Studios. Directed by Mary McCartney, so features a fair bit of Paul, but also Elton John and the Gallaghers (separately obvs)

 

Wished it was longer, especially John Williams’ section. My love for Star Wars has waned in recent years but hearing the London Philharmonic playing the New Hope theme reminded me of the magic some of the films still possess.

 

Convenience - 1/5 (Netflix)

 

Popped up on my recommendations, and has the usually reliable Vicky McClure in it, so thought I’d give it a whirl. It’s absolute fucking garbage. Dumb story with lame jokes and about aa thrilling as eating stale bread in an all beige room. Netflix’s algorithms can go fuck themselves.

[Nathan Wind]

16 hours ago, lolly said:

Robot Jox (1989)

 

This is one of those films, along with the likes of Maniac Cop and American Ninja, where the cover of the VHS will be forever etched in my mind thanks to picking it up to look at it every…single…time…my parents took me to the local video rental shop. Never watched it, but after that write up I’m super tempted. You make it sound superb!

[Ry]

You People - 2/5

 

Pretty terrible. 

[Monkeyboy]

On 27/01/2023 at 21:13, Ry said:

Possessor: Uncut 3/5 (maybe? Fuck knows)

 

I remember hearing this got rave reviews a couple of years ago and was on my radar but totally forgot about it. I basically went in blind knowing nothing about the plot

 

Anyway, aye...hmm. Dont know what to make of it. It's brilliantly made but I was left a bit empty come the end. There is some ultra violence nastiness in a few scenes but the most shocking thing for me was seeing a guy with a hard-on and balls flapping about and full on spread eagle fanny facing the camera. 

 

It's an interesting film, I will give it that. 

 

 

He’s not quite as good as his dad. He’s missing the subtle (and not so subtle) humour that his dad brings to his own films. For example, his most recent — Crimes of the Future — had me chuckling at times, without taking anything away from its more serious ideas.

[lolly]

3 hours ago, Nathan Wind said:

This is one of those films, along with the likes of Maniac Cop and American Ninja, where the cover of the VHS will be forever etched in my mind thanks to picking it up to look at it every…single…time…my parents took me to the local video rental shop. Never watched it, but after that write up I’m super tempted. You make it sound superb!

Fair warning ,I accept absolutely no responsibility for your enjoyment , or lack thereof, if you choose to pursue this course of action.

 

 I'm not sure what has motivated me to watch a load of C grade martial arts/sci fi movies but as a contrast   I stuck on the 1st 1/2 hour of a Donnie Yen thing  that has sumptuous visuals , gloriously choreographed martial arts and I'm properly looking forward to finishing it over the weekend. And it's made me think of how well made, and actually tight , things are like The Raid, Dredd (regardless of whether people like that interpretation of Dredd himself) and the John Wick movies are.

 

To counteract that there's some thing on Prime with what looks like the  baddie twins out of Conan the Barbarian in it, they look like a pair of proper thespians.