Rate the last film you watched out of 5

[Lovelyman]

On 15/07/2020 at 11:31, Shoes said:

First Cow. I love Kelly Reichardt's meditative film-making. This is enchanting. 5/5

This is on my list for the weekend. 

[joemul]

Oceans 13 - terrible. The entire thing felt like a montage similar to the training montage in Rocky 4

barelyafilm/10

[Bazjam]

Perfect Blue 5/5

Rewatched this for the first time in quite a few years, as the excellent Ghibliotheque podcast are doing a run of shows about the films of Satoshi Kon starting with this. Definitely up there with my favourite anime films of all time.

 

Its on YouTube at the moment for anyone interested.

 

[kerraig UK]

2 minutes ago, Bazjam said:

Perfect Blue 5/5

Rewatched this for the first time in quite a few years, as the excellent Ghibliotheque podcast are doing a run of shows about the films of Satoshi Kon starting with this. Definitely up there with my favourite anime films of all time.

 

Its on YouTube at the moment for anyone interested.

 

I absolutely love this freaky noir masterpiece. Love Paprika too. Any more like that you can recommend? (film, not TV)

[Bazjam]

4 minutes ago, kerraig UK said:

I absolutely love this freaky noir masterpiece. Love Paprika too. Any more like that you can recommend? (film, not TV)

He didn’t do that many before he died unfortunately. Paprika is his other masterpiece. Tokyo Godfathers is good, but I tend to watch it around Christmas, as it’s one of the few Christmas films I like. He also did Millennium Actress, which I haven’t seen, but plan to this weekend.

[Stig]

I feel like I need to rewatch Paprika, I just didn't get on with it at all, but I was very tired when watching so could have been a factor.

[sandman]

A friedkin triple bill

 

The Hunted

 

This just doesn’t work at all. I’m not sure why, it’s got 2 great leads and a good supporting cast.  The action scenes are badly handled and I think that’s the biggest issue. The plot is also rather sleight. 
 

2/5

 

Rules of Engagement 

 

An interesting one this. Is it a). A very racist film or b) a very scathing look at American military practices. I’m still not sure, it does seem to side with Jackmans character at the end. But the scene that seems to be the cause the racism allegations is just from Jackmans point of view and seems utterly at odds with the events as they are depicted at the start of the film. I think he is lying his fucking arse off and gets away with it. He comes across as a total shithead anyway so it wouldn’t surprise me. What is brilliant is Jones and Pearce facing off against each other in the courtroom.

 

4/5

 

The Exorcist 

 

Ive nothing original to say about this. It’s had more written about it than most other films. God the intro goes on a bit does it and I can’t see what purpose it served. I was surprised at how long it takes to get to the famous stuff. It’s a great build up of course but I do feel it could be trimmed a bit. The end section is of course rightly revered as a perfect piece of cinema. A few scenes in the director’s cut that i hadn’t seen before. It looks stunning on blu ray.

 

5/5

 

Which inspired me to watch

 

The Exorcist 3.

 

I have not seen this since release and once I accepted that the first half hour was a comedy it worked extremely well. In fact, it’s a first rate follow up to the most famous horror movie of all time. It links in to the original very well yet still has a fresh feel to it.

 

4/5

 

may I also take this opportunity to recommend the excellent Exorcist tv show from a few years back. It’s a very worth follow up (particularly season 1). It’s all on Prime 

 

[Fierce Poodle]

You missed The Exorcist 2.

[Raoull duke]

Hobo with a Shotgun

 

Absolute fucking trash. And I thouroughly enjoyed it. Giggling like an idiot the whole way through. 

 

Sort of film that is hard to rate...

 

4 big bags of hot trash out 5. 

[robdood]

Mother! (2017)

 

Holy crap that was amazing. The closest I've ever seen someone come to making a film that is literally like a 2-hour nightmare. 

 

Me and the Mrs thought we'd sussed some plot about someone losing their baby and dealing with the grief.. But hoo boy we were wrong. 

 

Amazeballs 5/5 wish I could wipe my brain to watch it again. 

[wev]

Ladies in Black (2018

 

The other half put this on, I didn't think Id be bothered but I really got surprisingly invested in an Australian film about relationships, immigrants and a young girl who wants to become an educated woman.

 

Actually had a happy little cry when Rachael Taylor's character watches her first French film.

 

3.5/5

[Capwn]

1 hour ago, robdood said:

Mother! (2017)

 

Holy crap that was amazing. The closest I've ever seen someone come to making a film that is literally like a 2-hour nightmare. 

 

Me and the Mrs thought we'd sussed some plot about someone losing their baby and dealing with the grief.. But hoo boy we were wrong. 

 

Amazeballs 5/5 wish I could wipe my brain to watch it again. 

 

My fave film of that year. It's a bit like Midsommer (also my film of the year) where I absolutely loved it but I just can't bring myself to watch it again. They were both too mentally exhausting/draining and I worry watching them again will ruin the beautifully haunted footprint they left on my brain

[SeanR]

Video Games - The Movie 4/5

 

console heavy, US-orientated, but pretty comprehensive.

 

Deadpool 5/5

 

Deadpool!

[Raoull duke]

The Losers 

 

Paint by numbers action film. A big dull dud. Off after twenty minutes. 

 

1/5

 

Wild at Heart

 

Here is my review:

 

A David Lynch film. 

 

4/5

 

(Netflix) 

[Nick R]

Brick (2005)

All I knew about this was that it was Rian Johnson's debut feature film; I didn't look up anything else about it. But I think would have enjoyed it more if I had known in advance what to expect from its gimmick and tone. As it was, the whole

Spoiler

"high-schoolers voicing hard-boiled noir detective dialogue"

thing took me by surprise, and took a while to get into.

However, the main hindrance to me being able to judge it properly was a practical one: the DVD edition I watched didn't have any subtitles, so even though I was wearing headphones, I had to rewind almost every other line to catch what anyone said! I wondered if subtitles were intentionally omitted, to encourage viewers to settle into the vibe of the sound, rather than catching the specifics of the dialogue... but I doubt it, since apparently other more recent DVD/BR/streaming releases of the film do have closed captions.

I know a lot of people are big fans of this film, but I'm afraid I didn't get much out of it compared to Looper, Knives Out and The Last Jedi. I appreciated it and got into it more as it went on, but even by the end I wasn't truly invested in it.

Fortunately, I think it's likely that if I ever rewatch it I'll enjoy it more, now I know what to expect from it. As long as I can watch it with subtitles next time!

3/5

(After watching the film, I listened to the DVD commentary. There's a bit where Noah Segan talks about how all the actors caught the flu at some point during filming, and says something along the lines of: "SARS, bird flu pandemics? Bring it on!" )

[Shoes]

On 16/07/2020 at 12:52, Horribleman said:

This is on my list for the weekend. 

 

Looking forward to seeing what you think! It's extremely slow-paced, in every way, but Reichardt's films have a way of attuning me. 

[Mike S]

On 16/07/2020 at 20:22, sandman said:

The Exorcist 

 

Ive nothing original to say about this. It’s had more written about it than most other films. God the intro goes on a bit does it and I can’t see what purpose it served. I was surprised at how long it takes to get to the famous stuff. It’s a great build up of course but I do feel it could be trimmed a bit. The end section is of course rightly revered as a perfect piece of cinema. A few scenes in the director’s cut that i hadn’t seen before. It looks stunning on blu ray.

 

5/5

 

 

Never mind the end section being perfect, the whole film is perfect, at least it is in its theatrical cut. Ironically, 'The Version You've Never Seen'/ Authors Cut (Friedkin was opposed to the new edit as he considered his 1973 version to be definitive, but the scenes were studio pushed and approved by Blatty) is some way less than perfect. There are a few added scenes that add nothing and are actively detrimental to the movie - most notably the awful, context and reaction free, 'spider walk' scene but also the various demon faces superimposed on a few random objects.

 

The intro is significant and important. It not only introduces Merrin but it also shows his first exposure to Pazuzu and the moment he starts on his path to becoming an exorcist but also telegraphs his death at the hands of the demon. He is literally facing the evil that that will eventually destroy him and you can see that in his face - he knows this is his destiny. One of my favourite scenes is right after that intro, when they cut to Chris and Regan in the basement of their house and we see Regan just completing a little papier mache figure of a bird with outstretched wings that was unknown to her a representation of the statue of Pazuzu that Merrin had just been seen confronting. Captain Howdy was already subtly guiding her hand. Such a quiet passing moment of horror.

The Exorcist is the Greatest Film.

[ZOK]

5 hours ago, Nick R said:

Brick (2005)

All I knew about this was that it was Rian Johnson's debut feature film; I didn't look up anything else about it. But I think would have enjoyed it more if I had known in advance what to expect from its gimmick and tone. As it was, the whole

  Hide contents

"high-schoolers voicing hard-boiled noir detective dialogue"

thing took me by surprise, and took a while to get into.

However, the main hindrance to me being able to judge it properly was a practical one: the DVD edition I watched didn't have any subtitles, so even though I was wearing headphones, I had to rewind almost every other line to catch what anyone said! I wondered if subtitles were intentionally omitted, to encourage viewers to settle into the vibe of the sound, rather than catching the specifics of the dialogue... but I doubt it, since apparently other more recent DVD/BR/streaming releases of the film do have closed captions.

I know a lot of people are big fans of this film, but I'm afraid I didn't get much out of it compared to Looper, Knives Out and The Last Jedi. I appreciated it and got into it more as it went on, but even by the end I wasn't truly invested in it.

Fortunately, I think it's likely that if I ever rewatch it I'll enjoy it more, now I know what to expect from it. As long as I can watch it with subtitles next time!

3/5

(After watching the film, I listened to the DVD commentary. There's a bit where Noah Segan talks about how all the actors caught the flu at some point during filming, and says something along the lines of: "SARS, bird flu pandemics? Bring it on!" )

It’s weird, I’ve watched this film a few times and there’s no need for subtitles that I ever noticed, it’s fine to my ears...but I have noticed a trend for news programmes in recent years to start subtitling anyone who has even a vaguely foreign accent.

 

I don’t know what’s going on...are people becoming accent deaf? I’m sure YouTube is to blame somehow.

[Nick R]

32 minutes ago, ZOK said:

It’s weird, I’ve watched this film a few times and there’s no need for subtitles that I ever noticed, it’s fine to my ears...but I have noticed a trend for news programmes in recent years to start subtitling anyone who has even a vaguely foreign accent.

 

I don’t know what’s going on...are people becoming accent deaf? I’m sure YouTube is to blame somehow.

 

It could be that I'm so used to blockbusters, where all the dialogue is redone in studio ADR sessions, that I'm starting to struggle with indie movies that use the original on-set recordings for their speech! (At least, I assume Brick didn't have the budget for an ADR process...?)

[glb]

Aftermath - 2/5

 

Arnold does acting! He’s still a big lummox, but the film is a watchable enough drama despite a fairly pedestrian pace.
 

Think it’s a solid 2 but not quite good enough to be a 3. I do enjoy watching Arnie in pretty much most things though, hope he gets one more big role soon.

[kerraig UK]

1 hour ago, Nick R said:

 

It could be that I'm so used to blockbusters, where all the dialogue is redone in studio ADR sessions, that I'm starting to struggle with indie movies that use the original on-set recordings for their speech! (At least, I assume Brick didn't have the budget for an ADR process...?)

Brick is notoriously difficult for dialogue. The director even has gone on record to state that very important lines are lost in the low budget independent mix.

I saw it in the cinema and it wasn't until a few viewings later that I caught some things. The films exclusive dialect definitely makes it harder.

Its by far and away his best film though so I hope you do double dip.

[kerraig UK]

2 hours ago, Mike S said:

 

 

Never mind the end section being perfect, the whole film is perfect, at least it is in its theatrical cut. Ironically, 'The Version You've Never Seen'/ Authors Cut (Friedkin was opposed to the new edit as he considered his 1973 version to be definitive but the scenes were studio pushed and approved by Blatty) is some way less than perfect though as there are a few added scenes that add nothing and are actively detrimental to the movie - most notably the awful, context and reaction free, 'spider walk' scene but also the various demon faces superimposed on a few random objects.

 

The intro is significant and important. It not only introduces Merrin but it also shows his first exposure to Pazuzu and the moment he starts on his path to becoming an exorcist and also telegraphs his death at the hands of the demon. He is literally facing the evil that that will eventually destroy him and you can see that in his face - he knows this is his destiny. One of my favourite scenes is right after that intro, when they cut to Chris and Regan in the basement of their house and we see her just completing a little papier mache figure of a bird with outstretched wings that was a representation of the statue of Pazuzu that Merrin had just been seen confronting. Captain Howdy was already subtly guiding her hand. Such a quiet passing moment of horror.

The Exorcist is the Greatest Film.

100% this. But also, it works most effectively on the big screen where you are trapped in the dark with no phone or distractions. Yes, the start is slow, but it sets a mood that takes the real world very far away from you. It's almost like a decompression. You need 10 minutes of real world deprogramming to get you into the right space to begin the story. 

Watching Exorcist in a cinema with an audience trapped is an unreal experience. I remember the first time I did this, in about 1995. When it was still banned outside Westminster and you had to go to the Trocadero in London to see it. There were two 17 year old girls in front of us watching. During the first jump scares they laughed, giggled, joked and had fun. When her head spun they left. It was genuinely too much. I'll never forget that.

I doubt it would happen now, we are all so much more desensitised and distracted these days. But i'll never forget that visceral response where these kids thought they were gonna have fun and the film, 30 years after its original release was still simply too much.

[Vimster]

Last To Surrender (1999)

Rowdy Roddy Piper stars in this largely standard-issue straight-to-video buddy-cop film, a genre beyond moribund at this point, although here it sort of morphs into something akin to an 80s Vietnam war film. Piper is a cop on the beat in Chinatown, cocks up some big deal between Chinese gangsters, would you believe it, he gets his partner killed. And the waiter who keeps getting in the way? Whaddya know, he's a cop (Han Soo Ong), and he and Piper have to team up, and they don't get on etc etc. The action moves from Canada- er I mean Seattle to the country formerly known as Burma where the generic Chinese baddie has fled. A large part of the middle section of this film centres on our chalk and cheese cops learning to get along, and if you've seen enough of this sort of thing you'll know it's no spoiler to say they eventually end up respecting each other enough to kick some arse. It flags in places, and the generic opening doesn't inspire, but for all its flaws it's an overall entertaining and undemanding watch with some fun action later on.

 

3/5

 

 

[hub2]

I think The Exorcist was re-released in the late 90's I think? I remember seeing it at a local multiplex anyway, but I do remember think just how stunningly amazing it was, I was blown away

 

I've had a similar experiences with a few other classic flicks like a Blue Velvet/Lost Highway double bill at the Curzon Soho, Lawrence of Arabia, and even dare I say it even the Star Wars re-releases.

 

Shows the importance of repertory cinema, and we don't get to do enough of it. Movies were made to be experienced on the big screen and have an indescribable magic you don't get from home watching. They're still as good, but the magic is diminished, even if just a little bit.

[Vimster]

6 minutes ago, hub2 said:

I think The Exorcist was re-released in the late 90's I think? I remember seeing it at a local multiplex anyway, but I do remember think just how stunningly amazing it was, I was blown away

 

I've had a similar experiences with a few other classic flicks like a Blue Velvet/Lost Highway double bill at the Curzon Soho, Lawrence of Arabia, and even dare I say it even the Star Wars re-releases.

 

Shows the importance of repertory cinema, and we don't get to do enough of it. Movies were made to be experienced on the big screen and have an indescribable magic you don't get from home watching. They're still as good, but the magic is diminished, even if just a little bit.

Totally. Saw The Exorcist when it went into cinemas in the late 90s, and had the privilege to see 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen too. It really is an experience.

[kerraig UK]

25 minutes ago, Vimster said:

Totally. Saw The Exorcist when it went into cinemas in the late 90s, and had the privilege to see 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen too. It really is an experience.

I watched 2001 on video 3 times and always proudly screamed about how overrated it is.

Saw it at the national theatre with John Williams and an Orchestra doing the score live to the picture and realised immediately that it was the greatest cinematic achievement of all time except maybe Apocalypse Now. 

Cinema. For FUCK sake.

[The Bag]

7 hours ago, hub2 said:

I think The Exorcist was re-released in the late 90's I think? I remember seeing it at a local multiplex anyway, but I do remember think just how stunningly amazing it was, I was blown away

 

I've had a similar experiences with a few other classic flicks like a Blue Velvet/Lost Highway double bill at the Curzon Soho, Lawrence of Arabia, and even dare I say it even the Star Wars re-releases.

 

Shows the importance of repertory cinema, and we don't get to do enough of it. Movies were made to be experienced on the big screen and have an indescribable magic you don't get from home watching. They're still as good, but the magic is diminished, even if just a little bit.

The Exorcist was in cinemas in ‘98, I know that because my friends & I went to see it the same weekend as we went to Ozzfest.

 

[womblingfree]

Freaks on Netflix. Way better than I was expecting, can’t wait for a sequel.

 

4/5

[ZOK]

8 hours ago, kerraig UK said:

I watched 2001 on video 3 times and always proudly screamed about how overrated it is.

Saw it at the national theatre with John Williams and an Orchestra doing the score live to the picture and realised immediately that it was the greatest cinematic achievement of all time except maybe Apocalypse Now. 

Cinema. For FUCK sake.

The first (and only) time I saw 2001 was when they released it again a few years back, I sat in the front row of the Watershed (I always sit at the front mind if I can) and the scale of it blew me away. Stunning, and the crystal clear score was unbelievable. 
 

On the subject of movie orchestras I’ve seen quite a few silent flicks with live scoring (including City Lights and The General, incredible!), but in 2014 I had the privilege of seeing Psycho at the Colston Hall with the British Sinfonietta doing the Herrmann score...just a breathtaking experience.

[kerraig UK]

6 minutes ago, ZOK said:

The first (and only) time I saw 2001 was when they released it again a few years back, I sat in the front row of the Watershed (I always sit at the front mind if I can) and the scale of it blew me away. Stunning, and the crystal clear score was unbelievable. 
 

On the subject of movie orchestras I’ve seen quite a few silent flicks with live scoring (including City Lights and The General, incredible!), but in 2014 I had the privilege of seeing Psycho at the Colston Hall with the British Sinfonietta doing the Herrmann score...just a breathtaking experience.

 
I am extremely fortunate in London in that there are ample films with live score events. I've even seen Terminator 2 with live score.

I imagine Psycho was exceptional. But 2001 is transcendent. As I often quote in interviews, its not my favourite film, but its by far and away the best film ever made.

I doubt Kurosawa or Tarkovsky would disagree.