Let's have a films thread.

[potter3]

16 minutes ago, ithuriel said:

See the new Predator movie is getting some stick, going to reserve my judgement until I see it myself, quite enjoyed the last one and have it on DVD, hope they reuse the more pumped up Predator theme in the movie 

 

 

I quite enjoyed it in a run-of-the-mill action film kinda way, though I have to say my expectations weren't particularly high.

[Stadt]

What sets the MCU apart from other franchises is the density of releases, fans will watch a Bond film every 4 years but several AAA films a year from the one studio will eventually become a contrived chore. I've already missed a fair few which I'll get round to watching but Marvel fatigue will set in soon enough. However it's become such a cash cow for Disney it's not likely they will slow down when they should. The Disney-Fox merger will mean they'll get some more films out of Deadpool, X-men and the F4 but Finners is right it's unsustainable to have so many releases.

[Carl the Llama]

3 hours ago, ithuriel said:

So they made a CGI version of the Anime?  I know it is one of the weirder ones and have never really gotten around to watching it, peeps who have died resurrected to do missions or some such?

Oh god I already have enough anime to catch up on don't give me another... But yeah that's the raw summary.

 

On that topic did anyone ever watch xamd? Never seen it discussed anywhere but I thought it was a very solid little anime back in the day. One for the fans of mech or AOT style anime.

[Innovindil]

So Netflix picked up the hardcore Henry film. Figured I'd give it a bash. An hour and a half of non-stop violence and gore for no reason whatsoever. That'll do for me. 

[leicsmac]

I agree with Finn - Avengers 4 should be the end of the road for the MCU for at least a few years, or they risk blowing everything due to sheer fatigue on the part of the viewers.

 

It's as good a place as any to draw the line - make it epic, make it the culmination of all that's happened before (Infinity War set it up pretty well)...and then put the lid on for a time.

[ithuriel]

5 hours ago, Carl the Llama said:

Oh god I already have enough anime to catch up on don't give me another... But yeah that's the raw summary.

 

On that topic did anyone ever watch xamd? Never seen it discussed anywhere but I thought it was a very solid little anime back in the day. One for the fans of mech or AOT style anime.

Never even heard of that one, as for Anime, heard rumours they are going to do a live Hollywood version of Your Name, a body swap comedy with a major twist that you do not see coming.

[Md9]

Finally watched avengers infinity war last weekend, was meant to go to watch it in may but my youngest was being a pain and had to change plans ?.  Good film I have not long started to watch the marvel films but have enjoyed them, youngest lives groot so guardians of the galaxy has been on a fair few times. Got a few captain americas,iron man 3 and black panther I need to see now to catch up then maybe watch them in some kind of order

[One Arm Babba]

On 18/09/2018 at 01:16, leicsmac said:

I agree with Finn - Avengers 4 should be the end of the road for the MCU for at least a few years, or they risk blowing everything due to sheer fatigue on the part of the viewers.

 

It's as good a place as any to draw the line - make it epic, make it the culmination of all that's happened before (Infinity War set it up pretty well)...and then put the lid on for a time.

I don’t think any adult would disagree, but Iron Man is what... 10 years old? The studio will continue to tell new stories for their new audiences.

 

personally the super hero genre bores me to tears, all the marvel individual films are the same at their core, the avengers are a little different as they are the shared final act of all these smaller stories being told. 

 

Cinema is in a real mess nowadays, super hero films, remakes, sequels. There is zero creativity anymore. Fewer and fewer original stories being told. 

 

The only way they stop churning out so many marvel films will be with poor performance at the box office, look what happened with Star Wars. Thankfully they have pulled the plug on that production line.... for now.

Edited 19 September 2018 by One Arm Babba

[ithuriel]

The latest Captain Marvel trailer and the Marvel movies, if they stay true to the thing that made the comics so awesome back in the day, focusing on the characters and story telling instead of just going for spectacle and big bangs, will continue doing well. Until the time when the wrong person takes charge and ruins it just like they did the comics :/

 

[ithuriel]

Recently watched a movie I had vague memories of from when I was a kid, bought it on the classic BluRay collection.

Excalibur,.....with Gabriel Byrne, Helen Mirren, Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart all appearing but the guy who played Merlin was great

 

[Alf Bentley]

"The Rider" (8/10)

"Lucky" (9/10)

 

Two films set in remote parts of the US Far West. Both recommended if you enjoy films involving character studies, relationships, existential dilemmas, great scenery, humorous everyday scenes etc.

No good if you want lots of action or complex plot lines.

 

"The Rider" concerns a young rodeo rider recovering from a head injury. Rodeo riding has been his only life ambition, now he faces the dilemma of whether to resume that career with its clear risks after his head injury.

Those risks are slammed home by scenes with his mate / rodeo role model, who is now severely physically and mentally disabled after a rodeo accident. Yet rodeo-riding has defined the life of the lead character.

In addition, money is tight, other opportunities few, and his feckless Dad and autistic (?) teenage sister depend on his income, while his rodeo mates are willing him to get back riding.

Shot entirely using amateur actors who live the life for real - and it works. The characters/relationships are credible - and the man/horse scenes, both riding/breaking and face-to-face communication, are stunningly good. 

 

"Lucky" gave the elderly Harry Dean Stanton his final film role, aged 90, and he died just before it was released.

He plays Lucky, an elderly man living alone in a remote Far West hamlet. We discover very little about his past life, family or work, except that he seems never to have married and was in the US Navy in WW2.

He's a characterful, independent, stubborn old git but an unexplained fall forces him to contemplate his mortality and the meaning or meaninglessness of life.

He has his routines - morning exercises, radio, TV quiz shows, local cafe, bar-room mates. No flinching from realistic scenes of old man's bollocks hanging low in sagging pants! Then suddenly he's viewing it all anew.

Stanton is brilliant and some of the dialogue is hilarious: his mate's traumatic loss of his pet tortoise, arguments over smoking, Lucky's verbal assault on the chiseling lawyer.

Very emotional for me after losing my Dad 2 years ago - especially the repeated airings of "Red River Valley", which he used to sing. The scene when Lucky sings (Stanton was a good singer) at a Mexican kid's party caused eye moisture.

Exceptionally effective and affecting portrayal of a very old, fiercely independent man facing death and life in the raw.

[Steve_Walsh5]

Hold the dark... 1/10

 

Absolute rubbish do not waste any time watching it. 

[Webbo]

There were a lot of laughs in Deadpool 2. Not sure there's much more mileage in the franchise though.

[Costock_Fox]

Finally watched Nightcrawler tonight, great film.

[TheLittleBigMan]

Has anyone seen welcome to woop woop?

[MC Prussian]

Watched a premiere of the newest „A Star Is Born“ remake.

 

Way too long, free from twists and turns, little to no drama, and it turns out it‘s just a promo vehicle for Stefani Germanotta.

Edited 1 October 2018 by MC Prussian

[ithuriel]

On ‎18‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 00:24, Carl the Llama said:

Oh god I already have enough anime to catch up on don't give me another... But yeah that's the raw summary.

 

On that topic did anyone ever watch xamd? Never seen it discussed anywhere but I thought it was a very solid little anime back in the day. One for the fans of mech or AOT style anime.

One of my fave Anime, Fate/Zero, the prequel series to the Fate/Stay night anime series and movies, if you have not seen this, you should check it out.

 

 

 

As for movies, Watched Solo, A Star Wars story the other night, enjoyed it far better than the Last Jedi.

Edited 2 October 2018 by ithuriel

[rico]

Watched a few decent thrillers / action films on Netflix,average 7/10

 

The Foreigner

Kidnap

24 Hours To Live

[Guest seanfox778]

Venom - 7/10

 

Better than I thought it’d turn out, it was a tad slow but it’s pretty enjoyable and it wasn’t as cartooney as the trailers made it seem. Some of the dialogue fell a bit flat, it had a few funny Deadpoolesque moments too. 

[Alf Bentley]

"The Wife": 4/10 (but 9/10 for Glenn Close)

 

This film has been getting rave reviews. Glenn Close deserves it. The film does not.

 

Aging writer Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. His wife (Close) accompanies him to Stockholm for the ceremony. She is the "kingmaker" - as she informs the King of Sweden.

Close is superb, conveying so much with a look of the eye, a fleeting expression, a tensing of the body. She's already being touted for an Oscar - and rightly so.

 

Two major flaws with the film, though: character and plot!

- Character: Not only did I dislike both main characters, but neither was unpleasant in an interesting way - just pushy upper-middle-class people obsessed with status. I didn't even get the impression they'd experienced great joy or torment through their art.

He's meant to be a narcissist, but is she any better? Self-sacrificing, yes, but a self-sacrificing status-obsessed narcissist! Their son and most others are cardboard cutouts. The exception, ironically, is the sleazy journalist (Christian Slater) seeking to write a sensational biography of the prize-winning writer....he's a more interesting, even a more moral character than either of the leads.

- Plot: What happens in Stockholm is a little far-fetched, pushing the bounds of belief. What is revealed to have happened over previous years, I find completely lacking in credibility. Is that just me?

 

Films can succeed without character or plot, if they have beautiful camerawork, raise interesting issues etc. "The Wife" has no such compensations.

I'm going against general opinion here, but I think this is a turkey, despite Close. If the film wins plaudits, it is an unjustified triumph of justified gender politics over artistic merit.

[Izzy]

16 minutes ago, Alf Bentley said:

"The Wife": 4/10 (but 9/10 for Glenn Close)

 

This film has been getting rave reviews. Glenn Close deserves it. The film does not.

 

Aging writer Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. His wife (Close) accompanies him to Stockholm for the ceremony. She is the "kingmaker" - as she informs the King of Sweden.

Close is superb, conveying so much with a look of the eye, a fleeting expression, a tensing of the body. She's already being touted for an Oscar - and rightly so.

 

Two major flaws with the film, though: character and plot!

- Character: Not only did I dislike both main characters, but neither was unpleasant in an interesting way - just pushy upper-middle-class people obsessed with status. I didn't even get the impression they'd experienced great joy or torment through their art.

He's meant to be a narcissist, but is she any better? Self-sacrificing, yes, but a self-sacrificing status-obsessed narcissist! Their son and most others are cardboard cutouts. The exception, ironically, is the sleazy journalist (Christian Slater) seeking to write a sensational biography of the prize-winning writer....he's a more interesting, even a more moral character than either of the leads.

- Plot: What happens in Stockholm is a little far-fetched, pushing the bounds of belief. What is revealed to have happened over previous years, I find completely lacking in credibility. Is that just me?

 

Films can succeed without character or plot, if they have beautiful camerawork, raise interesting issues etc. "The Wife" has no such compensations.

I'm going against general opinion here, but I think this is a turkey, despite Close. If the film wins plaudits, it is an unjustified triumph of justified gender politics over artistic merit.

• Expert film reviewer
• Political analyst
• A cunning linguist
• Pun maker extraordinaire
• Musical maestro
• Football pundit

Are there no ends to your talents @Alf Bentley? 

 

[Alf Bentley]

5 minutes ago, Izzy Muzzett said:

• Expert film reviewer
• Political analyst
• A cunning linguist
• Pun maker extraordinaire
• Musical maestro
• Football pundit

Are there no ends to your talents @Alf Bentley? 

 

 

Er....Failing small businessman chatting a wide range of shite on a football forum, while failing to get on with his work or make enough money to live on....and that's just for starters.

My ex-missus would add a few more negatives. 

[RumbleFox]

On 28/04/2018 at 10:06, Dr The Singh said:

Watched latest avengers movie, loved it.  Thanos was everything Apocalypse from xen should have been.

You know what, I actually think that in terms of a "big silly action movie", it is the best I have ever seen.

[AKCJ]

Venom.

 

****ing boring.

[Suzie the Fox]

12 hours ago, AKCJ said:

Venom.

 

****ing boring.

2 words. Tom Hardy