Stickied The Last Film You Saw Thread (& Discussion)

[JJ1532]

I'm off to see Spectre tomorrow. Not a huge Bond fan but the wife wants to see it. I reckon it'll be the same as every other one to be honest.

Ah, but this is the biggest issue with this film. It's trying to be this grounded new modern Bond, like the previous Craig films have been. But for some reason, it's throwing in silly old Bond character references and plots. It's this clash between the old and the new which is really annoying me. It's trying to be 2 things, grounded and silly and it isn't working.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

Just watched Spectre, I quite enjoyed it. I think JJ1532 is being extremely harsh with his review. Sure you have to suspend belief for a few bits but it's Bond, they're never very believable.

One of the better films I thought.

 

[markpvfc]

I watched it last night and thought it was really good, but then i'm a big Bond fan and like them all.

 

[SALTIRE]

Starred Up (2014)

Very good prison drama where a young lad is sent to jail and has to try and adapt but refuses to at the start. He also has the misfortune of having his psychopathic father in with him who tries to guide him as he sees it which doesn't help him at all.

This was a very good film though it did annoy me a bit that a lad who was only about 20 can take on all comers like Rambo, but that aside it had other things to say about estranged and warped relationships, and about attempts at facing up to ones self and try to break out of a vicious cycle. It starred Jack O'Connell and the always superb Ben Mendelsohn who were very good indeed and the scenes between the two were always explosive in one way or another.

We'll worth a watch.

8/10

 

[Gilly?]

Housebound
Daft comedy/horror from New Zealand. Thought it was ace, had some nice creepy moments that were recovered with some genuinely funny moments. I'd watch it again happily. 7.5/10.

Inside Out
It's brilliant to be honest. These sort of films never fail to deliver, quite a nice touch to have feelings as characters. Would watch again, countless times. 8/10.

Hot Rod
Makes me laugh every time. The first stunt fail gets me ever time I see it. 8/10.

Unfriended
Not rubbish, not brilliant. Nice to see something a bit different. It's quite watchable but leave your brain behind if you do. 6.5/10.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World
Loads of fun, this. Not a huge Michael Cera fan but he's the kind of guy needed for roles like this. Easy to watch a few times over. I want the Rickenbacher bass Cera gets to poorly play. 7.5/10.

 

[The Iron]

Vacancy

A young married couple become stranded at an isolated motel and finds hidden video cameras in their room. They realize that unless they escape, they'll be the next victims of a snuff film.

I really enjoyed watching this film.

8/10

 

[mowgli]

Grave Halloween (2013)
American students filming in a Japanese forest wher people go to commit suicide,the spirits of the dead hunt them down one by one. It's not as bad as it sounds honest! Some imaginative deaths and a few scary moments as well as comic ones. Watched this on Horror on Freeview last night so no doubt it'll be on again soon. 6/10.

 

[BCFC Jordan]

Beasts Of No Nation - 8/10

Compelling watch. The young kid actor and Elba are both brilliant. Brutal to watch but I can only imagine it's a realistic depiction of what is actually happening in reality.

 

[PaulHaddock]

We are the Best! (2013)
3 Swedish teenage girls become punk rockers despite only one of them playing an instrument. Deals with family issues and relationships at that age. Interesting at first, then just becomes laborious to watch, like all Indie films really. 5/10

Chef (2014)
Depressed and angry top chef, split from his wife and son, quits his job at a restaurant because the manager is an idiot. Tries to recoup his love for cooking by buying a food van and travelling cross country.
Great if you like food as the cooking scenes are good but the film itself is quite cheesy (pardon the pun) and is very much a 'wouldn't happen in real life'. 6/10

 

[Gilly?]

Goodnight Mommy
Austrian horror about two twins who thinks their mothers is an imposter after having facial reconstruction surgery.

Not a lot really happens, yet I found myself compelled by the whole ordeal. Quite an original concept and the twins are excellent as Lukas and Elias. I'd recommend this quitem highly. 8/10.

 

[Alty]

The Apu Trilogy.

Really enjoyed these. Fascinating portrayal of an Indian child's progression into adulthood in the early 20th century. 9/10.

Sympathy for Mr Vengeance.

Fucking stupid and boring. 1/10.

India 1 vs 0 South Korea.

 

[mowgli]

Sharkzilla (2012)
Hilarious but not intentially film, a drilling platform penetrates the sea bed unleashing a giant prehistoric shark that's a bit peckish Would have been a poor film but for the laughs, 5.5/10 just for the 's

 

[Craig]

No Escape (2015)
Ridiculous film, and just a little bit racist. Pierce Brosnan was ace though. 3/10.

 

[MSB92]

12 Angry Men 9/10
Saw for the first time, an excellent movie and I can't believe I haven't seen it earlier.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

Klute:

John Klute (Donald Sutherland) is hired to investigate the disappearance of a man and the only lead is some letters that he apparently wrote to a prostitute (Jane Fonda).

Very atmospheric and a couple of very good performances. 7/10

 

[allouso]

Spotlight: 9/10

So, so good. I'm a sucker for journalistic movies and this one really reminded me of All the president's men. Mark Ruffallo is absolutely excellent in it in particular.

 

[silkyman]

Stumbled across Ghostbusters 2 and watching it for the nth time.

Even maligned sequels to absolute classics are better than a lot of flicks today.

'I had part of a Slinky... I straightened it'

GB3 had better not be shit.

 

[silkyman]

Vacancy

A young married couple become stranded at an isolated motel and finds hidden video cameras in their room. They realize that unless they escape, they'll be the next victims of a snuff film.

I really enjoyed watching this film.

8/10

Saw that ages ago. There's been the usual shit sequels.

 

[Gilly?]

V For Vendetta
One of my favorite films, I watch it every 5th November because why the fuck not? 9/10.

 

[voltage]

Just watched Crimson Peak (2015). At first it just seems like Loki displaced on time and many people who were expecting a horror movie got disappointed with it. But Del Toro's purpose seemed not to be a scary movie as most people expected of it. All in all I liked it, the storyline must be kind of predictable but Del Toro could develop well the vibe of it, not a scary vibe but a ghost story with a melancholic not dramatic pinch that made it very artistic and fits very well his purpose. And the visuals and soundtrack were on point. It can be sleepy if you don't get involved with the thematic but it's good to see a movie of this type not based on that jaded psycholigical horror or jump scares usually put in focus with no story at all. I'd say it's a 7/10 for me.

 

[mowgli]

The Witchfinder General (1968)
I love these 1960's horror films as they're so corny watching them today. I grew up watching films with Vincent Price,Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee and never get bored of them. Price was perfectly cast as the main character running about East Anglia hunting women accused of witchcraft with gusto. Ian Ogilvy was good as well as vengeful husband. 7/10.

 

[MSB92]

Spotlight 9/10
One of my favorite movies of the year. Has to be a contender for at least a couple of Oscars. The acting is superb from all of the cast. Go see it if you have a chance.

 

[SALTIRE]

Don't Look Now [1973]

No I didn't watch this for the explicit - and legendary - sex scene before anyone says it! This is a film with Donald Sutherland and the gorgeous Julie Christie as a couple who lose a daughter in a drowning accident in England and move off to Venice for a break and where Sutherlands character works as an artifact restorer, but meet two women, one of whom is psychic, and tells Christie's character of her daughter in the afterlife and gives them a warning to leave the city at once otherwise something else will happen.

There was a lot of mysticism and supernatural goings on here, particularly with Sutherlands character who we find out has a psychic gift as well but doesn't take heed of the warnings that are present all over the place. There is a presence of water almost in every scene suggesting that the drowned child still hurts them greatly and that they themselves are in danger, and Venice must have been filmed in winter as it had a cold and eery look about it (which you can never say about Venice) which added greatly to the atmosphere of the film. I did see the ending coming but it was done in a strange way. It was slightly long for what it was I felt, but I did enjoy it quite a bit.

7/10


The Bounty [1984]

An inconsistent film telling the infamous story of the mutiny on board HMS Bounty in 1787 where Lieutenant Bligh has his ship taken off him by Fletcher Christian et al due to his supposed tyranny and their desire to live as free men in Tahiti with topless young women (who wouldn't!).

First the good. It was beautifully shot, with some breathtaking cinematography of the time, the lovely islands and the life on board the little Bounty itself was all well done. The cast was great also with Messrs Olivier, (Edward) Fox, Hopkins, Gibson and Day-Lewis in the leads, with several other well known Brits amongst them including a young Liam Neeson when he could act. For the first hour it was captivating stuff showing the journey to Tahiti for their cargo, hitting treacherous weather at Cape Horn, the tensions building on board as Bligh makes one or two egregious errors, the landing at the islands, and then plenty of tits on display for the welcome which was nice! All this was interspersed for dramatic purposes with Bligh's subsequent court-martial as he retells how things ended up as they did.

Onto the bad. Hopkins hammed it up big time, shouting his lungs at the top of his voice practically all film on board his ship, and Mel Gibson was dreadfully bland as Christian causing a complete flatness to the tension between commander and first officer. I also don't know if the film got butchered in editing, but as the sailors reluctantly leave Tahiti on the way back home, one minute Bligh is lecturing them in a not-too-unkind way about how they should be professional sailors and it was time to get back into their duty, and speaking to Christian in a father-and-son way for his own good; and then the very next scene, he is tyrannical, pushing the sailors beyond their tolerance until they break and the mutiny occurs. It just seemed a bit quick that there was a slow build-up and then everything happened within one scene - much like Anakin moving to the darkside in Revenge Of The Sith it was too quick - this didn't leave a satisfactory resolution as to how the crew usurped.

Up until then, Bligh's character wasn't too bad a commander for the sailors; he was harsh and stuck to the Navy rules, but he wasn't out of line, he saved some from the gallows for severe breaches of duty when he could easily have hung them from the yardarms; thats the way it was and the sailors behaved a bit pettily, though the fact that they weren't that experienced may have contributed to the demise of discipline. Everything was kind of rushed from then on as Christian and the men sought to find sanctuary out of sight on Pitcairn Island, and the quite remarkable seamanship of Bligh and his ragged band of followers in their little boat, as they sailed over 4000 miles to salvation, with less than a weeks supply of water, lasting 47 days, without the loss of a man on the voyage.

The end tells us of the mutineers and what was thought to have happened to them (no one really knows), and we see Bligh getting honourably acquited before he walks off, but it doesn't tell us that over the coming years he rose to the rank of Vice Admiral as the film seemed more concerned with Christian and his men.

A shame the film turned out like that as it promised a lot.

6/10

 

[allouso]

The Peanuts Movie: 6/10

I guess i'm not exactly the target audience as we didn't grow up with Peanuts, but you can't help but admire how sweet it is.

 

[allouso]

The Lady in the Van: 7/10

Didn't really expect to enjoy it but I did. Maggie Smith is absolutely awesome in it, and it's surprisingly funny and charming.

The Meddler: 7/10

Same as above really. It's funny, sweet and Susan Sarandon is absolutely excellent.

 

[SALTIRE]

The Lady in the Van: 7/10

Didn't really expect to enjoy it but I did. Maggie Smith is absolutely awesome in it, and it's surprisingly funny and charming.

Bennett's stuff is usually good he's a fine playwright. Was watching him get interviewed for 2 hours the other night and the stories were great. He's very engaging and self-effacing. There are a few of his plays up on youtube and they are wonderful, and moving. You also can't go wrong with that cast either who are all regulars of his with the exception of the dreadful Jim Broadbent but you can't have it all I suppose. Looking forward to watching it

 

[shane]

Spotlight: 9/10

So, so good. I'm a sucker for journalistic movies and this one really reminded me of All the president's men. Mark Ruffallo is absolutely excellent in it in particular.

I thought it wasn't out till January?

 

[allouso]

I thought it wasn't out till January?

One of the perks of working in the industry

Although it is already out in the US I believe.

 

[MSB92]

One of the perks of working in the industry

Although it is already out in the US I believe.

It's only showing in 5 theaters now. I don't know when the wide release is.

 

[Cheese & Biscuits]

Ex Machina.

A rich owner of an Internet search engine company uses data gathered from searches to build a robot with the aim of passing the Turing Test. One of his employees spends a week with him and the robot to conduct the test.

I won't say any more as I don't want to post spoilers but I really enjoyed it. It was quite a thought provoking film and the special effects were pretty good 7.5/10