What film are you watching tonight/watched last night???

Tora is on my list of shame.

The Departed

I felt the urge to revisit a Wahlberg film after watching the hilarious cinemasins video on The Happening. Marky Marks bull busting quick quibs are easily my favourite part of this film, would love to know how DiCaprio and Damon kept a straight face in the meeting scenes. I forgot how much scene chewing Nicholson does, it's kinda off putting but his presence does make the character work overall. Probably a good thing he stopped acting when he did. I need to get round to watching Infernal affairs but Scorseses standalone compels you from start to finish. Surely everyone has seen this.
 
Watched around half an hour of Black Panther before deciding that it really was rubbish and it has been nominated for some Oscars?
 
Yep, it's extremely mediocre and a sub par Marvel film. Have seen it once and have zero interest in seeing it again. Its nomination is a joke.
 
Mystic River - Some fine performances from Kevin Bacon & especially Sean Penn, Tim Robbins didn't nail it for me, but he had the hardest part and his interrogation scene was a highlight, I was hoping he / the film would take that a bit further, but it went limp unfortunately as the pressure grew. Was nice to sit back and let the characters tell the story, albeit it quite a melancholy one..
 
Mary Queen of Scots (2019) - Josie Rourke
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Well, that was a thumbs up for me. Not a 'great' film (although it could have been), but a good one. The historicity is on reasonably firm ground from what I've read (did a bit of swatting up before the film), although there are some big omissions namely The Uprising of the [English]North and the Babington plot. Director Josie Rourke prefers to focus on the Scottish turmoils that preceed Mary's flight to England, and the rest is an afterthought. Perhaps disappointingly, Elizabeth I herself is very much sidelined and not shown at her formidable best (or worst), which is a shame as you never get a full sense of why Mary respects her so much (and also because Margot Robbie is magnificent in the surprisingly sparse screen time she has). I was very impressed with her. Saoirse Ronan is fantastic, as she always is, so no surprises really there. In terms of her looks, her age, and her fierceness, she was really the only choice to play Mary Stuart. Really liked David Tennant's role too. It wasn't, as I feared, another 'scotland good, england bad' scenario, nor was it a 'men are evil' diatribe. It tackles the history head on and makes its point without unduly distorting the truth. However it does frame its history heavily in terms of female suffrage, which was the whole point to begin with. Could have done with a bit more blood & guts, and at the risk of being sexist, I wonder if a male director might have given the story a bit more 'oomph'. As it is, the sedate pacing may be a turn off to those less interested in the story. Fortunately I like my history. Costume design and make up were excellent (although Liz threatens to go full Pennywise at times) and the sets and locations felt nicely authentic. Very good period detail overall. When all's said and done, this was a pleasant surprise especially given the poor reviews. Recommend it. 7/10
surely the biggest historical inaccuracy in this film is the fact that Elizabeth and Mary never met in real life.
 
surely the biggest historical inaccuracy in this film is the fact that Elizabeth and Mary never met in real life.

I know but they communicated extensively by letter, so they did have a relationship and they did discuss what we hear in the film. In cinematic terms, having us watch them write letters back & forth would have been dull and monotonous. So bending the truth so that they meet in person was a much better dramatic choice. I've no problem with it.
 
I know but they communicated extensively by letter, so they did have a relationship and they did discuss what we hear in the film. In cinematic terms, having us watch them write letters back & forth would have been dull and monotonous. So bending the truth so that they meet in person was a much better dramatic choice. I've no problem with it.
I get where your coming from, but one of the most tragic things about Elizabeth and Mary's relationship and how it all ended was that they never met.
Historians often talk about how things may have turned out differently if they had met and looked each other in the eyes.
 
Idiocracy (iTunes)

The opening 5 minutes of this so-called 'comedy' contain some of the scariest sh*t I have ever seen in my life.

The continued erosion of humanity's intelligence through the unfettered breeding of those of lower intelligence...……….you only have to look at Jeremy Kyle/Judge Rinder, the Daily Mail 'entertainment' app, Love Island and what is celebrated as 'celebrity' (Ant and Dec's latest 'win'? Topical, topical.....)...….oh and a totally unproven, untrustworthy and inappropriate media personality in the White House...…..hang on, is that the film or real life?

We're all doomed.

The story of an average Joe, frozen as part of an army experiment who wakes up 500 years in the future and is the smartest man alive thanks to centuries of dumbing down unfortunately just can't sustain that premise. Sure, Mike Judge can do witty sight gags and satirical swipes at things like big business replacing governments as policy makers (how he must weep seeing the rise of Apple, Facebook and Google...…).

But the joke wears thin quickly. Dax Shepard continues to prove to us all that he is one of the dullest human beings on the planet when on screen (how he bagged national treasure Kristen Bell is beyond me) and even the sight of the mighty Terry Crewes as POTUS wears thin very quickly. The dumbing down goes hand in hand with the sexualisation of pretty much everything and while yet again, in the intervening years since the film was made this too has proven to be a scarily accurate prediction.....and......and...…..

Maybe its me......maybe that premise has just scared the living crap out of me, to the point where I just couldn't then enjoy the comedy in this situation...…..or maybe its just not as funny as Office Space or even Beavis and Butthead.

Having said that, for £1.49 purchased off iTunes as part of this weeks Mega Movie Week deal, I'm glad I own it and will make sure I show it as a PSA when any youngsters in the family decide to start paying attention to popular mass culture...…….:suicide:

;)
 
Idiocracy (iTunes)

The opening 5 minutes of this so-called 'comedy' contain some of the scariest sh*t I have ever seen in my life.

The continued erosion of humanity's intelligence through the unfettered breeding of those of lower intelligence...……….you only have to look at Jeremy Kyle/Judge Rinder, the Daily Mail 'entertainment' app, Love Island and what is celebrated as 'celebrity' (Ant and Dec's latest 'win'? Topical, topical.....)...….oh and a totally unproven, untrustworthy and inappropriate media personality in the White House...…..hang on, is that the film or real life?

We're all doomed.

The story of an average Joe, frozen as part of an army experiment who wakes up 500 years in the future and is the smartest man alive thanks to centuries of dumbing down unfortunately just can't sustain that premise. Sure, Mike Judge can do witty sight gags and satirical swipes at things like big business replacing governments as policy makers (how he must weep seeing the rise of Apple, Facebook and Google...…).

But the joke wears thin quickly. Dax Shepard continues to prove to us all that he is one of the dullest human beings on the planet when on screen (how he bagged national treasure Kristen Bell is beyond me) and even the sight of the mighty Terry Crewes as POTUS wears thin very quickly. The dumbing down goes hand in hand with the sexualisation of pretty much everything and while yet again, in the intervening years since the film was made this too has proven to be a scarily accurate prediction.....and......and...…..

Maybe its me......maybe that premise has just scared the living crap out of me, to the point where I just couldn't then enjoy the comedy in this situation...…..or maybe its just not as funny as Office Space or even Beavis and Butthead.

Having said that, for £1.49 purchased off iTunes as part of this weeks Mega Movie Week deal, I'm glad I own it and will make sure I show it as a PSA when any youngsters in the family decide to start paying attention to popular mass culture...…….:suicide:

;)

It is scary and I watched it a good few years ago and now it's starting to come true! :eek::(
 
It came true a number of times in history, just this time was have the internet.
 
Widows 2018
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Bit of an oddity this. It starts off in typical fair as a robbery gone seriously wrong and then sets up shop to show why and how the women take matters into their own hands to do one. The reasoning's are easy enough to follow from the wake of the initial heist and its victims to more common pressures of family, money and betrayal in relationships leaving the women vulnerable to find a quick fix.
So where's the oddity? Well, the story actually has little time to bother showing the viewer exactly how this robbery will pan out and therefore spends a relatively small amount of time with the planning and training but rather sits around relationships and what does get achieved for the robbery almost feels inconsequential at times. Further to this, the story throws in issues of mixed race couples, racism, misogyny and prostitution and a somewhat dodgy police shooting along with incest and corrupt Councillors and religious leaders and a mayoral race and thug life with a seriously nasty gang. Sounds a lot doesn't it and it should in this film that, although two hours and ten minutes long, fails to deliver on anything like a satisfying conclusion to several of the larger themes packed in.
However, it's a slick affair in which Viola Davis gets screen time to act the socks off've her fellow cast and carry this along. Though this is not to say that fellow widow Elizabeth Debicki isn't convincing and shines in her allotted time. Why do I make a point of time here, well quite simply because it's not an equal world here and themes and stories diverge in interest and it felt like McQueen has clear agendas and quotas to fill. And among the obvious agenda list sits Liam Neeson, in the primary mixed race relationship as the romantic and loving husband to Viola in some rather full on scenes. But he's the career criminal that made a living out of deception and so how far can that memory that Viola's Veronica holds be trusted?
Outside of the widows circle, you get Bryan Tyree Henry (of Atlanta) doing well to fill the thug trying to make life easier by leaving gang life, somewhat, behind in the 'legal' world of mayoral pursuits and Daniel Kaluuya is great as the thug that just lives to thug. Set against Henry's Jamal, is Colin Farrell's turn that is reminiscent of the The Wire's Aiden Gillen playng Tommy Carcetti but without his more realistic play on the character. Although this is perhaps slightly unfair as Farrell doesn't get five seasons to circle things out.
And, as pointed to, that's my overall gripe, time. McQueen creates a slick world that works on a simplistic level but left me thinking this would've been great as a mini series in which all the big themes could've been satisfyingly addressed.
My suggestion, for what it's worth, is roll along with it as a tale of betrayal, thievery and small explorations of the human condition in harsh times that in better ones may make Robin Hood's of, at least, some of us.
 
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If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) Barry Jenkins
Pretty underwhelmed especially by the poetic gaze it tries to stamp throughout its overlong story, fantastic score though which felt very Herrmann in places.
6/10

Outrage Coda (2017) Takeshi Kitano
Any fans of Kitano's previous Outrage movies will surely lap this up, I loved it especially the performances from these old yakuza mobsters, complex with all its double dealings of whose doing what to who but it moves along in such a fantastic way, a great way to end this yakuza trilogy.
8/10

White Boy Rick (2018) Yann Demange
I should have guessed by that title
4/10
 
Few shorties from me

Under the Silver Lake
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Andrew Garfield plays an almost homeless aimless kind of guy who discovers a code exists in the fabric of things as he searches around LA for a beautiful blonde girl.
David Robert Mitchell enters Hitchcock meets Lynch territory by way of Donnie Darko and it truly is an oddity. I know some of you on here love these kind of enigmatic mysteries-wrapped-in-riddles movies but to me it felt like a lot of questions were posed but irritatingly not fully answered. I kinda enjoyed the ride though, with plenty of boobs on display. Worth a watch. 7/10

Split
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James McAvoy plays a guy with multiple personalities who abducts 3 girls.
Again, kinda enjoyed this but for a film which dealt with the psychology of multiple personality disorder it doesn't delve very deep into the condition, instead acting more as a thriller primarily from the abductee's perspective.
A good film from M. Night Shyamalan which doesn't outstay it's welcome and showcases a wonderful performance from McAvoy. Now I'm up to speed for Glass. 7/10
 
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^^
McAvoy's confession at using a young Saoirse Ronan impression for one of the Split personalities on Norton was very funny. It also made me chuckle at her being on the show last week and trying to glam things up now.
 
Glass

Last night with the wife who shock horror didn't spend a tenner for a nap. I was looking forward to this but as usual no trailers, so had no idea what to expect. I didn't really expect this though.

Really like Unbreakable, liked Split, mainly due to the performances.

I quite enjoyed it, fair start, saggy in the middle but I was onboard by the end despite the ever increasing sillyness.

Macavoy was again great and although Willis and Jackson had little to do enjoyed what they did. Suffered quite badly from TLJ syndrome of not knowing when to end and I over heard other goers saying the same as we left.

Fun if silly film that really drags this firmly into the comic film genre. 6.5/10
 
Judge Dredd (iTunes)

Not being a hardcore 2000AD reader, I just can't bring myself to totally hate this adaptation......much like I can't totally hate the Masters of the Universe film either...….

Some of the effects work and production design work is pretty great - the ABC warrior and Mean Machine are great pieces of effects/make up work. And I even like the design of the Judge's uniforms and kit....even if it is all a little bit Versace for Mega City One. Although Diane Lane manages to pull it off with aplomb...….;) The plot was mostly decent and the Janus project gave us an interesting antagonist and some nicely icky effects work towards the end. Oh and Armand Assante is next level Nick Nolte here - his performance is from someone who just kept getting told 'good, but......go bigger!'. Its like a psychopathic Widow T****ie, which is always good value.

But there is a lot to really not like in amongst all that - Stallone could have been a good Dredd. He certainly has the chin and the voice for it - that opening setpiece gave us a glimpse of what could have been. But removing his helmet? Even I know that's a massive no-no. Shouldn't have happened and it ended up robbing Dredd of virtually his entire character and turning him into, well, Sly Stallone.

And just Rob Schneider. No. Never. Uh uh. Aw hells naw.

It turned Dredd into a bog standard mid-90s sci-fi actioner, with all those genre tropes present and correct - Blade Runner/Mad Max landscapes with no real personality, ridiculous action setpieces, involving flying bikes...…..it simply has no personality of its own.

But, its entirely watchable as a Stallone actioner and nothing more. Could have been good, but just wasn't. Thank god for Garland's/Travis' Dredd......
 
The Night Comes For Us.

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Extremely brutal Indonesian Gangster (working for the Chinese Triads) movie - really weak story but holy moly that was basically 2hrs of non stop, bone crushing, blood spurting uber violence!

There were some fantastic bits of choreography, clever camera angles (some reminded me of ch4s Peep Show :D) and imaginative beat downs. Most of it was so over the top it was laughable, but still fun to watch.

7/10
 
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
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Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) thinks it’d be a great idea to kidnap the daughter of the head of a cartel, to kick off a cartel war. He enlists the help of Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro)..
I enjoyed the original Villeneuve movie which delved into the dark heart of the Mexican drug cartels. However though again written by Taylor Sheridan this lacks the focus of the first one under the direction of Gomorrah’s Stefano Sollima, and this lack of focus made the film a confusing experience to watch, with half-baked plans being put on ice and the border being used as an excuse for some action scenes mostly with the paid-off Mexican police. Alejandro seems to have had a character change from the first film..

He spends most of the film babysitting Isabel Reyes (Isabela Moner), the daughter of the cartel boss, and gets split up from Josh Brolin for a lot of the film which didn’t work in its favour. Also I’m not sure why they even took Isabel out of Mexico, something was said about “lack of infrastructure” in Mexico but it didn’t add up, nor did Alejandro being ratted out by the prospective gang member who saw him earlier. Bit contrived.

A lot of the time the action takes place near, across or over the Texas/Mexico border which all looks the same so it’s hard to know what you’re looking at half the time, or who’s going where. This lack of focus just turned the film into a bit of a damp squib, which is a pity as some of the action or gang scenes were intense and well shot. As a whole though it never really gripped me at all, unlike the original. Even though his character wasn’t as stone cold as the first Benicio was the best thing about it and made this worth a watch, once. 6/10
 
Widows 2018
...
And, as pointed to, that's my overall gripe, time. McQueen creates a slick world that works on a simplistic level but left me thinking this would've been great as a mini series in which all the big themes could've been satisfyingly addressed.
My suggestion, for what it's worth, is roll along with it as a tale of betrayal, thievery and small explorations of the human condition in harsh times that in better ones may make Robin Hood's of, at least, some of us.

ICYMI, this movie is derived from a Lynda La Plante TV series…

Widows: the big-haired 80s caper that inspired Steve McQueen

And dedicated to the memory of Eva Mottley who played the getaway driver on the show...

Secret tragedy behind Steve McQueen's new film Widows
 
ICYMI, this movie is derived from a Lynda La Plante TV series…

Widows: the big-haired 80s caper that inspired Steve McQueen

And dedicated to the memory of Eva Mottley who played the getaway driver on the show...

Secret tragedy behind Steve McQueen's new film Widows
It was kind of what drew me to it. I recall seeing the series and finding it's lead, in Ann Mitchell, a right scary psycho hose beast. Whereas Viola is rather a softer touch, as is all the women really, and the whole thing plays more to them being reasonably pushed in nature.
 
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
6/10
Yeah, something of a let down this after the rather better first. I had high hopes with Del Toro and his character from one but they pissed it all away and made him weaker in many ways straddled with an uneven script.
 
There were some fantastic bits of choreography, clever camera angles (some reminded me of ch4s Peep Show :D) and imaginative beat downs. Most of it was so over the top it was laughable, but still fun to watch.

7/10
You can just see David Mitchell saying to the camera, Well, that was unnecessary as he imagines chopping Robert Webb!
 

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