What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Detournement]

2 hours ago, the aggressive beggar said:

Thanks for the recommendation, watched the first two episodes last night.  Incredible TV and a travesty that Amazon didn't scream about it from the rooftops.

That tiger scene in ep 1 though..... 

It gets a lot weirder than that. 

[the aggressive beggar]

1 hour ago, Detournement said:

It gets a lot weirder than that. 

Good stuff, gonna get another couple watched tonight.

[D Angelo Barksdale]

Finished off the Trilogy with Pusher III. Hard to choose a favourite from the three, but would maybe go 2,3,1. Also watched Nitram, which was pretty good. Some great performances especially Caleb Jones who seems born to play weirdos.

[MSU]

007 The Double -- Richard Ayoade's adaptation of Dostoevsky's novella is as much of a nightmarish panic attack of a movie as you'd probably expect, accentuated by a sharp script delivered at some pace. Jesse Eisenberg, in two roles as Simon James and James Simon, is about as good as I've ever seen him, aided by Wallace Shawn, Tim Key, Mia Wasikowska, Chris Morris, and Sally Hawkins amongst others. Simon James is an anonymous office drone, ignored by his boss, struggling to connect with his beautiful neighbour, when new employee James Simon appears. No one notices that he's Simon's double and he appears to be Simon's opposite and gradually takes over his life. It's a great script, hilarious and terrifying, but loses its traction a bit towards the end. 8/10

008 Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa -- Seeing Tim Key in The Double reminded me it's been a few years since I last watched Alpha Papa. This version of Partridge takes a little getting used to as the Gibbons brothers write him in a slightly different direction, but I still find this more hit than miss and includes many moments that are still generating laughs at (at least) the fifth time of asking. 8/10

009 Native Son (#81 in the A24 series) -- It's been a while since I've seen a movie that was chugging along quite nicely and then SOMETHING HAPPENS and the SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS jars so much that it rips me out of the movie and it doesn't really matter what it tries to do after that, the cause is lost. I had high hopes for this given Ashton Sanders' last A24 outing was in Moonlight. Here he plays Bigger Thomas, a poor, young, black man who finds himself with a decision to either become a chauffeur for a wealthy family or join his friends in a robbery. Following this decision comes another decision and this one is so monumentally stupid that it killed my interest, leaving this as a disjointed, unsatisfying, and frustrating experience. 4/10

010 Plane -- From its title to its trailer to its final execution, Plane has a definite feel of f**k it, that'll do. January was made for movies like Plane. Gerard Butler stars as Brodie Torrance, a good Scottish pilot with a good Scottish name, flying a plane out of South-East Asia in a bid to get to Hawaii or California -- it's unclear -- to spend New Year with his daughter who may or may not be estranged, this is also unclear. Flying through a severe storm and with a dangerous prisoner among the dozen or so passengers, he's forced to make a crash landing on a jungle island where a militia of separatists is keen to take them all hostage. It's a fairly ridiculous plot that's played seriously for the most part, but the hybrid of Lost, Rambo, and a straight-faced Airplane does manage to provide something that could easily be mistaken for entertainment. Everyone is operating well within themselves here and it all feels pretty rushed. Characters are only developed insofar as they start the movie in one location and finish it in another. The project feels so rushed like it was still taking off its shoes to go through metaphorical security while its final boarding call was getting tetchy on the tannoy. 5/10

Edited January 15, 2023 by MSU

[Detournement]

White Noise (2022) 

A shite and fairly pointless adaptation of the Delillo novel. It's probably a better watch if you've not read the book. Why anyone thought it was a good idea for Noah Baumbach to direct this is beyond me.

It ends with a completely forgettable new LCD Soundsytem song is unintentionally the only part of the film that channels the book. 

 

[Flybhoy]

Brooklyn (2015)

Interesting and heart warming tale of a teenage girl emigrating from Ireland to New York in the 1950's and, after a family tragedy finding herself having to decide on old or modern life to commit to and on which side of the pond,thoroughly enjoyed it 

8/10

[D Angelo Barksdale]

The Proposition (2005) really enjoyed this Australian western, some great shots of the outback and it had that authentic, 'this is how people acted and spoke back then' feel. Some good performances from the leads and the aboriginal actors.

On a Refn kick after finishing the Pusher trilogy, so watched Only God Forgives (2013) and was left feeling underwhelmed and slightly confused. It looks fantastic and there were parts of the film I really enjoyed, but it felt like an unfinished concept rather than a full film. Much better was Valhalla Rising (2009) with one eyed Mads (assuming he's meant to represent Ødin ?) as a Viking in Scotland kicking ass and travelling with Christians to North America. Went back and watched Pathfinder (2006) after this as I really like the Norse v Native idea that Valhalla Rising touches on and the shows Vikings does an ok job of. I remembered it as a below average action film, but it was much worse. Some lovely scenery, but a grey filter over it with, ridiculous looking Vikings that belong in LOTR or Warhammer, terrible Native accents and an actuall fighting sled race that is straight out of a James Bond film.

 

[Savage Henry]

On 31/12/2022 at 14:19, yoda said:

I think my top five for the year are (in no particular order):

Aftersun

Decision To Leave

Everything Everywhere All At Once

The Worst Person In The World 

The Banshees of Inisherin

The Banshees of Inisherin is wonderful.  Like a misrerabilist Father Ted.   

[Detournement]

6 hours ago, Slim Charles. said:

 

On a Refn kick after finishing the Pusher trilogy, so watched Only God Forgives (2013) and was left feeling underwhelmed and slightly confused. 

 

That's how Gosling plays every scene in the film.

 

 

 

[accies1874]

First 2023 release down:

1. Enys Men - Cinema

Mark Jenkin is the coolest dude out there. 

First time around, I was fascinated by it but wanted a second watch to answer at least some things, but after rewatching it yesterday I'm left with even more questions. I've found it quite hard to talk about as a whole as it's really about your experience with the film rather than tangible thoughts. That's a bit of a wanky thing to say, but when it comes to such a mood piece designed to be nightmarish, atmospheric and striking, all I can say is that it worked on all of those levels for me but it might not for others. 

It is all atmosphere, completely committed to having its style consume the audience with simple components of the time period like the radio, generator and stove all emanating sounds that cut through the sleepier scenes and unnerve in the more intense moments. There's also distortion on the dialogue like with Bait. You also can't not talk about the cinematography, mainly the ridiculous grain and vibrant colours, which along with the sound really does make this feel like the "lost Cornish folk horror" that Mark Jenkin intended. As if there's this bizarre film canister found on an abandoned Cornish island and it's only just been released to the public. That's pretty fucking cool. 

[MSU]

4 hours ago, accies1874 said:

First 2023 release down:

1. Enys Men - Cinema

Mark Jenkin is the coolest dude out there. 

First time around, I was fascinated by it but wanted a second watch to answer at least some things, but after rewatching it yesterday I'm left with even more questions. I've found it quite hard to talk about as a whole as it's really about your experience with the film rather than tangible thoughts. That's a bit of a wanky thing to say, but when it comes to such a mood piece designed to be nightmarish, atmospheric and striking, all I can say is that it worked on all of those levels for me but it might not for others. 

It is all atmosphere, completely committed to having its style consume the audience with simple components of the time period like the radio, generator and stove all emanating sounds that cut through the sleepier scenes and unnerve in the more intense moments. There's also distortion on the dialogue like with Bait. You also can't not talk about the cinematography, mainly the ridiculous grain and vibrant colours, which along with the sound really does make this feel like the "lost Cornish folk horror" that Mark Jenkin intended. As if there's this bizarre film canister found on an abandoned Cornish island and it's only just been released to the public. That's pretty fucking cool. 

Pretty intrigued by this. Don't know when it'll make it over here. Kermode was spaffing his breeks over it on the Take podcast.

[D Angelo Barksdale]

County Lines (2019) was excellent, almost an updated Sweet Sixteen, but unsurprisingly given the subject matter it was relentlessly grim.

[accies1874]

2 hours ago, MSU said:

Pretty intrigued by this. Don't know when it'll make it over here. Kermode was spaffing his breeks over it on the Take podcast.

It was his spaffing that got me to watch Bait too. I'd recommend waiting for it to come to the cinema if you can

[Scotty Tunbridge]

Plane - serviceable action movie 5 or 6/10. Major downside being that ‘Oor’ Gerard Butler somehow manages to sound less Scottish when trying to play a Scottish guy than he does in his usual crap American accent.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Scotty Tunbridge

[Theroadlesstravelled]

I thought Plane was pretty decent entertainment. I’d go 7/10.

I enjoyed it far more than Avatar.

[KingRocketman II]

16 hours ago, Scotty Tunbridge said:

Plane - serviceable action movie 5 or 6/10. Major downside being that ‘Oor’ Gerard Butler somehow manages to sound less Scottish when trying to play a Scottish guy than he does in his usual crap American accent.

he contorts his mouth to one side whenever he is attempting to make his latest hash of an American accent - to the ears and eyes, he makes for quite a difficult and sometimes painful experience regardless of the standard of the movie. 

[Joe Terrapin]

On 12/01/2023 at 20:21, Squalor Vic said:

I actually quite liked Only God Forgives. Kinda swung for the fences a bit with it, admired him for that as he could have played it safer after Drive being such a success.

Valhalla Rising is good too, much preferred it to The Northman from last year.

This was my number 1 of the most pretentious shit films I have watched only to be pushed into 2nd place by 'I'm thinking of ending things'. Total nonsense.

[D Angelo Barksdale]

Watched a couple of French films, Dobermann (1997) which has Cassel and Bellucci in the lead roles but this is offset by trying too hard to be a Tarantino film. It may also be the first film to be directed by a bag of cocaine. Beau Travail (1999) was much better, homoeroticism, stunning landscapes and the French Foreign Legion. Quite thin on dialogue and plot but still good.

[Frankie S]

#5 Beast (Michael Pearce, 2017) Amazon Prime 9

Superb psychological thriller set on Jersey, where a troubled girl Moll (brilliantly played by Jessie Buckley) gets involved with charismatic outsider Pascal (Johnny Flynn) as a series of unsolved murders take place on the island. Both leads are excellent, and first time director Pearce skilfully ratchets up the tension as the film twists and turns its way towards its powerful conclusion. 

#6 Enys Men (Mark Jenkin, 2022) + Q&A with director - GFT, Glasgow 8

Jenkin follows his outstanding breakthrough film ‘Bait’ with the folk horror-influenced ‘Enys Men’ set on a remote Cornish island. I really liked this too, with the sound design (skilfully assembled by Jenkin after the shoot) particularly impressive. The immersive sound and minimalist electronic score give the film much of its eerie atmosphere, although like ‘Bait’, the resolutely lo-fi grainy visuals (although in vibrant colour here in contrast to ‘Bait’s austere monochrome) complement the sound perfectly, lending it the feel of a lost TV ghost story from the ‘70s. Jenkin has clearly been influenced by a number of other filmmakers, including Nicolas Roeg, Peter Strickland and David Lynch (whose own brilliant soundscapes must surely have been an inspiration), but he has his own distinctive voice and sensibility. My only (minor) criticism is that ‘Enys Men’ is a much more impressionistic film than ‘Bait’ and lacks its narrative cohesion, but nonetheless it’s still a hugely impressive and compelling work. Jenkin was an entertaining interviewee in the Q&A after the film, providing fascinating insights into his inspirations and the technical aspects of making the film. He has quickly established himself as one of the most singular talents at work in the British film industry today.

#7 The Feast (Lee Haven Jones, 2021) Apple TV 6

Interesting if not entirely effective Welsh folk horror film. I was expecting to enjoy this, and the fact that it’s in the Welsh language intrigued me, promising an authenticity that it ultimately failed to deliver. Unlike Mark Jenkin’s films, which are rooted in Cornish traditions and the Cornish landscape, with a keen sense of history, and a lo-fi retro sensibility that lends his projects a feeling of timelessness, The Feast’ aspires to a much slicker aesthetic, fusing its folk horror premise with gory modern slasher film tropes that largely undermine the film’s ostensibly traditionalist roots.

#8 Men (Alex Garland, 2022) Amazon Prime 7

I really enjoyed Alex Garland’s debut film ‘Ex Machina’, but was much less keen on ‘Annihilation’, so my expectations were modest for this one. The film starts strongly, with a traumatic event serving as the prologue, reminiscent of the openings to ‘Don’t Look Now’ and ‘Antichrist’, and like the former, ‘Men’ is a psychological horror film suffused in grief and guilt. Garland builds and sustains an intensely uneasy atmosphere, and in the early stages I was completely on board, but while Rory Kinnear is a fine actor, I wasn’t sold on the gimmick of him playing all the men who reside in the creepy countryside village that Harper Marlowe (the reliably excellent Jessie Buckley) retreats to for a period of recuperation following a harrowing, life-changing experience. At times, this plays like an elongated episode of ‘Inside Number 9’, with Kinnear exuding the same sort of arch thespian schtick as Shearsmith and Pemberton, and it’s obvious from the outset that all his characters are ‘wrong ‘uns’’. The avowedly feminist message of the film is laudable, but the conflation of all the male characters, rendered as interchangeable caricature villains, does it a disservice. The ending, like the prologue, is quite effective and unexpectedly chilling, but en route to its conclusion the film takes detours into comedy, folk horror and body horror, with consequently jarring tonal shifts. Ultimately, ‘Men’ is a messy collision of ideas, tones and styles. I suspect there’s a much better film lurking somewhere within the wreckage of this one, but despite my reservations, it makes for creepy and rather uncomfortable viewing, and it lingers unsettlingly afterwards.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Frankie S

[Squalor Vic]

Last Night in Soho (2021) - Easily the weakest of Edgar Wright's films, I just couldn't get in board at all. A young up and coming fashion designer moves from the country into London and finds herself descending into madness and seeing and living a life in the swinging sixties.

Really didn't like the main character, she came across as a simpleton, and a few of the supporting characters like her Gran and her mean girl style classmates were like cartoon stereotypes. I actually enjoyed the sixties storyline, would happily have watched a film wholly based around that. 

A weird film, didn't seem to know what it wanted to be

5/10