What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[accies1874]

2. Tár - Cinema

This was a good measure of how good a film needs to be to even out a dreadful experience. Freezing cold cinema which clearly had a door open which let in all outside traffic noise, dimly projected, distracting audience. Tár is great though. 

For a brief second as the film started, I worried that this was gonna be horribly pretentious, but the scene unravels in a way that places Cate Blanchett on a pedestal that I was dying to see how they knocked her down from it. Very slowly, it turns out, but interestingly imo. You've got this captivating character and performance and you watch them slowly unravel in a way that kind of surprised me when it became clear she was over the edge, however it makes complete sense when you consider the sort of death by 1000 b-stories (not quite, obvs) narrative that's going on. I'm pretty sure that every single theme, character detail and plot point is there within the first 20 minutes or so and they're taken down a really engrossing path. 

There's a one-take scene really early on that's quite simply spectacular and, again, tells you absolutely everything you need to know. The performance and the camera work grab you and don't let go, but then it comes back around in a surprising, clever and pertinent way. 

I was expecting the sound design in the orchestral scenes to be great - that goes without saying - but the quieter, isolated sounds when she's often on her own stood out. Pretty simple but satisfying stuff that's more impressive in a character study than the more bombastic moments. 

It's long and it feels long, but I genuinely didn't give a rat's ass as I had complete faith in those involved straight from the first scene. Excellent. 

[Squalor Vic]

2 hours ago, accies1874 said:

2. Tár - Cinema

This was a good measure of how good a film needs to be to even out a dreadful experience. Freezing cold cinema which clearly had a door open which let in all outside traffic noise, dimly projected, distracting audience. Tár is great though. 

For a brief second as the film started, I worried that this was gonna be horribly pretentious, but the scene unravels in a way that places Cate Blanchett on a pedestal that I was dying to see how they knocked her down from it. Very slowly, it turns out, but interestingly imo. You've got this captivating character and performance and you watch them slowly unravel in a way that kind of surprised me when it became clear she was over the edge, however it makes complete sense when you consider the sort of death by 1000 b-stories (not quite, obvs) narrative that's going on. I'm pretty sure that every single theme, character detail and plot point is there within the first 20 minutes or so and they're taken down a really engrossing path. 

There's a one-take scene really early on that's quite simply spectacular and, again, tells you absolutely everything you need to know. The performance and the camera work grab you and don't let go, but then it comes back around in a surprising, clever and pertinent way. 

I was expecting the sound design in the orchestral scenes to be great - that goes without saying - but the quieter, isolated sounds when she's often on her own stood out. Pretty simple but satisfying stuff that's more impressive in a character study than the more bombastic moments. 

It's long and it feels long, but I genuinely didn't give a rat's ass as I had complete faith in those involved straight from the first scene. Excellent. 

I'm really looking forward to seeing it

[Squalor Vic]

Aftersun (2022) 

One of the best, most moving films I've seen for a long time. Didn't know much about it going in, only that it was getting rave reviews and it blew me away. Some of the camera shots and te use of music were just top class. For a debut film I doubt you'll see much better. Paul Mescal and Frankie Corrio were both absolutely unreal. Loved it, I'm in no rush to watch it again but it's going to stick with me for a while I feel 

[accies1874]

11 hours ago, Squalor Vic said:

Aftersun (2022) 

One of the best, most moving films I've seen for a long time. Didn't know much about it going in, only that it was getting rave reviews and it blew me away. Some of the camera shots and te use of music were just top class. For a debut film I doubt you'll see much better. Paul Mescal and Frankie Corrio were both absolutely unreal. Loved it, I'm in no rush to watch it again but it's going to stick with me for a while I feel 

It's a great feeling when something you nothing/very little about blows you away. I was the exact same with Aftersun.

[D Angelo Barksdale]

Avatar 2 The Way of Water (2022)

Box Office Jim does it again. Incredible.

[MSU]

011 The Old Way -- If anyone has been wondering if True Grit would've been better with Nic Cage in it, the answer would seem to be no. The Old Way steals every basic Western trope available as a retired gunslinger, Cage, is forced out of retirement when his wife is killed by a figure from his past. Ryan Kiera Armstrong steals the show as his daughter but it's nowhere near enough. The cinematography is poor, the color palette is oversaturated, and it's scored by someone who hasn't seen the movie and is just guessing where the big emotional beats land. It's another January movie, sadly, but it does get the Nicolas Cage western cosplay out of the way ahead of his vampire cosplay in a couple of months time. 3/10

012 Corsage -- Vicky Krieps is excellent as a fictionalized version of Empress Elisabeth of Austria who has recently turned 40, the papers are obsessed with her weight, she is in a loveless marriage, and she's having an affair with a commoner. If it sounds a bit like something else, it wasn't helped by playing out like Spencer too. The costumes are incredible, as is the soundtrack, and the sets have a stale, stuffiness to them that contrast very well to the fresh air that Elisabeth yearns for. But overall, again like Spencer, there's an ennui to it that just wasn't enough to compel me, or encourage me to enjoy it more. 6/10

013 Under the Silver Lake (#82 in the A24 series) -- Andrew Garfield plays a bit of a waster who meets a strange woman, Riley Keough, whose disappearance seems to give him a motivation that he's been lacking as he moves through a bizarre world of skunks, a dog killer, hidden messages, and conspiracies as he tries to find her. The story is quite Hitchcockian with a Lynchian slant in its delivery and it's tough work at times because a lot of it feels weird just for the sake of it, and boring just for the sake of it, and a bit leery and lecherous, but it's shot so well and the soundtrack is so incredible, it's impossible not to be carried along by it, even though it's never clear what *it* exactly is. 4/10

014 Skin (#83 in the A24 series) -- At several points during Skin's two-hour runtime, I expected Louis Theroux to show up and ask some heavy questions in a soothing voice. I'd quite like that to have happened. I'm not entirely sure the story is told from the most interesting perspective but given it's autobiographical, I guess there was limited latitude on that point. Because telling the story from a Nazi perspective -- albeit a gradually reformed one thanks to the love of a family -- is a bit tiring, while worthy. 5/10

015 Missing -- When her mother, Grace, goes missing while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, 18 year old June employs all the everyday methods and applications at her fingertips to track her down. Mostly everything we see is from apps running on a computer or phone screen, kinda reminiscent of Unfriended and Searching, the latter of which this is a standalone sequel to. The mystery is a huge amount of fun, particularly once June has employed the services of Javier, played Joaquim de Almeida, as her eyes and ears on the ground in Cartagena, but with every answer June finds, more questions are raised, and the validity of previous answers are thrown into doubt. Directors Nicholas D Johnson and Will Merrick keep the pace high and energized but it's the incredible editing work that really keeps the movie ticking over. 8/10

[accies1874]

I should've loved Under the Silver Lake but I just couldn't get over the frustration of it all.

[yoda]

Andrew Garfield was good in it. I liked him a lot - a millennial version of Elliot Gould's Philip Marlowe. The rest of it was a mess but there were a couple of redeeming moments.

I know folk who love it though. 

[MSU]

5 hours ago, accies1874 said:

I should've loved Under the Silver Lake but I just couldn't get over the frustration of it all.

 

4 hours ago, yoda said:

Andrew Garfield was good in it. I liked him a lot - a millennial version of Elliot Gould's Philip Marlowe. The rest of it was a mess but there were a couple of redeeming moments.

I know folk who love it though. 

I liked Garfield in it enough, and I think if it had just been 10% less frustrating, and if anything in it mattered at all, it would probably be a film I watch every year.

[paranoid android]

Watched some of I, Tonya last night - we love Margot Robbie because she's a babe, but it really struck me what a brilliant dedicated actress she is - is there a better young actress active at that level at the moment?

I watched most of Picnic at Hanging Rock the other night - that is one eerie movie! 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by paranoid android

[WC Boggs]

I watched Ghostbusters Afterlife.  I'll leave criticism to the critics. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[velo army]

Source Code (2013?)

Time travel adventure with a twist starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan. Jake G is a former air force captain sent back in time to a parallel dimension to stop a bomb. Time travel is a tricky thing to surf in movies as it creates all sorts of plot holes. It's dealt with very well here, with the parameters and rules explained concisely. It's a very well done movie and it felt like it went by in a flash.

Jake G and Vera Farmiga are excellent, as is Monaghan. The plot is easy to follow which means I was invested very quickly. The ending is hopeful and the message is overall one of hope, perseverance and embracing the unexpected. 

I absolutely loved this.

 

 

[Steve_Wilkos]

Aftersun - 7/10

The Banshees of Inisherin - 8/10

The Menu - 8/10

Barbarian - 8/10

I have got a Disney Plus subscription for a month.

Does anyone have any film recommendations on there? Cheers

[Geddy_Lee]

4 hours ago, Steve_Wilkos said:

I have got a Disney Plus subscription for a month.

Does anyone have any film recommendations on there? Cheers

Prey - Very good installment to the Predator series (8/10)

and a couple of decent easy to watch 90 minute films..... Underwater (7/10) and No Exit (7/10)

and Danny Boyle's Sunshine from a few years back is also on there (watched it at the weekend) 8/10.

[D Angelo Barksdale]

The King of New York (1990) all time classic this one, made me realise it had been too long since I last watched it. John and the Hole (2021) a young lad discovers an unfinished bunker in his garden and promptly drugs his family and chucks them in it. Weird. Prevenge (2017) slasher film about a pregnant woman. This was funny in spots with some recognisable faces in the cast.

[Mark Connolly]

12 hours ago, Steve_Wilkos said:

Aftersun - 7/10

The Banshees of Inisherin - 8/10

The Menu - 8/10

Barbarian - 8/10

I have got a Disney Plus subscription for a month.

Does anyone have any film recommendations on there? Cheers

Amsterdam

See How They Run

[scottsdad]

Turner and Hooch

Struggling to find something to watch with the kids last night, I came across this old classic on Disney Plus. It took a bit of convincing them that a 35 year old film was worth the effort, but they trusted me.

It was fun - a few good laughs and a feel good movie all round...

But I had completely forgotten that the fucking dog gets shot to death at the end. Utter minter from me. The dog is lying on the table, the vet is shaking her head. The kids - expecting a modern day miracle of the dog perking up - were horrified. What a brutal ending.

[Steve_Wilkos]

Dead Silence - 2/10

[JustOneCornetto]

(08) His Girl Friday (1940) – DVD

This is one of those screwball comedies popular back in the day. It’s all very fast talking with plenty of laughs including some Hollywood in-jokes. Cary Grant is excellent in a plot based on the successful Broadway show The Front Page with him playing a newspaper editor who makes every effort to stop his star reporter, who is also his ex-wife played by Rosalind Russell, from leaving to marry boring Insurance man played by Ralph Bellamy. Stands the test of time really well and the satire on political corruption is spot on even today. 8/10

(09) A Man Called Otto (2022) – Cineworld

Maybe my expectations were too high but found this bit disappointing. American remakes of Scandi films do tend to be inferior, I’m thinking of The Guilty with Jake Gyllenhall for example, however with Tom Hanks in the lead role I was hoping for a better film. Considering the central theme of grief over the loss of his wife I thought the humour would have been very dark but it’s all pretty predictable and even though Hanks is trying to be Mr Grumpy you always view him as a loveable character. 6/10

(10) Cisco Pike (1971) – Talking Pictures

Great cast with Kris Kristofferson in his first acting role along with Gene Hackman, Karen Black and Harry Dean Stanton. Hackman is a crooked Cop who blackmails ex-rock star Kristofferson into selling a load of stolen drugs for him. It’s all very sex, drugs and rock & roll with that obvious 70s feel to it. It does plod along a bit but the last few minutes are pretty exciting. 6/10

(11) Alice (2022) – Sky Cinema

Based on real-life history of some Black Americans enslaved well after the Emancipation Proclamation. The plot has similarities to M Night Shyamalan’s The Village with Alice managing to escape from brutal plantation owner played by Jonny Lee Miller and finding herself in a totally unfamiliar environment. It’s a good story and you do root for her however her transformation is extreme but it does lead to a satisfying ending which has you cheering for her when she becomes like Pam Grier and seeks revenge after she’s helped by a Black political activist who takes her to see the film Coffy. 6.5/10

Edited January 26, 2023 by JustOneCornetto

[Frankie S]

#9 The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022) Disney+ 9

I loved Martin McDonagh’s debut feature ‘In Bruges’, but was relatively cool on his next two films (‘Seven Psychopaths’ and ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’), but I’m delighted to say that ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ is a real return to form. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, who made such a great double act in ‘In Bruges’ are reunited here, and their rapport is better than ever. It’s an improbable tale of a petty feud between two lifelong friends who live on a remote island set off the west coast of Ireland, but McDonagh’s script is superb, the cinematography is gorgeous and the entire cast is first class. The film starts off as a gentle comedy, but things get progressively darker as the feud escalates. Quite simply, this is a delight from start to finish.

#10 Barbarian (Zach Cregger, 2022) Disney+ 6

‘Barbarian’, the debut film from American comedian and actor Zach Creggar, has been greeted with glowing reviews, so I was looking forward to it. It starts off promisingly, with the protagonist Tess (played by Georgina Campbell) checking into an Air BnB only to discover that it’s already occupied by (an apparently nice) young man named Keith (Bill Skarsgård).

Spoiler

However, given the terrible weather, and the lack of available hotel rooms in the city (merely the first in a long line of highly improbable developments - a convention in town is hardly likely to result in every hotel room in Detroit being taken), she unwisely accepts Bill’s invitation to stay the night. The house is situated in a distinctly unpromising area, and it’s clear from get go that she should get the hell out, but her bizarre decision to stay is subsequently compounded by an exponentially escalating series of irrational decisions, and her reckless disregard for her own safety seems to be contagious, as she’s far from the only character to defy logic. Rather like ‘Men’, this film transitions so abruptly from one theme and mood to the next that I felt like I had whiplash. One switch that works rather well is when the film suddenly segues from the dark corridors lurking beneath the Air BnB, grimly located in the blasted wasteland of Detroit’s hinterland, to an idyllic scene of an open-topped sports car cruising down sun-kissed Big Sur in California, accompanied by the mellow vibes of Donovan’s ‘Riki Tiki Tavi’ (a superlative needle drop), before quickly veering into even darker territory. The film then morphs rather clumsily into a Jordan Peele-style issue horror film, before turning into ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ meets ‘The Evil Dead’.

It’s very watchable and indisputably well-made nonsense, but like a lot of recent horror films, it’s simply trying to be too clever for its own good.

#11 Resurrection (Andrew Semans, 2022) 8

This is a very strange film. It’s a psychological horror film with a premise so bizarre that it reminded me of Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 film ‘Possession’, another film that makes no sense by any conventional standards, but is nonetheless so unremittingly creepy and unsettling that it scares the hell out of you anyway. ‘Resurrection’ succeeds by taking its absurd premise seriously, suffusing the film within such tension and existential dread, that it practically compels you to buy into the implausible central conceit (which for most of the film’s duration is wisely shrouded in ambiguity). It doesn’t hurt that the excellent Rebecca Hall, who is carving out a niche for herself in superior horror films (see also ‘The Night House’) is superb here, and Tim Roth also does great work as her creepy ex-boyfriend, though Hall’s stellar performance as a successful career woman disintegrating into obsession and madness overshadows everything else. It’s a solid 9/10 effort all the way through, until the final stretch, where much of the film’s mystery dissolves, as it embraces rather more conventional horror tropes. I wish it had ended on a more ambiguous note, as the tantalising, ominous build up and the committed performances of the leads certainly earned it.

#12 Tár (Todd Field, 2022) Vue cinema 9

This very long but engrossing film takes an elliptical approach towards dealing with some fairly weighty topics (cancel culture, abuse of power within cultural institutions, #MeToo, inter-generational conflicts), and has been unfairly criticised in some quarters (IMO) for presenting a complex, layered portrait of an essentially unsympathetic protagonist - the conductor Lydia Tár. The film leaves little doubt that Tár is a monstrously manipulative character, even as it showcases her tenacity and brilliance, so I think the suggestion that Field should have nailed his colours rather more firmly to the mast, to signal which side of the culture wars he’s really on, are misguided. One thing about the film that’s beyond contention is that Cate Blanchett is sensational in the lead role. The film starts sedately, but slowly transforms into a beguilingly surreal work. Bizarrely, it plays like a (highbrow) super-villain origin story. I look forward to the next chapter in the Tár Cinematic Universe.

#13 Spiral (Darren Lynn Bouseman, 2022) Netflix 4

Unlucky number 13. This spinoff of the ‘Saw’ franchise is as bad as you might expect. I’m not sure why I watched it. I suspect my never-ending frustration with the depressingly shallow selection of films available on Netflix boiled over momentarily, and rather than do something better instead, I pressed ‘play’ impulsively on my remote. In mitigation, it was almost certainly a Pavlovian response to seeing the names Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson (both of whom I usually like) on the cast list. Rock is quite good here, but he’s got very thin material to work with. It’s a police procedural horror film, though it’s not remotely in the same class as the best examples of the genre, such as ‘Cure’ or ‘The Wailing’, or David Fincher’s ‘Se7en’ and ‘Zodiac’.

Spoiler

There’s one amusing moment, when Rock’s character Detective Zeke Banks prepares to raid a drugs den, and he quips to his partner Detective William Schenk (played by Max Minghella), ‘This is some serious ‘New Jack City’ shit right here’, slyly referencing his role as the crack addict Pookie in that film.

Overall though, it’s a by-the-numbers cash grab masquerading as a movie.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Frankie S