What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

[Guest]

This week's double-header was Pearl, the slightly more sedate prequel to last year's X, set a good five or six decades earlier. A different pace to the first film, with some deliberately hammy acting that was definitely in line with the B-Movie feel. That's not meant as a criticism either - I thought it worked well. You'd probably need to see X beforehand or you'd find this one a bit odd. I think there's a third film to follow. 

And then Rye Lane. Normally I would avoid anything with 'romantic comedy' in the description, but this was a good watch. Some funny lines throughout and they didn't give away all the best ones in the trailer, which is a pet hate of mine (can't stand it when they show a two or three minute trailer and give too much away).

Edited March 17, 2023 by IncomingExile

[DeeTillEhDeh]

On 13/03/2023 at 06:01, accies1874 said:

I think it's fair to categorise EEAO's dominance as a "sweep." 

It's been fun following it from being a random wee film with a bit of buzz behind it to becoming this huge phenomenon. You don't get that quite as much in the UK where a lot of Oscars films either release here with a lot of nominations attached or tend to be pretty hyped up regardless. 

EEAO has been hyped as well.

I found the film an unwatchable mess.

Edited March 18, 2023 by DeeTillEhDeh

[jimmy boo]

Living.....

Bill Nighy plays a stiff upper lip council manager who has given a few months to live and it changes his outlook and behaviour. Outstanding performances from him and supporting cast....loved it....8/10

[MSU]

072 Scream -- It bears repeating that in 1995, we got The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Leprechaun 3, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, and Piranha. 1996 gave us Scream. What makes Scream so good, I reckon, is that it gives us characters to care about, and it subverts expectations. It's like it looked at Hitchcock killing off Marion Crane in Psycho at the midway point and said hold my coffee. Killing Drew Barrymore after 13 minutes is still kinda insane when you think about it, and imagine going into it not expecting it. Incredible chase scenes, a sharp and witty and meta script when that was still unusual, and a Giallo-inspired whodunnit element, it's no wonder this is still a delight. Oh, to be 23 again and see this for the first time. 10/10

073 Scream 2 -- For me, this movie is all about two unbearably tense sequences that play back-to-back. Gail and Dewey are stalked in the college movie theater and soundproof booth, and then Sidney and Haley are trapped in a crashed cop car and have to crawl over a seemingly unconscious Ghostface in the driver's seat. Add to this a wonderfully deranged performance from Laurie Metcalf and there's a lot of fun to be had. Okay, so the end feels a good bit more manufactured, the kills less satisfying, and there are a couple of very questionable moments -- the song in the cafeteria, Sidney shaking the scenery in the denouement -- but with Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson still at the helm, as far as sequels go it ranks pretty high. 8/10

074 Scream 3 -- Proof, perhaps, that the lightning in the bottle wasn't just Wes Craven because with Kevin Williamson off doing Dawson's Creek, this is a bit a mess. That said, it's interesting that it has a go at the casting couch culture in Hollywood and the industry sexual impropriety with Harvey Weinstein's name on the credits. Sidney is little more than a bit character until the end, thanks to contractual issues with Neve Campbell, so it's left to Gail and Dewey to keep the action engaging, and not even Courteney Cox's bizarre hair is enough to do that. It's Scooby Doo style hokum. 5/10

075 Scream 4 -- In an alternate universe, this would be Scream 3. Craven and Williamson back for what would be the final time makes a better swansong for that generation, a more fitting end to the trilogy. There's plenty I still like about this one; the opening sequences that seemed to be inspired by Inception, the kills are more brutal than I remember, and Hayden Panettiere being the only one with a tan. But it's a tired Sidney Prescott and I don't think I would've begrudged her for bowing out at this stage. Poor Dewey and Gale are beginning to feel like Donald Pleasence in some of the higher-numbered Halloween sequels, desperately trying to be relevant. And who is still selling Ghostface masks at this point? Fucking capitalism. Not bad, not great, better than the last one, pretty much instantly forgettable, and I can't remember the last character I actually cared about. 6/10

076 Scream -- The new cast is a welcome alternative to the old guard who were already looking pretty tired in their roles 11 years previously in Scream 4. Their introduction here is a bridge between the two collections, I guess, but in retrospect, did Sidney really need to return? Maybe not. The meta chat feels even more tired when you see all the movies essentially back to back. It's fun, though, the kills have really amped up in the last decade, and well would you believe it but I actually cared about Judy Hicks and her kid. The ending might as well have arrows pointing at it from the end of Act One, the continuity of who killed who makes no sense, but it's still enjoyable. It's just not as good as I first thought, and whenever I get around to seeing it again, I expect I'll feel the same way about Scream VI. 7/10

077 Champions -- I'm so glad no one tried to make this in the 90s. Woody Harrelson plays a stubborn assistant basketball coach in the Nowhere Leagues who assaults his boss during a game, gets drunk, and then drives into the back of a parked police car. He's given a choice of a custodial sentence or to coach an intellectually disabled team for 90 days. Can this bum of a coach turn this team into winners and maybe, just maybe, learn a bit about himself and the world in the process? Well, if you've seen a sporting comedy in your life, you probably know all the beats that this is going to hit as it slowly saunters its way to the obvious conclusion. Even the love interest B Story of Harrelson and Kaitlin Olson sticks very much to the well-trodden path. The interest in the movie comes from the characters in the team but it's all rather miss rather than hit and aside from a few laugh-out-loud moments, it's mostly a comedy that you smile at while appreciating what it's trying to do. I wish it had been funnier, I wish it had been braver in its narrative choices, and ohmygod I wish it had been shorter, but I'm glad that it exists and that it gives the intellectually disabled a rare opportunity to see themselves on screen, making the jokes rather than being the butt of them. Judging by the viewing I was in, people enjoy being positively represented in the media they watch. Who knew? 6/10

Edited March 19, 2023 by MSU

[BFTD]

I must be the only person who never liked Scream, despite looking forward to it because Wes Craven's early work was a bit special.

Also, Drew Barrymore was a has-been child star in 1996, and hadn't had her millennial rom-com renaissance yet. Her being killed off at the beginning was less 'Janet Leigh in Psycho' and more 'thanks for giving my client a bit of work, Wes'  

Edit: sorry, spoilers for Psycho  

Edited March 19, 2023 by BTFD

[Guest]

Allelujah. A film adaptation of a 2018 Alan Bennett play (which I didn't know until afterwards). My last entry on this topic mentioned how I hate the longer trailers that give too much of a film away - they definitely avoided doing so in the trailers for this film. My 23rd film of the year so far and it's going to be one of my favourites come New Year's Eve.   

(Edit: was deliberately vague about the subject as the film has only just come out. Geriatric ward of a hospital with a very distinguished cast). 

Edited March 19, 2023 by IncomingExile

[Steve_Wilkos]

On 19/03/2023 at 14:47, MSU said:

077 Champions -- I'm so glad no one tried to make this in the 90s. Woody Harrelson plays a stubborn assistant basketball coach in the Nowhere Leagues who assaults his boss during a game, gets drunk, and then drives into the back of a parked police car. He's given a choice of a custodial sentence or to coach an intellectually disabled team for 90 days. Can this bum of a coach turn this team into winners and maybe, just maybe, learn a bit about himself and the world in the process? Well, if you've seen a sporting comedy in your life, you probably know all the beats that this is going to hit as it slowly saunters its way to the obvious conclusion. Even the love interest B Story of Harrelson and Kaitlin Olson sticks very much to the well-trodden path. The interest in the movie comes from the characters in the team but it's all rather miss rather than hit and aside from a few laugh-out-loud moments, it's mostly a comedy that you smile at while appreciating what it's trying to do. I wish it had been funnier, I wish it had been braver in its narrative choices, and ohmygod I wish it had been shorter, but I'm glad that it exists and that it gives the intellectually disabled a rare opportunity to see themselves on screen, making the jokes rather than being the butt of them. Judging by the viewing I was in, people enjoy being positively represented in the media they watch. Who knew? 6/10

Spoiler

The scene where they all ran out of the hall instead of doing laps made me almost piss myself laughing.

 

Also, Everything Everywhere All At Once - 7/10

[MSU]

37 minutes ago, Steve_Wilkos said:

  Hide contents

The scene where they all ran out of the hall instead of doing laps made me almost piss myself laughing.

 

Also, Everything Everywhere All At Once - 7/10

Spoiler

It was the guy going on about his three-way that had me creased up.

 

[MSU]

On 19/03/2023 at 15:20, BTFD said:

Also, Drew Barrymore was a has-been child star in 1996, and hadn't had her millennial rom-com renaissance yet. Her being killed off at the beginning was less 'Janet Leigh in Psycho' and more 'thanks for giving my client a bit of work, Wes'  

 

Sure I read somewhere that she was supposed to play the lead and convinced Craven to give her the Casey role instead, so I'm not sure anyone was doing her a favour there, other than giving her the smaller part.

[Miguel Sanchez]

Speed

They don't make films like this nowadays. Just imagine it. A bunch of c***s on their phones filming everything and screaming the whole time.

[Mr. Brightside]

Anyone else seen the new Creed film? Saw it today and it's perfectly enjoyable, but what stood out to me was the mega Tom Hardy vibes Jonathan Majors' performance was giving off.

Edited March 23, 2023 by Mr. Brightside

[scottsdad]

Shazam, Fury of the Gods. 

Enjoyable nonsense. I enjoyed this one more than the new Ant Man. 

Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu as the baddies was an interesting choice. Especially the fight scenes (Mirren has a long one early on) but... Why not? They clearly were having fun. 

[Ewanandmoreagain]

Funeral in Berlin - very enjoyable spy                                          capers in.

A good sting in the tale 

Spoiler

that occurs in the post funeral part of the film

Maurice still excellent in his own way as ' arry.

Another spy film that mentions the U.K. and allies employing ex - Nazis during the Cold War

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by Ewanandmoreagain

[Ewanandmoreagain]

 

Mr Jones - A Welsh reporter in the Soviet                       Union   in the 30s investigating how the country appears to be more successful than might one think

A predecessor was killed in a robbery. 

He discovers very , very little of Ukraine's grain benefits the Ukrainians as it goes to Moscow resulting in famine

This does not make him popular with the Soviets , OR  the west with the 30's Depression , Hitler in the process of gaining power , etc

George Orwell " appears " throughout writing 1984

Edited March 23, 2023 by Ewanandmoreagain

[Theroadlesstravelled]

I did not care for Pulp Fiction. It insists upon itself.

In fact none of Tarantino’s movies were enjoyable.

[Stellaboz]

All Quiet on the Western Front

 

Been looking forward to watching this for a while since I saw it was on Netflix, as I enjoy a war film from time to time.

What an absolutely  brilliant film. It follows a young German keen to get to the front in WW1 but quickly finds out its not the romanticised life he's thought. 

Shows little bits of how life at the front would have been and does it well. Also highlights the madness on armistice day.

[JustOneCornetto]

(21) Woodplum (1980) – Netflix                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 A wee film from Belgium which plays out like a fable about four schoolchildren who find a seemingly abandoned baby in the woods and decide to hide her and care for her as they think the baby would be put in an orphanage. Add in the mysterious appearance of a man in a hot air balloon who seems to be studying the environment around the small town and you wonder if he has put the baby there as some sort of experiment. It’s all very ‘children v adults’ and not a bad watch if you like something out of the ordinary. 6.5/10

(22) Noise (2023) – Netflix                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Another Belgian film, this time a dramatic thriller which scores very low on IMDB but I thought it wasn’t too bad. Admittedly it does have faults, mainly it’s a bit slow and the ending leaves a lot of questions but it was interesting enough to make it a decent enough watch. A young man, Matt, who seems to earn money through being an influencer?, goes back to live in his childhood house with his partner and baby son. You soon realise he is suffering from some sort of psychosis as he becomes obsessed with a dark secret connected to the local chemical factory which his father ran. Certainly no classic but it filled an hour and a half.  5.5/10

(23) Sabrina (1954) – Sky Cinema                                                                                                                                                                                         

Can’t resist an Audrey Hepburn film. This one’s a Billy Wilder romantic comedy but it’s not as funny as some of his other films. William Holden and Humphrey Bogart play two brothers from a rich family and Sabrina, the daughter of the family’s chauffeur, is in love with David, played by Holden, but Linus (Bogart) tries to keep them apart for business reasons. The casting is not good as the age gap between Hepburn and the two men is just too much, especially Bogey (about 30 years). 6/10

(24) Girl In the Basement (2021) – Paramount +                                                                                                                                                                         

A US take on the Josef Fritzl story. The girl playing the imprisoned daughter is very good and some scenes are extremely harrowing with Judd Nelson playing the father who you hate the first minute you see him. Covers the whole 20 year period of his degrading acts on his daughter and if you did not know it was based on a real story you would think it was too incredulous to be true. They give the film a bit of a Hollywood ending but still pretty good. 6.5/10

(25) An American In Paris (1951) – DVD                                                                                                                                                                                     

Not a big fan of musicals but this is not bad at all. Gene Kelly is undoubtedly a fantastic dancer but his acting is pretty good as well, never taking himself too seriously. Big lavish dance sequences and the music is lively going well with the Parisian backdrop .Leslie Caron is so-so as the love interest but overall it’s a good watch.7.5/10

Edited March 24, 2023 by JustOneCornetto

[MazzyStar]

Lapsis (2020) - Carl from ATHF gets a job in the gig economy walking through the woods laying cable. 

[velo army]

John Wick 4.

I was expecting a lot of brainless action tropes as I sat down to watch this with a service user (I was working and he wanted to see it).

What I got was an homage to stoic masculinity and a much smarter film than I had any right to expect.

It isn't perfect, it's a bit too long and the last action scene could have been cut in half. There were a couple of tonal dissonances but they weren't enough to derail my enjoyment.

The character Reeves plays is essentially a McGuffin in this. Through him we get to see the other characters and their relationships with each other. The performances are fantastic and the script barely wastes a line of dialogue. Bill Skarsgaard and Ian McShane chew up every bit of scenery they're in too.. They're incredible in this. 

The direction and music are spot on. Some of the scene composition reminded me of auteur directors at times. 

This was a surprisingly and deeply enjoyable film.

 

[Ewanandmoreagain]

16 hours ago, Theroadlesstravelled said:

I did not care for Pulp Fiction. It insists upon itself.

In fact none of Tarantino’s movies were enjoyable.

12 Alan MacGregors is overrated !