DVDs and Films You Have Watched Recently 3 - The Final Insult

[Bellenda Carlisle]

57 minutes ago, gmoney said:

It's always a bit of a risk when something has been referenced and parodied so much that it will lose something when you finally watch the original, but that wasn't the case here. 

I thought that might be the case when I first watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest years ago, I'd seen it parodied in the Simpsons and stuff and knew 90% of what it was about but I was completely wrong because I was inconsolable after watching it. 

[Devon Malcolm]

Mom and Dad is crap. I'm not sitting through any more films where the sole selling point is Nicolas Cage screeching.

[Lorne Malvo]

The most annoying thing about Mom and Dad is that it's a half-decent premise, they just made a pretty shitty film out of it.

Still, it's no Mandy. Mandy has the distinct honour of being the one film where I went for a piss and didn't bother to pause it.

[Factotum]

Quote

Anthony Hopkins (who incidentally is fucking smoking in this. I've never considered him to be particularly handsome, though maybe it was because he was acting against someone dressed as John Merrick)

I read Lynch's book recently and quite eye opening what a dickhead Hopkins is. Lynch is quite fair on him as well.

[ColinBollocks]

5 minutes ago, Factotum said:

I read Lynch's book recently and quite eye opening what a dickhead Hopkins is. Lynch is quite fair on him as well.

Do tell.

[Factotum]

In the book Lynch mentions that Hopkins would blow his top at him infront of the crew. He demanded Lynch be replaced etc. Just general shitty behavior that I think really affected Lynch a lot during the shooting.

I believe Hopkins has mentioned that he wrote him a letter years later apologising. Not sure Lynch ever responded bar mentioning it in his book (which I would highly recommend)

Hopkins also doesn't see his kid I believe. Pretty complex dude.

[WyattSheepMask]

Yeah, he’s had quite a sour relationship with his daughter after Hoplind walked out on his first marriage when she was 2 or 3 years old. The reconciled briefly in the 90s before falling out again, and he hasn’t spoken to her for the better of 20 years now

[Accident Prone]

Watched The Night Comes For Us yesterday.

Well that was quite good! The fight scenes are amazingly brutal, but never once in a "Oh fuck, I have to look away" fashion, but more in a "Whoa fuck, that was super cool!" way.  The aesthetics and soundtrack fit the mood perfectly too, and there are some great callbacks and nods throughout.

It does have it's drawbacks though. Typically, as is with most foreign action movies, a lot of the editing is slap dash and jarring, and it's probably done to make it easier for us English cretins to follow. There are a couple of scenes in particular where they shoehorn in some English for no reason and it halts any momentum it was gaining, as well as some scenes were it suddenly goes from day to night (and vice versa) within seconds. 

The main cast of characters often feel paper thin, so occasionally the film loses any emotional core, but luckily the fight scenes are incredible so you tend to just focus on that. There's times when you don't know who is who and what they are doing. Would've been nice to spend some time learning about everyone so that their actions have some heart to them, but when it's a film that has a man getting his legs blown off by a shotgun, that's probably a bit much to ask.

8/10

Edited November 26, 2018 by Accident Prone

[Devon Malcolm]

Just don't watch May the Devil Take You because it's the complete opposite of how enjoyable The Night Comes for Us was. Complete shit.

Patti Cake$ - vaguely remember this being on at the cinema last year and I wish I'd seen it there. Predictable but loads of fun with some great rap numbers.

Fruitvale Station - one of those films that makes you simultaneously angry and sad. Michael B. Jordan is a brilliant actor.

[wordsfromlee]

I loved Fruitvale Station. It was the first thing I'd seen Michael B. Jordan in since he played Wallace in The Wire and I was instantly sold.

[Devon Malcolm]

Shame he's arseing around with cape films now. I might have to watch Chronicle but that's got Dane DeHaan in it. Fuck's sake.

Bad Day for the Cut just got put on Netflix. It's pretty good but I'd like to see an Irish crime film now that doesn't feel the need to have some comedy in it. This would have been far better if it was all serious. Susan Lynch is great though.

[Keith Houchen]

45 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Bad Day for the Cut just got put on Netflix.

It's been on there for a while, it's been on my list for a month or two.  Of course, when I get round to watching it, it will have been removed for about 6 months.

[cobra_gordo]

Bohemian Rhapsody- Inaccuracies and skewed timelines aside I thoroughly enjoyed it. The last 20 minutes or so is wonderful. Rami Malek is rightly getting loads of praise for his portrayal of Freddie but the guys playing Brian May and John Deacon stole it for me, absolutely spot on with the voices, manerisms and how they move and play on stage.

Widows- Saw this on a whim because we were passing a Vue cinema on a Monday morning and it was £3.99 a ticket. Didn't know what to expect but it's a solid enough thriller, even though the pace slows a bit in the middle. Viola Davis is superb, Robert Duvall is brilliantly unlikable.

The Predator- Arguably the worst film I've ever seen.

[gmoney]

Continuing re-watching or filling in the gaps of David Lynch's filmography, last night me and the missus watched Dune. This was new on me, as I had avoided it because I'd heard it was shit and I was also under the impression that Sting was the main protagonist, which is something that didn't appeal. As it was, this was pretty shit, but Sting was only in it sparingly (and he was actually alright). It was a confusing mess, with lots of shitty voiceovers trying to paper over cracks. There was some stuff to like though, Baron Harkonan was great fun, and there was a bit where Patrick Stewart went running into battle with a dog under his jacket, but I don't think I'll be revisiting that. 

[Loki]

It's an absolutely gorgeous film in places, if you watch the theatrical version and not a pan and scan.  And it's got a cracking cast.  But it really is a mess.  I suspect they cut a lot of stuff out and thereby lost the thread of what Lynch was trying to do.  I really love it but it's hugely flawed.