cobra_gordo Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Had a good weekend for movies. Watched The Dirt. I've never read the book but those stories have been told and retold in some many interviews by the band and those that were around them at the time that it all felt really familiar. Got to agree with @SuperBacon that Iwan Rheon as Mick Mars and Machine Gun Kelly as Tommy Lee were the best things about it. Finally got round to watching Train To Busan aswell. Holy shit, such a great movie, kicking myself I hadn't watched it sooner. Well written, great characters, good special effects- it just breezed by. Genuine emotional responses from me and the Mrs for certain death scenes aswell. Will definitely watch again. Lego Movie 2 was enjoyable enough. I was nodding off so wasn't paying as much attention as I'd have liked to but liked what I saw, just not quite to the extent that I loved the first one and Lego Batman. Few good gags and references thrown in there. Kids assured me it was excellent. Happy Death Day 2U. Absolutely loved the first one and this is more the same. Seems to have been shat on by some for revealing too much about how the events of the first came about but I wasn't bothered. These films are tongue-in-cheek enough for it to work. Easily as good as the first. Will also get repeat viewings. The Kid Who Would Be King was a fun, traditional kids adventure film. Good performances from all involved including crazy old Patrick Stewart. Alita Battle Angel. Dogshit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted March 25, 2019 Moderators Share Posted March 25, 2019 Rewatched Jurassic Park properly for the first time in a long time. It's one of those films I always catch when it's on tv. Consequently I always miss the beginning and don't give it my full attention. This may sound stupid, but I never quite realised what a colossal prick John Hammond is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members waters44 Posted March 25, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted March 25, 2019 (edited) Us spoilers Edit - can’t unspoiler my final point after Us talk. I watched a cracking film called Thelma today - it’s a Norwegian supernatural thriller and is absolutely brilliant! Please check it out if you can A great film that doesn’t so much fall off a cliff but spectacularly launches itself off and explodes in a million pieces. First the good - Lupita Nyong’o’s two performances were absolutely fantastic! The whole family were great but she was really special. Every tiny detail between the two characters were so different I honestly wasn’t sure at times that they were two different people. The main family were perfectly cast - The trailer showed too much of the house invasion scene but it was still completely gripping. Reminded me of the dream sequence in Beast (which is still one of the scariest things I’ve seen in film) where there’s trouble every corner the camera takes you - My favourite part of the film where you get the reveal that there are other doppelgängers in play. The way Tim Heidecker just slips out the word “Hello” in a completely bemused and terrified way when he sees one of his twin daughter’s doppelgänger come out of the bedroom and stabs her absolutely makes that scene for me. - Soundtrack really good. Loved the I Got Five On It mix towards the end. The bad - I really loved the reveal that everybody has a doppelgänger but the film couldn’t deliver a clear enough reason as to why or how. Do they even explain it or is Peele hoping fans will just try and work it out themselves? There was one line that I think was trying to explain it, something about humans being at fault, but I missed it and couldn’t catch up afterwards. - The scene with the tethered bumbling around underground doing exactly the same as their counterpart looked excruciatingly stupid. - How come the son could manipulate his doppelgänger but others couldn’t? Was this explained? - Why the tethered young Adelaide could go up the magic elevator when others couldnt I listened to Kermode’s review on it and he was loving the way 11:11 was repeated everywhere, and how everything in the film had an opposite. I noticed most of that during the film but it didn’t really come across really clever filmmaking like a lot of the little touches in Get Out did. That’s the only review I’ve seen though, I’m looking forward to listening to some more podcasts and opening my mind up to other parts of the film. And of course I’m excited to watch it again to hopefully rub out some of my concerns, as for the first 90 minutes I was in deep with this film. It just completely lost me at the end. I also watched a Norwegian thriller called Thelma today which was absolutely brilliant! Please check it out if you get a chance! Edited March 25, 2019 by waters44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 25, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 25, 2019 I've seen Thelma, it's excellent. Joachim Trier is a great director - Reprise is also really good but Oslo, August 31st is an absolute masterpiece. The best film about addiction I've ever seen. Can't wait to see what he does next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zep81 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 This was an enjoyable and fun ride. I need to watch more of Scott Adkins' stuff tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Accident Man is a decent watch @zep81. He's no Statham but his action sequences are pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 25, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 25, 2019 I absolutely hated Accident Man and turned it off after half an hour. I pretty much avoid anything Adkins is in since that. Watched that new one on Netflix called Piercing last night. If it wasn't for Mia Wasikowska, it would have been total shite. She seemed like she was acting in a different film but then she often does. Definitely needs to start picking better stuff than this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewster McCloud Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) Us. It was a bit rub, despite all the glowing reviews that I was prepared to let sway me. The emperor isn't just nude in this case, but he's dancing the macarena. It's a home invasion film with doppelgangers. Fine, that doesn't sound too bad, but the execution is just so fucking weak and derivative (in a bad way). Peele, given that this is his second bite at the homage-friendly retro horror cherry, just isn't capable of doing anything actually scary, being content to reference the 80s and make some vague point about inequality. It's the sort of thing films like They Live and Society covered 30 years ago more than adequately and almost as bluntly. In fact, any run of the mill home invasion film is about the underclass taking revenge on the lauded gentry. It's hardly a new concept. As a retro home invasion film it's not as good as You're Next or Strangers: Prey at Night, both of which had more visual style and better ironic soundtracks. Still, at least earnest people were able to exit the cinema saying to themselves, "I knew there was something wrong with the whole capitalism thing. I just knew it!" Really makes you think about, like, stuff, doesn't it, Us? Edited March 26, 2019 by Brewster McCloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
organizedkaos Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Brewster McCloud said: Us. It was a bit rub, despite all the glowing reviews that I was prepared to let sway me. The emperor isn't just nude in this case, but he's dancing the macarena. It's a home invasion film with doppelgangers. Fine, that doesn't sound too bad, but the execution is just so fucking weak and derivative (in a bad way). Peele, given that this is his second bite at the homage-friendly retro horror cherry, just isn't capable of doing anything actually scary, being content to reference the 80s and make some vague point about inequality. It's the sort of thing films like They Live and Society covered 30 years ago more than adequately and almost as bluntly. In fact, any run of the mill home invasion film is about the underclass taking revenge on the lauded gentry. It's hardly a new concept. As a retro home invasion film it's not as good as You're Next or Strangers: Prey at Night, both of which had more visual style and better ironic soundtracks. Still, at least earnest people were able to exit the cinema saying to themselves, "I knew there was something wrong with the whole capitalism thing. I just knew it!" Really makes you think about, like, stuff, doesn't it, Us? I dunno, I felt was making a more nuanced point than say They Live or Society which were a lot more in line with the basic "rich use the poor, capitalism bad!" message you crticised. The fact our hero is essentially an embodiment of 80s Reganism pulling her way out of lower class into high class and being absolutely willing to step all over 'her' people to ensure she got what she wanted. The symmetry yet jarring differences between things that could be done without a care upstairs yet caused so much damage downstairs (the boys both playing with fire, plastic surgery reflected in facial scars, the talk of c-sections) Our bad guys are those who feel they've had no control in their life, envious of those they perceive to have control (and those who we initially believe to have no knowledge of the destructive sides to decisions they make). As you said these aren't unusual ideas but I felt he was playing with them in a more complex way than you've given credit for. So much of this is subjective but clearly something in his films doesn't click for you (which fair play is the way with any sort of media, I'm not trying to take a stance that you're not getting it or whatever just offering a different perspective). I found the first half of the film incredibly unnerving; not really have a sense of what was going on not knowing what the invaders were or what they wanted but knowing it did not bode well for the family, that was far more unnerving than You're Next (which I also loved) trading in a more standard "bad guys have invaded your sanctity, you will die now". Went in a group and several people were pretty much not OK with that watching that first half at all. I'm also really surprised you'd use You're Next as an example of something with a greater visual style and ironic soundtrack? Visually Us has continually fantastic shots (from the shadows across the beach to the layering of faces in exposition scene) and whilst the style is a little reference centric the red jumpsuits and glove evoked far more reactions (and memories) than animal masks. Musically You're Next is one song, and Dwight Tilley does links the whole thing together in a brilliant way but that's very different from Us' varied and playful soundtrack (and the fact it's maybe the only film that should be allowed to use a dark reimagining of a pop song). Even the NWA tune which initially felt like a trite joke ended up working by the way it weaved in and out of the scene's tension. Again, I really enjoyed You're Next but it's a fun mish mash of mumblecore family drama, home invasion and home alone. Most of the stuff I liked about that film (character work, changing agency, well planned suspense using the house's layout) are quite different from what made me enjoy Us (surreal imagery orientated nightmare trip thing). Obviously whatever buttons it pushed in my brain didn't work for you but I feel the comparisons you've made don't really do justice to what the film really was Edited March 26, 2019 by organizedkaos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted March 26, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) Us. Thought it was extremely underwhelming. “Oh but it’s so clever, so much context”. I didn’t feel any horror or peril after the title came up. The acting was great, but I thought it was a massive chore. If if you want to see Us, you could see this instead as it’s the exact same plot Edited March 26, 2019 by Hannibal Scorch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 26, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 26, 2019 Jesus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted March 26, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted March 26, 2019 I forgot to add, about 6 people left my screening of Us. All after the first hour. Why you would leave halfway through a film is beyond me. I have a 30 minute window, after that I’ll stick it out even if it’s a bit shit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 26, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 26, 2019 1 hour ago, Hannibal Scorch said: I forgot to add, about 6 people left my screening of Us. All after the first hour. Why you would leave halfway through a film is beyond me. Maybe they thought it was so clever with so much context. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted March 26, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted March 26, 2019 13 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: Maybe they thought it was so clever with so much context. I always look forward to your replies. Like my own little Ruth Duggan 50 minutes ago, johnnyboy said: mid90s He was a sk8r boi. Loved it. One minute it was dragging slightly as a change of pace, then it's over and I'm thinking we've only been in for half an hour. I was wrong, we'd been in there for an hour and a half. Kids chatting shit and riding their skateboards. Trigger spoiler Reveal hidden contents Some moderately unpleasant self harm. Nothing too graphic, but possibly disturbing nonetheless. I’ve been looking forward to this. Is it getting a release here or did you find it in the “usual places”? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 26, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 26, 2019 4 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said: I always look forward to your replies. Like my own little Ruth Duggan. Well this is what we're left with in the absence of downvotes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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