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

[Bellenda Carlisle]

I'm after any films that are about people going from the "real" world to a fantasy world -- Labyrinth, Pagemaster, Neverending Story, that one with Fred Savage and the monsters. What are some of the best examples? And are there any decent ones for adults?

I think this fits the bill

 

[dopper]

I watched and really enjoyed 'In Bruges' at the weekend.

 

I find British luvvie actors playing nutcase murdering psychopaths absolutely fascinating, and can add Ralph Fiennes performance in this film to that list alongside John Hurt in '44 Inch Chest' and Ben Kingsley in 'Sexy Beast'.

[WWFChilli]

Just shown Lady Chilli 'Psycho II'. It's a bloody good film, doesn't get enough credit. Now watching Cool Hand Luke, because it's Cool Hand Luke.

Edited August 30, 2015 by WWFChilli

[gbacon85]

Just shown Lady Chilli 'Psycho II'. It's a bloody good film, doesn't get enough credit. Now watching Cool Hand Luke, because it's Cool Hand Luke.

Which is the one where he calls into a Radio Station? Have I made this up?

[Maverick]

Psycho 4. The second one teally is class, expected nothing but the him getting hounded storyline and acting is very good.

[Bellenda Carlisle]

Psycho 3 was the first one I saw, I still have a soft spot for it. Anthony Perkins was great as Norman Bates, so I'm perfectly cool with him running the franchise into the ground. He was a weird guy and it was his only big role as far as I'm aware. (Although I do remember him being in an old Sci fi kids thing too, the black hole or something)

[Maverick]

I'm quite a big Perkins fan, he did a few big films pre osycho and some interesting foreign stuff and weird projects afterwards. He was an incredibly strange guy, I've always been quite captivated by him since I saw Psycho.

[bAzTNM#1]

Wife died in 9/11 when one of the planes hit the two towers too.

 

"North Sea Hijack" where he plays a baddie facing off against Roger Moore on the oil rigs in the North Sea was decent enough. Was on Channel 5 a few weeks back.

Edited August 30, 2015 by bAzTNM#1

[Mr_Danger]

Watched The Salvation. Very good if a little empty of purpose but that kind of adds to the desolation. Reminds me a bit of The Proposition like that. They hinted at the baddie as having layers then revealed absolutely nothing else about him other than he's a massive massive cunt portrayed very nicely by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

 

Anyway, the main reason I posted this is to say that Eric Cantona is fucking cool. He has a fair bit of screen presence about him and I hope to see him in similar roles. Has fuck all to do but stands out doing it.

 

Oh, and Eva Green displays some lovely post rape cleavage.

[WyattSheepMask]

Anyway, the main reason I posted this is to say that Eric Cantona is fucking cool. He has a fair bit of screen presence about him and I hope to see him in similar roles. Has fuck all to do but stands out doing it.

.

You should see in the 1664 ad, swimming the channel but not before putting the collar up on his wetsuit. To be the man you've got to beat the man, and nobody can beat Cantona

http://youtu.be/y4xsvupO2TI

[CoreyVandal]

I've been having a lot of back problems recently so I've managed to catch up on quite a few films while I've been laid up.
 

Ex Machina: Ok, this is going to sound incredibly douchy, but I can't think of a better way to put this; The film fails to pass it's own Turing test for being a good movie. The entire time I felt like I was being beaten over the head with the directors artistic choices, like the forced juxtaposition of nature and technology, or textures in the set mirroring textures in Eve's design. It was all just way too 'knowing', like a paint-by-numbers kit for making a navel-gazing sci-fi award winner. The film seemed more interested in reminding me I was watching a very well put together film than letting me just be drawn in. Considering the story that almost seems like it could be a conscious decision by the filmmakers, but if it was it was a failed experiment. It was way too long and nowhere near as smart or innovative as it seemed to think it was. Other than a few shoehorned, thinly veiled references to Google and Apple, and some halfway realistic but ultimately meaningless technobabble, it could have been written in the 60's. If a ruthless editor could find a way to chop it in half it'd probably make a really good Black Mirror episode, but it didn't need to be any more than that. That's about the best thing I can say about it. Oh, and there's a big story beat in there that seems like it was meant to play out like a big twist, but it was so obvious from the moment it was hinted that. I really wanted to like this, but it just really fell short.

 

Whiplash: Wow. Definitely my film of the year so far. It just drew me in right from the first scene. Smart screenplay, some stunning performances all round, and an absolutely captivating soundtrack that's so masterfully interwoven into the story. I'd even go as far as to say this is the best film I've ever watched about music. JK Simmons always knocks it out of the park, but I think his performance in this is a career high. Although most people are describing it as 'Full Metal Jacket with drums' it personally reminded me a lot more of Gaea Girls. With drums. I particularly loved the way the film leads the viewer to constantly question whether Simmons extreme teaching methods are warranted, or whether he is just an abusive asshole. As soon as you think you've fallen on one side of the fence the film serves up evidence to the contrary, right to the very last second. 

 

Trainwreck: Why do I torture myself with these Apatow films? Its always exactly the same story (both in terms of narrative, and my disappointment as a viewer). Once again, SO formulaic, with a ridiculously bloated running time for such an inconsequential bit of fluff. There's a lot of jokes in there which just fall completely flat, yet it seems to be running on this weird assumption that stretching out bad jokes somehow makes them funnier. It's run at a decent pace if it was trimmed to 90 minutes, just like most of Apatows films, but instead just feels like a crawl that lasts about 3 days thanks to self-indulgent improv, and the director never knowing when to get the hell out of a scene. Why the hell does this guy get to keep making so many failures? I actually think his style would be so much better suited to TV, but for some bizarre reason he's STILL Hollywood's golden boy when it comes to comedies. I knew all of this going in, but still I watched it. Why? There's obviously something I enjoy about these films, yet I can't quite put my finger on it. John Cena was actually the best thing in this movie by far. Even though his character was a bit of a tired cliche he put in a really good performance (ha!) and had some of the better gags.

Edit: remembered a couple more I'd seen recently.

Jurassic World: I thought it was actually pretty decent for what it was. Not saying it doesnt deserve a lot of the negative reviews, but at the very least it's the best of the Jurassic Park sequels. I can't really think of much to say about it, which speaks volumes, but yeah, it did it's job.

 

Interstellar: For some reason I'd put this one off for a while, but I remember the reviews being pretty 'meh'. It's hard not to draw comparisons to Gravity, because like that film this would be nothing without the best of the best Hollywood effects, although I did think Interstellar had a lot more going for it in the story department. It's main problem was how hard it was trying to be 2001, especially once that ending kicks off, but now that we live in a world where we've got people like Neil Degrass Tyson and Brian Cox talking about black holes and relativity on kid's shows those ideas just don't seem as mindbending as they once were. Visually it was stunning, exactly the sort of sights and wonders that only cinema can deliver, but other than that it felt quite lacking. Although at least it didn't have George Clooney coming back as a ghost.

Edited August 31, 2015 by CoreyVandal

[Thunderplex]

Completely agree about Jud Apatow films. Comedies should be 90 minutes max. Nothing can be funny for much longer.

[Tommy!]

I watched the mask again.

 

I loved it as a kid, but when I re-watched it a couple of years back it felt more basic and puerile than I remembered and didn't seem to have aged well.

I must have had an off day, because I've just loved it again. Its not a comedy I've ever laughed at, but somehow it's loveable in a familiar sort of way and just feels great fun all through.

 

Between this, Ace and Dumb and dumber Jim Carrey had a big run in a short space of time.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Completely agree about Jud Apatow films. Comedies should be 90 minutes max. Nothing can be funny for much longer.

I remember reading an interview with Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi about What We Do In The Shadows, and this was the attitude they stuck to while making it. They shot loads of footage, but were ruthless in making sure the final cut didn't exceed an hour and a half.

[Scott Malbranque]

Transporter Refuled : Oh dear. Sweet merciful hour, oh dear.

That is all.

 

 

because I've just loved it again. Its not a comedy I've ever laughed at, but somehow it's loveable in a familiar sort of way and just feels great fun all through.
 

 

To get on the back of Tommy there, it's an absolutely tremendous flick. One of my favourites, and one I always revisit at least once a year. Plus, this flick led me to Arcudi's comics way back when, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

Cuban Pete is currently my ringtone, funnily enough.

The Workprint (if you can sit through what looks like a Betamax with horrendous tracking issues) is brilliant too as it has a bit more violence and profanity laced through it.

Edited September 2, 2015 by Scott Malbranque