Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted April 8, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted April 8, 2020 I watched Love & Mercy the other night. I've not watched it in about two years after watching it almost in a constant loop for a couple of months. I was a bit sniffy about it when I viewed it at the cinema, which was mainly due to being unconvinced by John Cusack's performance - a sharp contrast to the excellent Paul Dano as a young Brian Wilson. However, it's won me over ever since. Music biopics are usually always flawed and a bit rubbish, but this is definitely one of the rare good ones (not Rocketman good, maybe more Born to be Blue good). It helps that this isn't 100% about the music - although this is serviced by Paul Dano's younger Wilson story, this part is also about a troubled man succumbing to mental illness and addiction. The Cusack parts on a later Wilson is essentially a love story, some of it a little unconvincing, but I'm always on board for the finale. The music is there but the most interesting parts in these things are never how someone farted out 'We Will Rock You', so it's good Brian Wilson has led such a mad mad life. It helps I'm a massive Brian Wilson fan so get a kick out of seeing folk like Van Dyke Park cutting about, or Mike Love getting portrayed as the willy that he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Scott Malbranque Posted April 8, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted April 8, 2020 14 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said: Lolly-Madonna XXX One for the 1970s crime / thriller heads on here (I think that's just me and @Scott Malbranque tbh). A cracking deep south thriller about two warring families, the cast is fucking amazing and it's brilliantly downbeat right to the grim ending. An unseen treasure. Never even fucking heard of it, much to my utter self loathing and disgust, D-Mal. 100% absolutely all over this tonight. Thanks as ever, boss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted April 8, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted April 8, 2020 Just a thought, but as we are in a lockdown, I wonder if there is a place for a UKFF Film Club. Where a film is chosen for people to watch and then discussed? I don't want to nominate someone like Devon (by that I mean I don't want to throw it in your lap, though you would be ideal to run it) , but I think there are certainly people who could do a good job of choosing something accessible (maybe limited to TV/Netflix/Amazon Prime). Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted April 8, 2020 Awards Moderator Share Posted April 8, 2020 2 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said: Just a thought, but as we are in a lockdown, I wonder if there is a place for a UKFF Film Club. Where a film is chosen for people to watch and then discussed? I don't want to nominate someone like Devon (by that I mean I don't want to throw it in your lap, though you would be ideal to run it) , but I think there are certainly people who could do a good job of choosing something accessible (maybe limited to TV/Netflix/Amazon Prime). Any thoughts? Got to be worth a punt. Start the thread up and see what happens. If no-one does it, what've you lost? I'm up for it. And yeah everyone that hasn't watched The Sting need to go rectify that immediately. Pure magic. The other essential Robert Shaw performance. ITV used to play it about once a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chris B Posted April 8, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted April 8, 2020 (edited) @Devon Malcolm With some of these films (particularly the crime ones which I really want to get into), could you let us know if you're watching them on Streaming, please? Spent a while looking for one or two and realised they're DVD only. Or should we assume they're mainly DVD/Blu-Ray? Not asking you to search out where they are if not - just that if you watched it on a streaming service, letting us know where. Edited April 8, 2020 by Chris B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted April 8, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 8, 2020 Just now, Chris B said: @Devon Malcolm With some of these films (particularly the crime ones which I really want to get into), could you let us know if you're watching them on Streaming, please? Spent a while looking for one or two and realised they're DVD only. Or should we assume they're mainly DVD/Blu-Ray? I'll happily post links on here if they're reputable sources, sure. With regard to Lolly-Madonna XXX, I found it here:- https://ok.ru/video/899107457583 You do need to sign up but it's just a Russki social media site, not some illegal Putlocker knock-off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chris B Posted April 8, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted April 8, 2020 Thank you! And yes, totally in favour of reputable sources only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted April 8, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted April 8, 2020 The Sting's poker scene between Newman and Shaw on the train is one of my favourite film scenes of all time. The sheer tension, between Newman's poke-the-bear goading and Shaw's mounting and barely-contained fury, is palpable, and I love the camera work too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 31 minutes ago, Chris B said: Thank you! And yes, totally in favour of reputable sources only. With ok.ru you don't even need to register/sign up if you don't want to, so even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted April 8, 2020 Awards Moderator Share Posted April 8, 2020 27 minutes ago, Carbomb said: The Sting's poker scene Whenever we play a card game at home, I often hold my cards in one stack close to my chest, peering down at them the Paul Newman does, for no one's amusement but my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted April 8, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted April 8, 2020 Just now, Onyx2 said: Whenever we play a card game at home, I often hold my cards in one stack close to my chest, peering down at them the Paul Newman does, for no one's amusement but my own. I will lose my mind the day that I get four Jacks. I always drink gin with a mark, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted April 8, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 8, 2020 The Friends of Eddie Coyle (Google Play / YouTube rental) A recent chat with @Scott Malbranque on here about this prompted this rewatch and it's still a fantastic, grim piece of work. A real treat watching Robert Mitchum playing such an understated and downtrodden character. One of the very best of the best decade for crime films. Mitchum would follow this with The Yakuza, which is also a magnificent crime film, albeit very different. The Way We Were (Google Play / YouTube / Prime rental) Pretty much exactly what you'd think it would be like. Bloody song's stuck in my head now as well. Not great. Blood Punch (Amazon Prime) A rare timeloop film I didn't like, mainly due to shitty and unlikeable characters and a really boring first 40 minutes. Not a complete waste of time thanks to Adelaide Kane's outfit but not far off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 Midnight Run is on Netflix. If you haven't seen it, there's no excuse now (everyone's got bloody Netflix) James and The Giant Peach Better than I'd remembered from when I was a kid, and the girls loved it. The animation used gives it an incredible amount of charm. Although we then had a debate on what the best and worst fruit is which ended in a shouting match between them so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 Cherries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted April 10, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 10, 2020 Across 110th Street (Prime rental) Even better on a second viewing. Less a blaxploitation film and more a neo-noir, it's as messy and gritty an east coast 70s crime film as you will get with a stunning ending. Arguably Yaphet Kotto's best performance too. Bedrooms and Hallways (YouTube - part 1 / part 2) Little known British romcom with a stellar UK cast (and Hugo Weaving). Quite rare for its time (1998) in its depiction of gay and bisexual relationships, it still feels pretty fresh now. Very funny too with Tom Hollander especially hilarious. Blood Diner (Shudder) I wouldn't have been at all surprised if this had been a Troma film because it's just as try-hard, unfunny and shit. Then again, if it had been one I wouldn't have watched it in the first place. Utter bollocks, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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