VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[Loki]

4 hours ago, Steve Justice said:

I've read some quotes from Ridley Scott about the issues some historians have had, and he comes across as a bit of a prick. Not sure if this is standard for him or not? 

He came in for a cup of tea when we were making Alien Isolation, for a potential endorsement that never happened.  He strikes me as an incredibly work-focussed man - he has a slate of projects extending a decade into the future and has done for most of his career, he wants to do them the way he wants and really, honestly doesn't give a shit about whether anyone else likes the films or not.

Which makes it all the more amazing that he made A Good Year which was clearly a "fuck it, let's spend the summer in France" project designed around getting his favourite crew together for a months long pissup.  Incidentally, the last film of his that I really loved. Panned on release, but it's much more of an homage to filmmakers like Louis Malle or Yves Robert than what you might expect from a Hollywood production.

[Merzbow]

I caught My Animal tonight, it's definitely better than the 4.9 that it's sitting on on IMDB although I dare say it's that low because it's unapologetically queer. Although, it is more style over substance (and good god the style is gorgeous with a Boy Harsher soundtrack on top) it does a solid job of telling a coming out tale in small town America while using lycanthropy as a metaphor. One to stick on if you just need some *vibes*.

[Devon Malcolm]

May December (cinema, on Netflix from Friday)

Quietly, Todd Haynes has become one of the best filmmakers in the world. This is another challenging and suffocating drama with black comedy in the least likely of moments, very well played by Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman. Not for everyone, but hugely rewarding if it is for you.

To Catch a Killer

Excellent crime thriller from Argentinian director Damián Szifron, making his English language debut. More or less a standard serial killer thriller but Shailene Woodley's character is the centrepiece of it in the representation of her mental health and anxiety. This guy is awesome, do check out Wild Tales especially, probably the best anthology film I've ever seen.

Ghosted

Precisely as awful and stupid as reported. There's something to be done with the twist of the female lead being the arse-kicker and the male lead being the flapping incompetent, but this is just really unfunny and annoying and I've no idea how something this shit ends up being made for so much money. The cameos, as well. That's enough of those, for fuck's sake.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

As reported by @SuperBacon in his 15,003 viewings so far, wonderful. A near perfect follow-up to Kelly Fremon's Craig equally funny The Edge of Seventeen, just packed full of funny and sweet moments, populated by nice people just trying to get by. Rachel McAdams needs to hurry up and be in everything.

Retribution

Liam Neeson must be paying somebody off to keep getting these piss-poor films of his cinema releases. Just a really fucking annoying and bad film, a remake of a Spanish one that wasn't that good in the first place. Absolute shite.

The Collective

How Ruby Rose has ended up populating so many of these rotten, cheap DTV actioners, I've no idea. John Wick 2 seems a million years ago now. Tyrese Gibson trying to act serious is almost as funny as anything he's done in the Fast series. Sasha Banks is in it as well and as an actor she makes a great wrestler.

Sound of Freedom

Curiosity got the better of me, really, but it really is as terrible and wrong-headed a piece of Christian fundamentalist dogma as you might have read it is. As much as anything though, it's just so fucking boring, almost nothing happens at all. Jim Caviezel is one of the worst actors of all time. Decisively the worst film of the year.

[tiger_rick]

15 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

As reported by @SuperBacon in his 15,003 viewings so far, wonderful. A near perfect follow-up to Kelly Fremon's Craig equally funny The Edge of Seventeen, just packed full of funny and sweet moments, populated by nice people just trying to get by. Rachel McAdams needs to hurry up and be in everything.

 

I've seen this 15,001 less times than Bacon but agree, it's brilliant. Rachel McAdams is fantastic. Still gorgeous too, obviously.

[Bellenda Carlisle]

Freelance the new John Cena film, they say it's the worst film ever or something.

It is inexcusably dry and lifeless. Another "action dude and fussy woman get stuck somewhere dangerous and exotic together" story but it brings nothing new at all, it looks so horrible and cheap as well. It's not even funny or anything, I just wanted it to end. Marton Csokas was awful in it.

I only enjoyed seeing Christian Slater get a role for the first time in as long as I can remember and the bit where Cena and Alison Brie were nearly naked for a few seconds.

[Loki]

Amazon Prime seem to have put the original Bad Lieutenant onto their service for Xmas, which is great as it means I can now hear the Keitel Wail in full Dolby Atmos glory.

If you're stuck for a Xmas film to share with your family, just throw this on.

Edited December 3, 2023 by Loki

[Dai]

Speaking of Christmas movies on Prime, Candy Cane Lane gets a solid two thumbs up from me. Even though its nearly 2 hours, which is long for a Christmas film, it's very entertaining throughout, and Eddie Murphy is very great in it too. Love the special effects of the little toy people too. Definately one to watch this Chrsitmas.

Christmas In Scotland, on the other hand, is your standard TV Christmas movie. You could play Scotland cliche bingo and have a full house. Kilts? Bagpipes? Scotch? Check. The two main characters are a brother and sister, who are estranged, and go to Scotland to see their mother. Theres a very odd, incestuous vibe throughout, as all of the classic Christmas movie cliche scenes (ie, plenty of heart to hearts in various locations), are between a brother and sister, and not a couple who have lost the spark in their relationship/have taken each other for granted. The guy spends no time with his wife, and he just does everything with his sister, all the while talking about how they need to rekindle their relationship. Odd!

[TheBurningRed]

5 hours ago, Dai said:

Christmas In Scotland, on the other hand, is your standard TV Christmas movie. You could play Scotland cliche bingo and have a full house. Kilts? Bagpipes? Scotch? Check. The two main characters are a brother and sister, who are estranged, and go to Scotland to see their mother. Theres a very odd, incestuous vibe throughout, as all of the classic Christmas movie cliche scenes (ie, plenty of heart to hearts in various locations), are between a brother and sister, and not a couple who have lost the spark in their relationship/have taken each other for granted. The guy spends no time with his wife, and he just does everything with his sister, all the while talking about how they need to rekindle their relationship. Odd!

We watched this. Our version was called A Merry Scottish Christmas. Agree on the incestuous vibe. The first scene at the airport where they meet, we instantly thought they were a couple before the wife showed up. My girlfriend said “have they fallen because they were fucking?” A theme that carried on during the movie.

For more cliches, one guy was called Hamish and the other was called Mac. Everything was tartan. The main guy claimed someone listened to the bagpipes on his phone for the whole thirteen hour flight. Mix it up a bit and say he was listening to The Proclaimers and I don’t know, Texas. 

At one point the sister saw a guy and asked if they had met before and gave an odd look to him. We thought this might lead to something. But no, it was just a pointless throwaway line. Nothing interesting came from it at all. Absolutely dreadful film. @SuperBacon go watch it. Join us. 

[Bellenda Carlisle]

I went to another "screen unseen" mystery preview at the cinema where you see a preview screening but don't know what it will be til it starts. It was next goal wins. I'm not into football, Michael fassbender or taika waititi but even I found it heartwarming. Very easy watch, made American Samoa look like the most adorable place ever.

[SuperBacon]

28 minutes ago, Bellenda Carlisle said:

I went to another "screen unseen" mystery preview at the cinema where you see a preview screening but don't know what it will be til it starts. It was next goal wins. I'm not into football, Michael fassbender or taika waititi but even I found it heartwarming. Very easy watch, made American Samoa look like the most adorable place ever.

The documentary is wicked. Big recommend.

[Devon Malcolm]

Femme (cinema)

Anxiety inducing in all the best ways, a really good suspense drama that is constantly at you even in its simplest moments. Nobody will talk about this even in dispatches as one of the best films of the year but they should.

The Whale (Prime)

I'm glad that just how problematic and in poor taste this film is hasn't been lost in all the discussion about Brendan Fraser's big comeback. Fraser's actually not very good here at all but it is a thankless role and he's just miscast, and not just for the obvious reason. Aronofsky is even more self-satisfied than usual because he thinks he's saying something important and embracing but sticking an actor in a fat suit and having him nearly die of a heart attack FIVE MINUTES IN after wanking over porn is tasteless at best. It's the worst kind of melodramatic, Oscar bait shit. Easily one of the most awful and misjudged films I've ever seen.

Strays

It's funny because the dogs swear, apparently.

Quiz Lady

It's been a really good year for comedy and while this isn't quite up there with No Hard Feelings and Bottoms, it's still really funny. I felt like Awkwafina and Sandra Oh were in the wrong roles but it shows how good they both are that they both make it work just fine.

The Old Oak

Ken Loach says this will be his final film and if it is then it's a fiery one to go out with even by his standards. It's not anywhere near his best but it's important and vital and further cements him as this country's more politically important filmmaker of all time.

[Dai]

On 12/4/2023 at 5:32 PM, TheBurningRed said:

At one point the sister saw a guy and asked if they had met before and gave an odd look to him. We thought this might lead to something. But no, it was just a pointless throwaway line. Nothing interesting came from it at all.

Both the brother and the sister were in the show Party of Five, which was on during most of the 90s. That guy she gave an odd look too was also in that show, so it was just a little easter egg to that show. The name of the pub was also an easter egg to the show too. I never heard of the show, but this is what my partner told me.

[FLips]

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

It was always going to be hard to live up to the LOTR Trilogy. It was OK but the main issues lie in the filmmaking. Gone are the practical effects and forcing the entire country of New Zealand to be extras and now everything is CGI. Granted it looks aesthetically, I suppose, nicer might be the right word, but it loses a lot of character and charm. I haven't read the books yet but I imagine a lot more is done to differentiate all the dwarves in them, whereas in the film you can tell who will be a main dwarf because they have a human face and are about a foot taller than the others.
Bilbo is awfully cast too because Martin Freeman cannot play Bilbo or anyone for that matter other than Tim from The Office. It took until about halfway through the sequel for me to get used to him.

That being said it's perfectly watchable and isn't a bad film by any means when not compared to the LOTR. The bits that are mentioned in the Fellowship's prologue, namely the battle of riddles between Bilbo and Gollum are really well done, and as much as the CGI is a burden at times, the one part that was always going to have to be CGI in the battle of the Stone Giants is really exciting. Usually I wouldn't say it's fair to compare to other films, but the same guy made them and he's unfortunately went for style over substance.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

A strange one. By the halfway point in this one the film feels like it finally all clicks. The dwarves are (mostly) individually recognisable, there's a brilliant supporting cast of characters including a much meatier and interesting Legolas and the brilliant Tauriel who may just be the prequel's best newcomer. Even Bilbo, now under the dark pull of the One Ring, and showing hero traits feels like a great lead character. The stuff with Bard is almost single handedly carried by Stephen Fry's grotty servent who is a pitch perfect slimy weasel.
The thing is though the film just isn't as good so it feels sort of wasted. I understand it takes time to build but it never took until halfway through The Two Towers for any of the main characters to have something going on. Again the film is head to toe CGI which does it a disservice. I kind of wish I'd watched the Hobbits first before LOTR.
Smaug isn't as impressive as I'd hoped. I'm not sure what he's like in the books, but I expected more than a Disney villain. His chase with the Dwarves in the mountain is the film's best part, but ending on a cliffhanger is pretty cheap.

Again not a bad film and stands up OK on it's own, but as soon as you start making comparisons you see all the cracks. It's the worst one of all the LOTR and Hobbits so far but not necessarily bad. The cast finally sets in place and it's pretty fantastic but an overreliance on CGI coupled with a less interesting story holds it back.

Edited December 6, 2023 by FelatioLips

[SaitoRyo]

Watched a couple of things recently. 

An Unfinished Life, something I'd never heard of despite it starring Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Lopez. As the cast suggests, it's eminently watchable. A nice little modern western drama about complicated family relationships. I'm a bit surprised to read that a lot of critics thought it was too sentimental. It's fairly gentle and a little heavy-handed in moments, yes, but overall there are a lot worse ways to kill an hour and 45 minutes and I thought it had a bit of an edge at times. It looks fucking lovely, too. 

Breaker! Breaker!, a trucker/martial arts action film starring an unsettlingly blonde and beardless Chuck Norris. I liked it because I'm a sucker for anything 70s with a western bent to it, but it's not a brilliant film or anything. Some decent set-pieces and whatnot but essentially another of the eras hicksploitation flicks. Your mileage may vary.

[Chris B]

Anatomy of a Fall (cinema)

This was fantastic, but not anything like I'd expected. The set-up is an unhappy marriage, and the husband is found dead. And it looked like it was going to be a twisty-turny kind of thriller and it sort of is and sort of isn't. Brilliant central performances, and well worth the awards its been getting.

Die Hard (cinema)

Some awkward bits (all the sympathy for the cop who... shot a kid with a toy gun), but it's a testament to how good it is that it's still brilliant. Rickman is obviously great, but it's probably Willis's best, most likeable performance too. It's just so smart throughout - I love the bit where Hans figures out the whole thing with the pictures, and you see him clock it earlier without knowing what it means. As well as McClane's sudden '...what were you doing upstairs, Hans?' bit - both of which feel natural, but they both get there pretty much before the audience does. 

 

Godzilla Minus One (preview at BFI Imax)

Fucking hell. This was so good. I adore the original movie, which is so much more serious and heavy than you think it would be (which, considering it's a post-war, post-bomb movie, makes sense). I also loved Shin Godzilla, which was sly and funny. This one, though, is more crowd-pleasing than either, but still has plenty of emotional complications going on. It's set in the late 40s, and it's absolutely specifically post-war, with a lead who feels he should have died in the war. It absolutely nails it.