Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted January 29 Moderators Share Posted January 29 59 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: It's a concert film. So it's a piecing together of, I think, three or four of the shows she did on the Eras Tour. There's no documentary footage attached to it. When I saw it and reviewed it, I compared it to Stop Making Sense. I'd actually only seen that for the first time a couple of months beforehand (it got a cinema rerelease after a remastering) but I think they're comparable. I came out of both of them thinking, "I liked this artist beforehand but now I'm thinking they're among the greatest". I'd never been interested in concert films, I don't care for live music that much, but the performances and the artistry and the production design and the shooting of it all in both cases were inventive and added so much to the already very good-to-amazing music. It's a point of debate whether a live concert film counts as a 'proper' film but all I can say was this was a year where films came out in the two greatest action franchises of all time and my two favourite films of the year were these two. I think that counts for a lot if you know how much I love John Wick and Mission: Impossible. Interesting. I wonder if they benefitted from a bit of positive bias in that respect because it was something quite different and fresh for you, where you were able to appreciate a completely new kind of artistry in film than you have done previously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 29 Paid Members Share Posted January 29 6 minutes ago, FLips said: Fair! I’ve been waiting for your review in here but must have missed it. I gave it 4 stars on Letterboxd. I didn't think it was Miyazaki at his best but it played his hits well and it's great to have him back around. 2 minutes ago, Chest Rockwell said: Interesting. I wonder if they benefitted from a bit of positive bias in that respect because it was something quite different and fresh for you, where you were able to appreciate a completely new kind of artistry in film than you have done previously. I had thought about this but it's worth noting that the overall response to it has been universally positive. Even the more arthouse critics and those who don't necessarily have an opinion on Taylor Swift noted how good it is. Admittedly I don't have much to compare it too but in isolation it's a spectacular show and the presentation of it (such as slightly dulling crowd noise so the music comes across clearly) was really impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted January 30 Awards Moderator Share Posted January 30 Not to dismiss the artistic merits of a Ms Swift film, let's not forget the Academy Awards are an industry show and a backslapping one: it came along and delivered a stack of money for very little cost; drove demographics back to the cinema that hadn't been since before 2020; and the studio will have hustled like mad to to canvas votes and ensure there is placing. Hollywood loves to celebrate this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted January 30 Moderators Share Posted January 30 The context of this was discussion of Devon's personal awards list though, so not sure that is relevant except to the point about the 'universal acclaim'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 30 Paid Members Share Posted January 30 1 hour ago, Onyx2 said: Not to dismiss the artistic merits of a Ms Swift film, let's not forget the Academy Awards are an industry show and a backslapping one: it came along and delivered a stack of money for very little cost; drove demographics back to the cinema that hadn't been since before 2020; and the studio will have hustled like mad to to canvas votes and ensure there is placing. Hollywood loves to celebrate this stuff. I wasn't talking about the Oscars when I made my points about The Eras Tour because I don't care about them, and I didn't even know it had been nominated for anything. I was speaking industry-wide both in music and cinema and the response across the spectrum of critics and commentators. Also, there was no studio involved to do any "canvassing". Part of the reason why The Eras Tour has been marked as so notable and potentially game-changing is that Taylor Swift produced a film and took it directly to cinema chains, she didn't use a studio or the traditional distribution model. She said to them "I've got this film, do you want to show it and can we do a deal?" By cutting out the middle man, she was able to take it from editing suite to cinema screens a lot faster. She also had studios scrabbling around and adjusting their schedules because they suspected they were about to be sunk, and they would have been. So it's an important film not just in getting people back in the cinemas, as you rightly point out, but it will make distributors and studios take note too. The kind of changes The Eras Tour could influence will only be a good thing for audiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted January 30 Awards Moderator Share Posted January 30 1 hour ago, Chest Rockwell said: The context of this was discussion of Devon's personal awards list I missed this context 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 30 Paid Members Share Posted January 30 4 minutes ago, Onyx2 said: I missed this context 😄 This may be my fault for calling it my Oscars! I didn't use them as a guide at all, the Oscars ain't awarding John Wick films shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Alan Grant Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Saw - it’s all downhill after this first one, but this still stands up for me. 4/5 The Lost Boys - Keifer Sutherland has never looked cooler. Nor has anyone else. Well, maybe the saxophone guy. Awesome soundtrack too. 4/5 Saltburn (first watch) - just when I thought Barry Keoghan couldn’t play a character more unsettling than in The Killing Of A Secret Deer, along comes old Jizzy Bathwater Slurper to prove me wrong. Poor Dear Pamela deserved better. 3/5 Scrooge (first watch) - the Alistair Sim one. Despite the lack of Muppets, this was excellent. Tiny Tim was an annoying shit though. 4/5 High Fidelity - a favourite of mine. I’ve never seen Iben Hjejle in anything else, which is a shame as she’s utterly charming. Top 5 John Cusack films…1) This one 2) Grosse Pointe Blank 3)The Sure Thing 4) Being John Malkovich 5) Con Air. 5/5 No Hard Feelings (first watch) - not the worst comedy I’ve seen so far this year (hello, Vacation), it’s watchable purely because of Jennifer Lawrence. All the funny bits were in the trailer though. 3/5 (barely) As for the best comedy I’ve seen this year, and for many a year for that matter… Bottoms (first watch) - ridiculous, stupid, absolutely wonderful. Every cast member is gold, the finale is unforgettable, I want to be friends with all of them. 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 31 Paid Members Share Posted January 31 1 minute ago, Dr. Alan Grant said: Saw - it’s all downhill after this first one @Mike Castle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Dr. Alan Grant said: Scrooge (first watch) - the Alistair Sim one. Despite the lack of Muppets, this was excellent. Tiny Tim was an annoying shit though. 4/5 A previous job of mine involved me every Christmas visiting the old people's homes we owned armed with (sadly not weapons) a projector, mince pies, a screen and some DVDs and inevitably they'd all ask for this or It's A Wonderful Life so I've seen it a stupid amount of times. Good stuff, but not 5 times in a week good. Edit: and yes High Fidelity is the best. Edited January 31 by SuperBacon A COOOOOOSBYYYYYYYY SWEEEAAAATEEEEEEER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted January 31 Paid Members Share Posted January 31 @Dr. Alan Grantspot on with No Hard Feelings. It’s got to the point now if I want to watch a comedy, avoiding the trailer is almost essential to get the most out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lorne Malvo Posted January 31 Paid Members Share Posted January 31 Quite the double bill.... The Color Purple - Who thought this would be a good idea?! 'You know what a story featuring incest, domestic violence, poverty and abuse needs? Show tunes!' To be fair, some of the songs are actually quite decent but tonally it doesn't work at all. Even outside of the songs, it feels so sanitised given the subject matter. Not a patch on the Spielberg film, which I have an admittedly soft spot for given my Mom loves it. (By the way, it did get released in the UK with that spelling. That's Broken Britain for ya, you're welcome to it.) Night Swim - It was doomed from the start really. When I first heard the premise 'haunted swimming pool' I thought it was ridiculously stupid, and the film confirmed my suspicions. It's like a Stephen King short story, if Stephen King was stupid. Which I guess makes it like Dean Koontz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members waters44 Posted February 1 Paid Members Share Posted February 1 10 hours ago, Dr. Alan Grant said: The Lost Boys - Keifer Sutherland has never looked cooler. Nor has anyone else. Well, maybe the saxophone guy. Awesome soundtrack too. When he appears I was a bit - “Am I…..gay?!” But Jami Gertz looks absolutely incredible in the crowd, that scene is a feast for the eyes whatever you fancy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members waters44 Posted February 2 Paid Members Share Posted February 2 Argylle Spoiler One of the characters shouts “This is the dumbest shit ive ever heard!” and then after that a character sticks knives in their shoes and “ice skates” around a room that’s been flooded with crude oil 🤷♂️ I guess it’s always good to see Big Match John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallicks Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 1 hour ago, waters44 said: Argylle Reveal hidden contents One of the characters shouts “This is the dumbest shit ive ever heard!” and then after that a character sticks knives in their shoes and “ice skates” around a room that’s been flooded with crude oil 🤷♂️ I guess it’s always good to see Big Match John One of the worst films I’ve ever seen. It has no heart, it’s not funny, the characters are not very likeable, neither of the leads are really suited to being action heroes, the story is stupid but in a really boring way, the action is dull, the whole thing goes on far too long. Apart from that, everything was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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