cobra_gordo Posted February 6, 2023 Share Posted February 6, 2023 35 minutes ago, BomberPat said: It all feels like a '90s educational kids' series. If National Treasure had come out around 1994 you can guarantee there would have been an animated series, like Bill and Ted or Ace Ventura, just more informative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted February 10, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 10, 2023 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (cinema) As someone who hates the Shrek series immensely I wasn't at all looking forward to this but can confirm that the reviews are true - this is actually very good. I would have been more hopeful for it if I'd known the guy who did The Croods 2 (also great) had made it, but this was a real blast. Very action packed with a nice mix of animation styles and some cool ideas as well as being pretty funny. Dreamworks Animation are on a good run. Napoleon Dynamite (Netflix) Reminded me a bit of Wes Anderson's stuff which is probably why I liked it. Not as funny as it would like to think it is but it's endearingly daft and not as irritating or try-hard as I always thought it might be. Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion Brilliant. Doesn't do anything especially new or original, just superbly written and acted comedy with dramatic drops that aren't played for melodrama. We should have got a whole series of these. True Stories (YouTube) David Byrne sticks to what he's good at - making funny but intelligent art in an offbeat but accessible manner. Takes to film directing with no problem at all, should have done a lot more. Very sweet. Housekeeping Bill Forsyth had a four film run (Gregory's Girl, Local Hero, Comfort and Joy and this) that's one of the best of all time. A shame his career never recovered from how this was received but it's a poignant and beautiful comedy-drama that always surprises. Days of Heaven The usual Terrence Malick tedium. Very pretty, nothing happens. Outside of Badlands and parts of The Thin Red LIne this guy does nothing for me. High Tide (YouTube) Excellent Australian drama about a woman who reconnects with her estranged daughter in a drab seaside town. Judy Davis might be Australia's greatest ever actor and she's a large part of why this is so good, but it has a lot more to offer. Bingo I don't think we talk enough about how fucking mental kids' films in the 90s were a lot of the time. There's a courtroom scene in this that's the funniest thing I've seen for ages. You absolutely have to see it. The Wild Bunch (TCM) I've never quite got on with Sam Peckinpah and I didn't like this when I first saw it but I was dead, dead wrong. A monument to the death of the American West and why it deserved to die. Amazing. The Nice Guys Which one of you cock and balls wants to make twenty bucks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members FLips Posted February 10, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 10, 2023 @Devon Malcolm I had Bingo on VHS as a kid and wore that thing out. It was my favourite film for ages and despite being in everything, it’s what I think of when I see Kurt Fuller. Napoleon Dynamite is great too. Very quotable and I think enough time has passed now where the hype has died off and it can stand on it’s own merit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted February 10, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 10, 2023 17 minutes ago, FelatioLips said: @Devon Malcolm I had Bingo on VHS as a kid and wore that thing out. I would have done too, in fairness. Never seen anything like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted February 14, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 14, 2023 The Adam Project Maybe the most boringly predictable movie I've ever seen. Trite dialogue, whether they're going for heartstring-pulling or Joss Whedon shit banter, it's all as cookie-cutter as it gets. Lots of ill-defined Science. Does the irritating modern movie thing of having a character talk about time travel plots and paradoxes, only for another character to say, "it doesn't work that way, you watch too many movies" - we get it, you're aware that you're using a tired and overdone plot device, but bringing that up in the film doesn't fix it, it just reminds me that you know and you're doing it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted February 15, 2023 Awards Moderator Share Posted February 15, 2023 23 hours ago, BomberPat said: Lots of ill-defined Science. Does the irritating modern movie thing of having a character talk about time travel plots and paradoxes, only for another character to say, "it doesn't work that way, you watch too many movies" - we get it, you're aware that you're using a tired and overdone plot device, but bringing that up in the film doesn't fix it, it just reminds me that you know and you're doing it anyway. It would be great if screenwriters would actually put the work in and research the current thinking on any of these topics rather than rehash Back to the Future or Tennant's Doctor Who. Couldn't be any easier to read up on this in Internet days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted February 15, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 15, 2023 One of my problems with The Adam Project is something I have an issue with in a lot of sci-fi movies and that is technolgy that's just *there*. It just exists for no other purpose than to say "Look what they have in the future in this film!" Just pointless tech to make it look more like a sci-fi film. There's loads of it in The Adam Project, which had some potential but was ultimately drowned in them pulling new weapons out of their arse every 5 minutes and Ryan Reynolds' failure to stop being Ryan Reynolds for just one film. Nice to see Jennifer Garner in something though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted February 15, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 15, 2023 1 minute ago, Devon Malcolm said: One of my problems with The Adam Project is something I have an issue with in a lot of sci-fi movies and that is technolgy that's just *there*. It just exists for no other purpose than to say "Look what they have in the future in this film!" Just pointless tech to make it look more like a sci-fi film. There's loads of it in The Adam Project, which had some potential but was ultimately drowned in them pulling new weapons out of their arse every 5 minutes and Ryan Reynolds' failure to stop being Ryan Reynolds for just one film. Nice to see Jennifer Garner in something though. Worst part of that was "we have to go and unlock a hard drive", and then the "hard drive" is in the centre of some massive swirling vortex of electricity and twirling bits of metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lorne Malvo Posted February 15, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 15, 2023 The Adam Project also had that weird Netflix thing where some of it looks incredible and other scenes look like they were made for 50p. I thought it was a perfectly fine Friday night film at the time but I don't remember a single thing about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Tommy! Posted February 15, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 15, 2023 (edited) What's that film where they time travel by hiding in a bag? Edit: Primer, that's what I'm thinking of. Edited February 15, 2023 by Tommy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bellenda Carlisle Posted February 15, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 15, 2023 Babylon BabyLONG more like innit. It was lively enough to make 3+ hours not seem like a chore, I wasn't expecting it to be so raunchy and full on which was cool. Loved Margot Robbie going 75% Harley Quinn in a period piece. I'm reading a book on the history of silent comedy at the moment so it was good timing to see something set in that period and I enjoyed all the filming scenes and the bits to do with the changing from silent to sound movies. Spoiler Not defending that dodgy clipshow thing at the end though.  The Whale Mr Creasote the gritty reboot. I don't really like sad emotionally manipulative dramas so initially tried to watch this as a comedy. 50 stone, gay, dying, crying Brendan Fraser just seemed like "going full" everything. It was decent enough though, the redhead teen girl from stranger things was brilliant. Some of it was martyr drama nonsense that makes less sense the more you think about it and also the film is so claustrophobic it's like being in a dark smelly box that's 90% full of obese Brendan Fraser for 2 hours. Avatar 2 I watched Avatar 1 for the first time since I saw it at the cinema and it was moderately better than I remembered so I was up for 2. 2 was the opposite of what I would have wanted from an avatar sequel TBH, I would have liked it to go bigger scale and more like a james Cameron sci fi war thing but it was more like a Sully family adventure with na'vi kids and stuff. It was fine though I guess and I assume anything that didn't seem to go anywhere will be expanded on in future films. Spoiler LOVED Avatar Quarritch though, I was wondering how he'd come back and that was awesome. I liked the stuff with him and his human kid.  Lady Terminator This was amazing, an ultra 80s cheap Indonesian B movie Terminator clone only with a cool chick Terminator. Some of the scenes are directly lifted from the Terminator like her shooting up a police station. However (and it's a big however) she's not a robot, she actually becomes a Terminator because an eel possessed by an evil goddess goes up her pussy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted February 18, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 18, 2023 Blue Jean (cinema) Good to see this geting a lot of attention right now and not just for Rosy McEwen's admittedly excellent performance. A reminder of what it used to be like for the LGBTQ+ community and how easy it could be to get back there again. There's also a really positive message in there, too. Very good. Sharper Wants to be a David Mamet twisty crime caper but falls a thousand miles short. All it has going for it is twists, all of which are predictable, and not even Julianne Moore and John Lithgow can save it. Absolutely no idea what Justice Smith offers as a lead either. Total shite. Four Samosas Really fun (and short!) crime comedy set among with a cast entirely of Indian background. It never tries to be anything amazing and settles for having a good time - it succeeds easily, too. National Treasure Finally decided to give it a go after the discussion about it on here. Yeah, really enjoyed it and Cage surprisingly fits the bill in the lead as well. Looking forward to waching the sequel this week. Mermaids Another one I avoided watching for absolutely years because my brain still can't switch of that bullshit man thing of running a mile from 'chick flicks'. But it's really, really good - very funny (especially Winona Ryder's inner monologues) and with a very satisfying ending. What a great actress Cher is, too. V for Vendetta I just wish the Wachowski sisters were good. I know they didn't direct this but it's just like their usual shite - bad dialogue, awful performances, over-stylised shit. Now I know why I never bothered to watch it. Dead Man Johnny Depp is a terrible actor and this is one of the two exceptions that prove the rule. He could have been doing work like this his whole career but no. Oh well, this is a cracking film nonetheless. Jim Jarmusch almost never misses and this is one of the best revisionist westerns I've seen. The Fortune Cookie (ok.ru) The first Jack Lemmon / Walter Matthau collaboration. Not their best but still very funny and also very sad, ultimately, when it kicks in to being actually quite a depressing drama. Billy Wilder, what a director. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted February 19, 2023 Awards Moderator Share Posted February 19, 2023 (edited) 11 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said: Absolutely no idea what Justice Smith offers as a lead either. He’s been comfortably the least enjoyable thing in everything I’ve seen him in. In the case of Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom that’s a pretty big achievement. I’m looking forward to the Dungeons & Dragons film next month, but fear he’s going to drag it down. Edited February 19, 2023 by HarmonicGenerator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted February 19, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 19, 2023 1 hour ago, HarmonicGenerator said: He’s been comfortably the least enjoyable thing in everything I’ve seen him in. In the case of Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom that’s a pretty big achievement. I’m looking forward to the Dungeons & Dragons film next month, but fear he’s going to drag it down. JW:FK was my introduction him as well and I completely agree with you. Even added a load of stink to Detective Pikachu. Hopefully as part of a larger ensemble he’ll be doing less but that’s absolute wishful thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chris B Posted February 21, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted February 21, 2023 Blue Jean (cinema) Brilliantly written, directed and performed. It works all the better for the tight focus on the lead, because it really gets across how much she has to lose - and that makes it sickeningly tense, to the point where it feels more like a horror film at times. But it's also beautiful and hopeful at times. Really impressive stuff. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (cinema) Same as @Devon Malcolm, I really don't like the Shrek franchise, and had no intention of seeing it. Then I saw this tweet/clip and was sold. And really glad I went to see it. It's a lot of fun and smartly written.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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