Paid Members Lorne Malvo Posted March 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 20, 2023 (edited) M3gan - It didn't do much for me. Not funny enough to be a comedy, not scary enough to be a horror, not clever enough to be a satire. Nowhere near as much fun as recent films like Malignant, Barbarian or Fresh. It's okay but people claiming M3gan is a new horror icon are mad. Piggy - I've no idea why people were raving about this. The family drama parts were just soapy melodrama and the horror scenes were early 2000s Texas Chainsaw remake-esque rubbish. It's biggest sin is that it's really boring, when a film like this should be anything but. Empire Of Light - It's got two really strong central performances but the film has no idea what it wants to be. It's so mudled and I'm not sure what the point of it was. Alice, Darling - A really effective disturbing look at coercive control, gaslighting, all that fun stuff. One of those films that got under my skin and wouldn't leave my head for a few days. There's an unneccesary sub-plot but for the most part it's a really strong film. Ant-Man 3 - Nah. I've gone from 'watches every episode of Agents of Shield' to 'Team Scorsese'. They're not even trying anymore, are they? The reviews say otherwise but even Jonathan Majors is sleepwalking through this. Plane - This is more like it! A fine Friday-night actioner. Gerard Butler is great at this type of thing. Knock At The Cabin - I thought it was perfectly okay but nothing more. Big Dave is the standout. I find Shymalan fascinating though, the bloke has made a career out of big-budget Twilight Zone episodes and keeps churning them out despite having more stinkers than hits. Edited March 20, 2023 by Lorne Malvo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bellenda Carlisle Posted March 21, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 21, 2023 On 3/5/2023 at 8:17 PM, Devon Malcolm said: He was superb in The Harder They Fall, too, highly recommend that. Cracking western. I finally got round to watching this late last night, I loved it, thanks. Majors was great and I really like Lakeith Stanfield as well but the plucky little twat who fancies himself the quickest draw in the west stole the show for me. I really enjoyed how the set design was very basic and bright and colourful, it was cool and timeless Spoiler And was hilarious when they went to the "white town"  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 On 3/20/2023 at 11:43 AM, Lorne Malvo said: . Empire Of Light - It's got two really strong central performances but the film has no idea what it wants to be. It's so mudled and I'm not sure what the point of it was. Â Watched this today as my day off miserable daytime film film. Â Ya lad off Top Boy is great and Olivia Coleman is her standard excellent self but the film kind of meanders between being a love letter to old cinemas, a love story, race drama and mental health issues. It does bits of each well but none are truly exceptional. It looks gorgeous though and the central performances are cracking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chris B Posted March 21, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 21, 2023 Saw a few films with some time between jobs recently. Tár Fuck me, this was horribly tense. It's dense and doesn't hold your hand at all, but eesh, it's so horrible waiting for the other shoe to drop throughout it. It has some issues (and not least, the idea that it's taken a film about a lesbian for Hollywood to be comfortable embracing a Me Too movie), but it's very well made and Cate Blanchett is amazing in it. Cocaine Bear This is a film that knows exactly what it is. You know how Snakes on a Plane left you thinking 'There was a better Snakes on a Plane movie to be made'? There pretty much isn't with Cocaine Bear. It's pretty smart for what it is and zips along. There's a point (the Gazebo scene) where there are enough moving parts that it's already a fun, tense scene - and then you remember there's a cocaine bear that hasn't shown up yet. And as a final(ish) outing for Ray Liotta, it's a lot of fun, as he plays a proper sleazy piece of shit and is clearly having a blast. Also, there's a 'dusty beaver' gag (featuring character actress Margo Martindale) which seems to be a generational divide, as those under 38 don't get the joke. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Didn't hate it. As a lot-budget film, it's actually pretty well shot and designed - a lot of the shots look really nice, and I've seen a lot worse and much cheaper-looking on Shudder. It's not good, by any means (there's one bit in particular which tips over into just general misogyny, and is clearly added because they decided they needed to show some actual tits and a bit more gore), but the set-up is pretty nicely done, and there's some fun in there. Really, this feels like more work on the story would have helped out with the script. I don't see the point in an opening scene with Christopher Robin when you could have got far more out of his character being a revelation later. And the movie is full of those weird choices. Broker Didn't expect this one to be a road movie, or to be as basically wholesome as it is. I was expecting something a little darker and edgier than the film it actually was. It's good, but doesn't have much memorable. Although Song Kang-Ho is as generally great as he always is. Chung-King Express Utterly odd film, but in exactly the way that Broker didn't have much that stuck in the memory, plenty of this one has rattled around in my head afterwards. The second story works so much better than the first, and even that takes time to kick into gear, but it's a film full of moments that just charm and stick with you. I'm absolutely in love with Faye Wong after this and expect almost everyone that watches it to be the same. Rye Lane This is just lovely. Properly funny and charming, with great leads, hilarious support and a tight script. It's sort of 'Before Sunrise' but in London and less meandering. Just had a big grin on my face throughout, and I like that it went for the daft as frequently as it did. Also, interestingly shot with the ultra-wide/fishbowl lens used a lot, giving it a fairly distinct look throughout. Just a really, really smart, joyful little film. And Eric, the 'best mate' is fucking hilarious, embracing every moment with wide-eyed naïve optimistic stupidity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 21, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 21, 2023 25 minutes ago, Chris B said: Rye Lane This is just lovely. Properly funny and charming, with great leads, hilarious support and a tight script. It's sort of 'Before Sunrise' but in London and less meandering. Just had a big grin on my face throughout, and I like that it went for the daft as frequently as it did. Also, interestingly shot with the ultra-wide/fishbowl lens used a lot, giving it a fairly distinct look throughout. Just a really, really smart, joyful little film. And Eric, the 'best mate' is fucking hilarious, embracing every moment with wide-eyed naïve optimistic stupidity. Spoiler What I love about the reception it's getting is that it's so good that there's not nearly as much chat about Colin Firth's superb cameo as I expected. Just a lovely film.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chris B Posted March 21, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 21, 2023 2 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:  Reveal hidden contents What I love about the reception it's getting is that it's so good that there's not nearly as much chat about Colin Firth's superb cameo as I expected. Just a lovely film.  Also, the way they handled flashbacks of their stories? Superb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 23, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 23, 2023 John Wick: Chapter 4Â (cinema) Clancy Brown plays a character called The Harbinger. Donnie Yen gets far and away his best American role to date and maybe the best of his whole career. Scott Adkins fighting in a fat suit. And Rina Sawayama stealing the whole thing on her *debut*. Plus much, much, much more. Completely fucking amazing. The second greatest action franchise of all time - and in a couple of months we get the next one from the greatest. 2023! The Piano Boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted March 23, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 23, 2023 38 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: John Wick: Chapter 4 (cinema) Clancy Brown plays a character called The Harbinger. Donnie Yen gets far and away his best American role to date and maybe the best of his whole career. Scott Adkins fighting in a fat suit. And Rina Sawayama stealing the whole thing on her *debut*. Plus much, much, much more. Completely fucking amazing. The second greatest action franchise of all time - and in a couple of months we get the next one from the greatest. 2023! The Piano Boring. Me and Mrs Scorch rarely get a date night, but we’re booked in tomorrow night for John Wick 4. How did you find the length, as I’ve seen it’s run time. I can handle long films but the wife struggles a bit. Also off to see Rye Lane at the weekend, been looking forward to it and based off the discussion here, should be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 23, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 23, 2023 4 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said: Me and Mrs Scorch rarely get a date night, but we’re booked in tomorrow night for John Wick 4. How did you find the length, as I’ve seen it’s run time. I can handle long films but the wife struggles a bit. Zipped by but perhaps only because it's absolutely my thing. The bladder objected wildly though. Rye Lane is almost exactly half the length so they balance each other out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted March 25, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 25, 2023 (edited) On 3/23/2023 at 5:23 PM, Devon Malcolm said: Zipped by but perhaps only because it's absolutely my thing. The bladder objected wildly though. Rye Lane is almost exactly half the length so they balance each other out. So I saw John Wick Chapter 4 Spoiler Holy shit it surpassed my high expectations that I had even before your glowing recommendation. Perfect film for a Friday night, almost sold out showing. Some of the filming in that final act, amazing. There were 2 things i didn’t like Spoiler John Wick’s fall down over 200 steps and just 3 minutes before sunrise felt unnecessary. And Donnie Yen’s unfortunate Mr Chow from The Hangover cosplay for the final duel. He was excellent though.   Edited March 25, 2023 by Hannibal Scorch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaitoRyo Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 On 3/21/2023 at 4:14 PM, Chris B said: Chung-King Express Utterly odd film, but in exactly the way that Broker didn't have much that stuck in the memory, plenty of this one has rattled around in my head afterwards. The second story works so much better than the first, and even that takes time to kick into gear, but it's a film full of moments that just charm and stick with you. I'm absolutely in love with Faye Wong after this and expect almost everyone that watches it to be the same. I adore this film. Would encourage you to check out some more of Wong Kar-wai's stuff if you enjoyed it. In The Mood For Love is one of the most beautiful films ever made, but most of his 90's stuff is class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lorne Malvo Posted March 28, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 28, 2023 It's been a good week film-wise: Infinity Pool - I really liked this. I didn't know anything about it going in, I'm not a big fan of body-horror/Cronenberg movies and I'm bored of the 'rich people are awful arn't they?' genre, but despite all that I found it really interesting. I think it could've been paced better, the middle section meanders and almost lost me a few times, but the first and last acts are terrific. Mia Goth is great, Skarsgard is fantastic and some of the visuals will stay with me for a long time. It's the first time I've noticed but Alexander Skarsgard has got a touch of Matt Smith about him. Must be the forehead. The Beasts - I loved this. Found it really gripping and tense, it never went the way I expected. It's kind of Straw Dogs with a more naturalistic edge, but better than that sounds! Spoiler Halfway through it takes a really interesting thematic turn and becomes a film about grief and perseverance, which really caught me by surprise. Definitely recommended. Blue Jean - Another one I was a fan of, and another film which took narrative turns that toook me by surprise. Brilliant central performance by Rosy McEwan and feels like an important film in terms of where we are now too. @SuperBacon - there's a moment in this where the main character is listening to the FA cup scores on the radio. Spurs lost, obviously. Marcel The Shell With Shoes On - A film about a shell voiced by Mona-Lisa Saperstein made me cry. Fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 9 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said: Blue Jean - Another one I was a fan of, and another film which took narrative turns that toook me by surprise. Brilliant central performance by Rosy McEwan and feels like an important film in terms of where we are now too. @SuperBacon - there's a moment in this where the main character is listening to the FA cup scores on the radio. Spurs lost, obviously. Thanks, I didn't realise this was on the BFI player. Oh, and it was set in 1988 when we lost to Port Vale in the 4th round Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted March 28, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 28, 2023 Disney are bad blah blah yes I know. But this is great news (especially as my cinema have already removed it)Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted March 28, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted March 28, 2023 1 hour ago, Lorne Malvo said: It's been a good week film-wise: Infinity Pool - I really liked this. I didn't know anything about it going in, I'm not a big fan of body-horror/Cronenberg movies and I'm bored of the 'rich people are awful arn't they?' genre, but despite all that I found it really interesting. I think it could've been paced better, the middle section meanders and almost lost me a few times, but the first and last acts are terrific. Mia Goth is great, Skarsgard is fantastic and some of the visuals will stay with me for a long time. I'm going to see this tomorrow or Thursday. I was going to see Pearl instead but it's not on at a good time but thankfully it will give me my Mia Goth fix. 1 hour ago, Lorne Malvo said: The Beasts - I loved this. Found it really gripping and tense, it never went the way I expected. It's kind of Straw Dogs with a more naturalistic edge, but better than that sounds! Really looking forward to this. Denis Menochet is an amazing actor. He was in a film a few years ago called Custody that I highly recommend. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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