VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[Hannibal Scorch]

This exchange really made me laugh

[tiger_rick]

Couple of highlights of our recent viewing. Conviction is a really good film based on a true story. It has some flaws as all of these types of film do but I think it does a really good job of picking out the important bits of the story and becomes quite gripping to the point that the culmination of Betty-Anne's fight, despite absolutely no histrionics on screen, is really emotional. I really felt it. Hilary Swank is brilliant carrying it but it has a really strong cast. I've always loved Minnie Driver but she's incredible here. There is one funny bit where Betty-Anne knocks her up at 5 in the morning and it cuts to Minnie Driver's character getting her coffee and looking absolutely sensational. Must have a walk-in wardrobe with a magician in there.

Says a lot about my TV watching history that I recognised the young Betty-Anne from Wizards Of Waverly Place.

https://innocenceproject.org/cases/kenneth-waters/

Also liked something called I Used to Be Famous. It's pretty far-fetched but a real feel-good film with a bit of heart and a lead who is a knob but remarkably likeable. It's about an ex-Boyband member who's on his arse and meets a young autistic drummer who is seriously talented and sees him as a way back in. Wouldn't comment too much on the portrayal of Autism in the film but it feels like they've tried to go it right. My experience is only of boys and girls we have at our football club and is pretty minimal compared to people on here who live it daily, but it feels like an attempt to show some of the real issues and the dilemma of the Mum wanting to be utterly protective while letting them be the best they can be. Just a quite lovely film with some great locations. The Mum (Eleanor Matsuura) is glorious too, if you're interested.

[Loki]

23 hours ago, Sphinx said:

Edit: don't know how to use spoiler tags. Thought it was [spoiler][/spoiler].

It used to be, but I'm not sure the old BB codes work on this forum any more.

[SaitoRyo]

I watched White Line Fever (1975) the other night. 

Cracking little trucker action thriller starring Jan Michael-Vincent as a guy who just wants to make an honest living for him and his new bride and rallies against the crooks who seem to control the trucking industry in Arizona. 

Vincent is great as the lead and some familiar favourites like Dick Miller, LQ Jones and Slim Pickens show up to do their bit. There's some decent action, plenty of hijinks and a fair bit of a drama in there, too. I can never get enough of that seventies western aesthetic, so this was a home run for me. 

[SuperBacon]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

There is one funny bit where Betty-Anne knocks her up at 5 in the morning

I'm in.

[Devon Malcolm]

6 hours ago, SaitoRyo said:

I watched White Line Fever (1975) the other night. 

Cracking little trucker action thriller starring Jan Michael-Vincent as a guy who just wants to make an honest living for him and his new bride and rallies against the crooks who seem to control the trucking industry in Arizona. 

Vincent is great as the lead and some familiar favourites like Dick Miller, LQ Jones and Slim Pickens show up to do their bit. There's some decent action, plenty of hijinks and a fair bit of a drama in there, too. I can never get enough of that seventies western aesthetic, so this was a home run for me. 

Superb little film. Worth noting that it was one of the biggest box office hits of 1975 even though it's largely unknown today. Weird how some popular films just disappear from consciousness like that.

[Devon Malcolm]

Dream Scenario (cinema)

Yes, very good indeed. I was a bit uneasy when it started on about cancel culture and mental health but I saw them more as a means to an end in torturing the lead character. Worth noting that the same director made Sick of Myself earlier this year, which is slightly better than this and explores some similar themes.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Pretty rubbish and sad. Goes on forever, never really excites with anything. Doesn't reward Harrison Ford putting his back in or Phoebe Waller-Bridge being game. Another pathetic dead horse-flogging exercise from Disney. Absolutely useless cunts.

Sympathy for the Devil (2023)

You seen this one, @Bellenda Carlisle? Had a lot of fun with it even if the ending was too quick to explain everything. Even Joel Kinnaman was quite good and he's always boring. I'm happy for Nic Cage that he got the chance to do this kind of role again in amongst his (excellent) resurgence and he's a great laugh here, especially in the diner scene.

Happiness for Beginners (Netflix)

Amazingly bland and unfunny romcom adventure where Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes concoct not one iota of chemistry between them. Goes for something of a twist near the end and it's terribly misjudged.

Master Gardener (Prime)

Paul Schrader's latest isn't a patch on The Card Counter or First Reformed but it's singularly thoughtful and offbeat with its story. I don't think he's quite grasped people's issues with age gap relationships though tbh.

Babylon

To my great surprise, I thought this was absolutely excellent. It's been done before, like (Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie did this sort of thing in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), and at much shorter length too. But it's a near constant three hour assault of comedy and commentary on Hollywood bigotry and class from a director who knows exactly what he's doing and saying.

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

William Friedkin's final film is amusing in how 'no bullshit' it is. A good time courtroom drama with an excellent cast and Jason Clarke. Who is actually quite good here, by some miracle. Friedkin will be missed hugely.

Hidden Strike

Jackie Chan and John Cena sing Old Macdonald to a bunch of kids. What more do you want?

The Nice Guys

You're expecting an angel. And you get Nixon.

[Loki]

12 hours ago, SaitoRyo said:

I watched White Line Fever (1975) the other night. 

Was that on one of the streaming services?  Sounds great.

[SaitoRyo]

8 hours ago, Loki said:

Was that on one of the streaming services?  Sounds great.

Not that I'm aware of, unfortunately. HD rips are out there, though...

[tiger_rick]

We watched Juliet, Naked. Didn't realise it was an adaptation of a Nick Hornby book until the credits rolled. It's pretty good. Harmless stuff with the lovely Rose Byrne at the heart of it and Ethan Hawke being pretty good as an aged rocker with about 150 kids and a 20-year gap in his memory from years of losing himself. Chris O'Dowd as the obsessive fan is how I imagine most of you lot on here when you bang on about bands no-one has ever heard and cats would commit suicide if they heard ?.

Not sure if he was singing but Ethan Hawke's version of Waterloo Sunset was a bloody delight.

 

[Bellenda Carlisle]

16 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

.Sympathy for the Devil (2023)

You seen this one, @Bellenda Carlisle?  

 

Babylon

 

I'm ashamed to say I haven't seen it yet! Will have to download it ASAP.  I also haven't seen his new western where he's bald, will have to have a Cage catch up fest soon.

And Dream scenario isn't showing at my cinema cos of a disputd with Odeon, absolutely infuriates me when I can't go and see a new film with my limitless pass, I'm not fucking paying to go somewhere else unless it's for some special cult arthouse film or something.

I loved Babylon, those huge party scenes and stuff were wild on the big screen I listen to the soundtrack all the time as well. 

[Devon Malcolm]

1 hour ago, Bellenda Carlisle said:

I'm ashamed to say I haven't seen it yet! Will have to download it ASAP.  I also haven't seen his new western where he's bald, will have to have a Cage catch up fest soon.

And Dream scenario isn't showing at my cinema cos of a disputd with Odeon, absolutely infuriates me when I can't go and see a new film with my limitless pass, I'm not fucking paying to go somewhere else unless it's for some special cult arthouse film or something.

I loved Babylon, those huge party scenes and stuff were wild on the big screen I listen to the soundtrack all the time as well. 

Yeah, I'm looking forward to The Old Way. Has he done a western before? Can't remember him being in one. Hope you like Sympathy for the Devil though, I reckon you will.

[Mr_Danger]

Bald Cage Western is Butchers Crossing on Prime. Looks to be doing a Colonel Kurtz in that one. Looks a bit shit tbh. Unless you’re the type of person who is sold on ‘Bald Nic Cage doing a Colonel Kurtz’ which is probably most Cage fans.

[Bellenda Carlisle]

15 minutes ago, Mr_Danger said:

Looks a bit shit tbh. Unless you’re the type of person who is sold on ‘Bald Nic Cage doing a Colonel Kurtz’ which is probably most Cage fans.

That's the one I was thinking of. Just him being bald was a big enough selling point tbh

[SaitoRyo]

Butcher's Crossing is a magnificent book that stays with you for a long time after you finish it. They've been trying to make a film version of it for ages, though I doubt the finished product will be able to properly capture what is on the page (regardless of how bald Nic Cage is in it).