SaitoRyo Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia Early 80s road movie about a brother and his younger sister hoping to make it in country music and getting into various scrapes along the way. Tremendous music, much of which is provided by Dennis Quaid (who plays the brother), believe it or not. Quaid is great, as he typically tends to be, but Kirsty McNichol steals it as the sister. Earned every penny of her reported six-figure salary for that one, she did. Bernie I got this on DVD about a decade ago and only watched it the once. Didn't remember too much about it, which really helped the re-watch because it's a little gem of a film that I'm really glad I stuck on. Jack Black is great as the title character and it's really well directed by Linklater. Very funny film about small-town Texas eccentrics based on a real story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted December 19, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 19, 2023 (edited) I saw Godzilla Minus One. It was pretty good and I had a fun time. I don't think it's quite as good as the hype has made out but I think due to current day action/adventure films being so shite for years now that anything pretty good seems amazing. When audiences have been forced to endure stuff like Free Guy then yeah Godzilla Minus One is spectacular in comparison. Some of the acting and dialogue in this is incredibly melodramatic to the point of being laughable but the big action scenes all hit the mark. There's a bit where Godzilla turns up and they hit that original theme (you know the one) which put the biggest grin on my face and his heat ray is insanely awesome. Biggest criticism - they didn't use Godzilla's trademark roar/screech which is probably one of the best bits of monster sound design ever made. Overall, I wasn't blown away by it but definitely think we need more films like this in cinemas. I also watched The Killer which is, surprisingly, one of the funniest films I've seen in ages. Really liked it. Edited December 19, 2023 by LaGoosh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 1 hour ago, SaitoRyo said: The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia This sounds excellent. At the risk of repeating myself, is this on a streaming service? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaitoRyo Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 12 minutes ago, Loki said: This sounds excellent. At the risk of repeating myself, is this on a streaming service? Not that I'm aware of. It actually took me a while to find a decent, watchable copy (ok.ru). I am in the Czech Republic and most stuff is region geoblocked here, thanks to Brexit, so it may well be available to rent/buy on Apple TV, Prime etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members johnnyboy Posted December 19, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 19, 2023 8 hours ago, SaitoRyo said: The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia And a banging Reba tune, the music video of which is virtually a film in itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaitoRyo Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 26 minutes ago, johnnyboy said: And a banging Reba tune, the music video of which is virtually a film in itself. Funny enough, the film was 'inspired' by the song. However, it has nothing to do with the plot, so they had Tanya Tucker record a new version with alternate lyrics and it appears in the opening credits. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bellenda Carlisle Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 Popeye (the Robin Williams one). This is such a weird film, it looks amazing, the cast are great and it has a unique vibe that really makes it feel like a comic/cartoon and like it's set in its own little world. Unfortunately it's soooo meandering, it's like they dressed everyone up as Popeye characters dropped them in a lovely Popeye town then just told them do do Popeye stuff with no editing or quality control. Likewise the songs are the least catchy songs I've ever heard in a musical, just so aimless and droning. One of the few films I'd reccomend watching in the background as opposed to paying close attention to. I've said it before but I think Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl is the best casting of an existing character of all time, she looks like she stepped straight out of the cartoon. The only one i find comparably good is Gerard Depardieu as Obelix (where else are you gonna find a big fat famous French actor with a cartoon big nose). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted December 20, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 20, 2023 7 hours ago, Bellenda Carlisle said: Popeye (the Robin Williams one). This is such a weird film, it looks amazing, the cast are great and it has a unique vibe that really makes it feel like a comic/cartoon and like it's set in its own little world. Unfortunately it's soooo meandering, it's like they dressed everyone up as Popeye characters dropped them in a lovely Popeye town then just told them do do Popeye stuff with no editing or quality control. Likewise the songs are the least catchy songs I've ever heard in a musical, just so aimless and droning. One of the few films I'd reccomend watching in the background as opposed to paying close attention to. I've said it before but I think Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl is the best casting of an existing character of all time, she looks like she stepped straight out of the cartoon. The only one i find comparably good is Gerard Depardieu as Obelix (where else are you gonna find a big fat famous French actor with a cartoon big nose). I don't know what's worse - the film or being dragged round what's left of the sodding village every year we went to Malta as a kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossman Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 We went to Malta this year and went to the Popeye village. They've turned it into a proper tourist attraction now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted December 21, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 21, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bellenda Carlisle Posted December 21, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 21, 2023 Sympathy for the Devil D-mal approved recent Nicolas Cage thriller. Nic was absolutely sublime in this, proper wild Nic on classic form, reminded me how much I love watching him do his thing. I could watch him do that for hours but the film was a pleasing 1hr25 long and a fun tense watch (although I agree they could have explained and tightened up the denouement a bit more) Quiz Lady I really enjoyed this and laughed out loud plenty, so glad comedies have had a bit of a comeback. Apparently lots of people find her annoying but I've really liked Awkwafina in everything I've seen her in (and she could go in the pleasing to listen to thread). Sandra Oh was really fun as well and they had great chemistry, Will Ferrell was perfect in his small warm role. Spoiler And the unexpected cameo of my all time favourite celebrity in his final role (😭) after the film's emotional climax really tugged at my heartstrings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted December 21, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 21, 2023 Haunted Mansion Self-congratulatory Disney piss. Thoroughly boring and unoriginal from start to finish. Somehow manages to make Lakeith Stanfield look bad. Will they learn from messes like this? Hopefully not. The Royal Hotel Pretty good outback thriller from the director of (the brilliant) The Assistant. Last 15 minutes or so don't work at all and are really rushed but Jessica Henwick and Julia Garner are excellent once again. Die Hard (cinema) Yes, caught it at the cinema! At last! It's a good film imo. Fingernails Weird little sci-fi drama from the director of the great Greek film Apples. Won't work for everyone but it's got Jessie Buckley in it so what more do you want. Love and Monsters (Netflix) Gave this another spin. It's still a really good time and I think you could have squeezed a sequel out of this concept. And we'd get to see more Jessica Henwick! Night of the Hunted What should be a simple premise for an enjoyable thriller becomes a load of political view bullshit with some absolutely awful dialogue. A real waste of a good opportunity. Biosphere Sci-fi comedy with Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass riffing off each other beautifully. Don't read a thing about it because it goes to the least expected places imaginable. Fremont Lovely comedy-drama about an Afghan woman with PTSD trying to get on with life in America. Features Gregg Turkington showing what a great actor he is when he's not making Tim Heidecker's life hell. Loved this. Accused (2023) (Netflix) Maybe the disappointment of the year, for me. From the director of Boiling Point, a really poor thriller about a guy wrongly accused of a terrorist attack. Not one ounce of nuance in this and no surprises at all, a huge letdown. BlackBerry A blast. Rushes through the history of the technology, touching down at all the key moments along the way, but the real story is Glenn Howerton bellowing his way hilariously through it all with one of the best performances of the year. Michael Ironside shows up, too, if you need any more convincing. Just a great laugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 7 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: Haunted Mansion Self-congratulatory Disney piss. Thoroughly boring and unoriginal from start to finish. Somehow manages to make Lakeith Stanfield look bad. Will they learn from messes like this? Hopefully not. It was about as good as I thought it would be after being stuck in development for something ridiculous like 13 years with Del Toro originally directing I think. Madness. And the decision to release it in July in cinemas? I do wonder about people sometimes. Maybe it was more important for them to get it on streaming for Halloween. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 16 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: Accused (2023) (Netflix) Maybe the disappointment of the year, for me. From the director of Boiling Point, a really poor thriller about a guy wrongly accused of a terrorist attack. Not one ounce of nuance in this and no surprises at all, a huge letdown. Interesting, as I really enjoyed this! I agree it has no surprises or nuance, but I was suitably tense throughout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted December 21, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 21, 2023 15 minutes ago, SuperBacon said: Interesting, as I really enjoyed this! I agree it has no surprises or nuance, but I was suitably tense throughout. I just expected a lot more after Barantini's previous film so maybe I was unfairly comparing the two, in fairness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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