VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[Mr_Danger]

17 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

 

As a completist I had to see Jersey Girl as a Kevin Smith film I hadn't seen and do you know what, it's not that bad. Ben Affleck is my spirit guide and I'll always have time for him in anything, the massive faced goon.

 

Affleck single parenting a cute kid with a George Carlin dad and a Liv Tyler love interest is a cracking set up for a film. It’s the rest around it that drags it down. For what it is it’s a fine film and was a bit of a comfort watch for a while a good few years back.

[Onyx2]

I watched The Long Good Friday (Prime) for the first time yesterday. What a ride! Bob Hoskins is peak Hosko, all swagger and menace with a smile. Helen Mirren stands up really well to him, and there is an incredible cast of 'oh it's him!' (Alan Ford! Derek Thompson! Pierce Brosnan! Karl Howman! Bill Moody! Paul Barber!). The action is tense and the mystery intriguing, with some more interesting camerawork than this gangster flick really deserves. 

Then there's this little rant right at the end that sounds the most gammon-favoured Brexit rant you've ever heard (you could watch this out of context from my timestamp, it's a tiny bit spoilery but not really to the main plot)

...yet ends with "we're in the common market now, we will be the capital of Europe." Exactly the same arguments used by Farage turned on it's head. "We'll shit 'em!"

Then the actual final scene is pretty much a shot held on Hosky for about 90 seconds without a cut. Sensational. Oh and the soundtrack is a belter. 

Aside from the actual film I enjoyed seeing the Docklands area of London pre-Canary Wharf. Fascinating to see and for them to talk about hosting the 1988 Olympics there.

NB there is a small amount of dodgy racist language if you were considering watching. Not a lot but worth mentioning. 

Edited January 19, 2024 by Onyx2

[Loki]

That last shot as the credits roll is one of the best shots in cinema history, just amazing.  What a way to end a film with everything implied through his facial reactions.  

At a time when the British film industry was on its arse, Hoskins was one of the few British stars making properly British films.  Mona Lisa is a similarly tough, local story and film from a few years later.  

I can't recall having seen any other films by that director though.  I just looked him up and there's a couple that sound worth tracking down - The Honorary Consul being a Graham Greense adaptation with Hosko, Caine and Richard Gere.  He does seem to have a done a load of those bad 80s/90s Caine movies, which to be fair was the state of British film at the time.

 

 

[SuperBacon]

6 minutes ago, Loki said:

can't recall having seen any other films by that director though.  I just looked him up and there's a couple that sound worth tracking down -

The Fourth Protocol is good, but then it's a cold war film, so of course it is. They're the best.

[Onyx2]

6 minutes ago, Loki said:

I can't recall having seen any other films by that director though.  I just looked him up and there's a couple that sound worth tracking down

I did exactly the same. It was fairly standard 1980s TV blocking until a few shots which made me want to find out who it was, and he seems like a bit of a journeyman. Nothing wrong with that but I thought I'd discover he had several classics under his belt. 

[Keith Houchen]

And of course, that last shot was done with the actors on different days due to scheduling, which makes the performance even better in my opinion!

[Devon Malcolm]

Mackenzie had a nondescript career after The Long Good Friday but made some good stuff for the BBC in the 70s, although it's quite difficult to find now. Unman, Wittering and Zigo is a very good film, too.

Edited January 19, 2024 by Devon Malcolm

[Loki]

@Keith Houchen I imagine you love that film, as it's basically "don't fuck with the Ra".  

[Chris B]

18 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

As a completist I had to see Jersey Girl as a Kevin Smith film I hadn't seen and do you know what, it's not that bad. Ben Affleck is my spirit guide and I'll always have time for him in anything, the massive faced goon.

Jersey Girl is fine, but you can also pinpoint the exact moment Kevin Smith shat the bed and went from being an exciting film-maker to coasting.

Affleck went into this as an Oscar-winning writer, who looked up to Smith. And not surprisingly - between his speeches in Chasing Amy and Dogma, Smith had probably given him his best moments. Because Ben Affleck can deliver the hell out of a monologue, and particularly one by Kevin Smith.

So, you have a Affleck as a character where his whole thing is being able to sell people on things. And one of the biggest points in the film comes where he gives a monologue to convince everyone to vote a different way. The big, big moment is a monologue, written by Smith and performed by Affleck.

And it's shown as a montage. It's clear they filmed it, as it's in the montage. Which means they wrote it. And Smith couldn't get it right. It needed to be knocked out of the park and it wasn't. So, instead, we get this shitty montage.

And I'm not convinced Smith has taken a serious risk since.

[Mr_Danger]

I remember being so excited for it because all Smith would bang on about was how it was his Annie Hall film and making out like it was his gateway in to proper films and it turned out to be his usual schtick with less weed jokes and a bit more heart.

[Hannibal Scorch]

Just a heads up, I’ve spotted Weird Al Yankovics’ UHF is available to watch on Amazon Prime. If you’ve never seen it, change that.

[wordsfromlee]

Saltburn

Really did not enjoy it. Hated every single character in an 'X-Pac/go-away heat' way except for Rosamund Pike who had a couple of funny lines. Felt like Fennel was trying to do "posh Skins for grown ups"

Also didn't realise until about half way through that Barry Keoghan was supposed to be playing a scouser. Not sure what that accent was supposed be.

[SuperBacon]

5 minutes ago, wordsfromlee said:

Also didn't realise until about half way through that Barry Keoghan was supposed to be playing a scouser. Not sure what that accent was supposed be.

Because he's trying to hide his accent I assumed.

[WyattSheepMask]

Saltburn had it come out when I was at Uni would’ve been hailed as the greatest film ever by the people on my course. It’s well made and everything (although the aspect ratio was a bit jarring at first) but it’s proper nonsense 

Edited January 20, 2024 by WyattSheepMask

[Devon Malcolm]

I'm glad everyone loves Barry Keoghan off the back of it but that guy's been doing cracking work for a decade now.