VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[Mr_Danger]

2 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

Eh? I'm not policing, it was more the dropped comment and our departed forum member. Just a small joke.

Can anyone smell bacon?

I watched Conclave. It’s brilliant. Armando Iannucci must be livid he didn’t make this. 

[SaitoRyo]

Roadside Prophets

A very early 90s indie road movie about two guys (played by John Doe of X and one of the Beastie Boys) travelling to Nevada on their motorcycles for different reasons. It's  basically about the eccentrics they meet along the way and is stuffed with cameos, including Arlo Guthrie and Flea. John Cusack shows also up, as does a young Don Cheadle.

I sort of clocked the tone early so I was fine with how it all played out, but your mileage may vary. I mostly enjoyed it for the plentiful Americana on display, as a big chunk of the film takes place in motels, dive bars, gas stations etc. 

[WyattSheepMask]

Heretic 

While the final act is a little uneven, I absolutely loved this. Hugh Grant playing a creep in a psychological thriller-horror? More of this please.
Another solid film from A24

[Devon Malcolm]

Carry-On (Netflix)

The sort of mid-budget daft actioner we used to get at the cinema all the time, now relegated to the two day fame of being a Netflix original. Congratulations to Taron Egerton on finally being in a half-decent film. You will lose at Whamageddon if you watch this.

Upon Entry

Smart little Spanish drama about a couple being interrogated by US immigration officials. Doesn't drop any bombshells and the ending is predictable but at 77 minutes you can't beat this.

Knox Goes Away (Prime)

Seems to be more and more films about dementia these days but none of the rest have Al Pacino dancing with his sugar baby girlfriend. Great cast, Keaton is really good, the story plays out quite well.

I Used to be Funny

Rachel Sennott is just as good a dramatic actor as she is a comedy one. Shame the film is another unnecessarily playing out in a non-linear way but the story and performances are sharp and it just about works.

The Clean Up Crew

Bad Matthew Vaughn crime comedy rip-off with bad accents and bad just about everything else except Antonio Banderas playing it about as stupidly as he can.

Parachute

Excellent comedy-drama about a young woman trying to start a relationship while facing body image issues and an eating disorder. Courtney Eaton with one of the best performances of the year by a distance, it's sensitive and serious and funny in all the right measures.

Don't Move (Netflix)

People have wrongly talked this up as a really good gimmick thriller. It is not. As much as I liked looking at Kelsey Asbille's face for an hour and a half, I did not like the rest of it. A good idea terribly executed.

Role Play (Prime)

Objectively bad, but David Oyewolo and Kaley Cuoco have loads of chemistry and the latter is very funny indeed in places. Not enough action, though, by far.

The Last Dance (cinema)

Hong Kong comedy-drama about a guy who takes over a funeral parlor and has run-ins with a Taoist priest. A couple of ropey performances aside, this was quite lovely and well paced with a cracking ending. A lovely surprise.

[SuperBacon]

6 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

You will lose at Whamageddon if you watch this.

Appreciate this.

[Shirtie]

On 12/9/2024 at 4:49 PM, DarloKid said:

i watched The Last Seduction last night, a 90s erotic thriller. Great film, with a bit of a crazy ending. Linda Fiorentino's performance was utterly fantastic as the femme fatale, am surprised she didn't get nominated for any awards for it, i thought it was that good. Also, why on earth did she not go on to have a big career off the back of this ? baffling  

Her performance won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and the London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actress of the Year, and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Despite the critical acclaim, because the film was shown on television prior to its cinematic release, Fiorentino was ineligible for an Oscar nomination

Seems that she did

[air_raid]

The mrs made me watch Our Little Secret the other night. Say what you want about Netflix' baffling dedication to resurrecting the film career of Lindsay Lohan, at least they have the good sense to keep their movies around the 90 minute mark for the most part. It was shit, but it wasn't quite as shit as I expected, so in a bizarre "keep your expectations low" way, I ended up enjoying it. Although there were some massive plot holes that only dorks like me could possible care about in a (sweet n salty?) popcorn flick.

[Dr. Alan Grant]

On 11/17/2024 at 12:53 PM, Dr. Alan Grant said:

With all that in mind, I am going to watch the entire Pixar back catalogue in order to do a proper ranking with them all fresh in the mind. 28 films in total. I might even rewatch all of the shorts as well. Let the Pixar marathon commence! 
 

This of course means I have to watch the Cars films again. Pray for me. 

And we’re done. Started November 17, finished December 17. Including all shorts.

Behold the ranking. And let the obligatory “Bug’s Life deserves better!” comments flow. 

1. Toy Story 3 10/10

2. Toy Story 10/10

3. Monsters Inc 9/10

4. Toy Story 2 9/10

5. Finding Nemo 8/10

6. Coco 8/10

7. Wall-E 8/10

8. Brave 8/10

9. Up 8/10

10. The Incredibles 8/10

11. Ratatouille 8/10

12. Inside Out 7/10

13. Toy Story 4 7/10

14. Finding Dory 7/10*

15. Luca 7/10

16. Onward 7/10*

17. Turning Red 7/10

18. Elemental 6/10*

19. The Good Dinosaur 6/10

20. Inside Out 2 6/10

21. A Bug’s Life 6/10

22. Incredibles 2 6/10

23. Lightyear 6/10*

24. Soul 5/10

25. Monsters University 4/10*

26. Cars 3/10

27. Cars 3 3/10*

28. Cars 2 2/10

*First watch

Toy Story 1 and 3 are a pretty interchangeable top 2. I gave it to 3 purely for its perfect ending. Monsters University was the most disappointing given I love the first one. Cars are all uniformly shit.

Top 5 shorts were Day & Night, Partly Cloudy, Lifted, Presto and Lava. I much prefer the original ones rather than those based on their existing films.

I enjoyed the marathon because it eliminated the need to decide what film to watch next. With that said, I’m moving on to a double bill intertwining marathon of Spielberg and Carry On films. The perfect duo. 

Edited December 17, 2024 by Dr. Alan Grant
Formatting

[SuperBacon]

5 minutes ago, Dr. Alan Grant said:

Monsters University 4/10*

[DavidB6937]

Didn't expect to see Brave that high. Definitely one of the most forgettable ones for me.

[Mr_Danger]

Carry-On: Probably the least funny of them all and not a busty giggly lady in sight. As a throw back actioner I enjoyed it.  Jason Bateman has a good go at not being Michael Bluth but he is and forever will be Michael Bluth. In everything. I don’t mind Taron Egerton and he’s absolutely fine in this. Never disappointed to see Dean Norris in something. Perfect Netflix fodder that most people will easily miss. 

[Devon Malcolm]

53 minutes ago, Mr_Danger said:

Carry-On: Probably the least funny of them all and not a busty giggly lady in sight. As a throw back actioner I enjoyed it.  Jason Bateman has a good go at not being Michael Bluth but he is and forever will be Michael Bluth. In everything. I don’t mind Taron Egerton and he’s absolutely fine in this. Never disappointed to see Dean Norris in something. Perfect Netflix fodder that most people will easily miss. 

The Die Hard 2 remake we never knew we needed.

[Hannibal Scorch]

1 hour ago, Mr_Danger said:

Carry-On: Probably the least funny of them all 

I dare you to watch Carry On Columbus and say that.

[SaitoRyo]

Bad Santa

First time watching this since I was maybe 17 or 18. Didn't find it as funny as I did then. It's alright and there's a few laughs, but nowhere near as entertaining as I remember it being. Struck me more now just how nihilistic/mean spirited it is and it gets a bit tiresome after a while.  

The Ice Harvest

This was more like it. If you're going to watch one Billy Bob Thornton Christmas-set film from the mid-2000s, make it this one. Noirish black comedy crime deal about a shady lawyer and a strip club manager who conspire to rip off the mob on Christmas Eve. It doesn't go as well as they planned and things rapidly start to unravel as the body count goes up. John Cusack stars (and is very good in it) and you're in and out in a tight 85 minutes. Solid alternative festive fare.

[Devon Malcolm]

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (cinema)

Obviously delighted to see the Dead Reckoning influence here. As fun and funny and ridiculously well animated as ever. There's a captcha gag in this that's the joke of the year.

Lisa Frankenstein

Finally, a Diablo Cody-written film that didn't make me unreasonably angry. This was great, very funny and smart and stupid in all the right measures. The production design is fantastic and Kathryn Newton is always excellent. Directed by Robin Williams' daughter!

Sixty Minutes (Netflix)

German action film about an MMA fighter in a race against the clock to reach his daughter's birthday party. Some really good action in this even if the story is hilariously shit. A decent, daft actioner. And best of all, there's almost no MMA in it.

Humane

Another Cronenberg kid makes a film. Judging by her first attempt, Caitlin ain't no Brandon, and he ain't that amazing as it is. This was one of the worst films I've seen this year - a good idea directed like a TV movie and with some awful performances, especially from Jay Baruchel.

Die Alone

Zombie apocalypse movie with almost no zombies in it. More a downbeat memory loss drama with the least surprising twist of the year. At least Frank Grillo's not in it for very long.

The Killer's Game

It takes too long to get going but it's quite funny after a point if lacking some really stand-out action. Drew McIntyre and Scott Adkins play a pair of Scottish hitmen so you get to hear Adkins do a Scottish accent, and who doesn't want to hear that? The cast is stacked but Big Dave, Pom Klementieff and Sofia Boutella are way better than this now. Passable, though.