VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[Dai]

Loved The Substance, but one part killed the mood for a bit, and made both of us question if we had missed something:

Spoiler

 That bit toward the end when she's old and frail, and should be crippled by the amount of injections that have happened to her, yet she bombs down the flights of stairs, sprints to the locker and drags the younger girl with ease with one arm. Stood out like a sore thumb within the context of the film, unless I've missed something. 

 

[Mr_Danger]

Gladiator 2

I was well in to the first half of this that felt more like a Tony Scott film than a Ridley Scott film. Then for some reason the second half is basically this happened, then this happened and this happened all the way to the end. Sloppy but fun. 

[Merzbow]

Swing Girls. This is yet another very sweet Japanese high school movie about a girl band but this time it's a group of delinquents who have been forced to take over from the brass band after they were accidentally poisoned. It's played far, far more for laugh and it doesn't have the same beautiful cinematography nor perfect natural dialogue as Linda Linda Linda but it still works well, especially in the second half. Highly recommended if you want a goofy heartwarming little film, just try to ignore the one huuuge plothole..

Spoiler

The girls very suddenly become complete Jazz pro's out of nowhere.

 

Edited January 13, 2025 by Merzbow

[Devon Malcolm]

A Real Pain (cinema)

A film that you will like / dislike entirely based on how much of Jesse Eisenberg you can stomach. CM Punk stan Kieran Culkin is awesome as reported and there are a couple of memorable scenes. But Eisenberg really Eisenbergs the hell out of himself here - he also directs this.

Sometimes I Think About Dying

I'm just so happy that the miserable experience Daisy Ridley (and John Boyega and others) had to endure dealing with Star Wars middle aged men has led to her being able to do more films like this. One of the best films of last year - a slow, quiet but lovely comedy-drama about social anxiety and cottage cheese.

Fast Charlie (Prime)

Pierce Brosnan does a terrible deep south accent and it's very boring. Even looking at Morena Baccarin for 90 minutes can't save it.

Mars Express

Superb French cyberpunk animation set in a robot-dominated world. Works great as a neo-noir thriller and action film, too. If it sounds like you're sort of thing then you're right.

The Shadow Strays (Netflix)

Another Indonesian action film that goes on way too long but has enough really cool fights and violence to make you stick with it. I don't know why everything from that part of the world has to be 145 minutes now though.

The 4:30 Movie

Hold the presses! Kevin Smith made.... a mediocre film. The best film he's made in 25 years and it's still not great. Without the awful last 20 minutes and especially that final shot, it might even have passed as being above-average, but the stupid twat just can't help himself. Sam Richardson's wrestling promos the highlight.

Girl You Know It's True

I assumed this would be largely superfluous what with the Milli Vanilli documentary of last year. But actually, it's an important companion piece with many people connected to the story acting as producers. Clearly very influenced by 24 Hour Party People in its style but you should always imitate the best. Much, much better than I expected.

The Silent Hour (Prime)

I'm a big Brad Anderson fan and this is another really solid thriller from him with a cool idea (both lead characters are deaf) executed very well. Even Joel Kinnaman came across quite well. Very enjoyable.

In the Land of Saints and Sinners (Netflix)

Easily one of Liam Neeson's better ones of recent years. Again, not really an actioner, more a crime thriller set in a small Irish town. Not exactly sensitive to the IRA cause but I didn't watch this for political sensitivity. Surprisingly good.

Caddo Lake

Really disappointing. Starts off convoluted and becomes impossible to follow after a while. No surprise at all this was produced by M. Night Shyamalan (highly derogatory).

The Animal Kingdom

French film about an alternate timeline where chunks of the human race are starting to de-evolve back to being animals. Like that episde of Star Trek: TNG where Troi turns into a frog and Barclay into a spider except with more Adele Exarchopoulos. Barking mad but quite good.

[Lorne Malvo]

Fast Charlie was one of the worst films I watched last year. I heard Pierce Brosnan in an Elmore Leonard-esque thriller and thought 'that sounds pretty good'. I couldn't have been more wrong.

[Devon Malcolm]

8 hours ago, Lorne Malvo said:

Fast Charlie was one of the worst films I watched last year. I heard Pierce Brosnan in an Elmore Leonard-esque thriller and thought 'that sounds pretty good'. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Fair to say his Bond successor did better with that accent, too.

[Lorne Malvo]

Did a A Real Pain / Se7en doublebill Sunday. One of my favourite things about going to the cinema now is seeing two films back to back that are great but vastly different.

I was surprised by how much I liked A Real Pain considering it's a Jesse Eisenberg film (you'll be stunned to know he plays a neurotic awkward guy who talks fast). He pretty wisely takes a sidestep in this film though, letting the incredible Kieran Culkin take centre-stage (mostly). Just a really solid well-made film, this. 90 minutes, too! Always a positive in my book. Was sick of the sound of Chopin by the end, mind.

Se7en is just great, isn't it. Probably been about 15 years since I last saw it and liked it a lot more this time. The design of the film is incredible, it genuinely looks like they are living in the most miserable place on earth. I had completely forgotten about the few moments of levity peppered throughout - Mills hiding his Cliffsnotes copy of The Canterbury Tales from Somerset popped me. That whole third act is still extremely gutwrenching.

Got Wolf Man coming up Saturday. Hope stewdogg goes to watch it expecting there not to be a wolf-man in it.

[Chest Rockwell]

I didn't know people disliked Jesse Eisenberg so much! Yeah he does pretty much play the same character always but he's good at it. I really liked Fleishman is in Trouble.

[SuperBacon]

Chalk me up as former Eisenberg hater (I honestly just think it was his Lex Luthor turn) but I changed my mind after Adventureland, Zombieland and Fleishman and now really enjoy him.

He's good value in interviews as well.

[Chest Rockwell]

33 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said:

Got Wolf Man coming up Saturday. Hope stewdogg goes to watch it expecting there not to be a wolf-man in it.

Conversely, I was massively disappointed when I finally got around to watching Wolf of Wall Street... 

[BigJag]

On 1/11/2025 at 3:47 PM, BigJag said:

Kill got a lot of acclaim from martial arts circles. I haven't watched it yet. Will have to check it out.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt28259207/

Watched Kill over the weekend. It wasn't terrible and the action was fun. Although nothing groundbreaking. A train gets hijacked and a couple of Soldiers are the heroes. The train setting was used fairly well. The characterisation of the bad guys was a bit disturbing. I watched the Hindi dub of the film. And I can't remember hearing any explanation of why these guys were such bastards. I wasn't expecting them to be this horrendously ruthless. Later on in the film, the gang members lament. Attempting to invoke sympathy for their just desserts. It's sort of left up to the viewer to feel sympathy for them. The main bad guy plays an absolute bastard very well.

Worth a watch.

Edited January 14, 2025 by BigJag

[LaGoosh]

1 hour ago, Lorne Malvo said:

Se7en is just great, isn't it. Probably been about 15 years since I last saw it and liked it a lot more this time. The design of the film is incredible, it genuinely looks like they are living in the most miserable place on earth. I had completely forgotten about the few moments of levity peppered throughout - Mills hiding his Cliffsnotes copy of The Canterbury Tales from Somerset popped me. That whole third act is still extremely gutwrenching.

I think Se7en is a masterpiece. I know it's genuinely well thought of but I think it should be regarded as one of the best films of all time. Of all the brilliant scenes in it, the bit where they are walking through the whore house to find the Lust victim is incredible. It's you've descended into hell itself.

Re levity - there's a great subtle moment where after dinner Mills and Somerset are having drinks. Mills gives Somerset a glass of red wine but it's filled all the way to the very brim and Somerset gives it a "wtf" look. A brilliant way to show their different characters in a little joke that is so slight you barely notice it.

[Carbomb]

Superb soundtrack, as well. David Bowie well into his industrial phase with The Heart's Filthy Lesson.

[Chris B]

42 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Re levity - there's a great subtle moment where after dinner Mills and Somerset are having drinks. Mills gives Somerset a glass of red wine but it's filled all the way to the very brim and Somerset gives it a "wtf" look. A brilliant way to show their different characters in a little joke that is so slight you barely notice it.

I also saw it at the cinema on Sunday, and that's a gag j hadn't noticed before.  Brilliant stuff. I was also sat next to an older woman who hadn't seen it since the last time it was in the cinema, and she was visibly and audibly reacting to every disgusting thing. 

I love how Fincher plays with scenes. The scene in the car with John Doe starts with him behind the grill, and by the end of it, Mills is also shot through the grill. He's trapped. It's lovely.

[Dr. Alan Grant]

Mr. Turner (first watch) - 2 and a half hours of a fantastic Timothy Spall grunting, spitting and occasionally painting some boats at sea. Not a film I’d rush to watch again though. 3/5

Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D (first watch) - Second of the Peter Cushing Who films, not as good as the first. Bernard Cribbins (prior to breaking our hearts as Wilfred) is in it, as is prominent adverts for the worst cereal known to man - Sugar Puffs. 3/5

Paris, Texas (first watch) - one of those films where you kick yourself for not watching it sooner. It’s really good. Harry Dean Stanton is remarkable. Nastassja Kinski is unforgettable. Dean Stockwell is not spoken about often enough. The desert scenes are beautiful. Top film. 4/5 

Wicked (first watch) - Well, shit. I loved it. I thought I might hate it due to the two leads being quite annoying during the promotion of the film, but Ariana Grande was impressive. Cynthia Erivo was incredible. Proper goosebumps for her solo songs. Give me part 2 please. 5/5

At this point, I would be reviewing The Holdovers, but my firestick kept freezing on Paul Giamatti’s wonky eyes, so I’ll have to try that again another day. Instead I watched…

American Hustle - the worst wig work since the Jack flashbacks in Lost. Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence save this from being utter tripe. A very generous 3/5.