VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[gmoney]

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim - One of the dullest films I've seen in a long, long time. A cartoon, set 200 years before the events of the original books. Brian Cox does one of the voices, putting in his usual decent shift. Everyone else is fine I suppose. Aside from a few fantastical elements (which were almost all shoehorned in) this is basically a very boring story that could have been set in Medieval Europe. Apart from a small reference, there's not even a fucking ring in it.

 

 

 

 

[wordsfromlee]

The Ballad of Wallis Island

I know Tim Key gets a lot of stick on this forum, but I love him and his work, and he absolutely knocks it out of the park in this. Some genuinely brilliant acting by him that brought a tear to my eye at a couple of points. 
 

Some great songs in it too that I’d love to see get a release. 

Edited June 19, 2025 by wordsfromlee

[SuperBacon]

36 minutes ago, wordsfromlee said:

I know Tim Key gets a lot of stick on this forum

Does he? 

I've liked him in most things I've seen him in.

[LaGoosh]

On 6/18/2025 at 4:05 PM, gmoney said:

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim - One of the dullest films I've seen in a long, long time. A cartoon, set 200 years before the events of the original books. Brian Cox does one of the voices, putting in his usual decent shift. Everyone else is fine I suppose. Aside from a few fantastical elements (which were almost all shoehorned in) this is basically a very boring story that could have been set in Medieval Europe. Apart from a small reference, there's not even a fucking ring in it.

 

I'm pretty sure this film was only made because the studio were legally obligated to make a Lord of the Rings film during a certain time period or they would forgo the rights.

[wordsfromlee]

14 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

Does he? 

I've liked him in most things I've seen him in.

I remember people giving him grief in the Alan partridge thread a while back. 

[Devon Malcolm]

Echo Valley

We used to get loads of these sorts of implausible but fun thrillers back in the 90s and early 2000s and we need to go back to that. Enjoyed this a lot, especially one scene involving Sydney Sweeney and Julianne Moore that is nuts.

K.O. (Netflix)

The latest Netflix MMA actioner and clears the low bar of being better than MMA while being a decent little action film. Only 80 minutes long and features a superb nightclub brawl. One of those you might as well put on.

Until Dawn

Not completely awful even if the dialogue is and I rarely don't really enjoy a timeloop film. Some nice deaths and it looks great but goes completely to shit late on.

Personal Services (TPTV)

There's a scene in this where a trans character is defended when she uses the 'wrong toilet'. This film was made in 1987. How are we less progressive now? Really funny comedy, though, and surprisingly sex work positive. Julie Walters is the best.

Mountains May Depart

Excellent Chinese romantic-drama triptych. Jia Zhangke is one of the best filmmakers active right now and this isn't even his best film. Slightly fades in its final third but really well acted and some terrific character work.

The Scalphunters (Great! Movies)

Very good and surprisingly funny western with Burt Lancaster and Ossie Davis trying to get their hides back from Telly Savalas and his gang. Never heard of this one before I'd watched it but yet another western deserving renewed attention.

One-Eyed Jacks (TPTV)

The only film Marlon Brando ever directed, an overlong western that could have been a classic if it had been 45 minutes shorter. Karl Malden is superb as an utter, utter bastard.

Cash Out

Decided to check out one of the many awful recent John Travolta 'my career is deceased' actioners. There is no action in this. It's very boring and almost nothing happens. Travolta's head looks really weird. They've made two sequels to it already. Nah you're alright.

Tremors

I mean, it's Tremors.

A Matter of Life and Death

So obviously one of the greatest films ever made that it's almost unfair to the rest.

For some reason I also decided to watch all the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I'd only seen the first one before, when it came out at the cinema, and it's still a really good time. The second one has its moments. The rest are shit. This is not a good series.

Edited June 20, 2025 by Devon Malcolm

[SaitoRyo]

24 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Echo Valley

We used to get loads of these sorts of implausible but fun thrillers back in the 90s and early 2000s and we need to go back to that. Enjoyed this a lot, especially one scene involving Sydney Sweeney and Julianne Moore that is nuts.

Have heard mixed things about this one, but the way you've described it makes me think it could be tonight's Friday Night Film. 

[DavidB6937]

27 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

A Matter of Life and Death

So obviously one of the greatest films ever made that it's almost unfair to the rest.

Absolutely read this too fast and thought you meant the Wallace and Gromit film.

[TheBurningRed]

27 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

For some reason I also decided to watch all the Pirates of the Caribbean series

The third one is one of the worst films I’ve ever sat through. It feels about 5 hours long. The only thing I remember from the fourth were the mermaids.

I have not and will not watch the last one. 

[Carbomb]

The first POTC film is just a classic, fun, swashbuckling pirate film that was worthy of the heritage laid down by Flynn and Laughton. The rest are what you get when the studio thinks everything has to be a "universe". 

[Devon Malcolm]

3 hours ago, SaitoRyo said:

Have heard mixed things about this one, but the way you've described it makes me think it could be tonight's Friday Night Film. 

It's not brilliant but I thought it was pretty entertaining. Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney are excellent if nothing else.

[Chest Rockwell]

4 hours ago, Carbomb said:

The first POTC film is just a classic, fun, swashbuckling pirate film that was worthy of the heritage laid down by Flynn and Laughton. The rest are what you get when the studio thinks everything has to be a "universe". 

Banging score as well. Really memorable..

[SaitoRyo]

2 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

It's not brilliant but I thought it was pretty entertaining. Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney are excellent if nothing else.

Sometimes that’s all you need, baby! 

[cobra_gordo]

Se7en AKA Sesevenen. I think I was 15 or 16 when I fell in love with Seven. I mean, it's Fincher doing a neo-noir, detectives in trench coats thriller- perfect for a moody teenager to obsess over. I maybe only watch it once a year or year and a half now though as it's pretty bleak for most of the run time and with the way the world is at the moment, it's not always something I can just chuck on.

It's still great, it still ticks all the boxes for why I loved it in the first place but I noticed something this time I'd never clocked before. It's only a small detail but it really made me smile. Fairly early on, when Tracy has invited Somerset round for dinner so he and Mills can get over their dislike for each other, the way the two of them finally start to bond is so reminiscent of the scene on The Orca in Jaws where Quint finally starts to see something in Hooper just as all hell is about to break loose. I might be imagining it but I found it really endearing, the laughing about the vibrating apartment, them letting their guard down, just a brief moment where they start to click before everything really goes to shit. 7 stars.

[SaitoRyo]

On 6/20/2025 at 5:01 PM, Devon Malcolm said:

It's not brilliant but I thought it was pretty entertaining. Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney are excellent if nothing else.

Watched this on Friday and, yeah, pretty much.