VHS and Betamax You Have Recently Rented

[johnnyboy]

The Materialists

From the same writer/director that made the devastatingly good Past Lives.  Cinematically and thematically quite reminiscent of Past Lives.

If you've not seen Past Lives, watch that unless you really have a thing about not watching subtitled films. 

If you have seen Past Lives you could watch this and go "crikey, this really reminds me of Past Lives in many ways."  Then you'd wish you were watching Past Lives, but then you'd remember the emotional toll that would take so you think maybe I'll see this seemingly safer take with gorgeous Pedro Pascal through to the end.

Sub-plots really meander, but some nice touches sprinkled throughout.  The credits, particularly, are very cute.  A weird thing to praise, but trust me.

P.s. watch Past Lives.

[Jesse]

Friendship

This is hilarious. It's like you took an ITYSL character and just watched them for a while to see how they went about their life. Knows the value of holding a camera on Tim Robinson's weird face. There's not much to this beyond that - I learned nothing, I felt nothing, I didn't grow even a little bit from the emotional experience of the movie. But it had me in stitches throughout and that's all I needed.

[DavidB6937]

12 hours ago, johnnyboy said:

The Materialists

From the same writer/director that made the devastatingly good Past Lives.  Cinematically and thematically quite reminiscent of Past Lives.

If you've not seen Past Lives, watch that unless you really have a thing about not watching subtitled films. 

If you have seen Past Lives you could watch this and go "crikey, this really reminds me of Past Lives in many ways."  Then you'd wish you were watching Past Lives, but then you'd remember the emotional toll that would take so you think maybe I'll see this seemingly safer take with gorgeous Pedro Pascal through to the end.

Sub-plots really meander, but some nice touches sprinkled throughout.  The credits, particularly, are very cute.  A weird thing to praise, but trust me.

P.s. watch Past Lives.

I was meant to go and see this last night for a double Pedro with F4 tonight but work got in the way.

How was Dakota? I really struggle with her sometimes, like she's not even acting.

[johnnyboy]

1 hour ago, DavidB6937 said:

How was Dakota?

Acting was all decent, just some leaps had to be made with the story.

Spoiler

Not marrying a lovely, rich, Pedro Pascal?!  As if.  Chris Evans being a penniless actor with those looks?!  Unlikely.  Modest salary Dakota getting the Friends discount on her flat.  Bargain.

It's not the rom-com the trailer might suggest.  Far more romantic drama, with an amusing first act.

Edited July 24, 2025 by johnnyboy

[air_raid]

Anyone else spot the foster parents’ faces photoshopped onto a studio photo of High Energy, during the first few minutes of The Wrath Of Becky? They didn’t even cut Frankie out of it.

[TheBurningRed]

A whole bunch of films I’ve watched lately part one. I’ll keep it as short as I can

US Marshals

Not as good as The Fugitive but great fun. Was left wanting more Samuel Gerard.

Escape From Alcatraz

An all time classic.  Larry Hankin has always been an old man it seems.

Full Metal Jacket

The first hour in training is filled with a lot of racist and homophobic things been shouted from R. Lee Ermey, but he sure does make you feel the intensity of training. It made the war hell before you even got to Vietnam. I enjoyed the second half but have always enjoyed the first half a lot more.

The Place Beyond The Pines

I don’t know how to feel about this. Maybe mediocre sums it up. Perfectly okay. Dane DeHaan doesn’t show up much anymore does he?

Training Day

Mad film. Denzel Washington is great playing scary, prick Detective Alonzo Harris. Ethan Hawke was pretty good too.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

First watch. I have no interest in watching the remake as it won’t live up to how good this was. And doesn’t have Robert Shaw. Apparently this film made my fiancée avoid going on trains for the longest time. 

Platoon

My favourite war movie. Berenger vs Dafoe going on at the same time as USA vs Vietnam. Charlie Sheen is great as Chris Taylor as he fights his own mind with the horrors of war. Kevin Dillon plays the psychotic Bunny really well.

A Streetcar Named Desire (2014 play)

I had to put up with the original film as my fiancée is teaching it at school, then I got roped in to seeing the play at our local cinema. Three fucking hours. It stars the lovely Gillian Anderson and the equally lovely Vanessa Kirby. Despite her drunk acting reminding me of one of Harry Enfield’s horny, wobbly old ladies, Gillian Anderson was fantastic. I however, do not wish to watch any other iteration of A Streetcar Named Desire again. Sick of it. Been threatened with the Jessica Lange version. Please make it stop.

The Boys Next Door

Charlie Sheen and Maxwell Caulfield are two outcasts at school who end up going on a crime (mostly murder) spree after graduation. Patti D’Arbanville pops up for a bit. An underrated movie in my opinion. The leads are great. Sheen went onto be in some great stuff and Caulfield ended up in Emmerdale. Who’s the real winner.

The Swimmer (1968)

I own this on dvd but the Prince Charles Cinema was showing this so had to see it there. A weird and wonderful film starring Burt Lancaster as Ned Merrill, who decides to swim home via the neighbourhoods swimming pools. There’s a cameo from Joan Rivers in this which I believe could be her first speaking role in a film. Anyway, as the film progresses, the darker it gets and everything doesn’t seem okay with our swimming friend. Today, it would be a case of Ned suffering from a severe case of men’s mental health and would just need to have a chat with a mate down the pub. But back then you’d be thinking “who’s this fucking nutter?”. I really love this film. I am surprised that with it being in America and old Burt just wandering onto people’s property, that he wasn’t shot dead almost immediately. 

[davertfnewman]

2 hours ago, TheBurningRed said:

A Streetcar Named Desire (2014 play)

I had to put up with the original film as my fiancée is teaching it at school, then I got roped in to seeing the play at our local cinema. Three fucking hours. It stars the lovely Gillian Anderson and the equally lovely Vanessa Kirby. Despite her drunk acting reminding me of one of Harry Enfield’s horny, wobbly old ladies, Gillian Anderson was fantastic. I however, do not wish to watch any other iteration of A Streetcar Named Desire again. Sick of it. Been threatened with the Jessica Lange version. Please make it stop.

Similar experience for myself, recommended reading and watching for my training course. I read the play - can't remember a lot of it. Then we went in and had at least an hour of it stuck on to fill out some time after a lecture - I think I fell on my sword and went home with the intention of carrying on with it, but it was such a slog that I gave up.

Best films to watch from the English literature perspective are Of Mice and Men, the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol, the BBC TV play version of An Inspector Calls, the Polanski version of Macbeth or the one with Sir Ian McKellan and Dame Judi Dench. Oliver and Company is surprisingly decent if you've been studying Oliver Twist and want a variation for fun. The Simpsons for The Raven by Poe. And you generally try and find the brightest or least dark versions because you've got no chance of properly watching them in a classroom that's relying on blinds for cutting the light out and has light bleeding in from other sides too.

[SuperBacon]

Happy Gilmore 2

It's fine. It's half an hour longer than it should be, but I enjoyed it enough, and I do like Sandler a lot. He's just a likeable guy.

His real life daughter plays his daughter and even though she doesn't have much to do, I thought she was really good and shows real promise. But my favourite role went to (not sure how much he's advertised so will spoiler it) 

Spoiler

Bad Bunny as Happys caddy. Again, doesn't have a lot to do, but does well with what he has.

There are loads of cameos, I'm sure golf fans (aka the most boring people on earth) will have a field day, but there's enough for everyone.

Will never watch again, but glad I did.

[wordsfromlee]

3 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

Happy Gilmore 2

It's fine. It's half an hour longer than it should be, but I enjoyed it enough, and I do like Sandler a lot. He's just a likeable guy.

His real life daughter plays his daughter and even though she doesn't have much to do, I thought she was really good and shows real promise. But my favourite role went to (not sure how much he's advertised so will spoiler it) 

She was good in You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah from what I remember. 

Theres a few wrestlers in it too, isn't there?

[SuperBacon]

3 minutes ago, wordsfromlee said:

She was good in You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah from what I remember. 

Theres a few wrestlers in it too, isn't there?

I only spotted (again I'll spoiler it in case people like to be surprised) 

Spoiler

MJF (who was OK but didn't have a lot to do) and Becky Lynch (who sadly I think is always shit, even with the little she has. She can't act)

 

[FLips]

Red Sun

Charles Bronson and Alain Delon hijack and rob a train carrying a Japanese ambassador taking a ceremonial sword to the US President. When they steal the sword, Delon double crosses Bronson and leaves him at the mercy of the bodyguard to the ambassador, Toshirō Mifune. They form a WWE style disfunctional team, Bronson looking for revenge and Mifune needing to recover the sword or he’ll have to commit harikiri. 

It was fine. A little more violent than you would think thanks to some big samurai slashes and stabs, but it cuts down a spaghetti western to a little under 2 hours so feels lacking in places. Bronson and Mifune do make a great odd couple but starting Bronson as a villain means you can’t get behind him at all so the ending falls quite flat. 
Could have been a lot better than it was but it does fine with the premise.

[Devon Malcolm]

11 hours ago, TheBurningRed said:

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

First watch. I have no interest in watching the remake as it won’t live up to how good this was.

It's actually quite good. You rarely go wrong with Tony Scott. The original is the best crime movie of the 1970s though and one of the greatest of all-time.

[LaGoosh]

I watched Taking of Pelham 123 recently based on recommendations from here. It has probably the ugliest cast of any movie I've ever seen. And I mean that as a compliment. Pretty much everyone is a gross, manky, old, balding New Yorker with an obnoxious accent. It ruled.

[FLips]

Cop Land

This UKFF recommendation sees partially deaf Sylvester Stallone try and survive in a corrupt town full of cops. Thought this was as great as folks on here made it out to be. It has Stallone, DeNiro, Liotta and Keitel leading the charge but as has been said, nearly every face that appears in this is a somebody. Half the cast of The Sopranos makes an appearance, and it feels like every film I watch these days has Beansy in it.

The acting was great, the tension is high and the film moves at a blistering pace right through to the thrilling finale. Thought it was brilliant.

Moonstruck

"Romantic" comedy featuring Cher as a greying, desperate for love widow who starts an affair with her fiance's estranged brother, Nicolas Cage. Despite the premise being mostly "everyone is cheating on each other" they manage to keep the tone light and the cast likeable. It's witty, really funny in parts and despite the premise does manage to capture a certain romance throughout. Nic Cage thankfully doesn't drag the whole thing down with him as everyone matches his energy. Really enjoyed this and the ending had me in stitches.

[Bellenda Carlisle]

I know what you did last summer 2025 is terrible, nonsensical story and motivations, filmed and acted like a soap opera, crap kills, no gore, unappealing characters. It feels like the worst film I've seen this year but I'd have to double check. Best thing was seeing Jennifer Love Hewitt after a long absence.