# List the films you've seen at the cinema: 2016



## metalguru (Jan 1, 2016)

*Joy* - The new David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence film (following American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook). Also with Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.

Not very good. Overlong, and the basic outline for the film (a loosely based true life story of a mop manufacturer) just isn't interesting enough, even with a few David O. Russell style quirks thrown in.

The compensations? Some of the photography is quite good, and Jennifer Lawrence's performance is compelling.


----------



## redsquirrel (Jan 2, 2016)

_Suffragette - _was a bit wary this might be UK custom drama by numbers in the way _Testament of Youth_ was but it's much better than that. Really good performances, especially by Anne Marie-Duff. If I was been picky I'd have liked a little more about the different strands within the movement but it's not really fair to criticise it for not being the film I want. Overall definitely worth seeing.


----------



## Orang Utan (Jan 4, 2016)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Better than the first one.


----------



## bimble (Jan 4, 2016)

The Lobster -
Go see it, it was completely brilliant.


----------



## Sue (Jan 4, 2016)

Godard season -- Bande a Part and Alphaville. Haven't seen Les Carabiniers or Le Petit Soldat but they look interesting so may try and fit them in too. 

The Carabineers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Little Soldier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## belboid (Jan 15, 2016)

The Revenant. 

Absolutely gobsmackingly stunning. Gripping from minute to end, Leo really is magnificent, Hardy n Gleeson too. It will win every award going. 

Been to see Star Wars and Sisters too. They were good.


----------



## moonsi til (Jan 16, 2016)

Yes, I agree about The Revanent, not long home cinema and still coming down from the myriad of emotions. I gasped at certain parts.


----------



## belboid (Jan 16, 2016)

I really needed a piss for over an hour, but couldn't bear to miss a bit


----------



## Reno (Jan 16, 2016)

I thought The Revenant looked beautiful in a Malick/Herzog way and was an amazing technical feat, but there is no depth to the film. It's a bog standard survival/revenge story and for a film which is so convinced of its own visionary brilliance I would expect something more. Irranitu makes his films harrowing but that isn't the same as being meaningful. That said, it's the film of his I liked the best (or more accurately, disliked the least) and on a superficial adventure movie level it worked just fine. But it's too thematically flat to be the masterpiece some declare it go be.


----------



## Ax^ (Jan 16, 2016)

moonsi til said:


> Yes, I agree about The Revanent, not long home cinema and still coming down from the myriad of emotions. I gasped at certain parts.



did you gape when he got raped by the bear


----------



## felixthecat (Jan 16, 2016)

The Revenant, aka how many ways can you not kill Leonardo DiCaprio 

Visually gorgeous with the landscape being the unsung star of this film, I tend to agree with Reno in that it's a pretty basic survival/revenge story. This doesn't in any way take away from excellent acting performances delivered by the main characters - although tbf I can't remember the last time either Leonardo DiCaprio or Tom Hardy weren't worth their salaries.

I reckon it'll be Leo's year at last.


----------



## 8115 (Jan 16, 2016)

Carol, very good, very thought provoking, beautiful period detail.


----------



## belboid (Jan 16, 2016)

I haven't seen anyone else clam The Revenant is anything other than a straightforward survive and avenge tale. And...?  The Arikara add a little bit of depth to it, but mainly add more tension. Is it meant to be 'visionary' because it's relatively slow, and has lingering shots? I thought that was just there to help immerse you in the story and give you an idea of how hard the journey was.


----------



## Reno (Jan 16, 2016)

belboid said:


> I haven't seen anyone else clam The Revenant is anything other than a straightforward survive and avenge tale. And...?  The Arikara add a little bit of depth to it, but mainly add more tension. Is it meant to be 'visionary' because it's relatively slow, and has lingering shots? I thought that was just there to help immerse you in the story and give you an idea of how hard the journey was.


Many a hyperventilating review appears to declare it a masterpiece and its currently clearing up all the awards going.

Irranitu clearly aims for something along the lines of Herzog's Aguirre or Malick's The New World here. There comes a point where the virtuosity of the 20 minute held shots just become an end in itself rather than being in the service of what is a very thin story. Revenge plots are always inherently problematic, appealing to an audiences lowest impulses. A great film examines those impulses, this doesn't. There is good and there is bad and you get your cathartic pay off. The End.

I thought all the stuff with the Native Americans was embarrassingly on the nose and preachy. Di Caprio is clearly the good guy for having a Native American wife and kid and we even get flashbacks to his blissful life of "going native". People rag on Avatar for this type of thing, but you change the genre from digital fantasy blockbuster to pseudo art-house and the same thing gets praise.

I don't mind films which are style over content but the epic aspirations of the film aren't supported by the content. It makes me question why so much effort heaped on something so shallow. All the film wants to convince you of is what an "visionary" director Irranitu is and that physical suffering sucks.


----------



## belboid (Jan 16, 2016)

Hardly Irranitu's fault what reviewers say. And no, it's not Herzog. It's a massive Hollywood movie, not a artsy European movie, so I don't expect it to be much more than what is put in front of the camera. It's an anti-action movie, and a reaction to the effects heaviness of Gravity. But, like Gravity and a good action movie, it looked amazing and drew me in entirely, despite knowing for at least an hour (my concept of time grew more and more distorted as the pressure on my bladder increased) how it was all going to finish.


----------



## 8115 (Jan 16, 2016)

I was going to go and see Joy, then I read that Jennifer Lawrence plays Robert de Niros mum and I thought I'd leave it.


----------



## Reno (Jan 16, 2016)

belboid said:


> Hardly Irranitu's fault what reviewers say. And no, it's not Herzog. It's a massive Hollywood movie, not a artsy European movie, so I don't expect it to be much more than what is put in front of the camera. It's an anti-action movie, and a reaction to the effects heaviness of Gravity. But, like Gravity and a good action movie, it looked amazing and drew me in entirely, despite knowing for at least an hour (my concept of time grew more and more distorted as the pressure on my bladder increased) how it was all going to finish.


Seems an odd way to put it. It's not like Irranitu was aiming for bad reviews, he got exactly the acclaim he was aiming for. And in every interview he points out what hardships he and the crew went through. He is complicit in his own myth making. 

This is indeed a Hollywood blockbuster but it's in art house drag. It clearly mimics the pacing and look of a certain type of art house film, specifically the ones I mentioned. Irranitu always thinks he has something to say about the human condition, but has never been more than a purveyor of misery porn. That for once he doesn't try to say about something about the state of the world (or about art as with Birdman) is what makes The Revenant  more bearable than his previous films.

The Revenant's most impressive sequence is as reliant of groundbreaking CGI as Gravity is. I have no problem with that, the bear sequence is stunning, but to claim that it's a corrective to Hollywoods CG reliance is disingenuous, no matter how often Di Caprio or Hardy or Irranitu say that in interviews. And Gravity (which is no less visionary a film) gets it all done and dusted in just over 90 minutes.


----------



## belboid (Jan 16, 2016)

The bear is puppetry, rather than CG tho, isnt it? 

I largely agree with everything you're saying, except I just really don't mind at all. And, of course they say talk lots about the hardships on set, it's a good story!


----------



## Reno (Jan 16, 2016)

belboid said:


> The bear is puppetry, rather than CG tho, isnt it?
> 
> I largely agree with everything you're saying, except I just really don't mind at all. And, of course they say talk lots about the hardships on set, it's a good story!


It's all CGI. It would be impossible to do this with puppets.


----------



## belboid (Jan 16, 2016)

Blimey, that's an impressive bit of CGI then. Even if it did completely undermine my argument, dammit.

I wonder what the puppeteers did.


----------



## Sue (Jan 16, 2016)

Two from the Godard season.

Le Petit Soldat. French intelligence and Algerian independence activists battle it out in Geneva. Initially banned in France due to its depiction of the French using torture (the Algerians do too). Surprisingly apolitical given the subject matter.

Le Mepris. Can't believe I've never seen this before, quite blew me away. Sad, sexy and very French.

And two from 2015 I saw last weekend as a double bill (which made for a cheerful afternoon...)

99 Homes. Single father Andrew Garfield is evicted from his home by evil property mogul Michael Shannon. A bit obvious and depressing but good performances.

Mississippi Grind. Gambling addict Ben Mendelsohn goes on a road trip with Ryan Reynolds. Mendelsohn great as ever, Ryan Reynolds has kind of passed me by but thought he was pretty good too.


----------



## Reno (Jan 16, 2016)

belboid said:


> Blimey, that's an impressive bit of CGI then. Even if it did completely undermine my argument, dammit.
> 
> I wonder what the puppeteers did.


There was a motion capture actor to track the CG bear, just like what Andy Serkis does for LOTR and the Planet of the Apes films:

Meet Glenn Ennis, a.k.a the bear from ‘The Revenant’

One reason why this scene would have been impossible to do with a trained bear or with practical effects is that it is one long, continuous shot. There are no edits where it would be possible to hide any trickery between shots. It is very impressive, but then that's what CGI can be when enough money and care goes into it.


----------



## metalguru (Jan 16, 2016)

Le Mepris at the Mayfair Curzon

Nice use of technicolour for the Italian landscape, particularly on a grey early January day, and it was really good to see Brigid Bardo acting, and Jack Palance and even Fritz Lang!

But overall very slight..and the extended scene with the argument between Paul and Camille was simply tedious.


----------



## Saffy (Jan 16, 2016)

I saw Creed this afternoon and really enjoyed it, I even shed a tear at some points.


----------



## sleaterkinney (Jan 17, 2016)

The Hateful 8. Really good Tarantino film, a bit too long but a really good script and some great performances.


----------



## belboid (Jan 17, 2016)

The Hateful Eight. Slightly surprised that I didn't think it was too long, very well paced, indeed. Smart and frothy, sumptuous and silly, highly enjoyable. Except the projectile vomiting, I could have done without that


----------



## Kesher (Jan 18, 2016)

Joy: slow to star; but picks up  from the moment Bradley Cooper  appears.

The Revenant: 2 and a half hours of ice cold grimness


----------



## emanymton (Jan 18, 2016)

Kesher said:


> The Revenant: 2 and a half hours of ice cold grimness


Never mind the journey to the cinema and back, what was the film like?


----------



## Kesher (Jan 18, 2016)

emanymton said:


> Never mind the journey to the cinema and back, what was the film like?



Gory and depressing; good acting though


----------



## Kesher (Jan 21, 2016)

*Creed*

Enjoyed this funny in parts as well


----------



## DJWrongspeed (Jan 21, 2016)

Reno said:


> I thought The Revenant looked beautiful in a Malick/Herzog way and was an amazing technical feat, but there is no depth to the film. It's a bog standard survival/revenge story and for a film which is so convinced of its own visionary brilliance I would expect something more. Irranitu makes his films harrowing but that isn't the same as being meaningful. That said, it's the film of his I liked the best (or more accurately, disliked the least) and on a superficial adventure movie level it worked just fine. But it's too thematically flat to be the masterpiece some declare it go be.


I think you're right. It's an old fashion chase movie with a bit of Malick spirtuality thrown in. Both Tom Hardy & Caprio are excellent but it's all a bit 'western' style grunting and groaning, alot of groaning!

But.....it's also brilliantly filmed, the Oscar needs to goto the landscape and cinematographer.

Saw 'Force Awakens' and really liked it. The desert planet chase sequence was thrilling.


----------



## Kesher (Jan 23, 2016)

_*Room*_

Much better than I thought it would be. Great performances by Brie Larson (mother) and Jacob Tremblay (son). Be prepared:  an  emotional film and at one point highly emotional.

Well worth seeing


----------



## redsquirrel (Jan 24, 2016)

_The Revenant _- Well made but without an emotional core, I just didn't care about what was going to happen to any of the characters. It's also definitely too long. I think Reno sums it up better than I can


Reno said:


> Because the Oscars love a film about a character who overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles and triumphs. DiCaprios tortured performance is exactly what the Oscars loves to reward and the film drips with prestige and self regard, while ultimately being rather empty. Technical specs from cinematography, to score, to special effects are all first rate. It's a populist blockbuster in art house drag. Seen on a big screen with a good sound system it's at least impressive on a technical and visceral level.


----------



## Kesher (Jan 24, 2016)

_*The Danish Girl*_

Good film; but I'm not sure about Eddy Redmayne's portrayal of shy Lily: it seemed at times over the top. Alicia Vikander who plays his wife is excellent; however I don't see her as a support actress (Oscar nominated) in this film: she very much has a main role.


----------



## blossie33 (Jan 24, 2016)

Armin Linke doc arty film about the Alps - not much dialogue but nice shots of life in the Alps in Switzerland, France and Italy plus shots of and indoor ski resort in Saudi.

Creed - thought it was very well done and touching.

The Assassin - historical Chinese martial art film. Was quite different to what I expected, being used to fast moving epics like Hero and Crouching Tiger.
This was very slow moving, very little dialogue and long pauses between speech, arty indoor shots and lovely outdoor sceneryshots. I must admit I got a bit confused with the characters and I'm not entirely sure what happend at the end  but I did enjoy it - it was different.


----------



## Sue (Jan 24, 2016)

The Hateful Eight. A much inferior Reservoir Dogs set in the Wild West. Didn't care about any of the characters or what happened to them or about any of it really. And too long, though can't remember the last time I didn't think that about a Tarantino film.

Vive Sa Vie. Young woman drifts into prostitution. Almost documentary-like in places, Anna Karina is excellent.


----------



## Kesher (Jan 24, 2016)

_*The 5th Wave*_

Alien invasion in five stages.  1st third of film is good; 2nd third slows down a bit; final third picks up again. Clearly aimed at YA's; but I enjoyed it overall.  Also looks like a film: warm looking;   not like one filmed with a digital camera*.*


----------



## brogdale (Jan 24, 2016)

Been out a while, but last week I finally got to see Lindholm's "Krigen" (A War) at 'Chapter' in Canton.
Really enjoyed the film; found it both visceral and thought-provoking with convincing performances all round. The sound at Chapter was a tad loud for my liking, but I have to admit that you did really feel the battle scene.


----------



## 8115 (Jan 24, 2016)

Room, pretty good, it was a solid film and I didn't get bored at any point, no major surprises though, it felt a little predictable. Solid 7.5/10.


----------



## Kesher (Jan 25, 2016)

_*The Big Short*_

Very good. Deals with a complicated subject (the 2008 financial crisis) in a humorous; but serious  way and attempts to help the viewer understand via various methods such as cutaways, eg:   Margot Robbie is introduced as Margot Robbie whereby the scene switches to her   in a bubble-bath holding  a glass of champagne. She then  talks directly to the camera and explains what sub-prime loans are, the film then returns  to the main players and the story continues. Bale, Gosling and Carell put in fine performances  and so do the rest of the cast.


----------



## Dr. Furface (Jan 25, 2016)

Kesher said:


> _*The Big Short*_
> 
> Very good. Deals with a complicated subject (the 2008 financial crisis) in a humorous; but serious  way and attempts to help the viewer understand via various methods such as cutaways, eg:   Margot Robbie is introduced as Margot Robbie whereby the scene switches to her   in a bubble-bath holding  a glass of champagne. She then  talks directly to the camera and explains what sub-prime loans are, the film then returns  to the main players and the story continues. Bale, Gosling and Carell put in fine performances  and so do the rest of the cast.


I loved it, it's a _serious_ comedy - very funny and (pun intended) 'right on the money'. It's one of those rare films that when it ended, I wanted to watch it over again. I didn't, but I definitely will do. The peculiar thing about it is that the main characters in the film, the 'heroes' of the piece, are actually anything but - because although not personally responsible for bringing about the financial crash, they profited massively when it happened and themselves contributed to the collapse of certain financial institutions. They were just smart enough to see it coming and, rather than ringing any alarm bells, they did what money men do - they largely kept it to themselves and capitalised on it. Steve Carell's character is the closest the film has to a moral centre (it is a morality play at heart) but even he plays the system to win - so there are no real 'good guys' here, just a handful of winners, and billions of losers. I couldn't recommend it higher. ★★★★★


----------



## redsquirrel (Jan 30, 2016)

_Looking for Grace_ - Australian independent film, where a teenage girl runaways from home followed by her parents, with the story being told from the perspectives of the different characters. It's got a good cast, Richard Roxburgh and, the usually excellent and underrated, Radha Mitchell as the parents, but the script and direction don't really do their talents justice. It's by no means bad but I felt it was a bit lacking. It probably wasn't helped as I saw the (very good) actor who plays the daughter, Odessa Young, recently in another Australian family drama _The Daughter_, which is a much better film. While the films are different in many ways there's enough similarities that I couldn't help compare them. Anyway it's probably worth going to see for the performances of the three main cast.

_Carol _ - Todd Haynes adaptation of Patricia Highsmiths novel, loved this. It looks absolutely gorgeous, there's a beautiful woozey sensitivity to it, it would be worth going to see on the look alone, but there's so much more. The cast is great, not just the two leads but all the minor parts too. I thought the script was top notch too, loads and loads of things hinted at but not explained. Easily the best thing I've seen at the cinema for a while.


----------



## rubbershoes (Feb 1, 2016)

Pan

Any children's film that has the Ramones and Nirvana in the soundtrack is OK.


----------



## redsquirrel (Feb 2, 2016)

_The Hateful Eight_ - Don't think anyone needs me to give the background to this one. Bit mixed, for the first third/half I really enjoyed it (particularly the parts before they got to the cabin) but by the two-thirds mark I was getting pretty bored. As Sue said it's definitely too long, and much much too baggy, which is a shame because I do think there is some good stuff in there but Tarantino shouldn't be allowed to edit his films, or else he needs a producer that will tell him to tighten stuff up.  That said the films worth going to see for Jennifer Jason Leigh alone, it's bloody criminal that she's done so little work over the lest decade.


----------



## belboid (Feb 5, 2016)

Room

It's not perfect, by any means, one crucial part didn't ring entirely plausibly for me, but that didn't stop what immediately followed being nail bitingly tense. The first hour is superbly done, the second act very good indeed, but the third act just didn't quite have the same drive as the first two, so it slightly fizzled out for me.


----------



## Mr Smin (Feb 6, 2016)

Kesher said:


> _*The 5th Wave*_
> 
> Alien invasion in five stages.  1st third of film is good; 2nd third slows down a bit; final third picks up again. Clearly aimed at YA's; but I enjoyed it overall.  Also looks like a film: warm looking;   not like one filmed with a digital camera*.*



Fun but insubstantial. Maybe because I've watched a few alien invasion flicks in a short time span.


----------



## miss direct (Feb 6, 2016)

The 5th wave - enjoyed it, nice escapism.


----------



## Reno (Feb 16, 2016)

A Bigger Splash, with Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton. Foiled again by undeserved rave reviews, I though this was a completely pointless film.

It's the type of film which looks like it was fun to make for all involved (they all got a stay in beautiful Italian locations out of it), but it's far less fun having to watch it. I suppose the actors were given a lot of free reign in creating their characters, as it feels rather-self indulgent when it comes to the performances, but the characters didn't have enough depth for this being an absorbing drama and when it turns into a thriller late on, it never really thrills.

I loved the director's previous film which was the wildly OTT retro art house melodrama I Am Love (also starring Swinton), but unlike the wildly flamboyant earlier film, this was underpowered and simply not very interesting.

It's a remake of the 70s film The Swimming Pool (stylish, but no classic either), which ran for years in one of my local cinemas because it featured a nude Romy Schneider. This still was a draw back then and while there is plenty of flesh on display in this remake, that's just not enough anymore. The only thing I liked were the fantastic gowns Tilda Swinton got to wear when she wasn't in the nude.


----------



## A380 (Feb 17, 2016)

Pride and Predudice and Zombies.

Far more than just an (excellent) one line joke.
The ludicrous concept is played straight by a fantastic cast. The cinematography is brilliant and the whole thing beautiful to look at (not just for the male and female cast members) with a great juxtaposition of accurate regency interiors and costumes and period / very light touch steam punk weapons and technology.

The only trouble is I'm worried that if I watch any other adaptations I'll now be worried where the living dead are hiding....

I'd go and see this at the cinema, not just wait for online, DVD.


----------



## Chilli.s (Feb 17, 2016)

Went to see Star Wars, the screen was dirty and one of the sound channels was not working properly. A poor experience for 25 quid. Film was ok.


----------



## Kesher (Feb 17, 2016)

A380 said:


> Pride and Predudice and Zombies.
> 
> Far more than just an (excellent) one line joke.
> The ludicrous concept is played straight by a fantastic cast. The cinematography is brilliant and the whole thing beautiful to look at (not just for the male and female cast members) with a great juxtaposition of accurate regency interiors and costumes and period / very light touch steam punk weapons and technology.
> ...




I really enjoyed this: normally I wouldn't be interested in this type of film; but the zombies and their opponents doing martial arts  is a great idea. Lily James is gorgeous, if I had known she was in Downton Abbey I would have tried watching it.


----------



## RubyBlue (Feb 17, 2016)

The Danish girl and the one about the catholic priest peado expose in Boston but can't remember the name - oh, spotlight?


----------



## bluescreen (Feb 19, 2016)

Another vote here for The Big Short - really slick and clever presentation of the cynical hollowness at the heart of the banking system. Witty and self-aware, good acting, a compelling piece of drama.


----------



## catinthehat (Mar 1, 2016)

Two final films at the Stockfish Film Festival. Victoria - German film, Sebastian Shipper cinematography by Sturla Brandth Grovlen the same guy that did Rams, my top film of 2015. Victoria is set in Berlin and filmed in a single shot in real time. Spanish girl who has been studying piano for 17 years and is chucked out of music school, goes to Berlin. It starts in a club, has a heist in the middle, then stuff which I wont spoil. Really great film and the technique used gives it a "you are in it" effect. There was a Q and A with the film maker after the screening. It sort of out dogmad dogma. Then Journey to Istanbul about a Belgian mother trying to get her daughter back from running off to Syria. French film by Rachid Bouchareb. I#m no expert but I would say that Sturla Brandth Grovlen is a ruddy genius.


----------



## Pickman's model (Mar 1, 2016)

revenant
hateful eight


----------



## Dr. Furface (Mar 1, 2016)

Trumbo - classy biopic of the screenwriter who was jailed and blacklisted in Hollywood for being a Communist. 7

Deadpool - Ryan Reynolds as the wisecracking Marvel superhero. I loved it's tongue in cheek wit and style - the action and effects aren't bad either. 8


----------



## Sue (Mar 1, 2016)

Dr. Furface said:


> Trumbo - classy biopic of the screenwriter who was jailed and blacklisted in Hollywood for being a Communist. 7
> 
> Deadpool - Ryan Reynolds as the wisecracking Marvel superhero. I loved it's tongue in cheek wit and style - the action and effects aren't bad either. 8



I really liked Trumbo though I was kind of always going to, given the subject matter. Would've much preferred Bryan Cranston to have won the Oscar rather than DiCaprio who to my mind wasn't v interesting in The Revenant. Saying that, thought The Revenant was really overhyped. Yes, the scenery looked great and making it was no doubt an epic task but a bit meh really.

Couple from the Glasgow Film Festival.

Experimenter. Stanley Milgram's life and work, mainly focusing on his obedience experiments. The experiments were interesting (didn't know six degrees of separation was his thing) but the stuff about him wasn't interesting enough really. Also found the talking directly to camera to explain what's happening thing a bit annoying.

Disorder. French ex-soldier with PTSD takes a job as bodyguard to the family of a shady businessman. Lost the tension a bit towards the end but thought this was pretty good.

Double Indemnity. They do a free screening every morning of a classic film so why not .


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 1, 2016)

I wasn't that impressed by Revenant either. Nearly three hours of Di Caprio crawling and groaning on snow.


----------



## belboid (Mar 7, 2016)

Hail Caesar! - the Coen Brothers show off their intimate knowledge of the history of cinema and film-making by making a Wes Anderson movie.


----------



## redsquirrel (Mar 7, 2016)

_Brooklyn_ - Very well done. Not groundbreaking but really well put together, well written, well shot and well acted, I especially liked Domhnall Gleeson's performance. The low-key, downplayed nature just really worked and makes a really good film.

_The Big Short_ - Entertaining enough but not really deserving of all the praise it's got. Absolutely nothing low-key about this at all, lots of people all trying to one up each other in the acting states. None of the characters really rang true, that's not necessarily a problem of course but I simply didn't think it worked here. I guess the pace, performances, breaking the third wall stuff was supposed to reference the hyper nature of the stock market but a lot of the time it was just annoying. 

_Trumbo_ - Solid and an enjoyable two hours but with some flaws. My main problem with the film was that at times it did feel very much made by numbers and a little pat. The falling and making up with his daughter scenes for instance, just seemed to be there because the should be there rather to provide us with greater insight into that relationship (which I would have liked). I might be been a little harsh but I felt that thought a perfectly decent movie it could have been really good. 

_45 Years_ - Excellent, Rampling is as good as everyone has said but I thought all the cast were good, even the minor parts. The landscape of the film on Broads was also a great idea, works really well. The best thing I've seen so far this year.

_Hail, Caesar!_ - while belboid's comment does have some truth to it I really enjoyed this. It's by no means one of their best but there are some very funny scenes and the recreations of films from the 50s are great (I want to go and check out some aqua-musicals now).


----------



## belboid (Mar 7, 2016)

Oh, HC! Is a very good Wes Anderson movie, I did laugh a lot. It just wasn't a film that transcended it's excellent parts.


----------



## redsquirrel (Mar 7, 2016)

belboid said:


> Oh, HC! Is a very good Wes Anderson movie, I did laugh a lot. It just wasn't a film that transcended it's excellent parts.


Yes, I'd agree with that.


----------



## Sue (Mar 7, 2016)

belboid said:


> Hail Caesar! - the Coen Brothers show off their intimate knowledge of the history of cinema and film-making by making a Wes Anderson movie.



Saw this earlier. Having grown up with musicals (my Mum), Westerns (my Dad) and Biblical epics (both), it made me laugh. So slight but fun. Also thought Channing Tatum was really good -- normally find him a bit dull so was quite surprised.


----------



## Maltin (Mar 11, 2016)

10 Cloverfield Lane - a pretty good, suspenseful story that started a bit slowly but got better as it went along. Good performances from John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Much better than I was anticipating.


----------



## Sue (Mar 17, 2016)

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. Preston Sturges screwball comedy. Amazed they got it past the censors. Fab.

Sorrentino double bill -- The Consequences of Love and Youth. Toni Servillo (excellent) plays a sad and lonely man stuck in a hotel in Switzerland for reasons that are unclear till the end. Youth, his latest with Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel as ageing men reflecting on their lives. Too long, some bits that really didn't work (Paloma Faith , creepy ogling of women), not his best work. 

Hitchcock Truffaut. Excellent.

I've also been to two new (for me) cinemas this week. The Regent St Cinema which I thought was quite lovely and Picturehouse Central -- if the Curzon Soho goes, can see me going to this more.


----------



## Sea Star (Mar 17, 2016)

I took my fellah to see Deadpool last week. More his thing than mine but I really enjoyed it. I drank a bottle of wine prior to the performance so that might not have been wholly down to the film quality. 

Though it is probbaly the best of this sort of movie I've seen. I find most superhero things so tedious I can't get through them


----------



## moonsi til (Mar 18, 2016)

I saw 'The Witch' yesterday, felt it didn't really go anywhere & I struggled with the ending.


----------



## rubbershoes (Mar 19, 2016)

High Rise

It's more Ballard than Wheatley.


----------



## Sue (Mar 20, 2016)

High-Rise. I was so looking forward to this -- love JG Ballard and think Ben Wheatley's an interesting director -- but this is a mess. Events unfold without any context and there's no attempt to explain/understand why people act as they do. It looks good but it's difficult to care about any of it really.

I went with a friend who hadn't read the book and he'd no idea what was going on and thought it was a bit boring. I can see his point. Really disappointing.


----------



## Dr. Furface (Mar 20, 2016)

Sue said:


> High-Rise. I was so looking forward to this -- love JG Ballard and think Ben Wheatley's an interesting director -- but this is a mess. Events unfold without any context and there's no attempt to explain/understand why people act as they do. It looks good but it's difficult to care about any of it really.
> 
> I went with a friend who hadn't read the book and he'd no idea what was going on and thought it was a bit boring. I can see his point. Really disappointing.


Agreed. It was ok for the first 30-40 mins but after that it became increasingly tedious to the point where I couldn't give a shit and wanted it to end. If I'd gone on my own I think I might have left early (like some others noticeably did) but I stuck it out as I was with Mrs F (who enjoyed it more that I did). It's style is reminiscent of Kubrik, Roeg and Ken Russell but without the wit or narrative coherence. I'll admit there were a few moments that I found amusing, but all too few to make it entertaining. The thing I liked best in it was actually Portishead's version of Abba's SOS, which I thought would have been a good end point - well I hoped it would end there, but sadly it dragged on for about another 20 mins. It's running time is 2hrs but it felt a lot longer.


----------



## Reno (Mar 20, 2016)

What a shame about High Rise, I've read a few reviews which say the same thing. It was one of my most anticipated films, but now I'll probably wait to watch it at home.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (Mar 20, 2016)

Dr. Furface said:


> The thing I liked best in it was actually Portishead's version of Abba's SOS



Wut? I have got to hear this...


----------



## Sue (Mar 20, 2016)

Reno said:


> What a shame about High Rise, I've read a few reviews which say the same thing. It was one of my most anticipated films, but now I'll probably wait to watch it at home.



It is a shame, I was really looking forwad to it too.

Hadn't read any reviews before I went to see it (I generally don't as half the time they contain spoilers) but looking at them this morning, lots of reviewers seemed to really like it. Be interested to hear what you think when you've seen it.


----------



## Dr. Furface (Mar 20, 2016)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> Wut? I have got to hear this...


Yes, I didn't know who it was when I was watching the film, but I looked it up after. Sadly I've not been able to find it online though.


----------



## Reno (Mar 20, 2016)

Sue said:


> It is a shame, I was really looking forwad to it too.
> 
> Hadn't read any reviews before I went to see it (I generally don't as half the time they contain spoilers) but looking at them this morning, lots of reviewers seemed to really like it. Be interested to hear what you think when you've seen it.


It got generally favourable reviews, but not as many truly enthusiastic ones as you'd expect for a film like this (literary adaptation of admired author by admired director) and the ones who don't like it all have complained that the film descends into chaos in the second half. I'm generally not sure how sold I'm on Ben Wheatley. I loved Kill List but thought his other films were a little over-praised and A Field in England sent me to sleep.


----------



## Dr. Furface (Mar 20, 2016)

The NME review of High Rise is the closest to what I felt about it
NME Reviews - 'High-Rise' - Film Review | NME.COM


----------



## belboid (Mar 20, 2016)

I wanna go and see High Rise, but ama bit scared that it'll be really disappointing


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 20, 2016)

I saw it today and really liked it. Amazing production design and soundtrack. Not particularly coherent, but I didn't care.  Beautiful people eating dogs while Can's Spoon and some mental Amon Duul track plays in the background, against a fabricated CGI Brutalist backdrop is good enough for me.


----------



## keybored (Mar 21, 2016)

Maltin said:


> 10 Cloverfield Lane - a pretty good, suspenseful story that started a bit slowly but got better as it went along. Good performances from John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Much better than I was anticipating.


I thought it was decent right up until...


Spoiler


----------



## pesh (Mar 21, 2016)

i really enjoyed High Rise, i agree it does start to lose its way a bit towards the end, but i always thought the book did that too.


----------



## Wilf (Mar 21, 2016)

belboid said:


> I wanna go and see High Rise, but ama bit scared that it'll be really disappointing


Saw it on Saturday, really enjoyed it.  As you'd expect with a Ballard book, plenty of rave reviews alongside equal numbers of bad ones.  It's hard to empathise with any of the characters but, again, that's what you'd expect with Ballard.  Nicely filmed, good music and the building itself is part of the madness - all good.


----------



## 8115 (Mar 21, 2016)

Hail Caesar, great film.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 21, 2016)

Great High Rise review here:
High-Rise


----------



## rubbershoes (Mar 22, 2016)

Reno said:


> ...and the ones who don't like it all have complained that the film descends into chaos in the second half...


 
That's a Ballard trademark, surely

I liked the film.  I haven't read the book but have read plenty of Ballard's others . Anyone expecting a steady narrative flow will be disappointed . They'd be better off with a  superhero film .


----------



## brogdale (Mar 22, 2016)

rubbershoes said:


> That's a Ballard trademark, surely
> 
> I liked the film.  I haven't read the book but have read plenty of Ballard's others . Anyone expecting a steady narrative flow will be disappointed . They'd be better off with a  superhero film .


Especially '_The Atrocity Exhibition'; _now I really would like to see someone try to feature film that!*

*am aware of Wiess work.


----------



## rubbershoes (Mar 22, 2016)

brogdale said:


> Especially '_The Atrocity Exhibition'; _now I really would like to see someone try to feature film that!*
> 
> .



It would have to be someone with a sensitive touch .	Michael Bay?


----------



## Reno (Mar 22, 2016)

I have to admit that I didn't particularely enjoy reading Crash and that I preferred the Cronenberg film to the book. I liked Empire of the Sun which I suppose is his most accessible book, but after Crash I never read any of his other science fiction novels (if Crash can even be called that)


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 22, 2016)

this a decent JG Ballard adaptation:
Aparelho Voador a Baixa Altitude (2002) - IMDb


----------



## rubbershoes (Mar 22, 2016)

Reno said:


> I have to admit that I didn't particularely enjoy reading Crash and that I preferred the Cronenberg film to the book. I liked Empire of the Sun which I suppose is his most accessible book, but after Crash I never read any of his other science fiction novels (if Crash can even be called that)



Science fiction? I wouldn't call many of them that. 

There's nothing wrong with a bit of sci fi but of the ones I can remember Kingdom Come, Super Cannes, Cocaine Nights and I guess High Rise aren't sci fi. They show what our society is and could become. Soc fi?


----------



## Reno (Mar 22, 2016)

rubbershoes said:


> Science fiction? I wouldn't call many of them that.
> 
> There's nothing wrong with a bit of sci fi but of the ones I can remember Kingdom Come, Super Cannes, Cocaine Nights and I guess High Rise aren't sci fi. They show what our society is and could become. Soc fi?



There is plenty of science fiction which deals with the very near future and/or sociology. Ballard has written science fiction, but I suppose the correct term for something like Crash is "speculative fiction" as it is based on a fictitious underground society based around a current technology.


----------



## brogdale (Mar 22, 2016)

Reno said:


> There is plenty of science fiction which deals with the very near future and/or sociology. Ballard has written science fiction, but I suppose the correct term for something like Crash is "speculative fiction" as it is based on a fictitious underground society based around a current technology.


Ballard is most commonly associated with the dystopian genre, but I'm not sure that is appropriate for his entire oeuvre.
FWIW I saw '_High Rise' _today & quite enjoyed it. The film didn't murder Ballard's work, and stylistically I thought it was pretty cool. but they did over-egg the allegorical elements to the point that it looked like they'd under-estimated the capacity of the audience to 'get it'.


----------



## blossie33 (Mar 26, 2016)

I went to see Janis, Little Girl Blue just over a week ago - it's on the iPlayer now 
Can recommend watching.


----------



## laptop (Mar 26, 2016)

_High-Rise_.

See it.


----------



## Pickman's model (Mar 26, 2016)

laptop said:


> _High-Rise_.
> 
> See it.


yeh saw it yesterday. think i'd have enjoyed it more if i'd read the book but it is very good.


----------



## laptop (Mar 26, 2016)

Pickman's model said:


> yeh saw it yesterday. think i'd have enjoyed it more if i'd read the book but it is very good.



Not read the book but those who have agree it's "unfilmable" - so film has to stand on its own. Hats off to designer for gory 70z detail


----------



## belboid (Mar 28, 2016)

High Rise.  A shambolic mess. Why does anyone hire the abysmal Reese Shearsmith?


----------



## chilango (Mar 29, 2016)

*Zootropolis*: some curious half-worked layers in there. Entertaining enough, but a bit scary for my 4 year old.


----------



## Sue (Mar 31, 2016)

Dheepan, Jacques Audiard's Palme d'Or winning latest. A Sri Lankan Tamil 'family' escapes at the end of the conflict, goes to France as refugees and ends up living on an estate run by gangsters. I really liked this -- the sense of foreboding is nicely maintained and you just know it's not going to end well...

Jacques Audiard was at the cinema and did a Q&A at the end. Came across as an interesting and intelligent man. Slightly strange English/French setup though.


----------



## Sue (Apr 1, 2016)

Anomalisa. Charlie Kaufman's stop-motion animation. Man on business trip has a midlife crisis/meltdown.

Wasn't massively keen on seeing this as not very into stop-motion animation stuff. But really, really glad I did - it's very funny, poignant and captures how people talk and act perfectly. It's also got the most realistic sex scene I've seen on screen. I'd be surprised if this isn't in my top 10 films this year.


----------



## DexterTCN (Apr 2, 2016)

Kung Fu Panda 3.  At least as good as the other two, a great imagine dragons song and without pandaring to anyone a guy gets kicked in the nuts and it's very funny.


----------



## Kesher (Apr 3, 2016)

Eddie the Eagle

Funny, exciting, interesting and sometimes intimidating (the jumps). Very enjoyable film overall.


----------



## 8115 (Apr 3, 2016)

Sue said:


> Anomalisa. Charlie Kaufman's stop-motion animation. Man on business trip has a midlife crisis/meltdown.
> 
> Wasn't massively keen on seeing this as not very into stop-motion animation stuff. But really, really glad I did - it's very funny, poignant and captures how people talk and act perfectly. It's also got the most realistic sex scene I've seen on screen. I'd be surprised if this isn't in my top 10 films this year.


I really want to see this.


----------



## belboid (Apr 5, 2016)

10 Cloverfield Lane

Enjoyed this more than I expected too, very good until a somewhat rushed ending. The characters don't develop much, but they're all very watchable. Should have been called something else tho.


----------



## belboid (Apr 8, 2016)

Victoria

The best bit about watching this film was definitely going to the pub afterwards and deciding what the most stupid bit of it was. Which is a bit harsh as there are definitely things to both like and admire about it, but it really isn't the work of genius the critics would have you believe


----------



## chilango (Apr 9, 2016)

Went to see a selection of films from the Banff Mountain Film Festival last night. 

The absolute standout, and one of the best films I've seen in a long, long time was _Unbranded_.



I also really enjoyed _A Line Across The Sky



_


----------



## Kesher (Apr 9, 2016)

*Midnight Special*

Kind of a cross between a 70's/80's Spielberg film and The X Files. It's good. 



*The Huntsman: Winter's War *

Better than the first one


----------



## Reno (Apr 9, 2016)

Kesher said:


> *Midnight Special*
> 
> Kind of a cross between a 70's/80's Spielberg film and The X Files. It's good.


The X-Files was very much influenced by Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind which was about a government cover up of UFO sightings. As was the previous film by the director of Midnight Special, Take Shelter. He really, really seems to like Close Encounters (and so do I)


----------



## Maltin (Apr 9, 2016)

Kesher said:


> *Midnight Special*
> 
> Kind of a cross between a 70's/80's Spielberg film and The X Files. It's good.


I watched this recently and enjoyed it too.  Good performances all round. Unlike most science fiction films you see nowadays. Interesting podcast interview with him below where he mentions about him becoming a father and how the story is to a large part about the issues faced with parenthood.


----------



## 8115 (Apr 9, 2016)

I saw Annomalisa this morning, it was ok but I didn't love it as much as I was expecting to.


----------



## redsquirrel (Apr 9, 2016)

_Room_ - Decent enough film with an excellent performance from Brie Larson. The direction did feel rather pedestrian though. If you took the performances out of it I feel it would be a very average film.

_Victoria_ - Massively overrated nonsense with some decent parts. The whole one take thing is a conceit that seems to be more about PR than being used to advance the film, IMO it actually works counter to needs of the the plot. Pretty much every thriller made requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience but good thrillers provide you with a setup (likeable characters, fantastic set pieces, whatever)  that means you go along for the ride. The first third of the film concerns the meeting of Victoria with 4 german guys and has a realistic feel to it, unfortunately it's about as entertaining as being forced to hang around with bunch of drunken wankers when you're sober is in real life. That twatness the guys then undermines the second part of the film. There was no motivation for me to accept that utterly ludicrous plan* or for me to want them to get away with it.



Spoiler: *



yeah I can just imagine major criminals pulling in a load of drunk petty criminal idiots to carry out bank robberies for them)




_The VVitch_ - Good, though again perhaps not deserving of the degree of praise it's had. I disagree with belboid that the film should have either gone with the supernatural _or_ the psychological, I think the blending of the two is done pretty well for most of the film. The exception is the end which just goes for pretty weak and stupid cop out. That said there's a lot to recommend it. The performances were good (nice to see Ralph Inneson having a starring role for once), creepily shot, good build up.

_A Bigger Splash_ - A big rock star (Tilda Swinton) and her partner are recuperating on holiday in Italy. Her ex (Ralph Fiennes) and his (possible) daughter arrive in town and power struggles ensue. I really enjoyed it, and there are some great pieces within the film but I'm not sure just how well it works overall. There's an attempt to link events in the film to the issue of migration and I wasn't very convinced on that aspect. That said I think it's the best of the four and would recommend it.


----------



## oryx (Apr 10, 2016)

Saw Dheepan last night. Gripping, realistic film by Jacques Audiard (A Prophet) about a Tamil man, woman and child who are not related but pose as a family to get to France, using passports of dead people. They go to live on a tough estate and get caught up in the local gangland scene. Some great acting (I thought the 'wife' was particularly good) and genuinely terrifying moments of gang warfare. Recommended.


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Apr 10, 2016)

Another shout out for Dheepan. I thought it was a great watch. A gripping thriller that was grounded by the very real and autobiographical story that informed about 50% of the plot. For some reason it reminded me a lot of Taxi Driver. 

It was very gritty, and real, and fairly harrowing at times, but not all gratuitous. 

I was impressed how one especially long(ish) and violent episodes in the film was shot without showing hardly any violence at all, but also did not use the old device of panning away and leaving it to your imagination. That's clever film making.


----------



## DJWrongspeed (Apr 11, 2016)

oryx said:


> Saw Dheepan last night. Gripping, realistic film by Jacques Audiard (A Prophet) about a Tamil man, woman and child who are not related but pose as a family to get to France, using passports of dead people. They go to live on a tough estate and get caught up in the local gangland scene. Some great acting (I thought the 'wife' was particularly good) and genuinely terrifying moments of gang warfare. Recommended.



This is really good look at asylum and immigration. The dramatic ending is preposterous however which really let's it down, shame.


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Apr 11, 2016)

DJWrongspeed said:


> This is really good look at asylum and immigration. The dramatic ending is preposterous however which really let's it down, shame.



It was a bit out of sync....but still brilliantly shot...I thought.


----------



## DJWrongspeed (Apr 11, 2016)

Nanker Phelge said:


> It was a bit out of sync....but still brilliantly shot...I thought.



It's certainly well done, mysterious, smokey but as a plot line it went too far. Hope to catch The Prophet soon, his other film.


----------



## Reno (Apr 11, 2016)

DJWrongspeed said:


> It's certainly well done, mysterious, smokey but as a plot line it went too far. Hope to catch The Prophet soon, his other film.


There are quite a few other films by Jacques Audiard, who is one of my favourite directors working. My personal favourite of his is the Hitchcock-style romantic thriller Read My Lips. Really looking forward to Dheepan.


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Apr 11, 2016)

DJWrongspeed said:


> It's certainly well done, mysterious, smokey but as a plot line it went too far. Hope to catch The Prophet soon, his other film.



That's great.


----------



## Kesher (Apr 11, 2016)

*Hardcore Henry*

White knuckle ride of a film; funny as well. In addition to the video game angle it reminded me of Crank with Jason Statham.  Recommended.


----------



## Sue (Apr 11, 2016)

Nanker Phelge said:


> It was a bit out of sync....but still brilliantly shot...I thought.



At the Q&A I went to, someone queried the ending. They said they could believe everything else but the last bit just seemed strange and tacked on. Audiard said that he wanted the end to be almost dreamlike/a fantasy and it'd been shot in a slightly different way to give it that quality.


----------



## Reno (Apr 11, 2016)

While his films are artfully made and he is always coming back to certain issues  (immigration, disability, class)	Audiard ultimately makes genre films (thriller, gangster and melodrama) and that's something he keeps getting criticised for. I like how he mixes the high and lowbrow in his films.


----------



## emanymton (Apr 11, 2016)

Kesher said:


> *Hardcore Henry*
> 
> White knuckle ride of a film; funny as well. In addition to the video game angle it reminded me of Crank with Jason Statham.  Recommended.


Crank is an odd one. After watching it I had no idea if I actually liked it or not. Not sure if I have ever had that felling with anything else.


----------



## Maltin (Apr 12, 2016)

Eye in the Sky is pretty good.  Has a similar theme to last year's Good Kill but I think this is better. Some of the characters were a bit too stereotypical but I still think it worked. Alan Rickman's last on-screen film role.


----------



## A380 (Apr 16, 2016)

Maltin said:


> Eye in the Sky is pretty good.  Has a similar theme to last year's Good Kill but I think this is better. Some of the characters were a bit too stereotypical but I still think it worked. Alan Rickman's last on-screen film role.


Just seen it, a fantastic film. A bit clunky in places to set up the main decision points but not at all one dimensional. Worth seeing at the cinema too.


----------



## Kesher (Apr 17, 2016)

*Criminal*

Entertaining: part sci-fi; part spy thriller. Funny in parts as well.


----------



## redsquirrel (Apr 18, 2016)

The Melbourne Cinematheque has just started showing it's Robert Altman season first up were

_McCabe & Mrs Miller _- if you haven't seen this yet (like me before this time) then go out and grab/buy and copy and stick it on. Absolutely fantastic, it's the story of McCabe (Warren Beatty) a would-be entrepreneur in the American west who joins forces with a madam (Julie Christie) to open a brothel, only to meet the ire of bigger forces. It's a gorgeous, haunting melancholy movie, just about perfect in every respect. 

_3 Women_ - again first time I've seen this. A very strange movie, inspired by a dream it's difficult to explain the plot but the events revolve around relationship of two women Pinky (Sissy Spacek) and Millie (Shelly Duvall). My first thought was that the dreamlike almost surreal nature of it was very un-Altman like but on second thoughts I realise that actually many of his films have that quality though not the degree of this one. Like _McCabe & Mrs Miller_ it looks great but whereas I just loved that film I found _3 Women_ more interesting than enjoyable. That said I think it's definitely worth seeing to get a deeper perspective of Altman.

Next week it's _California Split_ and _Vincent & Theo_ (which again neither of which I've seen before)


----------



## belboid (Apr 23, 2016)

Arabian Nights 1: The Restless One

First part of a trilogy, each containing three stories, relating to the effects of austerity in Portugal. Funny, bizarre, a bit depressing, it certainly keeps you watching. We've got part 2 on mayday and part 3 on May 8 - I think I'm very glad that we're doing it that way, not all in one sitting, as various places are (or will be) showing it, I think that would do me head in.


----------



## imposs1904 (Apr 23, 2016)

Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some!!

Loved it.


----------



## redsquirrel (Apr 23, 2016)

_Rams_ - Icelandic film about two brothers both shepherds who haven't talked to each other in 40 years and what happens to their relationship after scrapies is found in their flocks. It won the Certain Regard prize at Cannes in 2015 and it's easy to see why, it's an excellent piece of film-making. There's a wonderful dry humour to it as well, the film doesn't overplay anything. Excellent intelligent, subtle film-making


----------



## Sue (Apr 24, 2016)

Claire's Knee. I've really liked the other Eric Rohmer films I've seen but found it hard to get past the horrible sexual politics in this one. It was made in 1970 so maybe just shows how much things have moved on. (It looks great though.)


----------



## Kesher (Apr 27, 2016)

*Friend Request*

Popular,  pretty college girl accepts Facebook  friend request from plain, loner, goth type girl. Popular girl  later has second thoughts  and unfriends loner girl. Things start to get seriously supernatural. Edge of the seat entertainment.


----------



## redsquirrel (May 1, 2016)

_Ma Ma_ - latest film by Julio Medem (_Vacas, The Red Squirrel, Sex and Lucia_) starring Penelope Cruz as a woman who develops breast cancer and how she affects those she meets. If you're looking for a realistic portrayal of someone dealing with cancer this isn't it. There's always been a unreal fantastical element to Medem's films but whereas in earlier work it was more dreamlike here it's more like the melodrama of Almodóvar. I'm a huge fan of Medem's early work but I thought his previous film _Room in Rome_ was mediocre (at best). _Ma Ma_ has it's flaws, it's an unapologetical sentimental film, but it just about gets away with it, but there are some funny parts and Cruz is good in the lead. Even so I hope Medem returns to something closer to his earlier work next, teaming up with Emma Suarez might be good.


----------



## oneflewover (May 3, 2016)

Kesher said:


> *Midnight Special*
> 
> Kind of a cross between a 70's/80's Spielberg film and The X Files. It's good.



Yeah, absolutely. Hooked all the way through.


----------



## belboid (May 5, 2016)

A hefty week of cinema going, with mixed but overwhelmingly pleasant consequences...

_Miles Ahead _ - which I enjoyed, but is almost entirely worthless if you want to learn anything about the life of Miles Davis. Don Cheadle is superb as _the man_, and it's great that he didn't try and do a straight biopic, but went for a movie that captured Miles' spirit, a movie that he'd have liked to have appeared in. Ultimately, rather more _Kiss in the Attack of the Phantoms _than _Bird, _with all the strengths and weaknesses that implies.

_West Side Story_ - the second best musical ever, according to most polls, and shown in Sheffield's oldest, gorgeousest, cinema. The first half really is great. Riff is rather too reminiscent of William Shatner, but the songs are so bloody good, I can overlook that.  The second half is a bit duller tho, only two vaguely decent songs - and one of them is _I Feel Pretty_. It is surprising, tho, that I thought I'd seen it lots, but I had actually forgotten precisely how it ended.
_
Arabian Nights Volume 2: The Desolate One. _A much more immediately accessible film than part 1, I thought. One that you really have to be in the right mood for,tho, with it's rambling mix of genre, character and tone - all of which is beautifully shot. I think the whole thing might work better as hour or so long segments on TV over a week, rather than as the three movies, but I am really glad I am making myself see it.


----------



## Sue (May 5, 2016)

Pursued. A very young Robert Mitchum does Western Noir. Really good.


----------



## belboid (May 9, 2016)

_Arabian Nights Volume 3: The Enchanted One_

The final part of Gomes' trilogy, and one where Scheherazade actually gets to appear in a tale. And a very funny tale it is too, with Elvis the bandit, and the absurd Paddleman.  It's probably the best looking part of a gorgeously shot film - beautiful people and locations - and starts to bring the (rambling, mindboggling) film into some kind of focus, a focus that is both clarified then blurred with the very long segment “The Inebriating Chorus of the Chaffinches” - all about unemployed Portuguese who start to train chaffinches to sing in intense contests, during which people and birds may die. There are some great bits in there - the power of stories/songs, the tragedy of when they are lost to the world, plus a bit about men's obsessions - but it really does go on.  There is a third story, Hot Forest,  about a Chinese immigrant and her less than marvelous time in the country, which is interesting,but then ends and switches back to the bloody chaffinches. It's a real shame as, even tho I can see the point being made, he had made it at least twenty minutes earlier.  Still there's a great version of Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft to finish on.

The audience seemed to have drifted away over the three films.  When I booked, there were about a dozen seats taken, but when we actually turned up, there was only another two people in the cinema.  I reckon it would probably have worked better as six hour or so long TV movies shown over a week, that would have been quite compelling.


----------



## Sue (May 9, 2016)

Son of Saul. Disorientating, confusing, a vision of a particular type of hell. A hard watch as expected.

For a bit of light relief, a double bill of All About Eve and Sullivan's Travels. I am really liking the Regent St Cinema but wonder if it's economically sustainable. There were about 15 people there for the first film and fewer for the second and this was on a Sunday afternoon. (Okay, it was a nice day but still seemed a bit on the low side.)


----------



## wtfftw (May 11, 2016)

Knight of Cups.

If I tried to watch it at home I think I'd have started doing something else at the same time and then only half watching if bothering at all. Saw in in a cinema and someone fell asleep.


----------



## marshall (May 11, 2016)

Anyone else seen Green Room yet? Gory, but great.

Nazi punks...fuck off!


----------



## belboid (May 15, 2016)

Mustang

Turkish drama about five sisters having a shit time in a conservative society. The first half seemed quite like a seventies set British comedy, with a much better soundtrack (no great surprise to see it was by Warren Ellis).  But then things take a turn for the dark. Impressive and powerful stuff.


----------



## redsquirrel (May 15, 2016)

belboid said:


> Mustang
> 
> Turkish drama about five sisters having a shit time in a conservative society. The first half seemed quite like a seventies set British comedy, with a much better soundtrack (no great surprise to see it was by Warren Ellis).  But then things take a turn for the dark. Impressive and powerful stuff.


Comes out here in a few weeks, one time when the trailers actually encouraged me to see a film.


----------



## neonwilderness (May 16, 2016)

Sleaford Mods - Invisible Britain



> Sleaford Mods - Invisible Britain shows the most exciting and uncompromising British band in years sticking two fingers up to the zeitgeist and articulating the rage and desperation of those without a voice in austerity Britain. The film follows Sleaford Mods on a tour of the UK in the run up to the 2015 General Election, visiting the neglected, broken down and boarded up parts of the country that many would prefer to ignore. Part band doc, part look at the state of the nation, the documentary features individuals and communities attempting to find hope among the ruins, against a blistering soundtrack by Sleaford Mods.


----------



## mwgdrwg (May 18, 2016)

Went to see Midnight Special, and thought it was very good. Michael Shannon is incredibly intense, and it's great to just watch him.


----------



## Sue (May 19, 2016)

Everybody Wants Some!! Didn't know anything about this apart apart from the director being Richard Linklater and that it was set in an American college in the 80s. 

If I'd known it was about a bunch of baseball players living in the equivalent of a frat house, I probably wouldn't have bothered. The 80s stuff was nicely captured but God, it was boring. There's only so much of 'bunch of young guys get pissed, try and pick up women and act like tossers' I can take (and, to be honest, that's not very much). An elderly couple behind me walked about halfway through and I kind of wish I'd joined them.


----------



## belboid (May 23, 2016)

A weekend of fairly lightweight cinema going to indulge Mrs b's need for drama you don't need to think about before/after completing a half marathon:

*The Jungle Book* - had to have my arm severely twisted for this one, but it was far more entertaining than expected. The jungle looked bloody fantastic, as did most of the animals. Good jobs from Bill Murray & Christopher Walken, less so Idris. All worked pretty well, except...animals talking in a cartoon, fine. But 'real' animals doing so? Just looks wrong and (rather absurdly, I know) just creates a big disconnect for me.

*X Men Apocalypse* - easily the least impressive of the First Class trilogy. Nightcrawler a decent addition, Quicksilver still good, Sansa rather rubbish. Decent final fight.

*Whiskey Tango Foxtrot* - we like Tina Fey here, so will give a very averagely reviewed film of hers a shot, even if she sounds a grossly implausible afghan war reporter. The film starts poorly, and it looks like it might be a long 100 minutes. This is not least due to another dubious performance from Margot Robbie, I don't get her supposed attraction. Or rather, I suspect I do, but there must be more to it than that. Anyway, other people are good, especially Billy Bob Thornton, it's not too gung ho, support our troops, nonsense. There's one good scene where Tina sneaks off with some 'ikea bagged' women who give a surprising insight into their lives. Sadly it's the one and only such scene. Worst thing about it is that there are only two significant afghan roles in it, played (perfectly well) by Alfred Molina and Christopher Abbott. Cos there isn't one vaguely asiany actor that they could possibly have cast.


----------



## Sue (May 23, 2016)

belboid said:


> Mustang
> 
> Turkish drama about five sisters having a shit time in a conservative society. The first half seemed quite like a seventies set British comedy, with a much better soundtrack (no great surprise to see it was by Warren Ellis).  But then things take a turn for the dark. Impressive and powerful stuff.



This ^. Thought it was excellent, if depressing.


----------



## Plumdaff (May 23, 2016)

*Zootropolis* 

This engaged both me and the four year old throughout. It was much better than I'd anticipated, with genuinely funny nods to the adult audience that were better than the norm for a family film, looked stunning, was genuinely a bit (not too) scary in parts and managed to deliver its message without being heavy handed or twee.


----------



## Redeyes (May 26, 2016)

marshall said:


> Anyone else seen Green Room yet? Gory, but great.
> 
> Nazi punks...fuck off!



Went to see it last week, had seen it before last November at the Leeds film festival but it was on at about 2am and I was a few sheets to the wind. "Tense as fuck" was my thoughts from back then and I stick with that now I've seen it sober.


----------



## Nanker Phelge (May 31, 2016)

Sing Street. An 80s dublin set, feelgood, coming of age flick with a little streak of bleak running through it. About a kid who starts a band to get the girl and bide his time while his family falls apart. It was fluff, but good fluff......although it could have done without yet another skinhead stereotype...


----------



## Sue (Jun 2, 2016)

Money Monster. George Clooney plays sleazeball TV presenter taken hostage by Jack O'Connell (who's keeping pretty stellar company these days). Nice performances and good chemistry between Julia Roberts and Clooney. Zips along entertainingly (if not completely plausibly) enough.

Was a bit concerned it was about to go all schmaltzy in the middle but it didn't.


----------



## redsquirrel (Jun 3, 2016)

I've seen quite of bit of stuff over the last month

_Midnight Special_ - I agree with U75 consensus on this, excellent. Proper smart scifi actually telling a moving story rather than just shooting lasers. In addition to Shannon's performance both Dunst and Joel Egerton are good too. After _Take Shelter _and _Mud_ Jeff Nichols is becoming one of my favourite directors. 

_Mad Max_ and _Mad Max 2 - _the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) had a Mad Max season to celebrate the success of Thunder Road so I got to see these on the big screen. It's been some time since I've seen either and it was nice to be reminded that they were good films. Barring the odd clunky moment both films rise above the obvious budget limitations they had. 

_Courted_ - Interesting French film starring Fabrice Luchini (even if you don't recognise the name you might recognise the face) as a judge overseeing a complex criminal trial while a former acquittance who he holds a torch for is on the jury, played by Sidse Knudsen from _Borgen_ and _The Duke of Burgundy_. The blend of court drama and romance is intriguing and works well and it's interesting seeing the differences between the British and French court systems. Worthwhile going to see if it's showing near you.

_The Green Room_ - Decent enough thriller with a band getting stuck in showdown with a bunch of neo-Nazi's (led by Patrick Stewart) in the middle of nowhere. Nicely nasty in parts it's nothing special but it does what it does well.

I've also been to see a load of films in the GB retrospective season 
_Whisky Galore_ - Actually the first time I've ever seen it. Not quite in the league of the very best Ealing films but still wonderful, and considering it's based on work from that moron Mackenzie that's no mean feat.

_Hobson's Choice_ - Lesser known David Lean from the 1954, it's all pretty unremarkable to be honest, Charles Laughton just about manages to raise it above the average but I certainly would not put it among Lean's best work.

_A Matter of Life and Death_ and _The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp_ - I don't really know what I can say about either of these films that hasn't been said before. Both absolutely magnificent, gorgeous, moving, intelligent, full of wonderful performances and absolute classics if you haven't seen them then make sure you do. 

_Hunt for the Wilderpeople_ - the latest film from Taika Waititi (_Boy_ and _What We Do In The Shadows_, of which I know both Reno and butchersapron are fans). The plot has Sam Neill ending up the surrogate family for a kid (a bad egg) from care and both of them going on the run in the New Zealand bush. Some really funny moments as well as some nice shout out to classic films (I'm sure one scene is a call out to McCabe and Mrs Miller). Definitely worth going to see. 

And most recently the ACMI are having a Scorsese retrospective so I saw 

_Raging Bull_ - for whatever reason I've never got around to watching this so it was great to see it for the first time in a proper cinema. Again not a lot to say that hasn't been said many times before, it's fantastic, probably both Scorsese's best and my favourite of his films. 

_New York, New York_ - again my first time viewing. Far, far better than the detractors would have believe. Minnelli is good not letting De Niro overshadow her. Not Scorsese's finest work but I really interesting film with enough highlight of it's own that it deserves to be better know.


----------



## Sue (Jun 7, 2016)

The Measure of a Man. Unemployed factory worker looks for a job then finds one that makes him question who he is and where his loyalties lie. 

Excellent, understated look at working life and the compromises people are expected/forced to make to keep their heads above water. Very well made with great performances. Highly recommended.

(Seem to be on a roll with depressing French films at the moment.)


----------



## rubbershoes (Jun 7, 2016)

Plumdaff said:


> *Zootropolis*
> 
> This engaged both me and the four year old throughout. It was much better than I'd anticipated, with genuinely funny nods to the adult audience that were better than the norm for a family film, looked stunning, was genuinely a bit (not too) scary in parts and managed to deliver its message without being heavy handed or twee.




Zootropolis

Film noir for children


----------



## Reno (Jun 15, 2016)

When Marnie Was There, probably the last Studio Ghibli film and so fucking sad. A great night out if you want to make your kids cry ! That said, I like sad films and it certainly worked on me. I suppose it could also be argued that it's a film which introduces children to the concept of depression, because that's what it's really about.

Looks beautiful and the I like the style of animation. I find many of the American CGI films over animated, with everything constantly moving, while the Ghibli films really know how to do stillness while still looking sumptuous.


----------



## blossie33 (Jun 16, 2016)

Looking forward to seeing Marnie  - hopefully next week.


----------



## chilango (Jun 19, 2016)

The Secret Life of Pets.

Not as good as the trailer would lead you to believe. But the militant anti-human revolutionaries were funny.


----------



## belboid (Jun 19, 2016)

Tales of Tales

Salma Hayek starring in three tales from the original fairy tale bloke, directed by the bloke who made Gomorrah. Marvelous looking, absurd tales (a man who raises a flea as his son, a woman who eats a sea monsters heart to get pregnant, two hags who besot an idiotic king bloke), it's funny, gory, and occasionally even touching.  Good to see Hayley Carmichael get a good film role, and Bebe Cave was ace in her first major role, less sure about Vincent Cassell or the lads playing the (not) twins.  Glad to see Italian Tax Credits receiving the attention due to them, six appearances in the credits even before we got to the cast list.

The trailer for Wiener Dog looked ace too


----------



## belboid (Jul 8, 2016)

Love & Friendship

Twas a wet tuesday in the Lake District, so an ideal time to sit in a cinema for a couple of hours and not get wet - and Zefferelli's is a very nice cinema, even if we were almost the youngest people in the audience by twenty years.

The film itself is an entertaining bit of minor Austen, full of her usual themes around sex, class and hypocrisy.  There are many great lines and little looks between characters, Beckinsale & Sevigny are both great, but Tom Bennett was absurdly OTT and could only have been more unsubtle if he'd carried around a sign saying 'Men Are Stupid.'  Surprisingly, for a Whit Stillman film, I thought it looked very televisual, too.


----------



## Sue (Jul 9, 2016)

Hold Back the Dawn. Olivia De Havilland is duped into marriage by a sleazy Charles Boyer who's looking for a US passport.

Showing as part of the De Havilland 100th birthday season at the BFI. Great script, excellent performances, funny, cynical. De Havilland was beaten to the 1941 Best Actress Oscar for her performance in this by her sister (Suspicion) which can't have helped on the sibling rivalry front...


----------



## chandlerp (Jul 13, 2016)

Just got home from watching the new Ghostbusters and incredibly found it to be very good indeed.

It also very clearly has the blessing of the original cast


----------



## Sue (Jul 30, 2016)

Couple more from the De Havilland season.

The Snake Pit.  Sympathetic portrayal of a woman suffering a mental breakdown and her experiences in a psychiatric hospital.

Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte. Bette Davis cranks it up to at least 11 while De Havilland plays against type. OTT southern gothic, an entertaining way to spend a Friday night.


----------



## redsquirrel (Jul 30, 2016)

_Miles Ahead_ - Good attempt by Don Cheadle to do some more interesting than the standard music biopic, I don't think he's entirely successful but in a genre that so often has the same arc (set up, gets the break, hit's a roadblock, triumphant return) at least he's tried to do something a bit different.

_Mustang_ - basically what belboid and Sue said, really good. And considering how things are in Turkey at the moment, very apposite. There is one misstep IMO but overall an excellent film I'd advise everyone to go and see.


Spoiler



the sexual abuse sub plot. You are already appalled by the uncle, and what he represents, his abuse rather felt to me as a unnecessary and unsubtle way of underlining what was already clear, I felt it weakens rather than strengthens the film



_Goldstone_ - the sequel to _Mystery Road_, taking up the story of Jay Swan, the Aboriginal cop, from that and putting him in a new town. I think Ivan Sen, the director, has some real talent (his first film _Beneath Clouds_ is excellent) but this is distinctly average, and only really saved by the performances of Aaron Pedersen, who's one of those actors with enough charisma to pull off even below par stuff, David Wenham and Jacki Weaver.

_Maggie's Plan_ - Greta Gerwig vehicle directed by Rebeca Miller. Gerwig plays Maggie who, unable to maintain a long term relationship, decides to have a child via a sperm donor, only to fall in love with a married man, played by Ethan Hawke. It's not terrible but there's not much there, probably not worth bothering with unless you're a Gerwig fan.

_Embrace of the Serpent_ - quite surprised that I've not seen anyone mention it on this thread. The film takes place over two timeframes, one in 1909 the other 1940 in both a western explorer is travelling up the Amazon in search of a rare plant in the company of an indigenous guide. Beautifully shoot in black and white it's a devastating portrayal of the hideousness of colonialism while never being didactic, and keeping all the characters as real. Definitely one to see.

_Love & Friendship_ - Whit Stillman adaptation of Austen novella, which I've never read but I'm now curious to see how close the film is to the book. As an Austen fan and someone who loved Stillman's last film, _Damsel's in Distress_, I'm probably pretty much the target audience and had a great time. I agree with belboid that it has it's flaws but it is terrifically enjoyable.

Also the Melbourne International Film Festival has just started so last night I saw
_Late Spring _ - One of Ozu's masterpieces showing as part of a Setsuko Hara season (I've also got tickets to _Early Summer_ and _Tokyo Story_). While I enjoyed it I saw _Late Autumn_, which is pretty much a remake of this_,_ a couple of years ago, and I have to say I preferred the latter, maybe just because I loved the colours or maybe it was just the mood I was in yesterday.

_A New Leaf_ - Went to see this basically because I thought if I was going to go to Melbourne I might as well see two films and Walter Matthau will mean that a film always has something decent in it, really thankful that I did go as it's great! I can't believe that it's not more well known, whole audience was laughing out loud at some of the jokes. The set up is that Matthau is a millionaire who's run through his money and has to marry a rich heiress, who he then plans to do anyway with, in order to maintain his life in the style he's accustomed to. His target, played by the director/writer Elaine May, is a clumsy, naive, rather loony (but rich) botany professor.


----------



## Reno (Jul 30, 2016)

A New Leaf is one of my all time favourite comedies and a great film, just watched it again recently. In its style it reminds me of more recent Coen Brothers comedies. Elaine May is a hugely underrated film-maker, she should be held up alongside the great directors of the New Hollywood of the 70s. She was a perfectionist comparable to Kubrick, but while in a male director that was seen an artist being a visionary genius, in a female one it was seen as a woman being difficult. She never got the respect her work deserved.


----------



## redsquirrel (Jul 30, 2016)

Reno said:


> A New Leaf is one of my all time favourite comedies and a great film, just watched it again recently. Elaine May is a hugely underrated film-maker, she should be held up alongside the great directors of the New Hollywood of the 70s. She was a perfectionist comparable to Kubrick, but while in a male director that was seen an artist being a visionary genius, in a female one it was seen as a woman being difficult and she never got the respect her work deserved.


Really pleased that I've seen it, which of her other films are worth checking out?


----------



## Reno (Jul 30, 2016)

redsquirrel said:


> Really pleased that I've seen it, which of her other films are worth checking out?


Unfortunately there is not much to chose from as her directing career soon got snuffed out by the studios. The The Heartbreak Kid and Nicky and Micky both are great. Even Ishtar, the legendary flop which ended her directing career, is actually pretty good.

After that she mostly worked as a screenwriter and script doctor, giving many films a much needed lift.


----------



## rubbershoes (Jul 30, 2016)

Angry Birds movie. With six 8 year olds. 

They should have spent less time on the miniscule jokes ( pig DJ Steve Aoinki) and more on the script and plot. Even the children were getting bored


----------



## DJWrongspeed (Jul 30, 2016)

redsquirrel said:


> _Embrace of the Serpent_ - quite surprised that I've not seen anyone mention it on this thread. The film takes place over two timeframes, one in 1909 the other 1940 in both a western explorer is travelling up the Amazon in search of a rare plant in the company of an indigenous guide. Beautifully shoot in black and white it's a devastating portrayal of the hideousness of colonialism while never being didactic, and keeping all the characters as real. Definitely one to see.



Agree, defo, just saw this in the cinema. Has hints of Conrad but also 'The Revenant' in examining the mixed up world indigineous, settler & foreigner peoples.


----------



## Kesher (Jul 31, 2016)

*Jason Bourne:*

Probably the most frenetic of the Bourne movies which includes  a monumental  car chase.


----------



## Reno (Jul 31, 2016)

Kesher said:


> *Jason Bourne:*
> 
> Probably the most frenetic of the Bourne movies which includes  a monumental  car chase.


But is it any good? This got rather tepid reviews considering it's the old gang back.... again.


----------



## Kesher (Jul 31, 2016)

Overall, it's no worse nor better than the other Bourne films; though it's  better than the spin-off with Jeremy Renner. It's currently showing  56% favourable critic  reviews and 69% favourable audience reviews  on Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic gives it a slightly higher rating  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Jason Bourne

Jason Bourne


----------



## Dr. Furface (Jul 31, 2016)

Reno said:


> But is it any good? This got rather tepid reviews considering it's the old gang back.... again.


Not really. It tries to seem like it's an important film for the times by referencing Ed Snowden, but really it's just more of the same as before, globetrotting, punchups, datawibble and car chases - the last of which is truly overblown ridiculousness (but totally necessary for a film like this). We learn a little more of Bourne's history, but it's of little consequence. If you've seen the previous ones then you've pretty much seen this one already - it isn't terrible but it's all a bit 'so what' by now.


----------



## chilango (Aug 2, 2016)

Finding Dory


----------



## Wilf (Aug 2, 2016)

Dr. Furface said:


> Not really. It tries to seem like it's an important film for the times by referencing Ed Snowden, but really it's just more of the same as before, globetrotting, punchups, datawibble and car chases - the last of which is truly overblown ridiculousness (but totally necessary for a film like this). We learn a little more of Bourne's history, but it's of little consequence. If you've seen the previous ones then you've pretty much seen this one already - it isn't terrible but it's all a bit 'so what' by now.


Just seen it, agree with all that. The zeitgeist/Snowden thing was the only saving grace and they didn't really do much with it.  I'll not get too spoilery, but I didn't have anything invested in the 'conflicted' chief exec, so the privacy rights thing just sat in the film as a vague idea, not something to really draw you in. And the rest of it seemed exactly what as say, seen if before and it added nothing to the franchise.


----------



## belboid (Aug 4, 2016)

Barry Lyndon

Barry Fucking Lyndon. What. A. Film. 

I hadn't exactly forgotten how good it was, I mean no film I'd miss seeing Lightning Bolt for in order to watch it on a fuzzy 15" screen is going to be anything but brilliant. But on a big screen. Oh me, oh my. What. A. Fucking. Film.


----------



## Sue (Aug 7, 2016)

Been seeing mainly old films recently but a couple of newish ones this weekend.

Embrace of the Serpent. Agree with every bit of this:



redsquirrel said:


> _Embrace of the Serpent_ - quite surprised that I've not seen anyone mention it on this thread. The film takes place over two timeframes, one in 1909 the other 1940 in both a western explorer is travelling up the Amazon in search of a rare plant in the company of an indigenous guide. Beautifully shoot in black and white it's a devastating portrayal of the hideousness of colonialism while never being didactic, and keeping all the characters as real. Definitely one to see.


At the end,it says the film was inspired by the diaries of an ethnographer and botanist (who are fictionalised in the film) and which remain the only record of some of these Amazonian tribes. And the indigenous people are the ones referred to by the colonisers as 'savages' and 'cannibals'. 

Also saw The Neon Demon, Nicolas Winding Refn's latest (and which I shamefully keep calling The Neon Bible ). Young girl moves to LA and becomes a model. Everyone either hates her or tries to exploit her because she's so good looking. Shallow and uninteresting,with added horror type bits for no apparent reason.It's just less than two hours long but felt like way more.


----------



## Dr. Furface (Aug 8, 2016)

Sue said:


> Also saw The Neon Demon, Nicolas Winding Refn's latest (and which I shamefully keep calling The Neon Bible ). Young girl moves to LA and becomes a model. Everyone either hates her or tries to exploit her because she's so good looking. Shallow and uninteresting,with added horror type bits for no apparent reason.It's just less than two hours long but felt like way more.


Thanks for confirming what I thought that film would be like from seeing the trailer, so I'm glad I didn't go.


----------



## Sue (Aug 8, 2016)

Dr. Furface said:


> Thanks for confirming what I thought that film would be like from seeing the trailer, so I'm glad I didn't go.


Hadn't seen the trailer but was a bit sceptical given I really didn't like his last one.


----------



## Tankus (Aug 8, 2016)

Wilf said:


> Just seen it, agree with all that. The zeitgeist/Snowden thing was the only saving grace and they didn't really do much with it.  I'll not get too spoilery, but I didn't have anything invested in the 'conflicted' chief exec, so the privacy rights thing just sat in the film as a vague idea, not something to really draw you in. And the rest of it seemed exactly what as say, seen if before and it added nothing to the franchise.



The Athens riots meet was quite tense too..but..
Came out feeling mildly disappointed.....  ....thought the Renner one was better , certainly more memorable..!


----------



## Sue (Aug 15, 2016)

The Killing. Early Kubrick heist movie. Slick, tight and all in 84 minutes. Current filmmakers should watch and learn.


----------



## Reno (Aug 15, 2016)

Tankus said:


> The Athens riots meet was quite tense too..but..
> Came out feeling mildly disappointed.....  ....thought the Renner one was better , certainly more memorable..!


I think the fourth film is underrated. People seemed to dislike it before it even came out because it didn't have Damon in it and it had a different feel to it, going more into a science fiction direction but I found it just as entertaining as the previous films. I would have been quite happy if they'd continued with Renner.


----------



## Tankus (Aug 15, 2016)

Me too.........The Renner character was more interesting

Damon was just blank


----------



## Kesher (Aug 18, 2016)

*The Shallows
*
Blake Lively is very good in a beautifully filmed constant shark menace thriller


----------



## RubyToogood (Aug 20, 2016)

Wiener-Dog (spur of the moment "I know, I'll go to the cinema" choice). I have mixed feelings about it. It was quite gruesome and a bit disjointed and I wasn't entirely sure what the point was although it was good in parts.

Also I have to mention the Mohammed moment which was really quite off and raised something of a reaction in the audience. I think if you are going to have a character say something implicitly racist it needs to be contextualised or flagged as racist or something and not just tossed in and then never referenced again.


----------



## redsquirrel (Aug 21, 2016)

_Suicide Squad_ - absolutely abysmal, I didn't go into it with high expectations but it comfortably placed itself below them. Tedious, stupid, terrible plot with stonking great holes in it, terrible script. Avoid.

_Early Summer_ - After being a little disappointed in _Late Spring _I was slightly nervous about going into this but really enjoyed it, I thought it was sharper than _Late Spring, _though maybe it was just the mood I was in when I saw the two. 

_Tokyo Story_ - Obviously high expectations but it lived up to them; funny, sad and sweet, just a really great film. There's loads been written about it so I won't go on about it, but just say that if you haven't seen it then you should. 

_A Ball at the Anjo House_ - last film I saw in the Setsuko Hara season at MIFF, a very strange, and pretty awful melodrama set in the aftermath of WWII, the plot has a former noble family in debt and being forced to leave their mansion. Whereas Ozu's films felt both modern and distinctly Japanese these feels like a remake of a British melodrama. A lot of the audience seemed to like the daft overdramatics but I just found them annoying. Not worth bothering with IMO.

_Bad Girl_ - premiere of new Aussie drama, I thought it was going to be more of a teenager going off the rails thing but it was actually more of a stalker amongst the family type pic. Not a masterpiece of the genre but decent enough with some nice variations of the usual themes. Another good soundtrack courtesy of Warren Ellis.

_Lovesong_ - very, very impressive. It's a sort of diptych of the relationship between two women Sarah (Riley Keogh) and Mindy (Jena Malone) who are friends and may/could be something more. The first half has Mindy visiting Sarah, somewhat depressed after having to look after her daughter on her own with her husband working away. The second half is set three years later at Mindy's wedding and with the two having had only minor contact with each other. I really loved it, it's a wonderful subtle movie exploring the relationship between these two women and how chances can be missed. Good performance from both leads, especially Keogh, she's rapidly becoming one of my favourite actors at the moment.

_High-Rise -_ Flawed but with enough stuff in it to be interesting, I've not read the book so I don't know how it compares to that. I thought the first third/half with the setup worked well with some really nice set pieces, after that the film lost it. Bit of a pity.

_Pawno_ - Australian independent film using a pawnbrokers in Footscray, Melbourne to tell a number of interconnected stories and characters. It's certainly not bad, and all credit to the film-makers for making a very good looking film on what must have been a very tight budget. The main problem is that the central love story of the film, is probably the worst, being rather over sentimental. Even so worth checking out.


----------



## Kesher (Aug 22, 2016)

*David Brent: life on the Road
*
Excellent: funny throughout and hilarious in parts; but also very poignant


----------



## Sue (Aug 28, 2016)

Currently one film into the Godfather trilogy. Easy to forget what a good (and effortless actor) Pacino used to be. I don't think I've ever seen the third one...


----------



## krtek a houby (Aug 28, 2016)

Sue said:


> Currently one film into the Godfather trilogy. Easy to forget what a good (and effortless actor) Pacino used to be. I don't think I've ever seen the third one...



It's not as bad as reported. However, it's not in the same league as the first two. And yes; Sofia Coppola is a better director than actor.


----------



## Idris2002 (Aug 28, 2016)

krtek a houby said:


> It's not as bad as reported. However, it's not in the same league as the first two. And yes; Sofia Coppola is a better director than actor.


I think the only way Part 3 could have worked is if it had been done mainly (or exclusively) from the point of view of the Corleone women.


----------



## krtek a houby (Aug 28, 2016)

Idris2002 said:


> I think the only way Part 3 could have worked is if it had been done mainly (or exclusively) from the point of view of the Corleone women.



Possibly. Connie is certainly much more on the offensive in Part 3. I'd like to have seen more of her motivations etc.


----------



## Sue (Aug 29, 2016)

So GF3 wasn't terrible but probably looks worse than it is by comparison with the first two. The whole JP I /Vatican bank stuff was kind of clumsy but glad I saw it overall.

I'd also never seen the first one on a big screen so that was good too.


----------



## Pickman's model (Aug 29, 2016)

Barry lyndon
Very good


----------



## Reno (Aug 29, 2016)

Godfather III feels lacklustre because it's a film Coppola never wanted to make. He felt the entire story had been told and he only made it to pay off depths after One from the Heart flopped and he went bankrupt. I rather like One From the Heart, should really revisit that again soon. The plot is a little thin, but it's neon dream vision of Las Vegas looks amazing and the Tom Waits soundtrack is gorgeous.


----------



## redsquirrel (Aug 29, 2016)

Sue said:


> So GF3 wasn't terrible but probably looks worse than it is by comparison with the first two. The whole JP I /Vatican bank stuff was kind of clumsy but glad I saw it overall.
> 
> I'd also never seen the first one on a big screen so that was good too.


Did you see the restored versions? Couple of years ago I got to see a pristine (never viewed before) print of all three for a special at the ACMI, gorgeous.


----------



## 8den (Aug 29, 2016)

redsquirrel said:


> _High-Rise -_ Flawed but with enough stuff in it to be interesting, I've not read the book so I don't know how it compares to that. I thought the first third/half with the setup worked well with some really nice set pieces, after that the film lost it. Bit of a pity.



High-Rise is the perfect adaptation of a J.G. Ballard novel extremely interesting concepts handled badly and ultimately disappointing, thus it's exactly like the book.


----------



## Sue (Aug 29, 2016)

redsquirrel said:


> Did you see the restored versions? Couple of years ago I got to see a pristine (never viewed before) print of all three for a special at the ACMI, gorgeous.


Yep, looked great. Lovely way to spend a Sunday, if a long say -- started at 1, ended about 10:45, including short breaks inbetween.


----------



## Wilf (Sep 1, 2016)

Just seen Barry Lyndon, proper film that. Lovely slow paced stuff, funny, beautifully shot - and with an Intermission (even if the bar was shut )! Haven't read the book, but I had the impression Barry is portrayed in a bad light throughout. Not exactly saintly in the film, but I get the impression Kubrick gives him an easier ride, or at least cuts out much of the boasting?  Anybody seen/read them both?


----------



## redsquirrel (Sep 4, 2016)

_Sunset Song - _Adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbson lovel (which I've not read) by Terence Davies, went in with quite high expectations and have to say that I was disappointed. It's not a bad film by any means but I thought it was pretty disjointed. For those that don't know the plot is basically about the early life of Chris Guthrie growing up in a farming family in NE Scotland at the beginning of the C20th. The film can be roughly divided into  three chapters. First Chris's life with her parents, especially her dictatorial father (played by Peter Mullan), second her independence after her father's death and her marriage and last the effect of the WWI on her, her marriage and the community. I felt the middle part worked really well but beginning  and end were more muddled. One problem I had was that, not being familiar with the source, I had a hard time getting any sense of the time over which events were supposed to occur, how long was there between the death of her mother and father for instance or how long after their marriage did her husband volunteer? This also dilutes one of the major themes of the film, her growing love for the land and it's constancy, if you've got no idea of the time which these changes occur how can it be contrasted against the unchanging nature of the land. Also while clearly you were supposed to feel Chris's connection to the land, personally I didn't feel any such thing, the fact that this came over more from the narration than the film not being a good sign, I'm not sure how much that's Agyness Deyn (who played Chris) and how much the film I'm not sure.


----------



## Sue (Sep 4, 2016)

Sunset Song's one of my favourite books so I deliberately didn't go and see this. To my mind, the casting looks all wrong (and does it really always have to be Peter Mullen playing that type of role? -- it seems so) and I've no idea how they captured the internal conflict between the 'English Chris' who feels she's betraying her background and the 'Scottish Chris' who's attached to the land. It's an important part of the book and from what you say, they didn't really.

The language is also used in a very particular way and hate to think how the Mearns accent was captured. 

It's quite a political book too -- the Highlands and Islands were disproportionately affected by WWI in terms of the number of men killed and its impact on isolated farming communities.

Tbh, I'd recommend you read the books. The third in the trilogy (Grey Granite) is about Communist/Socialist politics in Depression-era North of Scotland (written in the early 30s I think) which I think you'd find interesting.


----------



## Sue (Sep 4, 2016)

Things to Come (L'Avenir). Isabelle Huppert plays a Philosophy teacher whose life starts to fall apart  Not exactly plot-driven but enjoyable enough in a 'letting it wash over you' kind of way. 

It's a very French French film -- as the friend I went with said, it would score very highly on the French film lotto scorecard.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Sep 4, 2016)

8den said:


> High-Rise is the perfect adaptation of a J.G. Ballard novel extremely interesting concepts handled badly and ultimately disappointing, thus it's exactly like the book.


Interesting to read that as I've recently failed to finish the book for the 3rd time. It fascinates me but I can't read it! It's just so bloody dull and it really shouldn't be.


----------



## moonsi til (Sep 4, 2016)

Did a 'double' yesterday, first was 'Morgan' about Artificial Intelligence robots (I think that's the term), becoming self aware and how we react to them when they seem so human. It was alright but it felt too close in story arc to a film I can't recall the name of (smug guy with female AI who then escaped?) 

Then we watched 'sausage party' which I kept referring to as 'sausage party' , I laughed a lot.

Neither film I would say was a must to be seen at the flicks, neither would lose anything on a smaller screen.


----------



## Reno (Sep 4, 2016)

moonsi til said:


> Did a 'double' yesterday, first was 'Morgan' about Artificial Intelligence robots (I think that's the term), becoming self aware and how we react to them when they seem so human. It was alright but it felt too close in story arc to a film I can't recall the name of (smug guy with female AI who then escaped?)


Ex-Machina, of which this feels like a pale copy.


----------



## redsquirrel (Sep 9, 2016)

Sue said:


> Sunset Song's one of my favourite books so I deliberately didn't go and see this.


Cheers Sue I was wondering what your thoughts about it were. I'll see if the local library has got a copy.



Sue said:


> To my mind, the casting looks all wrong (and does it really always have to be Peter Mullen playing that type of role? -- it seems so) and I've no idea how they captured the internal conflict between the 'English Chris' who feels she's betraying her background and the 'Scottish Chris' who's attached to the land. It's an important part of the book and from what you say, they didn't really.


Totally agree about Mullan, nothing wrong with him an an actor but totally typecast. The internal conflict is "dealt" with through the narration, basically Dean reciting what I'm guessing are passages from the book, it was obvious that there was supposed to _be_ a conflict but I didn't actually feel one.


----------



## redsquirrel (Sep 10, 2016)

_One More Time With Feeling_ - Wow, absolutely stunning, just blew me away. Intensely moving, parts of it had the whole audience laughing other bits you could just feel the pain and anguish of the people in it, as well sympathy of those watching. It looks and sounds great and I felt it was really well directed showing the pain of Cave, his wife and son but staying the right side of becoming exploitative.

I don't what things are like in the UK but unfortunately here in Aus it only seems to be showing over this weekend so if you haven't seen it yet you've probably missed your chance but if you can go and see this, it's brilliant, best new film I've seen this year. I'd also recommend 3D, I saw the 2D version and for the first time ever I wished I'd manage to get to a 3D screening.


----------



## Reno (Sep 10, 2016)

redsquirrel said:


> _Once More With Feeling_ - Wow, absolutely stunning, just blew me away. Intensely moving, parts of it had the whole audience laughing other bits you could just feel the pain and anguish of the people in it, as well sympathy of those watching. It looks and sounds great and I felt it was really well directed showing the pain of Cave, his wife and son but staying the right side of becoming exploitative.
> 
> I don't what things are like in the UK but unfortunately here in Aus it only seems to be showing over this weekend so if you haven't seen it yet you've probably missed your chance but if you can go and see this, it's brilliant, best new film I've seen this year. I'd also recommend 3D, I saw the 2D version and for the first time ever I wished I'd manage to get to a 3D screening.



One More Time With Feeling, Once More With Feeling is the musical Buffy episode.


----------



## Sue (Sep 10, 2016)

redsquirrel said:


> Cheers Sue I was wondering what your thoughts about it were. I'll see if the local library has got a copy.
> 
> Totally agree about Mullan, nothing wrong with him an an actor but totally typecast. The internal conflict is "dealt" with through the narration, basically Dean reciting what I'm guessing are passages from the book, it was obvious that there was supposed to _be_ a conflict but I didn't actually feel one.


I'd recommend skipping the prologue and getting right into it. It used to be a pretty standard school text  but luckily it wasn't one I did at school... Last time i recommended it to someone they hated it, hope you don't.


----------



## redsquirrel (Sep 10, 2016)

Reno said:


> One More Time With Feeling, Once More With Feeling is the musical Buffy episode.


Good spot


----------



## belboid (Sep 11, 2016)

Captain Fantastic

Viggo Mortensen plays a dude who had had enough of the capitalist world and took the woods, living according to the principles of Plato's Republic, along with his wife and family several years ago. Things do not work out well for the wife, and her dad is a complete areshole, so a 'rescue mission' is called for.  There are a lot of very funny moments along the way, not least the five year old espousing revolutionary marxist politics, or the oldest child moaning 'dad...only Stalinists say Trotskyites, it's Troskyists, and anyway I'm a Maoist now,'  not to mention the best way to get out of a cop pulling you over - we both laughed quite a lot. But it isn't as deep or insightful as it thinks it is. I mean, yeah, capitalism's bad, and Noam Chomsky is good, but it needs a bit more than that to hang a film on.  And none of the women really get much of a look in either

Then had a quick drink and went back into to Star Trek Beyond.  Decent enough, a few great set pieces (that first battle scene with the bees is awesome), but overall, just another 'lets get to the next bit of action' summer blockbuster.  And Pegg is terrible, with Urban (K, not 75) being not much better.


I'm in a dilemma this afternoon, my local has one off showings, at 3.30 & 3.45 respectively, of One More Time With Feeling & Plein Soleil (the latter as part of a Highsmith season, and I have, shamefully, never seen it). I wanna do both, it's not fair!


----------



## belboid (Sep 11, 2016)

Went for _One More Time With Feeling
_
Not much to add to what has been said, quite astounding bit of film, so unbearably moving. Although I didn't realise mrs b didn't know the back story really. So when Susie went "when what happened happened " she leant over and asked "what happened?" And then the penny dropped. 

Not sure what 3D would have added, except maybe for a couple of the tracks


----------



## A380 (Sep 14, 2016)

Sausage Party.

Jesus. This was the most stupid, cleverest, puerile, witty, lowest common denominator, amazing concepts film I have seen in a long time. And go to the cinema about once a week. 

It's beautifully executed, and it's either a master piece or one of The most awful films ever. It also has one of the best last scenes of any film ever ( not the penultimate one which will get all the publicity)

You must see it!


----------



## Sue (Sep 18, 2016)

The Clan. Based on a true story about an Argentinian family who made their living kidnapping people. Got a bit confused with the jumping back and forwards time-wise (it's set at the end of Galtieri's regime and covers about 10 years after that) but thought it was pretty good, if not very pleasant. There's a bit near the end that made the audience gasp...

The Childhood of a Leader. Hmm, quite well made and reasonable performances but too long and didn't really believe the 'child's a wee sod then turns into a fascist leader' thing. Was lacking something.

Detective Story. Kirk Douglas is a NY cop with v black and white views on morality who's confronted with an event that challenges his view on life. Interesting, v of its time (was made in 1951, same year as Ace in the Hole) and must've been pretty controversial at the time.


----------



## redsquirrel (Sep 18, 2016)

Sue said:


> The Clan. Based on a true story about an Argentinian family who made their living kidnapping people. Got a bit confused with the jumping back and forwards time-wise (it's set at the end of Galtieri's regime and covers about 10 years after that) but thought it was pretty good, if not very pleasant. There's a bit near the end that made the audience gasp...


Hey snap, just saw this.

I thought the actor playing the father was great, his eyes just seemed dead. Amazing that so many people believed in the son's innocence for so long.


----------



## Sue (Sep 18, 2016)

redsquirrel said:


> Hey snap, just saw this.
> 
> I thought the actor playing the father was great, his eyes just seemed dead. Amazing that so many people believed in the son's innocence for so long.



It wasn't completely clear (well to me anyway) but assume the father had had a similar role in the dictatorship but went freelance when the regime was toppled. In which case dead eyes seemed a very apt portrayal. 

And the whole way the family ignored/normalised what was going on was utterly bizarre but presumably accurate.


----------



## redsquirrel (Sep 18, 2016)

Sue said:


> It wasn't completely clear (well to me anyway) but assume the father had had a similar role in the dictatorship but went freelance when the regime was toppled. In which case dead eyes seemed a very apt portrayal.


That was my reading too, but like you say not particularly clear. In fact one criticism I had of the film was that it didn't make more of the connections between the actions of the dictatorship and the family.


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Sep 24, 2016)

redsquirrel said:


> _Hunt for the Wilderpeople_ - the latest film from Taika Waititi (_Boy_ and _What We Do In The Shadows_, of which I know both Reno and butchersapron are fans). The plot has Sam Neill ending up the surrogate family for a kid (a bad egg) from care and both of them going on the run in the New Zealand bush. Some really funny moments as well as some nice shout out to classic films (I'm sure one scene is a call out to McCabe and Mrs Miller). Definitely worth going to see.



Saw this yesterday. Plenty of laughs, plenty of heart, plenty action, and much fun.


----------



## Sue (Sep 25, 2016)

Hell or High Water. Modern Western (well it's set in Texas) with two brothers pulling bank jobs pursued by Ranger Jeff Bridges. Got very good reviews but felt like I'd seen it all before and done better at that. Disappointing.


----------



## Kuso (Sep 28, 2016)

Went to see 'The girl with all the gifts' last night. Absolutely amazing. I didn't know what to expect apart from "the best zombie movie since 28 days later". 

Really, really creepy in places, and managed to put a fresh, but familiar, twist on the whole zombie ting. I can't think of anything better or that I enjoyed more this year. It was so good I thought I should actually write this to tell y'all. 

Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk


----------



## Dr. Furface (Sep 28, 2016)

belboid said:


> Captain Fantastic
> 
> Viggo Mortensen plays a dude who had had enough of the capitalist world and took the woods, living according to the principles of Plato's Republic, along with his wife and family several years ago. Things do not work out well for the wife, and her dad is a complete areshole, so a 'rescue mission' is called for. There are a lot of very funny moments along the way, not least the five year old espousing revolutionary marxist politics, or the oldest child moaning 'dad...only Stalinists say Trotskyites, it's Troskyists, and anyway I'm a Maoist now,' not to mention the best way to get out of a cop pulling you over - we both laughed quite a lot. But it isn't as deep or insightful as it thinks it is. I mean, yeah, capitalism's bad, and Noam Chomsky is good, but it needs a bit more than that to hang a film on. And none of the women really get much of a look in either


Yes, on the whole it was entertaining, often thought-provoking and pretty funny, but ultimately it was disappointing in that it starts by seeming like it's quite radical, but ultimately it has a very conservative subtext. Kids shouting 'stick it to the man!' may be cute but in this film the only man that gets a sticking-to is their dad.


----------



## Sue (Oct 2, 2016)

Under the Shadow. As the Iran-iraq War nears its end, both sides are bombing the other's cities. In Tehran, a woman starts to experience bizarre goings on as the bombs rain down. Not a horror/supernatural film fan but thought this was excellent, if mainly for the depiction of Iranian life at that time. (Unsurprisingly, very shit if you were a woman.)


----------



## Reno (Oct 3, 2016)

Sue said:


> Under the Shadow. As the Iran-iraq War nears its end, both sides are bombing the other's cities. In Tehran, a woman starts to experience bizarre goings on as the bombs rain down. Not a horror/supernatural film fan but thought this was excellent, if mainly for the depiction of Iranian life at that time. (Unsurprisingly, very shit if you were a woman.)


Going to see this tonight !


----------



## Reno (Oct 4, 2016)

Sue said:


> Under the Shadow. As the Iran-iraq War nears its end, both sides are bombing the other's cities. In Tehran, a woman starts to experience bizarre goings on as the bombs rain down. Not a horror/supernatural film fan but thought this was excellent, if mainly for the depiction of Iranian life at that time. (Unsurprisingly, very shit if you were a woman.)


I thought this was great! I liked that they didn't make the lead character that likeable, she wasn't some suffering saint but one also understood where her frustrations came from. The film was very well directed, a great debut film which makes me look forward to what Babak Anvari does next (hopefully not some US horror remake). Also reminded me of Hideo Nakata's Dark Water, which is not a bad thing as that is one of the best horror films of the 21st century.

Together with The Invitation and The Witch this is shaping up to be a good year for horror films.

Just got annoyed with the audience who chortled through the film like it was high comedy (twats who needed to let everyone know that they are above the scares of a horror film), especially at the scene where she flees the haunted building in terror without wearing a hijab and gets picked up by the morality police. Not that funny for women in Iran.


----------



## Reno (Oct 6, 2016)

The Girl With All the Gifts, which I thought was excellent. It's a British, post apocalyptic scifi-horror film based on a popular novel and it does for zombies what Let the Right One In did for vampires. Both films came at a point when their respective monsters had been done to death and manage to breath new life into a tired subgenre. Like with Let the Right One In, here the monster also is a young girl who can't help her murderous impulses.

The "zombies" in this are of the infected and running variety, victims of a fungus which mutates them into braindead, people eating monsters. The film starts at least a decade into the zombie apocalypse and deals with a group of children in a research bunker, who are different, like the next step in an evolution of the creatures (I liked the gruesome explanation for their existence). When they aren't hungry and able to smell living creatures, they pretty much behave like normal kids, unlike the vast majority of the adult "hungries" who have devastated the world. The focus is on twelve year old Melanie who is unusually bright and has more control over her cannibalistic impulses than the other children. Gemma Arterton plays a teacher who becomes close to her, Glenn Close a scientist who harvests the kid's brains to create a vaccine and Paddy Considine is a sergeant there to protect the staff and who doesn't like the growing bond between the girl and her teacher. Then everything goes tits up.

It's a great piece of film making, often surprisingly touching and it has more on its mind than you average zombie flick. Sennia Nanua, who plays Melanie, is a real find and gives one of the great performances by a child actor in recent years. With the cause of the mayhem being a plant and some great use of London locations, this is a better take on something like The Day of the Triffids than any of the official adaptations and the end gets the spirit of Matheson's I Am Legend, unlike any of those film adaptations. And there is a bit of The Village of the Damned/ The Midwich Cuckoos in there as well.


----------



## Sue (Oct 13, 2016)

A few from the London Film Festival.

The Handmaiden. Park Chan-wook does Sarah Waters. In Japanese-occupied 1930s Korea, a young Korean woman becomes the maid of a Japanese heiress in a plot to defraud her of her inheritance. Thought this was really good though the sex scenes (well the main one in particular) felt a bit uncomfortable -- not sure if it's the music but it all started to feel a bit soft porn. The baddie's also a bit too pantomime near the end but definitely worth seeing.

Frantz. Francois Ozon's take on a French play, filmed (if from a different POV) by Lubitsch in the 30s. A young French man turns up in small town Germany in 1919 to lay flowers on the grave of a German killed during WWI. It's told from the point of view of the German's fiancee and the big twist happens about halfway through but it's pretty heavily signposted so not much of a twist really. Thought the second half (set in France) was better than the first. It moves between black and white and colour and wasn't sure that really worked. (Ozon was there and said it was because Germany looked too colourful and cheerful so they used black and white instead.) Sad and romantic, if there's one bit that did make me roll my eyes quite a lot.



Spoiler



In a cafe in Paris, some French soldiers appear. One by one the customers stand up and sing the Marseillaise. (It mirrors a scene earlier in the film where some Germans sing a traditional song to goad the French man.) It's presumably meant to echo Casablanca/La Grande Illusion if from the view of the victors but it felt really clumsy and obvious and (for me anyway) completely lacked the emotion of either of those two.



Huston/Bogart's Beat the Devil. Restored to its original version -- apparently the version most people have seen doesn't make much sense due to strange cutting. Really good. Pre-film Q&A with a woman who worked on scripts for 14 of Huston's films including this one. Apparently the script changed day on day and no-one had much idea what was going to happen next...

The Fury of a Patient Man. Billed as a modern (Spanish) western, more of a revenge thriller. Pretty violent.


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Oct 17, 2016)

Girl With All the Gifts. Reno said it all really. Excellent film.

ETA: Also reminded me of the recent Planet of the Apes.


----------



## redsquirrel (Oct 25, 2016)

_Lolita_ - first in a Kubrick double bill, I should point out that I've not read the book. While not disliking it I couldn't really find myself connecting with it. There are one or two points where I felt for characters, mostly an embarrassed humour, and Seller's performance I just fund immensely annoying and hammy (is the Quilty character like that in the book?). While far better than the 90s version I can't say that I was blow away.	 

_Barry Lyndon _- a much better film, for a start it looks absolutely gorgeous, and while there is a certain detachment in the way the story is told the humorous edge kept me involved over all the three hours. O'Neal works really well in the main role and it's one film where the narration adds to the film rather than takes away from it (helps that Michael Hordern has one of those voices that could read telephone directory and you'd still find it interesting and gorgeous). Wonderful. 

_Joe Cinque's Consolation_ - Based on a book of the same title which is an account of the true story of the killing of a man by his girlfriend and her friend, after telling a number of people what she planned to do, in Canberra in the late 90s. I don't know how closely the film follows the real events but the general plot seems to be correct. The plot is strong and the performances of the main actors are good which makes up for some the weaknesses in the supporting cast and odd clunk in the script. Worth going to see just for the strangeness of the events.

_Julieta - _Almodovar's latest which is more in the style of _All About My Mother _than his last two films, it's not in the first class of Almodovar films but it's still really enjoyable. It also stars Emma Suarez who I loved in Julio Medem's early work but I've not seen in anything recently. Suarez plays the older version of the titular character who has had no contact with her daughter.

_Cafe Society_ - Latest Woody Allen, about a young new yorker who goes out to LA is on the periphery of the movie scene, gets his heart broken and goes back to NY. It's not plumbing the absolute depths that _Cassandra's Dream_ reached but it's absolutely forgettable, the most interesting thing about it is that it stars Ken Stott (who really does need to get more work) as a Jewish New Yorker, took me a while to recognise him. It's set in the 1930s and IMO looks rather horrible (horrible orangey light for lots of the LA scenes), I'm not sure whether Allen's done it on purpose or not but looks reminds me of some horrible 1930s theme night than the real 1930s. Also in respect to _Barry Lyndon _this is a perfect example of where narration doesn't work. Wouldn't bother with it.


----------



## 8den (Oct 30, 2016)

redsquirrel said:


> _Hunt for the Wilderpeople_ - the latest film from Taika Waititi (_Boy_ and _What We Do In The Shadows_, of which I know both Reno and butchersapron are fans). The plot has Sam Neill ending up the surrogate family for a kid (a bad egg) from care and both of them going on the run in the New Zealand bush. Some really funny moments as well as some nice shout out to classic films (I'm sure one scene is a call out to McCabe and Mrs Miller). Definitely worth going to see..



Utterly brilliant going to show it to my family over Christmas.


----------



## stdP (Oct 31, 2016)

Wanted to go and see _The Girl With All The Gifts_ or _Train To Busan_, but the missus has a flat-out ban on anything that looks even slightly horror-tinged. Thumb-twiddling' time until the DVD release I guess.

So we "compromised" and I was dragged into the mediocre _The Girl On The Train_. Apparently the book was a poor-man's Gone Girl (itself no great shakes) and the films seems to be in the same vein. Very plodding direction, precious little suspense and - crucially I felt - piss-poor character development that I couldn't really bring myself to care about any of them that much.

Have to congratulate Emily Blunt on another "is there any role she can't play?" performance though. Her depiction of someone with a crippling alcohol problem was pretty spot on, and even if the director didn't seem to care about her, she was the one person in the film that I managed to feel any sympathy for through the force of her performance. Justin Theroux as his short-back'n'smarm self was too obvious a choice of bad guy though even if I do find the guy hideously watchable.


----------



## belboid (Nov 7, 2016)

*American Honey *saw it a week so back, and if you can travel back in time to catch it at the pics, you really should. It's surprisingly tender, as we follow a young lass abandon her two little siblings with a mother who abandoned them earlier and runs off with a bunch of scally's selling shitty mags across America. In awe of a surprisingly good Shia LaBeouf she [Sasha Lane, also ace] gets into all kinds of risky situations, and you are sure it is all going to go horribly wrong. Most people are basically nice tho, even if looking after Number 1. Sassy and funny, well worth the watch.

*Doctor Strange *- Steve Ditko's classic brought to the big screen in a manner you'd have thought Mr D would have thoroughly approved of.  Quite ossibly the best Marvel adaptation to date, Cumberbund is quite marvellous as the Doctor, as is Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. Funny, good looking, proper spacey, great soundtrack, and the Dread Dormammu. What more could you want? Well, there's no 'by the hoary hosts of Hogoth' but that's about it


----------



## redsquirrel (Nov 9, 2016)

_The Neon Demon - _Agree with Sue's and Reno's comments, style can't make up the absolute absence of substance. _Drive_ was great and while I didn't like _Only God Forgives_ and thought it was massively overrated, there was at least something there. This is just crap, even the usually interesting Jena Malone is pretty rubbish in this, though that's as much to do with the role as anything. Don't bother with it.

_Captain Fantastic _- like belboid says it's not a great film, bits of it are absolute nonsense and the overall trajectory is pretty obvious from the start but there are a lot of very funny moments and as long as you give your sense of disbelief some leeway then it's a really enjoyable ride. Sarja is my favourite.

_Hell or Highwater - _I'm a western fan and so was looking forward to this and it didn't disappoint. Set up has two brothers robbing the bank that their mother's farm is mortgaged to. I particularly liked the shift from the almost comic tone of the initial robberies to the truely awful repercussions of what their actions have entailed, which was done very naturally and not in a heavy-handed manner. Chris Pine and Ben Foster are very good as the brothers, the character Jeff Bridges plays is laid on a little thick but that's a minor quibble in a very good film.
_
Elle - _Paul Verhoeven's latest, which has Isabelle Huppert in the lead. The film starts of with her rape in her home and then looks at her actions in response to it, as well as going back into her past and family dynamics. A really interesting film, much less exploitative than the plot summary and Verhoeven's name might suggest. As usual Huppert is top notch playing a complex character you who both sympathise with and yet dislike at times. I won't say much more as I think it will give things away which you are better off coming to 'cold' but definitely recommended. 

Also a Polanski season has started at the ACMI, so saw two of his, neither of which I've seen previously.

_Knife in the Water - _absolutely wonderful. I wasn't super excited about this, instead more looking forward to _Repulsion_ but it really blew me away. Nothing wasted, just really simple but taut from start to finish.

_Repulsion_ - Probably a bit unfortunate that I saw this after _Elle_ and _Knife in the Water_, as after two really good films this had a lot to live up to and in comparison to the two previous films during which I was gripped from start to finish at times this felt to drag a bit (I could have just been a bit tired too). Despite that there are some wonderfully creepy moments in there.

BTW Sue  I've just finished reading _Sunset Song, _really, really enjoyed it. While the film is obviously made by someone who loves the book and has the best of intentions it really doesn't do it justice. Now got to get the sequels from the library.


----------



## DexterTCN (Nov 10, 2016)

Dr Strange.  The story is run of the mill Marvel, nothing exceptional.  The humour is good, Mikkleson, Swinton and Cumby (he's basically playing House) rock their parts although working with comic book plots.  

But the visual effects....I've never seen any film with that amount of work or imagination.  If you see it check out the amount of people involved in making the visual/digital/cgi effects.

For what it is it's very good.


----------



## DJWrongspeed (Nov 18, 2016)

Not been at the cinema much recently. Nocturnal Animals got such great reviews I had to see it. Really enjoyed Tom Ford's Single Man.

Defo worth checking. The piss take of the art scene is brilliant. The main plot line is pretty harrowing.


----------



## Sue (Nov 21, 2016)

Glad you liked Sunset Song redsquirrel.

I've been to see a few films in the French Noir season at the BFI.

Le Dernier Tournant. The first film adaptation of The Postman Only Rings Twice. Really liked it but it's apparently little known as it was made in 1939 and suppressed during the Occupation as the director was Jewish. Post-war, one of the actors was found to have collaborated and the father of the female lead was executed for collaborating so imagine it wasn't the most popular film in town.

Touchez Pas Au Grisbi -- Jean Gabin plays a world weary gangster who pulls one last job. What could possibly go wrong...

Rififi. Hadn't seen this on the big screen before -- looks great.

Also A Raisin in the Sun with a young Sidney Poitier playing a father struggling to get by. Very of its time (early 60s). with the male characters without exception sexist and weak. The female characters are much more interesting. Some interesting bits but too long and felt liked the film of a play (which it was).


----------



## Kesher (Dec 2, 2016)

DJWrongspeed said:


> Not been at the cinema much recently. Nocturnal Animals got such great reviews I had to see it. Really enjoyed Tom Ford's Single Man.
> 
> Defo worth checking. The piss take of the art scene is brilliant. The main plot line is pretty harrowing.




Michael Shannon is  great in this: Good film


----------



## chilango (Dec 2, 2016)

Trolls

It wasn't that bad. Fun enough.

Can you spot a pattern in the films I've seen?

Banff Mountain Film Festival aside! 

I also went to the Ocean Film Festival. Not as good. But still a good night out.


----------



## Kesher (Dec 2, 2016)

*Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*
I had a hard time trying to stay awake watching this. Too long as well.


----------



## Kesher (Dec 2, 2016)

chilango said:


> Trolls
> 
> It wasn't that bad. Fun enough.
> 
> ...



How much Justin Timberlake	would I have to suffer If I went see Trolls ?


----------



## chilango (Dec 2, 2016)

Kesher said:


> How much Justin Timberlake	would I have to suffer If I went see Trolls ?



He's the lead. Plus his music. But it was kinda fitting.

There was a great snippet of a Gorrilaz track that made me chuckle.


----------



## Kesher (Dec 4, 2016)

*Allied*

Excellent consideration given  to period detail in this World War 2 espionage, romantic drama. Interesting story as well.


----------



## Hellsbells (Dec 4, 2016)

Kesher said:


> *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*
> I had a hard time trying to stay awake watching this. Too long as well.


Both me and my friend fell asleep half way through


----------



## Kesher (Dec 12, 2016)

*The Birth of a Nation
*
Set in the Antebellum South and based on a True Story about a slave rebellion led by a literate, slave preacher. Be warned  there is a scene which is graphically, brutal and   centres around two shackled slaves who are on hunger strike and what their owner does to one of them. Overall a film worth seeing.


----------



## Kesher (Dec 16, 2016)

*Snowden
*
His story well told:  lets you realise how he came to his life changing decision and what he gave up. Worth seeing


----------



## Dr. Furface (Dec 16, 2016)

Kesher said:


> *Snowden
> *
> His story well told:  lets you realise how he came to his life changing decision and what he gave up. Worth seeing


Yes, and a more engaging film that Citizen Four was too - that was a remarkable and important film, but this one gives you, literally, 'the bigger picture'. Best Oliver Stone film for a long time.


----------



## marty21 (Dec 22, 2016)

Haven't been to the cinema in over a year ! Went tonight to a new Hackney cinema , The Castle Cinema on Brooksby Walk to see ;

It's a Wonderful Life.


----------



## Kesher (Dec 23, 2016)

*Passengers
*
Good film


----------



## Shirl (Dec 23, 2016)

I know I should go to the cinema more often but I can't sit still for long and find myself getting restless. This year I managed one film  The Lady in the Van. It was good though


----------



## redsquirrel (Dec 31, 2016)

Just in before the end the year and the new thread.

So more of the Polanski season first

_Chinatown - _However many times I see this I still love it, easily Polanski's best, wonderful in just about every possible way. This time I saw it with two people who hadn't seen it before and they both loved it too. Just great.

_Frantic_ - Harrison Ford has his wife kidnapped in Paris and seeks the help of Emmanuelle Seigner to get her back. Not my favourite Polanski TBH, I think the first half, without Seigner, drags, things get a lot better once Seigner turns up, even so probably the beginning of the decline.

_Bitter Moon_ - Hugh Grant and Kristen Scott-Thomas are an English couple on a cruise hoping to add to spice back to their marriage, though not the type Emmanuelle Seigner and Peter Coyote are interested in. While not a patch on his early work this is one of the few modern Polanski's that I think has something of that classic touch about it. It's utterly mad in bits but it has that edge of danger and cruelty that makes Polanski's films, and has been lacking from his recent work.


_American Honey_ - Andrea Arnold's latest, and first US, film, very good. As belboid say's Shia LeBeouf and Sasha Lane are both excellent and Riley Keough is in it also. It's a long film (2 1/2 hours) but I didn't really feel it. Arnold also manages to keep the film working through to the end, something that was lacking in _Red Road _and _Fish Tank_, which started very promisingly and then faltered in the final third.

_Nocturnal Animals_ - Tom Ford's (_A Single Man_) second film. It's a story within a story piece, with Amy Adams reading the book her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal) has dedicated to her, a violent story about a man (Gyllenhaal again) having his wife and daughter kidnapped and killed. Ford has obviously gone over everything with a fine tooth comb many, many times and maybe that's the reason that while all the individual pieces are very well done the final result felt like a little less than the sum of the parts. Despite that there's more than enough there to make it a worth while watch, in particular, Adams is in absolutely cracking form. 

_I, Daniel Blake_ - Guess everyone knows what this is about and it's been discussed plenty on the other thread. It's not Loach's best work, and like so many of Laverty's has poor ending but as with even Loach's weaker films there are parts that are just great and make it worth watching. Dave Johns is solid but Hayley Squires is the standout talent for me.

_The Founder_ - Bio-pic of Ray Kroc (played by Michael Keaton) the "founder" of McDonalds, it's by the Weinstein's and like many of their movies all feels a bit by the numbers. Not worth a trip to the cinema really.

_A United Kingdom_ - Another bio-pic, this time about Seretse Kharma (Prince and first President of what is now Botswana) and his wife Ruth Williams and the reaction to their marriage. It's directed by Amma Asante and is very solid, the real strength of the film is in it's two leads, David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike who make the film engaging. Also has a brief cameo from Nicholas Lyndhurst and set in 50s Britain gave the bizarre feeling that _Goodnight_ _Sweetheart_ had somehow invaded the film.


Lastly and finishing on a very, very high note

_La La Land_ - Absolutely bloody brilliant. I can't be the only urbanite to have seen this surely? The first five minutes with the opening song set my teeth on edge but it was an absolute pleasure from that point until the end. Emma Stone is excellent, really drawing you into her character and Ryan Gosling is good too. Besides the opening song the musical numbers are thankfully without any type of _ironic_ wink, wink, nudge, nudge crap that makes most modern musicals absolutely unbearable to me. It's been put together by someone who understands and likes classical musicals and is incalculably better for it. Loved it and totally recommend it to anyone.


----------



## Casual Observer (Jan 3, 2017)

I'm cheating as I didn't watch any of these films at the cinema but 2016 seems to have been a great year for film. My favourites and verdicts are as follows:

Anomalisa - knockout

A Bigger Splash - knockout

Little Men - good

Weiner - knockout

Victoria - good (the German heist film, not the US divorced lawyer rubbish)

Nocturnal Animals - quite good

Hell or High Water - absolute knockout

Honourable mentions also to Sausage Party (particularly enjoyed the potato scene) and Everybody Wants Some!! Maybe half an honourable mention for High Rise too.


----------



## belboid (Jan 3, 2017)

I finished off the year with Gimme Danger, the excellent Jarmusch documentary on Iggy

A lot of it was very familiar from the South Bank Show a couple of years back, but it was still excellently done, some great footage, and cracking cartoons.


----------



## Callie (Jan 3, 2017)

[





Kesher said:


> *Passengers
> *
> Good film


Really? I thought it would as poop! Shite plot, thought it had potential for suspense! Disaster! Edge of your seat stuff! It was a lame duck and I found myself just wanting them 



Spoiler: Too spoily



to die!


----------



## Orang Utan (Jan 3, 2017)

Callie said:


> [
> Really? I thought it would as poop! Shite plot, thought it had potential for suspense! Disaster! Edge of your seat stuff! It was a lame duck and I found myself just wanting them
> 
> 
> ...


bit stalkery too. a lot stalkery. Hollywood condones creepy stalking on spaceships


----------



## Callie (Jan 3, 2017)

Orang Utan said:


> bit stalkery too. a lot stalkery. Hollywood condones creepy stalking on spaceships


Yes that too, that may have even been a better angle to focus on but no, 



Spoiler



they lived happily ever after....unless they went batshit after that...that might have been good[\SPOILER]


----------



## Callie (Jan 3, 2017)

I hate spoiler code thing, I always manage to break it


----------



## redsquirrel (Jan 5, 2017)

I guess the best things I saw were probably classics, I watched _McCabe and Mrs Miller, Barry Lyndon _and _Tokyo Story_ for the first time, all of which lived up to their reputations.

Just considering new releases then I think my joint top are probably _Embrace the Serpent_, _Once More Time With Feeling_ and _La La Land._ All of which stayed with me long after I left the cinema.


----------



## Sue (Jan 6, 2017)

Seen a few from Arrival (thought it was pretty good, if a bit cheesy at the end) to Paterson (low key and a bit dull) and quite a few old films (Blue Velvet, McCabe & Mrs Miller, some French noir). Been away/busy so there're a few things I'm going to try and catch up with over the next week or two.

Looking forward to La La Land which opens next week I think.

We haven't had the traditional top films of the year thread yet...


----------



## chandlerp (Jan 6, 2017)

Anyone starting a new thread?


----------



## Sue (Jan 6, 2017)

chandlerp said:


> Anyone starting a new thread?


For 2017? If so, there's one already.


----------

