# List the films you've seen at the cinema: 2019



## colacubes (Jan 1, 2019)

Well someone has to start it 

1. The Favourite. Weird, wonderful and some absolutely extraordinary performances from the female leads. If Olivia Coleman doesn’t get an Oscar nod I’ll be amazed. Any film that uses the word “cuntstruck” in the dialogue is obvs going to be great, but the stylistic cinematography, and the funny but deeply touching performances were just fabulous


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## Orang Utan (Jan 1, 2019)

*HIs Girl Friday*
Fast talking screwball comedy about a newspaper editor plotting to keep his chief reporter (and ex) from leaving by getting her involved in a story involving a wrongly convicted man facing the death penalty and the dark forces of establishment and media corruption. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell shine as the reporters who are as corrupt and opportunistic as the government officials and politicians they're supposed to be exposing. The rest of the cast are equally good, especially John Qualen as the accused. There's so much rapid dialogue that it's hard to keep up with, so all the better for seeing at the cinema. 5 ruthless shitheels out of 5


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## Steel Icarus (Jan 1, 2019)

Beaten to it by 2 mins.


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## Mrs Miggins (Jan 1, 2019)

Amazing costumes too. Rachel Weiz's outdoor outfits....oh my!


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## Orang Utan (Jan 1, 2019)

Sorry, I'm starting the new year as I mean to go on - immersed in films!


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## twentythreedom (Jan 1, 2019)

You've been to the cinema already??

Good effort


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## Mrs Miggins (Jan 1, 2019)

Sounds like you've got an amazing cinema nearby. I'm very jealous.


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## colacubes (Jan 1, 2019)

twentythreedom said:


> You've been to the cinema already??
> 
> Good effort


Proper bank holiday activity  Went on my own and treated myself to a glass of wine and a small salted popcorn #livingthedream


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## Orang Utan (Jan 1, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Sounds like you've got an amazing cinema nearby. I'm very jealous.


I have - though it beats me why I've been living here for two years and hadn't visited it until last October. I'm making up for it now though!


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## colacubes (Jan 1, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Amazing costumes too. Rachel Weiz's outdoor outfits....oh my!


Innit. I really loved how there was a sense of gender play in some of her outfits which worked well with the overall theme


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## Mrs Miggins (Jan 1, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> I have - though it beats me why I've been living here for two years and hadn't visited it until last October. I'm making up for it now though!


I'd love somewhere nearby that showed the current more interesting films and old classics. Yes, I could go to the NFT and the ICA more but it would be great to have it within walking distance or a short bus ride from my home. And everything seems to be on at like 9pm these days and that's just too late for me now I'm a miserable old fart.


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## Orang Utan (Jan 1, 2019)

(has anyone seen both His Girl Friday and The Hudsucker Proxy? The former must have been a huge influence on the latter)


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## Orang Utan (Jan 1, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> I'd love somewhere nearby that showed the current more interesting films and old classics.


Only £5.50 in too. 
It's also the only remaining gas-lit cinema in the country!


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## Mrs Miggins (Jan 1, 2019)

Maybe I should move to Leeds


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## Reno (Jan 1, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> (has anyone seen both His Girl Friday and The Hudsucker Proxy? The former must have been a huge influence on the latter)


Jennifer Jason Lee‘s performance is definitely modelled on Rosalind Russell‘s.


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## Orang Utan (Jan 1, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Maybe I should move to Leeds


Everyone should move to Leeds


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## Mrs Miggins (Jan 1, 2019)

colacubes said:


> Innit. I really loved how there was a sense of gender play in some of her outfits which worked well with the overall theme


Indeed. And also with the men's costumes which were more elaborate than the women's. Those wigs!

I loved eveything about that film. I may be going to see it again at some point this week.


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## colacubes (Jan 1, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Indeed. And also with the men's costumes which were more elaborate than the women's. Those wigs!
> 
> I loved eveything about that film. I may be going to see it again at some point this week.



I’d be tempted to watch it again tbh. It was so rich that I suspect I’ve missed some details.


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## colacubes (Jan 1, 2019)

Oi:  

List the films you've seen at the cinema: 2019


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## colacubes (Jan 1, 2019)

editor FridgeMagnet aqua Can one of you merge please?


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## Orang Utan (Jan 1, 2019)

colacubes said:


> Oi:
> 
> List the films you've seen at the cinema: 2019


I reported my post, so hopefully a mod will merge soon. Sorry, you posted yours while I was typing mine.


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## colacubes (Jan 1, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> I reported my post, so hopefully a mod will merge soon. Sorry, you posted yours while I was typing mine.


It’s fine  Just being needlessly outraged for the lols


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 1, 2019)

I’ll merge them. I’m not moving to Leeds though.


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## moonsi til (Jan 1, 2019)

I went to see Spiderverse at 10.30am this morning on my own. I enjoyed it & laughed often. Likely to see The Favourite next.

I go to Cineworld as I have a unlimited card.


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## Sue (Jan 1, 2019)

An Ordinary Man. Ben Kingsley (with Yorkshire accent) plays a war criminal in hiding in the former Yugoslavia. Kingsley overdoes it a bit, nothing really happens and it's very hard to care about the main characters so pretty meh all round.

Wouldn't normally have gone to see this -- and didn't when it came out some in the UK some time ago -- but it's just opened where I am now and there are very few English language films on so...(My Spanish isn't good enough yet for Spanish language films).


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## Yuwipi Woman (Jan 3, 2019)

Just saw the New Mary Poppins movie.  It really does mesh well with the original, complete with one actor's bad attempt at an accent.  Dick Van Dyke, in his 90s, can still dance the toes off anyone around. (He wasn't the one with the bad accent this time).


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## Orang Utan (Jan 3, 2019)

Dick Van Dyke was the best thing in it by far.


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## A380 (Jan 4, 2019)

With my unlimited card - Mary Poppins returns- I thought is caught some of the spirit of the original and I liked it. Pity Julie Andrews didn't take the cameo that was obvious written for her that Angela Lansbury did. (A bit like the Albert Finney /Sean Connery role in Skyfall.)

The Favourite - Agree with everything written so far, great to have a film where the three leads are women. It's beautifully shot too.


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## Orang Utan (Jan 12, 2019)

*The Favourite *
Giddily surreal but hilarious period comedy from Greek weirdwave director Yorgos Lanthimos. Brilliant performances from the three leads and some cracking dialogue - 'let's shoot something!' Lots has been said about Coleman, Weisz and Stone's characters, but the male characters in this a great source of comedy - popinjays in ridiculous wigs and more makeup than the female characters. Loved the soundtrack too, apart from the Elton John song at the end. 
 One of the best acting credits too: Nude Pomegranate Tory and Wanking Man, almost beating my all time favourite, Threads' Woman Who Urinates On Self
4 rabbits out of 5


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## Orang Utan (Jan 12, 2019)

*Three Identical Strangers*
Fascinating documentary about identical triplets who discovered each other as adults, having been separated at birth. The initial story is unbelievable in itself, but when you find out why they were separated, in the skilfully constructed narrative, it's flabbergasting and enraging, but also thought-provoking on the perpetual nature/nurture debate. 4 amoral psychologists out of 5


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## blossie33 (Jan 12, 2019)

Saw Three Identical Strangers end of last year, very interesting.

This year I've seen these, all documentaries;
Faces, Places - Agnes Varda and JR
RBG - film about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg
California Typewriter
Free Solo


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## hash tag (Jan 12, 2019)

Stan and Ollie. Superb. Some cracking performances in a great film


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## Nanker Phelge (Jan 13, 2019)

Stan & Ollie - I really enjoyed it. I posted more here: 

Laurel And Hardy Movie (2018)


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## belboid (Jan 13, 2019)

Fanny Lyndon

Better known as The Favourite. I had feared there’d be too much of St Olivia being all goofy and wacky. But no! The whole thing is a delight from start to finish. Coleman’s performance is far more nuanced than the trailers suggest, Rachel Weisz continues showing just how magnificent she is, and Emma Stone has these moments, a single glance or grimace, that shatter her country naïf image. Nicholas Hoult clearly has lots of fun as the leader of the opposition too. Throw in ducks, a truly bizarre dance, magnificent cinematography and a sharp, snappy script and you’ve got a just brilliant film.

We left that and went straight into Collette, which was probably a mistake. Historical biopic by numbers (notably, 3, 6 & 9), its all perfectly fine. Knightley is good, her best role for years, West and everyone else are fine, the script’s okay and the whole thing looks lovely. The tale it tells is, fortunately, interesting enough for us not to be too bothered about the unoriginality of the film making.


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## Mrs Miggins (Jan 13, 2019)

The dance in The Favourite is hilariously brilliant yes


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## Orang Utan (Jan 13, 2019)

18th century krumping!


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## Pickman's model (Jan 14, 2019)

i did notice one 'ok' had slipped into the eighteenth century conversation in 'the favourite'

otherwise excellent


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## Orang Utan (Jan 18, 2019)

Colette
Fun but melodramatic biopic with Knightley and West surprisingly convincing in their roles. A bit overwrought and hard to take seriously. 3 Claudine bobs out of 5


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## Mrs Miggins (Jan 18, 2019)

Pickman's model said:


> i did notice one 'ok' had slipped into the eighteenth century conversation in 'the favourite'
> 
> otherwise excellent


It's not a film that's meant to be historically accurate. But you know that.


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## Pickman's model (Jan 18, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> It's not a film that's meant to be historically accurate. But you know that.


there is nonetheless much which is historically accurate in it


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## Mrs Miggins (Jan 18, 2019)

Pickman's model said:


> there is nonetheless much which is historically accurate in it


Did Queen Anne really replace all her lost children with bunnies? I seem to remember hearing/reading that she did indeed lose a lot of children.


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## belboid (Jan 18, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Did Queen Anne really replace all her lost children with bunnies? I seem to remember hearing/reading that she did indeed lose a lot of children.


She really did lose 17 children.  She didn't replace them with bunnies.


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## Mrs Miggins (Jan 18, 2019)

belboid said:


> She really did lose 17 children.  She didn't replace them with bunnies.


Poor woman. Its so tragic.


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## Pickman's model (Jan 18, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Did Queen Anne really replace all her lost children with bunnies? I seem to remember hearing/reading that she did indeed lose a lot of children.


She did chuck her favourite and replace her with abigail hill, who married masham


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## Orang Utan (Jan 18, 2019)

First Reformed
Compelling and provocative Paul Schrader film starring Ethan Hawke (should win Oscar for best frowning) as a priest struggling with his faith. 
I was initially annoyed by a certain aspect of the plot but after sleeping on it and Wikiing up on religion, I realised it's in fact one of the film's strengths, and I just don't understand Christianity/faith.


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## Maltin (Jan 18, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> I was initially annoyed by a certain aspect of the plot but after sleeping on it and Wikiing up on religion, I realised it's in fact one of the film's strengths, and I just don't understand Christianity/faith.


Which part of the plot was this? 


Spoiler



Whether the ending was real or a vision?



I thought the film was good but can’t really describe it as enjoyable.


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## colacubes (Jan 19, 2019)

Stan & Ollie

Really lovely film about 2 men who had an incredible platonic love. The 2 leads are terrific and when they’re performing as Laurel & Hardy they’re just incredible. When offstage I somehow couldn’t relate to Steve Coogan as Stan, but that’s probably just me. John C Reilly is fab throughout and I loved the interplay between their wives. Also really refreshing to see a film that comes on at just over 90 minutes as that’s about my attention span


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## Orang Utan (Jan 19, 2019)

I saw this last night too and also really enjoyed it. Was a bit trepidatious, as John C Reilly's prosthetics broke the cinematic spell initially, but the performances are so good that those qualms soon disappeared. Nina Ariande and Shirley Henderson deserve as many accolades as Reilly and Coogan, and get some of the best lines in it. I loved Coogan as Partridge but had not previously rated his other acting roles, so was very impressed by him here. I found all of the stage scenes to be very moving, just from seeing the interaction of the leads, but also out of sheer nostalgia as i was so familiar with their classic work. Absolutely loved this.


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## belboid (Jan 23, 2019)

*Mary, Queen of Scots*

Another re-telling of the famous tale from the beginnings of the British empire. It's a well trod path, and there is little, if anything, new here, but it is well done. Scotland looks gorgeous, Saoirse Ronan and, particularly, Margot Robbie were excellent, as were all the women. There were, perhaps, too many interchangeable men, whose motivations were not made particularly clear (beyond 'they all want power' which is probably enough, I suppose), David Tennant was clearly having fun though. 

It's let down a bit by the ending, a scene, obviously fictitious, when Mary & Elizabeth finally meet (it's in the trailers, so that aint a spoiler!), is too stagey and pretentiously shot, and it the conversation isn't particularly convincing. At one level, I like how Josie Rourke has made it into a fight of two queens against 'their' men, but, on another level, it's just not historically true. A good sit down with the two Queens wouldn't have got it all sorted out earlier and bloodlessly, and Elizabeth certainly would never accept a Catholic monarch for England. And Mary wouldn't have accepted that.

Still, quibbles aside, it's a worthwhile couple of hours in the cinema.


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## Orang Utan (Jan 23, 2019)

Bohemian Rhapsody 
It has its moments, i suppose, but it has some terrible moments in it too. Not much different from those pisspoor American tv biopics on rock bands (check out the Jimi Hendrix and Def Leppard's biopics on YouTube). 
Just wanted to see the real Mercury tbh. 
That Live Aid gig was a masterclass in audience interaction, but they made a meal out of it. And it struck me how arrogant the band were for playing a song like We Are The Champions (of the world) at a concert to raise funds for famine relief. 
Would have liked to have seen a more critical bio than this one, but that was never going to happen with the band's involvement. It all feels very dishonest though.


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## Nanker Phelge (Jan 24, 2019)

Glass - a dreadful mess.


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## Guineveretoo (Jan 24, 2019)

I loved The Favourite, although it was much bleaker than I was expecting. As others have said - the three leads were magnificent. 

I also really enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody, although it didn’t have as much singing in it as I had hoped. 

Both films were at the new Everyman in Crystal Palace. I’m so excited to have a local cinema again (although it’s crazily expensive - even the day time pensioner special was £9.60!).


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## Nanker Phelge (Jan 26, 2019)

Destroyer - Nicole Kidman goes all bad lieutenant, bad hair, bad skin and bad teeth in a grim L.A crime drama that offers no joy whatsoever. If you like your films full of misery, hopelessness, violence and uncompromising anti-heroes, then this is the 2 hours for you. I'm not quite sure if I enjoyed it or not.

Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse - An animated funfair ride full of colour, thrills, spills and multiple spidey-folk taking on some classic spider baddies. Full of laughs, action and all the heart tugging character arcs a good Spider-Man story needs. None of that recent Marvel end of days rubbish going on here.

I miss having a child to take to the picture. Being the only lone adult in a cinema full of families felt a bit odd.


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## Orang Utan (Jan 27, 2019)

An Impossible Love 
Agonising and extremely French drama about a toxic romantic relationship between a country girl and a cultured Parisian boy whose cruelty towards her and their daughter makes it difficult to believe in her unrequited love for him, that is, until the final reel, which kind of explains what was going on (maybe it was implied all along and I am just thick when it comes to romantic movies). Virginie Efira is very good at looking crestfallen and Jehnny Beth is excellent as her angry grown up daughter, though as aforementioned, I found it difficult to fathom Nils Shneider's character's appeal. 
4 Gallic frowns out of 5


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## Orang Utan (Jan 27, 2019)

Vice
One of those Oscar-baiting 'full six hours in make-up' movies. Deserves credits for make up I guess, but it's fanciful and tricksy imagining of Cheney's rise to power risks undermining its criticism of him by practising the same dishonest tricks as its subject and his croneys. I hope Bale doesn't win any awards here - find that kind of acting extremely annoying tbh.
2 weird prosthesises out of 5


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## Nanker Phelge (Jan 27, 2019)

Sorry to Bother You - A very funny, clever and surreal satire that almost runs out of steam and falls on its arse, but manages to keep it going until the end. Fun and thought provoking.


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## rekil (Jan 28, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Bohemian Rhapsody
> It has its moments, i suppose, but it has some terrible moments in it too. Not much different from those pisspoor American tv biopics on rock bands (check out the Jimi Hendrix and Def Leppard's biopics on YouTube).
> Just wanted to see the real Mercury tbh.
> That Live Aid gig was a masterclass in audience interaction, but they made a meal out of it. And it struck me how arrogant the band were for playing a song like We Are The Champions (of the world) at a concert to raise funds for famine relief.
> Would have liked to have seen a more critical bio than this one, but that was never going to happen with the band's involvement. It all feels very dishonest though.


No Bowie or Sun City and Rami Malek was shit, like a lobotomised seal with a mouth full of gravel. And the Simon Ferocious story was a tragic omission.


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## Nanker Phelge (Jan 29, 2019)

The Mule - Clint Eastwood has fun playing an octogenarian drug mule for the Mexican Cartel.

I enjoyed it. It's not going to win any awards. It's a Clint Eastwood fim.


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## Orang Utan (Jan 29, 2019)

Nanker Phelge said:


> The Mule - Clint Eastwood has fun playing an octogenarian drug mule for the Mexican Cartel.
> 
> I enjoyed it. It's not going to win any awards. It's a Clint Eastwood fim.


Does it contain racist growling like the last one he directed himself in?


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## Nanker Phelge (Jan 29, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Does it contain racist growling like the last one he directed himself in?



Ha ha....yes it does. He is playing an old racist man again.

He does get told by a nice black couple though.


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## cybershot (Jan 29, 2019)

The favourite
Weird. Loads of inaccuracies, which always winds me up. Americans will love it. Most of urban will love it. Me not so much. 
5/10

Others i’ve seen so far and not mentioned. 

Colette
Knightly and west are great. A decent enough telling of the true tale. 
6/10

The upside
Remake of untouchable. Hart is brilliant. Cranston is brilliant. Lots of laugh out loud moments and it’s generally a feel good film making you leave the cinema feeing exactly how you should feel when you leave the cinema. 
8/10

Stan & Ollie
Talked about it in its main thread. 
7/10

Green book and can you ever forgive me booked up.


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## Orang Utan (Jan 29, 2019)

cybershot the Favourite is not meant to be accurate,


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## cybershot (Jan 29, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> cybershot the Favourite is not meant to be accurate,



Film hardly ever is anyway. It just grindes my gears because people will come out assuming she was and she did have rabbits.


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## Orang Utan (Jan 29, 2019)

cybershot said:


> Film hardly ever is anyway. It just grindes my gears because people will come out assuming she was and she did have rabbits.


i doubt they will. it's not that kind of a film.


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## cybershot (Jan 29, 2019)

Just realised everything I’ve seen or about to see are ‘based on real events’


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## Orang Utan (Jan 29, 2019)

Many of the events in Stan & Ollie are completely fictional too btw. It remains a wonderful film though imo.


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## cybershot (Jan 29, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> i doubt they will



In an era of brexit and trump?


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## Orang Utan (Jan 29, 2019)

cybershot said:


> In an era of brexit and trump?


it's doesn't provide any historical context - there are no captions to set the scene - it just dives into the story which is self-contained within the film. it's a story about human relationships, it's not supposed to be telling you what actually happened. The dialogue alone is deliberately anachronistic. it doesn't set out to tell you what happened in the past.


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## RubyToogood (Jan 29, 2019)

Green Book. Even getting a free drink (some promotional thing) with this couldn't make me overlook its hokiness. It's scoring really highly on the tomatometer but I'm not sure why. It was a pleasant enough evening but too predictable and an oddly rose-tinted look at racism in the deep South. Basically Driving Miss Daisy in reverse.


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## Orang Utan (Jan 29, 2019)

RubyToogood said:


> Green Book. Even getting a free drink (some promotional thing) with this couldn't make me overlook its hokiness. It's scoring really highly on the tomatometer but I'm not sure why. It was a pleasant enough evening but too predictable and an oddly rose-tinted look at racism in the deep South. Basically Driving Miss Daisy in reverse.


i've read a lot about this that is putting me off the film.


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## Orang Utan (Jan 29, 2019)

RubyToogood said:


> Green Book. Even getting a free drink (some promotional thing) with this couldn't make me overlook its hokiness. It's scoring really highly on the tomatometer but I'm not sure why. It was a pleasant enough evening but too predictable and an oddly rose-tinted look at racism in the deep South. Basically Driving Miss Daisy in reverse.


saw this on social media recently:


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## The39thStep (Jan 29, 2019)

RubyToogood said:


> Green Book. Even getting a free drink (some promotional thing) with this couldn't make me overlook its hokiness. It's scoring really highly on the tomatometer but I'm not sure why. It was a pleasant enough evening but too predictable and an oddly rose-tinted look at racism in the deep South. Basically Driving Miss Daisy in reverse.


Why would you say its rose tinted ?


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## Orang Utan (Jan 29, 2019)

The39thStep said:


> Why would you say its rose tinted ?


have a look online for Don Shirley's family's reaction to the film. (Shirley is the character played by Mahershala Ali)


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## RubyToogood (Jan 29, 2019)

The39thStep said:


> Why would you say its rose tinted ?


Having read a couple of reviews now (which I should have done before I went rather than just glancing at the tomatometer score) others agree, calling it bland and regressive, a repetition of the white saviour narrative (which seems a completely fair assessment to me). It's a feel good movie that feels all wrong.


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## The39thStep (Jan 29, 2019)

I've read that and not impressed tbh. The film is based on the white guys sons account of what happened. What happens is that a racist  becomes less racist through his interaction with a snobbish black guy , snobbish black guy becomes less snobbish. They become friends. The only person ironically that thought his actions would fight/solve  racism were actually Shirley's.


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## Orang Utan (Jan 29, 2019)

gonna have to see this now and make my own mind up. i saw Bohemian Rhapsody after all.


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## The39thStep (Jan 29, 2019)

RubyToogood said:


> Having read a couple of reviews now (which I should have done before I went rather than just glancing at the tomatometer score) others agree, calling it bland and regressive, a repetition of the white saviour narrative (which seems a completely fair assessment to me). It's a feel good movie that feels all wrong.


Actually I dont think theres anything wrong in two prejudiced bonding and losing some of their prejudice.As for being a white saviour he was hired because he could handle himself and protect Shirley


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## RubyToogood (Jan 29, 2019)

Anyway. I just don't think it's a particularly good film. When they were about to set off on the road trip we were already quite far into the film and I had a moment of "oh god, do I really have to sit through a whole road trip now?"


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## The39thStep (Jan 29, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> gonna have to see this now and make my own mind up. i saw Bohemian Rhapsody after all.


It is a feel good film no doubt about it .I asked myself a simple question when I watched this after reading the Shirley family's comments .Was the outcome a good thing?


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## 8115 (Jan 29, 2019)

I haven't been to the cinema yet this year. I might go and see The Favourite if it's still on.


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## The39thStep (Jan 29, 2019)

RubyToogood said:


> Anyway. I just don't think it's a particularly good film. When they were about to set off on the road trip we were already quite far into the film and I had a moment of "oh god, do I really have to sit through a whole road trip now?"


Thats fair enough. I like road trip films .


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## cybershot (Jan 31, 2019)

Green book
Apparently written from the Vallelonga family aspect only (Although depending on what you read the directors did try to contact the Shirley family, so all the fallout from this is somewhat up in the air) so it's another 'true story' that has be taken with a pinch of salt. Yes it hits every white racist, changes view, southern American stereotype, road trip going, and if that's something that's going to bother you, avoid it. If however you want a film that's simply gives off a feel good friendship vibe, then go for it. 
7/10


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## bellaozzydog (Feb 1, 2019)

I watched split last week without realising it’s heritage.

The penny dropped and today I watched back to back Unbreakable, Split and went to cinema and watched Glass

At the end I fucking cried at the “profundity” of it. I have no idea what it all meant but it wobbles me

Perhaps three pints of rattler helped 

I may be depressed


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## bellaozzydog (Feb 1, 2019)

cybershot said:


> Green book
> Apparently written from the Vallelonga family aspect only (Although depending on what you read the directors did try to contact the Shirley family, so all the fallout from this is somewhat up in the air) so it's another 'true story' that has be taken with a pinch of salt. Yes it hits every white racist, changes view, southern American stereotype, road trip going, and if that's something that's going to bother you, avoid it. If however you want a film that's simply gives off a feel good friendship vibe, then go for it.
> 7/10



I watched this in non linear sections while in a gym in Norway over a period of three weeks.

Each time the acting engaged me despite not knowing where I was in the story 

However, it felt like it was hitting its stereotypes and it’s generic “opposites eventually find friendship and understanding” requirements 

Oscar fodder


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## DotCommunist (Feb 1, 2019)

Bits of green book felt ill judged. If I had to place one it'd be the 'I'm more black than you are' bit near the end which was clumsily talking about class and race but I dunno it felt off*. Not the whole film, it does work as a road film and the lucky rock payoff was one among a few good laughs.

* unnecessarily didactic in a film that had already made its point maybe?


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## Orang Utan (Feb 3, 2019)

Island Of The Hungry Ghosts
Enthralling documentary set on Christmas Island, off the coast of Australia. Three strands are interwoven, the main one being a psychotherapist interviewing refugees who are being detained there indefinitely. She hears harrowing stories of separation and suffering, to some personal cost. Meanwhile, a mass migration of red crabs from inland to the coast is being supervised with care by public employees, while Chinese residents burn offerings to their ancestors (the hungry ghosts of the title) who were early immigrants to the island. The analogies being made here may be obvious but it the message is telling and urgent. 5 inconvenient visitors out of 5.


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## bellaozzydog (Feb 3, 2019)

Watched unbreakable and split then went to cinema Friday and watched Glass.

Cracking, wasn’t disappointed, McAvoy continued with his 24 identities. Something I found a bit uncomfortable in split but he really nails it in Glass.

What does it all mean, fuck knows but I enjoyed it


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## hash tag (Feb 3, 2019)

Can you ever forgive me; true story of a not very likeable forger of letters played by Melissa McCarthy also with Richard E Grant and cat. A not very likeable woman in an interesting film. Good.


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## redsquirrel (Feb 3, 2019)

Nanker Phelge said:


> Destroyer - Nicole Kidman goes all bad lieutenant, bad hair, bad skin and bad teeth in a grim L.A crime drama that offers no joy whatsoever. If you like your films full of misery, hopelessness, violence and uncompromising anti-heroes, then this is the 2 hours for you. I'm not quite sure if I enjoyed it or not.


I really enjoyed it, thought it was very good film. 
Also disagree about _hopelessness_, the final scene between Erin and her daughter, and indeed Erin's final moments, are the opposite, for all the pain and hurt there _is_ a spark of hope.


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## Nanker Phelge (Feb 3, 2019)

redsquirrel said:


> I really enjoyed it, thought it was very good idea. Also disagree about _hopelessness_, the final scene between Erin and her daughter, and indeed Erin's final moments, are the opposite, for all the pain and hurt there _is_ a spark of hope.



Clearly you are a glass half full sorta person...


----------



## gaijingirl (Feb 3, 2019)

Saw Green Book this afternoon.  It was an enjoyable couple of hours.  Went by myself which I haven't done since I've had kids and remembered why I enjoy it so much.  It didn't feel particularly original or groundbreaking or anything and if I were to do a deeper analysis I'd probably agree with some of the criticism above.  However, I have had a pretty shit weekend and managed to forge a few hours out to just be by myself, nothing else was on that worked timing-wise and this filled the gap nicely.  It's that kind of film.


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Feb 3, 2019)

EDIT: Beaten to it


----------



## gosub (Feb 5, 2019)

Stan and Ollie  Liked, and v well done  but would still recommend - 

The Favorite  reminded me in a bad way of Tristram Shandy

The Green Book  Enjoyed, but would rather have seen a film about Nica Rothschild, which if thgey made now everyone would draw comparisons to   

Vice - Needed making


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## 8115 (Feb 5, 2019)

The Favourite. I really liked it. Olivia Coleman is incredible. I found it a very sad film.


----------



## Sue (Feb 8, 2019)

I've seen quite a lot of films recently but haven't seen any mention on here yet of Can You Ever Forgive Me? Tbh, I didn't know a great deal about it but had a free ticket so...

It's based on the true story of a writer who ends up forging letters 'from' famous literary figures, her forgeries actually being more interesting than the originals. (At one point, she says she's a better Dorothy Parker than Dorothy Parker.)

It's very funny and a bit sad and, unusually, the main character (played by Melissa McCarthy) is a pretty unpleasant person. Also unusual to see a film where the two main characters (Richard E Grant is the other) are older and gay (which isn't made a thing of, they just are) and which has such a sharp script. Highly recommended.


----------



## hash tag (Feb 8, 2019)

Two good, solid characters for leads in can I forgive you. Neither very likeable but good film


----------



## moonsi til (Feb 9, 2019)

I watched & thoroughly enjoyed Green Book. I knew nothing of it beforehand, just liked the sound of it. I did not feel any white saviour vibes from it. To me they changed each other.

I found it a gentile film with a little violence. I laughed lots & loved the car they road in.

I will now go read family reaction to film.


ETA: I have now read the statement issued by his family. They state quite a few inaccuracies including that they were never friends that Tony was just an employee who never taught Don about fried chicken & the film is from Tony’s perspective not Don’s.


----------



## Orang Utan (Feb 9, 2019)

The Raft
Fascinating documentary about an extremely dodgy 'scientific' experiment to examine the roots of violence, in which the scientist and ten volunteers floated across the Atlantic on a raft for three month. Everyone gets on, to the consternation of the scientist. The only hostility is towards him and his manipulations. Quite cheering in a way, gives me hope for humanity. 4 flawed methodologies out of 5


----------



## gosub (Feb 9, 2019)

moonsi til said:


> I watched & thoroughly enjoyed Green Book. I knew nothing of it beforehand, just liked the sound of it. I did not feel any white saviour vibes from it. To me they changed each other.
> 
> I found it a gentile film with a little violence. I laughed lots & loved the car they road in.
> 
> ...


Odd stance to take.. Has raised him from obscurity and re chicken he was there kids weren't


----------



## Orang Utan (Feb 9, 2019)

gosub said:


> Odd stance to take.. Has raised him from obscurity and re chicken he was there kids weren't


What?


----------



## Orang Utan (Feb 10, 2019)

Borderline. Experimental 1930 silent work by avant-garde art collective The Pool Group, starring Paul Robeson. Accompanied live with an improvised score by electronic artist Mr Wobblyhead and R&B singer M (which really enhanced the experience), this was certainly a challenge to watch as there a few intertitles and an incoherent narrative, leaving a lot to imaginative interpretation. Shown as part of LGBT History month, this film seems astonishingly ahead of its time, with its depiction of racism and interracial sexual relationships and for the presence of unapologeticallly queer characters. I shan't be watching it again, but I'm glad I watched it. 3 jealous lovers out of 5 *goes off to read up on it so he sound dead clever about it at a later date*


----------



## gaijingirl (Feb 10, 2019)

Can you ever forgive me?

So my aim this year is to watch more films and read more books and I'm doing pretty well on both fronts so far.

I really loved this film.  I thought Melissa McCarthy was amazing.  Having done so many films where she was the butt of the joke, I was really impressed with her in this film.  She felt totally believable to me and without wanting to give any of the plot away, there were points in the film where I was almost moved to tears by her character.  Although she is denounced as an unpleasant person by all around her, it's also hard not to feel sorry for her predicament and her own inability to form "normal" relationships - and for that reason her relationship with the Richard E. Grant character is very touching.  For me, one of the things about the film I like the most was the way New York was portrayed through the seasons. Little snippets here and there of views of a bridge or some flowers, or a street bench, or just some stairwells. I thought the supporting actors were very good too.  It was a slow moving film but one of those ones that I will think about for some time I imagine.

oh also I liked the music/sound.


----------



## cybershot (Feb 10, 2019)

Glass.

I enjoyed the more physiology part of the film, but the final act was a bit of a mess and dragged a bit. Wasn’t really how I wanted it to go and the twist if you can call it that was pretty rubbish. Oh mcavoy is superb again as Kevin etc.


----------



## DexterTCN (Feb 16, 2019)

I watched Alita: Battle Angel online the other night, the quality wasn't very good, the plot mostly predictable and the characters were pretty carboard cut-out.

However the action sequences were stunning, what I could see of them, especially a bar-room brawl and a rollerball type of thing.  So I'm going to see it today at the cinema.  Mehershela Ali, Jennifer Connelly, Christoph Waltz, Dario Naharis from GoT all get very little to do.  Produced by James Cameron and directed by Robert Rodriguez.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Feb 16, 2019)

gaijingirl said:


> Can you ever forgive me?
> 
> So my aim this year is to watch more films and read more books and I'm doing pretty well on both fronts so far.
> 
> ...


I watched this on the plane on Wednesday after your recommendation and loved it. It's a proper grown up movie about relationships and the kind of thing I haven't watched in a while.

Also loved seeing Allie from Kate & Allie as her agent. Took me ages to remember who she was.


----------



## Pickman's model (Feb 16, 2019)

Double indemnity, film noir starring Fred mcmurray, Edward g Robinson and Barbara stanwyck, from the novel of the same name, screenplay by Billy wilder and auld Ray chandler


----------



## belboid (Feb 17, 2019)

*If Beale Street Could Talk*

James Baldwin, via Barry Jenkins, tells a love story set in Harlem in the early seventies. I didn’t realise it was the seventies till later, the deprivation and racism still looking straight out of the fifties. The love story develops beautifully in flashback until about halfway through when we discover precisely why he is in prison. After which the daily acts and effects of racism come to the fore, equally beautifully shot and powerfully made.

There are a _lot_ of long, lingering, shots where the character just stares into the camera, almost asking us to stop for a moment and just think about what we’ve just seen. It’s very effective for a while, but is probably overused by the end, imo.

Marvellous score as well. Thoroughly deserved nominations for those awards too. Well worth seeing.


----------



## Maltin (Feb 17, 2019)

cybershot said:


> Just realised everything I’ve seen or about to see are ‘based on real events’


I was thinking about that with a lot of the films I have seen recently. Just saw Vice, which was very good and made me laugh with this disclaimer at the beginning:

“The following is a true story. Or as true as it can be given that Dick Cheney is known as one of the most secretive leaders in recent history. But we did our fucking best.”


----------



## Orang Utan (Feb 18, 2019)

Can You Ever Forgive Me?
A couple of unlikeable chancers with absolute carcrashes of lives conspire to make them even more unbearable through dishonesty and snark on the NY literary screen in the early 90s.
This shouldn't make anyone want to watch it, but Melissa Mccarthy and Richard E Grant do wonders by making such unattractive characters fascinating and even sympathetic by the end. 4 forged Dorothy Parker apologies out of 5. (one extra if you like manky cats)


----------



## Orang Utan (Feb 18, 2019)

belboid said:


> *If Beale Street Could Talk*
> 
> James Baldwin, via Barry Jenkins, tells a love story set in Harlem in the early seventies. I didn’t realise it was the seventies till later, the deprivation and racism still looking straight out of the fifties. The love story develops beautifully in flashback until about halfway through when we discover precisely why he is in prison. After which the daily acts and effects of racism come to the fore, equally beautifully shot and powerfully made.
> 
> ...


I saw this at the weekend and agree. Loved it. All these tiny little moments that have such deep resonance. Beautifully observed. Loved the score too.


----------



## Orang Utan (Feb 19, 2019)

1985
 
A young lad comes back to Texas from NY to tell his family who he is. He never quite manages it, but so much unsaid between them is understood anyway. 5 old family pets who receive the love the family can't show to each other out of 5


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## Sue (Feb 20, 2019)

If Beale Street Could Talk. Hmm. It had a lot to recommend it but, for some reason, it didn't really do it for me. The pace was a bit too slow and it felt less than the sum of its parts -- not quite sure why. Thought Moonlight was a much better film tbh.

Burning. Korean film based on a Murikami story. Boy meets girl meets mysterious Gatsbyesque boy. Thought it was excellent.


----------



## May Kasahara (Feb 20, 2019)

DexterTCN said:


> I watched Alita: Battle Angel online the other night, the quality wasn't very good, the plot mostly predictable and the characters were pretty carboard cut-out.
> 
> However the action sequences were stunning, what I could see of them, especially a bar-room brawl and a rollerball type of thing.  So I'm going to see it today at the cinema.  Mehershela Ali, Jennifer Connelly, Christoph Waltz, Dario Naharis from GoT all get very little to do.  Produced by James Cameron and directed by Robert Rodriguez.



I took my 10yo to see this (in 3D/DBOX) yesterday and enjoyed it much more than I was expecting. Ponderous characterisation but gorgeous to look at and brilliantly crunchy robot fighting action. Definitely one to see in senso-vision.

My son loved it


----------



## DexterTCN (Feb 20, 2019)

May Kasahara said:


> I took my 10yo to see this (in 3D/DBOX) yesterday and enjoyed it much more than I was expecting. Ponderous characterisation but gorgeous to look at and brilliantly crunchy robot fighting action. Definitely one to see in senso-vision.
> 
> My son loved it


Yes, very impressive on the big screen (but not a great film).  Those eyes!

Did you notice Edward Norton and Jai Courtney?


----------



## May Kasahara (Feb 20, 2019)

I did notice Norton. Don't know who Jai Courtney is


----------



## DexterTCN (Feb 20, 2019)

He was in Suicide Squad, Die Hard 4, the tv series Spartacus (as Varro).  He only appears for a few seconds, Norton was uncredited I think.


----------



## The39thStep (Feb 21, 2019)

This looks fantastic. It really does, it really does.


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Feb 23, 2019)

If Beale Street Could Talk - Beautifully crafted adaptation of the James Baldwin novel. A love story that reminds us that love alone won't conquer all.

This film takes its time, it lingers on character's faces and lets you look into their eyes and feel what they are feeling.

It could have stumbled in to mellow drama*, but never did.

*I meant melodrama


----------



## Reno (Feb 23, 2019)

Nanker Phelge said:


> If Beale Street Could Talk - Beautifully crafted adaptation of the James Baldwin novel. A love story that reminds us that love alone won't conquer all.
> 
> This film takes its time, it lingers on character's faces and lets you look into their eyes and feel what they are feeling.
> 
> It could have stumbled in to mellow drama, but never did.


I thought it was a "mellow drama". A melodrama it wasn't.


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Feb 23, 2019)

Reno said:


> I thought it was a "mellow drama". A melodrama it wasn't.



ah...yeah....I had just woken up when I wrote that...but you know what I mean...


----------



## Jeff Robinson (Feb 23, 2019)

belboid said:


> *If Beale Street Could Talk*
> 
> James Baldwin, via Barry Jenkins, tells a love story set in Harlem in the early seventies. I didn’t realise it was the seventies till later, the deprivation and racism still looking straight out of the fifties. The love story develops beautifully in flashback until about halfway through when we discover precisely why he is in prison. After which the daily acts and effects of racism come to the fore, equally beautifully shot and powerfully made.
> 
> ...



It does indeed deserve those nominations and more. It’s a shame that it didn’t get a nomination for best picture imo.


----------



## gaijingirl (Feb 24, 2019)

Fighting with my Family.  Everything you would expect from a Stephen Merchant film with Nick Frost in it - but actually better I thought it would be.  Based on a true story, it's a very sweet, somewhat formulaic feel-good film but I really enjoyed it.  I had felt it was rather cliched but by the end it became apparent that some of those cliches were indeed word for word true!  Don't want to say more because it will give too much away.  One to go and see when you need cheering up or just a good laugh.


----------



## Orang Utan (Feb 24, 2019)

Surprisingly good animated feature about Spiderman and his multiple personas in a multiverse. Very funny, warm and visually exciting and inventive - it looks like nothing I've ever seen and it has an inclusive and positive message for the kids. 4 Spider-Pigs out of 5


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## Orang Utan (Feb 24, 2019)

My enjoyment of this was tainted by what I read about the disquiet the family of Dr Shirley expressed about how this story was told and their lack of involvement in the film's gestation, as well as the past behaviours of both the director and one of the writers. Rather than punching precisely the right buttons, it just mashes the keyboard with its fist. It does have some very funny moments and a couple of moving ones but it's yet another one of those Oscar-baiting Hollywood movies that exist to make white liberals feel good about themselves.


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## gaijingirl (Feb 24, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> View attachment 162869
> Surprisingly good animated feature about Spiderman and his multiple personas in a multiverse. Very funny, warm and visually exciting and inventive - it looks like nothing I've ever seen and it has an inclusive and positive message for the kids. 4 Spider-Pigs out of 5



oh yes - I forgot this one.  We went to see it on my birthday with the kids.  NOT my choice and I was most unenthusiastic at the start!  However, we all loved it and the kids have since asked to go and see it again.  I agree with what you say about it being "visually exciting and inventive" - it was very clever.


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## Orang Utan (Feb 24, 2019)

Watership Down
Shown at The Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds as part of LGBT History month, to celebrate the work of score composer Angela Morley, a Leeds-born trans woman.
I hadn't seen this since I was a kid, but this is NOT a kid's film, as it's like Apocalypse Now for bunnies. It's so odd - part pagan fable, part critique of man's treatment of the natural world with some amazing animation, (which, surprisingly doesn't look as dated as you'd think) and some great voice acting from British theatrical luvvies. 
"They'll never rest until they've spoiled the earth" - quite a prescient message in this film. 
5 scary rabbit gods out of 5


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## Orang Utan (Feb 24, 2019)

Also scheduled today to watch at the beloved Hyde Park was Bergman: A Year In Pictures, Burning and a repeat viewing of If Beale Street Could Talk, but a new niece came along, so had to leave after the first film. But what genius programming is that? I fucking love that cinema. And it only cost £5.50 a film.


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## Orang Utan (Feb 24, 2019)

Anyone interested in the Green Book controversy should read this:
The Truth About Green Book


----------



## cybershot (Feb 25, 2019)

Instant Family
I'm in love with Rose Byrne so pretty much watch anything she's in. Mark Walberg also stars in this true story/comedy about a couple that foster 3 kids. It's a pretty standard affair for what to expect from this type of scenario, but of course it's a nice feel good film, that's worth a single watch, maybe not at the cinema unless of course you love Rose or Mark.
6/10


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## Throbbing Angel (Feb 25, 2019)

What should I go and see tomorrow?
Stan & Ollie or Beautiful Boy or The Favourite - all on at the same time locally.


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## Orang Utan (Feb 25, 2019)

Not Beautiful Boy. 
Stan & Ollie if you want to be cheered up and have your cockles warmed.
The Favourite is loads of fun though it's not for everyone


----------



## gaijingirl (Feb 26, 2019)

The Ponds - lovely, heartwarming documentary about Hampstead Ponds.  The audience was almost entirely lido and open water swimmers.  

Go if you want to be persuaded to go swimming outdoors and just want to share in the glow of happiness that open water swimming gives one.


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## Orang Utan (Feb 27, 2019)

The Lost Honour Of Katharina Blum
The first in a series of Margarethe Von Trotte films that have been remastered and represented with introductions by Von Trotte.
I knew nothing about the film or the director going in, so was grateful for the rather stilted introduction. It's about a young housekeeper for a liberal bourgeouis couple who goes to a party and meets a charismatic man who we know has been followed and filmed by the authorities. She spends the night with him and when she wakes up, he is gone but her flat is raided by armed cops and she's taken in for questioning. Here ensues a tale of persecution and calumny by the press colluding with the authorities. It's very of its time (why do even the new buildings in the 70s look grim and dilapidated?) and on the nose,  but it's very relevant now considering the media's behaviour these days and because of the continuing relevance of terrorism. I also enjoyed spotting the actors who've done other things. The lead, Angela Winkler, is one of the witches in the recent Suspiria remake, the terrorist is Jurgen Prochnow from Das Boot and Dune, and the oily creep tabloid journalist who wrecks Blum's life is played by Dieter Laser, who's the mad scientist in The Human Centiped (you wouldn't have thought it, but he was quite pretty when he was young)


----------



## Sue (Feb 27, 2019)

The Passenger. For some reason, I'd never seen this all the way through before. Great film and very of its time -- it's also easy to forget just how many excellent films Jack Nicholson's been in.

The City Without Jews. An Austrian 1924 silent that was thought lost until recently -- a heavily edited version without the ending was found in the 90s in Amsterdam (likely the version that was last shown there in 1933) and a French version was then found in a Parisian flea market in 2015 and they managed to piece the film together from these sources. (The woman in charge of the restoration did an intro explaining all this -- find this kind of stuff fascinating.)

Anyway, the film's based on a 1922 novel. In Vienna (re-titled Utopia in the film), the people are hungry due to hyper-inflation and speculators taking advantage of the collapsing economy. They start to blame the Jews and the anti-Semitic chancellor -- who's also in hawk to a rich, American anti-Semite -- expels all Jewish people, including children of 'mixed' marriages. It has unexpected and negative consequences on society and the happy ending -- different from the novel apparently -- is that the Jews are re-admitted to the city and harmony is restored.

Very interesting in a historical sense -- if the politics are kind of simplistic -- for its depiction of Jewish life between the wars and of course prescience. The author of the original book was killed by a Nazi shortly after the film came out (presumably the party was still banned at that point) and the actor playing the main Jewish character later joined the Nazi Party and performed at Auschwitz. Was a one-off screening I think but worth catching if you get the chance (and like silent films).


----------



## co-op (Feb 27, 2019)

belboid said:


> *If Beale Street Could Talk*
> 
> James Baldwin, via Barry Jenkins, tells a love story set in Harlem in the early seventies. I didn’t realise it was the seventies till later, the deprivation and racism still looking straight out of the fifties. The love story develops beautifully in flashback until about halfway through when we discover precisely why he is in prison. After which the daily acts and effects of racism come to the fore, equally beautifully shot and powerfully made.
> 
> ...



Got to be honest I thought this film was boring, predictable and some of the scenes were just absurd (the father's mate punching out his holy-roller wife in front of the other family when they were over for tea, just felt completely unconvincing to me).

Same director as the (to me) brilliant Moonlight, but I think he came over with a bad attack of over-reverence for a Great Author here. Couldn't get the point of this film at all and damn it was slow and long.


----------



## Orang Utan (Feb 27, 2019)

I watched it again tonight. Can't see why people think it's slow. It's full of incident abd everything is so rich in detail. I never rewatch films, yet felt compelled to see this again


----------



## Orang Utan (Feb 27, 2019)

Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
A concert film made by Lance Bangs of the band playing a Don't Look Back gig of their album Daydream Nation. It was an exhilarating nostalgia fest of perhaps limited appeal, but the audience loved it and it was an emotional experience to watch it in a venue (Hyde Park) that I have similar warm nostalgic fuzzy feelings about. It was also preceded by some shitty old footage of them performing songs from it when it came out in 1988, but the real bonus was a 35 minute portion of a film by Charles Atlas called Put Blood In The Music, about the New York No Wave Noise scene. It mostly talking heads (not Talking Heads) of NY scenesters on a green screen filled out by New York street scenes, with lots of wacky 90s video effects that grate occasionally, but with some great footage of a young Sonic Youth goofing around hilariously while the like of Glenn Branca and John Cale get all deep and serious. Bangs and Shelley were there to introduce the films and talk about the album and they were charming and illuminating with many anecdotes . It was great to see some teenagers there getting into it, not just a bunch of 40 something blokes.


----------



## cybershot (Mar 3, 2019)

Watched the original Alien (it's out this weekend for it's 40th anniversary) last night at the cinema on a massive screen at cineworld. Screen was practically full. It was great seeing it on such a huge screen and with something you’ve seen countless times you do spot a few things, mostly scenery that you hadn’t seen before.

I think it’s on until Tuesday/Wednesday at most cinema chains. Even if you’ve seen it countless times. It’s worth it.


----------



## 5t3IIa (Mar 3, 2019)

cybershot said:


> Watched the original Alien (it's out this weekend for it's 40th anniversary) last night at the cinema on a massive screen at cineworld. Screen was practically full. It was great seeing it on such a huge screen and with something you’ve seen countless times you do spot a few things, mostly scenery that you hadn’t seen before.
> 
> I think it’s on until Tuesday/Wednesday at most cinema chains. Even if you’ve seen it countless times. It’s worth it.


Going to see this tonight at Leeds Vue  Can’t wait


----------



## redsquirrel (Mar 3, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> View attachment 163198
> The Lost Honour Of Katharina Blum


Really wanted to see this. But I finish late on Tuesdays.


----------



## May Kasahara (Mar 3, 2019)

The Lego Movie 2. Entertaining, with more great earworm pop songs.


----------



## Sue (Mar 4, 2019)

Sauvage. Follows a young male prostitute as he hustles to survive. Not much happens but the lead actor is excellent. Good but bleak.


----------



## Part 2 (Mar 4, 2019)

Black 47...A western revenge played out against the backdrop of the Irish Famine. Not too much of a history lesson, good characters and story, I really enjoyed it.


----------



## Sue (Mar 5, 2019)

Meet John Doe. Barbara Stanwyck as a journalist who fakes a letter from 'John Doe' bemoaning society's ills, causes a sensation and then has to produce the 'real' John Doe (a homeless Gary Cooper). The John Doe 'be a better neighbour' movement sweeps the nation but the newspaper owner plans to use it to boost his own political ambitions. Another Frank Capra tale of the little/ordinary man up against corruption/power. Stanwyck and Cooper are great, as are the supporting cast. Enjoyed it but it's very, very sentimental.


----------



## gaijingirl (Mar 5, 2019)

May Kasahara said:


> The Lego Movie 2. Entertaining, with more great earworm pop songs.



oh yes - we went to see this during half term.  I fell asleep in the middle (just 'cos I was knackered, not 'cos it was bad or anything).

Kids loved it, gaijinboy loved it the most.


----------



## krtek a houby (Mar 11, 2019)

_Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse_

Saw this in 3D IMAX which was spectacular. Am still processing the film, which retains the comic book vibe but also feels like a quantum leap forward.


----------



## Dr. Furface (Mar 15, 2019)

Sue said:


> Sauvage. Follows a young male prostitute as he hustles to survive. Not much happens but the lead actor is excellent. Good but bleak.


Yes - although I can’t agree that not much happens. I thought rather a lot happened to him. Whatevs, it’s an astonishing film.


----------



## gaijingirl (Mar 16, 2019)

I went to see Capernaum this afternoon.  Really an incredible film but a very harrowing watch.  I cried several times.  It's a documentary style film and the main character - a 12 year old boy - is just really incredible.  

It also provides a lot of food for thought.  I also enjoyed the portrayal of Beirut and the many people who live there.  The only downside was that at points I felt a bit queasy from all the wobbly handheld camera action.


----------



## RubyToogood (Mar 16, 2019)

gaijingirl said:


> I went to see Capernaum this afternoon.  Really an incredible film but a very harrowing watch.  I cried several times.  It's a documentary style film and the main character - a 12 year old boy - is just really incredible.
> 
> It also provides a lot of food for thought.  I also enjoyed the portrayal of Beirut and the many people who live there.  The only downside was that at points I felt a bit queasy from all the wobbly handheld camera action.


Ah, good call, one for me to avoid then with my chronic motion sickness. 

I was fine with the Favourite which was nice and static, but had to close my eyes a lot for the other two films I've seen on the big screen this year: Three Identical Strangers which was quite static subject matter so they jazzed it up by constantly moving the camera, and Green Book which to be fair is a road movie.

Fortunately I don't like action movies anyway but I foresee myself going to a lot of sedate interpersonal dramas.


----------



## gaijingirl (Mar 16, 2019)

RubyToogood said:


> Ah, good call, one for me to avoid then with my chronic motion sickness.
> 
> I was fine with the Favourite which was nice and static, but had to close my eyes a lot for the other two films I've seen on the big screen this year: Three Identical Strangers which was quite static subject matter so they jazzed it up by constantly moving the camera, and Green Book which to be fair is a road movie.
> 
> Fortunately I don't like action movies anyway but I foresee myself going to a lot of sedate interpersonal dramas.



I did think of you actually whilst I was watching it... it's not something that normally would affect me but it was noticeable with this film.


----------



## Part 2 (Mar 17, 2019)

Ray and Liz. Richard Billigham's photos of his dysfunctional childhood/family life brought to life in a thoroughly depressing film. All that was missing was a cat being thrown. It's a brutal,bitter watch and hard to have much sympathy for any of the adult family members other than maybe the paternal uncle. Mum seems to be the one leading the shit show with not a redeemable quality about her while Dad is just kind of pathetic.


----------



## blossie33 (Mar 17, 2019)

Part 2 said:


> Ray and Liz. Richard Billigham's photos of his dysfunctional childhood/family life brought to life in a thoroughly depressing film. All that was missing was a cat being thrown. It's a brutal,bitter watch and hard to have much sympathy for any of the adult family members other than maybe the paternal uncle. Mum seems to be the one leading the shit show with not a redeemable quality about her while Dad is just kind of pathetic.



I saw a preview of the film a few weeks ago, I was interested to see it as I'm from the Midlands and also because I used to work with the father of the actor who played the younger Ray.

It isn't an easy watch I agree  however I'm glad I saw it, I thought it was sad but there were also touching moments and the acting was very good.
Definitely not to everyones taste though!


----------



## blossie33 (Mar 17, 2019)

On a different theme, I've just been to see this interesting documentary on Blue Note Records.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 18, 2019)

America
Moving documentary about an elderly Mexican woman being looked after by her grandsons after their father has got in trouble for struggling to care for her himself. No easy answers are provided and the only resolution here is death, but it beautifully depicts the unconditional love that comes with family and the despairs and frustrations of caring for incapacitated loved ones. 
4 reluctant enemas out of 5


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## Orang Utan (Mar 18, 2019)

They Live. 
They showed this at my local cinema to promote this coffee-table book: 
Craig Oldham -  They Live : A Visual and Cultural Awakening  – Rough Trade
To my shame, I did not stick around for the Q&A (are they ever worth it?), but the film was definitely worth a view on the big screen. I don't think I've ever seen any Carpenter films on the big screen, as his films are soooo VHS. 
It's an odd one, even for Carpenter. Roddy Piper cannot act and the camera just follows him about reacting to things and pretending to fall asleep for a weirdly long time before the plot actually kicks in. The score is not one of Carpenter's best either. And the action scenes are ridiculous - the famously protracted fight scene here gave the audience a lot of laughs but I'm not sure if that was Carpenter's. WTF was Meg Foster doing too? She's an odd 'actor' - she seems sedated in the roles I've seen her in. 
There's something about the premise though, and the reveal scenes (in which the special sunglasses are deployed to see what's really going on) have had such a deep and global impact on street art, music, protest etc that it stands up as a cult classic that has increased rather than diminished in traction over the years.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 18, 2019)

Ben is Back.
He should have stayed away. Tedious family drama about addiction. Nothing interesting, profound or new is said about how hard it is to have an addict in the family, so i'm giving this one stashed baggie out of five.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 18, 2019)

I was also going to see Rosie, purported to be Ireland's version of I, Daniel Blake, but focusing on family homelessness in Dublin, rather than the UK benefits system, but I couldn't face it in the end, after a week dealing with too much reality. Anyone seen this yet?


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 18, 2019)

Tomboy
Celine Sciamma's 2011 French film about a 10 year old called Laure whose family moves to a new town, and in trying to fall in with the local kids, introduces themselves as a boy, Mikael. Their motivations for doing so are not examined, as the film focuses on the adaptions, omissions and lies that Laure has to employ just to fit in and be accepted. 
Beautifully observed and thought-provoking - I don't know how Sciamma got such natural performances from the young cast.


----------



## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Mar 18, 2019)

Into the spiderverse.
That's all.

It was good.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 18, 2019)

Princess Mononoke
I haven't seen enough Studio Ghibli films to make the call, but they don't really make films for children, do they? Spirited Away and Grave Of The Fireflies have way too many adult themes for kids' enjoyment, and this dark epic fantasy has beheadings and other violent deaths in it. Had to look the plot up to understand it afterwards too. All worth it for the visuals though. 3 weird Japanese folk monsters out of 5


----------



## Reno (Mar 18, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> View attachment 164865
> Princess Mononoke
> I haven't seen enough Studio Ghibli films to make the call, but they don't really make films for children, do they? Spirited Away and Grave Of The Fireflies have way too many adult themes for kids' enjoyment, and this dark epic fantasy has beheadings and other violent deaths in it. Had to look the plot up to understand it afterwards too. All worth it for the visuals though. 3 weird Japanese folk monsters out of 5



The majority of Ghibli films are for a family audience or for kids. Grave of the Fireflies and Princess Mononoke are the exception rather than the rule. I think Spirited Away is fine for kids, the monsters aren’t meant to be that scary and My Neighbour Totoro is among the greatest children’s films ever made.


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## Orang Utan (Mar 18, 2019)

I posted that on Facebook and lots of parents got back to me about kid-friendly Ghibli films  
I've seen more than I remembered - I just could only remember the ones that scarred me emotionally!


----------



## blossie33 (Mar 18, 2019)

I love the Studio Ghibli films, I think the stories appeal to children and adults on different levels.


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## Orang Utan (Mar 18, 2019)

blossie33 said:


> I love the Studio Ghibli films, I think the stories appeal to children and adults on different levels.


aye, i saw this film in a local cinema in a bohemian/student area, so there were no kids in the theatre when I saw it, just students who looked like they were watching for reasons of nostalgia, rather than first timers like me.


----------



## Reno (Mar 18, 2019)

Have you seen When Marnie Was There ? A more recent Ghibli film, probably best for older kids and one which I found quite emotionally scarring.


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## Orang Utan (Mar 18, 2019)

Reno said:


> Have you seen When Marnie Was There ? A more recent Ghibli film, probably best for older kids and one which I found quite emotionally scarring.


Nope, will have to check that out too. Have wanted to see Porco Rosso for a while too. They do have a lot of stuff out, but I'd rather get weirded out by a disturbing Japanese folk tale than watch some princesses being saved.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 18, 2019)

Their titles are great too - they all sound like kooky European arthouse movies from the 80s


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## Reno (Mar 18, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Nope, will have to check that out too. Have wanted to see Porco Rosso for a while too. They do have a lot of stuff out, but I'd rather get weirded out by a disturbing Japanese folk tale than watch some princesses being saved.


It’s great. It’s ghost story, though more (very! ) melancholy than scary. Porco Rosso is one I’ve never seen.


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## blossie33 (Mar 18, 2019)

Reno said:


> Have you seen When Marnie Was There ? A more recent Ghibli film, probably best for older kids and one which I found quite emotionally scarring.



Yes, I saw that one, it's a PG rating I think.
I think young children might find it difficult to understand as well.


----------



## redsquirrel (Mar 18, 2019)

Reno said:


> My Neighbour Totoro is among the greatest children’s films ever made.


Yes, it really is.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Mar 18, 2019)

Reno said:


> Have you seen When Marnie Was There ? A more recent Ghibli film, probably best for older kids and one which I found quite emotionally scarring.


I saw that, I thought it was OK. I don't think I was scarred emotionally. 
I think that the last ever (proper) Ghibli film. Ghibli sort of lives on in studio Ponoc, founded by some top ghibli bods and many of the animators, the work looks very similar. First film Mary and the Wiches flower did very well in Japan, and I noticed that many Mary and the Witches flower products were sold in the official Ghibli character shop in Tokyo station.  

I like most of ghiblis output bar the horrendous gedosenki made by Goro Miyazaki, Hayaos son. 
I was worried that up on poppy hill would be utter shite too, but it was passable. 

My personal favorites are probably Kiki, mimi o sumasiba, ponyo, and neko no ongaishi. 
Nausicaa is very interesting, and like mononoke hime, the 'baddies' have their own plausible and understandable agenda that makes sense and doenst treat kids like idiots. 

Which reminds me. Before ghibli there was Konan the boy of the future, TV series made by Hayao Miyazaki which also has several 'enemies' that are not just baddies because the script demands it. Good stuff, bit long perhaps.

. . . and if you like Ghibli, you may also like western mini series 'over the garden wall' . . . excellent heartwarming and magical stuff.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 21, 2019)

The Rider
Really enjoyed this - it's a fantastic glimpse of a completely different world to most people's - never feels like tourism though, despite the fact that the actors are playing fictionalised versions of themselves - a rodeo rider and his family facing an uncertain future after a head injury threatens an end to his riding career. 5 inadequate head protectors (AKA Stetsons) out of 5


----------



## Sue (Mar 21, 2019)

Everybody Knows. Spanish film by Asghar Farhad (A Separation) about a kidnapping in a small Spanish town. A good cast (including Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem) but a bit too long and soap opera like for my tastes.

The Kindergarten Teacher. Maggie Gyllenhaal gets far too involved in the life of one of her pupils. She's excellent -- worth a watch.

Le Crime de Monsieur Lange. A slimy (if entertaining) boss gets his comeuppance when he fakes his own death and his former employees form a cooperative. A lesser-known Jean Renoir film with a great script from Jacques Prevert. Historically interesting -- it was made just before the election of the Popular Front in 1936 -- and seems to capture some of the spirit and politics of the time.


----------



## DexterTCN (Mar 21, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> ...I did not stick around for the Q&A (are they ever worth it?)...


Apart from coming back here and telling us anything interesting?  Probably not much.


----------



## Sue (Mar 22, 2019)

Q&As IME are generally rubbish. There's always the person who has to shoehorn in their own personal hobby horse, the person who wants to show how fabulous their film knowledge is (generally referencing Tarkovsky) and the person who asks something dull about the type of film used. And the person who asks something slightly inappropriate and makes everyone else go 'wtf'.


----------



## Sue (Mar 22, 2019)

Under the Silver Lake. Woman goes missing, man who fancies her tries to find out what's happened and is led into all kind of weird and wonderful places. So, this was disappointing. I loved the director's last (It Follows) but this is, frankly, a mess. It throws all kinds of things together then they never go anywhere. It feels like a script written by a film student -- lots of referencing other films and different genres -- and apparently it was written some time ago and the director only got the chance to make it after It Follows was a hit. It's got a few nice moments but it's too long and far too all over the place.


----------



## Reno (Mar 22, 2019)

If I was Benign Leader of the World Q&As would be among the first things to go. I just suffered through an endless one for a (pretty good) Palestinian film called The Reports on Sarah and Saleem. It always makes me despair at the general levels of intelligence and education. Several people asked the director questions, which the entire film spent to answer.


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## Sue (Mar 22, 2019)

Reno said:


> If I was Benign Leader of the World Q&As would be among the first things to go. I just suffered through an endless one for a (pretty good) Palestinian film called The Reports on Sarah and Salem. It always makes me despair at the general levels of intelligence and education. Several people asked the director questions, which the entire film spent to answer.


It must be really soul destroying if you're the director and actually have to try and answer stupid questions without rolling your eyes...


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 22, 2019)

Aye, the only Q&A I've really enjoyed was the Sonic Youth one cos i heard lots of funny stories about the New York music scene.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 22, 2019)

DexterTCN said:


> Apart from coming back here and telling us anything interesting?  Probably not much.


You might want to reread the title of this thread


----------



## Reno (Mar 22, 2019)

Sue said:


> It must be really soul destroying if you're the director and actually have to try and answer stupid questions without rolling your eyes...



He had the patience and good manners of a saint.
"How was the film received in the Arab world ?" Assuming that "the Arab world" is one homogenous region and after he just explained that the film is only just starting to get a theatrical release around the world.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Mar 22, 2019)

Funniest Q&A I've ever attended - I forget the name of the film - but someone asked if the main character would be returning for a sequel when it was quite clear that the character had killed himself at the end of the film 

It was Jim Broadbent. He literally didn't know what to say.


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## blossie33 (Mar 22, 2019)

I find the most difficult Q&As are those that the film maker is not an English speaker so everything has to go through an interpreter, takes twice as long and you're not sure that that the people involved quite understand what is being asked


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 22, 2019)

Captain Marvel
Marvel films are not known for their narrative coherence and this is a good example of this. I don't know about all this galaxymindcube tesseract nonsense and I don't think anyone at Marvel does either. Doesn't matter as Brie Larson kicks ass with brio and the kids in the theatre were way impressed. 3 fearsome kitties out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 22, 2019)

Fighting With My Family
Very corny underdog-makes-good story that the UK seems to love to make and watch. The kind of thing you want to hate but ending up cheering on despite yourself. Not as good as Cool Runnings, mind. 3 sweaty spandex pants out of 5


----------



## DexterTCN (Mar 22, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> You might want to reread the title of this thread


Fair point, I let my emotions on missing out on something get the better of me.

I'm going to see Us tomorrow.   Really looking forward to it.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 22, 2019)

DexterTCN said:


> Fair point, I let my emotions on missing out on something get the better of me.
> 
> I'm going to see Us tomorrow.   Really looking forward to it.


Seeing that this evening. Can't wait!


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 23, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Seeing that this evening. Can't wait!


Saw this last night but was unwisely 3 beers tired and lost the plot, so am going to see it again tomorrow morning. I can tell you this: never have I seen a film that's sparked so much conversation amongst an audience immediately afterwards.


----------



## Sue (Mar 23, 2019)

Us, Jordan Peele's follow up to Get Out. And _that_, David Robert Mitchell (It Follows/Under the Silver Lake) is how you follow your first hit film. 

Family go on holiday to a lakeside house and things go very wrong. So the 'how it all happened' explanation was a bit dubious (but aren't they always in horror films?) but thought this was really good. Funny, very nicely observed and the cast (especially Lupita Nyong'o) are great. I'm not a horror fan btw and this isn't scary or anything. Highly recommended.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 23, 2019)

Just watched Border again. Still love it despite my misgivings. Someone added to the whole creepy vibe by bringing a baby along. Its occasional interjections really added something.


----------



## DexterTCN (Mar 23, 2019)

Watched Us.  Very impressed.  Not a horror movie though, it's more like an extended Twilight Zone episode.


----------



## Pickman's model (Mar 23, 2019)

Pickman's model said:


> Double indemnity, film noir starring Fred mcmurray, Edward g Robinson and Barbara stanwyck, from the novel of the same name, screenplay by Billy wilder and auld Ray chandler


Us


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 23, 2019)

DexterTCN said:


> Watched Us.  Very impressed.  Not a horror movie though, it's more like an extended Twilight Zone episode.


I get very confused when people tell me a horror film isn't a horror film


----------



## redsquirrel (Mar 24, 2019)

Sue said:


> Everybody Knows. Spanish film by Asghar Farhad (A Separation) about a kidnapping in a small Spanish town. A good cast (including Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem) but a bit too long and soap opera like for my tastes.


I didn't think it was a strong as _A Separation_ or_ The Past_, but cast was good and those are pretty high bars to live up to. Like you say probably just a little too long.


----------



## davesgcr (Mar 24, 2019)

"Can you ever forgive me" - Richard E Grant and the NYC of 1991. A treat from one of my boys. In art-deco splendour city in St Albans. Excellent.


----------



## Grandma Death (Mar 24, 2019)

DexterTCN said:


> Watched Us.  Very impressed.  Not a horror movie though, it's more like an extended Twilight Zone episode.


I adored it. Brilliant. I know he's only had two films out but I really do think Jordon Pelee is becoming the John Carpenter of horror. His films have multiple social and political strands interwoven into their dna. I thought US was very clever. I'm going back to watch it again in the week. Its a film that demands a second viewing 

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk


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## Orang Utan (Mar 24, 2019)

Surely John Carpenter is the John Carpenter of horror


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## Orang Utan (Mar 24, 2019)

I saw Us again today and it makes more sense a second time. I loved it. Inventive, creepy and very funny, even if the plot doesn't really stand up. The music in it is done brilliantly too.
And it's 100% unequivocally incontrovertibly a horror film


----------



## krtek a houby (Mar 24, 2019)

_BlackkKlansman_ - great performances all round, bit clunky in parts and a hard hitting ending. 4 stars.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 25, 2019)

Everybody Knows





Spanish film directed by an Iranian. I'm not familiar with Farhadi's previous work but understand he is highly regarded. Not sure why from this effort, which as has been pointed out on this thread by Sue, feels like a soap opera more than a film. I didn't care about any of the characters and when the mystery of the plot was solved, i felt nothing but indifference. 2 macho hang ups out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 25, 2019)

Maiden




Inspiring and exhilarating documentary on Tracey Edward's efforts to take an all women crew on the world's most challenging sailing race, the Whitbread. 
It's told very conventionally, with press and on-board footage and talking heads, but it tells the story thrillingly, with all the challenges, setbacks, turnarounds of a live action sporting underdog movie. Would not be surprised if Hollywood have got their chequebooks out to make a feature adaptation of it.
5 accidental feminists out of 5


----------



## blossie33 (Mar 25, 2019)

Yes, I've seen Maiden too, I should have remembered the event but it was more exciting not knowing the outcome  enjoyed very much.


----------



## emanymton (Mar 26, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Surely John Carpenter is the John Carpenter of horror


This is word for word my exact response as well.


----------



## Grandma Death (Mar 26, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Surely John Carpenter is the John Carpenter of horror




Good point. He's not dead yet ha


----------



## RubyToogood (Mar 26, 2019)

The White Crow. 

Quite good.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 26, 2019)

Being Frank: The Chris Sievey
Excellent documentary on the man who was Frank SIdebottom - Sievey was a true artist who just had to be creative in everything he did. It's a very funny film but tinged with sadness at Sievey's premature demise. There are some brilliant clips of both Frank and Chris and hilarious and touching contributions from other strange Manc celebs such as John Cooper Clarke and CP Lee. Thoroughly recommended, even if you're not a fan. 5 papier mache heads out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 26, 2019)

Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don't Know Me
Loving and tender account of Teddy Pendergrass's eventful and sometimes tragic life. It was moving to see his friends and family talk about him with such love. Feel a bit stupid that I hadn't realise that it's him singing on those Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes records. D'oh - of course it is. 4 ohhhhhh babys out of 5


----------



## blossie33 (Mar 27, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Just watched Border again. Still love it despite my misgivings. Someone added to the whole creepy vibe by bringing a baby along. Its occasional interjections really added something.



 
Went to see it today so I get what you meant.

Thought it was very good, clever story, creepy but it sort of made me smile at the end.


----------



## The39thStep (Mar 27, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Being Frank: The Chris Sievey
> Excellent documentary on the man who was Frank SIdebottom - Sievey was a true artist who just had to be creative in everything he did. It's a very funny film but tinged with sadness at Sievey's premature demise. There are some brilliant clips of both Frank and Chris and hilarious and touching contributions from other strange Manc celebs such as John Cooper Clarke and CP Lee. Thoroughly recommended, even if you're not a fan. 5 papier mache heads out of 5


I know I've said this loads of times but ... I put some money into this and as I'm in Portugal won't be able to see it at the cinema. However I do get a DVD of it sent to me. From what I have learnt about the project it's a brilliant example of dedication and persistence from the director and funding from supporters . Won't be to everyone's taste but it's good to see a dream become reality.


----------



## Orang Utan (Mar 27, 2019)

The39thStep said:


> I know I've said this loads of times but ... I put some money into this and as I'm in Portugal won't be able to see it at the cinema. However I do get a DVD of it sent to me. From what I have learnt about the project it's a brilliant example of dedication and persistence from the director and funding from supporters . Won't be to everyone's taste but it's good to see a dream become reality.


You are thanked in the credits. It's such a well constructed film. Must have taken a lot of work (there's so much material in Sievey's archive). Worth staying right til the end, though one bit of bad news about one of the contributors was a massive kick in the stomach - be warned about that - it made me gasp.


----------



## Sue (Mar 29, 2019)

The White Crow. Ralph Fiennes directs (and appears in) the story of Nureyev's defection to the West in 1961. 

Fiennes somehow manages to turn a really interesting story into a very mediocre film. It really doesn't capture Nureyev's charisma and magnetism at all and even the dance scenes feel flat.


----------



## ginger_syn (Mar 30, 2019)

Captain marvel,an enjoyable romp of it genre


----------



## cybershot (Mar 31, 2019)

Dumbo.

Cute, but meh, was never a fan of the original, dragged by the OH who does love it.
Me: 6/10, OH: 8/10


----------



## belboid (Mar 31, 2019)

Us


That Jordan Peele is a pretty sharp mofo, aint he?


----------



## DexterTCN (Apr 7, 2019)

Shazam!

DC's latest superhero romp which is much better than the others, mainly because the focus on younger people and it's a nice change.  

When I saw the initial trailers for this I hated it, glad to be wrong.  Cinema was absolutely packed.


----------



## marshall (Apr 7, 2019)

Saw a preview of Bo Burnham's 'Eighth Grade' this morning, excellent, would have hated to have grown up with social media though; cruel shit for a 13 year old to try and handle.


----------



## The39thStep (Apr 7, 2019)

The39thStep said:


> I know I've said this loads of times but ... I put some money into this and as I'm in Portugal won't be able to see it at the cinema. However I do get a DVD of it sent to me. From what I have learnt about the project it's a brilliant example of dedication and persistence from the director and funding from supporters . Won't be to everyone's taste but it's good to see a dream become reality.


Well just watched this on the download and it more than exceded my expectations. Its a really well told story , funny, sad , aspirational at times that really does ask the question why? Not that you get an answer but the questions well put. And you get to find out his secret code. Fantastic. It really is, it really is.


----------



## gaijingirl (Apr 7, 2019)

Dumbo!  It's got terrible reviews but I really enjoyed it and so did my 6 year old.  The 9 year old said it was "alright" but since she appears to have prematurely hit her teens she's not a reliable witness.  Gaijinboy liked it but said he felt it works better as an animation.  He felt it was just too fantastical for "real life" actors.  

I thought being Tim Burton it would be much darker and quirkier than it is - I didn't think it was especially either, although again the reviews seem to refer to it as being dark/quirky.  My only criticism was that I thought it was a bit longer than it needed to be.


----------



## Sue (Apr 7, 2019)

Out of Blue. Carol Morley directed neo-noir set in New Orleans. Patricia Clarkson plays a detective trying to track down the killer of an astrophysicist. Really liked this -- also very good to see Clarkson in a leading role.


----------



## gaijingirl (Apr 8, 2019)

The Missing Link (can you tell it's school holidays?!).  

Took the kids to see a cheapo £2.50 screening and the projector broke - booo! so we got our money back and free entry to a full-paying film - yay!! - so went to see The Missing Link.  I had really wanted to like it - reviews much better than Dumbo but I found myself zoning out in the middle.  I do have a lot on my mind so I was preoccupied but it was still a shame.  Lots of witty one liners and digs at Britishness which I found quite amusing given the jingoistic hyberbole which is so prevalent at the moment.  Good for a giggle overall.


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 9, 2019)

*Girl*
Belgian drama about a trans ballerina undergoing gender reassignment treatment. Director Lukas Dhont focusses more on the internal struggles of the protagonist than on society's attitudes towards trans people. Much of it is about the physical demands of training as a (female) ballerina, which in my mind, is in danger of confusing Lara's motivations for desiring a female body, but the film's tenderness and empathy towards Lara and her family shines through, making this a moving and convincingly played portrait of coming of age and the inner conflicts that growing up prompt. 4 bleeding toes out of 5

*A Deal With The Universe*

This is nothing much more than a video diary, perhaps better suited to the small screen than the cinema, but it's an involving account of trans man Jason Barker and his partner, Tracey's struggles to conceive a child between them. Cancer treatment prevents Tracey from being able to conceive, so it's down to Jason, who still has working ovaries, to bear their baby. The couple are such a likeable and charming loving unit that you can't help wishing them well, knowing a baby born to them will be raised in a loving supportive household. A cheering and encouraging film. 3 sperm sample receptacles out of 5


----------



## ruffneck23 (Apr 9, 2019)

captain marvel - enjoyed a lot
shazam - enjoyed but not so much


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 14, 2019)

*The Fight*
Jessica Hynes' (off of Spaced) directorial debut. Made for peanuts in Folkestone, it tells the story of a mother of three whose older daughter is being bullied at school - dealing with this and the trials of her own parents' tumultuous relationship makes her confront her past and her own issues. It's very good - brilliantly and convincingly played by the grown ups and the children. Its use of locations is imaginative and Hynes clearly has talent for doing a lot with very little money. Looking forward to see what she does next. 
Jessica Hynes did a Q&A afterwards but it was pretty excruciating - Hynes has obviously been promoting the film for a while and has probably got sick of talking about it. She tended to babble and the interviewer didn't go a good job at curtailing this.
(it's also got Anita Dobson aka Angie Watts from Eastenders in it as Hynes' unhinged mother - an amazing performance)


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 14, 2019)

*Foxtrot*
Israeli drama about a family's grief for their conscript son and the psychological damage inflicted by warfare. I was on board with it, all sympathetic, until the main character viciously kicked his dog (to show us how fucked up he is).


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 14, 2019)

*At Eternity's Gate*
Tedious biopic of Vincent Van Gogh. There are brief moments of beauty in the creation of tableaux to show how certain paintings were made, but there are far too many handheld shots sweeping over fields and Van Gogh's internal struggles failed to hold my attention. 2 dismembered ears out of 5.


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 14, 2019)

*Minding The Gap*
Documentary by young skater and film-maker Bing Liu about three skater friends struggling to grow up. Liu himself is one of the three subjects and this is occasionally a problem as he doesn't perhaps challenge one of his friends' toxic attitudes and behaviour as maybe a more objective film maker might. Despite this, it's a very engaging and moving film about enduring and escaping traumatic upbringings.


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 14, 2019)

*Missing Link*
The first Laika film I've seen - I need to check out their other stuff. Took my five year old niece and she loved it. I found it quite charming - loved the Victorian explorer settings and it was quite funny in places. Also, my niece told me I was just like the Susan The Sasquatch in it but 'even sillier'. Thanks, Ida. 3 snooty yetis out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 14, 2019)

*Under The Silver Lake*
I have no idea what to make of this. It has a ludicrous but intriguing Raymond-Chandler-on-acid plot, which kept me involved right the way through, but in the end left me feeling confused and unsatisfied. A curate's egg. Writer-director David Robert Mitchell also made the fantastically creepy It Follows, so I'm going to give him a pass for this one, while awaiting his next project with interest.


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 14, 2019)

*Mid 90s*
Jonah Hill's directorial debut is an impressive and subtle examination of toxic masculinity, featuring a star turn by Sunny Suljic as a troubled preteen with a violent home life who hangs around an older teenage gang of skaters who become his surrogate family. They say and do a lot of stupid and cruel things (just like all other teen boys) but they are still a family of sorts, who love and care for each other, and this is beautifully realised by Hill. He seems to know what he's doing with a camera too - think it's filmed in Super 16 in the now trendy Academy ratio (square). The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and the soundtrack (90s hip hop and punk mostly, but with a brilliant use of Morrissey's We'll Let You Know over footage of the gang just skating) is one of the best chosen I've heard in years. 

(I think this would make an ideal double bill with either Minding The Gap or Shoplifters)


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 14, 2019)

*The Sisters Brothers*
I was a big fan of the book and thought at the time that it would make a great Coen Brothers adaptation, but this has been brought to the screen by French director Jacques Audiard, best known for prison thriller Une Prophete. It bombed in America, but didn't deserve to, as this is a funny and ultimately heart warming portrayal of humans and their foibles. Maybe it's too cosy for an America who wants dysfunction and misery from its Westerns. It reminded me of a less cynical Treasure Of The Sierra Madre. John C Reilly doesn't get nearly enough credit as he should - his portrayal of the worldly wise older brother (of the more reckless Joaquin Phoenix) is one of his best, and Riz Ahmed is also excellent as the sympathetic man of science who is the brothers' quarry. 4 new-fangled toothbrushes out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 14, 2019)

*The Worlds Of Ursula Leguin*
Doc on the sci-fi writer and 'public intellectual', Ursula K Leguin. I've only read The Dispossessed, but was blown away by it and this doc goes some way to persuade us of Leguin's importance as a writer. It could have done without the animated paintings that illustrate (poorly) Leguin's work, but Leguin and her family are very charming and engaging and their words are enough for this doc.


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 16, 2019)

*Sauvage*
French drama about a male sex worker and his various encounters with clients and other sex workers. It's a difficult watch and I don't think the ending works but star Felix Maritaud (from BPM, which I still haven't got around to watching) encapsulates his character's vulnerability and desperate need for connection so well. Be warned: it's very VERY rude. 4 giant butt plugs out of 5.


----------



## Sue (Apr 20, 2019)

Mid90s. Follows a group of kids into skateboarding, written and directed by Jonah Hill. Captures the group relationships/hierarchy well but found it really slow and a bit pointless tbh. 

A Clockwork Orange. Had never seen this on the big screen before. Excellent, if the slightly soft porn treatment of women and violence against them seems ever more problematic.


----------



## Jon-of-arc (Apr 20, 2019)

Wild Rose - Scottish lady, just out the jail, wants to go to Nashville to do some Country music thing.  Sounds awful, with that description, but quite good.  Sweet natured, without being saccharine. The ending felt a bit tacked on. Suspect they wrote a downbeat ending that test audiences didn't like. Still, worth an hour or two of your time.


----------



## Sue (Apr 22, 2019)

Loro, Paulo Sorrentino's take on Berlusconi. Two and a half hours of my life I'll never get back again (and it felt way more than that too). Very disjointed and had no new insights at all on Berlusconi. The whole enterprise felt utterly pointless. Sorrentino's made a couple of pretty good films in the past but think this is the worst film I've seen in quite some time. Really, really disappointing.


----------



## redsquirrel (Apr 22, 2019)

Sue said:


> Loro, Paulo Sorrentino's take on Berlusconi. Two and a half hours of my life I'll never get back again (and it felt way more than that too). Very disjointed and had no new insights at all on Berlusconi. The whole enterprise felt utterly pointless. Sorrentino's made a couple of pretty good films in the past but think this is the worst film I've seen in quite some time. Really, really disappointing.


Really, bugger. I was thinking of trying to go but maybe I'll give it a swerve. I loved _The Great Beauty _and _Il Divo_. I wasn't so keen on _This Must Be the Place _or _Youth_ but they at least had something.


----------



## Sue (Apr 22, 2019)

redsquirrel said:


> Really, bugger. I was thinking of trying to go but maybe I'll give it a swerve. I loved _The Great Beauty _and _Il Divo_. I wasn't so keen on _This Must Be the Place _or _Youth_ but they at least had something.


I really liked The Great Beauty, Il Divo and The Consequences of Love too. I've just read some reviews (which are all reasonably okay bizarrely) and apparently it was originally two films edited into one -- which probably explains the disjointed feel. Just found the whole thing completely vacuous, pointless and very, very dull. And, as I said, didn't have anything to say about Berlusconi that we didn't already know.

The friend I was with -- who didn't like it either -- made the point that hedonism is a bit dull to watch which is true. But then The Great Beauty was also to some extent about hedonism but had much to say about regret and sadness.


----------



## redsquirrel (Apr 22, 2019)

Sue said:


> The friend I was with -- who didn't like it either -- made the point that hedonism is a bit dull to watch which is true. But then The Great Beauty was also to some extent about hedonism but had much to say about regret and sadness.


Thanks for the heads up Sue. Might try to catch _Out of the Blue_ instead.


----------



## The39thStep (Apr 22, 2019)

Sue said:


> Mid90s. Follows a group of kids into skateboarding, written and directed by Jonah Hill. Captures the group relationships/hierarchy well but found it really slow and a bit pointless tbh.
> 
> A Clockwork Orange. Had never seen this on the big screen before. Excellent, if the slightly soft porn treatment of women and violence against them seems ever more problematic.


Clockwork Orange soundtrack is great fun as well


----------



## Sue (Apr 27, 2019)

Happy as Lazzaro. The lives of Italian farmworkers living in feudal, rural Italy change when the son of the landowner disappears and things unfold in unexpected ways. Has quite an audacious shift/twist in the middle but think the director pulls it off really well. I really liked this.

Dragged Across Concrete. Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn play cops who decide to cross the line into criminality. I thought this was quite well done (the director also made Bone Tomahawk) but it's way, way too long at 159mins .


----------



## ginger_syn (Apr 28, 2019)

Avengers endgame, well worth the 4 quid admission and will be going again next week.


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Apr 30, 2019)

What shall I go and see this morning?

Avengers endgame
Pet Semetary
Red Joan

Haven't seen many of the preceding 22 films that feed into endgame


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Apr 30, 2019)

Quicker.... I'm walking over there now Urbs


----------



## Orang Utan (Apr 30, 2019)

I'd watch Avengers out of that lot but only if you've seen the two dozen other movies in the MCU. Red Joan has been poorly received and Pet Sematary has been unfavourably compared with the first version


----------



## Pickman's model (Apr 30, 2019)

Throbbing Angel said:


> What shall I go and see this morning?
> 
> Avengers endgame
> Pet Semetary
> ...


pet semetary


----------



## Sue (May 1, 2019)

Eighth Grade. Follows Kayla (who's 13 or 14 I guess?) through her last week of eighth grade. She's smart and awkward and doesn't fit in and has to suffer the excrutiating horror of a pool party at the house of the most popular and cool girl in her class. Her dad worries that she's sad and unhappy but has no idea what to do or say to try and make things better. God, who'd be a teenager, especially in the days of social media and mobile phones. This is funny and sad and makes you glad you're past -- well mainly at least -- all that stuff that felt so important and heartbreaking at the time. Highly recommended.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 1, 2019)

Sue said:


> Eighth Grade. Follows Kayla (who's 13 or 14 I guess?) through her last week of eighth grade. She's smart and awkward and doesn't fit in and has to suffer the excrutiating horror of a pool party at the house of the most popular and cool girl in her class. Her dad worries that she's sad and unhappy but has no idea what to do or say to try and make things better. God, who'd be a teenager, especially in the days of social media and mobile phones. This is funny and sad and makes you glad you're past -- well mainly at least -- all that stuff that felt so important and heartbreaking at the time. Highly recommended.


Seeing this at the weekend - can't wait!


----------



## Sue (May 1, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Seeing this at the weekend - can't wait!


Interested to hear what you think.


----------



## Helen Back (May 4, 2019)

Pity the poor Tolkien movie. Released at the same time as Endgame and word of mouth says it's shit. No one's pirated it, (Pirate Bay search for Tolkien 2019 video = no hits). And the IMDB trivia page for it has 5 items. Even the Tolkien estate wants nothing to do with it.


----------



## Badgers (May 4, 2019)

I have read nothing great about the Tolkien film. A shame given his contribution to the arts.


----------



## ginger_syn (May 5, 2019)

Endgame again, it holds up


----------



## belboid (May 5, 2019)

Badgers said:


> I have read nothing great about the Tolkien film. A shame given his contribution to the arts.


I read an autobiography. He was a fairly boring bloke who sat in a lot of dark rooms reading. Okay, he was at the Somme, so I'm sure they could spin that out, but otherwise.....no reason at all he would make an interesting film subject without some wild exaggerations and speculations.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (May 5, 2019)

belboid said:


> I read an autobiography. He was a fairly boring bloke who sat in a lot of dark rooms reading. Okay, he was at the Somme, so I'm sure they could spin that out, but otherwise.....no reason at all he would make an interesting film subject without some wild exaggerations and speculations.



You could probably make something out of his relationship with CS Lewis, but still not an easy sell.


----------



## Sue (May 6, 2019)

Vox Lux. Follows a young girl's rise to superstardom after experiencing tragedy. The start -- the horrific event that precipitates her rise to fame -- is well done but it loses it after that. Real lack of sympathetic characters meant I didn't care what happened and it was all just quite dull really (even the concert scenes felt quite remote and lacking in atmosphere). Meh.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 6, 2019)

Loro.
Paulo Sorrentino's biopic of Silvio Berlusconi. Didn't think I'd enjoy this I knew nothing about the subject, but it zips along nicely despite its running time and despite the fact that it's been cut down from two movies, it's narratively coherent. Also, I'd never seen a Sorrentino movie, but was aware of his sumptuous sets and costumes - this doesn't disappoint as such, but at times comes over as empty and superficial as a Pirelli photoshoot and as Berlusconi himself (which may be the entire point). The script is excellent and delivered with verve by the two leads especially. Some wonderful surreal moments mitigate against some of the more on-the-nose visual metaphors that occasionally grate. 3 temperature-sensitive sheep out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (May 6, 2019)

Dragged Across Concrete
S Craig Zahler's brutal thriller starring Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn as racist pigs doing very bad things with criminals. It's a hideous conservotrolling exploitation film that thinks it's Tarantino but is more like Michael Winner.


----------



## DotCommunist (May 6, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Dragged Across Concrete
> S Craig Zahler's brutal thriller starring Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn as racist pigs doing very bad things with criminals. It's a hideous conservotrolling exploitation film that thinks it's Tarantino but is more like Michael Winner.


saw this on download as I noticed it was the same director from Brawl in Cell 99, I literally thought 'hey, Mel Gibson, haven't seen him in anything for ages' and then remembered why. It could have been shorter and the politics were gleefully awful, even including a little 'you can't tell who is a chick and who is a guy' conversation.


----------



## Throbbing Angel (May 7, 2019)

This morning's cinema options are

The curse of La Llorona
Red Joan
Fisherman's friends
Dogs journey home
Shazam!
Any suggestions?


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## Orang Utan (May 7, 2019)

Dog's Journey Home


----------



## redsquirrel (May 7, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Also, I'd never seen a Sorrentino movie,


Watch _The Great Beauty_, it's absolutely fantastic, and gorgeous.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 10, 2019)

3 Faces
Iranian film, made in secret, as director Jafar Panahin is banned from making them, this is a no-budget film about a film director and film star trying to locate a young girl who wants to become an actress, to the consternation and ire of the local community. It's warmer and funnier than it sounds, and I need to watch more Iranian cinema. 3 faces out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (May 10, 2019)

Wild Rose
Jessie Buckley plays a Glaswegian mum of two, newly released from jail, who wants to follow her dreams of becoming a country singer. Her accent is a bit wobbly, but Buckley is a revelation here, making us root for a character who is at times difficult to feel sympathy for. The plot tends towards the melodramatic but my cynicism was eroded by the performances and by the excellent music (which normally would make me run to the hills) 4 country but not westerns out of 5


----------



## Part 2 (May 10, 2019)

High Life.

A group of criminals inhabit a spaceship on it's way to a black hole as an alternative to the death penalty. At the same time one of them is a doctor/mad scientist and they're subjected to some weird experiments involving reproduction. It's quite confusing and I probably need to see it again but I do like Robert Pattinson. In fact the performances are great all round.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 10, 2019)

The Kid Who Would Be King
Joe Cornish's homage to British Film Foundation films of the 70s and 80s. The kid actors in it are brilliant, especially Louis Ashbourne Serkis (the spit of his dad) and there's never a dull moment but it falls a bit flat - the middling CGI doesn't help and the monsters are too scary to appeal to younger kids. Its saving grace is the treatment and outcome of the young hero's quest to reconnect with his long lost father. I'm not surprised it bombed in the US with audiences expecting another Harry Potter. 3 once and future kings out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (May 10, 2019)

Avengers End Game
Confession: I have only seen a handful of the 21 other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and have only seen two of them (Black Panther and Captain Marvel) at the cinema. I am also a 46 year old white man who is not the target audience of such films.
BUT: I thought it was a honking bag of shit. I have to confess that I nodded off five times so lost the plot a bit, but the action sequences were underlit and boring, so failed to wake me up from my slumber even with the loudest of crashes and bangs. I thought the MUC was supposed to be a bunch of films all about freaks and misfits finding a way of being accepted but by being themselves, so why did they ruin it with a bunch of lazy shit fat jokes? So much for inclusion and diversity. 1 uneaten salad out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (May 10, 2019)

Eighth Grade. 
Bo Burnham's astonishing debut featuring Elsie Fisher as Kayla, a shy 13 year old making cringy unwatched inspirational YouTube videos and trying to navigate the usual bullshit of being an adolescent. I may not have grown up with social media and the constant need for online validation, but Kayla is no more or less self-conscious than anyone growing up at any other time, so I completely identified with her excruciatingly embarrassing trials and tribulations. Absolutely loved this. The whole cast is brilliant, but Josh Hamilton deserves mention as Kayla's loving but blundering (and embarrassingly inconvenient) dad. 5 bananas out of 5


----------



## DexterTCN (May 16, 2019)

Got my tickets for the third chapter of this on Sunday


----------



## Sue (May 19, 2019)

Amazing Grace. Basically Aretha Franklin singing with a Gospel choir for an hour and a half. That _voice_.

Beats. It's 1994 and protests are underway against the Criminal Justice Bill, even in West Lothian, and two teenagers end up at their first rave. I really liked this and for once, it captures the party scenes really well. By coincidence, saw a play a few weeks back by the same writer and with one of the actors from this in it. That was excellent.

Madeline's Madeline. Unstable 16 year-old gets into acting, clashes with her mother and hero worships her acting teacher. The actor playing Madeline is great but the film itself is meh -- lots of it's about the process of developing an immersive play and found that pretty uninteresting tbh.


----------



## DexterTCN (May 19, 2019)

John Wick 3.  The best action this side of The Villainess.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 21, 2019)

Beats
Can't recommend this enough. It's the best film to depict rave culture I've ever seen - portraying the joyous intensity, the ecstasy and the camaraderie of dancing with mates in a mucky warehouse. The soundtrack is perfect - all banging techno and rave with some ambient and happy house chucked in - no cheesy commercial shite, just big tunes such as Gravitational Arch of 10 that caused euphoria on dancefloors in the 90s without bothering the charts. Not only do we have all that but, being contextualised by being framed around the introduction of the Criminal Justice Act which banned illegal raves (there's even a discussion of the weird repetitive beats clause prompted by the radio playing Autechre's Flutter) we also have a canny political streak with acute observations on class and a touching and rare portrayal of male friendship/platonic love that you just don't see on screens often enough. Go see it if you can, I don't think it'll be around for long, though I hope does really well. 5 sweaty hugs out of 5


----------



## colacubes (May 27, 2019)

Rocketman

Despite my worst fears it was utterly terrific. I’m not a massive fan of Elton but the weaving of his songs into a suspension of disbelief biog is amazing. All performances were great but Richard Madden as his first male lover and then his manager is a magnificent performance of cold distance. My OH loathes any form of musical and loved it 

The only bad thing about the film is the 1st 30 seconds of the end titles which really got on my tits as they completely ruined the previous fantasy. Leave as soon as the last song finishes is my advice


----------



## krtek a houby (May 27, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Avengers End Game
> Confession: I have only seen a handful of the 21 other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and have only seen two of them (Black Panther and Captain Marvel) at the cinema. I am also a 46 year old white man who is not the target audience of such films.



I'm a few years older than you and really enjoyed End Game. I'm biased, as I've been reading Marvel since 1974 (on and off), so I do like most of the films. All we had was crappy live action Spiderman and so-so depressing Hulk with Bill Bixby, back then so it was a delight when the kids who loved sci-fi/comics/fantasy grew up and started making all this into enjoyable popcorn pictures.

Is that what you mean by target audience?


----------



## shifting gears (May 27, 2019)

Sue said:


> Amazing Grace. Basically Aretha Franklin singing with a Gospel choir for an hour and a half. That _voice_.
> 
> Beats. It's 1994 and protests are underway against the Criminal Justice Bill, even in West Lothian, and two teenagers end up at their first rave. I really liked this and for once, it captures the party scenes really well. By coincidence, saw a play a few weeks back by the same writer and with one of the actors from this in it. That was excellent.
> 
> Madeline's Madeline. Unstable 16 year-old gets into acting, clashes with her mother and hero worships her acting teacher. The actor playing Madeline is great but the film itself is meh -- lots of it's about the process of developing an immersive play and found that pretty uninteresting tbh.



Barbican member perchance?

Only ask as I am and I’ve seen there the latter two you mention and have been considering the former!


----------



## Orang Utan (May 27, 2019)

krtek a houby said:


> I'm a few years older than you and really enjoyed End Game. I'm biased, as I've been reading Marvel since 1974 (on and off), so I do like most of the films. All we had was crappy live action Spiderman and so-so depressing Hulk with Bill Bixby, back then so it was a delight when the kids who loved sci-fi/comics/fantasy grew up and started making all this into enjoyable popcorn pictures.
> 
> Is that what you mean by target audience?


nope, i meant young folk who grew up with those films.


----------



## Sue (May 28, 2019)

shifting gears said:


> Barbican member perchance?
> 
> Only ask as I am and I’ve seen there the latter two you mention and have been considering the former!


No, the last two I saw at the Barbican but free with Mubi Go... (I work within walking distance.)


----------



## ginger_syn (May 28, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> nope, i meant young folk who grew up with those films.


They were not just made for the teenagers


----------



## krtek a houby (May 28, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> nope, i meant young folk who grew up with those films.



The Marvel films I've seen over here - the audiences are anything from 20 to 70 years. I think it has universal appeal.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 28, 2019)

krtek a houby said:


> The Marvel films I've seen over here - the audiences are anything from 20 to 70 years. I think it has universal appeal.


Well it doesn't, I can assure you. And it certainly doesn't work as a a stand alone film. You need to have watched all of the others for it to make sense.


----------



## DexterTCN (May 28, 2019)

Booksmart.   (perfect copies available for streaming online)

In the vein of Clueless, Mean Girls and Dazed and Confused but contemporaneous and imo better than those.

This is a little gem of a movie about two girls who graduate the next day and is the story of the 24 hour period.  Olivia Wilde (sp?) first time director impresses, one of the girls is Jonah Hill's (Superbad) little sister and both play their parts faultlessly.  Extremely funny although at one point I thought the acting was a little wooden.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 28, 2019)

Saw the trailer for that and was in stitches at one of the characte's pronunciation of Barcelona. Can't wait to see it. There's been some brilliant coming of age movies recently. It's not just about tits and pie humping these days.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 28, 2019)

What did you think about Beats, killer b?


----------



## belboid (May 28, 2019)

Finally got around to seeing Endgame at the weekend.

Even having seen most of the films over the last ten years, it still needs to be that bloody long in order for half the audience to go 'who's that again?' a dozen times.  very glad we'd only recently seen Infinity War cos otherwise it would have been totally confusing. As it was, it did everything it promised too, was ridiculously flash and fast, with some fine one liners.  Which is what you want from an Avengers movie, I suppose.

Followed it with Beats, which is something of a contrast.  The use of black and white is a little irritating, it doesn't really serve any purpose, tho it maybe made the film affordable to make, in which case I'll let it off. Which I should anyway, because otherwise the film itself is brilliant. Both at celebrating nineties club culture, and at male friendship. Wicked soundtrack too.  Oh yes - it did bug me trying to remember where I'd seen 'mum' before - it's Lydia from Breaking Bad!


----------



## killer b (May 28, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> What did you think about Beats, killer b?


We didn't make it in the end - sabotaged by being too adventurous with food.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 28, 2019)

killer b said:


> We didn't make it in the end - sabotaged by being too adventurous with food.


Ah shame, i think you'd love it


----------



## Orang Utan (May 28, 2019)

belboid said:


> Finally got around to seeing Endgame at the weekend.
> 
> Even having seen most of the films over the last ten years, it still needs to be that bloody long in order for half the audience to go 'who's that again?' a dozen times.  very glad we'd only recently seen Infinity War cos otherwise it would have been totally confusing. As it was, it did everything it promised too, was ridiculously flash and fast, with some fine one liners.  Which is what you want from an Avengers movie, I suppose.
> 
> Followed it with Beats, which is something of a contrast.  The use of black and white is a little irritating, it doesn't really serve any purpose, tho it maybe made the film affordable to make, in which case I'll let it off. Which I should anyway, because otherwise the film itself is brilliant. Both at celebrating nineties club culture, and at male friendship. Wicked soundtrack too.  Oh yes - it did bug me trying to remember where I'd seen 'mum' before - it's Lydia from Breaking Bad!


I didn't see the point of it either, until the rave scenes iykwim


----------



## gaijingirl (May 29, 2019)

Aladdin - probably give it about 6.5/10.  It was good overall - especially Princess Jasmine - I thought she was pretty cool.  Will Smith as the Genie - he just wasn't as funny as I'd expected.  He was fine - but just fine really, not amazing.  The songs and music was all great and visually it was stunning - especially the rooftop chase scenes.  My kids liked it but haven't been raving on about it.  I don't think it's one they'll demand to see again and again.

The Secret Life of Pets 2.  Predictably cute and funny - very well observed cat/dog habits and Harrison Ford was super cool as the country dog.  I quite liked that it touched on the idea of anxiety with one of the main characters.  I want to say more about it but I fell asleep about 2/3 of the way through.  Not because it was shit - just because I was knackered.  I will probably try to watch it again to actually enjoy it more next time.

Can you tell it's half term?


----------



## belboid (May 31, 2019)

I'm off to see The Lost Boys in the Devil's Arse tonight, should be a laugh.  I hope.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (May 31, 2019)

belboid said:


> I'm off to see The Lost Boys in the Devil's Arse tonight, should be a laugh.  I hope.



Been trying to process this all day. Nope, still none the wiser.


----------



## Orang Utan (May 31, 2019)

Amazing Grace
Incredible Aretha Franklin gospel concert - I found it very moving despite my steadfast atheism. Unfortunately my viewing experience was ruined by a gentleman who kept looking at his phone. I told him very firmly to stop and he did, but then he got carried away (which I can't entirely blame him for) and started clapping along, but horrendously out of time. It felt like he was doing it on purpose just to annoy his fellow cinema goers. I spent too much of the film despising him to fully enjoy the film


----------



## belboid (Jun 1, 2019)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> Been trying to process this all day. Nope, still none the wiser.


Keifer in a cave!

The Devils Arse is a cave in the Peak District. They showed The Lost Boys, cos, y’know, they live in a cave. 

The screen was too small, the sound was awful to begin with but got better. The most exciting bit of the evening was when a fight almost broke out. 

But there were also bats flying in and out and across the screen, and it was generally pretty groovy. 

Half Man Half Biscuit are playing there in a couple of months, tempted to book for that too. 

Peak Cavern – Welcome to Peak and Speedwell Caverns at Castleton


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (Jun 1, 2019)

belboid said:


> Keifer in a cave!
> 
> The Devils Arse is a cave in the Peak District. They showed The Lost Boys, cos, y’know, they live in a cave.
> 
> ...



Everything about this is cool as fuck. I had no idea


----------



## Sue (Jun 1, 2019)

Birds of Passage. Indigneous people in pre-cocaine trafficking Colombia get involved in the cannabis trade. And, unsurprisingly, it all goes horribly wrong. From the same team who made the excellent Embrace of The Serpent, a fascinating look into Wayuu culture and how it and two families are corrupted.

Booksmart. Two teenagers about to leave high school decide to throw caution to the winds. Some great lines and pretty funny overall but imo not as good as (other recent high schoolish film) Eighth Grade.


----------



## shambler (Jun 4, 2019)

Woman at war

Icelandic choir leader single handedly disrupts an entire country's energy supply in battle against big energy. The lead character is inspiring, and the film carries some emotional heft, but any over-earnestness is pluckily and efficiently dismantled by a clever comedic element throughout. Beautifully shot. I fucking loved it.


----------



## Sue (Jun 4, 2019)

Thunder Road. After the death of his mother, a man's life falls apart. Played for laughs but found a lot of this really sad and poignant. And fucking hell, how absent and/or useless his friends, family and work are as he falls apart. Excellent, if a little bit of a hard watch at times.


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 4, 2019)

I was going to see Diamantino as it looks bonkers, but alas, I got to the cinema and realised I'd left my keys at work and couldn't lock my bike up so no film for me. If anyone here sees it, please let me know what you thought of it, as the trailer makes it look either terrible or brilliant.


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 5, 2019)

Rocketman.  Not what I expected.  The slow advance of male-pattern baldness was really well done.

The manager John Reid was played by Rob Stark, in Bohemian Rhapsody he was played by Littlefinger.   There you go.

Taron did all his own singing.  Apparently the couple diagonally behind my daughter had a tizzy fit every time there was drug-taking or overt homosexuality (Pensioner Wednesday at The Vue) but I missed that.


----------



## shambler (Jun 11, 2019)

High life.

Undesirables are trapped in space, possibly in an attempt to break through a black hole in search of unlimited resources, possibly not. A touching father and daughter relationship. Some enjoyable space-cabin fever drama at the outset, except this thriller aspect is neutered by a (lack of) narrative structure that is (intentionally) telegraphed. So more philosophical learnings? Too subtle for me. A big-budget, longer, more tasteful episode of black mirror. Less fun, though.


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 17, 2019)

Booksmart
2018/2019 has been a good year for coming-of-age movies. Maybe I'm at a stage in life where I can indulgently witness youngsters making their own stupid mistakes and social blunders with a distance that somehow enables a greater degree of empathy. I dunno, maybe you just get soft in your old age. But I loved this so much. Olivia Wild's direction of the actors is assured but she also moves the camera about thrillingly. The whole cast deserve an ensemble award but mainly cos they're all written so well (apart from the one note super camp gay sidekick of one of the supporting characters). The music is so well chosen too. 5 Barthelonas out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 17, 2019)

Greta
This seems like a 90s throwback film - overwrought thriller about a woman who is friendly to the wrong person and ends up being stalked in melodramatic fashion. Neil Jordan makes it better than it should be and his two leads (Chloe Grace Moretz and Isabelle Huppert), especially Huppert, help elevate it, but it's really the sort of stupid implausible overacted nonsense you normally get on ITV, except in New York, not Birmingham.


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 17, 2019)

Gloria Bell
Apparently, this is Sebastian Lelio's virtually shot-by-shot US remake of his own Chilean-made Gloria. He remade it with Julianne Moore after the success of his later film A Fantastic Woman, which I have yet to see. It's a remarkable film but I'd love to see it with the original as I suspect there are nuances I may have missed out on. It's about a woman in her 50s looking for love in shitty discos and meeting a chap played by John Turturro. Both want the same thing but their relationships with their families are so different that their future is in doubt. I don't think it quite works, so am interested to see the original to compare. Still, it's got some great performances in it and props to all the middle aged dancers in the film for dancing so self-consciously - spot on! 3 finger jabs out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 17, 2019)

John Wick 3 - Parabellum
Keanu Reeves' former stuntman jumps the horse in this spectacular but also somehow boring 3rd go in the franchise about a taciturn man double-tapping people in the face in whilst bathed in blue light, usually in a room clad in marble, all because some bad men shot his dog. 2 murder-by-books out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 17, 2019)

Shit, I also forgot I saw a Filipino film called Nervous Translation, a kind of fantastical domestic drama about a neglected 8 year old girl who makes her own world by transcribing the noises she hears around the family flat she's trapped in while the adults are at work. She's obsessed with transcribing noises, perhaps because the only communication she has with her father are audio cassette recordings meant for her mother that he records for her while he's working away in Dubai. It's set in the 80s around the fall of the Marcos dictatorship and there's definitely a political subtext I'm missing entirely, but I mostly liked it, cos it was great a showing how children create their own worlds, but I did fall asleep a couple of times and I did feel occasionally bewildered by what was happening.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (Jun 17, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> John Wick 3 - Parabellum
> Keanu Reeves' former stuntman jumps the horse in this spectacular but also somehow boring 3rd go in the franchise about a taciturn man double-tapping people in the face in whilst bathed in blue light, usually in a room clad in marble, all because some bad men shot his dog. 2 murder-by-books out of 5



Innovative use of a horse to kill a baddie tho


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 17, 2019)

After 82: The Untold Story Of The AIDS Crisis In The UK
Intriguing oral history in which survivors of the crisis talk of a fearful time when so little was known yet so many were dying. It's accurate to describe them as survivors - one talks about how the constant toll of friends and lovers dying caused in him complex PTSD, which is more commonly acquired on battlefields in and in torture chambers. I was glad to have watched the film, yet felt so drained by it that I could not face staying on for the Q&A featuring elderly men talking of a terrible time in their lives.


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 17, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> John Wick 3 - Parabellum
> Keanu Reeves' former stuntman jumps the horse in this spectacular but also somehow boring 3rd go in the franchise about a taciturn man double-tapping people in the face in whilst bathed in blue light, usually in a room clad in marble, all because some bad men shot his dog. 2 murder-by-books out of 5


Marble was in the second film, his dog was shot in the first.

You get that the blue light means he's in kill mode, right, part of the thing?   He's lit in other tones at other times.

It's great film-making that steps into Korean-level action territory such as The Raid films and The Villainess (which is reffed in 3)

5 Haille Berrys out of 5.


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 17, 2019)

it's all one film


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 17, 2019)

DexterTCN said:


> Marble was in the second film, his dog was shot in the first.
> 
> You get that the blue light means he's in kill mode, right, part of the thing?   He's lit in other tones at other times.


yes, it looks lovely. what youtube vid did you get that from?


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 17, 2019)

Just going through my ticket receipts and I missed a whole bunch of stuff. I bought tickets for a bunch of things but didn't make it cos my brain or body wasn't co-operating. High Life, Madeline's Madeline, Vox Lux and Diamintino are the main ones. Especially gutted about missing High Life.


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 17, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> yes, it looks lovely. what youtube vid did you get that from?


It's been a few places...might have been one with an interview with the directors or cinemawins.  Nerdwriter, Lessons from the screenplay, movies with mikey, beyond the trailer, ...the quality of videos available is stunning both in variety and education if you like a movie.


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 17, 2019)

But I did also see:
Rafiki - Kenyan coming-of-age drama about two teenage girls from rival families (their fathers are political opponents) who fall in love. It's quite coy (understandably so considering the legal situation in Kenya) but it's devastating in its depiction of the dangers of being yourself in an intolerant society. Wanuri Kahiu's film is not all glum though, and shows hope for the future with its portrayal of the young people, dressed to impress and lusting for love in a Nairobi that looks fun to go out in (but only if you're straight  )


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 17, 2019)

I also saw Out Of Blue, but can't remember anything about it at all. WTF? It must have been shite.


----------



## 8115 (Jun 17, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Just going through my ticket receipts and I missed a whole bunch of stuff. I bought tickets for a bunch of things but didn't make it cos my brain or body wasn't co-operating. High Life, Madeline's Madeline, Vox Lux and Diamintino are the main ones. Especially gutted about missing High Life.


A lot of people didn't like High Life but I really enjoyed it.


----------



## Part 2 (Jun 18, 2019)

Maradona - documentary by the maker of Senna, and Amy. Lots of personal archive footage, the film focuses on his time playing at Napoli during which he won Serie A with them and the World Cup with Argentina aswell as comitting the 'hand of god' incident. I'm not a massive football fan so only know what I've seen in the media about him. It opened my eyes to a lot of stuff about the way he was treated, rather than just being a fotballer with a cocaine habit who hung around with gangsters. It's hard to imagine coming from sharing a shack with your family to having the world at your feet for such amazing talent then being turned upon so harshly. My son and I talked about it for ages after which for me is always a good sign of a good film.


----------



## D'wards (Jun 19, 2019)

Booksmart. It was quite good, but not as good as I expected judging by the reviews. 
It has been compared to Superbad, but then I wasn't crazy about that either, despite everyone saying it was at the peak of the genre. 
I much preferred Ladybird, on a similar theme but different style


----------



## Sue (Jun 19, 2019)

D'wards said:


> Booksmart. It was quite good, but not as good as I expected judging by the reviews.
> It has been compared to Superbad, but then I wasn't crazy about that either, despite everyone saying it was at the peak of the genre.
> I much preferred Ladybird, on a similar theme but different style


Have you seen Eighth Grade? Also out recently and imo better than Booksmart.


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 20, 2019)

Mid90s was also great


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 30, 2019)

Ma
Good old fashioned nasty domestic horror with Octavia Spencer as a lonely vet's assistant who lets a group of teens drink in her basement and gets too attached, going into full slasher mode. It would be a two starrer if it didn't star Spencer, who is brilliant, playing the perfect mix between vulnerable and deranged. Three	mortifying robot dances out of five


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 30, 2019)

Rocketman
Director Dexter Fletcher proves himself to be a great director of musicals, esp dance numbers, after scoring high with Bohemian Rhapsody. Lee Hall creates a better story here, but it's quite the standard addiction story. The therapy/AA scenes are good, the costumes and set design fabulous the choreography outstanding, and it's great to see Elton John's sexuality to be portrayed so unapologetically, but it suffers from having a soundtrack by Elton John, whose musical appeal has always escaped me. Two outrageous pairs of spectactles out of five.


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 30, 2019)

Brightburn
A dark inversion of the Superman/superhero mythology: what if superman wanted to destroy us?
Not enough is really made of this idea, but it's visually inventive, with some old school practical effects providing us with shocking gory moments that reminded me of the Final Destination series. Three creepy kids in homemade masks out of five


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 30, 2019)

Thunder Road
Jim Cummings, who stars, writes, directs and edits, crowdfunded this after a ten-minute version (featuring the first scene of this film) won Sundance. It's an at times excruciating but very funny comedy about a cop falling apart and making poor decision after poor decision after his mum dies and he embarrasses himself at her funeral. Jim Cummings has such an expressive face that you feel for him no matter how pathetic or needy he behaves and there are so many touching moments in this that it almost ends up as a feelgood film, though not quite. Nothing about this film is expected or trite. Can't wait to see what he does next. Four snotty public breakdowns out of five


----------



## Orang Utan (Jun 30, 2019)

Sometimes Always Never
Bill Nighy is very good at leaning to one side and making arch comments. He does this a lot here, while trying on (unsuccessfully) a Scouse accent. He plays a verbose tailor who know a lot of words but cannot talk to his family, one of whom has been missing for years, after an argument about a two letter word in a Scrabble game. It has an excellent script by Frank Cottrell Boyce, and the cast is excellent, but it doesn't ultimately go anywhere. Three Qis out of five


----------



## DexterTCN (Jun 30, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Brightburn
> A dark inversion of the Superman/superhero mythology: what if superman wanted to destroy us?
> Not enough is really made of this idea, but it's visually inventive, with some old school practical effects providing us with shocking gory moments that reminded me of the Final Destination series. Three creepy kids in homemade masks out of five


I didn't like it at all, mainly because I thought it was a great idea done badly.  No heart.

Chronicle from 2015 took the same kind of idea and did it much better.


----------



## Sue (Jun 30, 2019)

Protect the Girls. Follows a day in the life of a fictional Hooters-style bar. Not much happens but thought this was really good. Regina Hall, as the manager holding things together, is excellent.

In Fabric. Slightly difficult to classify but bad things happen to those who wear a mysterious red dress. Bits of it have a distinct look and feel of Hammer Horror, with some HR pseudo nonsense that made me laugh and a touch of Suspiria thrown in for good measure. Doesn't make a whole load of sense but I quite liked the utter randomness of it all. (And the Hammer Horror touches made me feel quite nostalgic.)

Also refreshing to see two films on general release with not only a middle-aged female lead but a black middle-aged female lead at that. (Marianne Jean-Baptiste is the lead of In Fabric.) The first two don't happen very often, all three even more rarely.


----------



## DexterTCN (Jul 3, 2019)

Spiderman: Far From Home.

aka the european tour.  Perfectly decent for what it is, lots of callbacks to Endgame and Iron Man, lots of laughs.   Aunt May gets laid.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Jul 8, 2019)

Anyone seen Midsommar yet? It's got my darling Florence Pugh in it so I shall try to make the effort.


----------



## Artaxerxes (Jul 8, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Anyone seen Midsommar yet? It's got my darling Florence Pugh in it so I shall try to make the effort.



Saw it Friday.

Very good, much better than Hereditary.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Jul 8, 2019)

Artaxerxes said:


> Saw it Friday.
> 
> Very good, much better than Hereditary.


Great. Must try to get to see it this week.


----------



## metalguru (Jul 8, 2019)

Vita and Virginia

I did have my doubts about this, despite the good reviews. _"A hothouse of patrician passion" - 3/5 stars out of 5 - Peter Bradshaw, Guardian."The affair between Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf is winningly recreated by Gemma Arterton and Elizabeth Debicki"_

it isn't very good: terrible mannered acting, intrusive and poor soundtrack. It's not in the least bit exciting or erotic even. But it was nice to look at and gave a sense of what it was like to live in beautiful surroundings.


----------



## Wilf (Jul 9, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Great. Must try to get to see it this week.


Saw it on Sunday. Loved it, in part because I like long, slow building films. Beautifully shot, lots of weirdness, mixture of horror and occasional comedy. And with a tiny, tiny spoiler that you'll have already twigged if you've seen the trailer...



Spoiler: not much of a spoiler



... an excellent revisiting of the Wicker Man.



I'm not entirely sure the message(s) in the film were that clear or, more likely, that I interpreted it right. But it certainly works at the level of sit down, watch it, go with it.


----------



## RubyToogood (Jul 9, 2019)

Apollo 11. Quite gripping and fills in lots of bits you didn't know about. It brought home to me how incredibly complex the whole thing was. It's pure archive footage with no narration or interviews. 

One of my takeaways from it was the serried ranks of balding men who staffed the whole thing. The workplace and men's hairstyles have changed.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Jul 13, 2019)

Wilf said:


> Saw it on Sunday. Loved it, in part because I like long, slow building films. Beautifully shot, lots of weirdness, mixture of horror and occasional comedy. And with a tiny, tiny spoiler that you'll have already twigged if you've seen the trailer...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Saw it last night and loved it! I don't know why they were doing any of the things they were doing but the serene oddness of it all was very compelling.

Florence - of course - was marvellous.


----------



## tim (Jul 13, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Saw it last night and loved it! I don't know why they were doing any of the things they were doing but the serene oddness of it all was very compelling.
> 
> Florence - of course - was marvellous.


I thought the John Nettles cameo was a nice touch


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Jul 13, 2019)

tim said:


> I thought the John Nettles cameo was a nice touch


Wut??


----------



## tim (Jul 13, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Wut??


Did you miss it?


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Jul 13, 2019)

tim said:


> Did you miss it?


Errr...?
Oh fuck
Right


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Jul 14, 2019)

Spider-man far from home.

A fun summer superhero film. Tom Holland is a great Peter Parker.

I wish they would stop destroying London.


----------



## Sue (Jul 14, 2019)

Never Look Away. From the writer/director of The Lives of Others, follows an artist from witnessing a terrible event as a child in Germany just pre-WW2 across a thirty-year period. As well as art, there's a love story and things to say about what happened to those who did truly terrible things during the war and escaped justice. It's long at a bit over three hours but it really didn't feel it. I found it mesmerising.


----------



## xenon (Jul 16, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Saw it last night and loved it! I don't know why they were doing any of the things they were doing but the serene oddness of it all was very compelling.
> 
> Florence - of course - was marvellous.


Saw this last night, bit long I thought, I did like it though. Wince inducing at times and jarring in a good way, soundtrack. As well as Wicker Man obviously, it reminded me a bit of A Cure for Wellness.


----------



## kazza007 (Jul 16, 2019)

Saw 'midsommar' last week. Superb. Nice that they didn't downgrade any of the gore etc, too many 15 certificate 'horrors' (though it seems to defy genre). Look forward to more of the directors works (hereditary was excellent too) Go see.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Jul 17, 2019)

"The Dead Don't Die"
It's funny and I enjoyed watching it but I kept having this nagging feeling of "I hope this just doesn't go on and on forever" because it could have done.

Some of the storylines don't go anywhere which is odd. Maybe I just haven't seen a Jim Jarmusch film for a while.

Enjoyable though and a stellar cast who are all great to watch.


----------



## SpookyFrank (Jul 17, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Anyone seen Midsommar yet? It's got my darling Florence Pugh in it so I shall try to make the effort.



When I saw the glowing guardian review I did wonder if they only liked it because it stars the person with the most guardian-sounding name in history.


----------



## Buddy Bradley (Jul 20, 2019)

Nanker Phelge said:


> Spider-man far from home.
> 
> A fun summer superhero film. Tom Holland is a great Peter Parker.
> 
> I wish they would stop destroying London.


I wish they would stop using drones as a plot point. We get it, drones are a thing now, well done, every action movie screenwriter in the last 2 years.


----------



## tim (Jul 20, 2019)

xenon said:


> Saw this last night, bit long I thought, I did like it though. Wince inducing at times and jarring in a good way, soundtrack. As well as Wicker Man obviously, it reminded me a bit of A Cure for Wellness.



Not many surprises though, even idmf you haven't seen the Wicker Man.

It is however more A"Through the Looking Glass", than "Alice in Wonerland". Lots of stuff with mirrors and she ends up as a **** in the ***; Igemar and Pelle were Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Edited out respect to those who haven't read Alice through the "Looking Glass", whose ending, as Orang Utan pointed out I had spoilt. As to Midsommar it's unspoilably predictable. Not only can you guess the general fate of all the participants, all the plot details are on given in detail in  the pictures wallsand paintings on the first hour of the movie


----------



## Orang Utan (Jul 20, 2019)

Oi! Spoilers, tim !


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Jul 20, 2019)

SpookyFrank said:


> When I saw the glowing guardian review I did wonder if they only liked it because it stars the person with the most guardian-sounding name in history.


Watch Lady Macbeth and see how fantastic she is as an actor. I just adore her.


----------



## tim (Jul 20, 2019)

U


SpookyFrank said:


> When I saw the glowing guardian review I did wonder if they only liked it because it stars the person with the most guardian-sounding name in history.



Not as Guardiany as her sister Gladys


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Jul 20, 2019)

Good morning campers!


----------



## tim (Jul 20, 2019)

It's such a pity that Jimmy Perry and David Croft never made a horror movie.


----------



## Sue (Jul 21, 2019)

Varda by Agnes. In her last film, Agnes Varda talks about her life and work. 

A lovely film about a great (and underrated) director who was still open to and exploring new ideas in her 80s. An interesting and interested woman, could've listened to her talk for hours.


----------



## Buddy Bradley (Jul 21, 2019)

tim said:


> U
> 
> 
> Not as Guardiany as her sister Gladys


She was a special guest at an event I worked the bar for many years ago. Total lush.


----------



## Sue (Jul 21, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> "The Dead Don't Die"
> It's funny and I enjoyed watching it but I kept having this nagging feeling of "I hope this just doesn't go on and on forever" because it could have done.
> 
> Some of the storylines don't go anywhere which is odd. Maybe I just haven't seen a Jim Jarmusch film for a while.
> ...


Felt a bit meh about it tbh and like it should've been better than it was. I mean, enjoyable enough, just seriously ran out of steam. And a lot of the cast felt wasted.

(I did see myself in the Iggy Pop (and woman he was with) characters though. )


----------



## 8115 (Jul 24, 2019)

Vita & Virginia. It was, well, ok. Fairly interesting for the Virginia Woolf stuff and reasonably interesting for the portrait of Vita Sackville-West. Didn't set my world on fire. And was Virginia Woolf really so bloody _wet_?


----------



## Orang Utan (Jul 24, 2019)

8115 said:


> Vita & Virginia. It was, well, ok. Fairly interesting for the Virginia Woolf stuff and reasonably interesting for the portrait of Vita Sackville-West. Didn't set my world on fire. And was Virginia Woolf really so bloody _wet_?


She definitely was at the end of her life


----------



## gosub (Jul 31, 2019)

Current war.  Misses out Swan & Armstrong side of things (understandable for narrative) but good film, well done.   And  one that adds to the public narrative of how we got where we are


----------



## RubyToogood (Aug 9, 2019)

Animals. Around 6.5 out of ten maybe? A decent watch. Not sure why it was set in Dublin. Lots and lots of drugs. Interesting storyline about what happens to a close friendship when one party gets engaged.


----------



## DJWrongspeed (Aug 9, 2019)

Saw Chambermaid recently. Highly recommended with a mysterious ending.


----------



## blossie33 (Aug 9, 2019)

Yes, I wondered how they would end it, guess it was just showing a slice of her life and you could make your own mind up about it 

I thought it was good too, very good acting by her with few words - not easy to do.


----------



## oryx (Aug 9, 2019)

RubyToogood said:


> Animals. Around 6.5 out of ten maybe? A decent watch. Not sure why it was set in Dublin. Lots and lots of drugs. Interesting storyline about what happens to a close friendship when one party gets engaged.



I read the book and thought it was brilliant - both poignant and extremely funny. May go and see it depending on further reviews/if we don't go and see the Leonard Cohan film instead.

ETA - I was also surprised it was set in Dublin - Manchester is a really strong presence in the book IYSWIM.


----------



## RubyToogood (Aug 9, 2019)

oryx said:


> I read the book and thought it was brilliant - both poignant and extremely funny. May go and see it depending on further reviews/if we don't go and see the Leonard Cohan film instead.
> 
> ETA - I was also surprised it was set in Dublin - Manchester is a really strong presence in the book IYSWIM.


Yeah, I read the Wikipedia entry about the book and thought it sounded more coherent tbh, although the writer of the book also wrote the screenplay. It would have made more sense in Manchester I think.


----------



## oryx (Aug 10, 2019)

RubyToogood said:


> Yeah, I read the Wikipedia entry about the book and thought it sounded more coherent tbh, although the writer of the book also wrote the screenplay. It would have made more sense in Manchester I think.


Highly recommend the book - I'd lend you it if only I had a hard copy instead of a Kindle version! It's hilarious and a really good insight into how toxic (I hate that word but can't think of a better one in this context!) friendships work.


----------



## RubyToogood (Aug 10, 2019)

oryx said:


> Highly recommend the book - I'd lend you it if only I had a hard copy instead of a Kindle version! It's hilarious and a really good insight into how toxic (I hate that word but can't think of a better one in this context!) friendships work.


The impression I got was that 



Spoiler



in the book Tyler deliberately sets Laura up to sleep with Marty in order to sabotage her engagement whereas in the film this isn't really spelled out and so it falls a bit flat.



In short I thought it was probably a case of the book being better than the film, without actually ever having read the book. I will try and get it.
E2A it does have some good outfits though.


----------



## Part 2 (Aug 12, 2019)

Anyone seen Holiday?....I didn't see it at the pictures but I know it's recently been on in Manchester so might be on release although it's a 2018 film. 

I'd heard there was a shocking scene in it but hadn't thought beyond that what it might be. 



Spoiler



It's a brutal rape



A very good film about the dull lives of small time gangsters, on holiday in Turkey.


----------



## gosub (Aug 13, 2019)

Apocalypse Now! Final Edit : enjoyed it


----------



## Wilf (Aug 15, 2019)

gosub said:


> Current war.  Misses out Swan & Armstrong side of things (understandable for narrative) but good film, well done.   And  one that adds to the public narrative of how we got where we are


Must admit I didn't like it, felt really flat throughout and I didn't really care about any of the characters.  And that was before I remembered it was a Weinstein production (from which he was later written out).


----------



## Wilf (Aug 15, 2019)

gosub said:


> Apocalypse Now! Final Edit : enjoyed it


We were booked in to watch that and I was really looking forward to it - would have been the first time I'd seen it on the big screen, maybe the first time all the way through also. Trouble is I have neck/back problems and the seats we booked were at the outer end of a row. Would have been too much to sit for 4 hours.

The point of this heartwarming tale is that we turned up at the cinema and because we've got a monthly card for the ugc, we replaced Apocalypse Now with Blinded by the Light - probably the biggest contrast in cinema history.   It was actually quite good, though it got dangerously close to becoming a sentimental, song and dance film in places.  Same feel as Pride.

Saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood last night. Certainly a 4/5. Mixes a storyline about a declining moviestar and his stuntman with real events from the late 70s. There's a twist but that would be _very_ spoilery.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Aug 15, 2019)

Is it a good twist Wilf ?


----------



## Wilf (Aug 15, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> Is it a good twist Wilf ?


Yes, it's unexpected, but something that you also want to happen.  It's actually quite funny as well. If I even allude to it, you might get what I'm on about, so I won't. Realise that's not very helpful  but it is a good film.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Aug 15, 2019)

Wilf said:


> Yes, it's unexpected, but something that you also want to happen.  It's actually quite funny as well. If I even allude to it, you might get what I'm on about, so I won't. Realise that's not very helpful  but it is a good film.


That's helpful enough! It's one of the few films I'm interested in at the moment and just want to make sure it's not going to be rubbish


----------



## Sue (Aug 25, 2019)

Saw Hail Satan?, a documentary about Satanists in the US. Except it's about way more than that. Very funny  -- go and see it for troiling on a grand scale.

Eta And I defy anyone not to come out of it more Satanist than not.


----------



## marty21 (Aug 26, 2019)

Haven't been to the cinema in ages , fancied sitting in air con this afternoon #scorchio so went to see Angel is Fallen ,  totally stupid 3rd film in the Fallen franchise. Lots of bombs, gun-play, fighting and shenanigans.  Enjoyed it , and enjoyed the air con too.


----------



## Sue (Aug 27, 2019)

Almodovar's latest, Pain and Glory. Low key reflection on the past. Antonio Banderas is excellent. Also liked the twist at the very end.


----------



## Orang Utan (Aug 29, 2019)

Bait
Extraordinary no-budget black and white Cornish drama about two brothers struggling to adapt to the gentrification of their fishing village. Filmed in a scuffed-up 16mm, with the sound and dialogue synced in post-production, according to director Mark Jenkin's Silent Landscape Dancing Grain 13 manifesto, it has to potential to seem pretentious and pointlessly constrained, but it works brilliantly - the images are remarkable and haunting and the weird non-diagetic sound and dialogue, along with the non-linear narrative and editing all contrive to make an unforgettable film. Can't wait to see what Jenkin does next.
It also has an erstwhile Urbanite in a fairly large role, and they smash it. Such a strange thrill to see them on a massive screen!
Jenkin's manifesto is here, in case anyone is interested:
 
5 bleddy emmits out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Aug 29, 2019)

The Souvenir
I wanted to hate this. I've been steering clear of Joanna Hogg's films as I've perceived her to be one of those dreary Posh People's Problems film-makers like Stephen Poliakoff. She kind of is, but she acknowledges and almost satirises this in this film about a young rich Knightsbridge resident embarking upon both a film-making career and a dangerous relationship with a mysterious and arrogant fellow toff. I didn't think I'd identify with or be interested in such characters but to Hogg's credit, I did and found it moving and engaging throughout. Will have to look at her other films now. 
3 monogrammed suitcases out of 5


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Sep 3, 2019)

Inna De Yard

A lovely film that follows the recording of an acoustic reggae album which sees the old guard pull together with the youth and passing the baton.

It's sweet and funny and sad in equal measures. Each of these artists have their own poignant tale of survival, their music and their culture.

It's worth watching just to see inside Ken Boothe's bedroom.

The tunes are obviously great.


----------



## blossie33 (Sep 3, 2019)

Going to see it today


----------



## Sue (Sep 4, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> The Souvenir
> I wanted to hate this. I've been steering clear of Joanna Hogg's films as I've perceived her to be one of those dreary Posh People's Problems film-makers like Stephen Poliakoff. She kind of is, but she acknowledges and almost satirises this in this film about a young rich Knightsbridge resident embarking upon both a film-making career and a dangerous relationship with a mysterious and arrogant fellow toff. I didn't think I'd identify with or be interested in such characters but to Hogg's credit, I did and found it moving and engaging throughout. Will have to look at her other films now.
> 3 monogrammed suitcases out of 5


Likewise. Went to see it purely because I was waiting to see a later film and I had a free ticket.

Found it quite annoying in some ways but the acting was very good.


----------



## Sue (Sep 4, 2019)

Transit. Based on a 1940's novel by a German anti-fascist, updates the story of people fleeing the Occupation and trying to escaps France. Thought the (slightly unusual) update worked really well. Catch this if you can.


----------



## Gromit (Sep 5, 2019)

Sue said:


> Saw Hail Satan?, a documentary about Satanists in the US. Except it's about way more than that. Very funny  -- go and see it for troiling on a grand scale.
> 
> Eta And I defy anyone not to come out of it more Satanist than not.


Thanks for this recommendation.

They had me at testicles on the gravestone.

My support just grew and grew from there.


----------



## DexterTCN (Sep 6, 2019)

It:  Chapter II

Very good sequel to 2017's first part which turned out to be a massive hit.  It changes the ending of the book, cuts out more stuff than the first one, adds in some stuff, fleetingly touches some important stuff from the book in background nods by way of apology for not including them.  Doesn't mention...it.

I didn't find it scary but it's hard to find good scares and I'm an It expert.  What it is is bloody funny at times, perfectly reflecting The Losers.  

McAvoy isn't allowed to steal the whole thing, Hader is excellent.


----------



## Orang Utan (Sep 6, 2019)

Holiday.
I was intrigued to see this as the director, Isabella Elkof, co-wrote Border, which is one of the most original films I've seen in years. Border was extremely disturbing and provocative, but not nearly as much as this tale of a young woman, Sascha, involved with a deeply odious Danish criminal gang family on holiday/business in Bodrum. The whole film is suffused with unease and dread and the depravity that ensues is one of the hardest things I have ever had to watch. I found myself looking away or putting my hand in front of my eyes in one particular scene. There was one walkout in the showing I saw, so be warned. The culmination of the film's events do not conform to what we would usually expect from the kinds of films that it has been compared to (Irreversible is one of them) and by the end we're wrongfooted by Sascha's actions and taken to a different place than we expected. Not a film I ever have a desire to see again but Elkof is one to watch. 3 hideous but expensive emerald earrings out of 5


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Sep 8, 2019)

It Chapter II; Shit chapter too.


----------



## Orang Utan (Sep 8, 2019)

Nanker Phelge said:


> It Chapter II; Shit chapter too.


I watched the first part last night to see if it was worth bothering with part two. It's not. i don't get bored by films easily but this was fucking boring. way too long. and part two is way longer


----------



## Nanker Phelge (Sep 8, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> I watched the first part last night to see if it was worth bothering with part two. It's not. i don't get bored by films easily but this was fucking boring. way too long. and part two is way longer



I saw pt 1 in cinema and enjoyed it (apart from the end).

Pt 2 is just weak, long and daft.


----------



## Wilf (Sep 9, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> I watched the first part last night to see if it was worth bothering with part two. It's not. i don't get bored by films easily but this was fucking boring. way too long. and part two is way longer


Yep, thought it was dreadful. 



Spoiler: because...



nothing wrong with long films, I love them. But this was just poor pacing and way too much rehashing scenes from the first film. Also, don't know if this is just a case of using what was in the book, but the clown got worse and worse throughout the film. The point was supposed to be the contradiction of a nominally child friendly but evil figure. Instead it became the cliché  of large stomping spider. Weak stuff.


----------



## Orang Utan (Sep 12, 2019)

Transit - a weird little film that I'm not sure I quite understood as I was very very sleepy and nodded off a couple of times. It seems to be set in modern-day Paris and Marseille, but the plot is a WW2 story about people trying to flee the encroaching Nazi occupiers. The characters seem to be dressed from the 40s and no one uses mobile phones or modern transport, yet the cops and other elements are definitely set in the real world. A cynic could interpret this as a cheap move to limit the film's budget, but perhaps this is done for artistic reasons. I have no idea what they might be though. I left the cinema confused, feeling like I had failed a test. A curate's egg.


----------



## Orang Utan (Sep 12, 2019)

Hail Satan?
Hilarious documentary on The Satanic Temple, doing some excellent work trolling the American religious right with publicity stunts like applying for statues of Baphomet to be erected outside city halls, alongside Ten Commandments slabs (that incidentally were only installed in the 50s to promote the Charlton Heston movie). Behind the fun and games and dressing up are some serious-minded people with valid criticisms of the encroaching power of the religious right in a supposed secular state, making a solid case for the right to self-expression and religious expression without trampling on other people's rights. They've convinced me. Hail Satanists! (though they need better wardrobes and music - why do they all have to dress in black?)


----------



## Wilf (Sep 18, 2019)

A failed anarchist writes:

Don't know how to say this, but I'll come straight out with it. *I saw Downton Abbey last night*.  It was an explicit deal with partner, she'd come with me to watch something or other and I paid the price last night. Oh boy did I.

The nearest I can come to a review is that it works well, as the series does in terms of set design and visuals. Lots of one liners from Maggie Smith. But the fucking plot... Astonishingly inept pro-monarchist drivel where a former republican ends up doing something, well, let's say you wouldn't expect them to do. Every twee little story line ends up resolved happily, literally, every one. All the little people in the village and below stairs show their love and gratitude to their betters and Downton Abbey itself 'abides'.  If it was possible to put the politics aside, it was still be a complete pile of cack. Astonishingly, most of the reviews seem to be quite positive, aside from noting that it was 'undemanding'.


----------



## Sue (Sep 18, 2019)

Oh Wilf . This is why I (generally) go to the cinema on my own.

ETA What did your partner think?


----------



## Wilf (Sep 18, 2019)

Sue said:


> Oh Wilf . This is why I (generally) go to the cinema on my own.
> 
> ETA What did your partner think?


Thankfully, she wasn't impressed. In fact she agreed that it was 'inept pro-monarchist drivel'. 

One of the servants, literally, fainted with excitement when he found he was going to serve the King his tea. As would I at the thought of taking a lumphammer to Julian Fellowes.


----------



## Sue (Sep 18, 2019)

Wilf said:


> Thankfully, she wasn't impressed. In fact she agreed that it was 'inept pro-monarchist drivel'.
> 
> One of the servants, literally, fainted with excitement when he found he was going to serve the King his tea. As would I at the thought of taking a lumphammer to Julian Fellowes.


Well at least you can remind her of this the next time she wants you to go and see something godawful.


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Sep 21, 2019)

Off to watch Fight Club shortly.  Blimey- 20 years.


----------



## imposs1904 (Sep 26, 2019)

Upstairs Planet: Cleaners From Venus & the Universe of Martin Newell (dir. Graham Bendel, 2019) 

A free showing at a local(ish) university. Really enjoyed it. I didn't expect it to be so funny in places, and if it means more people get to discover the music of Martin Newell, then that can only be a good thing.


----------



## Orang Utan (Sep 29, 2019)

Ad Astra
Yawn


----------



## Sue (Sep 29, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Ad Astra
> Yawn


I quite liked it.


----------



## Orang Utan (Sep 29, 2019)

Sue said:


> I quite liked it.


That voiceover killed it for me


----------



## redsquirrel (Sep 29, 2019)

I'm with Sue. It had it's flaws (I thought the first half was significantly stronger than the second) but it was certainly an interesting film, and properly cinematic. Pitt was good and always good to see Sutherland and Lee Jones.


----------



## 8115 (Oct 2, 2019)

Judy. Very good, heartbreakingly so. Renee Zellweger is fantastic. I went to see it after hearing something on the radio about it, I like Judy Garland but mostly on a punt on an autumn evening after work. Really enjoyed it, very insightful.


----------



## PursuedByBears (Oct 2, 2019)

Nanker Phelge said:


> Inna De Yard
> 
> A lovely film that follows the recording of an acoustic reggae album which sees the old guard pull together with the youth and passing the baton.
> 
> ...


Saw it tonight; much more bittersweet than I expected. Will look out for it on Netflix etc and watch it again.


----------



## Abscissa5 (Oct 3, 2019)

Seems like you have got an amazing cinema.


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 3, 2019)

Abscissa5 said:


> Seems like you have got an amazing cinema.


we don't all go to the same cinema!


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 6, 2019)

Two films this weekend hit me in the feels big time. The Farewell and Inna Da Yard, both for very different reasons. The first is about family and the second is about music but both films are about love and how we articulate it. Highly recommended.


----------



## Wilf (Oct 7, 2019)

redsquirrel said:


> I'm with Sue. It had it's flaws (I thought the first half was significantly stronger than the second) but it was certainly an interesting film, and properly cinematic. Pitt was good and always good to see Sutherland and Lee Jones.


I wasn't too keen on the voiceover and the parallels with  couple of other films were a bit too obvious e.g. Solaris (stillness) and Apocalypse Now (search for the visionary gone mad). But still really enjoyed it.


----------



## RubyToogood (Oct 7, 2019)

Wilf said:


> A failed anarchist writes:
> 
> Don't know how to say this, but I'll come straight out with it. *I saw Downton Abbey last night*.  It was an explicit deal with partner, she'd come with me to watch something or other and I paid the price last night. Oh boy did I.
> 
> The nearest I can come to a review is that it works well, as the series does in terms of set design and visuals. Lots of one liners from Maggie Smith. But the fucking plot... Astonishingly inept pro-monarchist drivel where a former republican ends up doing something, well, let's say you wouldn't expect them to do. Every twee little story line ends up resolved happily, literally, every one. All the little people in the village and below stairs show their love and gratitude to their betters and Downton Abbey itself 'abides'.  If it was possible to put the politics aside, it was still be a complete pile of cack. Astonishingly, most of the reviews seem to be quite positive, aside from noting that it was 'undemanding'.


I shamefacedly have to admit that I saw this too and totally concur. I went because I thought it might be enjoyable escapist nonsense and it scores extremely well on rottentomatoes. 

It was just total fawning, obsequious drivel. If anything I came out more of an anarcho-socialist than I went in. So yeah. Go and see Downton and be radicalised.


----------



## Sue (Oct 7, 2019)

Even a (completely non-political) friend with godawful taste in films was telling me how bad this was and how appalling its politics.


----------



## 8115 (Oct 14, 2019)

The Day Shall Come. Comedy about a pastor in America who gets involved with the FBI. Directed by Chris Morris of 4 Lions fame. I only realised this when I got to the cinema and nearly went home because I thought 4 Lions was crap. But I enjoyed this and it made a good point.


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Oct 14, 2019)

Joker
enjoyed it a great deal


----------



## DexterTCN (Oct 14, 2019)

Throbbing Angel said:


> Joker
> enjoyed it a great deal


I've seen it twice at the cinema now.

Joachim is stunning in this.  I may have recency bias but it blows away Ledger.  That's not to detract from Ledger, standing on the shoulders of giants and all that, he raised the bar.

The bit where he's dancing for the kids in hospital, jesus.


----------



## DJWrongspeed (Oct 14, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Two films this weekend hit me in the feels big time. The Farewell and Inna Da Yard, both for very different reasons. The first is about family and the second is about music but both films are about love and how we articulate it. Highly recommended.



Yeah Farewell. Awkwafina 
is born to be on screen. It's a rare film that tackles the loss that accompanies migration.

Am unlikely to see a better film this year than this Indian Himalayas film "The Gold-Laden Sheep & The Sacred Mountain." Probably not coming to a screen near you sadly....


----------



## Wilf (Oct 19, 2019)

Sue said:


> Well at least you can remind her of this the next time she wants you to go and see something godawful.


I don't know how to admit this, but I'm returning to the scene of the crime. I'm over at my elderly Mum's who can't really go out on her own now. Asked her if she wanted to go to the flicks and... yes, _that_. 

Maybe it's an ancient mariner thing and I'm compelled to keep watching it for all eternity. Or it could just be brexit - paying money to see something produced by a tory. Pray for me. 

Mind, by the time I get back, johnson may or may not have signed a letter. There's a downton with my name on it and a ditch with his.


----------



## Sue (Oct 19, 2019)

Oh Wilf . Can you get pissed and sleep through it or something..?


----------



## Wilf (Oct 19, 2019)

Sue said:


> Oh Wilf . Can you get pissed and sleep through it or something..?


I'm there now. Codeine, pregabalin and a can. I WILL survive.


----------



## Sue (Oct 19, 2019)

Wilf said:


> I'm there now. Codeine, pregabalin and a can. I WILL survive.


 Good luck!


----------



## Wilf (Oct 20, 2019)

Sue said:


> Good luck!


It was horrible. It was like the forced film watch in clockwork orange.


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 23, 2019)

Joker - the best thing about it was Hildur Guðnadóttir's score and the clips from Modern Times. Not much more than a very dark Batman origin story with a juvenile treatment of mental illness. 2 humourless incels out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 23, 2019)

Rockers (1979)
Saw this at my local as part of Black History Month. Fantastic and charming film about a young man grafting in Kingston, Jamaica. The entire cast are reggae royalty such as Gregory Isaacs and Burning Spear and there is some excellent neorealist-style footage of Jamaicans just living, at dances, gatherings and shops. There's even a lovely sequence of a 7" record being pressed. The music is brilliant and on the soundtrack constantly. 4 Bicycle Teeves out of 5


----------



## A380 (Oct 24, 2019)

Zombieland- Double Tap. Better than the first, funny and clever without being too clever for its own good.


----------



## campanula (Oct 24, 2019)

heaving massive sighs.
I dunno why I check these threads (this and the Netflix one) unless it is some masochistic torture tendency. I might have hoped for some vicarious enjoyment but it doesn't really work like that - reading other people's reviews. I have been sincerely trying to sit through a film (I used to love the cinema) but find it impossible to manage. I have hung onto my Netflix sub in the hope of unlocking the key to my complete failure to manage more than 3 or 4 minutes. I have worked through nearly all the recommendations but find it  demoralising that my attention is wandering, my feet are twitching, fingers tapping, mad sniffing, stretching, sighing. Truly bizarre. Even worse, it seems as though music is also on the point of vanishing from my life. I have no understanding of this whatsoever as I am perfectly capable of being still and concentrating on any number of tasks - I can knit for days, yet asked to sit and watch pretty much anything on a screen and I am all over the place.  Apols for blurting dreary personal shit all over the thread - I feel as though I am in mourning, almost.


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 24, 2019)

Aniara.
Bleak Swedish scif-fi drama about the people on a huge spaceship hurtling towards nothing. Solaris meets High-Rise. Those ruddy Scandivians love a bit of misery and doom, don't they? 4 millennial space cults out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 25, 2019)

The Last Tree
Drama about a British Nigerian boy who, after being brought up by a white foster mother in rural Lincolnshire, returns to his birth mother in inner city East London, and struggles with the usual teen challenges while struggling inside with his identity and the weight of the expectations other people have for him. This is writer/director Shola Amoo's first feature but it looks like it ain't, with some assured camerawork and alienating sound design. 4 primal screams out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 27, 2019)

Honeyland. Documentary about a wild beekeeper in Macedonia. I know this doesn't sound like an enticing prospect, but it is riveting. It has no commentary or interviews, it just shows the struggles of a lone female beekeeper in the mountain wilderness of Macedonia trying to make a living whilst caring for her elderly mother, but then a family arrive to work the land and her precarious existence is threatened, 4 depleted bee colonies out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 27, 2019)

Judy.
Rene Zellweger pulls off a technical accomplishment in her role as Judy Garland, with lots of ACTING, but it's not much more than a schmaltzy tv biopic. I hope she gets the Oscar as she really really wants it and has worked very hard for it, but if you want to watch a decent film about fading Hollywood stars performing in Britain to pay their bills, then watch Stan & Ollie instead.


----------



## Threshers_Flail (Oct 30, 2019)

*Monos* 

Visually stunning and the score by Mica Levi is great but it left me a bit flat and none of the characters had any depth.


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 31, 2019)

The Harder They Come - not as good as Rockers, but Jimmy Cliff is great and the music is sublime

The Serial Killer's Guide To Life - godawful British comedy about a woman killing self-help woo wankers, which as an idea has potential, but in execution is up there with Sex Lives Of The Potato Men


----------



## blossie33 (Oct 31, 2019)

Threshers_Flail said:


> *Monos*
> 
> Visually stunning and the score by Mica Levi is great but it left me a bit flat and none of the characters had any depth.



I really liked the film, maybe as I'm a very visual person  thought it was very powerful.

I've read a few things about it on the net since I went to see it which I found very interesting, almost all of the young people are not actors, they were chosen out of 300 applicants and had to go on a very tough boot camp in the jungle.

The actors and crew were taken up the jungle on rafts by the Colombian kiyac team and some illegal miners who knew the area helped out as production assistants. They were living in the jungle while making that part of the film and there were a few hairy moments, one when a large tree fell down inches away from them. 

The little guy who visited them from time to time had actually been a child soldier from the age of 11, he was hired as an adviser but they decided to put him into the film as a character.

I imagine they all earned their money for making the film!


----------



## binka (Nov 1, 2019)

Went to see Dr Sleep tonight. I liked it and would watch it again, obviously it's not as good as The Shining though. Was quite long but still felt the ending was a bit rushed, would like to have seen more at the hotel


----------



## A380 (Nov 1, 2019)

Terminator Dark Fate.

Surprisingly good. Enough nods to the past without getting too smug, and pretty good to have an action film with three female leads including an older woman. Top effects too.


----------



## The Octagon (Nov 2, 2019)

A380 said:


> Terminator Dark Fate.
> 
> Surprisingly good. Enough nods to the past without getting too smug, and pretty good to have an action film with three female leads including an older woman. Top effects too.



Feel like we watched a different film 

Truly awful, Mackenzie Davis was good but Linda Hamilton and the other lead were poor. 

I fell asleep during one of the action set pieces (and I have no issues with big dumb violence, it was just so badly shot I couldn't care what was happening). 

Better than Genysis, but that's not saying much.

In order - 2, 1, 3, 4, 6, 5.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 2, 2019)

fuck franchises, to be honest. let's boycott them!


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 3, 2019)

Monos - hypnotic and otherwordly portrayal of child soldiers high up in the mountains of an unspecified South American country, probably Colombia. Some incredible performances from the children, some of whom had never acted before, but what really shines are the imagery of the landscape and the eerie score by Mica Levi, which is one of the best I've heard in years. It didn't quite have the emotional heft that it was probably aiming for, but it's an unforgettable achievement all the same. 5 unfortunate bovines out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 5, 2019)

Good Posture
Comedy drama about an unloved/unlovable brat who goes to stay with a reclusive writer, exchanging written notes with her and abusing her hospitality. The two leads, Grace Van Patten and Emily Mortimer, do a lot to make you care for their rather unsympathetic privileged characters, though they are almost upstaged by fantastic supporting part from John Early as an absolute idiot. Though it's wryly amusing in places, it's all a bit indulgent, especially with the appearance of some literary figures playing themselves, though Jonathan Ames is great fun (Martin Amis also made me laugh despite myself, banging on about how unhappiness makes better art or something)
 3 entitled oaf out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 5, 2019)

Sorry I Missed You.
A Ken Loach film about the gig economy.
Another one of those films, like For Sama, that won't be watched by the people who ought to see it.
It's unrelentingly bleak, though there are some moments of levity. Not enough though, but I guess the point of the film is that life is bleak for those who are trapped in such a grim and thankless treadmill. How misleading is the poster below? <hollow laugh>
3 piss bottles out of 5


----------



## Wilf (Nov 6, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> fuck franchises, to be honest. let's boycott them!


Godfather?

In practice, any film that goes beyond one sequel is usually shit but... 'boycott them'?? bit elitist??


----------



## Wilf (Nov 6, 2019)

The Octagon said:


> Feel like we watched a different film
> 
> Truly awful, Mackenzie Davis was good but Linda Hamilton and the other lead were poor.
> 
> ...


I was somewhere inbetween the 2 of you. Generally well done, watchable in a 3 and a bit out of 5 sense. But I wasn't keen on the comedy moments, so I did think it was a bit smug and there were too many repeats of previous plot details (as indeed there have been in others in the series).


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 6, 2019)

Wilf said:


> Godfather?
> 
> In practice, any film that goes beyond one sequel is usually shit but... 'boycott them'?? bit elitist??


it was said in jest
but ffs, we don't need more Batman films. we need new stories. Scorsese was right - it's not cinema, it's television on a big screen.


----------



## belboid (Nov 6, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> it was said in jest
> but ffs, we don't need more Batman films. we need new stories. Scorsese was right - it's not cinema,* it's television on a big screen*.


That's not what he said, nothing like it. Of all the things you can rightly criticise superhero films for, its not for being television on a big screen.
Opinion | Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain.


----------



## SpookyFrank (Nov 6, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> it was said in jest
> but ffs, we don't need more Batman films. we need new stories. Scorsese was right - it's not cinema, it's television on a big screen.



Yeah I'm with Scorcese, let's have something new. Like a film about gangsters.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 6, 2019)

SpookyFrank said:


> Yeah I'm with Scorcese, let's have something new. Like a film about gangsters.


a new film about gangsters. yes please. seeing The Irishman tomorrow, on the big screen.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 6, 2019)

belboid said:


> That's not what he said, nothing like it. Of all the things you can rightly criticise superhero films for, its not for being television on a big screen.
> Opinion | Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain.


that was my opinion, not his. he was right that they aren't cinematic.


----------



## belboid (Nov 6, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> that was my opinion, not his. he was right that they aren't cinematic.


But that isn't what he meant by 'cinematic' and it makes no sense in this instance. They work far far better at a cinema on a big screen than they do on TV, that's why he says they are _theme parks. _Which is fair enough.  The stuff about the lack of peril and lack of complex characters is tosh.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 6, 2019)

belboid said:


> But that isn't what he meant by 'cinematic' and it makes no sense in this instance. They work far far better at a cinema on a big screen than they do on TV, that's why he says they are _theme parks. _Which is fair enough.  The stuff about the lack of peril and lack of complex characters is tosh.


i don't agree. i think they work better on tv. Batman did. The Boys did. I hope Watchmen will. they work better as continuing episodic stories.


----------



## belboid (Nov 6, 2019)

The Boys was a made for TV programme, not a film though. The film of Watchmen was just poor, and both kept very much to he comic book look.  Not sure which of the umpteen Batman's you mean.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 6, 2019)

belboid said:


> The Boys was a made for TV programme, not a film though. The film of Watchmen was just poor, and both kept very much to he comic book look.  Not sure which of the umpteen Batman's you mean.


*THE *Batman with Adam West. 
And I was not talking about the Watchmen film but the TV series.  
The Boys was made for TV and was great - that's my point.


----------



## belboid (Nov 6, 2019)

and Thor: Ragnarok was a brilliant comedy, for the cinema.  Black Panther was just great cinema. Various X-Men have had some brilliant - and inventive - scenes that work far better on the big screen. Joker has as complex characterisation as most mainstream Hollywood movies.

The fact that The Sopranos was great telly does nothing to distract from Goodfella's being great cinema.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 6, 2019)

The only Marvel film I really liked was Black Panther, partly cos it had an actual story you could follow. Captain Marvel was very entertaining but fuck knows what was going on. One of the reasons Marvel films work better on telly is you can put the subs on, use rewind and pause (to Google wtf was just said that refers to a film you haven't seen) so you can follow the poor exposition and shouting over explosions. But all in all, they're mostly not even interesting enough to watch on telly. 
( Jessica Jones and Luke Cage are two examples of Marvel making better telly than movies btw)


----------



## killer b (Nov 6, 2019)

I enjoyed The Boys, but have hated every one of the modern superhero films I've seen (I've seen quite a lot cause Kids). Even the ones everyone raves about - Thor Ragnarok, The Dark Knight, Black Panther - are lumpen basic primary coloured crap.


----------



## A380 (Nov 6, 2019)

The aeronautics. Not what I was expecting- which was a kind of greatest showman- but much better. A look at the early days of flying through one flight and flashbacks. The fact it has two of the most beautiful actors around at the moment as leafs is just a bonus. I’d recommend.


----------



## DexterTCN (Nov 6, 2019)

A380 said:


> The aeronautics. Not what I was expecting- which was a kind of greatest showman- but much better. A look at the early days of flying through one flight and flashbacks. The fact it has two of the most beautiful actors around at the moment as leafs is just a bonus. I’d recommend.


Who?


----------



## A380 (Nov 6, 2019)

DexterTCN said:


> Who?




Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 6, 2019)

I don't think I could bear to watch Eddie Redmayne on the big screen. He seems to have slugs for lips. They freak me out.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 6, 2019)

*Rocks* 
British drama about a teenager whose mother abandons her, leaving her to look after her young brother. Though the plot centres on their troubles, this film is really about friendship amongst teenage girls. Set in East London, and partly improvised by a mostly amateur (but brilliant) cast (75% of them and the crew are female), this is a tender and realistic portrait of the vulnerabilities of young people getting a raw deal in life. Though all the performances are fantastic, special mention must be made of the little boy, D'Angelou Osei Kissiedu, with one of the cutest performances in recent memory. Loved his 'remix' of the Lord's Prayer.
4 tiny frogs out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 6, 2019)

* I Lost My Body*
Visually arresting French cartoon about a disembodied hand searching for its owner. It did verge on Amelie-twee, but the animation and score dispelled the slight nausea enough to carry you along with its magic. 3 manky body parts of 5
(this is a Netflix film but I caught it on the big screen at Leeds Film Festival)


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 7, 2019)

*Fire Will Come*
A middle-aged man returns to his mother's farm in Galicia after serving time in prison. Filmed in 16mm, Galicia looks beautiful, though far from bucolic, as natural (or not?) events threaten the area's peaceful existence. 3 Harry Dean Stanton lookalikes out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 7, 2019)

*The Irishman*
Scorsese's gangster epic made for Netflix, so tragically destined to be viewed on small screens. Glad I saw it on a big one - it would probably take me several sittings at home. Despite misgivings about its length, it speeds along compellingly and there are some fantastic performances, Pacino aside (he just shouts). Anna Paquin is underused though. 4 stupid nicknames out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 8, 2019)

* Ghost Tropic*
Enigmatic, often tedious Belgian oddity about a cleaner who falls asleep on the last train and has to make her way home on foot. En route, she meets various characters, and that's about it. 2 irritatingly elliptic cutaways out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 8, 2019)

*The Kingmaker*
Illuminating documentary on monstrous shoe-hoarder Imelda Marcos, wife of Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Her egotism and self-delusion is portrayed deftly, with moments such as her handing money out to people in the slums, money she and her family stole from their country. There's a telling moment when she is simpering about being the mother of her country, and when she mentions her own mother she accidentally says 'money' instead.
 3 (thousand) ugly pairs of shoes out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 8, 2019)

* The Days Of The Bagnold Summer.*
Simon Bird off of Inbetweeners' directorial debut, starring the amazing Monica Dolan and Earl Cave (son of Nick, and the spit of him) as mother and son. She's lonely, he's a typically horrible adolescent. Absolutely loved it - funny, tender and a spot on observation of those difficult teenage years. Would work well in a double bill with Submarine. 5 unwashed stroppy teens out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 8, 2019)

*Ordinary Love*
Romantic drama about a middle-aged couple facing serious illness. Lesley Manville is not surprisingly brilliant, but I was surprised to see that Liam Neeson is more than a match for her in the acting department, having got used to him growling and shooting people in the face in recent years. It's a bit of a weepie but the couple's relationship and the struggles they face are very convincingly played. 
4 wig tea cosies out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 8, 2019)

*Adam*
Heartbreaking Moroccan drama about a pregnant young woman who is taken in by an aloof female baker with a young daughter. An unexpected friendship develops. Seriously good. Must watch director Maryam Touzani's other films now. 
5 delicious pastries out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 9, 2019)

*Dead Dicks*
First film in the Day Of The Dead mini horror festival.
An interesting premise - doppelgangers, time-loops - let down by amateurish acting and dodgy treatment of mental health. 
3 curious wall blemishes out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 9, 2019)

*Darlin'*
Risible and tasteless feral cannibal child tale from Polyanna Mackintosh, also starring. While necessarily far-fetched, it has no internal logic whatsoever. Shame as Darlin' herself, played by Lauryn Canny, is the only good thing in it
1 perverted priest out of 5


----------



## Pickman's model (Nov 9, 2019)

bait


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 9, 2019)

Pickman's model said:


> bait


And?


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 9, 2019)

*Come To Daddy*
Wacky, though slow to get going gorefest starring Elijah Wood, visiting the father who abandoned him when he was small. The ever dependable Michael Smiley supports, but it's not as funny as it wants to be. 3 hideous haircuts out of 5


----------



## Pickman's model (Nov 9, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> And?


This is the list the films thread


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 9, 2019)

Pickman's model said:


> This is the list the films thread


Sure, but it's kinda pointless if you don't say what you think about it.


----------



## Pickman's model (Nov 9, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Sure, but it's kinda pointless if you don't say what you think about it.


by no means


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 9, 2019)

Pickman's model said:


> by no means


Not sure what good it does just to list things lol


----------



## The39thStep (Nov 9, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Not sure what good it does just to list things lol


You keep it up pal, I read your short but succinct reviews to find films I might like.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 9, 2019)

*Extra Ordinary*
Hilarious Irish comedy horror about an ex ghost-buster driving instructor drawn back in despite tragic past events. I think this could be an audience favourite (I'm at a film festival if you haven't already guessed) 
5 barfed up ectoplasms out of 5


----------



## Pickman's model (Nov 9, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Not sure what good it does just to list things lol


You do it your way and I'll do it mine


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 9, 2019)

*Little Monsters*
Another very funny comedy horror, this time from Oz and starring a spirited Lupita Nyong'o as a school teacher defending her class from zombies in a theme park. Think Zombieland but with even more laughs.
 5 foul-mouthed drunk Mr Tumbles out of 5


----------



## cybershot (Nov 10, 2019)

Midway. Really enjoyed it and for once a war film that is pretty accurate historically.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 11, 2019)

*Judy & Punch*
Period retelling of the traditional seaside show. Mostly fun, but let down by a jarring modern score and other anachronisms. And the mostly  Australian cast needed better dialogue coaching as their accents were all over the place. 3 strings of sausages out of 5


----------



## blossie33 (Nov 11, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> *Judy & Punch*
> Period retelling of the traditional seaside show. Mostly fun, but let down by a jarring modern score and other anachronisms. And the mostly  Australian cast needed better dialogue coaching as their accents were all over the place. 3 strings of sausages out of 5



I didn't think that was released until the 22nd - I've seen the trailer and thought it looked interesting.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 11, 2019)

blossie33 said:


> I didn't think that was released until the 22nd - I've seen the trailer and thought it looked interesting.


It was a screening at Leeds Film Festival


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 11, 2019)

*The Report*
Dry and uncinematic film about the US Senate investigating the use of torture by the CIA. The most star-studded of the films I've seen so far but this sort of thing works better on the small screen. 2 redacted files out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 11, 2019)

*Mirror*
Seen as Tarkovsky's masterpiece by many, this went above my head and made me feel stupid  It's rather opaque - will have to read about it later. There are some dazzling compositions in but Solaris and Stalker affected me way more than this. 3 impossible shots out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 11, 2019)

*The Nightingale*
A dark revenge thriller from The Babadook's Jennifer Kent. This gruelling story, about an Irish indentured servant teaming up with an Aboriginal guide, is a bit of a slog but it addresses Australian's violent origins head on. 4 despoiling poms out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 12, 2019)

*Here For Life*
Odd documentary about marginalised Londoners coming together for a vague arts project/play and talking about their troubled pasts and presents. Spotted a few familiar Brixton/squat types in it and there are some nice shots of Brixton Market. You can tell it was made by posh people. 2 Common People out of 5


----------



## Dr. Furface (Nov 12, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> *The Irishman*
> Scorsese's gangster epic made for Netflix, so tragically destined to be viewed on small screens. Glad I saw it on a big one - it would probably take me several sittings at home. Despite misgivings about its length, it speeds along compellingly and there are some fantastic performances, Pacino aside (he just shouts). Anna Paquin is underused though. 4 stupid nicknames out of 5


I thought Pacino's performance was outstanding (there's a lot more to it than shouting) but agree about Paquin - it's baffling that they felt they needed an A-lister for a role that involved hardly any acting and who only speaks about 4 words. But that's a minor quibble in what is generally a gripping film, surely the last of the great mafia epics.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 12, 2019)

*Five Million Dollar Life*
Japanese drama about a young man whose life was saved as a child by community donations towards a heart operation. The obligation he feels towards society weighs heavily upon him and he goes on a tedious quest to find out his worth to others. Yawn. 2 trite platitudes out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 12, 2019)

*Dogs Don't Wear Pants*
Insane Finnish film (aren't they all?) about a grieving surgeon who finds salvation through BDSM. 4 leather straps out of 5 (though I'd probably give anything that has Mr Flagio on the soundtrack that score)


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 13, 2019)

*The Hidden City *
Mesmerising doc filmed in the tunnels under Madrid. Supported by incredible sound design, the photography is breathtaking - beautiful abstract patterns are made from such ugly things as sewage flowing through a pipe. 4 sludge k-holes out of 5


----------



## Pickman's model (Nov 14, 2019)

witch: we intend to cause havoc


amazing film


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 14, 2019)

*Raging Bull*
Scorsese's masterpiece - brilliant to see on the big screen - the boxing sequences are unsurpassed, as are the excruciating scenes where, plagued by macho insecurity, De Niro tortures his wife and brother with jealous accusations. A career best performance by De Niro, but we shouldn't allow that to overshadow the supporting performances by Moriarty and Pesci as wife and brother. 5 flying drops of blood out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 14, 2019)

*Beanpole*
An incredible achievement from Kantemir Balagov, only 28 years old, this is a gruelling drama about two traumatised young women looking after disabled soldiers in Leningrad in the aftermath of WW2. It looks beautiful, with a luminous green and red palette, but it is utterly hopeless and miserable, unsparing in its portrayal of the effects of the trauma of war on the whole population. 4 lush green jumpers out of 5


----------



## Guineveretoo (Nov 14, 2019)

Mrs Lowry and Son

I loved it. 

It is Timothy Spall and Vanessa Redgrave and it is about an artist I had heard of (of course) and some of whose work I would have recognised, but I knew nothing about his life. He led a very sad life, according to this film, and doted on his mother who was mostly ill in bed during this film, but who was vile to him a lot of the time.   Apparently, he was offered a knighthood later on his life but turned it down because his mother was not there to appreciate it.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 14, 2019)

*Greener Grass*
A proper bonkers suburban nightmare, like David Lynch and John Carpenter fed through an Instagram.
WTF indeed.
 5 rictus grins out of 5


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 15, 2019)

*Marriage Story*
Adam Driver & Scarlett Johansson beg for Oscars in Noah Baumbach's Divorce Story. Their impressive performances keep you riveted, though they could have been more self-reflective (esp Driver). Laura Dern and Ray Liotta, as sharklike divorce lawyers, almost steal the show. 4 simmering resentments out of 5


----------



## A380 (Nov 16, 2019)

Last Christmas. I was really surprised by how much I liked it . Would recommend.

Also saw it in Louth cinema where they had an honest to fucking God interval ( the films only an hour 40 ) where someone was selling Ice cream from a tray!


----------



## blossie33 (Nov 17, 2019)

wow, a cinema that still has an interval


----------



## Guineveretoo (Nov 17, 2019)

A380 said:


> Last Christmas. I was really surprised by how much I liked it . Would recommend.
> 
> Also saw it in Louth cinema where they had an honest to fucking God interval ( the films only an hour 40 ) where someone was selling Ice cream from a tray!


In the middle of the film??

The interval used to be after the adverts/trailers and backing film, surely? Or am I misremembering?


----------



## A380 (Nov 17, 2019)

blossie33 said:


> wow, a cinema that still has an interval





Guineveretoo said:


> In the middle of the film??
> 
> The interval used to be after the adverts/trailers and backing film, surely? Or am I misremembering?



In the middle of the film. It was great. Convinced me they should do it everywhere. You could have a wee without missing anything and buy ice cream. It would only have been better if they had sold Ki- ora  orange in square boxes of very very thin plastic...


----------



## killer b (Nov 17, 2019)

The cinema I go to has an interval with an ice cream seller, but that's between the trailers and the movie. They also play the national anthem before the film...


----------



## krtek a houby (Nov 17, 2019)

They had an interval for the re-release of _2001_, some years back. The last interval I recall for a contemporary release was _The Godfather Part 3_, whenever that came out.


----------



## killer b (Nov 17, 2019)

Went to see The Irishman this afternoon and really enjoyed it: beautifully shot & paced, fantastic script and mostly great acting: even though it was very long it didn't feel flabby or boring at any point. Mrs b commented that we have seen every moment of the film before though, and usually with the same actors... in that sense it was like going to see a 1970s rock behemoth in 2019 - you can sing along with every word and the band play every note perfectly, but theres no surprises.


----------



## TheHoodedClaw (Nov 18, 2019)

krtek a houby said:


> They had an interval for the re-release of _2001_, some years back. The last interval I recall for a contemporary release was _The Godfather Part 3_, whenever that came out.



_Braveheart_ had an intermission when I saw it in 1995. The one before that I don't even recall, and there's not been one since.


----------



## Threshers_Flail (Nov 18, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> *Beanpole*
> An incredible achievement from Kantemir Balagov, only 28 years old, this is a gruelling drama about two traumatised young women looking after disabled soldiers in Leningrad in the aftermath of WW2. It looks beautiful, with a luminous green and red palette, but it is utterly hopeless and miserable, unsparing in its portrayal of the effects of the trauma of war on the whole population. 4 lush green jumpers out of 5



This is currently on Mubi and is a must see.


----------



## rubbershoes (Nov 19, 2019)

TheHoodedClaw said:


> _Braveheart_ had an intermission when I saw it in 1995. The one before that I don't even recall, and there's not been one since.



The LOTR films had an interval at the cinema down here in Wellington


----------



## wiskey (Nov 23, 2019)

Because I have been really good I get to take the girls to see frozen 2 later


----------



## DexterTCN (Nov 23, 2019)

wiskey said:


> Because I have been really good I get to take the girls to see frozen 2 later


Frozen got lots of shit but it was brilliant.   Hope you enjoy 2.


----------



## DexterTCN (Nov 23, 2019)

From the Frozen credits:-


----------



## Threshers_Flail (Nov 23, 2019)

The Irishman - way too long and sentimental. The CGI stuff to make De Niro only ever half works as he still has an old man's body and gait. 

Marriage Story - I really liked this. It's weird how my dislike of the glut of navel gazing upper middle class characters in cinema evaporate if I actually like the film.


----------



## chilango (Nov 23, 2019)

Frozen 2.


----------



## wiskey (Nov 23, 2019)

DexterTCN said:


> Frozen got lots of shit but it was brilliant.   Hope you enjoy 2.


.... Meh .... 

I didn't really get frozen 1 tbh and this one seems to be pretty similar with fewer good songs. 

Having said that it's still got a strong pro tenacious women theme and the animation is top notch, they seem to have properly understood trees now and the sea horse is excellent. 

Fortunately I'm not the target audience - the 3 & 6yo's thought it was great.


----------



## Reno (Nov 23, 2019)

I’m not the target audience either and my love for Frozen utterly baffles me. I’ve watched it countless times and that without having the excuse of children making me do so. This may be one of my deepest, darkest secrets.  

The sequel got more mixed reviews though some critics I rate really like it.


----------



## Orang Utan (Nov 23, 2019)

it's deffo something i would not visit the cinema for.
I'm feeling bereft as my favourite cinema ( Hyde Park Picture House — the home of independent cinema in Leeds ) is closing for a year in January - for good reasons though - they've got a massive National Lottery grant to improve the cinema and they're expanding the cinema to include a bar and somewhere to queue inside, as well as a second screen apparently, though i cannot work out where that can happen, presumably underground, as the picture house is on a corner with nowhere to expand outwards. 
Still, a whole year without a proper "arthouse" cinema. We are lucky to have another independent cinema nearby, but all it seems to show is whatever posh people like - prestigious British fare such as Downton Abbey, the odd blockbuster and lots of plays and operas from London. Gonna miss Hyde Park bigtime. 
Again, we are lucky to have two Vue cinemas locally that sell tickets for £5.50, but i hate giving them money and the audiences are pricks.


----------



## wiskey (Nov 23, 2019)

Tbh it was unusual to be in my local cinema with more than 10 other people.


----------



## T & P (Nov 24, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> it's deffo something i would not visit the cinema for.
> I'm feeling bereft as my favourite cinema ( Hyde Park Picture House — the home of independent cinema in Leeds ) is closing for a year in January - for good reasons though - they've got a massive National Lottery grant to improve the cinema and they're expanding the cinema to include a bar and somewhere to queue inside, as well as a second screen apparently, though i cannot work out where that can happen, presumably underground, as the picture house is on a corner with nowhere to expand outwards.
> Still, a whole year without a proper "arthouse" cinema. We are lucky to have another independent cinema nearby, but all it seems to show is whatever posh people like - prestigious British fare such as Downton Abbey, the odd blockbuster and lots of plays and operas from London. Gonna miss Hyde Park bigtime.
> Again, we are lucky to have two Vue cinemas locally that sell tickets for £5.50, but i hate giving them money and the audiences are pricks.


 I guess it’s partly because nowadays there is far more quality output on the small screen, but I find myself wanting to go to the cinema less and less every year.

But I also find fellow cinema goers and the whole experience extremely annoying, something that wouldn’t have even registered 20-30 years ago. Party because of fucking smartphones flashing up throughout, even if for a second, and partly because there just seems to be no etiquette observed anymore from noisy snacks to talking/ whispering.

And the lighting in many cinemas has also become a bother. They barely dim them at all when the film starts. Not that long ago you all but needed a torch to find your seat once the film had started- the way it should be. I went to the West Norwood Picturehouse for the first time the other week, and whereas the seats and legroom was great, the lighting didn’t dim even in the slightest. You could have read a book during the performance


----------



## redsquirrel (Nov 24, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> I'm feeling bereft as my favourite cinema ( Hyde Park Picture House — the home of independent cinema in Leeds ) is closing for a year in January - for good reasons though - they've got a massive National Lottery grant to improve the cinema and they're expanding the cinema to include a bar and somewhere to queue inside, as well as a second screen apparently, though i cannot work out where that can happen, presumably underground, as the picture house is on a corner with nowhere to expand outwards.
> Still, a whole year without a proper "arthouse" cinema. We are lucky to have another independent cinema nearby, but all it seems to show is whatever posh people like - prestigious British fare such as Downton Abbey, the odd blockbuster and lots of plays and operas from London. Gonna miss Hyde Park bigtime.


There is going to be a "traveling HPPH" over the next year. Not sure how well that will work mind. Also National Media and Science Museum in Bradford shows some less mainstream fare. 

The 2nd screen will be underground but the building will be extended somewhat. If you think about it the pavement on the "front", Brudenell Road, side of the building is very wide and the extension will come out further.


----------



## wtfftw (Nov 28, 2019)

Just seen Marriage Story. Disclaimer that I'm hormonal and stressed so I cried a lot.


----------



## killer b (Dec 2, 2019)

Le Mans 66 - I love Christian Bale, and he puts in a splendid performance as a young brummie Pete Postlethwaite in this one. Incredible race sequences, some cheesy bits, and an unexpected (for someone who doesn't know the story) and very effective ending. Definitely worth seeing.


----------



## Sue (Dec 2, 2019)

killer b said:


> Le Mans 66 - I love Christian Bale, and he puts in a splendid performance as a young brummie Pete Postlethwaite in this one. Incredible race sequences, some cheesy bits, and an unexpected (for someone who doesn't know the story) and very effective ending. Definitely worth seeing.


I liked this despite being not at all interested in motor racing -- the race scenes are great -- but I have to disagree about Christian Bale. He was ACTING in CAPS with bells on and (while not his fault), all the gorblimey, nice cup of tea stuff in the script was godawful. And I'm amazed you could tell he was meant to be a Brummie, given his accent veered about as much as his car did. (Did I mention he was definitely ACTING?)

ETA I've seen him be very good in some things and hamming it up far too much in others. This imo was definitely the latter.


----------



## A380 (Dec 3, 2019)

Sue said:


> I liked this despite being not at all interested in motor racing -- the race scenes are great -- but I have to disagree about Christian Bale. He was ACTING in CAPS with bells on and (while not his fault), all the gorblimey, nice cup of tea stuff in the script was godawful. And I'm amazed you could tell he was meant to be a Brummie, given his accent veered about as much as his car did. (Did I mention he was definitely ACTING?)
> 
> ETA I've seen him be very good in some things and hamming it up far too much in others. This imo was definitely the latter.



Not just or even mainly a raving film, though the racing was excellent- apparently the actors were in cars adapted to hide the drivers- but about many other issues. Recommend.


----------



## A380 (Dec 3, 2019)

Knives Out. Played dead straight by an amazing cast. Hilarious and very very clever. I really couldn’t work out how it was fitting together. But it did. Will see again as it fitted together like a watch. Like a modern American Ealing Comedy. That’s high praise.


----------



## blossie33 (Dec 3, 2019)

Sue said:


> I liked this despite being not at all interested in motor racing -- the race scenes are great -- but I have to disagree about Christian Bale. He was ACTING in CAPS with bells on and (while not his fault), all the gorblimey, nice cup of tea stuff in the script was godawful. And I'm amazed you could tell he was meant to be a Brummie, given his accent veered about as much as his car did. (Did I mention he was definitely ACTING?)
> 
> ETA I've seen him be very good in some things and hamming it up far too much in others. This imo was definitely the latter.



Funny you should say that about the accent, I haven't seen the film myself but someone on a Birmingham forum I'm a member of said he thought it was good - much better than the various Peaky Blinder character efforts


----------



## Sue (Dec 3, 2019)

blossie33 said:


> Funny you should say that about the accent, I haven't seen the film myself but someone on a Birmingham forum I'm a member of said he thought it was good - much better than the various Peaky Blinder character efforts


Hah! Certainly doesn’t sound like any Brummie I've ever met but...


----------



## DexterTCN (Dec 4, 2019)

A380 said:


> Knives Out. Played dead straight by an amazing cast. Hilarious and very very clever. I really couldn’t work out how it was fitting together. But it did. Will see again as it fitted together like a watch. Like a modern American Ealing Comedy. That’s high praise.


Apparently it's a lot of fun on a second watch too.

I saw it today, very clever, well acted and very funny (but NOT a comedy, it's played straight as A380 says).  Not a lot going on with music but then proper Agatha Christie didn't do that either and this is really one of them.

They're a horrible bunch of bastards, honestly.   It all  comes out and sometimes you're in a gleeful delight when any particularly nasty character has to unveil themselves.

The most amazing thing is they've managed to make Ana de Armas (Joi from BR2049) look not stunning.  She's done her cheeks like Marlon Brando in The Godfather.


----------



## Reno (Dec 6, 2019)

_Parasite_, the new film by Bong Joon Ho (The Host, Mother, Snowpiercer, Okja)

It's very good but maybe due to the advance praise the film has been getting since festival screenings, I didn’t think it was quite the masterpiece it has been made out to be. It also caused me to check out another film from last year, which deals with similar subject matter, Shoplifters which I wrote about on the DVD/Video thread and which I liked even better.

The main bulk of the movie is great. It deals with a poor but shrewd family who insinuate themselves into the services of household of a rich but slightly dim family by recommending each other for jobs, without revealing that they are related. They get rid of the existing housekeeper to get their mother a job but that housekeeper (mild spoiler)



Spoiler



has a secret of her own, which leads to the plan unraveling.


 I found the climax slightly disappointing. It goes into thriller territory, when I would have liked this to stay more of a satire. I may need to give this another watch and with adjusted expectations it may play better. I always find Bong Joon Ho among the most interesting and stylish filmmakers currently working and all of his films are about class or class war in one way or another. Parasite is very good despite my reservations, but Mother is probably still my favourite of his.

Great poster:


----------



## hash tag (Dec 8, 2019)

Another vote for Le Mans. In addition to whats be said already some rather good tension and drama in their also.
Nice little touch towards the end when Enzo ferrari gives a little nod to Ken Miles as if to say yep, you are the best driver.


----------



## killer b (Dec 13, 2019)

Knives Out, a fabulous darkly comic whodunnit starring Daniel Craig with a bizarre deep south accent as the sleuth. Definitely go and see this.


----------



## emanymton (Dec 14, 2019)

killer b said:


> Knives Out, a fabulous darkly comic whodunnit starring Daniel Craig with a bizarre deep south accent as the sleuth. Definitely go and see this.


Am I the only one not keen on this? I didn't find it funny, Craig's accent annoyed me and I thought the solution to the mystery was obvious.


----------



## Mrs Miggins (Dec 14, 2019)

emanymton said:


> Am I the only one not keen on this? I didn't find it funny, Craig's accent annoyed me and I thought the solution to the mystery was obvious.


You're not the only one. I also found Daniel Craig's accent annoying and the solution to the whole thing very unsatisfying. I was expecting something clever. It's a shame cos when I first saw the trailers I thought it would be so far up my street it should probably move in with me. I found it really dull which is a criminal waste of the actors in it.


Spoiler



them all saying the nurse came from somewhere different annoyed the shit out of me when it turned out to be a red herring. Or was that just to signify that they were a racist bunch of fuckers who had so little interest in her they didn't know where she was from? Annoying either way.

So obvious the knife at the end was a prop as it had been so clearly signposted you'd have to be a moron not to have realised


----------



## emanymton (Dec 14, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> You're not the only one. I also found Daniel Craig's accent annoying and the solution to the whole thing very unsatisfying. I was expecting something clever. It's a shame cos when I first saw the trailers I thought it would be so far up my street it should probably move in with me. I found it really dull which is a criminal waste of the actors in it.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


Yes I found the politics scenes to be cringe inducing. But yes I think it was meant to show them as racist.


----------



## Ming (Dec 24, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> *The Report*
> Dry and uncinematic film about the US Senate investigating the use of torture by the CIA. The most star-studded of the films I've seen so far but this sort of thing works better on the small screen. 2 redacted files out of 5


Just watching this one. I knew the history and accounts of the EIT program but it's quite harrowing seeing it up close and the political bullshit that happened after the facts came out.


----------



## krtek a houby (Dec 24, 2019)

Not counting the various new films see on Netflix, here's the ones we saw at the pictures

_The Favourite
Spiderman - Into the Spiderverse
BlacKkKlansman
Avengers - Endgame
Spiderman - Far from Home
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Joker
Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker_


----------



## redsquirrel (Dec 24, 2019)

Mrs Miggins said:


> You're not the only one. I also found Daniel Craig's accent annoying
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


The accent was hilarious.
Re your spoiler - the second reason was the point. I thought the politics were quite well done, not too overplayed.


----------



## sovereignb (Dec 25, 2019)

Blackkkkklansman
Joker
The Last Tree
Ready or Not
Knives Out


----------



## ginger_syn (Dec 26, 2019)

Last film I've watched this year at the cinema was jumanji 2 which was enjoyable fun.


----------



## DexterTCN (Dec 27, 2019)

AquaMan
Glass
Alita: Battle Angel
Captain Marvel
Us
Shazam
Endgame
John Wick Parabellum
Rocketman
Spiderman:  Far From Home
Yesterday
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
It Chapter 2
Fleabag live
Joker
Knives Out


----------



## T & P (Dec 28, 2019)

killer b said:


> Knives Out, a fabulous darkly comic whodunnit starring Daniel Craig with a bizarre deep south accent as the sleuth. Definitely go and see this.





emanymton said:


> Am I the only one not keen on this? I didn't find it funny, Craig's accent annoyed me and I thought the solution to the mystery was obvious.


 Just saw it and absolutely loved it. It’s been a while since I left a cinema so thoroughly entertained. A very enjoyable two hours.

I get people being distracted or even annoyed by Craig’s accent, but let’s be honest: a film whereby the biggest- or indeed, only- flaw is an unrealistic/ OTT accent is by default a very good film and worthy flick, and better than 90%+ of all movies out there. Certainly nothing significant enough for anyone refraining from watching it, or enjoying it overall for that matter, IMO at least.


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## Marty1 (Dec 28, 2019)

Avengers Endgame (shit)

IT (shit)

Joker (superb)


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## Gramsci (Jan 1, 2020)

just wondering who starts 2020 thread?


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## gaijingirl (Jan 1, 2020)

In the last week: Little Women, Jumanji 2, Star Wars (in order of how much I enjyed them).*


* not necessarily because of how good the actual films were but because I went with small kids.


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## Sue (Jan 2, 2020)

T & P said:


> Just saw it and absolutely loved it. It’s been a while since I left a cinema so thoroughly entertained. A very enjoyable two hours.
> 
> I get people being distracted or even annoyed by Craig’s accent, but let’s be honest: a film whereby the biggest- or indeed, only- flaw is an unrealistic/ OTT accent is by default a very good film and worthy flick, and better than 90%+ of all movies out there. Certainly nothing significant enough for anyone refraining from watching it, or enjoying it overall for that matter, IMO at least.


Saw this at the LFF so no-one had seen any trailers. When Daniel Craig came out with his first line, his accent was completely unexpected and the entire audience laughed.


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## The39thStep (Apr 24, 2020)

Orang Utan said:


> *Under The Silver Lake*
> I have no idea what to make of this. It has a ludicrous but intriguing Raymond-Chandler-on-acid plot, which kept me involved right the way through, but in the end left me feeling confused and unsatisfied. A curate's egg. Writer-director David Robert Mitchell also made the fantastically creepy It Follows, so I'm going to give him a pass for this one, while awaiting his next project with interest.


Just watched this and its a very engrossing and  fascinating if meandering noir stoner  film which when it ends you think what was that all about? Remimded mea bit of Donnie Darko, never the less I'd reccomend it, its fascinating  ,even though its a case of the journey being better than the destination.


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## Kaka Tim (May 24, 2021)

Orang Utan said:


> Booksmart
> 2018/2019 has been a good year for coming-of-age movies. Maybe I'm at a stage in life where I can indulgently witness youngsters making their own stupid mistakes and social blunders with a distance that somehow enables a greater degree of empathy. I dunno, maybe you just get soft in your old age. But I loved this so much. Olivia Wild's direction of the actors is assured but she also moves the camera about thrillingly. The whole cast deserve an ensemble award but mainly cos they're all written so well (apart from the one note super camp gay sidekick of one of the supporting characters). The music is so well chosen too. 5 Barthelonas out of 5


saw this tonight and was very glad I had. normally id never go near an " american teen comedy" but this was way more than that. Agree with everything you say - worth watching for the batshit drug induced barbie bit alone.


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