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What films are you watching?


Pancake

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I saw a old Cowboy film I'd recorded this morning called 'The Bravados' starring Gregory Peck, the pretty (but oddly miscast) Joan Collins, and no one else you've probably heard of.

 

A lone stranger rides into town (Peck) to witness the hanging of a gang of four outlaws. We eventually learn that he has gone to the trouble of riding 100 miles to see this grisly spectacle because he believes these men raped and murdered his wife. Joan Collins provides the obligatory love interest in a typically subsidiary female role. To cut a longish story short, the outlaws escape from jail while the townsfolk are in Church (having kidnapped a young women in the process) and our hero ends up leading the posse that must track them down.

 

The script is so-so at best, and the direction pedestrian, but what raises this old oater a little above the ordinary is the spectacular western landscape (captured in full 1950's CinemaScope glory) and the rare level of moral ambiguity introduced into the plot when we learn - but only in the last scenes of the movie - that the fleeing outlaws were actually innocent of the vile crime Peck held them responsible for. It might well have been a much better film had all the outlaws not been depicted as quite such a villainous bunch. It should go without saying however that Gregory Peck (as this fine actor invariably was) is excellent again as our mistaken, but noble, taciturn, and utterly relentless leading man.

 

So not a great film then by any means, but not too bad a way to while away a couple of hours methinks.

Edited by CHAPEL END CHARLIE
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Saw Django Unchained of Friday.

 

I'm not Tarantino's biggest fan, Death Proof is seriously amongst the dullest films I have ever seen and I really don't get the fuss about Inglorious Basterds - though that said Pulp Fiction & Reservoir Dogs are two of my favourite films.

 

This latest offering was brilliant. A bit long, some bits a tad drawn out, but on the whole a great film.

 

Some seriously pant-wetting moments. Absolute must-see.

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Just watched Samsara

 

Absolutely mesmerising piece of visual art that draws you in completely, contrasting some of the most beautiful sights the Earth has to offer with the suffering caused by mankind. A stunning film that highlights, if you didn't already realise, how f***ed-up modern human society really is.

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I recall a few pages back a lot of you enjoyed Dredd.

 

Can see why, very good reboot, Olivia Thirlby hubba and what excellent if gruesome slo mo effects.

 

Enjoyed very much as did FMDP

 

They did a very good job of Judge Anderson.

 

The right mix of vulnerability and grit, just like the comics.

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I recall a few pages back a lot of you enjoyed Dredd.

 

Can see why, very good reboot, Olivia Thirlby hubba and what excellent if gruesome slo mo effects.

 

Enjoyed very much as did FMDP

 

I also watched this the other day, thought it was good. Very OTT but that's what you want from a comic book movie isn't it? Good gore as well, would like to see that approach more in mainstream films rather than going for the 12A and max box.

 

My one criticism of the film would be the under use of Wood Harris. He was fantastic in The Wire, perhaps instead of just following Dredd and Anderson about for the first 45 minutes of the film he could've had a bit of dialogue?

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have almost certainly mentioned this movie before, but watched God Bless America for the second time last night. It's genuinely one of the best films I've seen in the last decade. It focuses on two spree-killers motivated by their utter rejection of America's values, which means that by implication, they're having a pop at our values too. Talent shows, right wing talk show hosts and stuff like My Super Sweet Sixteen is well within their crosshairs. If you've ever watched this stuff in real life and had a feeling of "The Last Days of Rome" when watching one of these talent shows, this is definitely a movie for you.

 

Uncompromising stuff, and if I had to give it a thumbs-up rating, I'd need to borrow some thumbs to adequately express my approval.

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Zero Dark Thirty - Excellent if you like that sort of thing.

 

Argo - Best film I've seen since Inception.

 

Really liked them both too.

 

 

I Saw the Devil - South Korean 'shock cinema' - ultra nasty, violent and downright mean revenge flick.

Soulless, silly and depressing.

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Watched Rock of Ages - my kind of music.

If you're not into the music you won't like it.

If you go into it expecting a rock version of Glee then you'll be happy.

Tom Cruise actually does his own singing in it and he's pretty good.

Lightweight, bubblegum film really for a little bit of light relief.

No critical acclaim in anyway will or was coming it's way I'm sure.

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Caught a couple of movies last night. First up, watched the original Omen. I've seen it before, but not for at least a decade. Fantastic film even now. Very creepy throughout; Gregory Peck puts in a masterful performance as the tormented US Ambassador. I'd forgotten how good it is.

 

The other movie was a first for me, but has been discussed quite a bit on here. Miller's Crossing. It was a real gap in the list of Coen brothers movies I'd seen. Excellent movie. Laugh out loud funny in many places. I loved the scene where Caspar's lump is left to give Tom a good beating. Think this is one to buy. Can see it being rewatched a few times.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just watched Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

 

Oh FFS I said when I saw 1) Tom Hanks and 2) some Home Alone ADD clone in the lead roles.

 

But I thought I would give it 10 minutes, nothing else was on..

 

And wow, what a powerful film. I suppose in reality it deals with Grief, but mixed in and around 9/11, the hopelessness of the story and the Brat and the horror of the Voice Mail messages just dragged me in.

 

First film I have seen in ages that has hit me emotionally. Yes it was schmaltzy in places and yes the Brat was less than sincere at times, but in some ways I think that was good, IF the film had been more "heavy" I think the portrayal of grief it showed could have been painful.

 

Voted a well worth a watch on telly 6/10

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21 Jump Street. No idea about the original TV series, was nothing else on the box tonight.

 

Perfect vehicle for Jonah Hill to make another version of Superbad/Scott Pilgrim vs The World daft nonsense.

 

2 useless Cops sent back to High School to bust a drug ring 7 years after they flopped.

 

The classic jokes are few and far between but are there - the comparison between kids today & those of 2005 - I blame Glee. caused a grin.

 

The why didn't that blow up? was funny

 

The car chase at the end caused some actual hoots - Bearsy would like the BJ in a shoot out gag.

 

Left us with a smirk and next time will watch when not on antibiotics so have had a few and will probably PMSL all the way through.

 

A fun movie for beer & Pizza night

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Whoa. You lot are totally FIRED! How come none of you ever mentioned Constantine?

 

1) Me & FMDP totally don't like horror movies OK.

2) Apart from Gregory Peck in the original Omen I equally hate those weird nasty Demon type movies

 

But tonight we both just sat and watched a "Horror/Thriller/Demon/Exorcism" movie from 2005 on the Sat box.

 

And it was cracking.

 

Constantine - Keanu Reeves Rachel Weiss.

 

Film seemed to start as if it was in the middle of a 12 part TV series and we'd missed the first 8 episodes. So I guess that would be why some may not like it. Took a while to work out wtf was going on (Thank fook for the 2 line explanation on the TV guide)

Film starts in a Mexican desert with some poor scavenger dude finding some sort of dagger and walking in front of a truck. Which gets split in half and Dude walks away..

Switches to LA and some kid walking on the ceiling with a Priest type Dude running out the room saying I found one for you...

So here we say oh no it's one of those movies.

BUT the thing is K kinda of rises above the norm (maybe the Neo persona shines through) and it sort of made us think hang on this is Matrix 4 without the submarines.

 

So the story is - nah no spoilers. Within 30 mins of the film, we'd kind of caught up the previous 8 episodes, by an hour we were absorbed, by the end - wow cracking film, how come that stayed off our radar.

 

I suppose true Slasher movie freaks would find it tame, Demon freaks would find it meh, but apart from K replaying Neo (with Lung Cancer as a sideline) we really enjoyed it.

 

a decent Weekend Watch with a couple of beers

7/10

So Keanu in full Matrix acting stylee is this kind of Comic Book Super Exorcist

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  • 1 month later...

The big problem with Constantine is Keanu Reeves. Totally miscast. The comic book inspiration is a chain-smoking ginger scouser. There are tons of Brit actors who could have pulled that off.

 

Damien Lewis would be my shout.

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Jack Reacher.

 

Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

 

Yes it is an OK movie, yes Tom Cruise does what he does in a film.

 

But no, it truly is NOT Jack Reacher and not a patch on the character in the books

 

As a film 4.5/10

As a franchise? -1,000,000,000,000 out of 10

 

Star Trek movie out next week. Now THAT may be something to see at the cinema for a change

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So, is anyone seeing this Romance and Cigarettes?

 

It's just bonkers. Half the Sopranos cast (well, about 3 - Tony, His sister and Steve buscemi), Susan Sarandon as his wife, Eddie Izzard as a singing vicar, Kate winslett as his mistress. The chick from weeds as his daughter. His sister in Sopranos is his daughter. As is Mandy Moore.

 

Now Christopher Walken has just showed up.

 

Oh and it's a musical.

 

James Gandolfini has been dancing around singing cabaret.

 

What?

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  • 2 weeks later...

It is so full of plot holes.

It feels it is just ambling from one set piece action scene to the next.

The acting is so insincere at times a 2 year could see a twist in the tale.

The 3D effects are so fast that everything becomes a blur at times.

Can't you even get timelines right in a rebooted Universe?

 

Can see many grumpy old gits giving it a 2/10

 

Who needs a seamless plot, it's never harmed Dan Brown's book sales.

Holy Crap the action just never seems to stop long enough to catch your breath.

The Beauty of the Twist is that everyone knows what is coming and so it creates it's own sub-plot to help further develop the story both in the film and in the long term

The DEPTH of the images is astonishing, there is simply SO MUCH in EVERY frame, the brain simply cannot comprehend and look everywhere at once, it is Visually astonishing.

Loved the way they pay homage to Universe 1 in so many ways that build up to the ending.

 

Cracking cracking afternoon's entertainment, worth EVERY penny to see the 3D version. Benedict is superb

 

And now their 5 year mission, to explore strange new - well you know the rest.

 

Star Trek Into Darkness

 

FFS we didn't have a game today why the HELL haven't you been to see it?

 

9.5/10 from me

 

Hell, I have NEVER heard a Cinema Audience applaud INDIVIDUAL moments in a movie before.

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Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - Brilliant, spiralling drama starring Philip Seymour-Hoffman and Ethan Hawke as a pair of brothers who decide to rob a jewellery store.

 

25th Hour - Seymour Hoffman and Ed Norton, directed by Spike Lee. An excellent drama about what Norton does with his final day before serving a 7 year jail term.

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Who needs a seamless plot, it's never harmed Dan Brown's book sales.

Holy Crap the action just never seems to stop long enough to catch your breath.

The Beauty of the Twist is that everyone knows what is coming and so it creates it's own sub-plot to help further develop the story both in the film and in the long term

The DEPTH of the images is astonishing, there is simply SO MUCH in EVERY frame, the brain simply cannot comprehend and look everywhere at once, it is Visually astonishing.

Loved the way they pay homage to Universe 1 in so many ways that build up to the ending.

 

Cracking cracking afternoon's entertainment, worth EVERY penny to see the 3D version. Benedict is superb

 

And now their 5 year mission, to explore strange new - well you know the rest.

 

Star Trek Into Darkness

 

FFS we didn't have a game today why the HELL haven't you been to see it?

 

9.5/10 from me

 

Hell, I have NEVER heard a Cinema Audience applaud INDIVIDUAL moments in a movie before.

 

Would it have been better to not have the resurrection ? To break that umbilical to the original universe, and establish a truly independent new timeline, rather than produce a remake/ merger of an episode from TOS and a previous film.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've just watched No Retreat No Surrender for the first time in 27 years, and cannot let the experience go unremarked.

 

It's a B-Movie version of the Karate Kid, and is notable for being one of Jean Claude Van Damme's first Western appearances. It is gloriously awful.

 

No one can act. I sh!t you not when I tell you that Van Damme's Russian with a Belgian accent is probably the best performance in the film. The portrayal of African Americans borders on racially offensive. The hero's best mate RJ is an African American nipper, with hair constantly greased in Soul Glo. In his first scene, he's got a ghetto blaster with him. He is variously depicted skateboarding, breakdancing, body-popping or dressing up as Michael Jackson. The plot, if you can call it that, kicks off when Jason, a young martial artist from Los Angeles, has to move to Seattle with his family because his Dad's karate dojo has been taken over by some New York karate mob heavies. JCVD is their man man for dishing out flamboyant beatings.

 

Anyways, after they move to Seattle, Jason discovers that Bruce Lee is buried there, so after getting the crap kicked out of him, he whines over Bruce Lee's grave for a bit. He is eventually visited by the "ghost of Bruce Lee", another questionable choice (he looks nothing like him) and taught high-grade karate from a dead kung fu master for some unspecified purpose.

 

Eventually, the evil New York karate mob predictably arrive in Seattle to muscle in on the martial arts scene, and the hero's purpose is revealed. Fight JCVD at the end.

 

To be fair, it looks like they cast based on physical talent than acting capability, but the result is an utter mess of a film which is unintentionally hilarious. The training scenes in particular. I just wonder. What were they thinking? :D (check out 42s onwards)

 

Edited by pap
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Would it have been better to not have the resurrection ? To break that umbilical to the original universe, and establish a truly independent new timeline, rather than produce a remake/ merger of an episode from TOS and a previous film.

 

A fair point.

 

For us fans there has to have been a story between Next Gen & the trip back to save the first contact and Enterprise, OR between Enterprise & Kirk et al.

 

BUT for the non fans that have seen the reboots, they love them and they have made money, which at the end of the day is the whole point.

 

OK on the flights to my wedding & back watched...

 

The Last Stand - Arnie's new movie. Total garbage and rehash of a zillion other films, but strangely comforting for all that and not taking itself too seriously. Will be an OK watch on Sky when it comes around instead of The Food Network.

 

A Good Day to Die Hard. Look this franchise really has gone too far now. Sorry but enough. Mind you HOW many cars do they trash in t he Opening Chase? That alone saved it from being a proper Epic Fail and there were entertaining moments. But with John now making cameo guest appearances on Top Gear as himself in Kia Cee'd "ads" then it really IS time to call it a day

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  • 4 weeks later...

World War Z - Well recommended if you like zombie flicks. Nothing really groundbreaking but it stayed decent quite far into the film before getting a bit OTT (which is inevitable for this type).

(Very) loosely based on Max Brooks' cool book of the same name.

7/10

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I refuse to watch the World War Z film - I love the book so much that I think I would just be disappointed.

 

I'm pretending that the film has nothing to do with the book, although to be honest I don't need to pretend that hard because they changed the whole f*cking plot!

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I refuse to watch the World War Z film - I love the book so much that I think I would just be disappointed.

 

I'm pretending that the film has nothing to do with the book, although to be honest I don't need to pretend that hard because they changed the whole f*cking plot!

 

They ruined it with fast zombies, mucker. You need fast zombies, you know you're in trouble.

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Went to see Spike Island at the weekend.

 

It's pretty cheesy, and unfortunately ends up as not much more than a will they/won't they love story by the end, but it seems to capture the spirit of Madchester quite well. Worth watching if you have fond memories of the whole indie scene during the Stone Roses' heyday, but if not then it's probably to be avoided.

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