What have you watched recently?

Mickeroo

Fast Five: Bloody hell I'd heard it was a step up for the series but this was by far one of the best, most fun big budget hollwyood action movies I've seen in ages. The Rock is great in it, total bad ass. Paul Walker's the weakest link but only because I greatly dislike him. It was more character driven than I expected, but manages not to take away from the action which is outstanding. One of the things that annoyed me with previous installments (well 2 and 3 anyway, not seen 4) was the fact that they used way too much CG, not in this though, I can't think of any noticeable CG at all which is saying something when you see just how crazy some of the action scenes and stunts are, the finale is completel lunacy in the best possible way.


Michael Bay, this is how you make a big dumb action movie and actually not make it boring. Great fun!

MiloYossarian

The Next Three Days

I tried to watch the original French version but it smelled too much like garlic, blatantly handled the ball and then retreated. Joking obviously, I have to say that the French are really good at coming up with great concept movies that are excellently executed, for example The Apartment. For me, this is what defines the films of the nation.

This is typical of Paul Haggis. Solid but not great. The thing which irked me was that it is a good concept and they could have done so much with it, but they just didn't. Also, it is a remake so why didn't they just sit down, watch the old one and say 'How can we make this better?' I'd bet that the original is much better.

Maybe Russell Crowe should have spent less time worrying about how to get his wife out of jail and more time worrying about the abomination that is his son's haircut.

5.5/10

BlitzKrieg

Just got around to watching Sucker Punch tonight

It was a god awful boring piece of sh*te trying to pass itself off as something bigger then the collection of music videos and CGI stunts that it consisted of.

And people think Zack Snyder is capable of doing Superman justice?

Avoid this one like the plague

KidMonT

Ip Man 2 - I'm not one for watching martial arts films but this was pretty amazing. It's packed with goose bump inducing fight scenes. The first one is also equally as good if not better than the second. For those who don't know what it's about, it's a loose depiction on Master Yip Man who's famous for being one of Bruce Lee's most influential martial arts teachers.

Judgement Day

ReacherCreature wrote: »

Ronin.

Excellent.

Haven't seen it in a long time but it still holds up well. The setting, car chases, action and characters are all very well done.

The Paris setting in particular is amazing. Everything looks really good.

I love the theme of the post Cold War world effect. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, troops and specialists were discharged to reduce the costs of the super sized armies. These cuts were needed as the chance of war was small and thus, highly trained soldiers wandered looking for jobs. It's a very intelligent theme that hasn't been seen in a whole lot of focus until Ronin.

Superb movie! Good You Tube trailer here that will only make you want to view the full movie rather than spoil it for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TqaVEIUw4U

Harrocks

KidMonT wrote: »

Ip Man 2 - I'm not one for watching martial arts films but this was pretty amazing. It's packed with goose bump inducing fight scenes. The first one is also equally as good if not better than the second. For those who don't know what it's about, it's a loose depiction on Master Yip Man who's famous for being one of Bruce Lee's most influential martial arts teachers.

Hadnt watched a martial arts movie in years until i came across Ip Man it blew me away.Going to ad these 2 the blu-ray collection.

Patsy fyre

Watched 2 films recently,

Office Space Good film, typical office life, very funny. Well worth the watch.

Salt Good action films, but makes very little sense and is about as realistic as Liverpool winning the premier league.

GAAman

purpleblaa wrote: »

The Guard was awesome!! Best line

"Sure I'm Irish, racism is part of my culture

Gleeson was amazing.

Deleted User wrote: »

Loved The Guard also. My funniest moment was

when Sheehy (Liam Cunningham) looked like he was giving up at the gun fight then just says ''me hole'' and kept shooting

Two great lines from it but the one that had me howlin was

When Gleeson and the kid are talking about the ira gun stash, the kid remarks about the small gun and Gleeson says "Maybe it's for shooting little protestants"

I introduced a friend to Spinal Tap the other night, a new fan for life

MagicMarker

The Guard - complete and utter shite.

MiloYossarian

Lone Star

Excellent film. Can't believe I haven't seen it before now. It's a real simple story told well.

A skeleton is found out in the desert and with it comes the obligation of the sherif to investigate the death. As he does more and more of the towns folk old dirt is revealed. As well as his own. He has always lived in the shadow of his superstar sherif father. (Who is dead by the time the film begins.)

It's better than I make it sound. There's a nicely handled racial subplot too, that doesn't seem like it's being forced down your throat.

It was also a nice change of pace from the films I've been watching lately.

8.9/10

don ramo

just watched 12 monkeys and RED

12 monkeys was the better film, obviously:), but it was great to turn the brain off after with RED:D

Tony EH

Patsy fyre wrote: »

Office Space Good film, typical office life, very funny. Well worth the watch.

Yeah, I like 'Office Space'. There's a brilliant part in it where they

take a photo copier/printer out into a field and beat the ****e out of it.

Auvers

just re-watched They Once Where Warriors

I hadn't seen it in years but still pretty decent and has held its age quite well

a great performance by Temuera Morrison as Jake the Mus he is an absolutely despicable character but unbelieving enough you find your self actually liking him in some scenes, a sometimes brutal and sad movie that well worth a watch

ReacherCreature

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

I thought it was magical. The ending was a little rushed I felt but the whole film was terrific. A near masterpiece I would venture.

krudler

Auvers wrote: »

just re-watched They Once Where Warriors

I hadn't seen it in years but still pretty decent and has held its age quite well

a great performance by Temuera Morrison as Jake the Mus he is an absolutely despicable character but unbelieving enough you find your self actually liking him in some scenes, a sometimes brutal and sad movie that well worth a watch

love that movie, you can see why Rena Owen's character still wants to be with him despite the fact he's an utter prick for most of the movie, tremendous performance from Morrisson, the sequel isnt as good but it has its moments.

tyler71

MiloYossarian wrote: »

Lone Star

Excellent film. Can't believe I haven't seen it before now. It's a real simple story told well.

A skeleton is found out in the desert and with it comes the obligation of the sherif to investigate the death. As he does more and more of the towns folk old dirt is revealed. As well as his own. He has always lived in the shadow of his superstar sherif father. (Who is dead by the time the film begins.)

It's better than I make it sound. There's a nicely handled racial subplot too, that doesn't seem like it's being forced down your throat.

It was also a nice change of pace from the films I've been watching lately.

8.9/10

Agreed - loved that film when it came out - was a big John Sayles fan back when he was relatively active as a director - I'd definitely recommend 'Matewan' and 'Eight Men Out' if you haven't already seen them

irishh_bob

ReacherCreature wrote: »

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

I thought it was magical. The ending was a little rushed I felt but the whole film was terrific. A near masterpiece I would venture.

horrid ****e

ReacherCreature

irishh_bob wrote: »

horrid ****e

Incisive analysis.

How is it?

MiloYossarian

irishh_bob wrote: »

horrid ****e

I wouldn't go that far but would agree that it is a fairly poor film, especially considering the talent involved

The Driver

Pretty good movie. Reminded me a lot of the novels of Richard Stark. Ryan O Neal is such a beautiful man he had me questioning my sexuality for most of the film.

It's about a highly skilled getaway driver and the plot to catch him for the first time and only time. Some nice touches. None of the characters have actual names. It's just "The Driver" or "The Gambler"

Watched it in preparation for Drive which should be out soon. I want to compare the two.

6/10

Mickeroo

Just watched Surfwise.

Its a doumentary about the Paskowitz family. Basically a guy and his wife decide to live their whole life out of a camper van and just surf, they have 9 kids who are all raisd in this fashion, it's not a surf movie more a documentary about a family. THe first part is steeped in the idealism of their lifestyle but as it goes on and the more they talk to the now adult kids the more the cracks show in what was actually a pretty messed up family. It was very well made and kept me interested for the whole run time, the only thing was I felt it didn't go hard enough on the father, it didn't delve into the darker aspects as much as it should have but was still a good documentary.

Since it's not that well known here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r54wo_WMzfo

I also rewatched Riding Giants (had a bit of a surf movie night ) probably the most well known surf documentary there is, the only one I can think of that got a proper theatrical release since Endless Summer anyway. It's from the same director as Dogtown and Z-Boys and it's a history of big wave surfing, it's worth a watch even if you're not into the sport, some really outstanding cinematography in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADy8f6t4Ri8

Liam O

Watched End Of Days right through for the first time tonight. I seen the last half an hour or something when I was about 8 and I remember it being the scariest movie I'd ever seen. I've watched the end about 2 or 3 times since then but never watched the whole way through. Still think I'm going to get nightmares about it tonight

Nolanger

Geisha - old black and white film from Japan. Ever wonder where Jim Jarmusch got his low camera angles, static shots, and long takes from? THIS MOVIE!

johnny_ultimate

Nolanger wrote: »

Geisha - old black and white film from Japan. Ever wonder where Jim Jarmusch got his low camera angles, static shots, and long takes from? THIS MOVIE!

Partially, maybe, but would have been equally inspired by the many other works of Mizoguchi, and probably even more so from the work of Ozu.

Bondvillain

Attack The Block

As mentioned earlier, an engaging British Sci Fi actioner, directed by Joe Cornish. Fast paced & witty, with more than a whiff of John Carpenters classic suspense horror era about it. The female cast members seemingly only exist to provide a moral centre for the movie, but thats no bad thing, and it never gets in the way of the plot or the (pretty nifty) sfx. Almost all of the cast are engaging, but the young lad playing Moses stands out as an amazing screen presence, one to watch in the future.
If there was one complaint, it's that while Nick frost isn't bad, his Ralph Brown style character feels shoehorned into the storyline along with the likeable but unneccesary Luke Treadaway. All in all though, great entertainment, and a great big screen directorial debut from Cornish.

Set Up

Ryan Phillipe, 'Fiddy' and Bruce Willis star in 90 minutes of my life that Im never, ever getting back.
The plot, such as it is, is lifted pretty much from Lee Marvin's "Point Blank", (Betrayed during a heist by his buddy Phillipe, Fiddy goes on the hunt for revenge) with the twist being that Fiddy is, without a shadow of a doubt, no Lee Marvin, and this film is about as similar to Point Blank as Barney's great adventure was to Jurassic Park.
One can only assume that Phillipe tied himself into this Fiddy vanity project as he's behind in the Mortgage, and a completely disinterested Willis just clearly owed someone a favour that could be repaid with a 4 minute "Christopher Walken as sinister mob boss" impersonation.
Whack yourself in the crotch repeatedly with a 5 iron for an hour and a half while gargling domestos instead of watching this. You'll enjoy it more.
Alternatively, just watch Lucky Number Slevin, or hell, Point Blank.

Red State

Kevin Smith back to his best. A solid turn from John Goodman as a put-upon ATF agent in America's mid west, and a genuinely outstanding, award worthy performance from Rodruigez regular Michael Parks as a magnetic, messianic "god hates everyone " fire and brimstone preacher, the paternal head of a religious commune.
Starting off like all clichéd teen slasher flicks should (3 virgins on the hunt for sex use an internet hook up site and find a too-good-to-be-true invitation from a girl in the next town over) the film quickly descends into Gothic chiller territory, with shades of Rosemary's Baby and Night of the Hunter.
Smith, as expected, directs the earlier teen scenes with his trademark sniping dialogue, but also, I'm pleasantly surprised to say, handles the religious fervour and horrific scenes masterfully.
Goodman & Parkes are excellent in their roles, and there are sterling mini-cameos from the brilliant Stephen Root (Office Space, The West Wing, O Brother...) and Kevin Pollack (The Usual Suspects). It's not a feelgood movie by any means (whatever laughs there are, and there are a couple, come tinged with horror and utter revulsion) and it leaves you with the stark idea that everyone involved in American sex, religion and politics are almost certainly completely demented.
Well worth a look to see Smith back on form after the dreadful Cop Out, and just to see an intriguing, well made story.

johnny_ultimate

Kaboom - Gregg Arkai's (Mysterious Skin) latest. Starts off as a college comedy / sex romp, descends into sub-par supernatural thriller involving cults, witches, telepathy and other absurdities. It's fun for a while, but its delivered with the subtlety of a brick to the face eventually. Cast are largely attractive and wooden (the latter in more than one way). References to various elements of 'hip' culture and slang (who says 'what the s**t is going on'?) make it feel dated already.

James Duval - Frank from Donnie Darko - has an extended cameo. He was an Arkai regular from the Doom Generation, his DD cameo a very obvious nod to its influence on Richard Kelly. But here, Arkai tries to imitate an imitator, and the result is a moderately entertaining but utterly disappointing nonsense.

irishh_bob

ReacherCreature wrote: »

Incisive analysis.

How is it?

its a novel concept for a story - film but at the end of the day its pure gimickry , its baschically forrest gump with an original gimick for a plot , none of the relationships he has with people or in anyway interesting and hes not a particular likeable charechter himself , its a one trick pony , the entire movie

jefreywithonef

Scarecrow - it follows two vagabonds on the way to Pittsburgh to start up a new business. It's slow paced and there's little plot (it's like On The Road meets Five Easy Pieces) but the acting is just immensely good which is to be expected with both Al Pacino and Gene Hackman. Shame that this seems to have been forgotten, it's worth a watch for the performances and one or two intense moments that are superb.

Also got through Donnie Brasco (wasn't a massive fan, I probably shouldn't have watched it right after reading the book), Double Indemnity (pretty good) and Gotti (HBO film about the New York mafia boss of the same name, it's no Goodfellas but it's entertaining, nice and gritty).

Kess73

Saw Attack The Block last night.


Dull, cliched, with cardboard characters that you don't give a crap about. I spent the film hoping that most of the cast would be eaten. A film that tries to appear far more clever than it actually is.

adox

Deleted User wrote: »

The Machinist - Didn't know what to make of this film, it was an odd one but after sleeping on it I decided I liked it
Definitely worth a watch IMO.

Loved it when I saw it first but it's been a while, must give it a re-watch.

MiloYossarian

The Secret In Their Eyes

Wow, what a really good film. It could be the most exquisitely shot film I've ever seen. There's one shot in particular that I can not figure out how they did. It has to be a blending of cgi.

For some reason, for the last few years I have avoided the films that get oscar nominated in the best foreign film category. This film has changed my mind.

At least 9/10