What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

Gamayun

Stake Land (2010)
Decent post vampire/zombie apocalypse film. It's kind of like The Road meets 28 Days Later. Looks fantastic despite a relatively low budget ($4m). Enjoyable.

upstairs for coffee

The Counterfeiters,

German film. Film about concentration camp prisoners who are assigned the job of counterfeiting dollars and pounds for the Nazis.

Great character development where 3 characters represent different principles that effect the greater group.

Movie is only about 80/85 minutes long but it's efficacy in conveying the trauma of being a prisoner is not diminished.

Strong acting. August Diehl (in Salt and Inglorious) is the image of James McAvoy.

Only 3 pounds on Amazon - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Counterfeiters-DVD-August-Diehl/dp/B001FVKUAS/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1383653581&sr=1-1&keywords=the+counterfeiters

8/10

ButtersSuki

Watched Captain Philips last night. Whilst some of the on-water scenes are spectacular on a big screen and the tension is built credibly (Greengrass' influence obvious on both) I was just a bit meh about the whole thing. Can't really see what all the fuss was about. 6.5/10.

biko

Got my animations on and watched "Titan AE" and "Treasure Planet"

brevity

Magic Mike

Staring Matthew Mcconaughey, Channing Tatum and Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Magic Mike tells the story of a male stripper called Magic Mike (Tatum). He works for Dallas (Mcconaughey) and they are trying expand the business by moving to Miami. Magic Mike recruits a guy called The Kid (Alex Pettyfer) and it's through his eyes we are introduced to the world of male stripping.

It's not a bad movie by any means, it doesn't break new ground or anything and is a bit clichéd but I enjoyed it for what it is. There are definitely good performances throughout and has a certain charm.

I thought the ending

The Kid taking Mikes place and potentially moving to Miami, despite Mike telling The Kids sister he would look after him.

to be a bit of a plot hole but other than that the movie had a decent structure.

This is available on Netflix and is worth a watch if have nothing else on.

Bowlardo

Isaw Philomenia the other night. I'd have to say it was a great film and I would strongly urge anyone to go see. It is just crazy to think that it is a true story....Judd Dench should get an oscar nomination for it( still think cate blanchett is a shoe in for her performance in Blue Jasmin.
Very well shot as well. credit to the director.

Charlie19

poundapunnet wrote: »

Seven Psychopaths: I liked it at the time, but looking back now I'm not that bothered. Funny script, lots of interesting little vignettes scattered through, cast to die for (Tom waits, Christopher walken, Colin Farrel, woody Harrelson, Olga Kurylenko and Sam Rockwell) but it's basically just cleverly written fluff. Definitely worth a watch though.

The last half hour of it was brilliant.

mewe

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Watched Captain Philips last night. Whilst some of the on-water scenes are spectacular on a big screen and the tension is built credibly (Greengrass' influence obvious on both) I was just a bit meh about the whole thing. Can't really see what all the fuss was about. 6.5/10.

I thought the same. It was decent but nothin special and thought it was overrated aswell. In sayin that Tom Hanks acting is good,

particularly at the end.

The Black Oil

Captain America: The First Avenger

OK, I guess. Laid on the CG pretty thickly in parts. It's always the Nazis, right? Samuel L. Jackson is in every one of these things, then? Liked Agent Carter.

ButtersSuki

Did a couple of comedies back to back last night, neither of which I should point out were my choice! :rolleyes:

First up was Pitch Perfect starring a barely recognisable Anna Kendrick (remember her from Up in the Air?), Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp and Skylar Astin as dueling accapella groups. Has its moments and was admittedly better than I expected but more a chick flick comedy than one for the guys. Can't believe they're doing a sequel though. 6.5/10

Then I watched 21 & Over, also starring Skylar Austin - who by now I just wanted to punch in the face repeatedly after seeing him in Pitch Perfect. From the writing team that wrote the very over-rated (IMO) The Hangover, it is essentially that movie again with different characters but less amusing (if that were possible). Now I love my goof-ball and gross-out comedies (Movie 43 is one of my highlights from this year) but this is just awful, playing to every lazy stereotype about Asian Americans, nerds, jocks and US college life in general. Full of plot holes and continuity errors, it is very, very bad. One of the worst movies I have ever seen. Made me appreciate Pitch Perfect even more! 1/10.

LuckyLloyd

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Did a couple of comedies back to back last night, neither of which I should point out were my choice! :rolleyes:

First up was Pitch Perfect starring a barely recognisable Anna Kendrick (remember her from Up in the Air?), Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp and Skylar Astin as dueling accapella groups. Has its moments and was admittedly better than I expected but more a chick flick comedy than one for the guys. Can't believe they're doing a sequel though. 6.5/10

Then I watched 21 & Over, also starring Skylar Austin - who by now I just wanted to punch in the face repeatedly after seeing him in Pitch Perfect. From the writing team that wrote the very over-rated (IMO) The Hangover, it is essentially that movie again with different characters but less amusing (if that were possible). Now I love my goof-ball and gross-out comedies (Movie 43 is one of my highlights from this year) but this is just awful, playing to every lazy stereotype about Asian Americans, nerds, jocks and US college life in general. Full of plot holes and continuity errors, it is very, very bad. One of the worst movies I have ever seen. Made me appreciate Pitch Perfect even more! 1/10.

Ha! I really enjoyed 21 and over, dumb and funny!

ButtersSuki

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Ha! I really enjoyed 21 and over, dumb and funny!

That's the thing, I thought I'd lovee it but it just disappointed me so much. It felt like I was watching some of the very bad American Pie movies - you know the ones that star none of the original cast that they show on Viva regularly? Just really bad.

Movie 43 is a masterpiece in gross-out/offensive comedy. If you liked 21 & Over, you will likely wet yourself at Movie 43!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

One Hundred Mornings

Irish film. Set in a post apocalyptic (kind of) world 2 couples living in a remote cabin try to survive on dwindling food supplies and against the other survivors who aren't in the mood for helping anyone.

It's an interesting idea. They don't specify what has actually happened or why, there's no zombies or aliens or anything like that. It deals more with the human reaction to being in this situation. How the best and worst of people is brought out and how priorities change and how quickly people will turn on each other to survive. I'm not sure it's that well executed though. It's pretty clear very quickly what role each person plays and their interactions aren't interesting enough to engage for the full length of the film. It's beautifully shot though, Wicklow has never looked so grim

tunguska

The Master

Another one I never got a chance to see when it was released, finally gave it a go at the weekend. Im a fan of PTA, I love boogie nights and Magnolia is a masterpiece. There will be blood, left me cold though. Even though I appreciate that its a really well made film with some stand out set pieces, I just didnt warm to it. I had a similar experience with The Master. Maybe I'll need to give it another go at a later stage to fully get it, but Im left scratching my head a little trying to figure out what PTA was looking to say with this. The acting is supreme, I mean Joaquin phoenix is either a very messed up person in real life or hes a genius, maybe a bit of both. The acting from everybody is so natural, the whole thing has a documentary feel about it. But again its a hard film to warm to, the characters just arent likeable and ultimately it goes nowhere really.

Gamayun

Philomena (2013)
Steve Coogan and Judi Dench are great in this, it's very well paced too, doesn't lag anywhere. Films like this (Magdalen/Christian Brothers based films) make me want to punch some nuns and dropkick some priests though, they always do. Had a Mother Superior been in the foyer after I may well have administered a flying knee strike to her wizened old nun face.

I was one of only two gentlemen in the theatre for this, this rest of the audience being made up of older ladies, some very advanced in age indeed, which is a demographic you rarely find in cinemas, I wonder how many knew of similar stories from that era?

Also there was an extended trailer for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty before the feature which showed pretty much the whole film, it was ridiculous, way too long.

Judgement Day

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

One Hundred Mornings

Irish film. Set in a post apocalyptic (kind of) world 2 couples living in a remote cabin try to survive on dwindling food supplies and against the other survivors who aren't in the mood for helping anyone.

It's an interesting idea. They don't specify what has actually happened or why, there's no zombies or aliens or anything like that. It deals more with the human reaction to being in this situation. How the best and worst of people is brought out and how priorities change and how quickly people will turn on each other to survive. I'm not sure it's that well executed though. It's pretty clear very quickly what role each person plays and their interactions aren't interesting enough to engage for the full length of the film. It's beautifully shot though, Wicklow has never looked so grim

Watched back in July http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=85474382&postcount=2278 gave it 4/10 - more than it deserved.

crazygeryy

Captain phillips

For me the best film of the year. A brilliant movie and i highly recommend it.

johnny_ultimate

Akasen Chitai (Streets of Shame) - getting a start on Master of Cinema's spectacularly generous Late Mizoguchi boxset (if you consider yourself a cinema fan, order it immediately). This is the last film made by a director Id happily declare as one of the greatest filmmakers who has ever lived, and fittingly it's equal parts typical and atypical.

It returns to Mizoguchi's favoured theme: the oppression of women, especially geisha and prostitutes. Here, he proves himself as deft and insightful as ever, despite several of his films addressing the subject previously. It's a film that provides a complex context, the film roughly divided into five different sections to explore the effects of prostitution and the motivations that drive five women employed in a brothel. This isn't a lecture - Mizoguchi is better than that. But he again proves himself among the most compassionate yet unromantic directors, challenging our sympathies and preconceptions without forgetting the people at the centre of the tale.

The film undoubtedly feels more urgent and energetic than many other Mizoguchi joints, making it a different beast altogether. But while it may be short on the epically long takes and somber tone of many of his stone cold classics, it is still the work of a one-of-a-kind master; one with a peerless visual control where emotions and themes are just as likely to be articulated by a camera position as they are by a line of dialogue. It's also a boundary pushing, progressive film that certainly can be seen as a further step along the path to the (at the time) imminent Japanese New Wave.

Earning its place alongside the likes of his Gion films, Akasen Chitai is a proud swan song.

charlie_says

Waltz with Bashir

Fantastic looking and sounding, major kudos to Max Richter for the soundtrack, animated documentary about a film maker who can't remember his actions in the military when he was involved the Israeli invasion of the Lebanon in the early 80's. He interviews a series of his comrades to gradually figure out through a series of flashbacks his proximity to a some war crimes. Highly entertaining and powerful look at memory, the surrealism and horror of war.

One of my favorite animated movies. Have watched it many times.

upstairs for coffee

The Wave

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wave-DVD-J%C3%BCrgen-Vogel/dp/B001KW08L8/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1383830347&sr=1-1&keywords=the+wave

Disappointed me to be honest. Structurally it seemed abit scattered/helter skelter. The overall metaphor/analogy is good but it isn't executed as well as it could have been.

5/10

Different subject matter but in order of prefence I would watch: The Counterfeiters, Das Experiment and then The Wave

ButtersSuki

Watched The Kid Stays In The Picture, the story of head of Paramount Studios Robert Evans last night, 10 years after I read the book. Whilst the book is a fascinating insight into the machinations of Hollywood and a must-read for anyone with an above average interest in cinema, the movie is unfortunately just too short to really get behind the character in any great depth. That said, it's still an interesting and enjoyable watch.

A good looking man with bundles of charm, charisma and confidence, Evans fell into acting by accident then ended up as the youngest head of a studio in Hollywood by 34. Enjoying his fame and power he was rarely if ever seen without a stunningly beautiful woman on his arm. The movie tells the story of his rise, fall and rise. Evans list of films is incredible, incl. Godfather, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, Harold & Maude and the picture that saved Paramount from extinction Love Story amongst others.

As I've said, an enjoyable watch but for the full story read the book. It's presented as a documentary but is really a one-sided biopic. I'd still give it 7/10.

Judgement Day

"Fear is the Key" (1972) on YouTube. Based on the Alistair MacLean novel. Slow to start with some very wooden acting - especially the opening scene - but once the action kicks in it's worth watching. Barry Newman (possibly best known for his role as Petrocelli in the US TV '70s detective series of the same name) is a man haunted by the murder of his wife and child in the deliberate downing of a plane by a criminal gang. Through a rather convoluted plot he manages to get himself abducted by the same gang....

Also stars Suzy Kendall, Ray McAnally and a young Ben Kingsley in his first cinema movie role as opposed to TV. Dated and does not in anyway do justice to the original novel. 4/10

Tony EH

Is that the one where they end up at the bottom of the sea in a submarine and someone switches off the air supply?

Charlie19

Pulp Fiction
What a movie, think it just shades it as Tarantinos best work.
Second time to see this and noticed a few points I missed from the first viewing. One being; Travoltas character walking to the toilets in cafe during the opening Bonnie and Clyde story. Two was Steve Buscemi was the waiter that served Travolta and Thurman in the restaurant and the third bit was Yolandas lines in the Bonnie & Clyde scene at the end changed slightly from the opening scenes.

Still though a brilliant movie.

tunguska

charlie_says wrote: »

Waltz with Bashir

Fantastic looking and sounding, major kudos to Max Richter for the soundtrack, animated documentary about a film maker who can't remember his actions in the military when he was involved the Israeli invasion of the Lebanon in the early 80's. He interviews a series of his comrades to gradually figure out through a series of flashbacks his proximity to a some war crimes. Highly entertaining and powerful look at memory, the surrealism and horror of war.

One of my favorite animated movies. Have watched it many times.

I think its one of the greatest films ever made. And I dont say that lightly. I went to see it in the cinema and I've never been at a movie were everybody sat in stunned silence even after the final credits had rolled. The Haunted ocean scene is something that just stays with you, its beautifully shot and the music is, as Jimmy Magee would say, different class.

ButtersSuki

Trance (which I missed in the cinema) on Blu Ray. It's very loud, and I've chosen that word deliberately - in terms of the sounds and the colour schemes that are thrown at you throughout the movie. Now I'll admit to liking all 3 of the leads in this (Vincent Cassell, Rosario Dawson and James McAvoy) and most of Danny Boyle's work, but on a first viewing at least I'm not 100% sure what to make of this. It's very good and very clever in places, and then quite weak and silly in others. I'm not sure it knows what it's trying to be - is it a heist movie, is it a film noir, is it a noir-heist, or is it a psychological thriller or something else entirely? One thing it is is enjoyable so for that I'll give it a 7/10 with a promise to reevaluate on a 2nd viewing.

Followed that up with Zombie Strippers Robert Englund and Jenna Jameson (yes, that Jenna Jameson) "star" in exactly what it says on the tin movie. Given to me as a present by someone who likes to take the proverbial about my interest in movies. :rolleyes: What can I say about it? It's bad, but I knew it would be. It does have a couple of genuinely funny scenes (the opening news reel for example), and plenty of laugh out loud "so bad they're funny" moments - incl. the memorable and now unforgettable

interesting take on "fanny ping pong"

. The script is threadbare, there are more holes in the plot than a Bertie Ahern testimony, the acting of a lot of the cast is on a par with that seen in Fair City, and at times it looks like it was shot in a warehouse in An industrial estate in Ballymount by the substitute TV3 News Crew. I wouldn't go out of your way to find it, but if you're bored some night and in the mood for stupidity it ticks a few boxes. I'll give it 4/10, 2/10 for the movie and an additional bonus 2 points for making me laugh (either intentionally n their part or not). it's still better than 21 & Over though!

Baked.noodle

Antiviral (2012) Great effort from director Brandon Cronenberg. Very dark and unusual vision of a world of obsession with celebrity. Philosophically intriguing, creepy and with some genuinely nasty images; he has done his father proud.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

No Country For Old Men

Eeehhhhh.......

Started well and ended well but I thought it dragged a little in the middle. Some if it was maybe a bit repetitive? Javier Bardem is hella creepy though.

charlie_says

Baked.noodle wrote: »

Antiviral (2012) Great effort from director Brandon Cronenberg. Very dark and unusual vision of a world of obsession with celebrity. Philosophically intriguing, creepy and with some genuinely nasty images; he has done his father proud.

I enjoyed that one too. What a weird concept that people would want to inject, for example, J-Lo's recent thrush infection....:eek:

It's on Netflix I think.

Padjooshea

I though it had a good concept. I didn't think it was that funny.