What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

briany

Last night I watched a gem - Series 7: The Contenders. It's a black comedy/satire, starring Brooke Smith, about reality TV taken to it's (probably) logical conclusion; a group of ordinary people forced into a free form battle to the death in their suburban town with camera men following their every move and the whole thing being presented as entertainment. The film takes the form of three or so back to episodes of the program run together. Puts me in mind of Christopher Guest re-imagining the concept behind Battle Royale.

I thought the film was highly entertaining. The satire of reality TV was sharp and timely and, made in 2001, seems only to be getting timelier really. Highly recommended, if you like your comedies black.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEI5ccR6JtA

guapos

Another Earth

Cabin in the Woods

Tyrannosaur

All very different but very enjoyable

candy-gal1

Watching Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind on tv now, have seen bits of this before but never almost the whole movie till now, really love it! Very feelgood and loved up but in a clever and real way Plus Kate Wineslet is quite stunningly differently pretty in it!

Mike Litoris

briany wrote: »

Watched The Chernobyl Diaries, a decision that flew in the face of my better judgement somewhat. It's about a group of fresh faced young people whose adventurous trip to the zone of alienation goes somewhat awry. Anyway, the film was, surprisingly, not terrible and I thought there was more than one genuinely tense moment during the film. At other times, the film was derivative and nonsensical. For me, the film was enjoyable because of the setting; Pripyat (at night), and a couple of set piece scenes but the film failed to really follow through on the creepy premise and the third act feels stitched together from about 4 or 5 other movie franchises. Enjoyable film but ultimately pretty forgettable.

I acutally thought it was good until the last 5 seconds.

briany

Mike Litoris wrote: »

I acutally thought it was good until the last 5 seconds.

Definitely not the most original moment in the history of cinema anyway. Made me go :rolleyes:.

For me, the whole third act was quite a mess. I much more enjoyed the unseen threat in the Pripyat night that the first two acts were getting at.

Was it animals? Was it people? Was it something else?

The film was nicely going down the track of 'your imagination can come up with stuff much cooler than anything we can explicitly show'. I think they probably ended up exhausting that route or were forced by some cigar/health bar chomping exec to show something in the end.

Bassboxxx

The Intouchables

Seen this last night and loved it. Very funny and moving without the Hollywood sickly sweet, patronising element.

D'Agger

Watched Intouchables also - could be considered cheesy but I very much enjoyed it, the relationship between the two lead characters was developed well I thought.

Also watched The Lives of Others - worth the hype imo, very good movie and would highly recommend.

Mike Litoris

briany wrote: »

Definitely not the most original moment in the history of cinema anyway. Made me go :rolleyes:.

For me, the whole third act was quite a mess. I much more enjoyed the unseen threat in the Pripyat night that the first two acts were getting at.

Was it animals? Was it people? Was it something else?

The film was nicely going down the track of 'your imagination can come up with stuff much cooler than anything we can explicitly show'. I think they probably ended up exhausting that route or were forced by some cigar/health bar chomping exec to show something in the end.

Bingo! While watching I was wondering what was going on with all the negative reviews as, on the whole and imo, it was still much more accomplished horror than most of the standard modern day offerings.

I didn't mind too much when the

humanoid figures were revealed as they were still pretty vague looking and left that bit of the imagination to wonder but showing them at the end killed it for me.

So for me it is only that last scene that took all the shine off a fairly decent horror.

Tipsy McSwagger

Serpico - good film with a strong performance from Pacino. It suffers a small bit from the use of orchestral music being used uneccesaary in normal scenes. 3/5

Explorers - 80s kids film that is really good ................ for an hour. The last 45 minutes is so bad it's like the writer had no idea what to do once they got into space. 3/5

briany

Mike Litoris wrote: »

Bingo! While watching I was wondering what was going on with all the negative reviews as, on the whole and imo, it was still much more accomplished horror than most of the standard modern day offerings.

I didn't mind too much when the

humanoid figures were revealed as they were still pretty vague looking and left that bit of the imagination to wonder but showing them at the end killed it for me.

So for me it is only that last scene that took all the shine off a fairly decent horror.

That's what I wondered when I watched the film too. I think that found footage, which this film is not but is similar in tone and style, are often docked one or two full review points because they lack apparent depth. There's usually not much given to character development or back story and the characters tend to be cocky and don't behave in the smartest manner but I can forgive that if the film delivers chills and atmosphere.

However, once I saw the mutant people, I was pretty disappointed after the nice atmosphere of menace had been built up in the first 2/3rds of the film. I personally thought it was a cop out and, as near blind cannibalistic mutant people who rabidly attack unfortunate adventurers, it struck me like a pretty boring and derivative nod to The Descent, a film I thought was way over hyped. Would have been much better if they had just left us guessing if it had been dogs, people (maybe Yuri and others), or an unknown third party.

Marty McFly

Pans Labyrinth: Just finished it Loved it but not expecting it at all, from the traillers etc I had seen I was expecting a film more along the lines of Hellboy given the visuals looked very similar. But wow although the fantasy elements werent what I was expecting it was a beautiful story intriguing, dark, sad, fantasy all beautifully shot in one film.

Its a film which leaves the viewer thinking afterwards which is always a good sign.

Judgement Day

"Headrush" (2003) - €2.99 from Extravision. Entertaining enough Celtic Tiger comedy/crime caper about two friends who undertake a one-off drugs importation from Amsterdam for a Dublin criminal. Needless to say nothing goes as planned and the movie cuts along at a good pace only flagging in the final scene. Lots of unlikely faces too, including Moira Deady and Tom Hickey (both of Riordans fame), BP Fallon, Mick Nolan (Ray from Fair City)....7/10

johnny_ultimate

Hana & Alice

(Mostly) Loved this. A beguiling tale of an adolescent love triangle, with some added amnesia thrown in for dramatic effect. Fans of director Shunji Iwai will feel right at home. Dreamy digital visuals - dig the scene that plays out with a giant floating Astro Boy in the background. Iwai's trademark relaxed pace and extended running time allows plenty of space for character development and relationship building. Many of the best scenes are ones not directly related to the core plot, but instead enhance our understanding of the situations the two girls find themselves in. Anne Suzuki and Yu Aoi both do excellent jobs in the lead roles, especially in the scenes they have together. Iwai's self-composed soundtrack is odd, and makes the film seem more sentimental than it actually is (although it's very emotionally engaging). An extended ballet sequence near the end probably drags on too long. Small concerns - otherwise this is a beautifully composed and atmospheric film.

briany

Just watched Absentia, a psychological chiller/drama about a pregnant woman, whose husband has been missing for 7 years, attempting to move on with her life and come to terms with the fact.

Excellent haunting film. If you enjoyed The Mothman Prophecies then there's a good chance you'll enjoy this as well. Actually kind of baffled by the relatively low score it got on the IMDB (5.7). I'd say the film is well worth an extra point. Now one thing about the film is

this creature that lives in or beneath the tunnel. It was unnecessary. I hate a stupid and trite monster threatening to ruin a perfectly good, and surprisingly emotional, chiller like this

but I breathe deep, take a step back and treat it as an allegory. TMP suffered from this a little bit, too. Film makers often seem to find it difficult to follow through 100 percent on this kind of story, insomuch as retaining the sense of mystery they create in the beginning through to the end. I suppose it can't be easy.

livinsane

Watched Miller's Crossing. Perfect movie, so stylish and engaging, but doesn't seem to be as well known as it should be.

briany

Watched The Big Year. It's about 3 disparate individuals, birdwatchers, played by Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson competing against each other to achieve a record breaking big year, a big year being an attempt to compile a large catalog of distinct species sightings in that time frame.

This didn't do well at the box office, which probably has something to do with the fact that it stars 3 men with a reputation for over the top, laugh out loud, broad strokes type comedies where this film is nothing of the sort. It's really more of a quietly humorous, warm look at an interest/lifestyle that is pretty marginal by most standards. I enjoyed it a lot.

Paddy Samurai

I enjoyed this film,well worth a watch.Gibson shows a touch of the old Riggs.

splashthecash

Just out from Looper....really enjoyed it. A well crafted story with a traditionally tricky subject...timetravel. Best going into it with as little knowledge as possible.

Another solid performance by Joseph Gordan Levitt, this guy is really on a roll for me. Include Bruce Willis (looking old) and a great turn by Jeff Daniels.

Worth a look without a doubt

SmokeyEyes

Watched The Raid last night which was epic, loved it!

Also watched Rock of Ages which is a contender for the worst movie we've ever seen and we just finished watching Drive which I have to say was a bit of a let down....

johnny_ultimate

Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan - Fun slice of space opera. Plenty of iconic moments, and a compelling battle as Kirk / The Enterprise battle the bare-chested Khan. Actually enhanced my fondness of Star Trek XI, since its loaded with references and expands on the themes & ideas of the film. Bring on the sequel!

Star Trek III: Search for Spock - Less fun slice of space opera. Still mildly to moderately engaging, and some fun throwbacks to the style and atmosphere of the TV show. All the mystical & spiritual stuff is a over contrived - even by Star Trek standards. Christopher Lloyd as a Klingon is interesting and distracting.

Basq

Lately, I've watched:

Indie Game: The Movie - interesting documentary charting the development of a number of indie games including 'Fez' and 'Super Meat Boy'. As a casual gamer having never heard of 'Fez', it didn't really inspire me to go get it.. and the developer Phil Fish came across as hugely unlikeable IMO. But then again, the developer of 'Braid' (Jonathan Blow) came across as quite odd too. Still, the

success of Super Meat Boy and specifically Edmund McMillen

felt right. Definitely a good doc if you've a casual interest in games and / or development.

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists - another interesting doc although another one that's littered with unlikeable people who think they're far more important than they actually are. I've always had a passing interest in Anonymous but this just served as a reminder that while they've put their skills towards the greater good, they've also committed some real immature and downright silly acts.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World - a decent albeit quite predictable rom-com with Keira Knightley and Steve Carrell. The two leads do have some great chemistry and there are a number of great scenes but as it goes on, you know exactly where it's going and it's no longer a suprise. Still a far better and more interesting rom-com than your average POS from Garry Marshall etc.

Tony EH

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan - Fun slice of space opera. Plenty of iconic moments, and a compelling battle as Kirk / The Enterprise battle the bare-chested Khan. Actually enhanced my fondness of Star Trek XI, since its loaded with references and expands on the themes & ideas of the film. Bring on the sequel!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I watched a Brazilian film the other night on film4 called "Os 3" or "We 3" in English. It was about three college students that meet during the first week of college and form a really intense bond, not an actual threesome but probably an emotional one. Anyway, there's 2 guys, 1 girl, she says at the start that they can never date each other because that would wreck the dynamic, but of course one of them is in love with her and the other one is actually sleeping with her. They're media students and for their final project they come up with this reality show on the internet where you can also shop what the people you're watching are using. So then some big business asks them to trial their idea and they'll kit out their apartment with all their products, pay their rent and all that. The 3 agree to it because it means they can stay together after college.
The 3 then start to manipulate what's happening to increase viewers, and the business sponsoring them manipulate events as well and then of course real feelings and emotions are brought out by the faked events.

I'm probably not selling that very well, it's much better than it sounds and you could probably say it's some sort of social commentary on the reality TV culture we're currently living in. Or even without delving too deep into all that stuff it's a very enjoyable film and there's some really nice shots in it too.

Gamayun

The Snow Walker (2003)

A Canadian survival movie about a pilot who crashes in the wilderness with a sick Inuit woman he was piloting to hospital. I wasn't expecting much from this as it was on the Men & Movies channel which usually shows crap low budget action flicks, however I liked the description so I watched it and and really enjoyed it. Barry Pepper does a great job and of course the wild Canadian scenery look spectacular.

Also in the interest of full discretion I must warn you that Michael Bublè has a small roll in it, but don't let that put you off!

MiloYossarian

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I watched a Brazilian film the other night on film4 called "Os 3" or "We 3" in English. It was about three college students that meet during the first week of college and form a really intense bond, not an actual threesome but probably an emotional one. Anyway, there's 2 guys, 1 girl, she says at the start that they can never date each other because that would wreck the dynamic, but of course one of them is in love with her and the other one is actually sleeping with her. They're media students and for their final project they come up with this reality show on the internet where you can also shop what the people you're watching are using. So then some big business asks them to trial their idea and they'll kit out their apartment with all their products, pay their rent and all that. The 3 agree to it because it means they can stay together after college.
The 3 then start to manipulate what's happening to increase viewers, and the business sponsoring them manipulate events as well and then of course real feelings and emotions are brought out by the faked events.

I'm probably not selling that very well, it's much better than it sounds and you could probably say it's some sort of social commentary on the reality TV culture we're currently living in. Or even without delving too deep into all that stuff it's a very enjoyable film and there's some really nice shots in it too.

Well you did a good job of explaining it to me, and selling it. I really want to see this now.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

MiloYossarian wrote: »

Well you did a good job of explaining it to me, and selling it. I really want to see this now.

Ha! I've probably over sold it then. The official descriptions of it didn't really describe it that well, made it sound like quite a kinky film, but when I tried to do it better it actually sounds quite complicated, but it's not that complicated when you're watching it.......

I've been trying to find a DVD of it but I'm not sure it's actually been released yet. Film 4 usually show the same films a few times over so keep an eye there it might be on again.

bnt

Watched Margin Call this evening. I really liked the performances, particularly Kevin Spacey as the manager caught in the middle of everything. His character has to give a speech motivating his staff to do something with which he fundamentally disagrees, but he does it, and manages to convince them while the turmoil rages inside. A reminder of why he is a great actor.

I did have a few problems with the script, though, in the way it explicitly calls for exposition e.g. the CEO (Jeremy Irons) saying "tell me the problem as if you were talking to a small child". At the same time the characters are throwing jargon around without connecting it to the exposition e.g. there's some explanation that what they were selling were mortgages, followed by talk of "MBS tranches", which is gibberish unless you've been following the sub-prime crisis as I have. ("MBS" is "mortgage-backed securities", and a "tranch" is where buyer sits in a pecking order according to how much they paid, which then determines when and how they get dividends, or payment upon sale of the security.)

Most annoying to me: there were no actual margin calls in the film, explicit or implicit. The actions taken by the firm can be interpreted as preparation for them, since one or more would be expected after that day once their financial situation became public, but the concept wasn't shown or mentioned at all. A margin call is basically a call for more collateral, by someone who's lent you money with which you bought stocks or securities. As an analogy, imagine your bank saying "I see the value of your house has gone down, so your mortgage now looks too big, and therefore we want some money off you now. Pay up or we foreclose." :eek:

D'Agger

The Ides of March.

I really liked it - thought it interesting the way it developed and the characters were well cast.

Love Paul Giamati, Hoffman and Gosling, thought they were all good in their roles

johnny_ultimate

Baran - Asghar Farhadi's two recent masterpieces have provoked me to start checking out some more Iranian and Middle Eastern films, starting with this. The film focuses on a construction site where the foreman employs both Iranian workers and (illegally employed) Afghan migrants. When one of the Afghan workers is badly injured, his 'son' (Zahra Bahrami) is taken on to support the family. Young worker Lateef (Hossein Abedini) is initially hostile towards the new arrival, although soon discovers that the 'son' is actually a daughter. The hostility soon transforms into a quiet fascination.

The old 'boy is actually disguised girl' setup has been done before, and it's initially distracting as despite the character's falling for the disguise it's extremely obvious to us what's going on. A good half hour or more is spent waiting for the inevitable discovery to occur, and it's distracting to the drama. Still, the social context adds depth and insight to the familiar setup, and the second half goes in unexpected, thoughtful directions. At heart it's a love story - an almost silent one, with Bahrami not uttering a single word throughout the film. There are some very well-handled character moments - victories and defeats. It's a beautifully composed film, and the construction site is a particularly vividly realised location (although the film's scope expands in the second half). While director Majid Majidi handles everything in a naturalistic, subtle manner, he does allow some unusual sound design decisions, with certain noises resonating throughout in a surreal and effective way.

It can be a bit ponderous, and despite some strong emotional peaks other moments - especially in the first act - left me cold. But it's a smart, thoughtful film overall, and its carefully-judged reflections and critiques of Iranian society are enlightening.

Caprica

Looper
Enjoyable but not as great as I expected which left me somewhat disappointed. Not sure if the ending gurantees that Rainman will not be evil in the future. JGL is putting in a lot of strong performances of late.

Another Earth
Really enjoyed this movie. It didn't progress the way I expected, you never get to see the other earth, but I was always wondering where it was going. It built to a surprising end. I liked the lead actress.

What Richard Did
What I seen of this, I enjoyed. Power failure in cineworld and the whole place was evacuated around the 40/45min mark. Will have to go back to see the rest. Very impressive young cast, with a strong performance by the lead.

The Man who fell to earth.
Overlong and slow, not great