What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

InTheMidst

e_e wrote: »

Seconding Heaven Knows What, it's a case of a very low budget actually benefiting the film greatly. The lo-fi digital aesthetic, synthy score and jarring editing are so visceral there.

Went to see this recently and would definitely recommend it too. There was an intense silence in the audience for the entire film. I can see why Arielle Holmes has made such an impact so quickly.

D'Agger

Watched 'Dope' last night

One of the best and most refreshing movies I've seen in a long while

Great story, well acted out, funny without being obvious - overall, just a very smart, funny, refreshing watch. Would highly recommend

figges

Skyfall

Meh.

Saving graces

Q - v good

Severein - great scene in the bar.

De Bhál

Saw The Martian tonight. Very enjoyable

FloatingVoter

Mother Night http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117093/

Nick Nolte, Alan Arkin, John Goodman in a movie based on a Kurt Voinnegut book. I went in expecting a depressing movie about some bloke who did Nazi propaganda and lived to regret it. I didn't expect the blackest comedy I've seen in years. Enjoyable madness.

Nerdlingr

Wild Tales

Set of revenge stories of everyday life. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Few twists and turns along the way. Especially liked the story with the two guys in the car. Some very funny moments in the last story!! 2 hours long but didnt feel like it. 8/10

Del.Monte

"BAT 21" (1988) on Netflix.

Enjoyable enough Vietnam War movie with Gene Hackman and Danny Glover in the lead roles.Loosely based on a true story, Hackman plays a US weapons expert who is shot down over communist occupied territory in Vietnam;and Danny Glover is a US reconnaissance pilot charged with helping extract him before the pursuing Vietcong forces can capture him.

8/10

johnny_ultimate

Dheepan - Lyrical social realist refugee drama meets Rambo and Straw Dogs. It's exactly as jarring as that sounds.

I was glad Jacques Audiard (following up Rust & Bone and A Prophet) himself and a co-screenwriter were on hand for a Q&A after the screening, because it did help clarify what the film was aiming for in some respects. There's plenty to like in the moment, of course - there's some beautifully realised moments throughout, and plenty that's emotionally and intellectually engaging. A story of refugees adjusting to life in France couldn't feel any more timely than it does now (of Sri Lankan rather than Syrian origin here), and this is generally sensitively observed. But yeah, the quite unhinged clash of genres - the most obvious transition marked very literally by a character crossing a line within the film - is one that needs a bit of reflection afterwards. As the Cannes reaction showed the film has already and understandably divided viewers, particularly with regards to the aforementioned line crossing. I think it just about works, if without question a tad clunky now and then - the differing tones ultimately help Audiard both explore and artfully complicate the psychological makeup of the title character, and the challenging situations he - and his 'fake' family, especially his 'wife' who could accurately be described as the co-lead here - face.

Definitely an interesting film with a story that benefits greatly from being simple and accessible. Not everything works by any stretch of the imagination, but to be fair arthouse social realist action packed romantic thrillers are fairly thin on the ground so it hasn't much in the way of competition.

OldRio

The Lady in the Van.

Starring Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings.

The true story of the strained relationship between Alan Bennett and a homeless woman who parks her van in Bennett's drive.
Alex Jennings is excellent playing Bennett. Underplayed performance, much like Bennett in real life.
A tour de force by Maggie Smith. She must have rubbed her hands when she read the script.
Enjoyable funny and rather thought provoking. (I admit I am a fan of Alan Bennett)

david75

Song of the Sea. Treat for kids and adults alike and it's so beautifully made.

Barna77

Amy

The documentary about Amy Winehouse.
That was some troubled life. I don't know who would be more to blame, her poisonous husband or her father who wouldn't do anything when everybody around Amy was begging him to take her to rehab and he didn't

Very touching when at the Grammys, her idol Tony Bennett gave her an award and she was in London. She knew if she hadn't basically fúcked up , she'd be in LA live.

cowboyBuilder

No Country For Old Men

An absolute gem, love Tommy Lee Jones,Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin in this.

Duggy747

Maze Runner - Scorch Scotch Trials (I keep calling it Scotch Trials and I'll be damned if I'm changing it :pac:)

Didn't think much of the 1st film and this one didn't do much either though it's not bad and certainly more tolerable than most teenage guff out there at the moment but that's pretty much it.

Nothing special about it and it just plodded along feeling a bit aimless though I did enjoy seeing Giancarlo Esposito (Gus from Breaking Bad) get some scenery to chew on. Aidan Gillen's character reminded me far too much of Littlefinger in that he was a sneaky can he / can't he be trusted character, not really his fault though his accent was all over the shop throughout the film.

Did the job in passing 2 hours on a Sunday anyways.......even if we did pause it halfway so we could both snooze on the couch :P

cowboyBuilder

Interstellar
Saw this again tonight in 70mm at my local classic cinema , amazing as always - he had the volume up at 11 , my ears were ringing , that docking scene - :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: superb !

Amazing film , can't believe it wasn't even nominated for best film
10/10

cowboyBuilder

A simple plan

Finally finally got to see this !!!

I was very impressed, enjoyed it a lot, quite dark though.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120324/

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I watched the new live action version of Cinderella last night.
It's alright. I have to say it's quite nice to see an old fashioned traditional telling of a fairytale. Way too many rubbish "re imagined" versions of them lately. (I know lots of them are based on the Grimm tales which were dark and twisty and not the Disney versions we know)

This version of Cinderella isn't revolutionary but they do throw in a few mentions of ladies helping ladies, the ugly stepsisters are ugly in personality, the step mother even has some reasoning for being a cow without losing any of her nastiness. The Prince even gets a bit of personality and back story and when he's proclaiming he intends to marry the girl with the glass slipper they even throw in a "if she is willing". Ella's not burning her bra or wearing a "this is what a feminist looks like" tshirt, not even close, but I do think the manage to make her a slightly better version of the Disney Princess for young girls to aspire to.

All in all I'd say it's a decent enough film for enjoying over the Christmas holidays with younger kids.

Tony EH

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

A simple plan

Finally finally got to see this !!!

I was very impressed, enjoyed it a lot, quite dark though.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120324/

It's the only Sam Raimi film I can actually rate nowadays.

Easily the best thing he's ever done.

cowboyBuilder

Tony EH wrote: »

It's the only Sam Raimi film I can actually rate nowadays.

Easily the best thing he's ever done.

My God, glad I didn't check his CV before watching this film ....
he did the 3 spiderman films ... enough said !!!

Nerdlingr

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

My God, glad I didn't check his CV before watching this film ....
he did the 3 spiderman films ... enough said !!!

I thought the first Spiderman was alright. Went steadily downhill after that.

Liam McPoyle

Tony EH wrote: »

It's the only Sam Raimi film I can actually rate nowadays.

Easily the best thing he's ever done.

Evil Dead is not only his best movie it is also one of the best horror movies ever made.

Del.Monte

"K-19: The Widowmaker" (2002) on Netflix USA.

If you like submarine movies you'll like this one. Cold war movie starring Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson. The latest Russian nuclear submarine, captained by Ford, experiences serious difficulties off the US coast. It's not 'Das Boot' but still nicely claustrophobic. 8/10

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

johnny_ultimate

Not digging the unspoken but potent Drag Me to Hell hate on this thread recently...

bnt

Saw The Man From U.N.C.L.E. the other night. I can see why some critics didn't get it, but I rather enjoyed it. The final showdown did not play out as I was expecting it to, which was a good thing. If I ever saw any of the original TV series, it was so long ago that it doesn't matter, so I was new to the characters. Minor spoilers ahead.

Napoleon Solo isn't the usual squeaky-clean G-man, while Ilya Kuryakin was a more complex character than the trailer would have you believe. Before he meets Gabby (Vikander), he's only seen her in photographs, but they first meet while he's picking out clothes for her with a finely-tuned eye for high fashion. All the fabulous '60s outfits she wears for the rest of the film were basically picked out by him - a Spetsnaz veteran and KGB agent ...

fin12

bnt wrote: »

Saw The Man From U.N.C.L.E. the other night. I can see why some critics didn't get it, but I rather enjoyed it. The final showdown did not play out as I was expecting it to, which was a good thing. If I ever saw any of the original TV series, it was so long ago that it doesn't matter, so I was new to the characters. Minor spoilers ahead.

Napoleon Solo isn't the usual squeaky-clean G-man, while Ilya Kuryakin was a more complex character than the trailer would have you believe. Before he meets Gabby (Vikander), he's only seen her in photographs, but they first meet while he's picking out clothes for her with a finely-tuned eye for high fashion. All the fabulous '60s outfits she wears for the rest of the film were basically picked out by him - a Spetsnaz veteran and KGB agent ...

Ya I really enjoyed that film when I watched it and loved the clothes as well and Henry Cavaill is so gorgeous in it.!!!!!!!! :)

Liam McPoyle

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Not digging the unspoken but potent Drag Me to Hell hate on this thread recently...

Thats a movie I really disliked.

Saw it in the cinema and to me it felt like the sound (loud noises!) was used to elicit scares as opposed to actual tension. Plus it dragged out the gross scene - the one with the old lady gumming/drooling - should have been one shot and left there but instead it was 3 or 4 iirc, I felt it was almost Dirty Sanchez like in that it did something that gave a reaction and kept it going to the nth degree.

Must give it a rewatch to see if my opinion changed.

johnny_ultimate

I love it, think it's one of the most tonally pitch perfect horror/comedy films of recent times. It's gross without being particularly gory or repugnant. It's creepy but also hilarious. Alison Lohman is totally game, and that her character is a horrible person is a refreshing change from the bland innocents one often sees in the genre. And of course Raimi embraces his best Evil Dead instincts with super stylish filmmaking that is physically intensive and gleefully OTT.

A delightful antidote to typical mainstream horror fare, almost as if Raimi wanted to prove exactly the sort of creativity and cheekiness one could get away with while retaining a PG-13 rating.

Glebee

Got lucky I guess and have seen three film in a row I really enjoyed.

City Island(2009)
Comedy drama with Andy Garcia and Julianna Marguiles(The Good Wife) that I though was a really nice watch. Nothing to taxing and would recommend. 4/5

Nebraska(2013)
just up on Netflix. Road trip, black comedy staring an aging Bruce Dern. Loved the way it was shot in Black & White. Brill. 5/5

Interstellar(2014)
Been meaning to watch this for a while but the length kept putting me off. Wow what a movie, just brilliant. Apart from the bit just before the end

The black hole scene

i thought it was excellent. 6/5

Tony EH

Business Cat wrote: »

Evil Dead is not only his best movie it is also one of the best horror movies ever made.

Was never fan.

'Evil Dead II' was decent.

NachoBusiness

Two I seen at the French Film Fesitival @ the IFI:

The Measure of a Man.

The first half of this was excellent. Loved it. But then it just petered off into nothing. Was very odd. Felt like watching the first half of a film as overall it seemed pointless. Think the audience felt the same was got the impression they were equally as engrossed for the first half and yet you could sense people fidgeting for the second half and then there was bemused laughter when it ended. Worth watching though.


Valley of Love

Another strange one. About an aging couple (Gérard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert) who are reunited on request of their dead so who has just committed suicide and left a letter instructing them to travel to a specific location at a specific time where he says that he will appear to them. Pretty unique and interesting idea for a story but it really goes nowhere and has some quite bizarre scenes. Watchable I suppose but not really all that entertaining.

NachoBusiness

The Dressmaker

Seen this earlier and wasn't sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. It's an quirky tale for sure, but one well told and quite entertaining. Somewhat predictable as those aspects could have easily been avoided but otherwise a really nice little film with some decent performances. If Judy Davis doesn't get an award for her performance as Molly, I will eat my hat.