What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

tunguska

Legend of Tarzan

Not bad at all. Its gotten fairly crap reviews and i wasnt even gonna go see it but i went after all and im glad i did. Alex skarsgard's range isnt brando-esque but he does the job. Margot robbie is decent enough but its sam jackson who puts in the best performance of the film.
Its nothing earth shattering but look i saw Ghostbusters the other night and this is a lot better than that ****e.

Ageyev

Green Room

Taut and claustrophobic thriller from the director of Blue Ruin. It's got a touch of Hitchcock - or even Night of the Living Dead or an Assault on Precinct 13-style thriller - due to the small confines of the setpieces. Well worth a look if you liked Blue Ruin. Quite violent like it though. I thought Macon Blair was a bit underutilised but still, he's got a great face for acting.

Chain Smoker

3 Women
Was this even trying to make much sense? I really doubt it, pretty damn good watch for the first hour and a half at least though. Definitely felt like there was a bit of an unwarranted nasty streak towards Shelley Duvall's character (which she was doing pretty wonderful work to humanise) but overall liked it a lot, yeah.

Mulholland Drive
Remembered absolutely nothing of it, eventually lost all track of it but there kept being cool moments. Spent about four hours afterwards googling about it, kind of want to rewatch the whole thing all over again now.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Bit messy for a classic noir, but pretty good; need to seek out more John Garfield.

After Dark, My Sweet
Also known as "the really out-of-nowhere inclusion on Roger Ebert's great movies list".
This was so fascinating to see in a cinema, it's the kind of thing that I've only exclusively seen on my laptop at 4am in the night that kind of early 90s sleepy thriller with noirish elements (One False Move, Red Rocks West, Devils in a Blue Dress). I've a huge soft spot for these so I loved it, ending was a bit ehhh but it was mostly very solid, Jason Patric completely won me over as it went on.
With a better actress in the female lead role and a bit more time spent with Patric and Dern being their characters, this could've been really good.

MilesMorales1

When I see films like Mustang, I wish I was smarter, more articulate, whatever. Mustang is one of the best films I can recall seeing in a long time. It's very nearly perfect in my eyes. Unfortunately though, I'm not the kind of person that can sum up my thoughts with such beautiful words, like a lot of cool people can, so.

It looks amazing. It has incredible music. Incredible acting by everyone, specially the girl playing Lale, which according to the internet is only 13, which is just crazy. A fantastic story of hope living through the darkest times, of sisterhood, family, of a culture which is determined to keep the 5 sisters of the story down, yet they all refuse to bow without a fight.

I'm trying to think of a criticism of this film, but I can't think of one? I really can't. Fantastic from start to finish.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

Fantastic from start to finish, and this was a 2016 release in the UK so the 2015 date isn't right.

You should maybe edit your Letterboxd reviews before posting them elsewhere

MilesMorales1

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

You should maybe edit your Letterboxd reviews before posting them elsewhere

Pfft, use it once, use it twice.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

Pfft, use it once, use it twice.

I just meant the last bit, seems Letterboxd specific.

MilesMorales1

Shush nobody saw anything and I definitely didn't edit that.

Outlaw Pete

Men & Chicken.

Thought I would love it and I did really enjoy the first half hour to forty five minutes or so, but it just became really really tiresome after that.

I'd give the first half of the film 9 and the last half 2.

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot 1976 such an enjoyable caper this with great chemistry all around, Bridges is incredibly charming, George Kennedy his usual bustling no good self and Clint as cool as ever. Great script from Cimino with many laugh out loud moments, but quite serious too in parts.

The Boss 2016 Melissa McCarthy's latest offering, which I have to say I thought was pretty funny and good sunday afternoon fair. On some levels its a kids movie but then you'd have to remove all the sexual humour of which there is much. Its not gonna win any awards or anything but its a good laugh

Cracks 2009 mentioned here a few times a couple weeks ago, a very beautiful little gem of a movie filmed in Ireland about a girls boarding school, with Eve Green playing a teacher who is not all she is 'cracked up' to be. Well worth a watch

Ciaran_B

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

Seen Maggie's Plan this week and I absolutely loved it. The film deserves it's own thread tbf. Julianne Moore is excellent in it. The cinematography is beautiful. The writing smart and witty. Without being pompous and overbearing, as many films from those so obviously inspired by Woody Allen can tend to be. Most likely only going to be in the cinema for another week or so. Would definitely recommend seeing if you can.

I saw this on Saturday and really liked it. I have a very high Gretta Gerwig tolerance so I love films set in this Gretta-verse, where everyone lives in amazing apartments and wallow in self-obsession. Nothing bad happens and New York seems built for them.

People with a lower capacity for Gretta than I might not like it as much.

Looper007

Revolution (1985)- Got the restored BFI director's cut of Al Pacino much maligned American Revolution drama, not as bad as many would think it is. The whole Nastassja Kinski love story sub plot is mostly cut from the director's cut which makes it a better film as it should be about Pacino and his son (played by Sid Owen (Ricky from EastEnders) as a young kid and Dexter Fletcher as the older version). Donald Sunderland and Richard O'Brien (Crystal Maze fame) play their British villain's OTT. Not a lost classic or anything but well worth having a watch.

The Devil's (1971) - The Late great Ken Russell's masterpiece with career best performances from Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, with great sets by Derek Jarman. In 17th-century France, Father Grandier is a priest whose unorthodox views on sex and religion influence a passionate following of nuns, including the sexually obsessed Sister Jeanne. When the power-hungry Cardinal Richelieu realizes he must eliminate Grandier to gain control of France, Richelieu portrays Grandier as a satanist and spearheads a public outcry to destroy the once-loved priest's reputation. Still a film that is troubling causing it from been given a full uncut release. Got the BFI two disc edition with great commentary between Mark Kermode and Russell and Kermode documentary on the making of the Devils, well worth checking out.

MilesMorales1

Ciaran_B wrote: »

I saw this on Saturday and really liked it. I have a very high Gretta Gerwig tolerance so I love films set in this Gretta-verse, where everyone lives in amazing apartments and wallow in self-obsession. Nothing bad happens and New York seems built for them.

People with a lower capacity for Gretta than I might not like it as much.

Who doesn't love Greta Gerwig?

Fingers Mcginty

Copland

Good flick. Enjoyed it.

barryegan

Chain Smoker wrote: »

3 Women
Was this even trying to make much sense? I really doubt it, pretty damn good watch for the first hour and a half at least though. Definitely felt like there was a bit of an unwarranted nasty streak towards Shelley Duvall's character (which she was doing pretty wonderful work to humanise) but overall liked it a lot, yeah.

Mulholland Drive
Remembered absolutely nothing of it, eventually lost all track of it but there kept being cool moments. Spent about four hours afterwards googling about it, kind of want to rewatch the whole thing all over again now.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Bit messy for a classic noir, but pretty good; need to seek out more John Garfield.

After Dark, My Sweet
Also known as "the really out-of-nowhere inclusion on Roger Ebert's great movies list".
This was so fascinating to see in a cinema, it's the kind of thing that I've only exclusively seen on my laptop at 4am in the night that kind of early 90s sleepy thriller with noirish elements (One False Move, Red Rocks West, Devils in a Blue Dress). I've a huge soft spot for these so I loved it, ending was a bit ehhh but it was mostly very solid, Jason Patric completely won me over as it went on.
With a better actress in the female lead role and a bit more time spent with Patric and Dern being their characters, this could've been really good.

Cracking collection of films right there. Well, apart from After Dark, My Sweet which I was sure I'd love but it didn't do a whole lot for me. Red Rock West it is not!

3 Women and Mulholland Dr. is pretty much perfection when it comes to a double bill.

ButtersSuki

Where To Invade Next Typical Michael Moore fare, entertaining in parts though fluffy and light compared to his usual outputs. Probably the least interesting of his docs (that I have seen) to date tbh. 5/10.

Chain Smoker

barryegan wrote: »

Cracking collection of films right there. Well, apart from After Dark, My Sweet which I was sure I'd love but it didn't do a whole lot for me. Red Rock West it is not!

3 Women and Mulholland Dr. is pretty much perfection when it comes to a double bill.

All four in 35mm over two nights. Gonna miss this theatre when I move more than just about anything else here.
Honestly it's impossible for me to be objective about After Dark My Sweet, the novelty of seeing one of those films for the first time in a cinema with a quite nicely aged print is just way too strong!

barryegan

Huh, a tad jealous! Mind me asking where that theatre is? Time, place and other things can have a massive influence on how you feel about a particular film so I can well understand your take on it.

johnny_ultimate

Tokyo Story - The whole 'greatest film ever' debate is silly. How can you distill the essence of an entire artform down into a single work? How can you possibly hope to reflect the endless variety of cinema out there? Are you meant to pick a film that helped establish the language of cinema as we know it, or one of the ones that furthered the cinematic vocabulary decades later? Hell, you can barely capture the essence of a single director in one film, let alone the entire goddamn medium. Again, it's a pointless and largely worthless debate that teaches us little.

I say this, of course, because Tokyo Story defies the rules and is probably the greatest film ever made.

Duggy747

Green Room

Started off pretty good but soon descended into usual schlocky horror affair where the body count comes quick and fast. Wasn't bad but didn't live up to the hype for me.

I didn't realise until after the film just how much practical effects there was and the huge level of detail they went into, which was surprising because of how dimly lit everything was and some effects they didn't show in the final cut.

Anton Yelchin was good in it, the guy definitely had the potential for bigger stardom down the road which is a shame his life was cut short the way it did.

david75

The Nice guys

Fun watch. Gosling and Crowe work well together.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Frankie and Johnny.

90's film with Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino. Al Pacino basically harasses Michelle Pfeiffer into going out with him. It's incredibly creepy. I think it's meant to be a romance though. The 90's were weird.

ButtersSuki

The Wicker Man (The Final Cut, 1973) for the very first time (any version btw) on Blu Ray (Disc 1 of a 3 Disc Set). I've seen an awful lot of films over the years and I know this has cult status and always appears on Greatest Movie/Horrors of All Time Lists but I just found it boring. It is IMO completely over-rated. It's got more continuity errors and goofs than a Ray D'Arcy radio show, the plot is weak, the twist is predictable, the (Scottish) accents are awful.....I could go on. I'm left wondering how bad the Nicholas Cage remake is as this was just awful. I think Discs 2 and 3 of this will be lucky to ever see the inside of my Blu Ray player. I'd consider myself a cinema snob and naturally gravitate towards classics. I normally like the genre too. For me, this is neither a classic nor a horror. It's like a bad spoof comedy horror musical. I know this is likely going to provoke some debate but I'm going to give this a 3/10. It's the Emperor's New Clothes of cinema. I promise I'm not trolling.

Chain Smoker

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Frankie and Johnny.

90's film with Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino. Al Pacino basically harasses Michelle Pfeiffer into going out with him. It's incredibly creepy. I think it's meant to be a romance though. The 90's were weird.

Doesn't Revenge of the Nerds have one of the nerds raping a cheerleader as something of a victory scene?

The 80's were even weirder.

ButtersSuki

Chain Smoker wrote: »

Doesn't Revenge of the Nerds have one of the nerds raping a cheerleader as something of a victory scene?

The 80's were even weirder.

Saturday Night Fever has a rape scene that's passed off as a bit of fun/slap and tickle - weird.

Padraig Mor

ButtersSuki wrote: »

The Wicker Man (The Final Cut, 1973) for the very first time (any version btw) on Blu Ray (Disc 1 of a 3 Disc Set). I've seen an awful lot of films over the years and I know this has cult status and always appears on Greatest Movie/Horrors of All Time Lists but I just found it boring. It is IMO completely over-rated. It's got more continuity errors and goofs than a Ray D'Arcy radio show, the plot is weak, the twist is predictable, the (Scottish) accents are awful.....I could go on. I'm left wondering how bad the Nicholas Cage remake is as this was just awful. I think Discs 2 and 3 of this will be lucky to ever see the inside of my Blu Ray player. I'd consider myself a cinema snob and naturally gravitate towards classics. I normally like the genre too. For me, this is neither a classic nor a horror. It's like a bad spoof comedy horror musical. I know this is likely going to provoke some debate but I'm going to give this a 3/10. It's the Emperor's New Clothes of cinema. I promise I'm not trolling.

One of my favourite films, although I can see how it wouldn't appeal. Ultimately, its widespread description as a horror is perhaps a millstone - because it's nothing of the sort really. Mostly it's a camp thriller / folk musical with a '****!' ending. I don't agree that the ending is predictable, but the intervening 40ish years have certainly made such endings much more commonplace*.

Some more heresy: the various longer versions are just not as good as the original shorter (87 minutes give or take) release - Roger Corman was right to make the cuts he did.

*Interestingly, The Wicker Man was originally released as the support feature in a double bill to a second run of Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now, which also featured a similarly unusual-for-the-time 'shock' ending - nice night at the movies for some people back in 1973!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Chain Smoker wrote: »

Doesn't Revenge of the Nerds have one of the nerds raping a cheerleader as something of a victory scene?

The 80's were even weirder.

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Saturday Night Fever has a rape scene that's passed off as a bit of fun/slap and tickle - weird.

I did not know either of those things. :eek:

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Watched The Man From UNCLE there tonight.

I thought it was really good fun. Didn't take itself too seriously and yet was still a pretty decent actiony spy caper.

EICVD

Milf ***** younger guy 23, was one of those amateur films......

Chain Smoker

RE: revenge of the nerds, one of the nerds dresses up in a jock's halloween costume or some **** like that and pretends to be him so he can f*ck his girlfriend.
Not 100% but I think this is enough to make her fall for him too?

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Saturday Night Fever has a rape scene that's passed off as a bit of fun/slap and tickle - weird.

Hmm, I dunno, it's underplayed for sure but doesn't Travolta object lightly? I think it's meant to just be a bleak thing. The way it's underplayed is undoubtedly pretty iffy but it's not a bit of fun either.




Somewhat related, the acclaimed French version of beauty and the beast from 1946 is hilariously dated in how much of a "nice guy" the beast is. Endlessly whinging and going on about the sacrifices he makes. I kept expecting it to throw in some twist because it was just ridiculous, but no.