What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

ButtersSuki

8-10 wrote: »

+1 enjoyed this

I'm glad I watched it before his latest faux pas.........

ButtersSuki

Hello Ladies 8 part tv series + movie over 2 nights on DVD (the boxset includes the movie). Stephen Merchant writes, produces, directs and stars as Englishman Stuart Pritchard, uber nerd trying to seduce models and actresses who are way out of his league in LA. It takes its inspiration from Merchant's stand up show of the same name, and watching this you can see his contribution to The Office's scripts instantly. I'm a bit of a fan, but this was better than expected. Had enormous potential IMO, shame it got cancelled.....I think it would have worked better had it been a BBC production rather than HBO (thus limiting its audience and the territories in which it was shown). As you'd expect, it's full of cringe, but is also quite tender in places. Well worth seeking out. 7.5/10

ButtersSuki

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Watched "A Doctor's Sword" on RTÉ tonight. Really interesting story about an Irish doctor who joined the British army just before WW2, survived Dunkirk only to be sent to Singapore, get captured by the Japanese, kept as a POW for 3 years and eventually ends up in Nagasaki when the bomb is dropped.

As I said, the story is really interesting itself but the way the documentary is made is a bit all over the place. It starts with the family having this sword that their dad was given in Japan but they're not 100% sure why this Japanese commander gave it to him, along with a picture of himself. So one sister sets off for Japan to find out their dad's story but that's intercut with the other sister at home in Cork telling the bloody story AND clips from a radio interview the man himself did before he died to promote the book he wrote telling the whole story himself.

I would assume they went to Japan hoping to get the other side of the story of the sword but *spoiler* they get nothing they didn't already know. There's some nice little animated bits to go along with the radio clips, I would have cut the Japan stuff and put more of these in, especially when the whole trip seemed pretty pointless.

All in all I'd say yer man's book is probably worth tracking down.

Ah, I 'd heard this story before. There was a really good documentary about him on Newstalk a few years ago. Had a quick look there but can't find a link....:(

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Ah, I 'd heard this story before. There was a really good documentary about him on Newstalk a few years ago. Had a quick look there but can't find a link....:(

Yeah, the story itself is pretty interesting. Think it could have made a better documentary though. The animated bits reminded me of Waltz with Bashir. Depending on how much of the man himself they had recorded they might have been better off just doing the whole thing as an animation with him providing the narration.

Chain Smoker

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Hello Ladies 8 part tv series + movie over 2 nights on DVD (the boxset includes the movie). Stephen Merchant writes, produces, directs and stars as Englishman Stuart Pritchard, uber nerd trying to seduce models and actresses who are way out of his league in LA. It takes its inspiration from Merchant's stand up show of the same name, and watching this you can see his contribution to The Office's scripts instantly. I'm a bit of a fan, but this was better than expected. Had enormous potential IMO, shame it got cancelled.....I think it would have worked better had it been a BBC production rather than HBO (thus limiting its audience and the territories in which it was shown). As you'd expect, it's full of cringe, but is also quite tender in places. Well worth seeking out. 7.5/10

Wouldn't be as complimentary of it as you are but it showed Merchant is a solid writer, capable of being a great performer (the guy really knows how to make use of that big weird body he has).

With the right partnership, I'd say Merchant could do something really good again, which is a lot more than I can say for his former writing partner.

ButtersSuki

Chain Smoker wrote: »

Wouldn't be as complimentary of it as you are but it showed Merchant is a solid writer, capable of being a great performer (the guy really knows how to make use of that big weird body he has).

With the right partnership, I'd say Merchant could do something really good again, which is a lot more than I can say for his former writing partner.

What I didn't say about it is that I first tried to watch the pilot when it came out a couple of years ago and gave up halfway through it as it didn't do anything for me (and trust me, I rarely give up on anything once I start). I'm wondering did the binge watch contribute to my liking and appreciation of it, as opposed to say watching one episode weekly? I also did watch all the deleted scenes too incl. an extended cut of the dinner table scene where he is forced to apologise to the parents and the child himself after calling said child a cûnt. As I said in my previous post my expectations were low, but I was drawn in by the warmth of the character once he eventually dropped the facade, whilst laughing along with the awkwardness and the cringe of his journey to get there.

Also I'm 6'6.5" barefoot so some of it may be a little more relatable to me!

Outlaw Pete

Woody's 'Cafe Society'.

It's okay. Bit meh overall though. Just couldn't get into it.

The scenes with Ken Stott and the wife were excellent though. A film based primarily around these two characters would have been excellent. The New York stuff overall was much more enjoyable.

droidman123

LE CHÂTEAU DE MA MÈRE(my mothers castle) 1990,what an amazing movie,i only got around to watching it last night,thoroughly recommend it.

Chain Smoker

Homicide
I'll be honest, I only watched this because there was a really annoying kid beside me on the plane and I kind of hoped, what with the name and all, that there might be something in it that would give the little brat nightmares.
It's grade, very Mametty but back when he was good so it's okay, I guess.


Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll
I love me a story about the Khmer Rouge, I do. This documentary was a bit disappointing overall though, it understandably focused a lot on the actual music but I felt like the real story was how the artists dealt with the politics.
Okay enough though.

Mustang
Liked this a lot, the solution at the end was a bit too tidily set up in a way that didn't really work for me but for the most part it was really endearing and fun.

Looper007

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

Woody's 'Cafe Society'.

It's okay. Bit meh overall though. Just couldn't get into it.

The scenes with Ken Stott and the wife were excellent though. A film based primarily around these two characters would have been excellent. The New York stuff overall was much more enjoyable.

Loved the stuff with his gangster brother and how he deals with everybody lol. Also the sister with her non violent husband were great.

Far more interesting story with the side characters rather then the two main's, although Stewart and Eisenberg were fine and they have good chemistry (still think Adventureland is still their best film together) but couldn't feel for their characters as both seem extremely selfish to me. Blake Lively just stood around been Blake I suppose lol.

Agree that Scott and his wife were the best things in it.

Looper007

Seen a few films this weekend

A Date For Mad Mary- Great central performance from Seána Kerslake and the whole cast too. Very funny but touching too. One of the best Irish Films I've seen in years.

The Purge: Election Year- Nowhere near as good as the second film but still better then the first, Frank Grillo is a great action lead. Passable.

Brotherhood- Noel Clarke's third film in his hood trilogy, not bad although lacks the power of the second film, plus the treatment of women in the film is very questionable.

Café Society- Passable Woody Allen film.

Sausage Party- Not great, laughed very few times. Although worth watching for the bonkers last few minutes. Edward Norton pulls off a great Woody Allen impression though.

Fysh

I caught Pedro Almodóvar's Julieta tonight and really enjoyed it. After the heightened thriller elements of The Skin I Live In and high farce of I'm So Excited, this was a return to more grounded form, with a focus on character and atmosphere - not so much finding out what's happening but why characters do particular things. A lot of the story is told effectively as flashback, but it's very well done and there are a couple of very clever transitions between past and present.

ButtersSuki

Finished it a few days ago but tbh, I was a little disappointed with it compared to Season 1. I do want to state that this is a relative statement as it is still of a very high standard and far, far better than most things on tv right now.

Wagner Moura and Pedro Pascal are the real stars of this for me, Boyd Hollybrook just seems a little "light" to me by comparison. The rest of the Narcos simply aren't as interesting by comparison (I've read a lot about Escobar in particular, but also some of the other protagonists). The show isn't wholly accurate either, but I guess that's a minor quibble as they largely stick to the known/extablished narrative. Losing Escobar/Moura however will be a massive hole to fill, that's some pretty heavy shoes to fill character wise and tbh I fear for it a little.

I'd give it an 8.5/10 for the two seasons combined thus far, with S1 scoring higher for me.

Looper007

The Sure Thing (1985)


The lost gem in Rob Reiner's amazing run of films from This is Spinal Tap to A Few Good Men. Was always going to be overshadowed when you are stuck inbetween Tap and Stand By Me, but it's such a funny romantic comedy. With John Cusack brilliant as Gib, on his way to meet up with his friend played by ER's Anthony Edwards (with hair) in California for a Sure Thing (Desperate Housewives Nicollette Sheridan).

Meanwhile, Allison, a cute (but somewhat retentive) girl at Gib's college has also decided to head out to Cal. to see her boyfriend during break. Gib and Allison are thrust together on a road trip from hell, and somewhere along the way, they find each others company to be tolerable. Daphne Zuniga, who's probably more famous for playing the Princess role in Spaceballs, is every bit as good as Allison. The Chemistry with her and Cusack is great and the film never outstays it's welcome. With a typical romantic film ending but this film deserved it.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I love The Sure Thing. It's so much better than that other Cusack one that gets all the love, Say Anything?

I love the "not the Gary Copper that's dead" bit too.

ButtersSuki

+1 on The Sure Thing. For me however Cusack's funniest and finest early work is "Better Off Dead":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6srI0EVwTUE

Whole film is on Youtube in case you're too young (sigh) to know it....

Looper007

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I love The Sure Thing. It's so much better than that other Cusack one that gets all the love, Say Anything?

I love the "not the Gary Copper that's dead" bit too.

I find it tough to love Say Anything, it's a little too smart for its own good and I can't quite buy into the love story as I did in The Sure Thing.

Tim Robbins cameo is one of the best things In it.

charlie_says

Saw Anomolisa recently. Not what I expected at all.

Quite touching and occasionally very funny film that in my view was an exploration of mental illness and depression possibly a mid life crisis also.

Superbly voice acted and the stop start animation worked really well. I enjoyed it.

The Black Oil

Eye for an Eye

One from Kiefer Sutherland's past. Not great, really. The way some of the scenes joined together felt a little odd. That, plus the script was tedious and wooden.

fin12

Just seen Anthropoid starring Cillian Muphy and Jamie Doran. What an amazing film and story. One of the best films I've ever seen. It's unbelievable how brave and courageous some people can be. Very sad film as well. Would highly recommend this film. Great acting from both Cillian and Jamie.

johnny_ultimate

One More Time With Feeling - A documentary released to accompany a new album is a reasonably unexpected context for a major new work... But that's what we're dealing with here.

This is a raw and unflinching - never have those words felt so apt - portrait of Nick and Suzy Cave's grief following the death of their son. Filmed only months after the tragedy, this captures the couple's confusion and devastation, but also their attempts to push on. It's so achingly human: sometimes understandably inarticulate, often unexpectedly pointed and intimate. Both Nick and the director express clear reservations about whether they should be diving into this emotionally fraught territory at all. It reflects on how they try to get back to work and their art, and the support they find from people around them (Warren Ellis, Cave's closest collaborator, emerges as an understated hero of the piece).

The music is great - much of it originating before Arthur's death, but the tragedy unmistakably shaping the sound and shape of the songs. The process is all captured with extraordinary verve by director Andrew Dominik and cinematographer Benoit Debie. Both their presences are clearly felt. This is far beyond a mere talking heads documentary - the camera is at times like an omnipotent observer (occasionally abandoning its spatial reality entirely), drifting and circling around the studio with captivating force. The actual musical segments are beautiful and visceral. It's a film that manages to feel both intimate and detached at once. A few cinematic jokes - primarily involving a misbehaving 3D camera - bring some levity to material where such things are in relatively short supply.

This film deserves more than a few once off screenings to accompany the release of Skeleton Key. It's major league filmmaking, capturing some pretty major league musicmaking. Primarily, this is two people offering us a nearly unprecedented insight into their grieving process - and the resulting film is moving, honest and beautiful.

Nerdlingr

Watched American Beauty last night.

I'd seen bits of it years ago but never really properly watched it from start to finish till last night. What a film. Absolutely fantastic performances all round. There really isnt much if anything wrong with it at all. In fact, I cant really fault the movie... its pretty much perfect. 10/10.

Also watched Biutiful a few days back.

very grim, very dirty, very 'real' ...another excellent film. Bardem is fantastic in it as plays the part of the guilt ridden father dealing with the grim struggle to provide for his family, and his impending doom. 8/10

Tony EH

fin12 wrote: »

Just seen Anthropoid starring Cillian Muphy and Jamie Doran. What an amazing film and story. One of the best films I've ever seen. It's unbelievable how brave and courageous some people can be. Very sad film as well. Would highly recommend this film. Great acting from both Cillian and Jamie.

Is it filmed straight? Or is it filled with the usual bullshit war movie cliches? I'm interested, but I can count on the fingers of one hand the war films that are worth bothering with.

There's an older film from the 70's, that was quite decent, about the same assassination, called 'Operation Daybreak'.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Tony EH wrote: »

Is it filmed straight? Or is it filled with the usual bullshit war movie cliches? I'm interested, but I can count on the fingers of one hand the war films that are worth bothering with.

There's an older film from the 70's, that was quite decent, about the same assassination, called 'Operation Daybreak'.

I read the book HHhH a while ago which is about this and is written in a really interesting style. Basically the writer hypothesises about certain things but then corrects himself and states that we can't know this or we can't know that. So he always clarifies what is actually known fact and what is himself or other authors speculating.

Having seen the trailer for this film it looks like there's a lot of speculation, if you're feeling kind, fiction, if not. I've no idea who the women in the trailer are, for starters.

There is another film, based on the HHhH book due out at some point too.

Tony EH

There were women involved in the Czechoslovak groups that were to meet and inform the assassination team when they arrived from England. One of them, Marie something or other, had been tracking Heydrich's movements for weeks before hand and knew the route he was taking to and from his office.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Tony EH wrote: »

There were women involved in the Czechoslovak groups that were to meet and inform the assassination team when they arrived from England. One of them, Marie something or other, had been tracking Heydrich's movements for weeks before hand and knew the route he was taking to and from his office.

I'm sure there were women involved in the Czech resistance, it's more the romance parts from the trailer I was questioning.

Tony EH

Jan Kubis had a girlfriend called Anna Malinova in Prague. That's probably her that Cillian Murphy is dancing with in the trailer.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Tony EH wrote: »

Jan Kubis had a girlfriend called Anna Malinova in Prague. That's probably her that Cillian Murphy is dancing with in the trailer.

While they were there for the operation?

I am by no means an expert on this, I have literally read one book. That one book did make me question all these historical films though. How do we know anything beyond hard facts really happened? Does it matter if they imagine some scenes to frame the the facts?

fin12

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I'm sure there were women involved in the Czech resistance, it's more the romance parts from the trailer I was questioning.

There's very little romance in it.

fin12

After seeing the film, I really want to go to Prague and visit that church and lay some flowers there. They were so brave.