What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

Kunkka

Haven't been paying attention to the hype about Baby Driver and just seen it, bloody brilliant. Loved every minute of it.

Dunkirk is on the radar in the next few days, mixed reviews from what I have seen so far...

El Duda

La Haine - 7.5/10

Classic French film with tonnes of grit and a breakout performance from Vincent Cassell. Closer to the time it was compared with the likes of Trainspotting but it reminded me more of Larry Clarke's 'Kids'.

 It's a real authentic look into peoples lives in the French suburbs. Gorgeously shot with timeless cinematography and plenty of visual flair.

I was a bit under-whelmed when it finished. There's a quote on the front of the DVD case from Empire which says that "La Haine has lost none of its power" or words to that effect. I think that script-wise, it has dated slightly and in terms of plot, the shock factor has diminished.

Having said that, when I looked and saw it was released in 1995 It made me realise how groundbreaking it must of been at the time. It looked so good on bluray that I never would've guessed it was that old.

Found a Mark Cousins introduction from Movie Drome here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdai9V9BmyM

Get Out - 8/10

Really good little horror flick this. Daniel Kaluuya is fast becoming one of my favourite actors after being brought to my attention in his incredible Black Mirror episode.

It's good to get an original horror film that isn't part of a franchise, that has surprising twists and revelations. It ticks both the creepy and funny boxes which is tough to get right.

The finale felt a bit rushed but other than that, a good solid film.

Tony EH

Spoilers ahead.

'Dunkirk'

A war film that deals with the war without the Hollywood glow and veneer that plagues far too many efforts of recent years and is actually, pleasingly, devoid of any "for the sake of it" gore and blood. Although that doesn't mean that it shirks away from the horror of conflict in any way.

'Dunkirk' deals with the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from France in 1940, after a disastrous British and French campaign to defeat the German Army on French soil, initiated by the former's declaration of war on the latter eight months previously. The British and French Armies (plus others like the Belgians) proved unable to deal with the Germans as they steamrolled through France in just six weeks. Something that proved impossible to do in the whole of WWI.

None of that history is really needed to enjoy the film although I feel, like with most war films, a certain understanding is useful (if somewhat unnecessary) to flesh out the events on the screen. But all one needs to know here is that the Allies have been defeated and the British are looking for a way out. The miles and miles of beaches at Dunkirk fortuitously proved to be it.

Christopher Nolan's film does extremely well to capture the dejected spirits of the men as they trickle down through the beachfront property to the sandy shoreline and form orderly (and terribly British) queues, while they patiently wait for a transport (any transport) to arrive and take them back to Blighty. The images of these queues are matched by period photographs and that attentiveness is what makes 'Dunkirk' a great success, at least the in the "Mole" section of the film, which is one of three timelines that the story is split across. The Mole (another name for a pier) takes place over the course of the week, whereas The Air is over one hour and The Sea is a day's journey. All sections are intertwined in a back and forth timeline, with the The Air being the weakest contribution.

The Mole unfolds largely from the viewpoint of a British soldier, an unnamed private, ably handled by Fionn Whitehead. Whitehead does well to capture the fear, confusion, dread and humiliation of the average "Tommy" in a largely "dialogue-less" role. Something that isn't easy to do. He acts as our eyes as he passively observes the situations and people who make up the souls trying to escape the portion of the beach he finds himself on. The Mole is the meat of the film upon which the other two sections are hung and contains the more harrowing of scenes. These are chilling scenes of men drowning in steel hulls as the ship they're stranded on becomes their horribly echoey tomb.

The Sea deals with the "little armada" of civilian boats that was requisitioned by the Royal Navy, because they didn't want to commit the bulk of the Navy to rescue mission. It focuses on pleasure boater, Mr. Dawson, his son Peter and his friend George, who take it upon themselves to head to Dunkirk to see if they can aid the evacuation. This is based on true accounts of hundreds of boat owners who sailed south in the last days of May 1940 in an admirable, if foolhardy, crusade of sorts. Mild mannered Mr. Dawson is very well played by Mark Rylance who's understated performance contrasts with the horrors unfolding in the water around his little boat.

The Air focuses on a Spitfire sortie across the channel and their task to deal with the Luftwaffe attacks on the evacuation effort. Tom Hardy is second in a vic of three, lead vocally by Michael Caine. This section is laudable for its use of period aircraft, in the case of the Spitfire MkI and does well to get a post war Spanish made Buchon into the air to act as a Bf109E. Elsewhere there's also a post war Spanish Heinkel playing its part as a target for Hardy's far too good pilot. It's Hardy's unrealistic ability to destroy everything with a Balkenkreuz on it that forms the only real mis-step in the film. Also on a bad note is the film's portrayal of the Germans, who act as suicidal maniacs. While the film went to great lengths to get details correct, it's depiction of Luftwaffe tactics is a mess. 109's linger in turning fights with Spitfires and the film's only German bomber goes around on a bombing run, practically offering themselves as targets. Anyone who's familiar with the air war in WWII will be rolling their eyes, which is a shame because the filmmakers get so much correct elsewhere.

However, the above criticisms will only be spotted by a handful of people and while it knocks points off, it doesn't destroy the film altogether. It's still hard not to be disappointed about Hardy's "Greatest Spitfire Pilot of all Time" caricature.

Another criticism would be the lack of use of CGI to augment to air battles. Although some CGI was used to enhance the Stuka remote control models. While I believe Nolan's refusal to do a sweeping vista of a beach full of hundreds of thousands of men was a wise one (as there were never that number on any of the beaches at one time), the limited air war feels extremely anemic. It's correct that the Luftwaffe confined its attacks to mere pin prick harassment, in lieu of an all out attempt to destroy the BEF, but it's doubtful that any Heinkel crew would be flying into enemy territory alone as is depicted in the film. Those scenes are, of course, victims of the lack of physically available aircraft. But, they could easily have been fleshed out with computer generated ones to inject a bit more realism. I believe there could have been a balance attempted, instead of a flat out refusal.

Elsewhere, Nolan correctly refuses to make the film reliant on an "characters". The fact of the matter being that in real military units, the men rarely got to know one another very well. Men were transferred in and out of units, killed, wounded and captured, that you tended not to know anybody for too long. It would have been a mistake to make the film a squad based cliche with the accompanying Screen Writing 101 "characters", that so many war films do. While this can be troublesome for some viewers, I found it to be another feather in its cap. A cap which possesses quite a large number of feathers, it has to be said. Another of which is Hans Zimmer's spectacular, yet wholly unassuming score. Almost totally devoid of bombast, it's low bass pounding does wonders to increase the sense of dread and tension of the scenes unfolding on the screen. It's an expert example of what a cinematic score should do. It aids the film, without overwhelming it. In one or two places, it swells to unconvincing heights, such as its pinching of Elgar's 'Nimrod', as Hardy lands his out of fuel Spitfire on the beach. But, 99% of the time it aural support is absolutely bang on.

Despite its shortcomings, 'Dunkirk' is a war film that will largely please people who have studied the war, as I have for more years than I'll mention here. It's emotional, without being forced. It's horrifying in places, without being obsessed about it. It's reasonably factual, without being dull. For me, it joins a small number of war films that can be called great and Christopher Nolan et al deserve all the praise they get.

8/10

Welcome to New York 2014 Abel Ferrara film with Gerard Depardieu playing Dominic Strauss Khan who I'm sure everyone remembers from a few years back and the sexual assault case.
Depardieu really fits the role of the sex crazed, remorseless obese fiend who was being prepped to be the next president of france but had everything all come crashing down after an incident with a maid in a hotel room in New York.
This is a typical Ferrara film, graphic, raw and close up, and not for the feint hearted. A small film but a deep commentary on Strauss Kahn and his ilk.

FortuneChip

Tony EH wrote: »

Spoilers ahead.


The Mole unfolds largely from the viewpoint of a British soldier, an unnamed private, ably handled by Harry Styles (A singer from boy band One Direction, who I was blissfully unaware of). Styles does well to capture the fear, confusion, dread and humiliation of the average "Tommy" in a largely "dialogue-less" role. Something that isn't easy to do. He acts as our eyes as he passively observes the situations and people who make up the souls trying to escape the portion of the beach he finds himself on. The Mole is the meat of the film upon which the other two sections are hung and contains the more harrowing of scenes. These are chilling scenes of men drowning in steel hulls as the ship they're stranded on becomes their horribly echoey tomb.


8/10

Harry Styles is the more talkative soldier. Not met until ~30 minutes in.
Fionn Whitehead plays the "lead" soldier.

Tony EH

FortuneChip wrote: »

Harry Styles is the more talkative soldier. Not met until ~30 minutes in.
Fionn Whitehead plays the "lead" soldier.

You're correct. Getting my names mixed up there. I'm not familiar with either lad. I'll amend the post.

Arghus

Elle - Pfffft.... Where to start with this one....


Not many movies start off with a rape scene and then proceed to only get weirder and more confounding from that point on. But, yeah, that's Elle.


I've watched a lot of movies lately and you know how it is when you watch a lot in quick succession - they tend to run into each other just a little bit, even if they're all pretty distinct in their own way. But of the films I have watched recently Elle is the only one that I found myself still mulling over the next day. And I don't mean just simply remembering moments from the movie in my head, rather, I was still mentally dissecting the way it made me think and how it made me feel, as a viewer and spectator. And this - for the record - is the sign of a good movie in my book

By now a lot of you know the basic gist of the plot: successful middle aged woman Michele (Isabelle Huppert) is the victim of a sexual assault in her own home, but, afterwards, instead of going to the police she decides to pursue her own course of justice. Wow. Sounds thrilling, wrong, interesting; plenty to chew on there. But all of this is only a tiny fraction of what the film is really about.

Complex plot strands and themes emerge dealing with - amongst other things - questions of identity, responsibility, gender roles, justice and the nature of victim-hood. Whereas most movies that deal with sexual violence and it's aftermath tend to go down a certain kind of well meaning, but well trod, road of explanation, Elle is more a film concerned with explication:It's got things on it's mind and it's going to put you - the viewer - in an uncomfortable position at times, whether you like it or not.

I loved this movie in some ways. It's a movie about a horrible subject, but I loved how I struggled to figure it out while I was watching it. Was this supposed to be empowering or exploitative? Was this all deadly serious or blackly hilarious? You know that old line about American movies talking a big game at the start, asking provocative questions, but then making sure that they end as conventionality and as pat as possible. Well, Elle starts off with provocation and then starts asking the questions.

I loved the films guts in how it forces you to almost view the central character with a sense of contempt at times. Michele is a bit of a piece of work and she doesn’t stop becoming a piece of work just because something terrible happened to her. The film is intelligent enough to be able to deal with the concept that being a victim of something doesn’t you stop being a complex multifaceted and flawed person. And that, more than any of the decidedly transgressive things that do occur on screen, is perhaps the most bracing aspect of the movie.

It’s not perfect - it’s a bit overstuffed: some of the sub-plots and red herrings could easily be jettisoned. But, it’s a truly superb thought provoking film and Verhovan manages to skirt an alluring line throughout: mixing some of his own trashier sensibilities with a cold emotional detachment that reminded me a lot of Michael Heneke. And, of course, Huppbert is amazing.

Nerdlingr

Free Fire

Awful sh8te altogether. If you enjoy people crawling around, getting shot and yelping a bit for an hour, with a bit of 'banter' thrown in,
then this is the one for you.
Otherwise, avoid. Not even Cillian Murphy can save this one.

A generous 5/10

buried

Another review for

Free Fire (2017)
( I sat through it all so don't free fire shoot at me OK)

I'm a huge fan of Ben Wheatley but this was worse than his last effort and I thought that was poor enough. The sequential art and editing in this was absolutely shockingly bad. At no point did I know where any of the characters were located inside the warehouse and had literally no clue who was shooting at who, and I didn't give a $hit either. Derivative 'reservoir dogs' styled movie 20 years too late. What has happened to 'A Field in England' Ben Wheatley? Please come back man. Very very very very awful.

2 out of 10.

Del.Monte

"Who Dares Wins" (1982)

Inspired by the 1980 London Iranian Embassy siege which saw the SAS storm the building on live TV. A feel good film for Anglophiles.

The late Lewis Collins (Bodie from the Professionals) stars with an interesting cast including Tony Doyle, Edward Woodward, Richard Widmark and John Duttine.

Great soundtrack too.

8/10 as it cheered me up.

charlie_says

Raw (2016)

So I wouldn't watch this if you are a vegan.

Mental French student cannibalism craziness movie, my first I have to admit. A vegetarian first year student is at her very first week in a large veterinarian college which has bizarre hazing practices. Not for the squeamish, but I found it pretty hilarious in parts as well as unsettling and I'm not easily shocked.

Really enjoyed it. Mad stuff, Ted.

Great performance by Garance Marillier and has a startling visual style.

droidman123

Sameblod (sami blood) 2016
This is one of those movies that have you thinking about it long after you have finished watching it.its a swedish movie about prejudice and bigotry.two young girls from the sami,s (basically the indians of sweden) are sent to a boarding school and suffer terrible bigotry,one of them decides she wants to be "swedish" and have what she deems a better life,but this means giving up all her heritage and family.it is an extremely sad at times movie.the two young girls who play the main characters are exceptional.brilliantly told story (its mostly set in the 1930,s) which still holds true in the present day.highly recommended
9/10

The River 1984 Mel Gibson and Sisey Spacek star in a cracking film about a young family running a farm in the middle america fighting to stay afloat during hard times. Battling the weather, the banks and a ruthless local developer Scott Glenn who wants to flood the valley which would destroy the farm.
Its a film about old american virtues that don't seem to be around anymore. Brilliant cinematography from one of the best ever Vilmos Zsigmond, and a nice score from John Williams. One amazing seen of a young deer that wanders into an iron works. How they did that I'll never know!

droidman123

The man from nowhere (2010)
Another unbelieveably great thriller from south korea.ex special forces guy gets involved against drug barons and organs for sale racket,s.its a kick ass action movie with a great story line,not for the faint hearted for sure.two hours of great entertainment
8.5/10

Sexual Chocolate

Three Kings (1999)

Gulf war movie/black comedy set after the events of Desert Storm about four soliders who go AWOL and set out to steal gold from the Iraqis that was originally stolen from Kuwait. Along the way they realise that the innocent iraqi people attempting to flee from Saddams regime need their help in escaping over the border.

Starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube.

Even though its a black comedy I always like this film, its one of very few set during the first gulf war. And also regarded as one of George Clooneys "late 90s break away from TV/E.R movies".

6/10

B.A._Baracus

Went on a bit of a Mel Brooks buzz lately:

Blazing Saddles
What can be said. A funny film with some memorable quotes. But as Mel Brooks said himself it could never be made today for obvious reasons.

SpaceBalls
Another classic. Some really good laugh out loud moments.

Dracula Dead and Loving It
It should have been better than it was. It's another Mel Brooks movie and it stars Leslie Neilsen hot off The Naked Gun movies. A winning formula on paper if there ever was one. It still has some funny moments just not as good as you would expect giving the talent involved.

Young Frankenstein
The other three movies above I have seen before... But as of earlier this evening I had yet to see this!
I kept hearing about how funny it was. How much of a classic it is. But honestly I don't get the 8.0 rating it has on IMDB. It's just alright and I would give it a 6.5 or so. Blazing Saddles or Spaceballs is much better.
Maybe it's just hearing all the hype for years or something that ruined my experience. But from watching Mel's other movies lately. It didn't live up to the hype.


Maybe that's just me.

4Ad

Watching Ozarks Tv Series.
About money laundering for a Mexican drug cartel..very good 3 episodes in.

Fingers Mcginty

The Missing ....Very entertaining TV series

constitutionus

went to see

"Captain underpants :first epic movie!"

today. basically on the back of fup all else being out that interested me that was on at the time i could go and a mark kermode review wherein he suprisingly said he was falling all over the place laughing.

its great !

seriously i havent been this surprised by a kids film in ages. the animations fluid, the characters are likeable and fun. theres fourth wall breaking, ferris bullers references, surreal asides where they uses sock puppets instead of whats mainly cgi.

even little backround stuff like the plaque on the front of the principles desk that reads "hope dies here". i really expected this to be crap and am so glad i took a chance on it.

if ya got kids this is ideal but its good enough for the adults too. i can see this being a cult hit in years to come.

good solid 7/10 .

Kunkka

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

The Missing ....Very entertaining TV series

Season 2 is even better.

buried

Lone Wolf and Cub - Parts 1 - 3 (1972)

A former shogun executioner wanders the Japanese countryside along with his infant son and a highly weaponized pram, as an assassin for hire while seeking revenge on the gang who murdered his wife. In the process they go on the absolute total warpath. Fantastic action scenes and great pay-off's. Beautifully shot. Only seen Parts 1 to 3 so far, the first film 'Sword of Vengeance' is absolutely brilliant. RIYL the vengeance Spaghetti Westerns of the mid-60's or Tarantino's Kill Bill work.
Got the six film collection from The Criterion Collection on blu-ray on sale. Once again great package and quality.

7 out of 10



The Devils (1971)

They don't make them like this no more. I loved this thing. I've already watched it three times since I got it last week. Ken Russell directs Oliver Reed as Father Urbain Grandier, a seventeenth century priest of the French city of Loudun who comes under the wrath of both Cardinal Richelieu for using his power to protect the city of Loudon from the state, and a local nun, Sister Jeanne of the Angels, played by Vennessa Redgrave, who becomes increasingly demented towards the priest and accuses him of Demonic possession.
Terrifyingly brilliant, great performances from everybody, set designs that are out of this world. A huge gigantic medieval slap to the face. Great adult movie to watch this up-coming Halloween if you enjoy real horror based on actual true stories.

10 out of 10

johnny_ultimate

Shin Godzilla

So good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNwORVbNN-s

Two attempts in, it's clear American studios don't really get Godzilla. They get the man in a dinosaur suit bit, sure, and have spent many millions attempting to make a more convincing version of the iconic creature to mixed effect. But they don't get the soul of Godzilla, the distinctly historical and distinctly Japanese context that birthed the King of All Monsters and that makes the original Godzilla such a lasting, bittersweet classic.

Trust Hideaki Anno - he of the giant robot masterpiece Evangelion, and working with co-director Shinji Higuchi here - to course correct with this reboot of the 60-year old franchise. Anno and Higuchi get Godzilla, and have made one hell of a kaiju film in the process. (It's also clearly the work of the creator of Eva - no director so lovingly details the build-up to massive, high-risk operations to stop some giant menace).

If Hiroshima and Nagasaki defined Godzilla 1954, the spectre of the Fukushima disaster is inescapable here. Often conjured up directly in scenes of eerily familiar carnage, Anno and co go deeper too by making the film, in essence, a satire and damning critique of Japanese political bureaucracy. Those hoping for more carnage may well be frustrated amid long sequences of (purposely confounding) ministerial meetings, seemingly endless layers of bureaucrats, and useless debate. But this is what gives the film its edge - the filmmakers not letting the in-film authorities off the hook for their flailing, ignorant and even inhumane response to an unfolding disaster. Similarities to real-life events are not coincidental.

Kaiju fans do not fear: when the scenes of destruction do come, they deliver. This is a memorable realisation of a classic monster, evolving throughout the film from a crawling, wild-eyed amphibian to the towering monster god we all know and love. The effects aren't up to the standards of the American efforts, but that only registers briefly. In fact, the outstanding centerpiece scene where Godzilla reveals its true form is perhaps the definitive screen realisation of the fictional creature's devastating, city-levelling force.

The one glaring flaw amid all this general goodness is a strange one. The film has a vast cast, many characters popping up for mere seconds as the dizzying political structure of the Japanese government reveals and basically consumes itself. One of the recurrent characters, however, is Kayoko Ann Patterson, a young Japanese-American who has a seemingly credible chance to become US president. The only problem here is actress Satomi Ishihara can barely speak a word of English, so you're left with these weird scenes where the bilingual special representative of the US government is almost indecipherable when speaking one of her native tongues.

On a more positive note, the great Sagisu Shiro - whose work on Evangelion is among the greatest music ever composed for an action series - is on scoring duties. He mixes original compositions with some cuts from classic Godzilla films, plus even re-purposes a few familiar Eva tunes. It's great stuff.

Bascially: Shin Godzilla is pretty ****ing great.

Tony EH

Watched half of that a while back. Didn't finish it for some reason.

Goggle eyed Godzilla was a bit odd I thought.

Fysh

Googley-eyes Godzilla was a bizarre site alright, but hot damn did Shin Godzilla deliver where the two American efforts failed.

Tony EH

I'll have to sit down to the rest of it at some point. But, I'll hold my hand up and declare that I thought the last American one was good.

The less said about the one with Matthew Broderick, the better.

Del.Monte

"Killer Elite" (2011) on YouTube

Jason Statham, Robert de Niro and Clive Owen. What's not to like?



Unlikely scenario where a mercenary (Jason Statham) is blackmailed by an Arab Sheik - through the kidnapping of his fellow mercenary and friend (Robert de Niro) - into killing three ex.SAS soldiers responsible for the death of his sons in Oman.

Clive Owen stars as an operative from a shadowy organisation of ex.SAS men charged with tracking down Statham before he can complete his mission.

While the plot is a bit far fetched, the action cracks a long at a good pace and is entertaining. 7/10 for me.

Whoops - I see I already watched it and reviewed 7 months ago! http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=102196423&postcount=8323

Tony EH

Tony EH wrote: »

Watched half of that a while back. Didn't finish it for some reason.

Goggle eyed Godzilla was a bit odd I thought.

I think you'd have to be very high to get through this film to be honest. I couldn't last past a third of the way. Giant sock puppet rampaging through the city. It maybe a damning satire of the Japanese political bureaucracy but to me it was just annoying OTT dumb dialogue, and over satirical. Or maybe Japanese satire is just too blatant for my tastes.

Fysh

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I think you'd have to be very high to get through this film to be honest. I couldn't last past a third of the way. Giant sock puppet rampaging through the city. It maybe a damning satire of the Japanese political bureaucracy but to me it was just annoying OTT dumb dialogue, and over satirical. Or maybe Japanese satire is just too blatant for my tastes.

Compared to a lot of televised satire (in the form of faux documentaries featuring idiots mugging for the camera and spouting utter bobbins - think "People Just Do Nothing" and the like), I thought the satirical elements of Shin Godzilla were pretty well-handled. More importantly, it was effective because it felt like a real disaster unfolding on screen, regardless of how unbelievable the cause may have been.

johnny_ultimate

I found the first half of the film very funny at times, even allowing for details being lost in translation. One review I read pointed out that the on-screen titles become increasingly squeezed as the film progresses - a visual gag I must admit missing out on trying to keep track of everything in a relentlessly paced film. Makes a confident transition to a more serious tone after that scene though, as the filmmakers start moving beyond satire to reaffirming and recontextualising some of the lessons of the first film. Even the comic relief

acting prime minister

is treated with increasing empathy and respect as the film and its characters look for solutions rather than just criticise failings - if the first half is defined by pessimism, the rest of the film is notably more optimistic. All within the context of a film about a clunky CGI monster wrecking the place!

Fysh

Fysh wrote: »

Compared to a lot of televised satire (in the form of faux documentaries featuring idiots mugging for the camera and spouting utter bobbins - think "People Just Do Nothing" and the like), I thought the satirical elements of Shin Godzilla were pretty well-handled. More importantly, it was effective because it felt like a real disaster unfolding on screen, regardless of how unbelievable the cause may have been.

I just felt it was so heavy on the satire that it felt like a comedy without quite being a comedy. I think I could of stuck with it but the head on godzilla (and the arms) kept on taking me out of the engagement zone and asking myself what am I watching exactly here? along with the constant overlapping of the subtitles moving so fast alongside the descriptive of the roles people/locations that popped up every few seconds just making it that bit annoying to follow where bits of dialogue kept being missed. I did like the concept though.