What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

johnny_ultimate

For me, how difficult it was to follow what was going on and who everyone was was perhaps the funniest part of the film's satirical intentions

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Groundhog Day was on Sky 1 tonight. I haven't seen it since I was a kid, when I remember quite liking it. I was surprised how boring I found it. I switched off before the end.

Arghus

Sully - Before Sully, the last film I watched and attempted to some write words on a digital display about was Paul Verhovan’s Elle. There was a lot to stroke your chin at and ponder there. In comparison, the only thing I could really think about while watching Sully was - jaysis, he was some f*cking man for landing that plane. And I don’t know whether, honestly, there was much more than that you were even meant to take away from it.

Sully is a strange movie: it’s not bad, but it’s not good. It’s grand. Gets the job done. I think there’s honestly about a half hour’s worth - if that - of story in the film. As it is, it feels like a high-end TV movie and it’s painfully, but sometimes also charmingly, obvious how much the running time and narrative stakes are being very genially inflated throughout - just to get the damn thing past the magical eighty minute mark.

Essentially it is just the story of a lad who landed a plane safely in the most inhospitable of circumstances and it was some achievement - no doubt - but it did only take two minutes and we all know how it turned out - safe and sound for everyone concerned. So the centerpiece of the entire film - which is recreated twice - is a pretty well done visceral piece of reenactment, but it isn’t really that involving; it doesn’t come anywhere close to the utterly pant-shittingly terrifying crash sequence in Flight, for example.

What remains of the hour or so of film-time consists of Sully having to answer some questions about whether he did the right thing that famous day on The Hudson. He does doubt himself a bit, but he has people falling over themselves from all sides to tell him how much of an utterly wonderful human being he is. So Sully ultimately never really doubts himself - and the audience never does either. And even those nasty people from that darned investigatory panel, whose job it is to ask a question or two, turn out, in the end, not to be that bad - and even they concede he did a good job, in fairness. So the stakes are basically non-existent here.

So, if you’re looking a movie with actual, y’know, drama, look elsewhere. It’s not a total bust; Hanks does do his very best - he’s very watchable, even when he’s not doing much. Nothing is bad. There is nothing overtly stupid; it’s just so profoundly a non-event of a film. I’ve read some glowing reviews elsewhere about how it is best understood as Eastwood’s paean to competence and professionalism: just getting the job done dammit. I can understand that point of view, but it wasn’t enough for me, and I think Clint could -and should - aim a bit higher than that really.

Liam McPoyle

buried wrote: »

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

Love the Line Wolf and Cub series.

Have it on dvd and recently picked up the criterion set myself, have yet to watch them though.

The only negative I have is the way the series ended, I remember being pretty disappointed with it.

Ogami Ito is an iconic celluloid bad ass.

Rjd2

I watched the paul verhoeven form elle earlier, really clever and delightfully quirky revenge story with the flawless Isabelle Huppert hunting the man who raped her in her house. Throw in a strange relationship with her ex, under achieving son and her affairs its really worth watching. 9/10

Also watched Toni Erdman which for reasons unknown got an Oscar nomination instead of Elle, its at least 60 minutes to long, not amusing, smug and features 2 very unlikable lead characters.

Drab daughter with a truly awful father who doesn't know how not be an obnoxious prick to anyone. They try and save it with some wackiness at the end, but a shambles something so slight needed to be close to 3 hours long and got so much recognition. 2/10o

Personal Shopper, Kirsten Stewart continues to make really interesting films. A personal shopper (yep) who travels to France to try and contact her dead brother, it builds up the tension well, has nice scares and a pretty good finale. Its also most importantly not Toni Erdman. 8/10.

ButtersSuki

Haven't posted in a while but here's what I watched recently. I'd normally leave much more detailed reviews/comments but I'm swamped so throwing these out while they're still relatively fresh.

Dunkirk (70mm in IFI) Though visually stunning and technically brilliant, I felt underwhelmed by it all. Perhaps it was something on the night I saw it but the sound seemed off at certain points and I struggled to hear/understand what some actors said at certain points. 7/10

Baby Driver The very next night in Cineworld after watching Dunkirk. Though inferior in most ways to Dunkirk and with a bit of a ridiculous ending, it was I felt much more entertaining, and for that reason 7.5/10.
Note: to the two guys sitting in the top right-hand corner of the cinema last Sunday night 5th August at the 9pm screening - if you're reading this, please learn how to behave in a cinema.


Force Majure on Blu Ray after being prompted that I owned it and hadn't yet watched it by seeing it pop up on the Film 4 listings. 7/10

Some documentaries on Netflix:
Gringo: The dangerous life of John McAfee McAfee (him of the anti-virus software) and his fun and games in South America, and his subsequent "rehabilitation" into mainstream America following accusations of murder. Bizarre in places, boring in others, what it does show is how having tonnes of money allows you to shape and reshape your narrative in the US media. Interesting from that perspective. 6/10

Nobody Speak: The Trial of the Free Press Viewed after the above (Gringo) and delves much deeper into the subject matter of how money can shape and form the press, and what is happening in the "free" press in the US. Interesting. 7.5/10.

Kardashian: The Man Who Saved OJ Simpson Awful. A waste of 43minutes. 2/10

Tony EH

Spoilers below


'War for the Planet of the Apes'

An awkwardly titled third film in the new attempt at rebooting the famous 60's/70's film series. An attempt that has proved very successful, not only in financial terms, but in crafting a believable world out of an unbelievable scenario.

While I'll always love 1968's 'Planet of the Apes' - and I even have a soft spot for 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes' - the series, as a whole, isn't great, descending into farce, cheapness and complete boredom with later entries. But, with this reboot, the story is handled with an absolute honesty and is elaborately straight faced in its approach, that it's very easy to buy into.

'War for the Planet of the Apes' brings to a close Caeser's rise and leadership of his ape colony and their struggle against the remnants of mankind, some of whom are intent on their destruction. One of these groups is a militant outfit led by Woody from 'Cheers'. An extremist, whose "army" was called in to help the survivor enclave from 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'. He and his men subject the apes to terrible cruelty, imprisonment and forced labour, largely in an attempt to build defences against his own kind, who view him as a dangerous threat as he's started bumping off humans. His actions are spurred by humanity's gradual slip into regression due to a mutation in the Simian Flu that wiped most of it out in the decade in the events following 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'. This regression sees us losing our higher functions, most notably our speech.

The "war" in the title is pretty limited, but we do get a good bit of action towards the end and the opening is very well handled. For the most part though, 'War for the Plant of the Apes' is a road trip and a prison drama, which some people have found slow. While it can feel long in parts, it's never boring and there was more than enough going on to keep me interested.

It's also populated with great characters on the ape side. Maurice (Karin Konoval), the congenial orangutan advisor to Caeser (Andy Sirkis), returns and remains very pleasing. Rocket (Terry Notary) is back as well and still a loyal soldier. In addition, they are joined by Bad Ape (Steve Zahn), an older, slightly mad chimp that has also achieved higher inteligence due to the effects of the ALZ-113 virus. Bad Ape provides a bit of light heartedness in a bleak story that hasn't had much place for it in previous entries. Although, he's funny, his comedy is never stupid or irritating. So, he's reatively welcome company.

Unfortunately, on the human side, the only standout character is Harrelson's (also slightly mad but in a different way) dictator in the making. Harrelson has, probably, the best monologue in the film, in which he states his, not entirely unreasonable, reasons for wanting to destroy the apes. But The Colonel is not a man any reasonable person would want to be around for too long. The other humans are nondescript, but 'War for the Planet of the Apes' is a film about ape ascendancy over a slowly regressing humanity and I get the impression that this was, perhaps, deliberate.

It's probably fair to say that this third film doesn't have an indescribable quality that the first two films possessed. I'm unsure as to why that is. But, it doesn't lessen it to any real degree and in its own right, it's fantastic science fiction, made with real care, attention to detail and adherence to it's own world building. It also boasts some of the most incredible and convincing mo-cap CGI effects I've seen. But like its two predecessors, it doesn't rest on those laurels while forgetting about its story or its characters. Matt Reeves returns as director and, although he carries out his duties without a personal stamp, he acomplishes a great result.

In the current dull cinematic world full of remakes, reboots, re-whatever, the "Caeser trilogy" stands as a fantastic example of how to restart a well loved franchise and acts as a great jumping off point for further expansion. Although I think a third remake of the 1968 film is pretty redundant at this stage. But that doesn't mean that future stories involving our simian overlords couldn't be explored.

8/10

Connacht15

I watched Emer Reynold's documentary on Voyager, 'The Farthest' and it's excellent! It's sure to win a lot on the festival circuit. It really should be watched on the big screen, it will be I assumed broadcast as part of the Beeb's Storyville series also.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Midnight in Paris

I hated this so much.

MilesMorales1

I've been regoing over the Harry Potter films recently, since I feel like I judged them too harshly at initial release, and it was possible they weren't quite as awful as I thought they were. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is indeed, not as awful as I imagined. Not sure I could I love it, or have eny emotion stronger than liking it a bit mind.

On the one hand, these films have their own visual style and aesthetics that are way different from either the very vague visuals given from say, the book covers, or of course, from my own imagination, which isn't a flaw in itself, I just still don't like the overly dark visuals. Can't fault the music or musical/sound effects though, they have and always have been on point in these films.

The acting is up and down. Ralph Fiennes is a great actor, but I dislike his interpretation of voldemort. Jason Isaacs (Hello to Jason Isaacs!) has a small role as Lucius Malfoy I wish was expanded a little. It's also a small role in the book but its gosh darn Jason Isaac's. The central three characters don't work for me, particularly Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe do nothing for me and feel wooden and stiff. Helena Bonham Carter really irritates me in these films as Bellatrix Lestrange, but then David Thewlis as Lupin, Brendan Gleeson as Moody, Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, really are great casting decisions and tend to make me think more positively of the rest.

The stuff they cut or leave out from the book is really what makes or breaks it though. There's 5 hours of film here between part 1 and 2 which would ideally make me think they wouldn't cut too much, but they sure do. On the one hand they're able to leave out any boring exposition plot dumps, on the other they leave stuff out that would fill in crucial details, or give relationships much needed emotional weight that makes stuff that happens mean something. This impacts the main trio for me specially, since I have never felt over these 8 films that enough time and effort was given to fleshing out the main friendship/relationship between Harry/Ron/Hermione to make it mean anything. Or say, the Tonks/Lupin relationship, which is barely mentioned over either film, or the value Harry learns to put in other people, like Luna Lovegood, who ends up being vague comic relief. I also detest what they did to spells, both with glossing over non verbal spells, and changing what they did with spells like how a lot of distinct spells in the book seems to do the same things in the films.

Oh, but the breaking into the ministry set piece is really good. I hate the way some of its done, but its the best part of the film, and its quite funny.


Gah, this sounds much more negative than I intended. I liked it kinda, and I started off hating it. But the little niggles and stuff that annoys me as a fan really does gnaw at me. I like it, I don't love it.

droidman123

Attraction (2017)
Much better than I expected sc-fi movie from russia.an alien spaceship gets into mechanical trouble in earth space and is shot down by Russian jets and crashlands in a densely populated area of moscow.theres an underlying theme of humankind being it's worse own enemy(which we have seen in countless sci fi movies)there are some great action scenes and really good cgi effects.it gets a bit hollywood-ish during the middle of the movie,but all in all a good movie which I enjoyed
I don't know if this is available with English subs (I hardcoded them myself) but it's worth seeking out a copy.
7.5/10

kimokanto

Aussie flick "The Hounds of Love" based loosely on abduction /murders in Perth many moons ago. Not for the faint hearted but excellent. Created almost unbearable tension, definitely worth a watch.

Madagascan

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Groundhog Day was on Sky 1 tonight. I haven't seen it since I was a kid, when I remember quite liking it. I was surprised how boring I found it. I switched off before the end.

Don't worry, it will be on again.
And again and again and ........

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

The Dressmaker

This film is completely nuts. It's a sort of black comedy tragedy revenge thriller western. It went on maybe a tiny bit too long but I really enjoyed it. The mother is brilliant in it.

MilesMorales1

Dunkirk by Leslie Norman was a surprise. It's much better and darker (not cynical dark mind) than you'd think a 1958 British war film would be, and I was surprised by how much it reminded me of Nolan's Dunkirk. Not that I think Nolan ripped it off or anything mind because I think he's just a fantastic director, and not just because its a film showing the same events, but there was several action points in this specially that immediately put me in mind of Nolan's epic. The two films compliment each other, certainly.

While Nolan's film is as per his style, somewhat cold and clinical, this one is full of heart and a bit messy. It shows more than Nolan's Dunkirk does, following a unit of British soldiers retreating from Belgium all the way to dunkirk, showing how they feel and how they motivate themselves to keep fighting and retreating, whilst a simultaneous somewhat sideplot is about a journalist and civilians in England gradually learning of the military disaster across the channel and overcoming their 'cowardice' to mobilise their boats to assist in the dunkirk evactuation with that plucky British dunkirk spirit.

So it wears its heart on its sleeve, and I loved it. Not quite as much as Nolan's film, but they're obviously shooting (no pun intended) for different things. I liked the action scenes, I liked all the characters, I loved the earnest heart on its sleeve feel, I liked the portrayal of the beaches and the retreat, I liked the grousing of the British soldiers, I liked everything about it. I have a feeling it could possibly annoy some people with this kind of attitude, but I liked it a lot, highly reccomended.

Ciaran_B

I watched the first 30 minutes of A Ghost Story before walking out. Hated everything about it - Rooney Mara eating a pie for 10 minutes was what pushed me over the edge.

droidman123

The invisible guest (2017)
Brilliant Spanish thriller that will keep you guessing right up until the end.its maybe a bit far fetched at times,like a lot of thrillers, but there's so many twists and turns you won't be able to take your eyes away for a second.it has a highly original storyline,basically a man and a woman having an affair,but while coming back from a rendezvous they have an accident in which the driver of the other car is killed.its on a quiet country road and there's nobody around so they decide to dump the car and body,otherwise their affair will be discovered.thats when the real story starts...it's brilliant
8.5/10

droidman123

The olive tree (2016)
Another absolutley wonderful movie from spain.its a simple plot basically about a man whos son sells his beloved olive tree against his wishes to fund the purchase of a small restaurant.he hasnt spoken a word since this happened and its breaking his grand daughters heart as they are extremely close.he is now very old and close to passing,his grand daughter,now 18,discovers that the tree is in the foyer of a major corporate in dusseldorf,her and her friend and her uncle travel in a truck to get it back before her grand dad passes away.its a very moving movie but has its comedic moments as well.highly recommended
8.5/10

castletownman

Watched two war films over the last week, namely Dunkirk (2017) and Unbroken (2014)

Without delving too much into hyperbole, they are probably the best two war films I ever seen.

Loved the cinematography of Dunkirk. Shot beautifully and genuinely had me at the edge of my seat throughout. Could really sense the terror of the situation.

But Unbroken pips it to the post for me. If Dunkirk essentially delves into the perseverance of accepting defeat, and the desperate fight for survival to make it home, then Unbroken showcases the other-side- the determination to survive in the cruelest of circumstances.

Louie Zamperini is an absolutely legend. Inspiration.

Dunkirk 9/10. Unbroken 9.5/10

BMMachine

Big with Tom Hanks

Never seen it before. it was great! A lot of fun and Hanks was awesome in it. Can't believe I hadn't seen it, I knew a lot about it of course, the famous piano scene etc. but yeah, a pleasant surprise.

branie2

Atomic Blonde
I really enjoyed this spy thriller 10/10

The Danish Girl
I've watched a small bit of it so far, and it's quite good I have to say

Bus Boy

castletownman wrote: »

Watched two war films over the last week, namely Dunkirk (2017) and Unbroken (2014)

Without delving too much into hyperbole, they are probably the best two war films I ever seen.

Loved the cinematography of Dunkirk. Shot beautifully and genuinely had me at the edge of my seat throughout. Could really sense the terror of the situation.

But Unbroken pips it to the post for me. If Dunkirk essentially delves into the perseverance of accepting defeat, and the desperate fight for survival to make it home, then Unbroken showcases the other-side- the determination to survive in the cruelest of circumstances.

Louie Zamperini is an absolutely legend. Inspiration.

Dunkirk 9/10. Unbroken 9.5/10

Read the book 'Unbroken' if the movie made it for you.

Nerdlingr

droidman123 wrote: »

The invisible guest (2017)
Brilliant Spanish thriller that will keep you guessing right up until the end.its maybe a bit far fetched at times,like a lot of thrillers, but there's so many twists and turns you won't be able to take your eyes away for a second.it has a highly original storyline,basically a man and a woman having an affair,but while coming back from a rendezvous they have an accident in which the driver of the other car is killed.its on a quiet country road and there's nobody around so they decide to dump the car and body,otherwise their affair will be discovered.thats when the real story starts...it's brilliant
8.5/10

thanks for the recommendation, as such! watched it last night...kinda guessed the twist but not a bad ol show at all...well acted and paced and all in all a good little thriller.... can see it getting remade in English like they did to "Abre los ojos", and "the secret in their eyes." (which are two great films as well if you havent seen them already..the originals..not the remakes). 8/10 for me.

droidman123

Nerdlingr wrote: »

thanks for the recommendation, as such! watched it last night...kinda guessed the twist but not a bad ol show at all...well acted and paced and all in all a good little thriller.... can see it getting remade in English like they did to "Abre los ojos", and "the secret in their eyes." (which are two great films as well if you havent seen them already..the originals..not the remakes). 8/10 for me.

I have seen secret in their eyes(great movie) i havnt seen the other one but i will check it out for sure.the invisible guest has all the hallmarks for a hollywood remake,but i am guessing they will balls it up as usual with these remakes

droidman123

I have actually seen Abre los ojos,i didnt recognise it by its spanish name (open your eyes) only when i went on imdb i recognised it,teriffic movie

branie2

American Made. It was very good, and based on a true story

Patser

constitutionus wrote: »

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 .

Just watched this with my Little One. It's fecking brilliant, the perfect blend of childish stupidity to entertain a 4 year old, with so many adult references to keep me entertained. Actually, genuinely laughed out loud at bits, and it was funny to see adults laugh at bits while kids just looked blankly at them, not getting the joke but kids in knots at the Giant Toilet.

Day after and daughter is currently refusing to have a bath, because she's too busy running around in her pants shouting Tra La La! Wife is starting to get annoyed, while I'm downstairs laughing listening to it all.

Tony EH

'Bushwick'

Despite the ludicous central plot point -

Southern States seceding again :rolleyes:

, 'Bushwick' actually passes its time very well. From the opening shots to it's unexpected end, the film never loses any impact.

It feels like something John Carpenter would have made in late 70's and it makes good use of its limited budget, a budget that is greatly outpaced by the ambition of its project (especially noticable in the effects department). Carpenter also gets channeled in the choice of music involved at certain junctures too.

The extremely shallow plot is offset by the excellent choice to narrow the focus upon two main protagonists (Dave Bautista and Brittany Snow) as they struggle to negotiate their way through war torn Brooklyn to reach a DMZ and possible safety. The camera follows them closely through the confusion and danger and allows the viewer to "feel there" on a number of occasions due to the long(ish) takes. The little set pieces where the two central characters narrowly avoid detection by the enemy are quite tense and well handled.

One wonders where the Army and police are throughout this hoakey paramilitary invasion, but none of that really matters. The film takes place over a few hours, so it's ok to think that they are off fighting elsewhere, or not yet mobilised to any large degree. It's just one problem in a number of problems with 'Bushwick'. But, it doesn't really detract that much.

It's silly, polished schlock that would have been better served without the dumb politics. Not actually knowing who was carrying out the invasion would have helped. But it's quite entertaining and in the end, that's all that matters from something like this.

6/10



'Death Note'

Another Netflix original, based on a Manga of the same name, 'Death Note' is an interesting prospect that is let down by an - at times - poor execution.

Young James Spader lookalike and ridiculously named Light Turner (Nat Wolfe) is gifted a notebook that can allow him to do away with the more nasty elements that populate our society (or indeed anyone he wishes). All he has to do is write their name in the book, describe their death, et voila! There are numerous other rules of course, only some of which are elaborated upon.

The giver of this gift is a wisely un-expanded demon, Ryuk (voiced by Willem Defoe), who's motives remain unclear, but what is clear is that he doesn't have Turner's best wishes at heart. Along for the ride is Turner's pretty, and pretty psychopathic, girlfriend Mia (Margaret Qualley) who, like Turner, gets too "into" what they can do with the Death Note.

The film works best in its early stages and would have been a better story if it focused more pointedly on Turner's relationship with the demon and its effects on his mind and personality. But, in lieu of that more interesting and intimate story, 'Death Note' bloats its running time when Tirner decides to become "Kira" and use his godlike power to influence events in the wider world. This draws attention from local and international police, one of which is his own dad (Shea Whigham). Others involved in the hunt are an autistic savant, L (Lakeith Stanfield) and Wattari (Paul Nakuchi), an obligatory nod to the story's Japanese origins.

It's all quite stylishly handled by Adam Wingard ('You're Next'), but it melts into uninteresting territory too quickly and at the end it left me wanting to like it more than I actually did.

4/10


'Death to Smoochy'

The much maligned 2002 film directed by Danny DeVito that sounds much better as an idea than it appears on film. Which is unfortunate, because it could have been great. All the ingredients are there. It just falls flat on too many occasions and the main casting choice of Ed Norton doesn't really work.

'Death to Smoochy' could have been a brilliant satire on the nature of kids televison shows like 'Barney', which while being wonderful destractions for little tots the world over, possess a distasteful corporate side more concerned with baser concepts like product and marketing. In fairness, the film does make commentary on those baser concepts, but it's a light touch and it's not that concerned. It's merely part of its muddled focus and it gets lost in the mess.

The bigger problem is Ed Norton,who has the difficult task of trying to convince us that he's a kind hearted saint who just wants to please the kids and impart good messages. We just can't buy it. I kept waiting for the mask to slip and a big "reveal" that his character Sheldon Mopes/Smoochy, was the scummiest of the scumbags on offer. Alas, this wasn't to be.

Elsewhere, we have the late Robin Williams, who is Rainbow Randolph, a disgraced child entertainer who's mental problems lead to his wishes for death upon Smoochy. Also wishing for the costumed idiot's demise is the head of the "roughest of all charities", the Parade of Hope.

All of this sort of rambles on and is at times humourous, interesting and boring. It's certainly not as abd as some people have said. But, it still remains a missed opportunity. As mentioned, the story is there, but its satire needed to be sharper, the performances stronger and the jokes wittier.

When the credits roll, it's diffcult to know what to make of it.

4/10

'Johnny Belinda'

A 1940's classic, 'Johnny Belinda' looks a bit twee now despite its relatively serious story. Based on an actual real life event, the film was criticised at the time for being too controversial, as it deals with the rape of a deaf and uneducated woman, coupled with the brutal fallout amongst the people of the small town she lives on the outskirts of.

The deaf mute at the centre of the story, Belinda McDonald, is handled quite well by Jane Wyman, who won an oscar for her performance. She is partnered by Lew Ayres, as the kindliest doctor that ever existed, who takes it upon himself to teach "the dummy" sign language, proving to her family that she wasn't a cretin, but an intelligent person with a handicap. Someone who needed understanding, not ridicule. Her family are brilliantly handled by Charles Bickford as her father, Black McDonald, and the excellent Agnes Moorehead as his stone faced sister Aggie, who both resent Belinda out of ignorant blame for events that the poor girl cannot control.

The darker elements of the town are the despicable Locky McCormick (Stephen MacNally) and the spiteful, but not completely unsympathetic Stella McCormick (Jan Sterling). These are joined by the avaricious shopkeeper, Paquet (Dan Seymour) and a slew of gossipy old bags, who have nothing better to do than spread rumours.

Despite the trappings of the times, 'Johnny Belinda' doesn't stray into melodrama too much, as it so easily could have. It remains serious, even though the Hays constraints must have been an enormous chore to work under. Everyone is watchable and admirable in their respective roles and the story remains interesting and engaging.

8/10

Fysh

Headshot

I've seen and enjoyed 3 films starring Iko Uwais, all directed by Gareth Evans (Merantau, The Raid, and The Raid 2); so this film with Uwais as well as Julie Estelle (Hammer Girl in TR2) and Very Tri Yulisman (Baseball Bat Man in TR2) seemed worth a shot. Unfortunately, while it has a fair amount in common with Uwais' other films, neither the script nor the direction are as confident so the end result is alright rather than great.

The premise is pretty much Gangster Jason Bourne - but despite having thin characters and a fairly minimalist plot, the film keeps stopping to focus on one or the other instead of concentrating on the action sequences that are, realistically, what 99% of people watching it are there for. The action is pretty good but the fight choreography isn't as pulse-pounding as TR or TR2, and while it's evident that the directors have paid close attention to all the tricks Evans used in his films, they don't seem to have any new tricks or flair of their own.

It's worth a watch if you've enjoyed Uwais's other films, but be aware that it's more like Merantau than either of the Raid films.

The Girl With All The Gifts

Having missed this at the cinema I finally caught up with it at home, and was pleasantly surprised. Tonally it was reminiscent of 28 Days Later and maybe Children Of Men. I enjoyed the fact that I wasn't quite sure where it was going -

as it turns out it was a very nice film version of I Am Legend pretending to be a zombie movie

. Well worth your time.

droidman123

The bar (2017)
Unbelieveable spanish thriller/horror
More thriller than horror.an assembly of characters are in a bar in busy downtown madrid,one of the customers leaves and has his head blown off just outside by an unknown shooter,suddenly the streets are deserted.one of the other customers goes outside to see whats going on,same thing happens to him,inside the bar panic ensues....and the story begins.its a dark thriller but has its comedic moments,the tension and the fast paced script top notch but theres a wino called isreal played by jamie ordonez who steals the show.í wont go into any more details about the movie,watch it,i guarentee you wont be disappointed
9/10