What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

al87987

The Room 2003 - Thought I'd watch Tommy Wiseau's infamous cult classic in light of The Disaster Artist being released. Tough film to judge this one, the acting, plot and writing is all hysterically bad but I laughed an awful lot. I realise this film isn't intended to be a comedy but most comedies don't have as many laugh out loud moments as this film either. Probably the worst film I've ever seen but I enjoyed it.

The Man from Earth - 9/10 - Loved this film. Don't really want to give away any plot. Made for only 200k. The sequel came out this year but I haven't been able to download it. Anybody know where I could find it?

al87987

al87987 wrote: »

The Man from Earth - 9/10 - Loved this film. Don't really want to give away any plot. Made for only 200k. The sequel came out this year but I haven't been able to download it. Anybody know where I could find it?

You could buy the Blu-Ray or DVD from amazon.com and you know, support the filmmakers.

spacecoyote

Watched A Field In England (for some light festive season viewing ) yesterday evening.

Has a small, but great cast, all playing their roles really well. I don't know if enjoy is the right term to use to describe my feeling after watching it. Its a tough watch at times, but definitely worth a look

Fysh

I caught Joachim Trier's Thelma tonight and really enjoyed it. It is fairly slow paced, but this works in its favour as it's a character focused psychological horror/drama. There is some lovely cinematography on display, with various instances of tension bring gradually raised through clever camerawork rather than anything specific happening on screen. The score was lovely too. In terms of story and theme it overlaps somewhat with The Witch and Raw, which suits me down to the ground as I thought both of those were excellent films.

El Duda

@ Spacecoyote

How does Field in England compare to Ben Wheatleys other films? Have you seen Kill List?


Manchester by the Sea - 5 / 10

I had heard a lot of good things and it had been recommended to me in the same breath as the brilliant Lion. Both films are obviously very different but it was suggested to me that they are both really emotional and sad.

It just didn't work for me at all. I'm a bit of a melt when it comes to films and will find myself crying at a lot of things, but MBTS did absolutely nothing for me.

It's not a bad film. It's full of good acting performances. I get that Casey Affleck was going for a more withdrawn, insular depiction of grief but I just found the character to be too cold. Michelle Williams is good but massively underwritten. I thought Lucas Hedges was the stand out performer.

The pretentious score completely took all of the weight out of the drama. The visual poetry wasn't as clever or subtle as it thought it was. Aside from the superb scene where we learn about Lee's (Affleck) past, it was just a very empty, vapid experience for me and a huge disappointment.


12 Angry Men (1957) - 10 / 10

A few years back I started watching a few of the old classics. Casablanca, Citizen Kane etc...

My parents kept banging on about this as a film that I would absolutely love and they were quite right. It's a true tour de force in dialogue heavy, low concept film making.

12 Jury members debate about he guilt of a young man accused of murder. 11 think he is guilty. One man (Henry Fonda) does not. It's such a simple, stripped back and effective premise.

The writing is just incredible. To make all 12 cast members seem like fully rounded, layered human beings in such a short amount of screen time is a remarkable feat. The performances have depth and nuance. The characters actions all make sense and their motivations are well drawn out.

If only Henry Fonda had been on the O.J jury.


A sweaty, muggy, smokey masterpiece. I'm surprised (and extremely pleased) they haven't re-made it yet.

quickbeam

El Duda wrote: »

A sweaty, muggy, smokey masterpiece. I'm surprised (and extremely pleased) they haven't re-made it yet.

Sorry to break it to you.
Though it is a TV movie.

A fantastic film!! One of only very few I've given 10/10 to as well (the original, I mean, of course).

El Duda

Jack Lemmon!

If they remade it now it would be 12 Angry Women

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

El Duda wrote: »

Jack Lemmon!

If they remade it now it would be 12 Angry Women

And then they'd have to make another 12 Angry Men about the bros whose masculinity was threatened by the female led film.

joombo

Fell asleep watching Valerian and the blahblah last night...6/10
Well, it was colourful at least.

whatawaster81

Watched "The Room" starts off as a soft porn movie with all the subsequent acting staying at that level for the duration. Which is why it's hilarious. Also it's all about his bird with some NFL balls thrown in. It also goes off on ridiculous tangents.

Plot is spoiler:

Johnny can't wait to marry his bird who's a whore and ****s his best friend, so Johnny can't live with it anymore

The most baffling part is this had a 6 million budget when I could have shot it over two weekends in Coppers.

Without the Gun

At the same time it's easily one of the funniest things I've eve seen. Highly recommended and can't wait to see the Disaster Artist.

Hannibal_Smith

Guardians of the Galaxy 2. I see by other posts I'm supposed to rate it? I have to give it a 10/10

Also..what I really wanted to say is that I was not prepared for the emotional ending. So very sad.

ButtersSuki

The Room on YouTube a few days ago. Watched it purely as I intended to go to "The Disaster Artist" the other day but ended up not going due to Dublin city centre taffic. Yes it's hilariously bad; but as it's not intentional I'm giving it 0/10. There's a reason it's rightly named as one of the worst movies ever....that said, if you're watching it for sh*ts and giggles it's probably a 7-8/10.:)

Kill Your Friends recorded from Film4 recently. Dark-comedy satitirical look at the A&R men behind Britpop. The monologues are heavily influenced by American Psycho (with hints of Renton's "Choose Life" speech in Trainspotting); but the film lacks the intelligence or subtleties of either, or the deeply dark comedy of the former. One thing it does have going for it is the lead (Nicholas Hoult) does achieve something I think most people dream about in that he urinates on an unconscious James Corden. 5/10 (incl. a bonus point for plssing on Corden :pac:).

ButtersSuki

ButtersSuki wrote: »

The Room on YouTube a few days ago. Watched it purely as I intended to go to "The Disaster Artist" the other day but ended up not going due to Dublin city centre taffic. Yes it's hilariously bad; but as it's not intentional I'm giving it 0/10. There's a reason it's rightly named as one of the worst movies ever....that said, if you're watching it for sh*ts and giggles it's probably a 7-8/10.:)

Ive spent the last year or two reading this forum thinking Jesus theres a lot of hate for the Room. Why on earth does it get so much stick its a good film. Didn't it win oscars and what not? What am I missing. This morning I realized the difference between "Room" and "The Room" :pac:

johnny_ultimate

Hacksaw Ridge - Mel Gibson goes full Mel Gibson. You NEVER go full Mel Gibson.

I mean, there's a certain level of confident craftsmanship to this take on a true story, and no doubt the kind of film that could only come from this one director. Unquestionably the film the director wanted it to be and then some. It's also, IMO, absolutely terrible: pious, hypocritically fetishistic in its portrayal of violence, farcically jingoistic, unspeakably inane for long periods of the running time (oh boy that love story), a soundtrack that never suggests when it can insist, and basically the film is unwilling to even for a second question what's happening beyond the most rudimentary level. Again: absolutely successful in what it wants to be, but sadly I find what it wants to be a little bit horrifying.

Anti-Porno - Nikkatsu gave prolific enfant terrible Sion Sono a couple of million yen to make a film, but it had to have softcore sex in it (this is a thing: so-called Roman Porno films are an old model developed at the veteran Japanese studio, giving maverick or young directors unusual creative freedom in return for including some commercially lucrative sex scenes. The studio recently reintroduced the 'brand' for a couple of films).

It goes about how you'd expect. Not even remotely sexy, outrageously stylised, and the protagonist basically ends up lecturing the audience, straight to camera, by the end. It's good fun.

Tony EH

Couldn't agree more on 'Hacksaw Ridge'. Found it astonishing for all the wrong reasons. Can't believe the goodwill it got.

There is a decent story in there for sure. But a different director was badly needed, and I say that as someone with a bit of time for his directoral output.

Sad Professor

Mother - Chamber play-cum-apocalyptic extravaganza. Long, over-indulgent, repetitive, I loved it.

Kingsman 2 - It's fine. Moore is a riot, there's a truly great scene involving a landmine, some awful stuff involving Elton John, and a lot of forgettable more-of-the-same fight scenes.

Okja - A weaker effort from Bong but very good. One of the better Netflix films.

The Snowman - ugh, what a disaster! Great director, great cast, what happened?

Valerian and the city of a Thousand Planets - Imaginative space opera, loads of fun, really enjoyed it.

Justice League - some monstrous half-breed mongrel of a film. Unwatchable, unreleasable, terrible embarrassment for all involved.

Bright - schlocky, cheap looking SyFy movie that Netflix supposedly spent a fortune on. Not good, not even close, but not as bad as critics are claiming either.

Raw - brilliant, unforgettable but… one viewing might be enough.

Spider-Man Homecomer - Fun, Holland is great, but far too long. There's a good 80 minute movie in here somewhere minus all the RDJ, MCU fluff.

RasTa

Watched IT last night and enjoyed it. Pennywise in it too much but much better than the other 80's nostalgia Stranger Things

david75

Watched Back to the Future earlier. Man it’s so completely cheesy and goofy but still so much fun.

Currently watch Jurassic World. One of those films it’s so abysmally bad, it’s enjoyable.

Hooks Golf Handicap

Ladybird

Coming of age tale, naturalistic film making, nice right script which adds up to very little unfortunately.
Not one I'd watch ever again, boring.

david75

Watched Kingsman last night.

Man what a really really enjoyable fun and well made film. The sequel didn’t hit for me but the first was just such a deadly and engrossing watch.

Looper007

Hooks Golf Handicap wrote: »

Ladybird

Coming of age tale, naturalistic film making, nice right script which adds up to very little unfortunately.
Not one I'd watch ever again, boring.

Not boring just enjoyable but nowhere near the best film of 2017 the critics have showered over it. I be very shocked if this is remembered in years to come.

Sad Professor

The Lost City of Z:

David Gray’s evocative, melancholic adventure-drama/character study about explorer Percey Fawcett's search for a lost native American city in the Amazon. Gorgeous, picturesque cinematography, and a strong turn by Charlie Hunnam. Made for only 30 million dollars, a third of Bright’s overinflated budget, but looks like a David Lean epic in comparison.

johnny_ultimate

Lost City of Z really earns the 'they don't make them like this anymore... except this time' comments. Almost without equal in recent decades. A tad on the overly mannered side at times, and Hunman just doesn't quite have the skills to own his role... but it really is gorgeous, sweeping and just the right amount of mad.

Also further proof that Amazon have destroyed Netflix in terms of the quality films they've supported.

david75

Thor Ragnork.
Upended my expectations immediately. Didn’t know it would be this funny. I thought Thor was meant to be a zero charisma dry sh!te but this was really fun and it looked amazing.

D'Agger

Watched The Drop & Bridge of Spies in the one night

The Drop - Tom Hardy & James Gandolfini. I enjoyed it, was also a bit saddened when you realise it was Gandolfinis last feature and he's very good as Cousin Marv. Hardy has his usual broody character but I really enjoy him as an actor. He played his role well in this, seemingly sullen and 'I just tend bar' yet giving away in his interactions, mainly with Cousin Marv, that there's alot more to him than he lets on. I think the movie falls a small bit short in how it's executed, they push very hard for a Brooklyn, This is New York, it's tough here, feeling to the point that they somewhat overdo it from time to time.

Bridge of Spies: As with most Spielberg films you get a full bodied, 2.5 hour story and having already watched a movie I actually found the finish to this a bit drawn out. With that said, I thought Hanks & Ryland gave two amazing performances. Hanks from the off showing himself as a guy who loves to argue the toss & Ryland proving to be a stoic, proud man, one who is a Russian spy, yet who seems to show more grace and poise than his American counterparts. A well told story that kept me intrigued and had me looking back at that era of history wondering how we tend to forget about after WWII

johnny_ultimate

World of Tomorrow: Episode Two - The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts

The sci-fi sequel of December, and I really liked that other one.

Following on from his trilogy of shorts turned feature film It’s Such A Beautiful Day (among the most emotionally draining films of the decade IMO), Don Hertzfeldt a few years ago delivered the mesmerising, wild World of Tomorrow - an improbably vibrant 15 minute short that was indescribably rich with ideas. The follow-up is richer again.

The setup is broadly similar - young Emily Prime (adorably voiced by Hertzfeldt’s niece in a startlingly naturalistic child performance that gives Brooklyn Prince a run for her money) is visited by a time travelling clone. This time, they dive into the mind: what follows is a headrush of philosophical ideas and emotional introspection, the story of a character struggling to establish her own identity in a space dominated by other people. This is all through an approach that introduces wild, inspired sci-fi conceits with superbly reckless abandon. Hertzfeldt now more accomplished with digital animation, Episode 2 is presented in his trademark stick figure style meshed with trippy, surreal background art that goes many steps further than its predecessor in conjuring a viscerally alien, unsettled dreamworld. Hertzfeldt’s visual sensibilities are unlike anybody else’s and his aesthetic sensibilities are only maturing.

It is also extremely funny: while loaded with existential sci-fi concepts, and no matter if the tone is bleak or hopeful, a great, silly gag is never more than a few seconds away. The two main characters are incredible comic foils for each other - dry, semi-robotic delivery matched with the genuine, charming curiosity of a child - but the whole thing is lovingly playful and witty. A visit to Triangleland is a particular pleasure.

It’s hard to articulate the experience that is watching this film: it’s barely longer than a Simpsons episode and an absolute sugar rush, but deeply arthouse in its density and complexity. No doubt I’ll need another viewing or two before the rental period ends. If you’ve seen the first and were won over, hopefully you’ll be immediately headed Vimeo way. If you haven’t, you have two little masterworks from someone who is surely film animation’s MVP at this stage.

https://vimeo.com/240539436

Sad Professor

Wind River - Solid, tense thriller, travels a well worn path but very well executed with a brilliant finale. A bit too similar to Sheridan's other films, but movies like this are so rare now and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Baywatch - unspeakably awful.

The Lure - Polish mermaid sex musical. What more do you need to know?

Detroit - Brilliant in places, but less than the sum of its parts. Bigelow is once again let down by Boal's pseudo-journalistic writing and questionable narrative construction. That said, there's a lot of overly personal and subjective criticism of this movie out there that really misses the point.

The Big Sick - I wasn't really in the mood for this but good, funny rom-com with a twist.

A Ghost Story - Lovely little film with a bizarre premise.

RasTa

Lost city of Z.

Too long, poor dialogue and poor acting. Not terrible but I was wishing I was watching the Mission during most of it.

pixelburp

Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Extended Cuts)

Off the back of TV deciding to show the inferior Hobbit films [*], I figured a more enjoyable exercise would be to re-watch the extended Lord of the Rings trilogy - for the first time in what felt like a decade at least. Still as stirring and brilliant as ever, still one of the great trilogy of cinematic epics, but something that I perhaps didn't register the first time around was just how awash with melancholia these films all were. Sure, on the surface you got the grand epic of good vs. evil, redemption, destiny and all the classic arcs of melodrama, but beneath and between all those beats seemed to lie a heavy undercurrent of despondency, of a moribund world on its last hurrah, regardless of whether Sauron was defeated or not: the Elves and Ents either leaving, or just dying out; the halls of dwarves empty and ransacked; the races of men circling the drain somewhat & flailing against their own inadequacies; some characters even spoke of prophecies beyond events of the film, hinting at 'the breaking of the world', even if Aragorn took the throne and united the world.

I can't honestly say I ever openly noticed how downbeat the subtext was within these films, beyond feeling a general, intangible sadness after seeing them for the first time in the cinema. For such grand, sweeping, blockbuster epics that are still held in near universal regard, there sure is a lot of hopelessness in the air. Even the 'happy' ending is ladled with a bittersweet quality, one more of tears and a heavy fatigue that ones race is run, than a rousing celebration of victory. The hoary saying is that they don't make 'em like this anymore, and perhaps even casting back to the late 90s, early 00s that cliché holds true even then - bar the Harry Potter films the blockbuster truly has become a sorry, vacuous entity that has lost the spark of humanity or depth that makes these kinds of films so memorable to begin with.

* The two trilogies really make for a good exercise in examining the failure in repeating a proven success; leaving aside the criticisms over the length of the source material, it's telling how a film (specifically, 'The Battle of the 5 Armies') only 3-4 years old already looks more dated and shoddy than the predecessors creeping up to a 20th anniversary. The decision to render so much of The Hobbit in CGI was a huge mistake, resulting in too much green-screen and rubbery, unconvincing Orcs that just look distractingly fake compared with the throngs of extras in grungy, drooling makeup / prosthetics from the first trilogy.

al87987

Disaster Artist - 8/10

Watched the room last week in preparation for this and it definitely made the film more enjoyable with that prior knowledge, although I'd say it's not a prerequisite for watching DA.

Amazing ensemble cast who all appear to be just fans of the room. The 'How did this get made' podcast people are in it and so are Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen so I think everyone just wanted in on this project.

James Franco is the star though and does a very convincing job of playing the unplayable Tommy Wiseau. Great to see behind the scenes stuff from this film and their was plenty of laughs throughout.