What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

Wombatman

Small Town Crime (2017) - On Netflix
Quirky detective story that looks like a TV pilot that didn't make it. Above average characters, dialogue, acting and style. Denouement a little underwhelming but story quite good for the most part.

6.5/10

Bomb City 2017 This is a quite intriguing film, frustrating, endearing and a bit shocking all in one. Its a true story about a fatal incident in texas in 1999 where a group of punk rockers clashed with the local football guys.

The frustration comes from the slightly fluffy portrayal of the punk rockers who are quite "PC". Now unless punk rock anarchists suddenly went from hating anything but themselves including other races to being a sensitive to modern societal norms this seems an overly sympathetic portrayal of them unless that group has in fact changed their tune and it is in reality me who is out of touch.

But it might have been necessary to get the message of the film across which is very strong - a commentary on society about what is acceptable and whats not and the reality of what happens in the film is both hard to believe yet easy to believe given its Texas.

This film has its flaws but is thought provoking to say the least.

The Deer Hunter This could well be the greatest film ever made. The most flawless direction of a movie I can think of, right from the very first frame you are immersed into the world Cimino wants to create. Needless to say something like this could never be made today, the opening act is over an hour long, just to get to know the characters and the relationship between them, which sets the plot for the rest of the movie.
I hadn't watched this for over a decade, but the balls and audacity to make a film like this make Cimino a legend of the screen. To see De Niro, Walken, Savage and Streep in their prime is just a joy. i wonder will film ever get back to a place where something like this can be done again...

Wombatman

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond - 2017 - On Netflix

Kinda dazed and confused after this one, but in a good way. You go in wondering if Carrey has lost his grip on reality and come out wondering what is real? A slap in the face and a glass of water over the head in the spirit of Kaufman. A truly remarkable film unlike anything you have ever seen or will see again.

10/10

Optimalprimerib

fin12 wrote: »

Ya the scene when he’s in the police station and the cops think he’s a serial killer is hilarious.

I really don't like the added scenes with the snake though. They are really dark and pull you out of the film

Del.Monte

Stumbled across this on YouTube last night and instantly recognising a train wreck of a movie when I see one, I stayed to the bitter end. Fans (?) of Amy Huberman will have their suspicions confirmed.

Amy and her friend (Tom Hopper) find themselves caught up in a military coup in a fictitious Eastern European country. The entire movie - all 86 minutes of it - is filmed in the Deerpark Hotel, Howth. Hopper turns out to be some sort of covert CIA operative - that's original - and with Amy's help overcomes a huge number of heavily armed baddies without so much as a scratch. I nearly forgot, the badly injured President of the country (Lacy Moore), at death's door at the start of the movie is toting a machine gun and blowing away baddies an hour or two later.

A cast of non-entities, poor plot, very poor dialogue, poor continuity, poor direction, poor acting, poor lighting, abysmal CGI.....

Released in LA cinemas in 2016 and straight to video four days later according to IMDB. Should be used in film school to teach students how not to make a movie. I don't what the budget was or what it could have been spent on but it certainly wasn't on the film - perhaps the pre launch drinks party?

Certainly right up there with "Fatal Deviation" (1998) as the worst Irish movie of all time - 0/10.

Official trailer below with all the 'best' bits.:D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YPPDyHWaDk

fin12

Optimalprimerib wrote: »

I really don't like the added scenes with the snake though. They are really dark and pull you out of the film

I don’t think I’ve seen those scenes. Can’t remember a snake being in it.

ButtersSuki

Del.Monte wrote: »

Stumbled across this on YouTube last night and instantly recognising a train wreck of a movie when I see one, I stayed to the bitter end. Fans (?) of Amy Huberman will have their suspicions confirmed.

Amy and her friend (Tom Hopper) find themselves caught up in a military coup in a fictitious Eastern European country. The entire movie - all 86 minutes of it - is filmed in the Deerpark Hotel, Howth. Hopper turns out to be some sort of covert CIA operative - that's original - and with Amy's help overcomes a huge number of heavily armed baddies without so much as a scratch. I nearly forgot, the badly injured President of the country (Lacy Moore), at death's door at the start of the movie is toting a machine gun and blowing away baddies an hour or too later.

A cast of non-entities, poor plot, very poor dialogue, poor continuity, poor direction, poor acting, poor lighting, abysmal CGI.....

Released in LA cinemas in 2016 and straight to video four days later according to IMDB. Should be used in film school to teach students how not to make a movie. I don't what the budget was or what it could have been spent on but it certainly wasn't on the film - perhaps the pre launch drinks party?

Certainly right up there with "Fatal Deviation" (1998) as the worst Irish movie of all time - 0/10.

Official trailer below with all the 'best' bits.:D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YPPDyHWaDk

I'm staying up very late to watch some US basketball tonight, I might watch that whilst waiting. It looks absolutely atrocious....but no doubt Ryan Tubridy and D'Arcy and the rest of RTE made if their movie of the week on release :pac:

Del.Monte

Del.Monte wrote:

Certainly right up there with "Fatal Deviation" (1998) as the worst Irish movie of all time - 0/10.

It's not an Irish film was just shot here. It is from the great Paul "oi make de hooligan films" Tanter and the trailer is a thing of unintentional hilarity.

Del.Monte

Deleted User wrote: »

It's not an Irish film was just shot here. It is from the great Paul "oi make de hooligan films" Tanter and the trailer is a thing of unintentional hilarity.

Ah, but there's no exact definition of what constitutes an Irish film - is it one made in Ireland; about Ireland; an Irish cast/director or financed from Ireland? It's added to my blog anyway and the proud winner of 4 of these lads whereas "Fatal Deviation" only received 3.

https://irelandsmovies.wordpress.com

Del.Monte

Del.Monte wrote:

Ah, but there's no exact definition of what constitutes an Irish film - is it one made in Ireland; about Ireland; an Irish cast/director or financed from Ireland? It's added to my blog anyway and the proud winner of 4 of these lads

There is, it's generally a film financed by Irish backers. Kill Ratio is an English film, it was financed by English produced and directed by the cut price Guy Ritchie.

By you way of thinking the Matrix Reloaded is an Australian film as it was shot there. of Fire is an Irish one given that it was filmed here.

zapitastas

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Bomb City 2017 This is a quite intriguing film, frustrating, endearing and a bit shocking all in one. Its a true story about a fatal incident in texas in 1999 where a group of punk rockers clashed with the local football guys.

The frustration comes from the slightly fluffy portrayal of the punk rockers who are quite "PC". Now unless punk rock anarchists suddenly went from hating anything but themselves including other races to being a sensitive to modern societal norms this seems an overly sympathetic portrayal of them unless that group has in fact changed their tune and it is in reality me who is out of touch.

But it might have been necessary to get the message of the film across which is very strong - a commentary on society about what is acceptable and whats not and the reality of what happens in the film is both hard to believe yet easy to believe given its Texas.

This film has its flaws but is thought provoking to say the least.

The Deer Hunter This could well be the greatest film ever made. The most flawless direction of a movie I can think of, right from the very first frame you are immersed into the world Cimino wants to create. Needless to say something like this could never be made today, the opening act is over an hour long, just to get to know the characters and the relationship between them, which sets the plot for the rest of the movie.
I hadn't watched this for over a decade, but the balls and audacity to make a film like this make Cimino a legend of the screen. To see De Niro, Walken, Savage and Streep in their prime is just a joy. i wonder will film ever get back to a place where something like this can be done again...

It depends. The likes of the sex pistols is probably closer to what you would describe above. Bands like crass, minor threat and conflict would be associated with anarchist theory, along with feminism, veganism etc. So I think that the film might not be too far off the mark in that regard. I thought the film was poor enough, I suppose they had to pad out one tragic incident. The trailer looked pretty good though, shame the final product didn't really have enough to go on

Yester

Wombatman wrote: »

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond - 2017 - On Netflix

Kinda dazed and confused after this one, but in a good way. You go in wondering if Carrey has lost his grip on reality and come out wondering what is real? A slap in the face and a glass of water over the head in the spirit of Kaufman. A truly remarkable film unlike anything you have ever seen or will see again.

10/10

Just watched it and really enjoyed it. I loved Man on the Moon but if Kaufman has taught me anything, then it is not to trust Kaufman. However if Carrey really put all that effort in then wow. I want to believe it. If you look at the reactions of the crew during the first few weeks of filming, they all look like they are sick of his ****e. But he keeps it up for the whole shoot and he pulled off an incredible performance.

Del.Monte

Deleted User wrote: »

There is, it's generally a film financed by Irish backers. Kill Ratio is an English film, it was financed by English produced and directed by the cut price Guy Ritchie.

By you way of thinking the Matrix Reloaded is an Australian film as it was shot there. of Fire is an Irish one given that it was filmed here.

Would you consider "The Commitments" an Irish film as it was directed by Alan Parker (British); screenplay by two British writers (Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais) plus Roddy Doyle and largely financed by an American Production company?

Del.Monte

Del.Monte wrote: »

Would you consider "The Commitments" an Irish film as it was directed by Alan Parker (British); screenplay by two British writers (Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais) plus Roddy Doyle and largely financed by an American Production company?

At best it's an Irish-British-American film. Was the Last Jedi and Irish/British film as it was mainly shot in those tow countries?

budgemook

This all seems very familiar.

Decuc500

Soldier of Orange

A pre-Hollywood Paul Verhoeven film about 5 University friends in Holland whose lives change after the German army invades in 1940.
The film follows the friends as most of them join the resistance and one joins the German army.

I was expecting a typically extreme Paul Verhoeven film but it’s a relatively straightforward war drama.

At two and half hours it’s long enough to give it an epic kind of feel and there’s even an intermission at the half way point.

Death Wish 2018

Bruce Willis vehicle remake of the classic '70s vigilante revenge movie. It was pretty much panned by critics. However, if you're in the mood for a movie that does not involve much thinking it's actually watchable. Sure the story is beyond cliche, predictable as feck and it's hammy but has some satisfying bits and once you're not expecting too much I have seen a lot worse. Pure bubblegum but hey.

Hector Savage

Hector Savage wrote: »

Alien Covenant

I did see this last year in the cinema, but wanted to watch again on BluRay.

As a standalone film it's decent and a lot better than Prometheus - but it's destroying the myth of the original Alien movie and where they and the space jockeys came from.

It's time for the franchise to end I think - at least in the prequel direction.

Maybe Blomkamp can do something interesting.

personally thought that it was far inferior to Prometheus.

Decuc500

Life

'Alien' on the International Space Station with a crew of badly written characters being killed off one by one by a Martian organism.

One or two decent moments but this is yet another modern horror film that tries to be effective by being nihilistic and thinks its audience wants a nasty little twist at the end.

It was all very pointless and the ending left me rolling my eyes. A proper feel bad film.

branie2

Book Club yesterday at the cinema. It was very funny

Decuc500

Decuc500 wrote: »

Life

'Alien' on the International Space Station with a crew of badly written characters being killed off one by one by a Martian organism.

One or two decent moments but this is yet another modern horror film that tries to be effective by being nihilistic and thinks its audience wants a nasty little twist at the end.

It was all very pointless and the ending left me rolling my eyes. A proper feel bad film.

I actually quite liked this. better than alien covenant!

bladespin

The greasy strangler

Bored last night and found this flicking through the channels.
Holy god! Terrible, cringy and weird but couldn't stop watching, hilarious in places too.

Harry Palmr

Kolchak - the Night Strangler 1973 (Dir Dan Curtis)

As seen on Talking Pictures which if you are not aware of it, is on all platforms.

Sequel to The Night Stalker Darren McGavin is back as persistent loud-mouth journalist Carl Kolchak in pursuit of a Seattle serial killer with a very specific modus operandi. Good fun though probably would have been better in the original 74m ABC TV Movie of the Week edit, this was the 90m DVD version. Sometimes even "trashy" genre material expands one's knowledge - in this case the Seattle Underground which I had no idea about.

Tony EH

'Journey's End'

Simply put, one of the best WWI "trench life" films that I've seen. Saul Dibb's film, of R.C. Sherriff's play, expertly captures what day to day existence was like on the line in First World War France. While it's been filmed before, most famously as 'Ace's High', no other production has managed to be as technically correct and as engaging.

Sporting a brilliant cast, with many familiar non-stars, everybody is perfect in their role. Asa Butterfield, as the fresh faced Second Lieutenant Raleigh is well cast as the naive and innocent young officer, who hero worships an old schoolmate of his, Captain Stanhope (Sam Claflin), and wishes to be placed in his company. Through familial maneuvers he gets his wish and faces a baptism of fire, as Stanhope's battalion has been placed in the forward trenches just in time for the German Spring Offensive of 1918. Stanhope is not the same man as Raleigh remembers from his public shool days in England and has become a drunkard, while still maintaining a managable offcer's command position. Stanhope doesn't relish the thought of Raleigh being in his command, as he's worried that young officer's sister, with whom he has a relationship, will find out about his alcoholism.

Elsewhere, the excellent Paul Bettany is great as the congenial "Uncle", the "superior" by age in the officer's dugout. Despite being a subordinate rank to Captain Stanhope, all of the men look up to Lieutenant Osborne, including Stanhope himself. He's softer with the men and quietly dispair's on their behalf, while trying to maintain a stoic type of dignity. He, along with Stephen Graham as Second Lieutenant Trotter and Toby Jones as Private Mason are the most recognisable faces.

'Journey's End' is not a bombastc war movie. There's no silly over the top (if you pardon the pun) heroics, like we see in the likes of 'Hacksaw Ridge'. It plays out its time with a quiet, unsettling, patience, rather like much of the war itself. The men are locked into their fate, waiting for the inevitable German attack to come. They carry on as best they can, finding distraction in drink, their official duties or willfully ignorant humour, like the working class, Liverpudlian, Trotter who uses laughter as a distraction from his situation.

Those expecting to see bullets flying and explosions will be disappointed, although there are a couple of well handled action scenes. But, 'Journey's End' is more about a slice of life in the trenches of WWI, rather than a showcase for violence. It remains largely concentrated on the officer's dugout too and ventures out amongst the enlisted men only on a couple of occasions.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the film made no money. It's gross at the box office was minimal, which is a real shame, because it's a very fine film and I wouldn't let that put people off from watching. I suppose in the age of superhero actioners, a film such as 'Journey's End' has no place.


9/10




'The Lost Continent'

There are a number of Hammer films that I have never seen, despite growing up with them and being familiar with the titles. 1968's 'The Lost Continent' was one such film. While it has to be said that a lot of Hammer films are quite mediocre affairs these days and are more fun to talk about than to watch, they usually contain elements of great interest to me and a lot of other people and this was no exception. On paper, the story seems wild and unfocused, but as it plays out, it's kind of fascinating. A tramp steamer with a contriband cargo and a dodgy passanger list sets sail from Freetown to Caracas. But, due to stormy weather, it gets lost in the Sargasso Sea along the way where the crew and passangers tumble upon man eating seaweed, giant scorpions, mutated crabs and the a band of religious nutters who are descended from Spanish Conquistadors! As mad as it sounds, it's a crazy story that begins as a sort of low key voyage of the damned and ends up a half arsed 'When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth' mixed with Peter Benchley's 'The Island'.

The acting is weak in parts, especially from the females. The model effects are charming, but obvious. The rubber creatures are downright laughable and the story doesn't have a real conclusion. But, it's never boring, which is its real credit. The DVD I watched was pretty poor quality too, with visible interlacing and a murky picture. But, maybe it's filtered murkiness added to it sense of oddness? I'd like to see a Blu ray restoration of the film, but I won't be holding my breath for that to appear any time soon and in all probability, the hi-def image would betray those models and creatures even more.

'The Lost Continent' is not a good film in any respects, but it is an entertaining one. So it's very hard to score. Therefore, I won't.

Mrcaramelchoc

unsane 2018


i thought this movie was about a woman being committed to a mental hospital against her will.it is, but theres a little twist to it as well.its not a bad movie and claire foy is very good in the lead role,but it is predictable and not what i was expecting.i was highly impressed that it was all shot on an iphone though i can tell you that.(by Steven Soderbergh)
id give it a six out of ten, i dont know what else to say about it really.i stayed with it until the end so thats saying something.

Harry Palmr

Top Secret! 1984 (Dir Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (the other one))

Daft WW2/60s surf movie combination parody as heartthrob singer Val Kilmer visits East Germany for a cultural event and ends up in the French resistance. Not as good as Airplane but certainly as good as Airplane II or Hot Shots. The cow in Wellies is surely the high point.

steve66

Lone wolf and cub:Baby cart to hades.
8/10.
The kid is a marvel

speaking of which
Captain America:the winter soldier.
6/10.
good action sequences, but i found the dialogue rather cliched.

Across 110nth street;
7/10
it's dark, dark, dark,

Bleach:Fade to black, I call your name.
8/10

JACKPOT (2011)
9/10

Go for broke.
10/10
This old movie is a fictionalised account of the 442nd unit. This unit was the most decorated unit in american warfare. They faught during ww2.
The really interesting thing about them is that they were mostly 2nd generation
japanese-americans. This was at a time when japanese americans were being put in internment camps, because of pearl harbor.
The lead actor is Van Johnson, but much of the cast is made up of members of the unit.

The secret in their eyes (2009)
10/10

attack of the monsters.
6/10
you haven't lived until you've seen a giant flying turtle doing gymnastics.

The college girl murders.
6/10

Black and white:the dawn of justice
9/10

MONGOL:The rise to power of Genghis Khan,
10/10

steve66

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

The Whispering Star
The Old Dark House - this is an absolute blast. James Whale's re-released 1932 effort seems like the standard 'creepy house in the woods' film, complete with Boris Karloff as a mysterious, ominously mute butler. But, in an inspired touch, Whale plays everything for laughs as much as scares. It's a hoot: as the house fills up with guests one outrageously rainy night, it's clear dark secrets are going to be uncovered, but everyone has an immense amount of fun along the way. Pitch-perfect production design; superbly witty performances; and endearingly cheeky in its Pre-Code sort of way... It may be the guts of a century old, but modern horror/comedy could still learn a thing or two from this wickedly vintage Universal genre piece.

One of my favourites. Did you know the lead actress played the Kate Winslett character in Titanic. Anyway, to quote my favourite line from the movie.
'Have a potato'

El Duda

Caché (Hidden) - 7.5/10

I read an article recently about how the early 2000's were actually a brilliant time for original movies. This Michael Haneke production was one of the films that was recommended and talked about in depth.

This chilling thriller follows a local celebrity (Daniel Auteuil) as he is seemingly stalked by an unknown person, who leaves mysterious surveillance tapes on his family's doorstep. Haneke uses some superbly detailed cinematography to create these mesmerising locked off street shots that linger on the screen for an unsettling length of time. These shots are finely composed, look incredible on blu ray and really get you invested in the story.

The story unfolds at a gradual pace, slowly peeling back the corners and revealing more about the vaious family members lives. The ending was perhaps a little anticlimactic but I appreciated the fact that it went for a grounded, realistic finale and left the viewer to tie up the loose ends.

A gorgeously shot, intelligent chiller with authentic characters that doesn't speak down to the audience at all. It uses subtle ambiguity to give the characters and the story plenty of depth.

El Duda

Rocky IV - 8/10

I've been slowly working my way through the box set and am surprised at just how good these films are. They all have there own themes and subject matter and each film brings something new to the table.

Rocky 4 is probably the most entertaining of the lot so far. A no nonsense villain, Carl Weather's best performance as Apollo and the best montages the 80's have to offer. I particularly enjoyed some of the more off-beat elements, like the Robot and Apollo's lavishly OTT ring entrance.

I love the trivia that comes with these films; Stallone actually allowed Lundgren to give him a few real digs to the body and ended up in intensive care with heart damage. Also, Weathers and Lundgren clashed on set and Stallone had to plead for them to make up so filming could continue.

Rocky IV manages to be both flamboyant and brutal. The behemoth of the franchise and a great nostalgia trip into the eighties.