What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

tomofson

Bright (2017) with will smith, actually a lot better than the critics give it credit for, I would recommend watching.

Havoc (2005), Explores the wigger cultures of suburban america and the risks that go with it, its not great but its okay for a movie written by a 17 year old, who unfortunately died in a plane crash before it was released.

One Eight Seven (1997) with samuel l jackson, a teacher stabbed in a new york school moves to LA only to end up substituting in a predominantly latino school plagued with gangs. I feel like there is a million movies like this but it is still worth a watch.

Changing Lanes (2002) with samuel l jackson and Ben affleck, a small car crash ends up ensuing into a feud between both actors characters, it is worth a watch, however it is not an action packed movie.

Mrcaramelchoc

HOW IT ENDS

oh dear god dont watch this.1 hour and 53 minutes of rubbish.the trailer makes it look someway decent and the start of it isnt bad but then it just takes a dive and keeps diving.dont waste your time with this.
and the ending has to be seen to be believed.its awful awful stuff.

Jude13

I went to see Tag last night. Don't waste your hard earned cash. The actors basically play their stereotypical roles and the very little comedy is all in the trailer. Its a weak version of games night.

Harasrailltub

THE NIGHT EATS THE WORLD;

Great Zombie survival film that has an arty edge to it . Really enjoyed it . It's not officially related to the 28 days later films but it kind of slots neatly into that universe . If you like most zombie stuff , walking dead , 28 days etc then you'll enjoy

9/10

The Black Oil

American Assassin

I watched this because Michael Keaton is in the preview image on Netflix. It's one of those 'set your expectations accordingly within the few minutes' type things that shifts between barely serviceable and not much more. I laughed a few times* and the cast aren't given much to work with. It's a CIA thing, cue lots of "I'm the one who trained him! Don't ever get personal about a mission! He scored of the charts, etc, etc." Doesn't start off too badly, but gets worse as things progress. Some of the violence, or rather the torture, felt gratuitous. Taylor Kitsch's character had as much depth as a chocolate croissant. And yet, I found it mildly enjoyable. Thought Sanaa Lathan had decent screen presence.

*e.g. Keaton reading a "nuclear physicists watch list", on a tablet, outdoors at a cafe...

Jack Bauer wouldn't bother leaving CTU for this one. He'd hand it off to an intern.

branie2

Skyscraper at the cinema on Friday. It was very good.

Gwynplaine

Just watched 'the mountain between us'. Decent film. 7/10.

Sugarlumps

Bowfinger - Enjoyable comedy. Heather Graham smoking.

p to the e

Sugarlumps wrote: »

Bowfinger - Enjoyable comedy. Heather Graham smoking.

I hate women that smoke

Decuc500

In a Valley of Violence

It was a bit of a leftfield move to see Ti West direct a western. He’s known more for his 1980’s inspired horror films but here he recreates the look and feel of the Spaghetti Western with a touch of sleazy exploitation film thrown in.

Ethan Hawke was excellent as the drifter who falls victim to the corrupt lawmen in a dead end town and has to take his vengeance upon them.

It was quite talky in places and reminded me of Tarantino’s recent westerns in this way. Very funny in places too and didn’t take itself at all seriously.
Good B-movie fun.

PlaneSpeeking

Just watched Call Me By Your Name.

Beautiful and I wept like a child.

Harry Palmr

Phase IV (1974) Dir Saul Bass

The legendary graphic designer best know for his work with Hitchcock and the opening credits of Walk on the Wild Side (plus his corporate work) made this science fiction drama his one and only feature film.

Something big happens in space, alluded to in a sequence for the opening credits which turns ants into a super-organised and thinking body of life which a two man team observe from within a desert located Geodesic dome full of 70s high tech. Bit by bit the ants start to get on top of them.

As stylised as you'd expect from Bass but with little effort in terms of structured drama it just unfolds really, the visuals are strong as is some of the music with the small cast sweating out their performances. The ending is not the one shot with the last four minutes cut at the studios behest but if you do see this then head to youtube and watch the full apocalyptic and logical climax as the credits roll. This original edit was restored a couple of years ago so hopefully it'll be made available to home media/tv at some point.

So it's not great or even very good but it's interesting for it's themes, style and at 88 mins won't detain you for long.

CastorTroy

Isle of Dogs - Fun movie. Really enjoyed it. Similar in style to Fantastic Mister Fox in its wit. And shows the evils of cat propaganda.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - I enjoy these films but I'm actually surprised they're still being made. This was just a fun film as well. And as someone who watched Burn Notice, I think Rebecca Ferguson looks like a healthier Gabrielle Anwar

PlaneSpeeking

CastorTroy wrote: »

Isle of Dogs - Fun movie. Really enjoyed it. Similar in style to Fantastic Mister Fox in its wit. And shows the evils of cat propaganda.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - I enjoy these films but I'm actually surprised they're still being made. This was just a fun film as well. And as someone who watched Burn Notice, I think Rebecca Ferguson looks like a healthier Gabrielle Anwar

Just rewatched MI3 and was very impressed - PSH is a sad loss and when Jonathan Rhys Meyers is healthy and on form he can carry a flick.

Sugarlumps

Hateful Eight - Long winded fart.

Yester

Watching Grown Ups 2 at the moment on rte 2. There is so much wrong with this film it's impossible to look away.

Harry Palmr

Funeral In Berlin (1966) Dir Guy Hamilton

The second of the anti-Bond spy thrillers is directed by the man who made four 007 adventures! Given this it's interesting that FiB is the most low key of the 60s Harry Palmer trilogy, and its also the one that tends to be overlooked now being neither the original of the species or Ken Russells flashy third instalment (Billion Dollar Brain, a film which weirdly is suddenly looking quite prescient in some regards). As ever Harry is less than enthused but 30 quid a week and that suspended sentence keeps him mainly honest as a plan is hatched to spring a Soviet colonel from East to West Berlin.

Terrific document of the era really with loads of location shooting in the divided city, fine performances and an early thematic appearance of Zionist retribution and Nazi hoards in mainstream cinema.

Fact - Deighton wrote four Palmer novels but the second was never filmed - not a lot of people know that.

Tony EH

'Ghost Stories'

Lightly entertaining, but not altogether successful, British horror film from Jeremy Dyson ('The League of Gentlemen') and Andy Nyman ('Dead Set'). The blandly titled 'Ghost stories' follows paranormal debunker, Phillip Goodman, as he investigates a series of supernatural cases that have, previously, stumped his 1970's idol and inspiration, Charles Cameron, leading to uncomfortable disclosures.

'Ghost Stories', is presented in that old fashioned Amicus type of film, that was reasonably popular in the 60's & 70's. Three shorts are roughly tied together by a central narrative and play out as, fairly distinct, chapters, leading to a shocking conclusion.

To anyone familiar with Amicus (and to those who aren't), it'll be no "shock" that the coda will be a twist of some kind. To be honest, even though the obvious nature of these films make such a thing de rigueur, it isn't handled too badly here. The three stories, on the other hand, suffer from that age old problem of portmanteau films, in that there is always a weak tale - or if you're unlucky, two - amongst the collection. I won't go into what the tales are but, suffice to say, the second chapter is the lesser of the three cases that Goodman investigates. This is largely because it ends just as it gets interesting. The best, and creepiest, is the first. But, the reveal in that one kind of scuppers the tension to some degree.

'Ghost Stories' isn't bad, but it's not that good either. It has some scares, that you'll probably see coming, a decent level of spookiness (mostly contained to the first story) and one great WTF moment. Unfortunately, it also has some oddly flabby parts, like Goodman's Jewish background that goes nowhere and is, almost, completely unnecessary to the plot.

Despite its low key nature, it's nice to have one of these types of film to see again and it's worth a watch...alone...and in the dark.


6/10






'F is for Family'

An animated television vehicle for Bill Burr's caustic brand of comedy, 'F is for Family' draws, very much, from his own background growing up in Massachusetts in the 1970's. The "family" in question is the Murphy's. An Irish American, working class, unit that barely registers on the "functioning" meter. The father, Frank (Bill Burr), is a discontented average Joe, who's dreams of being a pilot have been destroyed by his first born son, Kevin (Justin Long). He now works at an airline in and unfulfilling role in the baggage department. The mum is Susan (Laura Dern), a woman who loves her brood and minds house, despite living in eternal disappointment. Her dreams of getting out of the house and working get shattered when she realises it isn't all it's cracked up to be. Bill (Haley Reinhart) is the middle kid, an amalgamation of Burr's own childhood, and the first to receive Kevin's frustrated wrath. Lastly, there's Maureen (Debi Derryberry), who's daddy's little "princess", despite being a little shit when she's out of his sight.

The comedy in 'F is for Family' is very nasty at times. Frank roars abuse at his kids, threatening to put them through walls and physically harm them in some way. Everyone goes to pieces over the slightest thing and they live their lives on a knife edge of desperation and regret. Life's setbacks aren't discussed in a rational manner. They're strewn around the house by verbal leaf blower and everyone shares the grief. But, even though the family members roar and shout at each other, they still band together to help one another out when the going gets really tough.

To anyone who's grown up in the 70's and 80's, 'F is for Family' will resonate to some degree. There's definite crossover between the Irish and Irish American "method" of bring up a family. A no holds barred approach, where one minute telling the kids you'll kill 'em; the next, you're doing something that shows you love 'em, despite the fact that they wouldn't even understand.

It's a time when the family unit had some sort of definable map too. Father worked, paid for the house and family and mother ran it. The kids were mainly told to shut up, do what they were told and not to come home until the street lights came on...and much of the comedy of 'F is for Family' stems from that basic dynamic. But, it's not embedded in dreamy nostalgia, like a lot of our entertainment these days.

'F is for Family' is an ok place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there...again.

8/10

ButtersSuki

French movie Eden - a rewatch as I bought the DVD in Fopp London about 3 weeks ago then after I watched it discovered I had the Blu Ray as well...:rolleyes: I really need to organise my collection. I would have bought the Blu Ray again if they had it lol. Anyway, it's the story of a DJ in Paris from the late '90s to circa 2010 and his journey from a man who somewhat lost his way in the hedonism of the scene. The attention to detail on this varies enormously from excellent (like using the Distance Records pressing of Kings Of Tomorrow's "Finally" - long before it became mainstream on Defected) to terrible (like when Daft Punk play "Da Funk" on what appears to be the album pressing complete with Daft Punk logo for the first time they played the track :rolleyes:, just stick a white label onto it!). At times it's excellent in that classic pretentious French way (if you like that kind of thing!) and it brought back a lot of memories of the music, the scene, the venues (having been in a few of them) etc.; but the cameos are somewhat awkward - Tony Humphries' was very forced for example, and some of the acting is terrible. If you were in the scene, I'd say it's worth a look. If not, I'd imagine a lot of the references will be lost on you. I think I appreciated it more on a second viewing even with its faults. I checked to see had I scored it on here previously and I don't appear to have so I'm going with a 7/10.


High-Rise on Blu Ray, another from the vaults. Stylish, but I got more than a feeling that I was watching some kind of Ode To Stanley Kubrick/A Clockwork Orange meets Lord of The Flies. I haven't read the book its based on and knew little of the film, but it's about as subtle as a brick thematically. Tom Hiddleston (who I must admit to largely not liking up to this point) was good in this in fairness, but the film is stolen by Luke Evans. I thought it was grand, but nothing more; it had a real trying too hard feel about it. The Portishead cover of ABBA's "S.O.S" featured near the end was interesting. 5/10.


Speaking of Kubrick, that box set I promised myself to finish but haven't gone near since will be the death of me.....

A Prayer before dawn 2017

This is a pretty exceptional piece of work about a young English guy that is fighting and peddling drugs out in Thailand that gets thrown in a Thai prison and eventually becomes a fighter in the prison to stay off drugs and stay alive. Its a true story.
I can't recall ever seeing a film where the fighting seems so real, actually I'm pretty sure a lot of it is real. Given that a lot of Thai fighters have 500 fights + I wouldn't be surprised at all a lot of actors would only be too happy to fight for real for a film.
The movie is gritty and tough to watch in places, very violent. Very very real. Great performance from the lead.
A must watch.

ButtersSuki

Deleted User wrote: »

A Prayer before dawn 2017

This is a pretty exceptional piece of work about a young English guy that is fighting and peddling drugs out in Thailand that gets thrown in a Thai prison and eventually becomes a fighter in the prison to stay off drugs and stay alive. Its a true story.
I can't recall ever seeing a film where the fighting seems so real, actually I'm pretty sure a lot of it is real. Given that a lot of Thai fighters have 500 fights + I wouldn't be surprised at all a lot of actors would only be too happy to fight for real for a film.
The movie is gritty and tough to watch in places, very violent. Very very real. Great performance from the lead.
A must watch.

Is that on Netflix etc.....or "online"?

ButtersSuki

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Is that on Netflix etc.....or "online"?

Not on Netflix as far as I know!

Harry Palmr

Guardian review for that is very strong

otnomart

The bookshop
I want those two hours of my life back !

Fysh

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Is that on Netflix etc.....or "online"?

It's only just out in cinemas and I don't think there's a legit online/VOD option at the moment.

Edit: I tell a lie, it's available now on iTunes.

ButtersSuki

Fysh wrote: »

It's only just out in cinemas and I don't think there's a legit online/VOD option at the moment.

Edit: I tell a lie, it's available now on iTunes.

Irish cinema?

Fysh

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Irish cinema?

Yep, but seems to be very limited in scope (also true in the UK, annoyingly). Looks like Cineworld and the Vue are only going for the "event" screening on Monday evening, which has some sort of featurette about yer man Billy after the main film finishes.

Harry Palmr

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) Dir Robert Aldrich

Sister is increasingly beastly to sibling as people call to the door every 10 minutes, then they go to the beach.

The end.

briany

The Barkley Marathons

Documentary about a 100 mile ultra marathon held annually in the hills of Tennessee. Notoriously difficult, regarded by some as the most difficult on Earth, 40 participants are chosen via a secret selection process and the race often ends without any finishers.

Very interesting documentary showing what some people will put themselves through and what people are capable of as well. Marathons are one thing, and fair play to anyone finishing a normal one of those, but walking a 54,000 foot ascent and descent over 5 straight laps of the unmarked course in very rugged woodland (2x the height of Everest) is quite another.

Sugarlumps

Thor Ragnarok - On Sky Movies, so gave it a whirl. Story line, wasn't up to much, child like. CGI looked cheap, even some of the weapons resembled cheap plastic toys you'd purchase at Smyths. Only saving grace was Zeppelin being pumped out.

I could understand loving this genre if I were a child, not as an adult.