What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

budgemook

fin12 wrote: »

No that’s the documentary from 2017 that’s on Netflix, thanks anyway.

Ha, I watched the Can I Be Me one and thought I was watching the one that was produced by the same crowd as the Amy Winehouse documentary. I've just figured out that there are two.

No wonder I was wondering why it didn't really seem like anything special!

branie2

The Meg at the cinema yesterday. It was very good.

Quest for Fire 1981 If you could think of any actor in the world who would be perfect to cast for a Neanderthal who would it be? Yes Ron Perlman!
Pretty damn crazy is about the only way I can describe this movie. Its about how important fire is to the early humans - they don't know how to make it yet and go to great feats to keep their fires lit or to get hold of more if it goes out.

This is seriously violent, to the level of B movie, but then some elements of it are very well done - great cinematography in Scotland and in Kenya. For 1981 the makeup and costumes are fantastic.
The first sex scene is surely the most bizarre and ridiculous sex scene that ever hit the big screen that wasn't pornography, but at the same time it makes perfect sense! The subsequent ones follow the same suit.

All in all surprisingly entertaining even thought there is not one word of understandable dialogue in the whole thing! Oh it and it won an Oscar!

Tony EH

/\

A great film. Absolute bunkum of course. But great. I'd say the had some great craic making it.

Tony EH

'The Meg'

SPOILERS - YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

Yet another in the long line of poor shark movies, seeking to try and leech something from 'Jaws'. But, just like every single shark movie after Spielberg's masterpiece, from 1976's 'Mako: The Jaws of Death' to 2018's 'The Meg', it fails miserably to capture anything from the 1975 film.

Based on the 20 year old novel by Steve Alten, 'The Meg' - shorthand for Megalodon, the prehistoric forebear of the Great White - stars likeable Brit actionman, Jason Statham as Jonas Taylor, a deep sea rescue diver (as only Hollywood would imagine), who has been lamenting an, ostensibly, failed rescue attempt on a submarine that had been rammed by an unknown object. Jonas' subsequent ramblings about a "creature" gets him marginalised and he disappears into a drunken funk somewhere in Thailand.

Years later at the bottom of the Pacific ocean, near the Marianas Trench, a state of the art research facility, Mana One, is in the middle of an expedition to penetrate a cold layer that is believed to conceal a deeper level to the trench as theorised by Dr. Zhang (Winston Chao). The expedition, led by Zhang's daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), proves successful and it finds that deeper level. Unfortunately, the sub that is penetrating the cold layer is attacked...by "something" and gets disabled. Thus Jonas Taylor has to be brought in to put a rescue into effect, which he's persuaded to do because his ex is on board the Marianas Trench sub. Further misfortune leads to the rescue enabling an thermal escape route for a giant shark to swim to the upper levels of the Pacific. This behoves Statham to spend the rest of the movie basically diving into the water to save people or combat the megalodon, as it makes its way to Sanya Bay to dine on Chinese food.

On the surface, 'The Meg' sounds like it could be a fun and silly popcorn shark movie. But, it tries to take itself just a bit too seriously. It's characters and story aren't as serious as 'Jaws', but they're still far too po-faced for the ridiculous story involved here.

Another problem is that it's almost bloodless, which is a real let down. A film like this should be, literally, dripping in gore, and I believe that the director, Jon Turteltaub, has said that the original film was more so. But, 'The Meg' has been turned in as a neutered PG-13 movie, emasculated as to achieve a maximum-bums-on-seats goal. Further and more cynically, the film is aimed at raking in the Yuan, by involving a number of Chinese faces and setting a portion of its running time in Sanya Bay.

The ultimate nail in The Meg's coffin, though, is that its CGI sharks (all of em) are only just about a level or two above the average Sharknado movie. The shark(s) never feels like it's sharing the same space as the people, or other objects, on the screen and it's always disappointing when the shark actually makes its appearance. Unlike Bruce, in 'Jaws', who keeps his horrific demeanour even when he breaks the surface of the water, the megalodon in 'The Meg' falls apart when it shows too much of its hand and coupled with the lack of guts in the movie makes for a pretty empty experience.

So, 'The Meg' ends up being not spectacular enough to be a summer blockbuster (al la 'Jaws) and not dumb enough to be entertaining trash.

3/10




'Southern Comfort'

Walter Hill's, at the time, terribly unappreciated film, sees a bunch of idiot weekend warriors of the National Guard, traipse around the swamps of Louisiana as they're chased and picked off, one-by-one, by pissed off Cajuns.

'Deliverance' comparisons aside, Hill's film operates on its own merits and is a great example of a good film that couldn't find its audience in 1981. Part of this is down to its Vietnamesque trappings, which nobody - especially in America - wanted to see at the time. But, over the years, its become more liked and draws generally favourable opinions from most viewers.

Lead by a couple of serviceable performances from Keith Carradine and the late Powers Boothe, Southern Comfort's nine man squad features familiar nobodies, like Peter Coyote, Fred Ward, Alan Autry and Brion James as a lump of unlikeable targets, full of foul mouthed bravado and indiscipline. Against these clowns are some faceless Cajuns, who have been wronged, foolishly, by the squadies and whom decide to take matters into their own hands and get revenge. It's fairly straighforward, but plays out in a very tense and pleasing manner, leading to a great stand off at a friendly Cajun village where we're treated to an exciting showdown, soundtracked to the tune of 'Parlez Nous oire'.

Aside from some very minor missteps here and there - a character's breakdown isn't terribly convincing and there's a bit of a silly knife fight - 'Southern Comfort' is a genuinely great picture of its type. A real "man's" picture - if I can use that term - of the type that's just not made any more and one that uses a very interesting background of Louisiana Cajuns, which I've no doubt are the barest of sketches of those people, but it's absorbing nonetheless. Walter Hill's actors, too, are put through the mill and endure some pretty nasty conditions, slogging through damp swamps and it all feels very real, which is a boon to the authentic atmosphere and allows viewer by in to be easily attained.

9/10




'Deliverance'

The Spiritual cousin of 'Southern Comfort' (even though Walter Hill would hit you in the mouth for saying that) 'Deliverance', unlike Hill's movie, was a huge hit in 1972 and a very important film for John Boorman and its stars. One of the few films that Burt Reynolds counts as "a good one he's been in", 'Deliverance' was based on James Dickey's novel and concerns itself with a disastrous canoe trip down the fictional (and soon to be dammed) Cahulawassee river in Georgia.

The naive city boys, Ed (John Voight) and Bobby (Ned Beatty) come afoul of some mountain folk, who wish to...er...have their way with them. Coming to the rescue, but not before Bobby is assaulted by one of the hillbilly's (a brilliant and disturbing Bill McKinney), Lewis (Burt Reynolds) kills Bobby's assailant, but the other neerdowell escapes into the woods. Lewis, Ed, Bobby and Drew (Ronny Cox) then have to decide on how to proceed. Do they own up, or bury the body, which is soon to be covered by dam water.

'Deliverance' is rightly considered a classic of cinema and its pivotal scene still retains a certain shocking power, even though it's quite tame by today's standards. All the stars do their jobs admirably, including their own stunts, and even the non-actors hold their own. Boorman's direction is fine, if it's without flair or signature, and the backdrop of Appalachian terror remains unnerving.

Hard to believe that there would be people out there that haven't seen this film, but if you haven't, it's worth your time.

9/10

brevity

The most recent Jason Bourne movie.

"Use SQL to corrupt their databases"

It's awful. Awful, awful, awful. Its the exact story as the either the first or second one and it's so boring. It's also shot and edited like someone who has had way too many coffees. I know that's Paul Greengrass's stick but Jesus Christ it's so jarring.

Stupid movie. 1/10

Tony EH

Tony EH wrote: »

'Southern Comfort'

Walter Hill's, at the time, terribly unappreciated film,


'Deliverance'

The Spiritual cousin of 'Southern Comfort'
9/10

The only thing missing from these two to make them a 10 is Nick Nolte. Although Deliverance is still probably a 10.
I watched a bunch of Walter Hill movies a few months ago after listening to him on Easton Ellis' podcast. Great director in his time, a mans man. His latest film though was a bit of disaster about a mad Dr. Sigrouney Weaver who performed a sex change on someone against their will. Interesting concept I suppose but just didn't work.

Tony EH

Maybe.

As great as Nick is, I just don't know where he'd fit.

Walter Hill, though, is a prime example of a director who's best work is waaaay behind him. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that, with the exception of '48 hrs', 'Southern Comfort' was his last truly great film. He has upticks, like 'Geronimo', but his output is quite average for the most part, even if it can be interesting.

Yeh, 'The Assignment' sounds awful. Although, I might give it a spin for the laugh.

Tony EH

Tony EH wrote: »

Maybe.

As great as Nick is, I just don't know where he'd fit.

Walter Hill, though, is a prime example of a director who's best work is waaaay behind him. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that, with the exception of '48 hrs', 'Southern Comfort' was his last truly great film. He has upticks, like 'Geronimo', but his output is quite average for the most part, even if it can be interesting.

Yeh, 'The Assignment' sounds awful. Although, I might give it a spin for the laugh.

You could give him a cameo as a Sheriff at the end of Deliverance perhaps. Many roles for him in Southern Comfort, he could easily be a trapper or a loose canon soldier getting Power's Booths goat

Hill's comedy style fit perfectly for the 80's when you could say whatever you want. Seems to happen with a lot of directors that they have their time and fit seamlessly into a cultural era, and then they get kind of left behind, or just don't seem to be able to progress. Every dog has its day I suppose!

Decuc500

The type of film Walter Hill was good at just isn’t being made anymore. I grew up watching his tough guy, 18 cert action movies.

Back then this type of film was mass market entertainment and the home video industry probably helped a lot there, but there’s way too much testosterone on show for modern audiences to accept.

But at least he stuck to his guns and continued to make his films. Broken Trail is a recent two part Western mini-series and is the best thing Hill has done in years.

joombo

Pacific Rim Uprising

I watched it based on I just enjoy the first one so much. I think my main gripe is the fact that these ridiculously sized robots and monsters move with speed and agility which resembles atheletes and normal humans. Which, just wouldn't be the case due to their physical size and mass which has to move. I think thats why the first one really hit home, because when the robots moved, you could REALLY feel the weight of them moving.

Overall, glad I saw it as it was an itch I had been wanting to scratch. But its not a movie I'll be rewatching. Unlike the first.

DVD-Lots

Was sick and on heavy meds for a couple of days and this is what I ended up watching in my drooling state on the couch. Glad to be back at work.

How it Ends - WTF? Seriously? Worst road trip ever. Explain something at least?
Extinction - WTF? Not even the "twist" can save this one!
Cargo - Christ what a bad movie, just a real plod along with very little to....I don't know, it's just bad okay!
Patient Zero - Christ it's worse than Cargo....
Skyscraper - KILL ME NOW!

Captain Red Beard

American Animals. The young fella that was in Love\Hate is in it. Pretty good heist movie. Worth a watch.

SimonTemplar

Jaws 2 (1978)

After The Meg, I decided to watch Jaws 2. I love the first Jaws and is one of my favourite films but I hadn't seen Jaws 2 for a few years.

It was interesting watching the two shark movies separated by 40 years within 24 hours. Obviously Jaws 2 doesn't have the nuanced script of the first one or the classic trio of Brody, Hooper and Quint. However, as a sequel to a classic, it is pretty good. In fairness to the director, there is a lot of well constructed shots of the shark fin either in the foreground or background that look really cool. Also, the action/attack scenes are quite energetic and appropriately chaotic especially in the third act when all the teenagers are on the water together. If the shark looks fake in some shots, it is an admirable failure where they were just a little too ambitious.

As a poster alluded to above, there is a proper thrill in seeing the real fin gliding at full speed through the water that the CGI in The Meg couldn't properly simulate. There is also a scene in Jaws 2 where a guy is grabbed by the shark and slammed into the side of a boat with a massive thud while his girlfriend watches on. It is that kind of tactile and realistic interaction with the environment, together with the horrifying attack itself, that engages the audience and was also missing from The Meg.

Roy Scheider is great as always. I love the intensity he brought to the role in both movies, and also in both movies, he does great drunk acting. And of course I love the shocking ending.

My main criticism is that aside from the Brody kids, I found the teenagers fairly anonymous despite act one spending a lot of downtime trying to establish their characters. If you showed me pictures of the cast immediately after the movie, I think I'd struggle to identify the teenagers who were killed, especially the girls. There is also a scene were someone accidentally sets themselves on fire which was as little clumsy.

Overall though, it was very enjoyable and its strengths definitely serves to highlight the weaknesses of The Meg.

Harry Palmr

Walter Hills first 6 films are almost unprecedented in the "modern era" for consistency of tone, texture, theme and quality. Some might try and stretch it to include Streets of Fire but the cracks were already showing by then with a sudden and unwise increase of "ambition" - suddenly lean and mean wasn't enough for him after 48 Hrs success and he's only fitfully remembered his best style ever since (I enjoyed Red Heat)

Tony EH

SimonTemplar wrote: »

Jaws 2 (1978)

I have a soft spot for Jeannot Swarc's film and it seriously couldn't have been easy doing the follow up to the biggest summer film in history (well, besides 'Star Wars'). Especially with a star who didn't want to be there and a script that, to be polite, lightweight.

But, it's relatively entertaining and enjoyable, even if there's not enough shark action happening. Although, it does contain one of the most memorable screen deaths, as poor Marge can't quite get onto the capsized boat after helping Brody's kid and gets chomped. Always feel sorry for nice girl Marge.

I agree that the shark, although not as convincing as Bruce, looks the part, for the most...er...part. Even when its rubberiness is given away (especially in one particular shot). CGI just cannot replace having a tangible model for the actors and environment to interact with. And yeh, that big rubber fin slicing through the water is a memorable sight.

Jaws 2 is the only film that ever gave me nightmares. I think I saw it when I was around 9 or 10 years old. I was looking under my bed all night because I thought Jaws was under there

Tony EH

LOL, I had the same nonsense too. I was afraid to go to the toilet at night in case Jaws was in there waiting. Can you just picture it. A 25 ft shark waiting for a little kid to go and have a piss in the middle of the night.


:pac:

SimonTemplar

I actually ended up watching the making of Jaws 2 documentary on Youtube. The producers seemed to genuinely want to make a good movie and not just repeat the first movie, which is a good attitude to have when developing a sequel.

Mr E

I went to see Unfriended: Dark Web last night and enjoyed it. Along the lines of the first one, everything was told through a computer screen (Skype, Facebook, Webcams etc.)

Some of it was a bit contrived (the way webcams go glitchy whenever there was a bad guy in frame) but the deaths were very creative and the overall story was clever.

If even a fraction of the stuff in that movie is technically possible, I could see some people sh*tting their pants after watching it. It was eye-opening.

briany

The Wrong Guy (1997)

Comedy starring Dave Foley. A business executive fears he's a suspect in his boss's murder and so goes on the run. The only problem is that he's too busy running to stop and learn that he's actually not a suspect at all.

Absolutely hilarious from start to finish. Funny plot. Funny sight gags. Funny call-backs and a slew of great characters thrown in, including a prime 90s Jennifer Tilly. Recommended.

branie2

The Equalizer 2 at the cinema this evening. It was very good.

A bit of Bullitt on DVD tonight, which was also very good.

Tony EH

'Who Dares Wins'

1982 British film about the SAS, that takes its genesis and main cues from the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege and stars the late Lewis Collins from TV's 'The Professionals', in an effort to break out of the small screen.

A favourite of mine when I was a kid, but today, I see it as a rather stupid film that doesn't really add up, even if it's relatively enjoyable small scale cinema. It's full of cliched lefty "terrorists", of the type that exist only in certain minds, who's demands are so ridiculous it really does beggar belief and a TV version of the SAS, who are all macho nitwits, with shouty mouths.

Judy Davis, who's great, despite the general silliness of her character, is the unhinged Frankie Leith, leader of a group called "The People's Lobby", who wish to see the end of the nuclear arms race. To meet this aim, they want a bomb dropped on Holy Loch in Scotland, with the inhabitants evacuated, of course. Peter Skellen (Collins) is tasked with infiltrating this band as a man on the inside, to be there when the SAS are finally dispatched.

It's all very silly and won't live up to too much critical analysis. But, it has a certain old school British film charm, that's absent from movies produced there nowadays. In many ways, it feels much like 1978's, 'The Wild Geese', which was produced by the same guy, Euan Lloyd, and was another childhood favourite of mine. 'The Wild Geese', though, tends to retain a bit more believability, if I can use that word.

With the action limited to the last 20 minutes, much of 'Who Dares Wins', concerns itself with Skellen's penetration of the "The People's Lobby" and...ahem...Frankie Leith and their attempts to surveil and vet him. So, people expecting a shoot out every half hour may be disappointed. But, when the action does arrive, it plays out pleasingly enough, if in a very brief sequence.

6/10

El Duda

Dead Presidents - 8/10

A damn fine slice of 90's cinema. Firstly, the scores that this film currently has on imdb (6.9) & rotten tomatoes (45%) are criminally low. This holds up as well as any film from the mid 90's and should have a much higher score. There are some slightly dated elements, but nothing jumped out as glaring. I particularly enjoyed the use of 'fade to black' to transition between scenes; a technique we rarely see used these days.

I've had this on my watchlist/DVD shelf for a while but it was seeing it featured in Kermode's 'Secret's of Cinema' that spurred me into watching it. The great man describes it as one of the most overlooked films of the era and by definition, one of the very best heist films of the decade. He is correct on both counts.

Much like the Deer Hunter, this film uses the first act to set up its various, likable characters before they join the Marines and travel to Vietnam. The final act leading up the heist is all about how they're struggling to reintegrate back into society/family life after suffering from varying ailments of war. The film does a great job of conveying how detached and disenfranchised they all are after serving their country in "that white mans war".

Performances are strong throughout with the exception Rose Jackson who is the clear weak link. Larenz Tate shows he has range, going from playing the outlandish 'O-Dog" in Menace II Society to this more likable, straight headed role. The stand outs for me were Chris Tucker and Bokeem Woodbine's deranged 'Cleon', who steal each scene they’re in. Woodbine has recently had a bit of a breakout role in Fargo Season 2 but this shows he has always been slightly overlooked.

Slick direction, a fantastic climactic heist and a two hour running time that absolutely flew by. Dead Presidents lived up to my high expectations and makes me wonder what other 90's films have gone under my radar?




About A Boy - 7/10
For some reason I'd never got round to seeing this back in the day. I'm a bit of a sucker for good British rom-com and I found this a very easy but enjoyable watch.
I couldn't help but think that Toni Collette's suicidal Mum would not be written like that in this day and age. You can see the lax attitude towards mental health come through in the script and her depression never seems to be dealt with in a serious manner. Towards the end, her suicide attempt actually becomes a bit of punch-line and it seems wrong by today's standards.
I was shocked that this wasn't a Richard Curtis film as it seems to be in his exact mould. Aside from some very cringey dialogue from the school kids, this is a perfectly enjoyable watch and Hugh Grant is charming as always.
I predict big things for this Nicholas Hoult fella.




Howl’s Moving Castle - 7.5
The first Ghibli film i saw was Spirited Away, so its almost inevitable that most films won't live up to that incredibly high standard, but I still had a blast with this.
Its a wonderfully animated, highly imaginative story that is really bought to life by the many great characters. One of the glaring differences from Western/Disney films is the lack of a clear antagonist. All of the characters here have much more depth than the 'villain of the week' model we adopt over here.
These films have heart and creativity in abundance and it makes for incredibly compelling viewing. I particularly enjoyed Calcifer the fire demon, a gorgeously animated lovable sprite.
What are the English language dubs like?




A Ghost Story - 9/10
This was a really unexpected treat. All I really knew of it was the infamous pie scene so I went in with trepidation, half expecting pretentious arthouse guff. It felt like some of the early, lingering scenes (including the pie scene) were almost some kind of barrier that you had to endure and 'break through'.
The second half of the film was incredible. Hauntingly profound, poetic and ambiguous. Bleak yet beautiful. Some of the best commentary i've ever seen on deep issues like purpose, memory, time, the futility of life etc.. I also thought the monologue was very well written and it broke up the rest of the drama nicely.
The whole premise is such a clever way of getting these ideas across. Great work from David Lowery whose previous film was... Pete's Dragon :? The whole thing felt weirdly effortless.

El Duda

El Duda wrote: »

Dead Presidents - 8/10

A damn fine slice of 90's cinema. Firstly, the scores that this film currently has on imdb (6.9) & rotten tomatoes (45%) are criminally low. This holds up as well as any film from the mid 90's and should have a much higher score. There are s

Theres a film that has fallen off my radar for a good two decades. I remember it being very good. Shall be rewatched this weekend!

Tony EH

Did that ever get a Blu ray release?


*edit

Nope.

Tony EH

'Communion'

A bizarre, but not unenjoyable, movie about alien visitation and abduction, based on the book and, supposed, experiences of Whitley Strieber. Starring Christopher Walken, complete with odd mannerisms and off-kilter dialogue, it details Strieber's "alien contact" and subsequent "probing", when he and his family were staying in a cabin in up state New York in the 80's. But, the majority of the film is concerned with contact of a non-alien kind, as Strieber discusses his situation with his wife, his child, his friends and his shrink. The actual alien scenes are limited to a few sections, mostly at the end, in a very odd sequence of events indeed, complete with dancing aliens and Walken seeing himself dressed as a magician!

It's generally rather straight forward, for a film of its subject, and anyone who's remotely heard or read of such "abduction" stories, will be instantly familiar with what's going to occur, although why little green men (or in this case blue) would want to stick things up people's arse's, I don't know.

But, the film has a strange, fascinating, quality that makes it hard to dismiss. I think a lot of that fascination has to do with Walken's performance, which is littered with offbeat quirks. A condition that Strieber, himself, objected to vehemently, calling Walken's role "too crazy" - Walken subsequently replied "well, if the shoe fits...".

Panned on its release, and it's easy to see why, 'Communion' does have some moments of genuine tension and the scenes with Strieber's psychiatrist (the great Frances Sternhagen) are interesting enough to keep the viewer invested. The payoff is a bit of a letdown, though, and we're never really sure if what is happening isn't all just in Strieber's head, in the context of the film of course. The film never commits itself to saying what's "real" or not, which is a good thing I suppose.

Elsewhere, the music is rather bland, instantly forgettable, Eric Clapton and the effects are generally fake looking, although they serve their creepy purpose. The little blue "doctor's" are unnerving as they creep into Strieber's bedroom at night and take him away and their Grey handler's move in a strange manner that keep focused, even though you know they're just animatronic. The direction is generally harmless and there's nothing to really praise, even if it's handled OK.

In the end, it's a middling effort, with a few uneasy moments, that's worth a watch for Walken, who up's the whole thing a notch or two.


5/10

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Watched The Martian on RTÉ 2 there tonight. Found it way too long and lost interest about half way through. Then he started replacing bits of NASA technology with sheets of plastic and I couldn't take it seriously anymore. I can accept a film filled with made up science if it services the story, I don't mind a bit of "because of reasons" to explain things away but when you start replacing airlocks with a sheet of plastic and some duct tape I just can't get on board.

al87987

Bright - 6/10

Not too bright but not too bad

Roger Dodger - 7/10

Smooth talker teaches young guy the ropes

The Insider - 8/10

Top flick.

Upgrade - 8/10

Good low budget futuristic movie.

The Wailing - 7/10

Mental Korean horror.

Last flag flying - 7/10

3 veterans of Nam reunite

Stretch - 7/10

Limo driver needs cash

My cousin vinny - 7/10

New york lawyer on his 1st case

bladespin

al87987 wrote: »

Upgrade - 8/10

Good low budget futuristic movie.

Utterly agree on that, thought it was excellent considering I'd never heard of it before last week.