What have you watched recently: Electric Boogaloo

McGrath5

Rush

A great real to life story about 2 Formula 1 drivers in the seventies who are engaged in a bitter rivalry.
I do not follow Formula 1 myself, so I had no idea how the story would unfold in the end, but it was a very satisfactory conclusion.
This film certainly sets the bar very high for any film maker in the future who wishes to attempt to tell a story about Formula 1 in the future.
8/10

The Iceman

Really really enjoyed this one.
It was great to see Michael Shannon for once take on a lead role. He plays the whole killer for hire part so well, much recommended.
8/10

Mizu_Ger

Watched The General (Buster Keaton) and The Lone Ranger on Saturday. It was an interesting pair to watch together.

The General is a great film. It's basically a couple of chases on trains. Stunts are great and some nice slapstick thrown in.

The Lone Ranger started off great, with the action on the train. It dipped in the middle (slow and a bit tedious), but then came back for the finale. The finale was all train set again and used a lot of CGI. While the CGI was very good, the stunts were so over-the-top that it took the life out of them.

It's interesting to compare the CGI laden stunts in Ranger to the (very) practical ones in General. The latter really does win out. Everything just looks real (and grounded in reality), but the stunts are more inventive too.

ButtersSuki

McGrath5 wrote: »

Rush

A great real to life story about 2 Formula 1 drivers in the seventies who are engaged in a bitter rivalry.
I do not follow Formula 1 myself, so I had no idea how the story would unfold in the end, but it was a very satisfactory conclusion.
This film certainly sets the bar very high for any film maker in the future who wishes to attempt to tell a story about Formula 1 in the future.
8/10

Keep saying this anytime anyone mentions Rush, check out Le Mans on Blu Ray starring Steve McQueen...................esp. if you have a decent sound system.

Charlie19

Europa Report 2013

About a crew of astronauts on a journey to Jupiter. Really didn't get this at all. Thought it was very poor.

FortuneChip

Charlie19 wrote: »

Europa Report 2013

About a crew of astronauts on a journey to Jupiter. Really didn't get this at all. Thought it was very poor.

I'd be inclined to agree. It was a bit of a non-event. There was no need to tell you in advance what happened. The "reveal" at the end wasn't necessary, it didn't add anything.
And there was just a lot of typical silly behaviour that you get with a lot of exploratory sci-fi flicks.

Good soundtrack though

tunguska

Just go with it

I wouldn't be partial to Adam sandler films but this was on the other night and for some unknown reason I decided to give it a bash. All I can say is I was right not to be partial to adam sandler films. This was truly shocking, it was so bad. I had to turn it off after an hour(if I even made it that far). Waterboarding has nothing on an Adam sandler movie, I imagine this being played on a loop at camp X-ray to torture Al Qaeda suspects.

Senna

Saw it in the cinema when it was originally released, thought it was the best documentary I'd ever seen at the time and after a second viewing I still think that. I was always a big senna fan and it was surreal when he was killed in that crash. It was the first time in my life somebody famous who I really identified with died and not a day goes by when I dont think about Senna.
Brilliant film, very deep stuff about a deep character and I often wonder how he'd fare against the current crop of F1 drivers.

mike65

I watched A Fistful of Dollars, it was shown on Channel 5 which is the least film friendly channel which shows the largest numbers of films out side dedicated movie channels (a rather unfortunate coincidence). Still, despite showing it in the wrong ratio (amusingly the first Wonga bookend referenced 2.35:1 widescreen) with an annoying 5 minute "news" break at the halfway point it was still worth watching again after so many years. Its now impossible to appreciate the impact this had in the mid 60s so thoroughly have its various motifs and flourishes become part of visual grammar.

The film still packs a decent punch by the end as Leone lets rip after a deceptively restrained opening hour which concentrates on the nameless ones cunning and duplicity.

Barna77

tunguska wrote: »

Senna

Saw it in the cinema when it was originally released, thought it was the best documentary I'd ever seen at the time and after a second viewing I still think that. I was always a big senna fan and it was surreal when he was killed in that crash. It was the first time in my life somebody famous who I really identified with died and not a day goes by when I dont think about Senna.
Brilliant film, very deep stuff about a deep character and I often wonder how he'd fare against the current crop of F1 drivers.

Not an F1 fan but I remember the rivalry with Prost back then.
Saw the docummentary when it was out, yeah it's brilliant.

Judgement Day

"Strumpet City" (1980) box dvd set from RTE. Bought this for my children for the year that's in it and what a hit it was. Hasn't aged a bit from the only time that I previously saw back in 1980. Set in the Dublin of 1913 against the background of the grinding poverty, awful housing and unsafe working conditions of the time. Big Jim Larkin, "The Lockout" and the impending World War. All life is here - the upper classes safe in the southside enclaves, the clergy largely aloof from the poor, and the poor themselves varying from those lucky enough to have badly paid jobs to those with nothing. Cyril Cusack, Bryan Murray (his best ever performance?), David Kelly, Peter O'Toole etc.etc. The final episode reduced my eleven year old to tears - the reaction it provoked in me when I first/last saw it and that I was hoping for in him. If Rashers & Rusty don't provoke the same in you, check that you still have a pulse.



http://shop.rte.ie/Product/Strumpet-City-RTE-Drama--2-DVD/1247/2217 for only €9.99 and you won't find a better 360 minutes viewing out there. 10+/10

Tony EH

Judgement Day wrote: »

"Strumpet City" (1980) box dvd set from RTE.

One of the greatest things ever produced by any Irish media outlet.

tunguska

They Shoot Horses Dont they?

I saw this when I was 17 (I think) and it blew me away. Its a film thats stayed with me and so I decided to give it another watch to see if I'd enjoy it as much or even more. Definitley picked up a lot more second time around and if anything its had even more of an impact on me. Absolutely light years ahead of its time, arguably Sydney Pollacks best film. Jane fonda was brilliant in Klute but I think shes just as good here. The acting from everybody is top though and that ending.........the word unforgettable is a superlative thats overused but thats the only way I can describe it. Against the mainstream for sure but its a better film for sticking to its guns and not chickening out.

johnny_ultimate

Nobody's Daughter Haewon - eccentric, in a good way. A relatively standard tale of a film student's affair with her professor comes to a very strange sort of life because of the delivery. Director Hong Sang-soo has an eye for staging naturalistic dialogue scenes, and several of the best moments here are courtesy of almost interrupted long takes set around tables or while characters go for a hike. An endearing performance by Jung Eun-chae helps create a credible, interesting and multi-layered protagonist. All this would be fine, but Sang-soo adds a few other tricks to the mix to give it a dreamlike edge. Unusual but telling camera zooms in the middle of scenes. Visual and script repetitions. Even some intriguing re-appropriations of that old cop out the dream sequence. It all makes for an ultimately captivating rhythm that instils the film's with a poignancy and depth beyond the literal events unfolding on-screen.

Barna77

Captain Phillips.

Simply brilliant. The tension throughout the movie. Two hours long that definitely feel like flying. Excellent Tom Hanks

specailly at the end on the check up scene.

Judgement Day

Recently, for a bit of escapism I watched a couple of ancient Sci Fi movies from YouTube via my Wii. In truth I can not recommend either to anybody here but they did help me to escape to somewhere that definitely wasn't Enniscorthy.

The first "The Disappearance of Flight 412" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ghg3p3AXWQ starring Glenn Ford (more a conspiracy movie than anything else) concerns official attempts to cover up what happened to two USAF jets that come into contact with a UFO. Sleep inducing. 1/10 and that's for Glenn Ford.

The second "Invaders from Mars" (1953) while marginally more interesting is also a low budget effort. Shades of "The Invaders" TV series and revolves around a Martian flying saucer which lands in a sandpit, unseen by anybody but one small boy who nobody believes. Soon some of the locals become possessed by whatever is in the pit..... 2/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB-EFyUUXgM

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Garage

Lenny Abrahamson's second collaboration with writer Mark O'Halloran after the wonderful Adam & Paul. This time their story takes place in small town rural Ireland. Josie (played amazingly by Pat Shortt, who knew?) is the town odd ball. He looks after a tiny garage on the outskirts of town and lives his life very much on the outskirts of the community. He's viewed as harmless by the other residents but nobody wants that much to do with him. He befriends teenager David when he comes to work at the garage and a silly mistake from Josie turns his life upside down.

I'm by no means an expert on film but I do think Lenny Abrahamson is a bit amazing. His three films provide the most realistic and honest portrayal of Ireland and Irish society I've ever seen. From inner city poverty to rural Ireland to privileged suburban life, he nails it. I'm sure on his first two films this has a lot to do with Mark O'Halloran's writing.

Pat Shortt is surprisingly good in this. I'm genuinely gobsmacked by his performance. The loneliness Josie feels is obvious from the start and his insistence on trying to interact with the rest of the town in spite of their reluctance and in some cases plain rudeness breaks your heart. I knew the basic plot of this film but I didn't know what exactly would happen between Josie and David and I have to say I assumed the worst. That kind of made what actually happened even worse because I (and I'm sure others too) jumped to the same conclusions as the rest of the town seemed to. Much like Adam & Paul there's a little bit of humour here but underneath it all it's a very sad story, one which I'm sure you could see played out in any number of rural Irish towns.

What I really like about Abrahamson's films is that they're sort of open ended... if that's the right description? Garage, for example, is not the story of Josie, it's a snapshot of this one summer and this one event and it's up to the viewer to form opinions or interpret actions as they see them. I found this very much in What Richard Did too. The story is presented to the viewer and it's down to the individual what they take from it. I've discussed Adam & Paul with a fair few friends and it's amazing how many of them view it as purely a comedy. They don't want to see beyond that so they don't. I could be wrong but I imagine that these three films are all a completely different experience for everyone who sees them.

I can't wait to see what Lenny Abrahamson does next. I'm sure "Frank" will bring his work to a slightly larger audience.

bellinter

last I heard Abrahamson was adapting Emma Donoghue's "Room"

I'm looking forward to this, and Frank. Thought WRD in particular was a brilliant film.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

bellinter wrote: »

last I heard Abrahamson was adapting Emma Donoghue's "Room"

I'm looking forward to this, and Frank. Thought WRD in particular was a brilliant film.

Yep. I haven't read Room but having read the synopsis of it, it does seem perfectly suited to his style. Frank should be an interesting one as it seems a little off beat compared to his other films.

ButtersSuki

Watched The Place beyond the Pines and despite the cast and promising start it just tails off to the point where I kept looking at my watch wondering when it was going to end. Ryan Gosling dominates the scenes he's in but

after his death

the film loses a lot and the pace is taken out of it. Copper was ok in it, Silver Linings Playbook aside I don't normally like him or his on screen facial smugness, but he's not too bad in this. Eva Mendes are Rose Byrne are underused though, as is Ben Mendelsohn; whilst Ray Liotta essentially plays Ray Liotta. 6.5/10 (mainly for the first hour).

Also watched We're The Millers. Surpassed my very low expectations. Jason Sudeikis owns this comedy, the rest of the cast are really just fillers (Jennifer Aniston strip scene included). Not normally a huge fan of his but he's very good in this, including a breaking the fourth wall wink to the audience during Aniston's strip scene. One disappointment for me was Parks and Rec's Ron Swanson/Nick Offerman is underutilized but overall it definitely has its moments. For what it is 7/10.

Haircut:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-CnjPTA9iM

Tony EH

Judgement Day wrote: »

The second "Invaders from Mars" (1953) while marginally more interesting is also a low budget effort. Shades of "The Invaders" TV series and revolves around a Martian flying saucer which lands in a sandpit, unseen by anybody but one small boy who nobody believes. Soon some of the locals become possessed by whatever is in the pit..... 2/10

Ah come how could you not like 'Invaders from Mars' ???? :eek:

Honestly though, yeh it's shite, but you have to look at it from the point of view of 50's Sci-Fi, of which it's justifiably a classic. Although the 50's is way before my time, I have very fond memories of all the old 1950's Sci-Fi films that were shown in the early evenings on BBC2 in the 80's.

Another great is 'This Island Earth', which I think I reviewed on this thread, but the same rules apply.

Tony EH

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Garage

Yeh 'Garage' is great. I don't think it's quite as good as 'Adam and Paul' though. But still well worth the time and Pat Shortt is perfect for the tragic role of Josie.

I haven't seen 'Prosperity' or 'What Richard did' yet though.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Tony EH wrote: »

Yeh 'Garage' is great. I don't think it's quite as good as 'Adam and Paul' though. But still well worth the time and Pat Shortt is perfect for the tragic role of Josie.

I haven't seen 'Prosperity' or 'What Richard did' yet though.

What is Prosperity? I saw it listed on imdb but I've never heard of it. There seems to be multiple episodes, so was it on TV at some point?

Tony EH

It was a mini series that was on the tele a few years ago Tickles. Each episode looked at a different person and there experiences. I think there was only four or five?

Haven't seen myself, but I'll see if I can check it out at some stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fPFkS96OhQ

bellinter

The Frozen Ground (2013)

Didnt fare too well with the critics but I found it to be very good. Nicholas Cage is the detective trying to gather enough evidence to convict John Cusack's murderer/rapist/kidknapper in Anchorage, Alaska. Both are really good and the story moves along nicely, though doesn't really have anything to set it apart from other thrillers of its kind... Psychotic killer and a cop motivated by a past experience to do whatever it takes to bring him down, but still engrossing. It's based on a true story and I would imagine they have taken dramatic licence in a few areas,

particularly with the wrapping up.

But what true stories don't?!

7/10

ManOnFire

The Lookout (2007)

Watched this on Netflix the other night and found it quite entertaining, Joseph Gordon Levitt plays the lead role with a good turn from Jeff Daniels as a blind guy also. Although nothing amazing it held my attention through out and was something a little different to the usual straight up heist movie. Worth a watch.

mike65

The Straight Story (David Lynch 1999) The true story of elderly Alvin Straight and his unorthodox journey to see his sick brother 300 miles away.

Once it gets going this is a wonderful film about quiet fortitude, dignity and sly humour. Hard to credit that the once time 'enfant terrible' of cinema would end up as a classicalist. That's what he delivers though - straight ahead, clean, crisp film making with not even a hint of camera shake never mind CGI, porn trailer editing or obvious colour/stock treatment. Richard Farnsworth as Alvin is tremendous in his final performance and one given while in much real life pain with cancer.

Gamayun

The Dead (1987)

Based on the James Joyce story from Dubliners, and John Huston's final film as director, this is a bit of a family affair as it stars Anjelica Huston and was adapted for screen by Tony Huston.

Donal McCann is great as Gabriel and it also features Colm Meaney in an early role. Donal Donnelly adds some comic relief as the 'refreshed' Freddy Malins.

I would think that already having read the short story would make a huge difference to how much you enjoy this. I have heard it criticised for being dull/boring in the past, whereas if you're is familiar with the original text then you can just watch it unfold. A very good adaptation.

Dman001

Argo

While I really enjoyed the film, and like Ben Affleck and his work, I'm not sure if it deserved all the praise it received. I feel the fact it portrays America in a positive light with the 'American Hero', it receive the critical praise as a result.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Sunshine Cleaning

Emily Blunt and Amy Adams play sisters who fall into the crime scene clean up business as a way to raise a lot of money fast.
It's alright. I like Emily Blunt. She was the only good thing in The Devil Wears Prada and I'm including Meryl Streep in that. Amy Adams I've had issues with since Leap Year but everything I've seen her in after that really makes me wonder what they hell she was thinking when she did Leap Year?

charlie_says

I watched Bergman's Persona for the first time last night, what a haunting movie. Beautiful, emotive and totally compelling.

mike65

Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976) remarkably for a film built out of such base material this exploitation number managed to keep up a reasonable narrative thrust right to the shoot em up climax and amusing final twist. Shown on the Horror Channel and running at 93m and 3 seconds this is the complete version it seems. This was an early film for cinematographer Dean Cundey who would work with John Carpernter on his 80s films plus the likes of Romancing the Stone, Back to the Future and Jurassic Park.

No one is going to win any awards for acting, writing or direction but on its own dumb terms it wasn't bad and now I can say I've seen an Ilsa film.