What have you watched recently? 3D!

Mad_maxx · 10-04-2022 12:31pm

Spencer, brilliant performance by Kristen Stewart but the whole thing was more like a play than a film

Bit of a chore really

poppysee · 11-04-2022 12:52pm

Turning Red, Pixar films just never disappoint. Such a beautiful and heartwarming coming of age movie that is perfectly relatable.

poppysee · 11-04-2022 12:52pm

johnny_ultimate · 11-04-2022 11:36pm

RRR - this Indian action mega-blockbuster has been gathering buzz over the last few weeks as quite the spectacle, and friends the buzz ain’t wrong.

To say this is ‘over the top’ is an understatement. It’s a film loaded with absurd, spectacular action. It’s not really comparable to what Hollywood is putting out - this is gravity-defying, clear-eyed, kinetic action filmmaking, where characters are borderline superhuman and a big, emotional duel may be broken up because one of the characters has to fight a CG wild animal. It’s pitched somewhere between Crank and Once Upon a Time in China, but also not really like either of those films. As absurd as it all is, there’s a clarity to the action and choreography that is genuinely impressive. There’s visual (and narrative) ideas that are established early on in the monster runtime, only to payoff in rather extravagant fashion in one of the many ludicrous setpieces in the film’s second half.

I won’t get too much into the plot: set in 1920s, it boils down to a big old bromance between a tribal leader on a mission to rescue a young girl who’s been taken as a prisoner by British elites, and the elite soldier tasked with tracking said tribal leader down. To give you a general idea of the general tone and pitch, the pair first meet on horse and motorbike when they silently hatch a plan to leap off a bridge together to save a young boy from the flaming wreckage of an exploding train filled with oil (that doesn’t really do the scene justice). There’s lots of double and triple crossing afoot, and it all ties into the background of simmering revolution against the cruel British empire. I’m not familiar enough with early 20th century Indian history to comment much on the hyper-nationalistic tone here (the end credits seem to be the actors saluting portraits of various revolutionary figures) and how questionable/problematic it may or may not be. But Irish viewers will probably get a kick out of the film’s cartoonishly evil British villains and their eventual fates.

This is a Bollywood film, so come prepared for the usual industry norms. There’s a big mid-film dance scene (quite a fun one, to be fair), the acting from most of the English-speaking actors is… ropey, and some of the special effects are nowhere near up to Hollywood standards (although equally I don’t think Hollywood uses CG quite as vibrantly and surprisingly as some of the better setpieces here). The whole pitch and emotional register of the film will take a while to adjust to, and all kinds of disbelief should be suspended. But settle in, don’t think too hard, and this truly is one of the more surprising and satisfying action spectaculars of recent times.

pixelburp · 13-04-2022 12:27pm

The Devil All The Time (2020)

Casting current hearthrobs Pattison and Holland felt like a bit of a cocktease, putting them in a story with such a level of grubbiness and nastiness in its heart. This did for Rural America in the '50s what Angela's Ashes did for Ireland during the same period: misery as far as the eye can see.

Nihilistic to the nth degree, the oppressive bleakness rendered the film occasionally, excessively grim: there was possibly a valid, polemical angle to be gleaned about hardcore Christianity being an insidious, corruption in men's hearts - but the end result always being extreme violence, rape and brutality was a bit much. The cycle of misery never got to a point where the narrative had a moment of clarity, only eternal suffering.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 14-04-2022 7:33pm

I recorded My Man Godferey off Film 4 a few weeks ago and watched it there this afternoon. 1936 screwball comedy about a spoiled rich girl who drunkenly hires a homeless man to be her family buttler. I'm genuinely surprised by how funny this is. Bar some casual racism it holds up extremely well 85 years later. Carol Lombard is amazing, as is all the supporting cast. Really enjoyed it.

Whestsidestory · 14-04-2022 7:57pm

You should check out the Thin Man series, William Powell & Myrna Loy.

gokiroo · 14-04-2022 9:07pm

I welcome everyone. I recently saw the film Bohemian Rhapsody which won more than one Oscar and I had high hopes for it. In the end, of course, they paid off. I strongly advise you to watch it, a cool film about a legendary man

silverharp · 15-04-2022 1:14pm

Memories of Murder, A korean film from 2003 and based on a true story. Well worth a look

Mr.Nice Guy · 18-04-2022 8:21pm

These Three (1936)

Based on a true story from Scotland in the 1810s where two young female teachers were falsely accused of having a lesbian relationship that destroyed their reputations. This version is set in Massachusetts, but because mentioning homosexuality was illegal at the time, the story involves a false rumour of a heterosexual nature. Wiki tells me the film was remade by the same director in the 60s as The Children's Hour, starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley McLaine, where they keep the lesbian theme. I've a vague memory of seeing that a long time ago.

This 30s version was surprisingly good and the performance of the child actors was particularly noteworthy. Bonita Granville steals the show as the mischievous kid that starts the rumour. I've rarely seen a child actor play such an obnoxious and infuriating kid so well. Apparently, she got an Oscar nomination as best supporting actress, and it was deserved. I'd give this an 8/10.

Wombatman · 19-04-2022 7:37am

X (2022)

Clever slasher \ gore movie movie. About as enjoyable as these things get. Very well shot with some memorable scenes and imagery. Solid cast and performances. Throws some funky taboos in your face. Good sound track. Makeup and prosthetics very good. Sexy bits be pretty sexy.

7.5/10

pixelburp · 19-04-2022 8:51am

Pig (2021)

Understated, subtle and trusting of its audience to translate the emotions without ever resorting to sledgehammer tactics. Undoubtedly the pig was more than just a pig - indeed that quickly became apparent - but the manner the film treated the resting grief of its trio of broken men was never shouted, never treated to a swelling soundtrack at some pivotal, overwrought moment of emotion. It suggested that if the last stage of grief is Acceptance, it might well be the longest and most painful too; how we might turn our lives upside down to avoid closing the book on someone lost to us.

This perhaps gained mistaken, giddy traction for being "that film where Nicholas Cage gets revenge for his stolen pig", but if that incorrect categorisation got more eyeballs on this sad, heartfelt tale of loss then that was a net positive. Such a quietly powerful and beautiful feature, with Cage giving one of his best performances in years. There were no histrionics, none of that mythic personality that now spawned its own meta-movie; just a haunted, beaten (literally and metaphorically) individual trying desperately to restore that last vestige of grief he had been clinging onto. Alex Wolff also demanded praise too; his character was forced to process his own emotions as he reluctantly shadowed Cage around Portland.

Nor was it just about loss either: there was a simmering in the margins too. The moment Cage's character verbally demolished a former employee, now trading his self-respect for empty, gentrified applause, showed an angry edge parallel to the personal stories. Frustration towards the commodification and pretensions to over-engineer something as communal and life-affirming as a good meal: this poor, berated chef just wanted to open an English pub; instead, he felt forced to create a pompous facade of high cuisine for an uncaring demographic who wanted to intellectualise a plate of well-cooked food.

Spon Farmer · 19-04-2022 12:19pm

I saw Operation Mincemeat yesterday.

I was very disappointed. They spent most of the movie on the most nonsensical “love story” - and also way too much time with Firth and MacDonald making up a love story for the corpse that was never going to be a part of the plan.

The original film, The Man Who Never Was, is far superior in every way.

19-04-2022 10:15pm

Moonfall. It's got really poor reviews and I would agree, it's terrible. But I could not stop watching. It's about 2 hours long and that's about 2 hours longer than it needed to be. Watch it with a few beers. It's one of those films that are awful but also kinda captivating in how it even got made.

20-04-2022 7:48am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118949068#Comment_118949068

I watched it last week but the last 20 minutes it got so bad I turned it off. Started off with typical disaster movie stuff which I usually enjoy, and despite almost seeing the lads holding up the green screen on the set it was entertaining. But it felt like it got progressively worse, cheaper , lazier and more predictable. If that movie was playing a football match the crowd would be chanting 'what a waste of money'.

20-04-2022 2:59pm

X (2022)

70's Porn movie shoot in rural rental property in Texas goes wrong and into slasher-land. Certainly a twist added here in terms of the motivations with the "granny looking for action" scenario. It's decent but perhaps a bit-too lauded for what it is. From the A24 distribution / production stable. Not near as good imo as something like "Midsommar" that was also linked with them.

6.1 / 10

pixelburp · 22-04-2022 1:06pm

Worth (2020)

A solid legal drama covering the events after 9/11 when an attempt was made to figure out how much each of its victims should be compensated for their loss. Completly held together by Michael Keaton's performance, while the script managed to avoid being either jingoistic or saccharine. Perhaps it could have poked more fingers at the politicians and corporations who tried to muddy the waters, but the film seemed more interested in telling the ground-level stories of those cases where people fell through the cracks of an algorithm.

X (2022)

A big mess of a film; good gore FX, but took an absolute age to get to the carnage - while its messaging was all over the place. The primary one being that old people are gross and inherently scary, while porn is fun and everyone should try it. Or maybe it wasn't, I dunno; like I said, it was all over the place 'cos as per Scream, sex was still punished. It all looked great - and the very first shot was a bit of a chef's kiss moment for cinema nerds.

22-04-2022 1:29pm

Without Remorse (2021)

Absolute drivel. The most preposterously stupid and unrealistic plot captured for viewing in recent times, with the main actor swimming back into part of the airframe of an airliner rapidly heading for the bottom of the sea retrieve a bag being a highlight.

3.9 / 10

monkeyactive · 22-04-2022 7:07pm

The Assistant

I thought this was a great piece of filmmaking. Follows a young woman working as an Assistant to an LA Film Mogul who is obviously meant to be Harvey Weinstein. I was impressed.

El Gato De Negocios · 24-04-2022 10:52pm

Galaxy of Terror

Roger Corman produced Sci fi horror from 1981 starring a young Robert Englund. Apparently James Cameron was on the production staff and Aliens certainly has similarities to it in terms of visuals but that's where the similarities end. Decidedly 80s with ropey effects, ropier acting and a giant tentacled slug / alien rape scene. 🤷‍♂️

2/10

Come and See

1985 Russian anti war movie about a young boy in 40s Belarus who joins anti nazi partisans. Visually impressive, the lead actor delivers a genuine tour de force performance and looks like he has aged 15 years by the end of it. A difficult watch in places, made all the more difficult considering the ongoing atrocities the Russians are perpetrating against the people of Ukraine. The Criterion blu ray is well worth importing.

8/10

pixelburp · 28-04-2022 11:44am

The Quick and the Dead (1995)

A bit of a forgotten gem of Sam Raimi here; every flourish and trick Raimi is fond of was used to really heighten the concept into something never less than supremely entertaining. The premise was great; the action tense and fun, flavoured with that Raimi style; the cast surprisingly stacked with stars both current and then-upcoming (such as Russell Crowe and Leo DiCaprio) putting in strong performances. Hard to think of something that didn't work really; definitely not one for Western purists as aside from the camera tricks, the strokes were broad, the aesthetics heightened - like a comic book if you will. Unforgiven this was not.

29-04-2022 3:25pm

Centurion (2010)

By the numbers Roman soldiers vs ancient Scots (the Picts) skirmish saga starring Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko and the ubiquitous support cast member Liam Cunningham. Pretty formulaic as said and not very grand in scale but watchable for the 95 minute or so that it offers.

5.8 / 10

Decuc500 · 09-05-2022 11:56am

Boiling Point

If the one continuous shot, real time gimmick of this chef-under-stress film was supposed to add to the tension or anxiety of watching, it certainly didn’t work for me.

It was quite an immersive experience watching the camera glide throughout the restaurant in one take.

But the actors were trying too hard to create an appearance of being under pressure. I was constantly distracted when they were making mistakes and stumbling over their words.

I thought a sweary chef character would suit Stephen Graham down to the ground but he was curiously subdued.

Disappointing.

pixelburp · 10-05-2022 8:45am

A Simple Plan (1998)

An exceptional example of the forgotten or hidden gem. Made during that period when the director tried to move on from the trademark showiness, Sam Raimi stripped away the flourish and played it all razor straight; this was raw and compelling stuff where the actors did all the heavy lifting. There was an incredibly dark & tragic heart within this story, as nothing survived the slow corruption of that ostensibly straightforward idea to pocket apparently "lost" drug money. At least in Fargo - a genetically similar tale IMO - there were a few souls who stayed on the righteous path. Here, everyone touched by that foolish scheme were tarnished; paranoid or plotting in a world that was already decaying and a little broken by the economy. I suppose these kind of stories don't really work in well-healed, monied neighbourhoods - there has to be a touch of desperation in the inciting incident. The movie didn't wallow in poverty porn however, nor patronise its cast. These were decent human beings, ground down a little by life but still doing their best. Raimi might have made his name torturing Bruce Campbell for yucks but he kept the camera and direction passive, letting the characters wrestle their fates on their own. Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton both put in stellar performances, really mining the family tragedy of two brothers, both loving and loathing each other.

This is absolutely one of Raimi's best, but it wasn't showy and wasn't his most visually inventive so is unfortunate it doesn't get the same plaudits.

al87987 · 10-05-2022 10:44am

Watched Red Rocket last night, low budget film about an ex-porn star returning to his hometown.

Don't want to say too much more but this was a really well made and edited film. Dramatic with some very funny bits too.

Special mention for Simon Rex the main actor, he was exceptional and I wouldn't have put an oscar nomination past him except a film like this is never really gonna be nominated.

Tony EH · 10-05-2022 12:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119039596#Comment_119039596

I'd go so far as to say that Raimi hasn't done anything better.

pixelburp · 11-05-2022 4:00pm

Drag Me To Hell (2009)

I wonder if Sam Raimi wanted to kick off some steam after the trio of Spider-Man movies, especially with the third being so famously troublesome for the director. Perhaps after indulging the blockbuster industry, he wanted to return to his roots; helm a comfort film in a manner and genre he was accustomed to. The ending certainly hinted at a bitter, misanthropic voice so maybe this was his way of processing it all.

Anyway, I didn't actually like this - not near as much as I thought it would. Maybe just that it felt like a slightly inconsequential thing, a warmed-up tribute act rather than something with a fresh slant. Impatience even began to creep into my experience, 'cos I had seen all this before - albeit without the **** CGI. A chaotic, ludicrous fight in the confines of a car was the film's highlight, but it all flatlined from there - interspersed with more Justin Long than I'd have preferred (which, to be clear, is zero Justin Long). The exception was, of course, that aforementioned ending. That was a bold mic drop, so credit where it's due. And while the PG-13 rating presumably limited the amount of blood and gore allowed, Raimi skirted around that limiation with a LOT of vomit. This was probably the most puke I've seen in a film that wasn't a "gross out" comedy.

In terms of comparisons with the rest of Raimi's CV, this probably most resembled Evil Dead 2: in that within its various moments of horror were punctuations of humour; little bursts of dark humour within the grotesque. Even the camera sometimes made a whoosh as it crash-zoomed. But while Evil Dead 2 built its chaos off of Bruce Campbell's preternatural charisma and energy, Alison Lohman played it too straight, too like a conventional horror lead – never seeming to know what kind of movie she was in. Maybe that was an intentional choice? Honestly though, it never worked for me. Perhaps that was the critical flaw niggling at me; how Evil Dead 2 would never have worked as well as it did if its lead wasn't in on the gag as well.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119040452#Comment_119040452

I was going to go "naw", but you know? I think you got a point. Spider-Man 2 was his crowd-pleasing peak - and arguably the peak of the genre it exists in - while the Evil Dead films will always charm in a very boot-strappy way (though Hot Take: Evil Dead 1 is a pile of shíte). And while calling A Simple Plan his most mature film might seem like an insult to his other work, it's still his most nuanced, substantive film.

Tony EH · 11-05-2022 6:03pm

I used to think that 'Evil Dead' was a "pile of shite" too and hideously overrated. For a long time I wrote it off and considered the sequel to be where it was at. But I recently rediscovered it and my mind did a complete 180. Now I consider it to be, easily, the most entertaining of that series which, to be fair, was always kinda junk. These days I cannot watch 'Evil Dead II' without the commentary track on.

But I've always believed that 'A simple Plan' was Raimi's best effort, or at least one of his better ones. But, I'll admit to never having been a fan of his. His Spider-Man movies left me with a huge dollop of meh. 'Darkman' is just flat out awful, as is most of his early period, and 'Drag me to Hell' and later material was very middling, to be kind. In fact, the majority of his directorial output I find pretty mediocre. 'A simple Plan', though, has a quiet and measured story that I found very easy to go with and I completely agree with your assessment of it above.

Fysh · 13-05-2022 11:14pm

I stuck on "The Sadness" on Shudder, and was grimly impressed - the commitment to practical effects and the premise (effectively, zombie-like outbreak but it induces the infected to commit the most sadistic acts they can think of) mean it is not exactly a cheery watch, but it does have some black humour and satire along the way.

El Gato De Negocios · 15-05-2022 11:58pm

The Sadness

Loved it. Essentially 28 days later with about 800% more gore and depravity. The effects work is brilliant, some dark laughs, nice depressing ending and some on the button social commentary for a post covid world. Fantastic.

9/10

Don't go in the House (1979)

After the death of his abusive mother, a disturbed man starts to lure women back to his house to burn them alive. That's it really. Total rip on Psycho thematically but none or the style. As video Nasties go it's decent enough but far away from some of the genre classics on that particular list.

5/10

What have you watched recently? 3D!

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