What film did you watch last night?

The Thing (1982) - 10/10.
(4K Blu-ray)

Not often I give this kind of score, but I absolutely loved it. Brilliant special effects, tightly storied, the acting, score and setting, everything. I can see why it’s a cult classic. And also I see why there’s lots of articles lately about lighting in films and how poor modern ones are in implementing it correctly. This was a great example of it done right and enhancing sequences. It really worked and added to the scenes, particularly in the outdoors segments and the generator sections.

I can’t believe I’d put off watching this for literal decades after having seen a clip when I was a kid and it scaring the crap out of me. :D

I need to watch more John Carpenter films.
 
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The Thing (1982) - 10/10.
(4K Blu-ray)

Not often I give this kind of score, but I absolutely loved it. Brilliant special effects, tightly storied, the acting, score and setting, everything. I can see why it’s a cult classic. And also I see why there’s lots of articles lately about lighting in films and how poor modern ones are in implementing it correctly. This was a great example of it done right and enhancing sequences. It really worked and added to the scenes, particularly in the outdoors segments and the generator sections.

I can’t believe I’d put off watching this for literal decades after having seen a clip when I was a kid and it scaring the crap out of me. :D

I need to watch more John Carpenter films.

That's the value of using good practical FX, lighting, acting etc. to bring your vision to life, rather than making a movie relying on the latest available tech that can date horribly.
 
The Thing (1982) - 10/10.
(4K Blu-ray)

Not often I give this kind of score, but I absolutely loved it. Brilliant special effects, tightly storied, the acting, score and setting, everything. I can see why it’s a cult classic. And also I see why there’s lots of articles lately about lighting in films and how poor modern ones are in implementing it correctly. This was a great example of it done right and enhancing sequences. It really worked and added to the scenes, particularly in the outdoors segments and the generator sections.

I can’t believe I’d put off watching this for literal decades after having seen a clip when I was a kid and it scaring the crap out of me. :D

One of my favourite horror films of all time, have seen it so many times, though only spotted Blairs nose ring on the latest viewing of the 4k version! :cry:

I've always maintained the testing the blood sequence is the perfect example of how to build tension in a scene.

I need to watch more John Carpenter films.

They can be a bit hit or miss tbf, you've seen the best :p

Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China are probably his next best. I've been meaning to watch They Live again, as only saw it once back when it was released and didn't think much of it, but it's rated as quite a cult classic.
 
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Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (2025)

To be totally honest I'm a little disappointed, especially if it is definitely the final film with Cruise. The first half of the film drags on far to long, too dialogue heavy and too much exposition and too many flashbacks. However I think the final third of the film just about makes up for it and well worth waiting for.

There's an argument that it's the worst film in the series. Mainly because the second film is more of a John Woo film than an MI film. I also think the third film is very underrated and given the choice I'd rather watch that than this one.

Still, it's a very good film that's definitely worth going to see on the big screen. Especially if you can manage to see it without having to tell someone to put there phone down.

7/10
 
One of my favourite horror films of all time, have seen it so many times, though only spotted Blairs nose ring on the latest viewing of the 4k version! :cry:

I've always maintained the testing the blood sequence is the perfect example of how to build tension in a scene.



They can be a bit hit or miss tbf, you've seen the best :p

Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China are probably his next best. I've been meaning to watch They Live again, as only saw it once back when it was released and didn't think much of it, but it's rated as quite a cult classic.
I'd argue they are mostly miss. The Thing is easily his best film by quite some margin.

Halloween is very good, considering the budget, genre and when it was made.

They Live was way better back in the day and doesn't hold up very well at all on a rewatch, as are Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China.

There's not many films in his filmography I haven't seen and having rewatched most of them over the last couple of years, I'd find it hard to recommend any of them.
 
They Live was way better back in the day and doesn't hold up very well at all on a rewatch, as are Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China.
I watched They Live a few weeks ago, had fond memories of it but couldn't believe how bad it was. I don't think I've seen The Thing so will give that a go.
 
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Her (again as my wife hadn't seen it)

Kinda scary how much stuff they got right 13 years ago, ai generated music/art, lonely people turning to ai for company, even the voice matching cadence/breathing of real people.
 
Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China are probably his next best. I've been meaning to watch They Live again, as only saw it once back when it was released and didn't think much of it, but it's rated as quite a cult classic.
I’ve not seen either of those for donkeys years, probably not since the days of VHS. Probably recorded too. I don’t think I ever watched They Live.

Halloween is a brilliant film though, so if it’s only The Thing and Halloween that are considered his best work, perhaps I’ll research a bit more. His other films can’t be much worse than a lot of what comes out these days…
 
Kingdom of Heaven (Director's cut roadshow version UHD)
An epic Ridley Scott film that flopped on release due to excessive edits.

This director's cut is sublime and now enhanced with Dolby Vision and Atmos.

A bit of a long boy clocking in over three hours, but well worth it.
 
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The Running Man - was awesome back when it was released and my teenage brain loved it. Not so much now. Cringely poor film. Not even going to score it.
Should have left well enough alone and just remembered it through rose tinted glasses.
 
Lilo and Stitch - reasonable remake. Not as good as the original.

The Phoenician scheme - it's ok, not my favourite Anderson film though.


Both 6/10
 
The Thing (1982) - 10/10.
(4K Blu-ray)

Not often I give this kind of score, but I absolutely loved it. Brilliant special effects, tightly storied, the acting, score and setting, everything. I can see why it’s a cult classic. And also I see why there’s lots of articles lately about lighting in films and how poor modern ones are in implementing it correctly. This was a great example of it done right and enhancing sequences. It really worked and added to the scenes, particularly in the outdoors segments and the generator sections.

I can’t believe I’d put off watching this for literal decades after having seen a clip when I was a kid and it scaring the crap out of me. :D

I need to watch more John Carpenter films.
I just watched this the other week & would absolutely echo this, it's stood up to the test of time remarkably well. 9/10.

Death of a unicorn
Watched this as a family film with teenage daughters & in that context 7/10. Otherwise don't bother.

Hostiles
A gritty, brutal western. I'd probably actually class it as the best modern western I've seen. I'm not a fan of Christian Bale, but I thought he was superb in this. 9/10.

Rust
Generic rubbish western. Tosh. 3/10.

Minecraft Movie
Another family movie night film. Usual Jack Black randomness. In some ways it's that bad, it's good. We were trying to work out if that was the actual intention?. 6/10

Warfare
From the hype & reviews I was expecting a whole lot more. I can understand it's meant to be a realistic impression of a single combat incident, but it's just a bit meh. The opening scene was the best bit. 6/10.
 
Alien 3 (1992)

Just the standard edition, I've never seen the extended one, frustratingly.

It's been a good many years since I seen this, I hate to say it, but kinda forgot how poor this one is in comparison, considering Aliens is easy in my top 5 all time movies, and the first one was pretty decent as well.

5/10
 
Until dawn 2/10
All the usual tropes and an unlikable and insufferable gen z cast. We ditched this pile of crap after about 20 minutes. Awful.
I actually finished it. Utter trash and mostly incoherent nonsense.
2/10 and that’s only because of the doctor being the same actor as the game, a couple of references to the game and looked like a lot of the gore was practical effects and looked good.
 
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