What film did you watch last night?

Nitefly said:
The Sword in the Stone (Disney Animated Classic)

Great film this. Just wonderful really. A story mostly about nothing in particular with wholesome humour and charming dialogue. I laughed out loud so many times... particularly when Merlin gets his foot caught in the chain... I don't know why but that just really gets to me every time I see it. Merlin getting water out of the well is like me when I attempt anything :o :p

Being a bit more critical, the title of the film is sort of misleading - there is about 10 minutes in total of matters actually concerning the "Sword in the Stone" that bookends the film. In that sense, people might say that the film mostly doesn't really go anywhere. Which is true. But otherwise it's just too much fun :D

10/10
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Classic
 
Lady and the Tramp (Disney Animated Classic)

Back on form here! This was never a favourite as a kid but I’ve found a new respect for it as an adult. I’ve always associated it more with ‘cutesy romance’ because of that famous spaghetti eating scene but other than that scene it isn’t particularly cutesy at all... it’s predominantly about Lady being replaced in her family by a baby. It’s extremely well paced and has a good mix of fun and drama. Much more drama than the typical Disney affair actually.

The film is absolutely beautiful to look at. What a treat. It’s unbelievable that this is the same comparing who made (the relatively terrible looking) Robin Hood which was made 16 years later (!!). There are some scenes where they really play around with the lighting that’s quite clever. The dogs are great fun to look at too. The first 10 or so minutes in particular with Lady being in the kitchen and in the garden make you smile if you’ve ever been fond of any animal.

The only other thing that was particularly notable was the famous un-PC stereotypes in the film - the Siamese Cats, which are depicted as being Asian with Asian voices etc. They are not actually as ‘bad’ as I thought they were. They are drawn with narrow eyes and, at a bit of a push, their teeth are perhaps slightly bucktoothed (as per a goofy Asian stereotype) but their behaviour wasn’t anything more than what it was - two mischievous cats. They didn’t obviously play up to any known negative stereotype, just an Asian stereotype.

What was actually ‘worse’, to my perception, was the Mexican chihuahua in the dog pound. I did actually spit out my drink where he had the most ridiculous line about the Tramp being in a relationship with his sister. Again, it didn’t seem deliberately mean to my mind.

I think the Aristocats has an Asian cat playing piano with chopsticks which is going one step further and is ‘worse’ - reducing that character to cliches and being nothing more than the stereotype.

We also have the massively stereotyped Italians and the Scotty dog. All things considered the Italians are probably the ‘most stereotyped’ out of all of the above.

I’m interested to know what other people think about these stereotypes. I think the line should be drawn at an Asian cat playing the piano with chopsticks (in the Aristocats) but I’m not sure about the others. My gut instinct says I’m OK with them, on balance, but I’m happy to listen to those who would disagree.

Anywho, the film is definitely a strong classic and well worth a watch. Surpassed my expectations.

8.5/10
 
I've been playing Assassins' Creed Odyssey recently and with the whole ancient greek/Spartans theme, i've fancied watching 300.

I've probably not watched it since release and enjoyed it. I don't remember there being such a comic style (maybe due to the more regular style of the sequel), but that's pretty prevalent and i was expecting it from when i saw Frank Millers name.

Was good to re-watch it. My wife goes to bed quite early some days and i usually just potter around for a few hours, i may try and watch more films.
 
no_sleep_til said:
a relatively new one called 'Deadlocked' it's a zombie flick which i don't usually bother with, but for a change i actually enjoyed it.

8/10 i would give it (caveat: i could never be a film critic because i tend to over award/positively review anything which i watch)
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Reminds me of the Simpsons where Homer is a food critic and everything is excellent :D
 
Zappa - 9/10

Documentary on the musical genius Frank Zappa by Alex Winter (Bill of Bill & Ted fame). Overall it's done with quite a reverential attitude (Alex is a huge Zappa fan) though it doesn't stray into fawning territory as it does portray his character flaws but doesn't particularly dwell on them.

Being a huge fan myself I thought it was an excellent documentary but YMMV dependent on your views of the subject matter of course!
 
Nitefly said:
The Sword in the Stone (Disney Animated Classic)

Great film this. Just wonderful really. A story mostly about nothing in particular with wholesome humour and charming dialogue. I laughed out loud so many times... particularly when Merlin gets his foot caught in the chain... I don't know why but that just really gets to me every time I see it. Merlin getting water out of the well is like me when I attempt anything :o :p

Being a bit more critical, the title of the film is sort of misleading - there is about 10 minutes in total of matters actually concerning the "Sword in the Stone" that bookends the film. In that sense, people might say that the film mostly doesn't really go anywhere. Which is true. But otherwise it's just too much fun :D

10/10
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Agree, watched this many times growing up.........oh wait
 
Tenet - 7/10 - I can understand why this has been such a marmite film with it's odd editing and sound choices but I found it completely engrossing with a fairly simple yet conversely complex story and a fantastic mechanic of Inversion to add something new. There was a few flat spots along the way but I thought all the leads did well, especially Robert Pattinson who has shown substantial grown as an actor over the last few years. The practical effects looked very good, the CGI was "so-so" in places but adequate and the sound, whilst ridiculous in places, matched the film very well most of the time.

Not my favourite Nolan film but on par with Interstellar, including the odd story and odd sound choices, yet strangely I couldn't stop watching as it passed my "1hr numb-bum" test with flying colours (kept me engrossed for around 90mins before I noticed my bum had gone numb).
 
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Mulan (Disney Animated Classic)

This never really appealed to me as a boy, it being perceived by me then as 'a film for girls'. But it's actually a lot fun and has heart. Many, many supporting comedy characters but none of them feel obnoxious. The villain and the climax of the film are both a bit weak but otherwise, a solid film.... not too much to say beyond that!

8/10

Mulan (2020 Live Action Remake)

This was terrible. Really, really bad. One of the worst films I've seen in a long time. I can't put my finger on what exactly, but it's just wholly soulless, wooden and devoid of any fun whatsoever. Drier than a sand sandwich. I really hate the way that Disney try and make things grandiose in these remakes and completely lose all charm and likability... and the message is also lost!!! Such a failure!! Mulan is just perfect from day one and knows it. We have no empathy for her at all. She goes off to join the army in a relatively nonchalant manner, she does almost nothing to gain the favour of anyone. There is no humility!!!

Really excruciatingly bad.

1/10
 
The Producers

I've seen bits of both it, and the mid 2000's remake a few times but actually bought the blu-ray and sat down and watched it for the first time in full.
It's very good, with some really good characters, acting and script, and some bits I didn't register until I watched the extras (I'll have to try and watch it again in full), Gene Wilder was great in it.

I think I'm going to have to try and get all of Mel Brooks' films on disc, as the ability to easily rewind/watch again and get the extras always helps me appreciate films a bit more*, and so far I've only done it for this and Space Balls, and have only seen Blazing Saddles years ago and bits of Young Frankenstien.

*I like streaming in general, but hate the lack of fine control for things like rewinding if you miss something that's been said, or are watching it again and want to pause because you've spotted something in the background.
 
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