What film did you watch last night?

Greenland - 5/10

Better that what I thought it was going to be and was quite tense in places. Some of it was rubbish though - the scenes in the dark were Game of Thrones Winterfell battle dark. Couldn't see a thing!
 
arc@css said:
What do people recommend if you're after something similar to Hereditary, Midsommar, Get out, Us, etc?
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I normally read lesser known horror review sites and blogs, get a feel for movies that get mentioned over and over. I've time and again come across gems of horror movies that are unfairly rated on the likes of IMDB that i've had to actively seek out.

I often hear folk saying how horror is stagnate, stale and not as good as it used to be. Sure it is if you're (generalisation, not you specifically) just watching the mainstream releases, there is some excellent stuff being made all the time, it's just not always obvious what it is.

I'm struggling to recall any obvious examples at the moment, i watched a bucketload while on furlough start of the year but it's all a bit of a mash in my mind.

if you're after something bleak, intense and slow paced...have you seen Antichrist?

EDIT: The VVitch would probably fall into what you're after too.
 
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Nitefly said:
Tenet

This isn’t awful but it is obnoxiously blasé with involving the audience with its story. You can only really have ‘a fair idea’ of what is going on, so you can follow it but it is dissatisfying. It would be far better if they made it easier to follow. It’s the wrong sort of complicated.

Also:

...the buildings blowing up backwards made no sense! Shouldn’t have been possible based on the lore of the film. The building would have had to go through a ‘backwards portal’.

Still, despite the frustrations, there is a lot to enjoy and has some genuine excitement.

7/10
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This and the previous review are not really selling it to me :-D
 
barmyllama said:
You'll probably fall asleep during your second viewing too.

I've watched it twice since it was released and I found it just a bit dull. I don't mind slow burn films, but this one didn't so it for me.
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I thought Arrival had one of the best 'twists' in any film I've seen recently:

The film is entirely out of chronological order, yet presented in a manner where you can still watch it without realising it. It's only revealed at the very end.

For example, the child doing the show of "mummy and daddy talking to animals" is many, many years after they've even met the aliens - because at that point her parents are famous for meeting the aliens.

Really enjoyed it, save that it was blighted with an infuriating 'dumb military' which is one of my major film pet peeves.
 
Spiral, the book of saw 7/10.

Jeez,some gruesome traps! Very predictable and saw the end coming a mile away but i do enjoy the Saw movies.

Chris Rock was very strange in this, when he was doing the action, shouting etc, he was fine, but the intense/moody parts, he would do some strange **** with his eyes! Not sure if he was going for the Clint Eastwood smoulder, but it did not work in the slightest and he looked like he was having a stroke most of the time.

Once you see it, you can't stop seeing it!
 
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mid_gen said:
....at least Inception fundamentally 'worked' as an idea. ..
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Hm, not so sure about that. It is another one that you dont want to think too hard about, otherwise it just becomes a load of balls.

"You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling" - Just lol.
 
Nitefly said:
It is still worth a watch because it is more intriguing than 95% of other films. The main criticism seems to be observed by everyone though and it's impossible to overlook.
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Agreed.

For his faults, thank god we have directors like Nolan who are willing to take risks, give us something a bit different and break the mould of easily digestible movies. I totally understand the marmite nature of his films and he can be cold and clinical, i'll always look forward to his new projects though.

Without the likes of Nolan, Villeneuve, Fukunaga, Fincher, Boyle, etc...we just end up with cookie cutter nonsense. However I sometimes feel for all the complaints, the majority do actually want easy going, brain off movies that don't challenge them. (Tenet is a bit of a mess admittedly)
 
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SixTwoSix said:
Agreed.

For his faults, thank god we have directors like Nolan who are willing to take risks, give us something a bit different and break the mould of easily digestible movies. I totally understand the marmite nature of his films and he can be cold and clinical, i'll always look forward to his new projects though.

Without the likes of Nolan, Villeneuve, Fukunaga, Fincher, Boyle, etc...we just end up with cookie cutter nonsense. However I sometimes feel for all the complaints, the majority do actually want easy going, brain off movies that don't challenge them. (Tenet is a bit of a mess admittedly)
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Yes I think the ‘right sort of complicated’ is where there is something complex occurring that the audience can feel a part of. This is why mystery / detective films are captivating. A good example of this is when they explain in Interstellar:

How time has been displaced on the planet with the big waves.

They figure it out in front of you and explain the ramifications. That’s an excellent bit of film. The ‘right’ sort of ‘complicated’ - easy to follow.

Tenet doesn’t really take the audience with it. It’s like explaining a maths problem too quickly - the difficulty isn’t the ‘maths problem’ it’s just that the delivery of the information / explanation is unnecessarily unhelpful. You feel resentful towards the teacher because you don’t like that you have been made to feel confused!

I anticipate it’s a film that was intended to be watched multiple times to be appreciated, but of course most of us don’t watch films that way.

Edit: for example, I don’t really think I can properly flesh out some aspects of the plot of Tenet beyond “world is in danger for reasons as people want to do bad things because” :o :p
 
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SixTwoSix said:
Agreed.

For his faults, thank god we have directors like Nolan who are willing to take risks, give us something a bit different and break the mould of easily digestible movies. I totally understand the marmite nature of his films and he can be cold and clinical, i'll always look forward to his new projects though.

Without the likes of Nolan, Villeneuve, Fukunaga, Fincher, Boyle, etc...we just end up with cookie cutter nonsense. However I sometimes feel for all the complaints, the majority do actually want easy going, brain off movies that don't challenge them. (Tenet is a bit of a mess admittedly)
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As directors become stars themselves they sometimes fall into the trap of not hiring or listening to good editors, that can whip the good ideas into a lean coherent story. Their films become flabby as no one dares to tell them to cut the nonsense.
 
hood1971 said:
As directors become stars themselves they sometimes fall into the trap of not hiring or listening to good editors, that can whip the good ideas into a lean coherent story. Their films become flabby as no one dares to tell them to cut the nonsense.
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Yes, the director having a vision is all well and good, but it needs to be put on film so that it's understandable and ultimately enjoyable for the majority of the audience.:)
 
Nitefly said:
Tenet doesn’t really take the audience with it. It’s like explaining a maths problem too quickly - the difficulty isn’t the ‘maths problem’ it’s just that the delivery of the information / explanation is unnecessarily unhelpful. You feel resentful towards the teacher because you don’t like that you have been made to feel confused!
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It does suffer from a huge case of 'information dump' all at once then just moving along, you don't really get much chance to take it in before the next big set piece.

hood1971 said:
As directors become stars themselves they sometimes fall into the trap of not hiring or listening to good editors, that can whip the good ideas into a lean coherent story. Their films become flabby as no one dares to tell them to cut the nonsense.
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I don't dispute any of that and think Nolan might be falling into that category slightly with Tenet. I do enjoy Tenet but it is needlessly complex in parts with information delivery, the overall premise isn't that hard to grasp.

I did read somewhere that this is a film he wrote when he was young and this was finally his chance to make it, maybe there were ideas that had been with him so long he just thought it would work.
 
Bo Burnham - Inside (Netflix comedy special)

I wouldn't have thought he would be all that popular here, but I quite enjoyed this.

A whole mish-mash of abstract/topical/nihilistic/satirical/dark musical comedy.

White Woman's Instagram was SO on point. :D
 
Unhinged - 6/10

Actually quite good for a mindless thriller, with no thinking involved. It's short as well, just under an hour and a half, so well worth a watch if you fancy watching fat Russell Crowe go nuts
 
Raya and the Last Dragon

Started off quite mixed and uninspiring, but ended up quite enjoying it when the dragon showed up. A couple of poor decisions (irritating baby character, unduly cutesy design choices at points) but mostly well balanced and fun, with wholesome themes. Some of the animation is absolutely unbelievable - it looks so good!

Worth a watch if you fancy something light 7/10
 
Scam said:
You can't. Apparently we've all gone back in time to 2004 where piracy is cool again :rolleyes: I'm surprised we're not getting reviews of Fast 9..
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From the same rules you quoted -

"NO pirating, or discussions about pirating, of other copyright material from the web, including warez. This includes using the board to post broad hints and "email me"-type remarks.
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I know however that being "in that business" makes you a little more sensitive to perceived transgressions as it effects your job stability IIRC for what you've mentioned before.

The Saint - 4/10 - Felt like the studio wanted to recreate the first Mission Impossible film with similar disguises, tricky heist plots with back-stabbing and double dealing a-plenty but it's a world away from the more "Equaliser-esque" plots from the Roger Moore TV show I enjoyed as a kid. Kilmer is passable, Shue hasn't aged a day and is pretty good, the plot is a little Meh the stunts are OK but, as mentioned before, it feels like a pale imitation of the first MI film released a year before.
 
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