What film did you watch last night?

Mr Jack said:
Tenet

Wow. A cracking, clever, ride of a movie; brilliant in concept and execution. A clever premise is thoroughly explored with a range of excellently drawn characters and superb acting performances. I can see how some people might have bounced off it hard, it's a complex mix of spy movie and sci fi, but I thought that was both refreshing and brilliantly executed. Figuring out what is going on is half the fun. I'm also not sure why there were so many complaints about the dialogue being inaudible, there were really only a couple of scenes were it wasn't clear. I dunno, maybe the audio was different in Cinema to Netflix. Despite it's length (2 and a half hours) I was thoroughly engaged from start to end and it's the kind of movie you'll be thinking about for days afterwards.

9/10 Hard recommend.
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My problem with that film is that its presentation to the audience is unnecessarily obtuse and pretentious. There is no need for it to leave major plot developments to fast moving or threadbare conversation. It would have been better if it took the audience along with it.

As it is, it suffers. Like a genius that acts like a jerk, it’s difficult to truly warm to.
 
Nitefly said:
My problem with that film is that its presentation to the audience is unnecessarily obtuse and pretentious. There is no need for it to leave major plot developments to fast moving or threadbare conversation. It would have been better if it took the audience along with it.
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As you might guess, I don't agree. I think the film does a great job of explaining itself and showing you the ideas it has talked about on screen. It does demand you pay attention to get the most out of it, but I really don't think that's a bad thing.
 
Mr Jack said:
As you might guess, I don't agree. I think the film does a great job of explaining itself and showing you the ideas it has talked about on screen. It does demand you pay attention to get the most out of it, but I really don't think that's a bad thing.
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Yes, of course to each their own - I’m certain you had a better grasp of it than I did, although I’m not sure it’s actually possible to fully understand it as you watch it for the first time, as some information is held back as you watch. With that said, it’s possible to have a run with an ‘idea’ - I watched it with some doubt on my own interpretation. I found myself with all the jigsaw pieces at the end and thinking - ‘huh’, not really sure whether it was actually worth the intrigue.

For what it’s worth, the bit that truly confused me was the ‘motive’ of the villain character - I just couldn’t pin point what it was supposed to be. So I spent half the film being unsure whether I had missed something, which left me feeling frustrated - particularly when in hindsight I actually didn’t really miss anything material.

Giving the audience all the facts, or some of the facts (or even just clues), and letting them draw their own conclusions is one thing… but burying the facts/clues amongst thick and fast dialogue is unreasonably demanding. Particularly when they’re are only fragments of non-reoccurring info to grasp. It suffers becoming ‘less entertaining’ and ‘more exam’.

Overall, I think Tenet has rightfully earned its status as one of (if not the) most confusing movie(s) ever. I did like the journey, but I couldn’t love it.

Sorry all for the ironic self-important waffle! :p
 
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Nitefly said:
Yes, of course to each their own - I’m certain you had a better grasp of it than I did, although I’m not sure it’s actually possible to fully understand it as you watch it for the first time, as some information is held back as you watch. With that said, it’s possible to have a run with an ‘idea’ - I watched it with some doubt on my own interpretation. I found myself with all the jigsaw pieces at the end and thinking - ‘huh’, not really sure whether it was actually worth the intrigue.
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I guess I just enjoy that kind of film. The way that understanding dawns as you watch is really enjoyable, and I especially like that it leaves some stuff open for you to think about after the fact. There were a few silly elements - especially the key McGuffin being in nine parts thing - but I can swallow a contrivance or two in a film.

For what it’s worth, the bit that truly confused me was the ‘motive’ of the villain character - I just couldn’t pin point what it was supposed to be. So I spent half the film being unsure whether I had missed something, which left me feeling frustrated - particularly when in hindsight I actually didn’t really miss anything material.
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I thought he was brilliantly drawn, his combined motivation of naked greed and not caring because if I can't have it no-one can is a absolutely evil but it's one that seemed highly believable for me (consider the motivation of men who murder their own families, something that happens often enough in America they have a term for it: "family destroyers").
 
Watched 13 Hours - Secret Soldiers of Benghazi again over the weekend for maybe 3rd or 4th time and feel it doesn't get the recognition or taken seriously enough because people see the Michael Bay tag and pre-judge it. (I include myself in this category before first seeing it at the cinema)

It's just engrossing from start to finish, has some really good performances and luckily, most of the bayisms are restrained. I'd say it's absolutely earnt it's place amongst the better war movies of recent decades. There is a hint of 'yeah murica' there but it's not sickeningly so.

Felt a real emotional hit during the wind down in the final 20 minutes or so that i'd not experienced the last few watches.
 
Nitefly said:
Inspired by my recent success with Rope I finally got round to…

12 Angry Men

i.e. the old film known best for hovering around the top of the IMDB top 250 :p

Yup, it’s a good one… but I feel compelled to immediately blurt out that I don’t think it’s top 5 films ever made. For that accolade, it’s very narrow in scope. Although, perhaps that’s why people like it so much? The concept that drama created by 12 men in a room should be praised as a symbol against more bombastic affairs…?

Anyway, where credit is due it is clever how some assumptions get tested through dialogue… and leading Juror 8 (Henry Fonda) was a very likeable, rational character. The ‘villain’ jurors are a little ‘one note’ though.

Definitely worth a watch, but I think I preferred Rope - which was more sinister and felt more like a ‘power play of minds’ than the ‘logical argument’ nature of 12 Angry Men.

8.5/10
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I watched this for the first time a few months ago. My thoughts are similar to yours although I think it definitely is great for the simple fact it kept me engaged and entertained and the entire film happens in one room with the same characters. For that to happen it requires incredibly good screenplay, script, cinematography and acting. And it nails it on all counts.

I can’t think of any other films that do this that are good.
 
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Mason- said:
I watched this for the first time a few months ago. My thoughts are similar to yours although I think it definitely is great for the simple fact it kept me engaged and entertained and the entire film happens in one room with the same characters. For that to happen it requires incredibly good screenplay, script, cinematography and acting. And it nails it on all counts.

I can’t think of any other films that do this that are good.
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I did refer back to it in that post, but the entirety of Rope takes place in a couple of rooms with a handful of characters. If you liked 12 Angry Men, that’s deffo another to check out.

The short run time of both is very pleasing.
 
Aftersun

Wow. On paper, it sounds very uneventful, and in some ways it is, but the subtlety in the way it handles the things that do happen is incredible. I sat there at the end for several minutes just feeling a bit overwhelmed with emotion. I'm intentionally being a bit coy, because the buildup to what the film is actually about is worth experiencing.

9.5/10
 
MR_Punk said:
We watched this last night and I enjoyed it more than Licorice Pizza. I thought both Phoenix and PSH were brilliant.
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Ahhh excellent! Glad you enjoyed it :)

PSH truly is excellent in it. God I miss him. If you want to go all in of Paul Thomas Anderson flicks then you should watch Inherent Vice next. Absolutely the most discordant of his films but again I think it's great and probably Phoenix's best performance to date imo.
 
Unwelcome (2022) - 3/10

An odd film which swaps between boring and silly with its relatively straightforward plot of Irish folklore.

It has some horror aspects but it’s never scary – the creatures aren’t creepy, the villains are very stereotypical and it doesn’t attempt to build any tension or suspense.

Good acting for the most part, but the few humorous moments are nothing worthwhile and the ending was unsurprising and dull.
 
Payback - not as good as I remembered. Maybe I was thinking of Mel Gibson in Ransom. Either way, it sucked. Hard. However I think it was the inspiration for a lot of the dialogue in Max Payne.

Raiders of the lost ark - always as good as I remember. First time I saw it, Grandad had recorded it on VHS circa 1987. Saturday afternoon Indy Jones, winning. A Team, Catchphrase, nightime drive home listening to The Eagles in an E reg Ford Escort Ghia. Good times.
 
randal said:
Payback - not as good as I remembered. Maybe I was thinking of Mel Gibson in Ransom. Either way, it sucked. Hard. However I think it was the inspiration for a lot of the dialogue in Max Payne.
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A lot of the inspiration for Max Payne came from the The Punisher 1989 (and the comics), though similar movies were also an influence, bit bits taken from several movies (like the bomb scene in Payback).
 
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