What film did you watch last night?

Soldato
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Stoke/Norfolk
Air - 7/10 - The story of how Sonny Vaccaro of Nike pursued basketball rookie Michael Jordan, creating a partnership that revolutionizes the world of sports and contemporary culture. The story covers the history of how Nike, who back in '84 were a lowly 3rd contender within Basketball shoe revenue and risked having that department shut down, beat both favourites of Converse and Adidas to win over new basketball rookie and soon to be legend Michael Jordan to create the AirJordan line of trainers worth almost $40 billion over the last 40 years, with the contract Jordan signed having completely rewritten the rules around sports stars and the way they are rewarded (first star to take a percentage of gross profit per shoe rather than a set fee - earning Jordan over $1.5billion so far).

Whilst it sounds like the most boring financial drama ever, in reality its the very human story of a plucky outsider at a large company (Sonny) who can see something within a young star that few others can, who goes around the rules to get something no-one believes is possible and eventually ends up winning the the contract of his life, substantially changing the entire industry.

Obviously I'm guessing that some large liberties were taken in the fine detail story whilst keeping the broader strokes still accurate, but the cast (Damon, Affleck, Viola Davies, Bateman etc) are generally all doing a great job (more on Affleck later) with even the many "side" characters given some really good meaty lines to ensure their role feels more organic to the story than a simple cameo. The direction (Affleck again) is very good, the script is fantastic, the costume/set is very good and when combined with the use of 80's soundtrack, really makes this feel like a love letter back the 80's.

The choice not to directly show the actor playing Jordan is initially odd but makes sense within the bigger narrative, and some of Affleck's scenes as the Nike CEO feel as though he's too "stiff" in the role but, as the real Sonny was there on set as a consultant, I think it's more about re-creating how the IRL CEO that Affleck is playing genuinely was rather than an odd acting choice, but it still comes across as odd TBF.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
24 Sep 2005
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35,584
A shout out to ‘horror club’!

Not a film but I’ve been playing through the video game The Quarry which is essentially an interactive film, featuring a cast of young adults trying to survive ominous things at a summer camp.

It’s really, really, really fun. Brilliant.

If you fancy trying to play through a ‘choose your own adventure’ in a ‘Cabin in the Woods’ sort of setting then I can 100% recommend this.

Sadly one of my characters has already bit the dust… noooo! Resisting the temptation to ‘rewind’ and just seeing how I would survive :)


Edit: just to add, I’ve been playing this with my wife, who’s been spectating and offering her input on the choices. Which I think shows it’s good enough plot / dialogue-wise to enjoy as a spectator film even if you don’t have a controller. Definitely a good alternative to a popcorn horror flick on date night :)
 
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Soldato
Joined
5 Feb 2009
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N. Ireland
haha the cgi fights are 0 out of 10 and its just basically the same script as the original but with conor mcgregor in who is even worse..go rewatch the original first. :p
I’ve not long ago watched the first for the umpteenth time. Story might be the same(ish) but completely different films. This one was more slapstick comedy and I loved it!
 
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Associate
Joined
7 May 2006
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United Kingdom
Road House (2024) - 6/10

A modern day western as a likeable drifter cleans up the town from the corrupt officials trying to push out the little man.

The story plays mostly as expected with entertaining and violent fight scenes, light humour and a focus on Keys’ rural culture and music, but it gets very silly towards the end and whilst entertaining, the rival is a bit too over-the-top.

The acting’s ok, but the characters remain shallow and the fight scenes are exciting, even if the CGI is noticeable.
 
Associate
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18 Feb 2007
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2,252
Dune part 2. 7.5/10

Not as good as the first part, due in part to pacing and the way some scene changes were handled, but enjoyable overall. Visuals and soundtrack top notch again !
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Feb 2006
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10,646
Had a couple of re-watches recently..

The Accountant - 7.5/10, still a good watch, Affleck in a good role.

Good Will Hunting - 8.5/10, one of my all time favourites and don't think I'll ever tire of re-watching it!
 
Caporegime
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19 May 2004
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Nordfriesland, Germany
Django Unchained

Far from the first one I've watched this one. I think it's one of his best, more polished than his earlier stuff whilst being less self-indulgent than many of his more recent works. The main cast put on great performances, it looks great, the music is superb, and a brutal tale of revenge is just satisfying to watch.

10/10
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Royston, Herts
"The Contractor" on Netflix. Chris Pine does a good job but it's rather dour and ominous. There is action but it's rather thinly doled out. We were left feeling rather down by the whole thing.
Also, a lot good people die throughout, which adds to the feeling of gloom. Even the baddy's inevitable comeuppance is rather abrupt.

And for those that care, there's a glaring continuity error when he's talking to his wife in bed that had me laughing.
Some of the action scenes also made even promoted my wife to say "Jesus, his plot armour could stop a nuke".
 
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Soldato
Joined
28 Jun 2013
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3,949
Chicken Run 2

8 / 10

I am a huge fan of the people behind it so maybe my score is a bit higher than it should be.
Thankfully they are making a 70 minute wallace and gromit xmas special this year.
Way too late but its better than never.
 
Associate
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Middle-Earth
Chicken Run 2

8 / 10

I am a huge fan of the people behind it so maybe my score is a bit higher than it should be.
Thankfully they are making a 70 minute wallace and gromit xmas special this year.
Way too late but its better than never.
How did I not realise there was a second?? Going to watch it! Loved the first :cry: :D
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Nov 2006
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4,950
Poor Things

I was a big fan of The Lobster so came in with high hopes but left disappointed. It was a bit of a mess of a film that came across as trying to be clever but was really simple under the veil. I didn't really enjoy it and found some of it dull, some of it uncomfortable and some of it trying to be too artsy. The acting was good but the characters lacked any real depth and all of their intrigue waned over the course of the film, so much so that without spoiling it I didn't care about the ending. Technically probably an exceptional film for cinematography but I won't watch again and don't recommend it.

5/10
 
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