What film did you watch last night?

[Nitefly]

Rain Man (rented on Apple Store)

A man finds out he’s been ‘cheated’ out of his inheritance by an unknown beneficiary…

I wasn’t sure how this would hold up, as a film like this probably wouldn’t be made today. Tom Cruise’s character (not Tom Cruise personally, as I had to keep reminding myself!) is horrendously callous towards Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of an autistic person… it’s really quite hard to watch when he keeps calling him an idiot or the ‘R’-word. But of course, although you can sympathise with his frustrations you’re not really supposed to ‘like him’ at those points.

Hoffman’s character is (as intended) difficult but likeable. It’s superb acting, really. I think it’s respectful enough to get a pass, by modern standards, although if I’m honest I did initially feel pretty awkward watching it!

A well told, ‘low key’ story that’s humbling and human.

8/10

 

[sbweightman]

Gladiator II (2024) - 10/10

Entertainment at its finest, even if it is heavily in the shadow of its predecessor.

Spectacular fight and action scenes, wickedly evil politics and a great concept of scale from the epic battles to the one on one combat bouts.

It borrows heavily from the original in plot, characters and style, but there are more than enough differences to keep you engaged and the more African slant prevents it from being stale.

The story wasn’t as moving and overall the film will have less impact than the first, but the characters’ motivations were clear, their acting performances were superb and the music was rousing.

 

[steve5424]

Transformers One. I shouldn’t have bothered. Trash.

Personally I loved every minute. It was a silly fun good time and pretty funny.

 

[Freakbro]

Gladiator 2 - 5/10

Hmm, after reading the glowing review above, this obviously didn't resonate with me as much!

Just felt like a beefed up episode of Spartacus Blood & Sand, bang average nothing you haven't seen a thousand times before and quite a shallow plot.

 

[Stu999]

Gladiator II (2024) - 10/10

Gladiator 2 - 5/10

Ayy LMAO.

 

[Uncle Petey]

It's almost like film is a subjective medium.

 

[smokedog]

I would take someone who rates films a 10/10 with a pinch of salt. A 10 means the film is perfect in every way and cannot be improved upon. If you rate a squeal a 10 but then say the first one was better does that mean the first one was a 11.

 

[iron_monkey]

My old ass - awful

 

[barmyllama]

Vertigo (1958)

Another Saturday afternoon matinee.

A film very much of it's time in a lot of ways, but from a technical aspect it's quite impressive.

I think I've seen enough films of this era to know what to expect, so I can enjoy them to a certain degree. But even then, they don't age well at all in my opinion.

5/10

 

[shadow_boxer]

Gladiator II (2024) 7.5/10

Undeniably hard to get away from how good the first film is but number 2 is certainly very entertaining. Not as gritty as the first and does well to try to offer scenes that are different but does struggle at times, generally feels not as complete as it's predecessor. The highlight is Denzel Washington. He's absolutely brilliant and without his performance I think I'd be quite average film. His performance is reminiscent of his oscar win from Training Day.

 

[MikeB888]

Netflix - Awake (2007)

Awake is a 2007 American conspiracy thriller film written and directed by Joby Harold (in his directorial debut). It stars Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard and Lena Olin. The film was released in the United States and Canada by The Weinstein Companyand Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on November 30, 2007.

Felt like the story could have gone further but shocking and good to watch.

 

[leemk]

Napoleon Directors Cut 5/10.

Had to watch it over a couple of days it was that bland , not a film i will ever watch again.

 

[Nitefly]

Heretic (at the Cinema)

Two Mormons try to convert a man at his house, but all may not be as seems…

I had pretty high hopes for this based on other reviews but this one wasn’t for me.

I do have things to say about it but… if you’re going to watch it, go in blind, I suppose.

Spoiler

This film has three core strengths.

(I) The 3 leads are good. Well acted.

(II) It does a great job at showing the threat, menace and uncertainty that vulnerable young women can face from men. Very uncomfortable at times.

(III) The uncertainty of what will happen next and where it is going.

Beyond that though, it’s not great. It was quite slow and the theology discussions never really amounted to much. I didn’t think the ‘answer’ to the riddle was anywhere near as clever as the prolong set-up promised. I can this being a bit of a chore on a rewatch.

5.5/10

Wife gave it 6.5/10

 

[BubbySoup]

Escape from New York - 8/10

Felt like watching a Carpenter classic, so that's what I did! This was Studio Canal's 4K transfer, recommended viewing if you love this film.

 

[Orifice]

Emilia Pérez - 7/10

Certainly not for everyone and I was unsure about it, but it was entertaining. Fairly sure it will be a love/hate film.

 

[Converge]

Furiosa - 5/10.

Pretty damn dull considering the world in which it is set.

 

[Gman]

Caddo Lake - 6/10
Something different to the regular story. A little slow to begin with but pulls everything together at the end. One of those where you probably have to take a 2nd viewing to appreciate the hints during the first half.

 

[TonTom]

Barbarian. Good film.

 

[TonTom]

Furiosa - 5/10.

Pretty damn dull considering the world in which it is set.

I enjoyed it. Thought it was a good origin film with plenty of action as with every Mad Max.

 

[Richeh]

Silent Bite - 7/10 for the genre, probably a 5/10 for not fans.

It is a vampire christmas movie, and whilst the vampires are campy the story is a unique turn and the script between the 'original' cast actually had be chuckling in places due to the wit. It is almost like a Guy Ritchie vampire movie in the dialogue etc If you like trashy horror. Give it a watch.