Film Thread

[Mike]

Ah, I thought you meant the animated one.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Which? Into the Spider-Verse? It's the best super hero film. The second is good too, but not as good, I didn't think.

I prefer the second.

Both are amazing though.

[Lofty]

Finally watched Oppenheimer as I got the disc for Christmas, happy it lived up to the hype.

[Baz]

Just booked tickets for Wonka. Crazy how much of a good deal meerkat movies is.

[Lofty]

The cinemas are still on their arses, giving away free tickets with Sky Movies and my mrs gets 6 free a year with Lloyds Bank. That said Vue near me has all upgraded seats and it's only £5 in anyway.

[Ben]

My local independent is £6.50 and it’s absolutely banging. Shame the films out these days are generally pretty shit otherwise we’d be there every other week or so.

[Lofty]

My main issue is that the turnaround time from cinema to streaming is so short for a lot of releases that unless I am really hyped for them I'd rather wait and watch them in my house with no strangers ruining my enjoyment.

[Yevrah]

How long are we giving cinemas before they're nearly all gone?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Surely they'll never be gone fully.

Premieres will keep big ones open surely and you'll always get niche arthouse places.

[Yevrah]

Hence why I said nearly. The reality is though that if Mission Impossible whatever it was can't turn a profit with Tom Cruise literally jumping off a mountain, on a motorbike, then the industry is utterly screwed. When the metaverse (or a usable alternative) takes hold and you can watch a film on a huge projection in front of you, with anyone you like, while sat in your living room in just a pair of standard size glasses it'll be as hard to find a cinema as an NHS dentist.

[Lofty]

Cinemas just need to adapt, I know some independent places have found niches like going vintage with the decor or intermissions with choc ices for sale, but I'd love to see a proper attempt at the Alamo Drafthouse model.

[Baz]

Took the kids to see Wonka a couple days ago. It's actually alright, however Timothy just doesn't quite have it.

They did well with the look of him, but there's just nothing behind the eyes. It's hard to describe but you can clearly tell he's reading lines from a script. He also doesn't seem like he's great singer.
Agree with this. Films good enough but he is not.

[Bishop]

Looking forward to this:

https://yt3.ggpht.com/OBn-MrECLetFvaItwjTcu3nCcVSQ2heNBaZDjeYym8kFeQ87Uh2xxl pON6FIceR5h6G_ffmPN7rzmiY=s800-nd-v1

[niko_cee]

In a similar vein:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/04/licence-to-offend-bfi-season-gives-james-bond-films-trigger-warnings#:~:text=Audiences%20at%20a%20new%20season ,%E2%80%9Cwill%20cause%20offence%20today%E2%80%9D.

:happycry:


A 2021 survey conducted by the British Board of Film Classification found that almost two-thirds of teenagers polled supported trigger warnings on films which might negatively affect their mental health.

Last one out turn the light off etc.

[Yevrah]

Fuck me. How predictably depressing. I’m also not having it that those views don’t exist today.

[Yevrah]

And what are you meant to do with a trigger warning? Get up and leave immediately? Be ready to leave when you think the triggering might be about to happen? Be ready to shut your eyes and close your ears before it does? Leave when it has happened and head straight for your nearest Twitter?

[niko_cee]

Bit like with the story on the BBC yesterday about "How to enjoy the darts if it's the first time you are watching it" all the article should really have said is don't this isn't for you, you'll only get offended and then want to ruin it for those who usually watch it.

[Lofty]

I got Brotherhood of the Wolf 4K for Christmas, put it on yesterday and the new restoration of the film comes with a warning at the start about it containing outdated historical attitudes that may be offensive to some people, because it stars a Native American in 18th century France :D

[niko_cee]

And what are you meant to do with a trigger warning? Get up and leave immediately? Be ready to leave when you think the triggering might be about to happen? Be ready to shut your eyes and close your ears before it does? Leave when it has happened and head straight for your nearest Twitter?

Perhaps you can get a potted version of potential offence (https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/of-mice-and-men-content-advice/) beforehand?

That was one of my GCSE texts.

Oh, lo and behold:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65700288

[Manc]

Fucking lol at the curriculum still pumping out Of Mice & Men.

[Boydy]

In a similar vein:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/04/licence-to-offend-bfi-season-gives-james-bond-films-trigger-warnings#:~:text=Audiences%20at%20a%20new%20season ,%E2%80%9Cwill%20cause%20offence%20today%E2%80%9D.

:happycry:



Last one out turn the light off etc.

Would it really be that different from the content details that go along with the age ratings?

[Waffdon]

Saltburn. Jesus Christ.

[Bernanke]

Monster is incredible storytelling. Probably my favourite Kore-eda.

[Waffdon]

Saltburn. Jesus Christ.

I’d really appreciate if someone like Lewis or Yev watched this

[Yevrah]

It's sort of on my to do list Waff but I don't have high hopes.

[Waffdon]

:lol:

Just you wait.

[Baz]

I enjoyed it, accent aside.

The three “shocking scenes” really weren’t that bad, and fit in with the rest of the film.

[Waffdon]

Ehhh, maybe the third one did but the first proper weird one caught me far too much off guard.

I was laughing by the end.

Honestly thought he was about to shag the mum at the end.

[Don]

Decision to Leave is on iplayer.

[Dan]

Decision to Leave is on iplayer.

Hero. I’ll be on that tomorrow night.

On an unrelated note, I watched Memento for the first time last night.

Meh.

[randomlegend]

Wonka was alright, better than the Depp one but nowhere near as good as the first one.

Having Chalamet sing Pure Imagination at the end was a terrible idea though. Up until that point I was thinking he wasn't amazing but not awful. Then they shoved that direct comparison in your face and you can only acknowledge how utterly outclassed he was by Gene Wilder.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Chalamet is a bit of a mystery to me. No shoulders and a bit of a runt, interesting eyes I suppose, is he the 2020s take on a male pin-up, i.e. one with no masculinity in him at all? I can't see any other reason to be putting him in all these big lead roles, because he's not exactly a great actor. OK I guess if you like blank expressions, but not great.

[Dark Soldier]

Barbie is fucking shite innit

[Baz]

Yep

[niko_cee]

I've not watched it, but was intrigued by all the post-feminist commentary on women in society talk about it at the time and since, when it just looks like absolute dross at the same level as all the straight to DVD Mattel specials in her back catalogue. Wait, Americans use catalog?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I thought it was pretty good.

[Lofty]

I didn't mind it, Gosling is worth a few lols and Allen is also good comedy. Given it's really just a film to push a brand it's probably the best it could be.

[Dark Soldier]

I’d really appreciate if someone like Lewis or Yev watched this

Watched it last night. Utterly brilliant until the last 20 minutes or so whete it feels rushed.

[phonics]

Sicario, it's good.

[Lofty]

I saw The Pope's Exorcist last night, utter shite :D that kid was terrible and not scary at all, creased when he called that priest 'panty sniffer'. Hopefully the sequel casts better support for Crowe.

[phonics]

Worth it just for the shot of him on the Vespa.

[Mike]

Watched Wonka last night. Enjoyed it, glad I didn’t pay to see it though.

[Raoul Duke]

Watched a film called 65 yesterday, whereby Adam Driver travels from somewhere in space to Earth, 65 million years ago, his ship gets twatted by an asteroid and he crashes and ends up fighting dinosaurs while saving a little girl (why is it ever thus?).

Overall, a very bad film with a cool premise. They made like no effort to build up the main character, then expected you to care about him, then took away the reason to care about him right at the end. Some very bizarre choices.

[Lofty]

Did he chuck the little girl at a pack of raptors so he could escape or something?

[mo]

Christ, 65 was bad. Watched it a few months back and I'm just gutted I'll never get that time back.

It's up there with 'Mr Woodcock' as the worst film I've ever seen.

[Ian]

65 was extremely dull.

[Raoul Duke]

Did he chuck the little girl at a pack of raptors so he could escape or something?

Not exactly, but at one point she takes out a T-Rex. So maybe she was the badass space captain all along

[Alex]

I've been filling in a bit of a cinematic blind spot I've always had recently by watching quite a lot of Alfred Hitchcock. I've had a box set laying around (I know, old school) for years that I just never touched.

I don't know, I feel like I'm not really getting it. Not to say a fair bit of it hasn't been enjoyable because it has. But I just haven't had the feeling yet that I've been floored by the work of an absolute genius.

Notable ones I've watched are Vertigo, Rear Window, The Birds, North by Northwest and Strangers on a Train.

Notable ones I've yet to watch would be Psycho, Rope, Dial M for Murder and Rebecca.

My favourite so far is definitely The Birds. It's a great example of just taking a very simple and off-putting idea and mining in for a lot of suspense and borderline horror. It's just a cleverly simple premise that works. Even so I would say this is an 8/10 film, and it's comfortably my favourite of the lot so far.

Vertigo in particular I found to be very overrated. It's constantly held up as a shining example of the very best cinema has to offer, whereas I thought it was just a decent film that ran a bit too long. I realise it could be sacrilege to say this. I suppose we all have these things that just don't click with us though. Maybe a re-watch would improve things.

Psycho is a biggie too, obviously. Maybe it will click for me when I see that.

[Kikó]

I did some of the Hitchcock films as well and similarly loved the Birds (they were real birds and they did peck at the actors) and North by Northwest (deeply frustrating film in a good way).

Psycho is excellent as well.

[Alex]

North by Northwest is definitely my second favourite. I feel like it was probably formative for the whole "fast moving, big-budget spy/action flick" genre. Right down to the tongue in cheek humour, globe trotting aspect of it (I don't think they left America, but you get what I mean, they're on the move a lot) and the "big final set piece at a well known landmark" finish. It definitely feels directly influential on a lot of films that came after it.

I rated Cary Grant in it in massively. Whereas maybe one of my issues with Vertigo (and to a lesser extent Rear Window) is I felt Jimmy Stewart was maybe a bit mis-cast in them. Maybe mis-cast is the wrong word, but he didn't suit my taste for the kind of films that I saw them as trying to be.

[Raoul Duke]

I often find that with these kinda genre-defining films - I watched Blade Runner (original) and it seemed ok, but not all that amazing, because by that point I'd seen a shitload of cyberpunk/dystopia stuff. But without that context of the initial spark that set all that stuff going, it seems like a lesser light

[Lewis]

I think Vertigo is just fundamentally stupid. It's all very well made and stylish, but if somebody proposed making a film with that story now they would be lolled out of the room (Netflix or the BBC might make it actually). North by Northwest is not too dissimilar in that regard. It's like a Frasier scene stretched over two hours.

Rear Window is probably the best Alfred Hitchcock film.

[Shindig]

Yeah, although I've not watched it in ages. Stewart's a believable curtain-twitcher. I quite like Strangers on a Train, even if Bruno is very much a gay pantomime villain.

[phonics]

A couple things I’ve seen over the past week or so have had big Kevin Spacey appearances. Real shame he got gay pedo’d out of the industry cause, you might not have noticed, he’s quite a charismatic screen presence.

[Spikey M]

I watched Saltburn last night and I found it pretty underwhelming to be honest. The SHOCKING moments would probably have hit a bit harder if people weren't exaggerating how bad they are though.

[Dark Soldier]

Aye if you've watched any slightly dark films in the past they were literally fuck all. Current obsession with everything being the most shocking, the best, the worst, no fucking middle ground.

[Yevrah]

I haven't seen Saltburn yet, but I found the same with Parasite. A load of people who don't watch a wide variety of movies watched it and it blew their tiny minds.

[niko_cee]

Whichever of the dead or alives had the sort of paddling pool of poo fight has to be one of the most stomach turning things I've seen I think, unless I've just imagined that from the bit of the same oeuvre from Gravity's Rainbow, which ranks in the same way in a literary context. Or maybe I've just imagined it all. Bad times getting old.

[Manc]

I haven't seen Saltburn yet, but I found the same with Parasite. A load of people who don't watch a wide variety of movies watched it and it blew their tiny minds.

Parasite is top tier.

[Waffdon]

I watched Saltburn last night and I found it pretty underwhelming to be honest. The SHOCKING moments would probably have hit a bit harder if people weren't exaggerating how bad they are though.

You’re probably right. I hadn’t heard anything about it when the missus had it on so was pretty taken aback thinking it’s some romcom and then that bathtub scene happens

[Dark Soldier]

There was another scene (bench) I'd probably hold as more shocking above that. Or the other one which I found out was actually improvised.

[Waffdon]

We’ve all been there.

[Dark Soldier]

Yeah funerals can be like that

[Baz]

Always annoyed me that they left a similar bit out of the Trainspotting film.

[Dark Soldier]

All of us Strangers has leaked fucking yas

[Lewis]

I saw Poor Things the other day. It's funny and a good watch (although I probably wouldn't feel the need to watch it again), and Emma Stone is great in it, but it just all feels unnecessarily voyeuristic and a bit seedy the way certain things are played for lols. I hate to sound like a woke extremist, but I think if it had been written and directed by women it would feel different.

[Lofty]

Possibly, though two of the seediest horror films I've ever seen were written and directed by women (Slumber Party Massacre & Humanoids From The Deep).

[Baz]

All of us Strangers has leaked fucking yas

Any good?

[Baz]

No

[Dark Soldier]

Aint watched it yet.

[phonics]

I'm watching the Dungeons and Dragons movie again. They nail the concept so well.

[Yevrah]

Yeah, surprisingly good that. The Jonathan thing is genuine comedy genius.

[Baz]

Watched Dancer In The Dark with Bjork in it. Supposedly meant to leave you emotionally distraught. What? It’s terrible.

[Don]

All of us Strangers is incredible. Not sure I've cried like that at a film before and that's coming not too long after Aftersun. God I fucking loved them both but where Aftersun is 'slit your wrists and sob till you pass out', All of us Strangers is a more positive 'hug the stranger near you and let it all out'.

There was one fucking showing on a Saturday in some tiny 30 man screen in a huge Odeon. Meanwhile Dua Lipa's dogshit vehicle has 7 standards and 4 IMAX showings. How does Saltburn get so much promotion and this gets this treatment? Frankie Goes to Hollywood would be charting as number one in place of Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

[Dark Soldier]

I like Taz's descent into racist softnut. Quite endearing all told.

[Don]

Brother, I was spilling tears and other bodily fluids at cinema back when you were still stuffing your face senseless with beige food and beiger ballsacks.

[Shindig]

Mate, you're aiming that at DS. :D

[Don]

Was very excited for The Zone of Interest tonight but unfortunately, it's overrated. Technically there's much a film studies class can wank over and a lot of it for good reason (the soundtrack being the highlight) but it's not as emotionally hard-hitting as it wants to/could be given the material.

[Baz]

I watched both Inbetweeners films last night, after blasting through the three series this week. What a week. :drool:

[Lofty]

The second one is a travesty though.

[Baz]

Yeah it’s not as good. When the biggest laugh is Jay saying ‘did you fuck’ (or similar) when Neil is tired driving, it shows the calibre.

I suppose the Australian uncle was funny, but nothing on series 1 and 2.

[Manc]

Aftersun has dropped on the Beeb. Get it watched.

[SvN]

Watched Killers of the Flower Moon tonight, I thought it was absolutely outstanding. Kept me gripped the entire film, despite the runtime.

[Lewis]

The Iron Claw is really good, but casting a bunch of manlets is a bit jarring.

[Baz]

I beg to differ, I don’t think it’s good at all.

[Dark Soldier]

I thought it was okay but felt like too much story for its runtime, left the film feeling a bit rushed.

[Don]

I enjoyed Iron Claw too but what was with Zac Efron? I've never seen him in a film before I don't think so not sure if it was intentional acting for the role or if the roids and cosmetic surgery have just limited his ability to behave like a normal person. The other three were good so I presume the latter.

[Baz]

I dunno but I do know he messed up his face pretty badly in real life not long ago, running around his mansion in his socks he slipped and banged his jaw up. Adam Devine talked about it on a This Is Important podcast.

[Don]

Sounds like a decent cover story.

[Baz]

Whatever happened, his physique is jizztastic.

[Gray Fox]

Apparently we've a Borderlands film coming out this year and a trailer is due today/tomorrow for it.

Cate Blanchett as Lilith and Jack Black as Claptrap. I'm hoping this isn't back to the trend of game adaptations being shit. Kevin Hart as Roland makes me think maybe.

[Dan]

It’s already 50% Jumanji, so I’m not holding out much hope. Just gonna keep pretending Max Max are the Borderlands movies.

[Shindig]

Apparently we've a Borderlands film coming out this year and a trailer is due today/tomorrow for it.

Cate Blanchett as Lilith and Jack Black as Claptrap. I'm hoping this isn't back to the trend of game adaptations being shit. Kevin Hart as Roland makes me think maybe.

At best, it winds up like Twisted Metal.

[phonics]

Max Max

[Gray Fox]

Having now seen said trailer, my expectations are much, much lower.

[Dark Soldier]

Probably my favourite game series but by fuck would I never wanna see a film of it.

[Dan]

Having now seen said trailer, my expectations are much, much lower.

Yep, it’s 50% Jumanji alright. Seems like it’ll miss the Borderlands vibe & just be another different skin to put over the generic action-comedy template.

I’m also still mad about Cate Blanchett being Lilith - might as well have gone 75% Jumanji & got Karen Gillan to do it.

[Baz]

I remember thinking the Dungeon Siege film was alright

[Lofty]

The annoying thing is the template for the film and the trailer already exists. The intros to BL1 and BL2 are so cinematic and cool that if they had a trailer starting with Marcus doing the usual opening and then a short action sequence showing the core 4 characters and the big bad, ending with explosions, it would have been pretty epic.

[Shindig]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgj7xBc3n-0

Nope. Not the one. Piss and shit jokes? Is Randy Pitchford writing this?

[Gray Fox]

It's all Eli Roth apparently.

[Dark Soldier]

Tbf if you've played Borderlands 3 through to the end you'll see the level it went to. Awful, awful writing. Incredible gameplay and general world, however.

The second though? Near perfect

[Shindig]

I think Tales of the Borderlands has the only good story. Even then, it's a bit twee but the execution seemed to land.

[Dark Soldier]

I fucking adore 2's story. Handsome Jack is an incredible bad guy and bar a couple of Claptrap bits (wub wub wub) it's fantastically written and flows really well. Even Tiny Tina is manageable and not overly annoying. Think I've played it through about 15 times.

Never actually played Tales of as I hate those style of games but I've heard for fans of that genre they're great.

[Mike]

Just showed The Lost Boys to my wife, who’d never seen it. Happy to report it’s still utterly fantastic!

[Lofty]

https://youtu.be/axjGWJfJBAg?si=T_aY3sykXTTxCwA-

The comments :D

[Yevrah]

I saw that the other day. Absolutely horrific. :D

[-james-]

Dune 2 is good.

Not as good as the first one though imo, slight late GoT vibes with how much it crams in and teleports about.

[Shindig]

https://youtu.be/axjGWJfJBAg?si=T_aY3sykXTTxCwA-

The comments :D

Oh, wow. John Gun-In-Hand vs. Estonia's best (and non-existent, according to UK travel advice) terrorists.

[Lewis]

Dune 2 is good.

Not as good as the first one though imo, slight late GoT vibes with how much it crams in and teleports about.

The shifting about was fine, but the last quarter felt like it could have easily been spun out into a third film.

[Alex]

Dune 2 is good.

Not as good as the first one though imo, slight late GoT vibes with how much it crams in and teleports about.

I agree the timeline of it does feel somewhat rushed. I think what takes places over the course of around three years in the book is squashed into the space of what I assume is less that nine months from the beginning of the first film to the end of the second.

I'm assuming the passage of time based on the fact Alia is just conceived at the beginning and not yet born by the end. I imagine the handling of the character of Alia is the main reason he's truncated the timeline - having a creepy, all knowing toddler running round on screen knifing people would have broken the tone of the whole thing. It just doesn't work very well on screen. But she is such a key part of the story that I think the way they handled it in this adaptation was great. So I'm not mad at it.

So I do understand why he did it from a storytelling perspective, and it's a fantastic piece of work that gets over all the key points of novel and even improves on them in certain places. Assuming he does a Dune Part 3 (or a Dune Messiah, or whatever he ends up calling it) I think it will be amazing and a pretty perfect trilogy.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

In case anyone hasn't seen this:

1764023423485812995

1764291797151613038

Absolutely stunning.

[Lofty]

That is amazing

[Shindig]

The internet's going to have some fun with that. :D

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The internet's going to have some fun with that. :D

It's having plenty already:

1765249973585646063

I've seen pretty much every film having a CERVEZA CRISTAL! cut. From Se7en to Goofy Movie and Iron Man to Pulp Fiction.

They've even done some Games now such as Doom.

[Ben]

I've seen pretty much every film having a CERVEZA CRISTAL! cut. From Se7en to Goofy Movie and Iron Man to Pulp Fiction.

Enlighten me.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1765123810225754489

[Shindig]

First person to plant a Cerveza Cristal in the eclipse scene from Bezerk gets my undivided attention.

[Manc]

Anatomy of a Fall is top tier cinema.

[Don]

Nice, going to watch it tonight.

[Don]

Yeah, that was quality, Huller and the son's acting especially.

[Foe]

Started watching miss congeniality recently assuming it would be up there with the elites of pretty woman, Notting Hill and the notebook.


Terrible. Have tried twice and lasted about half an hour

[Kikó]

I'm going to go to the cinema to watch Dunc 2. Heard too many good things about it not to make a cinematic experience

[niko_cee]

Is that about his time at Forest Green?

[Kikó]

The cinematics on the vegan menu is supposed to be outstanding.

[phonics]

Just got out of American Fiction which was really good.

[Baz]

Is Dream Scenario good? The one with Nicolas Cage turning up in everyone’s dreams, from what I could gather from the trailer.

[Andrew]

Watched dune 2 in the cinema on the Screen X can see that being rather annoying for most films but was top notch for Dune!

[Lofty]

Has anyone been to an IMAX Laser showing for anything? Considering it for the new Ghostbusters film.

[Bernanke]

Found Dunc 2 to be way less interesting than the first one, but I realize I'm in the minority with that opinion.

Chalamet and Zendaya aren't very good actors either. Ferguson runs circles around them.

[Baz]

From my limited exposure to Chalamet, he’s dreadful.

[Bernanke]

Both of them are like the polar opposite of "disappearing into the role". It's just Timmy and Z in the sand.

[Baz]

Fantastic Mr Fox is great.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The Wes Anderson one? I'm a huge fan.

[Baz]

The Wes Anderson one? I'm a huge fan.

Yep. :)

[Manc]

Clooney's voice is like honey. The score is also brilliant.

[Mike]

Watched and really enjoyed Poor Things last night.

[Dan]

Anatomy of a Fall is top tier cinema.

It did what all good criminal justice stuff does & just made me really angry on behalf of the characters.

I thought it was solid but then I watched Decision to Leave shortly after, which just made me angry at the movie, so I’d definitely say Anatomy of a Fall is the better of the two.


Just got out of American Fiction which was really good.

Seconded. It’s in the top five for me so far this year.


Is Dream Scenario good? The one with Nicolas Cage turning up in everyone’s dreams, from what I could gather from the trailer.

I thought it was good but not great - definitely still worth a watch if the trailed intrigued you though.

[Dark Soldier]

Fantastic Mr Fox is great.

The only good Wes Anderson film.

[Shindig]

Despite having Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon on the plane entertainment, I opted for Gran Turismo and In Bruges.

I really like the latter. Colin Farrell was great as an eejit and I love it when a film feels like none of it is wasted.

Gran Turismo is the wrong kind of awful. Geri Halliwell is in it. She doesn't do a lot but she completely gimps her one big story scene. The based on a true story stuff is so loose it's willing to give Yann yardenborough made up achievements. The kid that plays him has no presence and the racing stuff is explained in the dumbest terms.

I think it was intended for children. Anyway, Neil Blompkamp loves flashy CG transitions and Peter Dumbreck's Le Mans crash. It's recreated twice.

It should've been a documentary. Oh, Orlando Bloom is permanently smug in this. Apparently he's a team boss but he gets everything he wants very easily. Because the writing is so ropey, he comes off looking like a man that doesn't know his own job.

[John Arne]

I watched 2 surprisingly good films recently.

Life and King. Expected nothing, but both fairly enjoyable. King is a bit hammy at times, but then it portrays the French as #losers, so that's a win for me. Not a lot happens in Life, but it manages to keep you quite hooked.

Shindig Yup, In Bruges is great.

[Shindig]

The Whale is on. Fuck, that's a good movie. Every scene ends with two people crying after an argument.

[Lofty]

The binge scene music plays in my head when I take two racers from the cupboard instead of one.

[Shindig]

Yeah, I like how violent that looks. :D

[Shindig]

Well, I also have now watched Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon. I think I like the latter more. I don't quite like DiCaprio's gurning southern moron face but the rest of the film is grim and suitably epic. Oppenheimer's great but in that safe Nolan way where he's WHOMPing over the scenes with bombastic soundtracks and flipping between timelines like a dog that knows two tricks. A good spectacle but Killers of the Flower Moon hits a whole lot darker.

Also, one thing I've pondered about the ending of The Whale.

I choose to believe he dies on his feet and flattens his dickhead daughter. :D

[Lofty]

Saw Ghostbusters Frozen Empire tonight, poor. 4/10.

[Ian]

That one seems to be taking a bit of a pasting. But then Afterlife was much better regarded than it deserved too. It was deeply average if you don't have hardcore Gjostbusters nostalgia in you.

[Lofty]

Definitely, this was a lot more stuff in the Afterlife vein and trotting out more nostalgia but that was already done in Afterlife. There were some nice ideas but overall it just dragged.

[Shindig]

It's telling that during the PR cycle they get the Oldbusters trotted out on Good Morning America, etc. "This new movie is out. How great was it working on the old one?"

[Manc]

I implore everyone to get on Prime and watch the trailer for Titanic II.

[niko_cee]

Was hoping for a bigger lol pay off but, yeah, what? Why have they done that?

[niko_cee]

Next from Amazon Prime, 100 years later, someone tries to kill all the jews again . . .

[Manc]

Leave The World Behind is truly awful.

[Yevrah]

Gran Turismo accomplishes the rare feat of being utterly abysmal but somehow still quite good.

[Kikó]

I enjoyed Roadhouse despite it just being absolutely ridiculous.

[Bernanke]

I enjoyed Roadhouse despite it just being absolutely ridiculous.

Same. I'm seeing people hating on McGregor in it but I thought he was hilarious. He has one note and he plays it to a tee. A lot of the other supporting cast is really great as well.

[Lofty]

How does it compare to the original?

[Shindig]

Gran Turismo accomplishes the rare feat of being utterly abysmal but somehow still quite good.

I wasn't that convinced. It didn't feel like the right kind of bad and it was a bit crass to use his Nurburgring crash (which happened years after the Le Mans stuff) as a big drama point. Plus you don't need to sex that crash up. The real life footage is brutal.

[phonics]

I rewatched Behind Enemy Lines. Still bangs. Owen Wilson watches Harvey from Suits get killed via the smallest binoculars you've ever seen.

https://i.imgur.com/PpP9P0g.png

[Lofty]

Road House :D

It was alright for what it was but apart from calling the main character Dalton it had nothing in common with the original.

[Manc]

I'm bang into the horror genre atm. Are there any modern classics I might have missed? I'm thinking along the lines of Hereditary.

[Dark Soldier]

I'm bang into the horror genre atm. Are there any modern classics I might have missed? I'm thinking along the lines of Hereditary.

I'll list a few of my faves over the last 3/4 years.

When Evil Lurks
The Dark and the Wicked
Host
Possessor
Dashcam
Censor
We're all going to the world's fair (you'll love or hate this)
Resurrection
Barbarian
Fresh
Speak No Evil
Soft & Quiet
My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To
Saint Maud
The Beta Test
The Night
Rent-A-Pal
Impetigore

[Manc]

:hat:

[Lofty]

Recommending Dashcam over Host?

[Dark Soldier]

Recommending Dashcam over Host?


I think Host is better as a concept, and run time, with what it packs in, but I prefer Dashcam. I also love Spree, which is divisive.

[Baz]

Just watch the Dashcam end credits and ignore the film.

[Lofty]

Just watched The Flash, honestly if you go in with low expectations and just expect a comic book romp with all the standard multiverse shit in it, it's fine. Nowhere near as bad as people were claiming when it came out.

[phonics]

Just watched The Flash, honestly if you go in with low expectations and just expect a comic book romp with all the standard multiverse shit in it, it's fine. Nowhere near as bad as people were claiming when it came out.

Already sounds awful.

[Shindig]

I just can't watch Ezra Miller. Even if he wasn't a headcase turbo nonce, he'd still be insufferable.

[Kikó]

Dune 2 is excellent. Well worth watching it in the cinema

[Dark Soldier]

It leaked today so you can watch in the comfort of your own home.

[Manc]

It leaked today so you can watch in the comfort of your own home.

Deal me in.

[Yevrah]

I've finally seen Oppenheimer. Given I went in expecting to be bored (I wasn't) and assuming the film could have done with 30-45 minutes of it edited out (it could), it was actually pretty good.

[niko_cee]

Even accounting for the dreadfulness of modern remakes/sequels/prequels/universes, this is a headline with ostensibly no redeeming features:

Pamela Anderson joins Liam Neeson for Naked Gun remake (https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/pamela-anderson-liam-neeson-naked-gun-remake-b2529951.html)

[phonics]

I thought Chalamet was really good in Dune 2 which is a surprise as I think he's been complete wank the rest of the time.

[Baz]

Is Dream Scenario good? The one with Nicolas Cage turning up in everyone’s dreams, from what I could gather from the trailer.

Just watched. lol wtf (no)

[Shindig]

I watched Tetsuo: The Iron Man yesterday. What a very Japanese movie. Great body horror and a HEAP of expressive over-acting. I've got the sequel lined up to watch tomorrow.

EDIT: Tetsuo 2: The Body Hammer is not as good. There's less body horror and the plot just takes the mystery out whatever The Salaryman's deal is. I don't appreciate how everything has this odd blue lighting. I've come this far so I might as well watch the third one.

[Baz]

Just wasted two hours watching The Worst Person in the World. :moop:

[Manc]

That's some take. It's brilliant.

[Manc]

I'll list a few of my faves over the last 3/4 years.

When Evil Lurks
The Dark and the Wicked
Host
Possessor
Dashcam
Censor
We're all going to the world's fair (you'll love or hate this)
Resurrection
Barbarian
Fresh
Speak No Evil
Soft & Quiet
My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To
Saint Maud
The Beta Test
The Night
Rent-A-Pal
Impetigore

I'm slowly working my way through this list. The Dark and the Wicked is haunting af.

[Don]

Challengers was an incredible experience. The director and writer have made some top films so I thought this might be an acceptable foray into normie cinema territory but turns out the pervert director can't get over his obsession with sex and the use of music is hilariously bad. Such a dull waste of time.

[Lofty]

The trailer looked like it may aswell have had a Brazzers logo on it.

[Baz]

Challengers was an incredible experience. The director and writer have made some top films so I thought this might be an acceptable foray into normie cinema territory but turns out the pervert director can't get over his obsession with sex and the use of music is hilariously bad. Such a dull waste of time.
Seen it get compared to Saltburn on Reddit so I’ll definitely give it a watch.

[Shindig]

Tetsuo 3: The Bullet Man is also shit. It was made in 2009 so everything is shot in stark daylight (making the monster design have no impact) and contains a whole lot of unnecessary shaky camera work. The Salary Man now has a name. He's Anthony, an American who can't act who has a Japanese wife who also can't act. The plot is a retread of the second film without the weird steel mill cult. I cannot stress how flat the delivery is on most of the script. Things liven up when the Shinya Tsukomoto arrives and gives some of the best lines.

It's supposed to a standalone sequel but it canonises the whole concept of normal man gets angry, turns to metal. Except he's not normal. He's an experiment. It's all spelled out with exposition that the first film did well without. The dumbest imagery is Anthony in his metal prosthetics AND a suit for the majority of the film.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1789688079587914234

Yes please.

[Manc]

If anyone has the range it's Amy Adams.

[Baz]

Trying to decide between IF and Garfield at the cinema. Besides ‘neither,’ IF seems the correct choice, right?

[Mike]

Got good reviews in our house.

[Baz]

Anyone watched Kinds of Kindness yet?

[Dan]

Not seen it yet but definitely will do. I did see Quiet Place Day One tonight though, which was excellent.

[Manc]

Dark Soldier

Any further horror recommendations?

[Dark Soldier]

Dark Soldier

Any further horror recommendations?


Not of late mate, not been watching much cos of me wonky eyes.

[Baz]

Finally found a decent replacement for Release Log: https://trakt.tv/users/fresnobiker/lists/syncler-new-hd-releases?sort=added,asc

Might watch the Amy Winehouse film later. Anyone seen it? Worth it? I presume it’s more story focused than just songs.

[Giggles]

If it's mostly songs then it's that horror Manc is looking for.

[Spikey M]

Never understood why Amy Winehouse has stayed relevant. 2 bit popstar crackhead. Who cares what her story was?

[Shindig]

I never got it either. It felt mostly fuelled by tabloids than her (decent) levels of talent.

[Baz]

Yeah don’t bother with the film.

[Manc]

Not of late mate, not been watching much cos of me wonky eyes.

I went with Bone Tomahawk in the end. More of a western than horror. Kurt Russel doing Kurt Russel things.

[Lofty]

TIE IT OFF!

All of that director's films have the same weird dialogue atmosphere, Dragged Across Concrete the same.

Saw Longlegs at the cinema, beautifully shot, not really scary. I liked it, wife thought it was shit.

[randomlegend]

I went with Bone Tomahawk in the end. More of a western than horror. Kurt Russel doing Kurt Russel things.

If it's the one I'm thinking of, that film has the most laughable death scene I've ever seen.

[Baz]

Never really watched Snow White before but had it on this morning. I laughed more at Doc, the dwarf who muddles his words up, than anything else this year. Very funny.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ZZS24t1pg

Search everywhere! :D

[Manc]

Smile. Do not watch.

[Dark Soldier]

Avengement (2019)

Scott Adkins, Craig Fairbrass, other typical UK gangster movie stars in a revenge thriller thats fucking gloriously violent, great fun, relentless, awesome. A new favourite, loved it and will watch again. The whole end bit is amazing. Just watch it if you haven't and if you have \o

[Yevrah]

I enjoyed that too. Adkins has a good body of mindless work.

[Gray Fox]

Unexpected child free evening so took the Mrs and saw Deadpool and Wolverine.

If you enjoyed the first two you will love this one. I think probably the best of the three.

Spoiler talk:
The celeb cameos were great. Bringing in Snipes for Blade had me mark out, and Cavill as Logan got a chuckle out of me. A fair bit of fan service throughout. Kind of odd to see Deadpool be the side character in what was essentially a Wolverine story. They just needed Wade to macguffin us a way of getting Jackmans Logan back from the dead.

This feels like the end of the line for the Deadpool stories and also for Jackman. There were a few jokes about how now Disney have him back he's doing it til he dies but I'm sure he only said he'd return to work with Reynolds on a Deadpool film and that's now done.
The film also wrapped up in such a way with everyone having completed their arc, I think it'll be left at that.

Mad to think how it got here after it the original Deadpool only got greenlit off the back of test footage being 'leaked.'

This is probably Marvels swan song. The TV shows have been terrible since Moon Knight finished. That was May 2022. The films have also been for the most part terrible since 2020. Spider-man getting the exception in there. Black Panther was also recovered very well, until they rushed the intro of the son in. Now it's just a matter of time before some timey wimey stuff and he's a Black Panther called T'Challa again and we haven't had to recast.

In short I think they picked the wrong story to pursue in the Multiverse one. Your casual audience doesn't care and if anything will get annoyed by why Kang is back for the 5th different film or series(Jonathon Majors further screwing that pooch). It allows for some good one-off shenanigans like we got here, but it should not have been the focus.

[Baz]

What if you liked the first but was bored stiff in the second?

[Alex]

TIE IT OFF!

All of that director's films have the same weird dialogue atmosphere, Dragged Across Concrete the same.

Saw Longlegs at the cinema, beautifully shot, not really scary. I liked it, wife thought it was shit.

I liked it too.

I agree it was very nicely shot. Very good sound design (is that the word I'm looking for here?) too, every little noise was accentuated very well. I agree not particularly scary but always slightly unnerving. Cage was great, obviously. Suitably weird and genuinely (whether intentional or not) laugh out loud funny a couple of times too.

I had some misgivings about the way it was all wrapped up, it almost felt like the third act was a bit of a deus ex machina situation situation. I just feel like they built up this whole, suspenseful, creepy serial killer mystery to just wave it off with "well it was just the devil, and that" right at the end. Which is fine but I'm not sure they had done enough to establish it in that direction. Almost out of the blue it just explodes into black magic and voodoo dolls and whatnot. It was well enough done to just about carry it off though.

Not amazing but definitely well worth watching. A solid 7/10 I would say.

[Dark Soldier]

Femme (2023) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20114686/

It will be hard to top this as my film of the year. As someone who's dealt with similar feelings as MacKay's character (not to this level) and still struggling with aspects. Its a fucking hard watch but it needs to be told as its a story that happens relatively frequently.

Stunning performances and the ending is an absolute gut punch. A film that absolutely resonated with me and left me in bits by the end. MacKay should be winning an Oscar for this.

10/10

[Lofty]

I'll give it a go, though I did lol as someone tagging it as 'gay bashing' on IMDB.

[Manc]

Just watched Femme. DS doesn't miss.

[Lofty]

Not seen it yet, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was better than expected.

[Dark Soldier]

That fucking huge Netflix leak is a madness, been checking some out. Some of the stuff not even out til 2025. Terminator Zero full leak, fucking Spellbound, the big animation for November, the Christmas animation movie, Plankton the movie. The dubbing studio are FUCKED.

[Baz]

That fucking huge Netflix leak is a madness, been checking some out. Some of the stuff not even out til 2025. Terminator Zero full leak, fucking Spellbound, the big animation for November, the Christmas animation movie, Plankton the movie. The dubbing studio are FUCKED.

Eh, what’s this?

[Dark Soldier]

The dubbing studio they sent the files to had no security and got hacked. New Spongebob movie from 2025, new Arcane season, Spellbound from Sky Dance studios etc all leaked.

[Giggles]

I need the end of Cobra Kai. Some jip releasing half a series.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I need the end of Cobra Kai. Some jip releasing half a series.

*A third.

Second part is dropping in November with the third "sometime" in 2025.

Absolute SEETHING.

[Baz]

Watched this:

https://resizing.flixster.com/MHXk5zkcvHle6WGI7oOPeSOhL54=/fit-in/705x460/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/-XZAfHZM39UwaGJIFWKAE8fS0ak=/v3/t/assets/p25490387_v_v13_ab.jpg

Found it highly amusing and right up my street. Recommended if you like Workaholics.

[Baz]

Wow, I Saw The TV Glow is easily one of the worst films I’ve ever watched. Avoid.

[phonics]

Saw Twisters, it was shit.

Going to see Thelma on Thursday.

[Shindig]

I had to check to make sure that wasn't some Thelma and Louise prequel.

[Baz]

I think watching Maxxxine without ever watching X or Pearl was a mistake.

[Manc]

Is Pearl not a completely different timeline?

[Lofty]

Pearl is a prequel to X, I think Maxxxine is a sequel to Pearl and a prequel to X.

[Dark Soldier]

X is crap, Pearl is amazing, MaXXXine is awful and has no reason to exist.

[Baz]

X is crap, Pearl is amazing, MaXXXine is awful and has no reason to exist.

Is it worth watching X so I can watch Pearl, or can I just watch Pearl?

Agreed Maxxxine is tosh, but Mia Goth was very good, and the soundtrack was enjoyable.

[Dark Soldier]

Is it worth watching X so I can watch Pearl, or can I just watch Pearl?

Agreed Maxxxine is tosh, but Mia Goth was very good, and the soundtrack was enjoyable.

I'd watch all 3 as they kinda reference each other. Agreed Goth is fantastic. Her performance in Pearl plus that ending is incredible. There's a little on set story about the ending of Pearl too but I'll wait til you've watched it.

[John Arne]

I watched The Instigators, expecting to not like it at all. It was alright. Solid 3 stars.

[phonics]

I'm looking forward to Wolfs the Clooney, Pitt assassins comedy movie for the same reason. It'll definitely be shit but entertaining while its on screen.

[Alex]

X is crap, Pearl is amazing, MaXXXine is awful and has no reason to exist.

I not as against X (I thought it was average) but Pearl is definitely the best, yeah.

The monologue to the sister-in-law followed by the long, backwards tracking shot of Pearl following her down the driveway and smashing her in with the axe is one of the more memorable sequences in recent films for me.

[Alex]

I'm currently twenty odd films deep into a post Longlegs Nic Cage fixation myself. The selections have been a bit all over the place as I'm mostly just watching whatever Letterboxd tells me is available on my current streaming services.

Top of the pile currently is Mandy. What a great a film. Other highlights outside the obvious would be Colour Out of Space and Butchers Crossing.

[phonics]

Have you done Pig yet?

[Alex]

I have. Cracking little film and really nothing like what I remember the marketing at the time leading me to believe it would be. Which from memory was along the lines of "John Wick but with Cage instead of Keanu and a pig instead of a dog".

[phonics]

I have. Cracking little film and really nothing like what I remember the marketing at the time leading me to believe it would be. Which from memory was along the lines of "John Wick but with Cage instead of Keanu and a pig instead of a dog".

In probably the most pretentious thought I've ever had about film. Pig feels like Wick via Brick.

[Clunge]

Saw Twisters, it was shit.

Going to see Thelma on Thursday.

Other half wants to see Thelma. Was it any good?

[Baz]

Just watched X. Probably a worse film than Maxxxine, but a better horror film. And now I understand why Kid Cudi was an executive producer on the latter.

Pearl tomorrow then.

[Lofty]

Pearl is the strongest out of the first 2, I was dismissive of Gith moaning about horror being ignored at the oscars but she was really strong in that to be fair.

[phonics]

Other half wants to see Thelma. Was it any good?

I thought it was nice. It's very gentle, a few laughs. All the leads are great. Its also 90 minutes so even if you hate it it'll be over quickly.

[Clunge]

Ta.

[Baz]

You lot are trolling. Pearl is utter shit.

[Baz]

The best film ever, Little Monsters, is on Film4 at 12:45pm tomorrow if anyone wants to watch and/or record it.

Weirdly I decided to watch it tonight on Prime before even knowing. A very bizarre coincidence.

[Mike]

Watched it. Still good. Think, thanks to you Baz, it’s maybe the film I’ve seen the most times.

[mo]

I watched The Fly for the first time the other night (thanks to All the Right Movies), which I really enjoyed. My first Cronenberg experience.

[Magic]

I watched Amadeus at the weekend. I absolutely loved it. Thought it was hilarious, sad, brilliant acting and wonderful cinema. It was the director's cut so 3hrs long but apparently it contained important scenes that the original doesn't so happy with that.

Highly recommended even if you don't like music.

[Lofty]

Alien Romulus, starts well then shits itself at the 30 minute mark. Could have been a solid 7/10 but it's a 5/10 for me, Clive.

[Dan]

Yeah, I wasn’t sold on the final half hour in particular.

Also saw Trap recently, which was pretty not good. The entire movie falls apart as soon as you think about any part of it for two seconds & for a movie that’s relatively standard length it felt like it dragged on about half an hour too long.

Still better than Borderlands, obviously. Exactly what I expected, in that it’s the generic Hollywood action comedy & completely misses the point of what makes the games fun & interesting. If you take it in isolation it’s probably fine, but if you have any expectations at all of getting Borderlands from the Borderlands movie it’s a complete disaster. One of the worst things I’ve seen all year & I was genuinely slightly angry when I left the cinema :D

[Shindig]

Borderlands is shit source material to start with. They could've taken that movie any direction they liked. Eli Roth hasn't got that kind of imagination.

[Boydy]

I thought Trap was good fun. Not particularly good but enjoyable.

[Baz]

I watched Infinity Pool, to continue to Mia Goth marathon. What a ride that film is. :D Probably wouldn’t recommend it, but it was entertaining enough. I lolled out loud at one point, was one bit that was just perfectly done.

Also think I’m gonna commit to watching Inland Empire in one sitting soon. Was going to start it last night but the copy on Plex had no sound but apparently it’s on ITV’s catchup thingy. No spoilers please but is it as “impactful” as Reddit suggests?

[Shindig]

I can't remember much about beyond, "Yep. David Lynch directed this."

[Baz]

Yeah, I can’t do it.