What was the last film you watched?

Spells & Karma

Admin
LV
16
 
Awards
44
Genius, love it.

Oh, thanks.


I've watched this film and recall that I found it okay with expected performances from a reliable cast.

Yes, that about sums it up. When Penelope Wilton, Julie Walters and Celia Imrie deliver expected performances it's never a disappointment.
 

Biggie

Telly Talk Hero
LV
4
 
Awards
14
Deadpool 2.

Super hero genre movies usually fail to land with me. But Deadpool caught my attention so decided to watch the second offering.

Deadpool 2 was peppered with some excellent comedy and OTT action that fitted the overall narrative of the movie. The tongue 'n' cheek self-reference quips worked.

What's left to say.... Deadpool 2 is worth the watch.
 

Spells & Karma

Admin
LV
16
 
Awards
44
Going In Style (2017)

iu


Another of my "I'd never have got round to watching if it wasn't about to drop off Prime" random films.

This is a fun comedy heist film with an impressive cast and a nice buoyant upbeat tone. It's a remake of a 1979 film which I've never seen, but I couldn't help wondering if the "inspiration" for this version came as much from Golden Years, a low key British film from almost exactly a year before this one (and which I happened to watch myself almost exactly a year ago). It felt uncannily similar in tone as well as premise.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:
 

Biggie

Telly Talk Hero
LV
4
 
Awards
14
I tend to agree. The first one was much better. The second movie is very good as a sequel for me but the first one outshines it.
I'd not heard of Deadpool until I was round a friends yard and he mentioned that he'd strayed across it and enjoyed it and put it on. Having no preconceptions and no idea what to expect.... Absolutely enjoyed Deadpool.

Deadpool2 was good, but the "wow didn't expect that" element was missing. Know what I mean? In fact I struggle to think of a sequel I enjoyed more the the first.
Actually, Die Hard With A Vengeance has just sprung to mind.
 

darkshadows38

Telly Talk Star
LV
1
 
Awards
7
yeah Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995) also the only one i ended up seeing on the big screen is my favorite one as well. i love a good sequel don't get me wrong there's plenty of sequels that have films better than the 1st film but they are far and in between. than there's Friday the 13th (1980) the Original Classic that is often overlooked these days but a lot of the series fans or who claim they are fans and yet they've only seen a couple of them. the 1st for those who don't know doesn't have Jason as the Killer at all. he never was intended to be the killer that was pretty much a fluke really. they couldn't come up with a way to end it and well check out the very end to see what i mean.. Puppet master 3: Toulan's Revenge (1991) comes to mind as being far better than the 1st film and is easily the best out of them all.

as as Deadpool for those who don't know and who have never seen it nor follow the character he's a comic book character that's pretty dark actually. in the books apparently he's Bi though in the films i don't think it's written that way. the films also are NOT for kids at all. i'd love to show that to my Nephew but since he's gonna be 11 next month that would be a big fat HELL NO!
 

Spells & Karma

Admin
LV
16
 
Awards
44
The Bucket List (2007)

iu


With these actors and a premise that features two men brought together by sharing a hospital room while being treated for cancer I probably shouldn't have been so surprised to find that this film pulled out the emotional rug several times. But I was.

Perhaps because of its relative brevity I was expecting a simpler, broader sillier comedy. It has the laughs - above all this is a buddy comedy - but there are some heavier moments that give the laughs a deeper meaning. It's one of those life affirming, thought-provoking films that I probably wasn't prepared for last night, but loved all the same. Perhaps the reason I found it so powerful was exactly because I was expecting something else.

The performances are great and there's some glorious scenery as the film opens up later on. A beautiful film on so many levels.

iu
 

Sea - Boo! - Er

Telly Talk Warrior
LV
9
 
Awards
21
Flightplan (2005)
Jodie Foster has had my attention since she was about 3 or whatever it was on My Three Sons and The Courtship of Eddie's Father TV series.
This is one of her standout roles as far as I'm concerned. Gritty, determined, I love that stuff.
The plot is also reminiscent of another of my favourites - the British mystery So Long At the Fair, starring Jean Simmons and Dirk Bogarde.
 

Spells & Karma

Admin
LV
16
 
Awards
44
This is one of her standout roles as far as I'm concerned. Gritty, determined, I love that stuff.

I was really impressed with how much I doubted her character's grasp on reality as the film went on. I started out certain, just as she was, but as more and more happened I was convinced we were stepping into the shoes of someone experiencing a denial-fuelled nervous breakdown. I found it quite frightening that she went from this grounded character to someone whose word I didn't fully believe. And it only worked because of Jodie's performance here. Every moment is played for complete truth and there's no vanity at all.


The plot is also reminiscent of another of my favourites - the British mystery So Long At the Fair, starring Jean Simmons and Dirk Bogarde.

This rings a bell but I'm fairly sure I've never seen it. Perhaps it needs to be added to my ever growing bucket list of films.
 

Jock Ewing Fan

Telly Talk Star
LV
0
 
Awards
8
Going In Style (2017)

iu


Another of my "I'd never have got round to watching if it wasn't about to drop off Prime" random films.

This is a fun comedy heist film with an impressive cast and a nice buoyant upbeat tone. It's a remake of a 1979 film which I've never seen, but I couldn't help wondering if the "inspiration" for this version came as much from Golden Years, a low key British film from almost exactly a year before this one (and which I happened to watch myself almost exactly a year ago). It felt uncannily similar in tone as well as premise.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:
I like the 1979 film.

I have a rule that anything that features Art Carney is a must see!
 

darkshadows38

Telly Talk Star
LV
1
 
Awards
7
for Dead Poll the 1st film i mean i read that Ryan Reynolds a guy i've liked since his A Girl, A Guy and a Pizza Place days on ABC back in the day. the later did shorten the show's title i forget to what though? anyways i read that before the 1st film came out a little kid he wanted to meet Ryan Reynolds as his last wish as he was dying of Cancer and he wanted to see Dead Pool well normally i'd say the film isn't for kids but i can't say that if that's a kid with Cancer who not long after did pass away. so it was nice of Ryan Reynolds to get a copy of it before it even hit theaters to show this poor kid.
 

darkshadows38

Telly Talk Star
LV
1
 
Awards
7
WOW i just have say WOW was this one bad it was called 'The Werewolf (1956) this one is a bit different in that he wasn't bitten by a wolf at all, what worked was the music was fine, the makeup was fine it had the same transformation as
Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man (1941) which isn't a diss on the movie cause it was the way they did it up well up until the masterpiece that is An American Werewolf in London (1981) anyways, this one, this one was bout a guy who gets into a car accident that we don't see and through Dialog maybe they didn't have the budget ? but a idiot Scientist a mad one what else kind? too this poor guy and injected a wolf serum into it without him knowing it and than for the rest of the movie they try to kill him cause they don't want anyone to know what they did, well common sense tells you if you don't want to get caught don't do anything like that but what are ya gonna do? an argument could be made and a good one may i add that than this movie wouldn't exist and you'd be right.

but than is that such a bad thing? as i said the make-up was fine it's really hard to top Jack Pierces makeup for The Wolf Man (1941) but i've seen worst to be fair. it was made by the same guy that made Miami Expose (1956) that i loved Fred F. Sears. he did a lot of low budget stuff in the 40's and 50's. he dabbled in different kind of movies, westerns, mystery, action, horror etc.. you get the idea. a talented guy ads he is a pretty good director actually and the few i hace seen are pretty good of his i think but this one is among one of his worst. well so far his worst that i can think of that i've seen thus far. i dunno if 'm right nor not but that is without looking up what else i've seen of his.


what i find really funny is Spoiler but stay away from this one, the Sheriff sends his wife and kid away we never see them again it's like WTF? though i will say you kind of feel sorry for the guy, unlike most of the movies like this well he attacks cause he's well a wolf, in this one he pretty much attacks defending himself it only comes out when he's provoked for example the 1st kill in the film he's being robbed for the #20 bucks in his pocket and he gets knocked out buy some idiot and than the wolfman wakes up and the guy ends up killed. when they aren't trying to kill him he's human. my vote 5/10 but stay away there are far worse ones out there such as 99% of the howling films for example
 

Willie Oleson

Telly Talk Schemer
LV
9
 
Awards
27
1661719909857.png

A very fresh lemon, indeed!
It happens all the time that filmmakers are trying too hard to please all kinds of audiences without realizing that it totally undermines the identity of their film.
This is one of those examples when they got it absolutely right because it lacks that grim determination.
PYW is playful, it offers the viewer different moods and perspectives and their timing to step back and leave it in the hands of the audience is impeccable.

It's not a remarkable premise, it's almost like a parody on a lacklustre copycat of a well-known blockbuster, and the first 10 minutes actually look frighteningly uninspired and with very little promise of an improvement.
But somehow that less statement-y and less pleasing vibe started to feel intriguing and before I knew it I was completely absorbed in it.
It's also a film that keeps giving but I didn't always recognize those moments when it was happening, and that's good because that means it was a step ahead of me.
Characters get fleshed out as the story progresses but most of them are instantly watchable, the sometimes mediocre dialogue notwithstanding.
In that regard it's not that different from 1990s Twin Peaks, minus the no holds barred quirkiness.

Nice soundtrack and interesting cinematography, but not in a very noticeable fashion.
 
Last edited:

Sea - Boo! - Er

Telly Talk Warrior
LV
9
 
Awards
21
The Blind Side (2009)
Sandra Bullock's Oscar-winning role. Funny how the Oscar tends to go to an actor playing against type as if they weren't really acting before.
I knew this had something to do with American football, I just didn't expect there to be so much of it.
 

Spells & Karma

Admin
LV
16
 
Awards
44
The Box (2009)

iu

I came out of this film thinking that elements of the story were incredibly promising while others were just silly. It crossed my mind that I'd have enjoyed it far more had it been kept far simpler and told us far less. On looking closer into it, I've realised that this version exists out there in the form of The Twilight Zone episode Button, Button from 1986, written by Richard Matheson and based on his short Playboy story of the same name from 1970. While I don't believe I've seen the earlier TV version, I've seen the name Button, Button used for TV episode titles more than once without understanding what it actually meant.

My lack of familiarity with any other version is a good thing, since I took it on its own merits. There's a lot going for it. Cameron Diaz and James Marsden are perfectly fine in the leads (CD is actually a pretty decent dramatic actress, it turns out). The Seventies period dress is fun and seems mostly authentic, the effect only lessened by the familiarity of the lead actors from contemporary films). And there are some genuinely creepy moments as well as some cheap-but-effective jump scares. I also appreciated that the first half of the film is enjoyably leisurely in its pace, taking time to create atmosphere and character.

The second half of the film - possibly just the last third - is where things get weirder and more sci fi, which lost all relatability and was far less engaging. Some of the computer generated effects, to give them the benefit of the doubt, have dated rather poorly. Some of the new material felt very much a riff on The Shining. The ending was the inevitable one, but effective enough. It's just a shame it and the promising first half were both undermined by some of the silliness of library crowds turning their heads in sync, cartoony fountains and inter-dimensional eavesdropping.
 

Willie Oleson

Telly Talk Schemer
LV
9
 
Awards
27
1661808265296.png

In this life imitates art story, a popular internet pseudo-exorcist and his crew must face the real thing.
To me it looks like a balancing act between Hollywood big, Indie cheap, social commentary, parody and character drama. You'd think that would be enough to fill the 90+ minutes and yet sometimes I wondered if it was ever going to end.
It really does try to keep things going and build it up at every opportunity but there's something about that energy that feels a bit wasted.
The performances are good (I think) but the characters are simply not interesting enough to care.
Then there's the ridiculous idea that billions of people worldwide would actually believe in this exorcim-of-the-week reality streaming show.
To believe in the power of demonic possession is one thing, but that it can be cured in 45 or 60 minutes - every week - warrants some suspicion, to say the least.
But then again, never underestimate the stupidity of people.

With the demon being so very much involved in everything, the parody feels a bit cheesy sometimes.
The best parodies are the ones that almost look like a parody, the genuineness must remain, and in this movie they only do that when it suits them. It doesn't manipulate the emotions, it demands the viewers to adjust their emotions, and that's just too much to ask.
There are some fun gore moments in it and the very idea that this supernatural carnage is being live-streamed should make it feel even more shocking, but somehow it has the opposite effect.
Despite all this I think there's something creative about it, but a more distinctive angle (like in a BLACK MIRROR episode) could have helped to make it look deliciously nasty - like the very ending of this film.
 

Spells & Karma

Admin
LV
16
 
Awards
44
Suicide Squad (2016)

iu


A spontaneous pick, which happily meant there was no real expectation with this film. Also helping is that I don't know most of the characters well, if at all.

"OK" probably sums it up. It was fine and watchable enough, but lacked a certain magic I'd expect from an anti-hero film. It feels as though it didn't push the boundaries enough, which probably made it easier to watch, but at the same time meant it was neutered and didn't impact or impress.​
 
Top