Films you've seen/film discussion

[DaleCooper]

Burke and Hare - I'd never heard of this until I found the DVD in a charity shop and it's a bit of a gem. Starring Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis it's an entertaining mix of historical drama, comedy and crime with a long list of well known names, even Christopher Lee makes a cameo appearance as does, rather surprisingly, Ray Harryhausen. 7.0/10

 

[DarloRich]

The Good German - shot in a 1940's film noir style, with 1940's techniques and camera lenses as an homage to Casablanca (with a bit of Third Man thrown in) starring George Cloony & Kate Blanchet and directed by Stephen Soderbergh. It is a fantastically made picture, looks superb and it is very ambitious to try and recreate a lost style of film making but the film isn't very good. It concentrates more on the look at us recreating this style of film making rather than the characters.

A good technical piece if not a very good watch although it does perfectly capture that lost style of 40's films.

 

[ComUtoR]

Dallas Buyers Club A very good film. it may be a little advanced for some of the posters here.

Why ? It's not a film I have any intention of watching as I cannot abide Matthew McConaughey but I'm interested to know what you consider to be "advanced"

That said...

Kingsglaive : Final Fantasy XV

Another animated one from me and I had to kick it up a notch with some spice weasel decent animation. Wow it is beautiful. Wow that is CGI pushed to its limits and wow what an impressive cast. Sean Bean, Aaron Paul and Lena Headey !

Yeah its Final Fantasy so the story line is a little off the wall but the animation it truly impressive. Its a very unusual world to wrap you head around at times and you need to imagine a world where Magic, Monsters, and Modernity all co-existed and evolved together. It's an action flick and there is plenty enough that it pulls the story along at a decent pace. Princess + Hero + Demons + Explosions + Evil Emperor... you get the jist.

Sci-Fi / Fantasy fans would love it. Anyone new to the genre should whet their appetites with Final Fantasy : Spirits Within (another great cast list)

10/10

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

I liked Final Fantasy 3 on the gameboy advance, the Final Fantasy XII 2, was very disapointing so won't watch the film if it's similar.

The animated Resident Evil films aren't bad if you like the live action ones, no Alice in them sadly. 3.5/5

The Clone Wars is another great CGI I like. 5/5

 

[ComUtoR]

I liked Final Fantasy 3 on the gameboy advance, the Final Fantasy XII 2, was very disapointing so won't watch the film if it's similar.

Spirits within is nothing like the video games and is much more for a western audience. This was similar and was much more within the fantasy/sci-fi genre than based on the game. This had more game themed elements but I think you could easily forgo any preconceptions about the games. I think its a setup for the new game which was why it was closely themed. The animation was breathtaking.

I might try the Resi film then as I didn't mind the fims. (hated the games)

Cheers for the tip.

 

[fowler9]

Apparently a Call Of Duty film is being made. Love to speak to the idiot who thought that up.

 

[Alex 2901]

Apparently a Call Of Duty film is being made. Love to speak to the idiot who thought that up.

I think that if they don't go off on a CGI frenzy, and actually use the premise of something like the Modern Warfare trilogy, then it might be alright (watchable, but highly unlikely to be fantastic)
Can't be any worse than sone of the games...*cough Advanced Warfare cough*

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

Chain Reaction was on lastnight, best Keanu Reeves film I've seen, better chase scenes than The Fugitive, and a good plot.
5/5

 

[backontrack]

Monsters vs Aliens: 6/10
An CGI DreamWorks film, this stars Reese Witherspoon as Susan, a woman who is struck by a meteor on her wedding day and becomes a giant. She is kept in a secret government facility with other 'monsters', including B.O.B, an indestructive gelatinous mass; Dr Cockroach, an English scientist with the head and abilities of a cockroach; and Missing Link, an ancient fish-monster who is decidedly out of shape. Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, and Will Arnett are the monsters; and Stephen Colbert does a terrific turn as President of the U.S.

 

[DaleCooper]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Clever and technically brilliant but the story's a bit weak. Oddly enough out of all the cartoon characters (Donald and Daffy Duck were great) the only one I didn't like was Roger himself. 6.5/10

Monsters vs Aliens: 6/10
An CGI DreamWorks film, this stars Reese Witherspoon as Susan, a woman who is struck by a meteor on her wedding day and becomes a giant. She is kept in a secret government facility with other 'monsters', including B.O.B, an indestructive gelatinous mass; Dr Cockroach, an English scientist with the head and abilities of a cockroach; and Missing Link, an ancient fish-monster who is decidedly out of shape. Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, and Will Arnett are the monsters; and Stephen Colbert does a terrific turn as President of the U.S.

Good film but one thing I don't understand is why they feel the need to use big name actors in these animated films, a talented voice actor could do the job just as well. I suppose I do know the reason really, it's because big names sell seats.

 

[fowler9]

Watched 300 again last night. Worth a watch, in fact I would go one further it is a pretty decent action film.

 

[backontrack]

Good film but one thing I don't understand is why they feel the need to use big name actors in these animated films, a talented voice actor could do the job just as well. I suppose I do know the reason really, it's because big names sell seats.

I guess it's because it's easier to give a character a voice if you can think of someone well known. For example, I think that many of the Monsters vs Aliens voice actors fit really well.

Of course, this isn't always the case, and it tends to depend on the studio. In Ratatouille, two of the main characters are voiced by Pixar employees. WALL•E has Sigourney Weaver as the main computer; that's literally it and she's hardly in it. UP has Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer, but no other famous voices.

If you look at something like Robots, then this is the main cast:

• Ewan MacGregor
• Robin Williams
• Halle Berry
• Mel Brooks
• Amanda Bynes
• Drew Carey
• Greg Kinnear
• Stanley Tucci
• Jim Broadbent
• Paul Giamatti
• Jay Leno

So entirely different.

 

[DarloRich]

Why ? It's not a film I have any intention of watching as I cannot abide Matthew McConaughey but I'm interested to know what you consider to be "advanced"

That said...

You should watch it. It is superb and the acting of the two leads is utterly fantastic.

It may be too advanced for many of the posters here as several are young, they seem to watch a lot of children's films, family films or family sci fi films not serious adult drama.

I think this because about this film in particular because the film has bad language and a shocking story line from the start, contains (and deals with) explicit and blatant homophobia, deals with the treatment of HIV/AIDS patents in the early days of the issue and shows how that treatment was harsh and unsympathetic in nature, has a transvestite (and homosexual) co lead character and shows the terrible way that person is treated, shows how the american health system failed these people, graphic language, open drug use, bad sexual behavior and a couple of hard to watch deaths among other things.

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

That film above sounds disgusting, I'm never watching stuff like that just because they try to be graphic for political reasons.

Ca$h was the last film I saw, other than the excessive bad language there was nothing wrong with it. An interesting story, a couple find $600,000 and spend it and keep it, but the rightful owner, a thug (Sean Bean), forces them to get every penny back in a week, or else..
3.5/5

 

[DarloRich]

That film above sounds disgusting, I'm never watching stuff like that just because they try to be graphic for political reasons.

I don't know what you mean by graphic for political reasons but you clearly have no idea what the film is about. Why not try some research?

 

[fowler9]

I don't know what you mean by graphic for political reasons but you clearly have no idea what the film is about. Why not try some research?

I get what you mean mate. I do generally prefer dark films but have avoided them a bit of late due to my current mindset. One thing I don't get is a lot of people in work who don't get why I would want to watch lots of the films I enjoy but watch Soap Operas which I find soul destroyingly depressing. Ha ha.

 

[ComUtoR]

It may be too advanced for many of the posters here as several are young, they seem to watch a lot of children's films, family films or family sci fi films not serious adult drama.

I watch loads of kids films - they are fun, and I have kids.

I watch loads of family films - kids films can get tedius and mine are growing up so I push them a little further. Family films are often well themed and can push social commentary and nowdays do break social norms and boundaries.

Sci fi kicks ass - nuff said.

At the moment I don't remember the last "adult drama" I have watched. I found that cinema just keep failing in that genre and do typically tend to overplay themes or gratify certain subjects. "adult drama" became porn.

I did watch Her which is a sci fi style film and totally blew me away with its social commentary about how we are becoming detached from the human race and are forming virtual relationships with.. I think it dealt with an underlying theme of depression and loneliness. Extremely good vocal acting from Scarlett Johansson (who kicked ass in Lucy) and Joaquín Phoenix's performance was superb.

Ex Machina was another more "adult" sci fi film that just had me glued from the start. It dealt with a few rather dark themes which are way to "adult" to mention here but again it dealt with Artificial Intelligence and posed the "what if" argument very well

Sense8 Was a very good sci fi series that hit the small screen recently. I still don't quite understand it and I admit it was hard to watch in places but you get over it quick as the direction and acting was very slick. It is a series that deals with prejudice and stereotypes in such a clever way that you don't realise its happening because you are more dealing with it from multiple perspectives. Written and directed by The Wachowski Brothers, who became The Wachowskis, and are now The Wachowski Sisters. One of the lead roles is the beautiful Jamie Clayton. Although she does have an air of the Crying Game about her...

I am a child of the 80's and remember the "Green Monkey" taunts and the "God's Punishment" nastiness from the religious zealots out there.

Not sure I'd watch it but I know a few people who would. Many thanks for the reply and the more in depth and honest review.

Com.

 

[fowler9]

I watch loads of kids films - they are fun, and I have kids.

I watch loads of family films - kids films can get tedius and mine are growing up so I push them a little further. Family films are often well themed and can push social commentary and nowdays do break social norms and boundaries.

Sci fi kicks ass - nuff said.

At the moment I don't remember the last "adult drama" I have watched. I found that cinema just keep failing in that genre and do typically tend to overplay themes or gratify certain subjects. "adult drama" became porn.

I did watch Her which is a sci fi style film and totally blew me away with its social commentary about how we are becoming detached from the human race and are forming virtual relationships with.. I think it dealt with an underlying theme of depression and loneliness. Extremely good vocal acting from Scarlett Johansson (who kicked ass in Lucy) and Joaquín Phoenix's performance was superb.

Ex Machina was another more "adult" sci fi film that just had me glued from the start. It dealt with a few rather dark themes which are way to "adult" to mention here but again it dealt with Artificial Intelligence and posed the "what if" argument very well

Sense8 Was a very good sci fi series that hit the small screen recently. I still don't quite understand it and I admit it was hard to watch in places but you get over it quick as the direction and acting was very slick. It is a series that deals with prejudice and stereotypes in such a clever way that you don't realise its happening because you are more dealing with it from multiple perspectives. Written and directed by The Wachowski Brothers, who became The Wachowskis, and are now The Wachowski Sisters. One of the lead roles is the beautiful Jamie Clayton. Although she does have an air of the Crying Game about her...

I am a child of the 80's and remember the "Green Monkey" taunts and the "God's Punishment" nastiness from the religious zealots out there.

Not sure I'd watch it but I know a few people who would. Many thanks for the reply and the more in depth and honest review.

Com.

Loved Ex Machina, left me in a very funny mood. Also loved Never Let Me Go and Children Of Men from the kind of more thoughtful Sci Fi genre.

Watched Divergent last night which was frankly ridiculous. Not even a rip roaring action film, just daft.

 

[yorksrob]

I quite enjoyed "Nuts in May" by Mike Leigh.

I also found watching myself "A Private Function" with Michael Palin and Maggie Smith quite recently, which was very good.

 

[ainsworth74]

I watch loads of family films - kids films can get tedius and mine are growing up so I push them a little further. Family films are often well themed and can push social commentary and nowdays do break social norms and boundaries.

I went back and watched some Disney and Pixar films that I had seen when I was child for the first time as an adult. Man there are whole other layers in those films which just went totally over my head as a child. It made for very interesting viewing!

Plus the nostalgia factor as well

Thor - Four out of five

A very good Marvel Comic action/adventure romp with a surprising amount of humour to boot. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is excellent and some very interesting faces pop up as well (Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins being two big ones).

Watched Divergent last night which was frankly ridiculous. Not even a rip roaring action film, just daft.

Part of that can be blamed on the source material. I've read the books (before the films) and the third book in the trilogy was weak.

 

[yorksrob]

The only children's film that stands out for me is "Bedknobs and Broomstick's" with Angela Lansbury.

 

[fowler9]

I went back and watched some Disney and Pixar films that I had seen when I was child for the first time as an adult. Man there are whole other layers in those films which just went totally over my head as a child. It made for very interesting viewing!

Plus the nostalgia factor as well

Thor - Four out of five

A very good Marvel Comic action/adventure romp with a surprising amount of humour to boot. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is excellent and some very interesting faces pop up as well (Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins being two big ones).



Part of that can be blamed on the source material. I've read the books (before the films) and the third book in the trilogy was weak.

I agree. I'll admit to not having read the books but I am guessing that the studio saw how well The Hunger Games and Maze Runner did and decided to have a go at a film based on Teen Post Apocalyptic fiction to see if they could make some money.

 

[ainsworth74]

I agree. I'll admit to not having read the books but I am guessing that the studio saw how well The Hunger Games and Maze Runner did and decided to have a go at a film based on Teen Post Apocalyptic fiction to see if they could make some money.

Oh totally! But I think that well is probably pretty tapped at this point. The last Maze Runner film didn't do all that well I think at the box office so I think the market for Teen Post Apocalyptic fiction, at least when it comes to films, is probably tapped out at this point.

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

The Exterminators, a low budget but well acted sci fi about an alien attack in which an old 'X-Comm' team has to come out of retirement to save the day. Some funny lines.
4/5

In regards to the Divergent, Insurgent, & Allegiant films, my Mum loves them. I think the first two films were a bit long and lacking, but watchable. I'm not into lame romances. If it was sped up a bit, had the outside world with a mysterious threat, and had the faction conflict from the start it'll be much better. Too much time is the main character walking around clueless.
2/5

 

[DaleCooper]

Madagascar - A good, but not exceptional, animation worth watching but not worth going out of your way. 6.0/10

 

[fowler9]

Watched Lady Vengeance last night. Not as good as Old Boy but Park Chan Wook is really good at melting the brain.

 

[DarloRich]

Several to catch up on:

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - an action comedy based on a comic book series where the erstwhile hero must defeat his girlfriends evil ex's. its fast, silly, has good visuals and funny if a little juvenile

K-19: The Widowmaker - I like a submarine file and this makes a decent fist of the genre. It is no Das Boot but Harrison Ford & Liam Neeson play good parts of captain and first officer dealing with the many disasters that befell the Soviet submarine K-19 which was their first nuclear powered ballistic submarine. The drama is good but not quite there.

Snatch - Guy Ritchie directed crime comedy containing two intertwined plots: the search for a stolen diamond & a small-time boxing promoter who finds himself under the thumb of a ruthless gangster who is keen to have his subordinates carry out revenge. It is filmed in the same kinetic style as Lock, Stock & 2 smoking barrels and is a very good film

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues The follow up to Anchorman. It is crude, rude, inappropriate, childish, improvised and while not as good as the original it is still very funny.

The Dammed United - Starring Michael Sheen and dealing with Brian Clough and his ill fated spell as manager of dirty Leeds United and his desire to beat everything achieved by Don Revie. While it is fiction based on fact and there is undoubtedly lots of dramatic license it is a good film. Sheen is uncannily good as Clough and the film deals with ideas of success, jealousy, envy and betrayal well and is a really good watch.

 

[backontrack]

It may be too advanced for many of the posters here as several are young, they seem to watch a lot of children's films, family films or family sci fi films not serious adult drama.

I do believe you're wrong.


12 Angry Men (1957, directed by Sidney Lumet, with Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb and Joseph Sweeney): 10/10

Wonderfully acted, plotted, filmed, directed. This is one of the greatest.


-

 

[ainsworth74]

Oooh yeah that is a really good one!

 

[backontrack]

Oooh yeah that is a really good one!

I'm so glad we watched it - it's nuanced, and, even with all those closeups, not a single shot is wasted. And it's realistic. Henry Fonda doesn't make them all change their minds in turn - each one is in charge of their own thoughts about the case, their own opinions - and each one chips something in. These aren't just 12 random characters that discuss a murder, each one is unique yet realistic. These are real people, you feel. You could meet them. Some you wouldn't want to meet. But, what starts off as doubt - even just a gut feeling of doubt - turns into something much larger when everyone adds their own impetus to it. There isn't a laboured verdict based upon the feelings of one individual - it's something they've all contributed to, that they've created. And it's exceptional.

The filming is very well done indeed, such as the knife moment and at one point where the crowd is literally split by Lee J. Cobb (they're standing in a crowd and then suddenly we get another angle where we see that he's quite isolated in the middle). Speaking of the acting, every juror is worth his salt and hands in a great performance, but I thought that Lee J. Cobb was absolutely brilliant. That final speech is so realistically done, so well done...it really deserves more plaudits.

And all those closeups...you can read their thoughts. They act as if they're in a hot room - whether they actually are or not doesn't matter, but we believe it's a hot room. It's the nuances - the little things, the darkly comic details - that really make this film spectacular.

So, in short, this is right up there with the best I've seen. Do watch it if you haven't already - if you see it on DVD and it's not hideously pricey, go for it. It truly is one of the best movies of all time, and I highly recommend it.