What DVD / Video did you watch last night? (pt3)

[Nanker Phelge]

Lumet's The Verdict. Starring Paul Newman, written by Mamet, so plenty of pedigree.

I'd never seen it before. Newman was terrific in it. The story is nothing special really. A simple underdog story with redemption at the centre, but featuring some great performances and excellent dialogue which lift it right up and keep it tense and interesting. It's an 80s film, but was certainly a hangover from the 70s in terms of style. Well worth the time!

 

[pissflaps]

The Great Gatsby.

We lasted 25 minutes.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

The Great Gatsby.

We lasted 25 minutes.

Well done....

 

[Voley]

Berberian Sound Studio. Now this was good. Plot all over the fucking place (still not entirely sure what happened at the end), Toby Young very good as someone visibly going under, some very disconcerting treatment of melons and a claustrophobic soundtrack/atmosphere that was proper fucking weird. Will watch it again sometime when I'm not so stoned - it may or may not make more sense.

 

[Orang Utan]

Toby Young

 

[moonsi til]

Finished watching The Pacific. I enjoyed it and plan to check out some of the books the men wrote.

 

[Voley]

Toby Young

Whoops. Bit out of it last night.

 

[la ressistance]

The last gladiators. Docu on Netflix about ice hockey enforcers. Stunning.

 

[Idris2002]

Pacific Rim.

Just a little bit too much visual clutter on the screen to make this one truly great, and the backstory was sketchy, but it did exactly what it said on the tin. We who read literary sci-fi will continue to look down on those who consume it in visual form, but occasionally something half decent will get through the net.

 

[krtek a houby]

Kill list - delightful dark comedy concerning two bumbling but loveable hitmen who come a cropper whilst on a jaunt in the countryside.

 

[magneze]

Watched loads recently.

Searching for Sugarman
Excellent documentary about an unknown, dead American singer who was big in South Africa but nowhere else and a group of fans from there who tried to find out more about him. Well worth watching.

Neighboring Sounds
Brazilian film about a set of people all living together on the same street/apartment block and the new group of security guards that look after them. Intriguing all the way through with some quite mysterious back-stories to some of the residents.

Trance
A stolen painting goes missing and a hypnotherapist is employed to help find it. I'd not heard of it before but it's directed by Danny Boyle. I really liked this, especially the way you become less sure about what's really happening.

Midnight's Children
Film version of the Salman Rushdie book (which is very good). It's stays pretty close to the text and is a very watchable film due to the fantastic story. The first hour drags a bit but then it's fine - it could have been better cut for sure. The lead actor is kinda rubbish though - everyone else acts him off the screen.

Side Effects
It's about the side effects that a woman experiences after taking an anti-depressant and the drastic changes that happen in her life. The plot is all tied up with medical and research ethics. Excellent.

Splice
Passable Sci-Fi Horror which doesn't take itself too seriously. The scientists are the most inept since Prometheus (yes, I know Splice came first but I watched Prometheus before this). Some of the bits of plot you can see from a mile away. Having said all that, it does have some interesting ideas around genetic engineering and the surrounding ethics albeit in a somewhat ham fisted way.

 

[DotCommunist]

I'm just going to talk about things I want to have happened on screen

Wolverine- Wolverine acts like a total don and shreds lots of people while discovering his true nature

Alpha Pappa- its alan on the big screen. that will do

run out of steam now

 

[Virtual Blue]

Trance - poor effort. cheap and tacky like a C5 movie.

 

[5t3IIa]

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

Shite never sleeps.

This was on telly on Sunday and I was looking forward to it but the fucking thing has a

Spoiler

absolutely ridiculous happy ending

 

[Orang Utan]

First episode of S4 of Arrested Development.
Bit disappointing. Not many laughs. They always take a few to kick in though

 

[Idris2002]

Watched loads recently.

Searching for Sugarman
Excellent documentary about an unknown, dead American singer who was big in South Africa but nowhere else and a group of fans from there who tried to find out more about him. Well worth watching.

It's actually better than you make it sound - to the point where I would not only recommend it to everyone else, but have sought out the man's music.

Also, the man's fate makes for some surprises. . . which I won't spoil for you. Just watch it.

 

[DexterTCN]

First episode of S4 of Arrested Development.
Bit disappointing. Not many laughs. They always take a few to kick in though

Don't think of it as an episode. The whole series is actually one episode that fits together bit by bit. It's good.

 

[butchersapron]

I think that I've just seen the best film ever. Pain and Gain. I am not kidding.

 

[Orang Utan]

The latest Michael Bay?
Do tell us more!

 

[DaveCinzano]

I think that I've just seen the best film ever. Pain and Gain. I am not kidding.

When it was over did you go camping?

 

[butchersapron]

The latest Michael Bay?
Do tell us more!

That was the funniest film i have seen in some time. Not sure i've seen any of his before. This was excellent Miami Blues style black comedy - top notch.

 

[yardbird]

Elephant
Campus killings - strangely almost ethereal

 

[JimW]

That was the funniest film i have seen in some time. Not sure i've seen any of his before. This was excellent Miami Blues style black comedy - top notch.

Got that on download to watch tonight, wasn't expecting much but now I'll be after you if it's not laugh-a-minute!

ETA Watched one called Iceman last night, "true story" about a mafia hitman late 60s, 70s. Bit pointless really, I like the lead actor (played the agent who goes off the rails in Boardwalk Empire) and his thing here is he's a family man outside the unusual job, which he performs with no mercy, but while he's a convincing enough turn don't feel like you get much insight into what remains a pretty sordid story.

 

[butchersapron]

Got that on download to watch tonight, wasn't expecting much but now I'll be after you if it's not laugh-a-minute!

ETA Watched one called Iceman last night, "true story" about a mafia hitman late 60s, 70s. Bit pointless really, I like the lead actor (played the agent who goes off the rails in Boardwalk Empire) and his thing here is he's a family man outside the unusual job, which he performs with no mercy, but while he's a convincing enough turn don't feel like you get much insight into what remains a pretty sordid story.

I saw a documentary about him a few years back (and he's referenced in Pain and Gain). Odd chap who just sort of moved into killing as part of career progression.

 

[Sue]

That was the funniest film i have seen in some time. Not sure i've seen any of his before. This was excellent Miami Blues style black comedy - top notch.

Interesting. Sounds like a bit of a change from his usual blockbuster stuff. Will keep an eye out for this.

 

[JimW]

I saw a documentary about him a few years back (and he's referenced in Pain and Gain). Odd chap who just sort of moved into killing as part of career progression.

Yep, that was it - he kills around 100 people before he gets caught. Presented in this film as made an offer he can't refuse when he runs into the mob boss one day when he's working packing porn movies. They spot he's fairly unflappable and reckon he'll make good killer material. Just don't think the fact that a lot of crims aren't psychos, just doing what they see as a job is enough of a revelation to hang a biopic on.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

Yep, that was it - he kills around 100 people before he gets caught. Presented in this film as made an offer he can't refuse when he runs into the mob boss one day when he's working packing porn movies. They spot he's fairly unflappable and reckon he'll make good killer material. Just don't think the fact that a lot of crims aren't psychos, just doing what they see as a job is enough of a revelation to hang a biopic on.

I found the Iceman a bit flat, although I did really enjoy it. TVs had cornered the market in these types of stories and has more time to tell them. I would have liked to have seen more of the story as there is a lot more of it to tell than we get in 90 minutes of film time.

 

[JimW]

I found the Iceman a bit flat, although I did really enjoy it. TVs had cornered the market in these types of stories and has more time to tell them. I would have liked to have seen more of the story as there is a lot more of it to tell than we get in 90 minutes of film time.

Good point about the TV - a longer series could have made more of the whole social milieu (get me!) which was the more interesting side rather than the killings, which TBF they did downplay anyway by and large.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Breathless

Korean film about a cunty debt collector, thought it was really good & pretty brutal

I've got a choice of

Breathless
Antique Bakery - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antique_(film))
Desire to Kill (Joogigo Sipeun aka Enemy at the Dead End) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Desire-Kill...qid=1376662350&sr=8-1&keywords=desire+to+kill


Think it'll be Breathless or Desire to Kill

 

[DotCommunist]

Pain and Gain.

I did not find it as hilarious as Butchers but it was still good. The Rock has some of the best lines