Films you have seen at the cinema 2024

[metalguru]

The Hit Man

Didn’t know much about this before going to see it, but it was a good comedy drama, with a fast and sharp script and good acting. It's bit of a showcase for the lead actor - Glen Powell - to demonstrate his acting chops, and he also co-wrote the script with director Richard Linklater.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

The Hit Man was one of my randomisers from MubiGo. It follows The Hollywood Storytelling Movie Formula. Ok if done well. It lived or died on whether or not you thought the lead was charming.

Some people behind me laughed at various points. I didn't. He's no Cary Grant (for me).

 

[mhendo]

Furiosa - A Mad Max Saga. Another mental thrill ride from George Miller, with a fair few laffs on the way. You get what you're there for - brilliant escapist overkill

Saw Furiosa today and thought it was excellent.

It's not the super-tight, not-a-wasted-moment thrill ride of Fury Road; there's a lot more backstory and world-building. But it still has plenty of fantastic costumes, wild machines, raucous action and amazing chases, and even at two and a half hours, it never really seemed too long. The performances were all excellent. I was a bit dubious when I heard that they'd chosen Anya Taylor-Joy for the role, but she was fantastic, and Chris Hemsworth was almost a bit too over the top but still great as Dementus.

 

[mwgdrwg]

Saw Furiosa today and thought it was excellent.

It's not the super-tight, not-a-wasted-moment thrill ride of Fury Road; there's a lot more backstory and world-building. But it still has plenty of fantastic costumes, wild machines, raucous action and amazing chases, and even at two and a half hours, it never really seemed too long. The performances were all excellent. I was a bit dubious when I heard that they'd chosen Anya Taylor-Joy for the role, but she was fantastic, and Chris Hemsworth was almost a bit too over the top but still great as Dementus.

I agree with every word. Great film.

 

[Winot]

Challengers.

Found it dull tbh. Didn't care enough about the characters. Josh O'Connor was good. Zendaya seems overrated (this and Dune).

 

[nottsgirl]

Saw Furiosa today and thought it was excellent.

It's not the super-tight, not-a-wasted-moment thrill ride of Fury Road; there's a lot more backstory and world-building. But it still has plenty of fantastic costumes, wild machines, raucous action and amazing chases, and even at two and a half hours, it never really seemed too long. The performances were all excellent. I was a bit dubious when I heard that they'd chosen Anya Taylor-Joy for the role, but she was fantastic, and Chris Hemsworth was almost a bit too over the top but still great as Dementus.

I heard a hilarious review which said it was pretty much the worst film they’d ever seen. Anyway. I don’t think I’m the target audience.

 

[Sue]

The Hit Man. I really enjoyed this. Essentially a modern noir (with jokes) and the leads have proper chemistry. Highly recommended.

Spoiler

The ending is very non-traditional noir though. Also just me or is Gary not like hot even before he becomes Ron..?

Also got an email about free tickets for a test screening of this. Which I can't make alas...

'Marching Powder. The long-anticipated reunion of acclaimed director Nick Love and national treasure Danny Dyer.'

Let's just take a second to reflect on the use in that sentence of 'long-anticipated', 'acclaimed' and 'national treasure'.

 

[Winot]

The Hit Man. I really enjoyed this. Essentially a modern noir (with jokes) and the leads have proper chemistry. Highly recommended.

Saw it tonight. Really excellent fun.

 

[marty21]

1. American Fiction
2. Drive Away Dolls
3. Love Lies Bleeding
4. Hit Man

 

[marty21]

The Hit Man. I really enjoyed this. Essentially a modern noir (with jokes) and the leads have proper chemistry. Highly recommended.

Spoiler

The ending is very non-traditional noir though. Also just me or is Gary not like hot even before he becomes Ron..?

Also got an email about free tickets for a test screening of this. Which I can't make alas...

'Marching Powder. The long-anticipated reunion of acclaimed director Nick Love and national treasure Danny Dyer.'

Let's just take a second to reflect on the use in that sentence of 'long-anticipated', 'acclaimed' and 'national treasure'.

Saw it this afternoon, enjoyed it , witty , engaging , and sexy.

 

[Elpenor]

Saw a few films in London

Blow Up - I’m obviously not clever enough to get the point of it Disappointing and frankly quite boring and the characters rather boring but must admit I had a stiff knee as found the seats at the Prince Charles cinema very uncomfortable. If I go there again I’ll be on the aisle.

Paisan - Italian neorealism classic, several vignettes during the Italian campaign in WW2. Depressing as hell, but impactful, seen the particularly bleak Germany Year Zero before I knew what to expect. That was at the BFI, which seemed very nice though it took me ages to find the entrance so didn’t get a chance to have a look around beforehand and had to rush off at the end for…

Rome, Open City - also Italian neorealism. This was outstanding, heartbreaking at times, often funny and despite the way the film develops uplifting too. This is having a wider release around the country I think.
This was at the Garden cinema and only £5. I reckon if I lived in London (never going to happen as I can’t stand cities) I would be a member here as I thought it was a really good venue. Thanks to whoever recommended it.

Tonight, back at home I went to my usual haunt and saw Dr Strangelove for the first time. Strong acting performances and cutting satire, sadly still too relevant today thanks to the idiot politicians and generals.

 

[Sue]

Glad you enjoyed your trip! You can normally get into the BFI via the bar at the front but it's all blocked off just now as they're doing work on screen 1. So yeah, bit fiddly going round the side if you're not familiar with the building.

I'm a member of the GC (they were doing lifetime memberships for £20 when it first opened). They show a good mix of stuff and the bar's nice too.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Billy Connolly: Big Banana Feet (1977)

Billy Connolly in Billy Connolly: Big Banana Feet (1977)

m.imdb.com

Saw this at the weekend. I enjoyed it. I recall seeing this years ago and heard that it had been 'lost' and recreated from various sources.

It's very of it's time but a good look at the realities of a comedian touring the UK and Ireland in the Seventies.

 

[Elpenor]

Glad you enjoyed your trip! You can normally get into the BFI via the bar at the front but it's all blocked off just now as they're doing work on screen 1. So yeah, bit fiddly going round the side if you're not familiar with the building.

I'm a member of the GC (they were doing lifetime memberships for £20 when it first opened). They show a good mix of stuff and the bar's nice too.

Yes I think the wide range of cinemas in and around London was possibly the only thing that made me slightly think the grass was greener.

The bar at GC did look nice.

 

[colacubes]

Furiosa. An hour too long and didn’t think much of Hemsworth’s performance, but otherwise thoroughly enjoyed it. The sound throughout in the in cinema was incredible.

 

[Nanker Phelge]

Furiosa. I enjoyed it.

 

[dessiato]

We've not been for ages, but we've got our tickets for Bad Boys: Ride or Die. We expect mindless entertainment. We don't want something challenging in any way.

I'll let you know how bad it really is.

 

[nottsgirl]

The Beast. Thought provoking if at times a bit scary sci fi. It was on the long side but I really enjoyed it and it definitely kept my attention. It had a good ending.

 

[Sue]

The Beast. Thought provoking if at times a bit scary sci fi. It was on the long side but I really enjoyed it and it definitely kept my attention. It had a good ending.

Yes, I'm not completely sure I understood it all but I enjoyed it too. More of this sort of (ambitious, interesting film) thing.

Also great to see George MacKay keeps choosing such varied and interesting roles.

 

[A380]

Furiosa on a huge screen. In my opinion the best of the franchise. Park your brain at the door and enjoy the spectacle.

 

[dessiato]

We've not been for ages, but we've got our tickets for Bad Boys: Ride or Die. We expect mindless entertainment. We don't want something challenging in any way.

I'll let you know how bad it really is.

It was exactly as expected. Mindless entertainment. There's nothing new in this version that you haven't seen in every Bad Boys film. If you want, as we did, a couple of hours with your brain turned off, and you want to watch some action with the occasional laugh thrown in, this is a film for you.

 

[Elpenor]

Ama Gloria - a 6 year old French girl spends a last summer with her nanny. Quite a charming film and an outstanding performance by the child actor. Gloria, the nanny, has to return home to Cabo Verde after her mother dies, finally needing to look after her own two children. Cleo, the French girl she has looked after since her mother died when she was a baby, comes to spend a final summer with her beloved nanny. Arguably there are four children who have lost their mother including Gloria’s own children. Identity, loss, race, colonialism are gently explored via this portrait of their last few months together.

La Chimera. It took me a long time to get into this. The director had said before that you need to (as with archaeology) gradually scrape away layer by layer. I think this is why the film stock / format kept changing, shot by shot as things became clearer as the layers are stripped back. As the film progressed I got more from it; but still a bit undecided on the wider meaning.

 

[Dr. Furface]

The Beast. Thought provoking if at times a bit scary sci fi. It was on the long side but I really enjoyed it and it definitely kept my attention. It had a good ending.

Just seen it, loved it. I wasn’t sure about it beforehand cos I know someone who walked out of it after just 20mins, but well, they were stupid.
I think I just about ‘got it’ but really I just enjoyed watching it without trying to figure it out too much. The longer it went on the more Lynchian it got, and the final scenes nailed that influence.

BTW did you do the QR code at the end? It’s more than just the credits…

 

[nottsgirl]

Just seen it, loved it. I wasn’t sure about it beforehand cos I know someone who walked out of it after just 20mins, but well, they were stupid.
I think I just about ‘got it’ but really I just enjoyed watching it without trying to figure it out too much. The longer it went on the more Lynchian it got, and the final scenes nailed that influence.

BTW did you do the QR code at the end? It’s more than just the credits…

I didn’t do the QR thing…

 

[Sue]

I didn’t do the QR thing…

Me either...

 

[Elpenor]

I missed The Beast. But my cinema friend raved about it so feel a bit gutted

 

[littlebabyjesus]

The Beast

Another one that might need some mulling. An era-hopping tale in which different versions of a woman and a man find three different ways to fail to get it on.

Spoiler

They struggle to connect romantically in three different eras, each marked by a different kind of doll showing the level of technological development. First dolls are revolutionary ones made of celluloid (don't smoke around them, but what could go wrong!), which result pretty directly in their deaths just as they're getting it on. Second doll is a malevolent-looking little shit that is a semi-automaton thing that were popular a few years ago. Doll doesn't do much, just sits there gurgling as he stalks her (from a dashing young Englishman he is now an incel American), and he kills her (probably, bit vague, but she wants him for some reason) before they can get it on. Third doll is fully humanoid in a future where humans are encouraged to confront traumas from their past lives (this is where it all gets a bit sketchy) in order to free themselves from worrry. Doll's nice enough! This version of the woman somehow fails the purification process (it has a 0.7% failure rate, as they admit), thus ruining him for her just as they're about to get it on!

It has themes taken from a few places, including 1984, Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, even Hitchcock. I enjoyed the bits. Do they all come together as a coherent whole? I don't think so, although starting and ending with a scream is a nice touch. It's rather hand-wavy in certain areas, to say the least.

An enjoyable mess. I could perhaps be persuaded that it's a bit better than that. Although I'm kind of ok with enjoyable messes.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Oh and yeah, the QR thing was weird. Um, it's a cinema. My phone's SWITCHED OFF.

 

[Dr. Furface]

Oh and yeah, the QR thing was weird. Um, it's a cinema. My phone's SWITCHED OFF.

It's a fair point, although it was on screen for quite a while. But you don't need to have your phone fully switched off these days - on an iPhone you can just select Do Not Disturb, and you can do something similar on some if not all androids too.

Spoiler

The QR code reveals the credits but also includes an extra 30 secs or so with the woman clairvoyant on the internet giving Gabrielle a warning, which she is not shown watching.

 

[Orang Utan]

My phone switches to do not disturb if in the vicinity of any cinema I go to, so I don’t have to remember to switch it off. Love that facility.