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Films you have seen at the cinema 2024

redsquirrel said:
Kinds of Kindness - meh, there is a definite style there and it's clearly got a lot of talent in it. But for what? There is no emotional investment either in the characters or even the story. You have a series of events with a slightly black comic touch happening but that's it. It is very well made, quite clever, delivered with some panache, and I certainly didn't hate the two and three quarter hours (though it is too long), but it is just rather empty. I suspect Lanthimos might be a director whose best work is when he's directing/adapting other peoples plot/script/book.
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Agreed. It was good and funny in places but lacked heart. And whatever the title is about, there wasn't any kindness in it at all.

I managed to see two horror films over the weekend despite not being into horror.

MaXXXine, the last in Ti West/Mia Goth's X trilogy. I haven't see the first (X) but thought its prequel Pearl was excellent. MaXXXine follows on from X and is set in the 80s. It follows Maxine as she tries to break into horror films after becoming famous in porn movies and all while her friends are being murdered round her. Mia Goth is excellent, Kevin Bacon does seedy and sleazy surprisingly well and the 80s setting is well done. It's fine and quite entertaining but nowhere near the same league as Pearl.

Long Legs. Starts pretty promisingly, second act is okay but by the third, it had completely run out of steam, with the whole explanation/wrap up of events kind of chucked in there and not making a great deal of sense. (The ending is heavily telegraphed from the start too so that was a bit meh.) Nicholas Cage is pretty unrecognisable visually but he's on top scenery chewing form and all while channelling Joaquin Phoenix's Joker.
 
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Longlegs

Ffs.

I'm going to have to rethink my pot luck attitude to mubigo.

What a load of incoherent fucking dribble. And offensively bad. You know those men who kill their families and themselves? Devil makes them do it.
 
Second viewing of Horizon - An American Saga chapter one.

I felt first time watching that the strands were too disparate and it took a long time to get going. On a second watch I have changed my mind a bit, the flaws are still present but I think the ambition to do something on this scale is to be admired and worth seeing on a big screen if you can.

This is a slow, slow western, with some compelling if frustrating storylines. Naturally we have some spectacular set piece battles, slow smouldering buildups and of course epic scenery that the cinematography shows off so well. Most of the western tropes are here too, I can’t decide how ironically Costner means them to be.

Georgia McPhail the actor who plays Sienna Miller’s characters daughter is superb, a potential star in the making.

It now looks unlikely that chapter two will be released any time soon as chapter 1 has disappointed at the box office and hasn’t excited the critics much either. Think the plan is for it to build awareness on streaming platforms too. So who knows if chapter two will be released cinematically but I’ll be going to see it if it does

Chapter 3 is in production currently and the final film - Chapter 4 - may depend on how the first two doing well.

Edit on reflection, having seen the last hour or so on the tv when I got home this is not unlike How The West Was Won, telling a narrative history over a long period of time, and reading this article it seems to have been a big influence on Costner.

 
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Inside Out 2
Not quite as affecting, for me, or as perspicacious as the first one. The numbskull analogies of the developing elements of personality within the brain have been stretched to breaking point here, rendering some elements of the film incoherent and less engaging.
Still, it’s frequently funny and wise in its depiction of nascent adolescence. No tears from me this time though, which is surely a contractual obligation for a Pixar film

Longlegs
Inexplicably well-received serial-killer horror from Osgood Perkins, who, from the evidence of this paltry effort, is only noticeable USP is being the son of Norman Bates himself. Anthony Perkins. People have been favourably comparing it with The Silence Of The Lambs, which is absurd, because that film was interested in what makes people kill, while this stupid distasteful film has no interest in reality, just pure Satanic evil. Which IMO is a cop-out, and a rather cowardly one, considering the premise of an evil entity that compels men to murder their entire families. I’ve never found this kind of film scary though, as supernatural explanations for bad things happening just don’t work on me. (I appreciate this is a subjective thing though).
The less said about the absurdities of the plot the better.
Cage of course does his full Cage thing, which was fun and enjoyable but hardly scary, considering he looks like zombie Liberace channeling Tiny Tim.
1 creepy-doll-that-no-child-would-ever-want-as-a-toy out of 5

Maxxxine
The third in Ty West’s loose trilogy of sorts.
Saw this right after Longlegs, so I may be at risk of overpraising, but I loved this. I enjoyed the other two films in the tryptych, and agree with Sue that it’s not a patch on Pearl, but that’s no complaint as it’s so enjoyable. The audience at my screening seemed to enjoy it as much as I did.
In the bar after seeing it, I overheard some fellow young cinemagoers chatting excitedly about it and one said it was ‘like Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, only good’ :D
 
Kinds of Kindness


Ummm, yeah, okay. That was that then. Stylish, with excellent performances and quite a lot of laughs. Also quite horrible, overlong and superficial. It's not actively bad, but it is fairly actively 'so what?' Emmas dance at the end was the best thing in it.
 
About Dry Grasses.

First time I’ve ever had to go for a slash during a film, it was 3:17 long. Also had three people walk out. Not much happens in the first half of the film so I can’t say I blame them.

The action such as it is consists of extended and sometimes dull conversations (perhaps watching it subtitled made this more difficult) which I guess mimicked the monotonous life of the characters, teachers and students at a school in what feels like a permanently snow covered remote part of Anatolia.

A highlight was a dinner party scene debating individualism vs solidarity which feels like it could have been taken from urbans very own politics forums around 2002-2003. Then shortly after a bizarre moment which did not make sense. A few things happen over the course of the final hour but by the end lives carry on much the same.

Some rather nice shots here and there and the female lead actress is very good (she won at Cannes last year), the other characters I thought are very unsympathetically drawn and I questioned their motivations.

I left with the feeling that I was shortchanged. Perhaps it went over my head.
 
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Elpenor said:
About Dry Grasses.

First time I’ve ever had to go for a slash during a film, it was 3:17 long. Also had three people walk out. Not much happens in the first half of the film so I can’t say I blame them.

The action such as it is consists of extended and sometimes dull conversations (perhaps watching it subtitled made this more difficult) which I guess mimicked the monotonous life of the characters, teachers and students at a school in what feels like a permanently snow covered remote part of Anatolia.

A highlight was a dinner party scene debating individualism vs solidarity which feels like it could have been taken from urbans very own politics forums around 2002-2003. Then shortly after a bizarre moment which did not make sense. A few things happen over the course of the final hour but by the end lives carry on much the same.

Some rather nice shots here and there and the female lead actress is very good (she won at Cannes last year), the other characters I thought are very unsympathetically drawn and I questioned their motivations.

I left with the feeling that I was shortchanged. Perhaps it went over my head.
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Tbh, after sitting through a couple of the director's other films, thought I'd give this one a miss. I mean I'm sure they're very good and look beautiful and all but they are very long and kind of slow.
 
Sue said:
Tbh, after sitting through a couple of the director's other films, thought I'd give this one a miss. I mean I'm sure they're very good and look beautiful and all but they are very long and kind of slow.
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I would suggest you’re right. I am not likely to seek out any more of their other films

A lot of the cultural and political context felt unexplained and quite distinct to rural Turkey, that combined with the very long subtitled and, like the grasses, dry conversations made it rather hard work.
 
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Elpenor said:
I would suggest you’re right. I am not likely to seek out any more of their other films

A lot of the cultural and political context felt unexplained and quite distinct to rural Turkey, that combined with the very long subtitled and, like the grasses, dry conversations made it rather hard work.
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Kind of connected-ish.

Crossing. A Georgian woman goes to Istanbul to look for her estranged trans niece. A different side to the usual film portrayals of Turkey -- here it's all about down at heel areas of Istanbul frequented by transwomen and street children and their various interactions with the aunt and her younger sidekick. Recommended.

Sleep. A man starts doing strange things while asleep. A medical condition or...something more sinister..? First feature from S Korean director Jason Yu. Pretty good.
 
Pot Luck Allnighter at the Picturehouse. I hadn't seen any of the films before.

Kneecap

Preview of a new film about a Hip Hop band from Belfast who sing in Irish. A real band, I discovered afterwards, which explains how good the two lead actors were at rapping. They could act as well. Unremittingly and unapologetically anti-British, it is uncompromising and very enjoyable.

Female Trouble

John Waters' 1974 pic charting the life story of Dawn Davenport (Divine) all the way from high school to the electric chair. Waters is never afraid to go to that place, wherever it may be. When Dawn is raped by the vile Earl Petersen (also Divine), you think he's not going to have her enjoy it, surely. Sure enough he does. Dawn just can't control her resultant daughter. She's tried whipping her, she's tried locking her up. Nothing works. Divine is magnificent as Dawn, revelling in every moment as the star of her own fucked up life. Just about every scene is memorable. The actors basically stand next to one another and shout their lines. It works a treat.

Grizzly Man

Herzog documentary about a man who lived with bears and was killed by them, featuring extended sequences from the films he made while with the bears. The story of the man is a sad one. His footage is extraordinary. Herzog's commentary doesn't add much, but it's not needed anyway.

Cocaine Bear

Yep. A film about a bear taking cocaine. It's as bad as it sounds.

Shrek 2

Not having seen Shrek 1, I was a little puzzled at the start, but I caught up eventually. I didn't like this story. As much as it seems to be trying to put across a message that looks don't matter, its effect appears to be quite the opposite. And Shrek is a selfish cunt at the end. The animation is horrible. Maybe I was getting a bit tired by that point...
 
littlebabyjesus said:
Kneecap

Preview of a new film about a Hip Hop band from Belfast who sing in Irish. A real band, I discovered afterwards, which explains how good the two lead actors were at rapping. They could act as well. Unremittingly and unapologetically anti-British, it is uncompromising and very enjoyable.
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I read an article about this a while ago and it looks fun from the trailers. Looking forward to seeing it.
 
Sue said:
Crossing. A Georgian woman goes to Istanbul to look for her estranged trans niece. A different side to the usual film portrayals of Turkey -- here it's all about down at heel areas of Istanbul frequented by transwomen and street children and their various interactions with the aunt and her younger sidekick. Recommended.
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I’ve been wanting to see this but it’s not been on/ I’ve not been free at the right time.
 
Sue said:
Kind of connected-ish.

Crossing. A Georgian woman goes to Istanbul to look for her estranged trans niece. A different side to the usual film portrayals of Turkey -- here it's all about down at heel areas of Istanbul frequented by transwomen and street children and their various interactions with the aunt and her younger sidekick. Recommended.
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I missed out on Crossing last week, feels like that would have been a better option.
 
Sue said:
I read an article about this a while ago and it looks fun from the trailers. Looking forward to seeing it.
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It's not perfect. It's a bit schematic at times and imo it is too sympathetic towards the dad, who comes across to me as a hypcritical tosser. But its strong points outweigh its weaker points.

It will outrage The Daily Mail, which is a plus.
 
Sue said:
I read an article about this a while ago and it looks fun from the trailers. Looking forward to seeing it.
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Kneecap are young, in yer face and very much the voice of disillusioned youth. Some mischievous types have tried to paint them as sectarian, but they're anything but.

Can't wait to see the film.
 
Elpenor said:
About Dry Grasses.

First time I’ve ever had to go for a slash during a film, it was 3:17 long. Also had three people walk out. Not much happens in the first half of the film so I can’t say I blame them.

The action such as it is consists of extended and sometimes dull conversations (perhaps watching it subtitled made this more difficult) which I guess mimicked the monotonous life of the characters, teachers and students at a school in what feels like a permanently snow covered remote part of Anatolia.

A highlight was a dinner party scene debating individualism vs solidarity which feels like it could have been taken from urbans very own politics forums around 2002-2003. Then shortly after a bizarre moment which did not make sense. A few things happen over the course of the final hour but by the end lives carry on much the same.

Some rather nice shots here and there and the female lead actress is very good (she won at Cannes last year), the other characters I thought are very unsympathetically drawn and I questioned their motivations.

I left with the feeling that I was shortchanged. Perhaps it went over my head.
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Just seen it and agree 100% (managed not to need a piss though).

And yet all the reviews of it are ecstatic. WTF?
 
I Saw the TV Glow. An awkward teenager is introduced to a Buffyesque TV show by an older girl and they both become obsessed with it.

I knew nothing about this going in. A little bit weird but captured awkward obsessive adolescence very well. (And the TV show looked properly 90s too.)

The ageing at the end was rubbish though.
 
Sue said:
I Saw the TV Glow. An awkward teenager is introduced to a Buffyesque TV show by an older girl and they both become obsessed with it.

I knew nothing about this going in. A little bit weird but captured awkward obsessive adolescence very well. (And the TV show looked properly 90s too.)

The ageing at the end was rubbish though.
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I watched this film yesterday. I Iiked it a lot: it captured a 90s look very successfully, and evoked a lot of recognition from me about awkward intense adolescent friendships based on shared obsessive fandom, and the sense of being an outsider. It's a bit of a Rorschach blot of a film in that you can project plausible different meanings on it, from the reviews I've seen.
 
Crossing
Drama about a retired Georgian teacher, Lia, searching for her trans niece, Tekla, who has escaped the culturally and religiously conservative Batumi for the more liberal Istanbul. Lia is accompanied by a callow youth Achi, who is also keen on escaping the stifling and violent confines of his family and country.
It’s almost a road movie, except most of the travelling is them schlepping through the cat-strewn back streets, to the strains of Turkish pop radio and folk busking.
There are lots of cats.
There is dancing.
I loved it. Favourite film of the year so far.
5 cheeky nips of Georgian brandy out of 5

I also now want to live in Istanbul and go out every night to eat seafood al fresco and be friends with all of the cats.
And learn to dance to Turkish pop music.

Fuck, I’m suggestible

Glad I didn’t go see In A Violent Nature instead as gawd knows what I’d be hankering for now
 
Twisters - I had some time to kill on election night before meeting some friends for drinks. I knew if I went home and sat down on the sofa I wouldn't make it back out. So watched this.

Standard cheesy disaster movie.
 
Sue said:
I Saw the TV Glow. An awkward teenager is introduced to a Buffyesque TV show by an older girl and they both become obsessed with it.

I knew nothing about this going in. A little bit weird but captured awkward obsessive adolescence very well. (And the TV show looked properly 90s too.)

The ageing at the end was rubbish though.
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This is only on locally mid afternoon on a Monday which is a shame as I wanted to see it. But timing not possible, the screening is nearly full too so I couldn’t get my favourite seat anyway

One for the small screen I guess
 
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