Films you have seen at the cinema 2024

[Orang Utan]

a clafoutis is actually a French pudding, Elpenor

 

[Elpenor]

a clafoutis is actually a French pudding, Elpenor

Ah thanks, assumed it was clafutti and hence Italian

 

[Sue]

Ah thanks, assumed it was clafutti and hence Italian

I have a friend from Limousin, Land of the Clafoutis. He has very, very strong views on clafoutis.

 

[Elpenor]

I have a friend from Limousin, Land of the Clafoutis. He has very, very strong views on clafoutis.

I am obviously lacking in cultural capital on the topic of French desserts, perhaps it’s been on bake off (which I’ve never watched despite being told I look two of the female presenters) hence all the characters being aware of it. I will have to seek some out if I’m ever anywhere cosmopolitan enough to have it

 

[Sue]

I am obviously lacking in cultural capital on the topic of French desserts, perhaps it’s been on bake off hence all the characters being aware of it. I will have to seek some out if I’m ever anywhere cosmopolitan enough to have it

Well the key thing to remember is.... if it's clafoutis, it's got cherries in it. Anything called a clafoutis but made with anything other than cherries is an abomination and should be nuked from space is actually a flaugnarde. (As I said, my friend feels very strongly about it and has been known to go on about it at length. They're both delicious mind.)

 

[Orang Utan]

I am obviously lacking in cultural capital on the topic of French desserts, perhaps it’s been on bake off (which I’ve never watched despite being told I look two of the female presenters) hence all the characters being aware of it. I will have to seek some out if I’m ever anywhere cosmopolitan enough to have it

It’s just a dessert found in a lot of recipe books IME, but I’m sure I live in a middle-class metropolitan bubble.

 

[Elpenor]

It’s just a dessert found in a lot of recipe books IME, but I’m sure I live in a middle-class metropolitan bubble.

I’ve certainly never looked at a recipe book so that would explain it

 

[Orang Utan]

I’ve certainly never looked at a recipe book so that would explain it

Wow! Really?

 

[Orang Utan]

Teachers’ Lounge - tense thriller set in a school about a teacher trying to do the right thing but making things worse at every step.
Made me glad I don’t work in schools any more.
A few things are lost in translation, but it’s very well written and acted.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Sometimes I think about dying

It starts off with a very good take on the humdrum nature of everyday office life and its forced niceties, as seen from the pov of Fran, who is seemingly having none of it. I thought it was going to go off in a bit of a sneery direction from there, but doesn't.

Understated to the point where it barely states anything at all. It's well done.

 

[Orang Utan]

I’m supposed to be going to see Close Your Eyes tonight but am wavering cos I looked it up and found out it’s nearly 3 hours long. Might watch Spirit Of The Beehive at home instead and if I like that, I may try and catch it at another time

 

[Sue]

Sometimes I think about dying. Captures the pointlessness of office life very well and the inanity of many office interactions. I think I might be Fran (hopefully with slightly less bad clothes but who knows).

 

[Elpenor]

Love Lies Bleeding. Was ok, I have a soft spot for films set in the American Sw, so the harsh desert small town vibes worked for me. Nothing you’ve not seen before but some excellent mullets and Ed Harris stole the scenes he was in.

Immediately afterwards I saw Blood Simple which is as strikingly similar film in terms of landscape and is frankly a lot better. I’d watched it last year but appreciated it on a big screen.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Love Lies Bleeding. Was ok, I have a soft spot for films set in the American Sw, so the harsh desert small town vibes worked for me. Nothing you’ve not seen before but some excellent mullets and Ed Harris stole the scenes he was in.

Immediately afterwards I saw Blood Simple which is as strikingly similar film in terms of landscape and is frankly a lot better. I’d watched it last year but appreciated it on a big screen.

The Coens' first film, and still their best imo. Hard to believe it's 40 years old now.

 

[mentalchik]

Hardly ever go to the cinema so just Dune 2

 

[brogdale]

Spoiler

I wanted a happy ending.

All of Us Strangers (at the Lean in Croydon!)

Thought this was a really good film and that Scott was quite superb.

 

[nottsgirl]

All of Us Strangers (at the Lean in Croydon!)

Thought this was a really good film and that Scott was quite superb.

It’s great, isn’t it.

 

[brogdale]

It’s great, isn’t it.

Yeah; top film.

 

[nottsgirl]

Yeah; top film.

Spoiler: The end

The end was a bit ambiguous. Me and the person I went to the cinema with couldn’t agree if he’d been dead all along, or if he’d died after the first night he came down which was what I thought.

 

[brogdale]

Spoiler: The end

The end was a bit ambiguous. Me and the person I went to the cinema with couldn’t agree if he’d been dead all along, or if he’d died after the first night he came down which was what I thought.

the latter, I think

 

[brogdale]

Those who have seen/enjoyed All of Us Strangers might like this little Q&A that was held after one of the David Lean Cinema showings:

 

[Sue]

Two noirs from the Gene Tierney season at the BFI (both directed by Otto Preminger.)

Where the Sidewalk Ends. Hardboiled cop (Dana Andrews) weaves a tangled web when he tries to cover up the accidental death of a suspect. Tierney plays the beautiful women Andrews falls for who's caught up in the repercussions.

Whirlpool. Tierney is framed for murder by an evil hypnotist (Jose Ferrer gives excellent sleaze) who exploits her psychological issues.

Not quite in the same league as Laura but great noir nonetheless.

 

[Idris2002]

Kidnapped.

Not the Robert Louis Stevenson thing, but the true story of the Edgardo Mortara case. In late 1850s Italy, Bologna is still under the thumb of the papal states. When a Jewish family discover that the church is abducting one of their children because he was secretly baptised, there's not much they can do about it. But the tragedy doesn't end there, and even the coming of the Risorgimento and the (eventual) fall of Rome to the nationalists . . . well, I don't want to give too much away, but let's say this doesn't have a happy ending.

Fully of old-school leftist anti-clericalism (and perhaps not as pro-Jewish as it should be). The battle scenes make the most of a small budget. Worth seeing, I'd say.

 

[Sue]

Challengers, Luca Guadagnino's tennis love triangle drama. Shifting perspectives and time jumps keep you on your toes. Very enjoyable. And hot.

 

[Orang Utan]

Challengers, Luca Guadagnino's tennis love triangle drama. Shifting perspectives and time jumps keep you on your toes. Very enjoyable. And hot.

Is there much tennis in it? I’m allergic to sports

 

[Sue]

Is there much tennis in it? I’m allergic to sports

Yes, but there's a lot of other stuff too. I'm not into sport/sport films either.

 

[Elpenor]

Think I might try and see challengers this weekend. I wasn’t so interested until I heard a bit about the dynamics of the relationships which sounds more interesting. Erm, new balls please

 

[nottsgirl]

Challengers looks awful. That’s all I’m saying.

 

[Elpenor]

Sometimes I think about dying. Captures the pointlessness of office life very well and the inanity of many office interactions. I think I might be Fran (hopefully with slightly less bad clothes but who knows).

I was reading today that cottage cheese is trendy with the kids and thought of fran

 

[Sue]

I was reading today that cottage cheese is trendy with the kids and thought of fran

I like cottage cheese. Though sometimes I go completely crazy and have cottage cheese with chives.