Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
I told my sister not to see the film!
List the films you've seen at the cinema: 2014
- Thread starter belboid
- Start date
Dr. Furface
One small step for me
Nightcrawler. Believe the hype and the reviews, Jake Gyllenhall is terrific as the psychopathically ambitious LA deathchasing videotaper. Dark, disturbing, exciting and very fucking funny too. Loved it.
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fakeplasticgirl
Keirleader
Just back from seeing Babadook. Thought it was excellent - scary and thought provoking.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Not posted to this in a while so there's a load of stuff
Felony - Australian film written by Joel Edgerton, who also stars in it alongside the always excellent Tom Wilkinson. The plot is that Edgerton plays a cop who is involved in a hit and run which Wilkinson helps cover up. A drama rather than a thriller, it's pretty good. The first two thirds are nicely tight but the last third lets it down a little with one too many dramatic incidents. Wilkinson is top notch and the rest of the cast solid.
Snowpiercer - I know that a lot of people on here really related this but it didn't do it for me at all. It all felt like a collection of bits and pieces that someone thought would be really cool stuck together, rather than a coherent whole. For example the dumb guy with the tattoo's - no attempt to give any development to the character he was just supposed to work based solely on the idea. The cast is reliable - John Hurt, Ed Harris - and does an adequate job, it's the plot and direction that didn't work for me.
Joe - Nicholas Cage plays a ex-con becomes a father figure for a teenage boy in the South of the USA. The boy is played by Tye Sheridan who was in Mud, which has a number of similarities with this film (for my money Mud is the better of the two). It's done well but I felt that it wasn't really anything I hadn't seen before. Cage is still too scenery chewing for me, but Sheridan shows again that he's an actor to watch.
Cut Snake - Another Australian film, set in the 70s, it's about an ex-con being tracked down by his cell mate and falling back into violence and crime. It could have been like any other of the hundreds of films on that theme but it goes in different, and far more interesting, direction. I didn't have huge hopes on it when I went it but it really impressed me, if it does make it to the UK I recommend people go see it.
My Mistress - After the death of his father a boy meets up and forms a relationship with a dominatrix, played by Emmanuelle Béart. It's the debut film of the director and you can tell, it misses the right note occasionally. It's not bad at all but unlike Cut Snake it feels doesn't take the plot into new territory. The actor playing the teenage boy is decent, but I'm wasn't entirely convinced by either Béarts performance or the sub-plot involving the child or her character.
Night Moves - the new film by Kelly Reichardt rather than the brilliant Arthur Penn classic. By and large I think belboid got it right in his review. Thought I thought the ending worked better than he did. I like both Fanning and Eisenberg and I thought they were both good, though I would have liked more Fanning in the second half. One thing belboid neglected to mention was the credits - which are just superb - totally recalling those of the 70s neo-noir that influenced this film without being wanky and ironic. Seriously it's worth going to see it for them alone.
Boyhood - Rather disappointed IMO, I guess it was always going to be pretty tough to live up to the hype. For all the noise about filming over X years etc it's actually a very conservative film, both in terms of plot and politics - coming of age of a white, middle class boy. I liked seeing Patricia Arquette who doesn't seem to be around so much these days, never been a big fan of Ethan Hawke's and I'm not really that keen on his performance here, far too knowing in comparison with the much more natural preface of Arquette.
Godfather, Godfather II, Godfather III - The ACMI in Melbourne has worked out a deal with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to bring restored prints of classic films out to Australia, there doing one film each quarter and started of with the Godfather Trilogy. In fact not only was the print restored but it was actually virgin, having never before been through a projector before these sessions. It'd been some time since I last saw any of the films and re-watching them again over one weekend was just fantastic, I particularly enjoyed Diane Keaton's performances this time round, in the relatively small amount of time she's actually on screen she absolutely nails the role. Anyone I'm not sure what the next films in the project are going to be but I would absolutely recommend that any urbanites in Melbourne come see them
The Little Death - An Australian sex comedy, like Allen's Everthing you wanted to know... it's based around a number of different stories/characters, all with different sexual fetishes. Some of the parts work, some don't, the best scene is the last one where a deaf bloke calls up phone sex line via a signing service. For Australians a good number of the faces in it will be recognisable but they probably won't be to those overseas, glad to see Kate Mulvany turning up in something else, an excellent Australian actor who needs more recognition.
Vertigo - What can I say, absolute classic. Great to see it at the cinema.
Careful He Might Hear You - Adaptation of Australian book about a young boy growing up in 30s Sydney who gets caught in the middle of a custody battle between his two aunts. Showing as part of a mini-season of films starring Wendy Hughes by the ACMI. Hughes is excellent in it, lighting up the screen whenever she appears, and the rest of the cast are good two.
Late Autumn - Again showing at the ACMI with a restored print, it's the first Ozu film I've seen. Really enjoyed it, it looked absolutely gorgeous, the colours in it reminded me of Powell and Pressburger. It's both funny and sad, the performances are all spot on, but I particularly like Mariko Okanda as the best friend.
The Infinite Man - Australian film about a bloke who invents a time machine so that he can give his girlfriend a perfect holiday, it's a comedy-drama about their relationship rather than a science fiction film. It reminded me strongly of Ruby Sparks, using a fantastic plot device to explore how a man relates to, and trys to control, his girlfriend. The filmmakers have done a really great job on what was obviously a very tight budget, using the small cast (just three actors) and single location to excellent effect. Sadly it doesn't seems to have a lot of impact here.
Life of Crime - latest adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel, it's not the best adaptation of his work I've seen but it's good entertainment. Jennifer Aniston plays a wife who is kidnapped and held for ransom, only her husband, Tim Robbins, is about to divorce her anyway. I think Aniston is better than anything I've seen her in since Friends, Isla Fisher is very likeable as the mistress and John Hawkes is good.
Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train - second in the Wendy Hughes season by ACMI. Hughes plays a teacher who makes up the extra money she needs to feed her brother's heroin habit by acting as a prostitute on the train between Sydney and Melbourne. The first two thirds, which use her interactions with a number of different punters to explore her characters as well as other themes are pretty good. The last third just didn't work for me, it's clearly not meant to be realistic and it's not the plot which lost me just that I don't think it gelled with the previous parts of the film.
Pride - Absolutely fantastic, I guess with the subject matter I was always going to be partial to it but it's actually a very well made film. Script is good, there's very little fat in there and the cast are good. It might be retreading some of the same ground as Brassed Off, and doesn't quite reach the quality of that film, but it's still a wonderful film. Despite the sadness of it - the loss of the strike, the impact of HIV/AIDS - I found it a really uplifting film, solidarity can be a victory in itself. It was showing to virtually a full house here (lots of ex-poms I'm guessing) and got a round of applause when it finished. I've seen better films this year but I don't know if I've seen a more enjoyable one.
Felony - Australian film written by Joel Edgerton, who also stars in it alongside the always excellent Tom Wilkinson. The plot is that Edgerton plays a cop who is involved in a hit and run which Wilkinson helps cover up. A drama rather than a thriller, it's pretty good. The first two thirds are nicely tight but the last third lets it down a little with one too many dramatic incidents. Wilkinson is top notch and the rest of the cast solid.
Snowpiercer - I know that a lot of people on here really related this but it didn't do it for me at all. It all felt like a collection of bits and pieces that someone thought would be really cool stuck together, rather than a coherent whole. For example the dumb guy with the tattoo's - no attempt to give any development to the character he was just supposed to work based solely on the idea. The cast is reliable - John Hurt, Ed Harris - and does an adequate job, it's the plot and direction that didn't work for me.
Joe - Nicholas Cage plays a ex-con becomes a father figure for a teenage boy in the South of the USA. The boy is played by Tye Sheridan who was in Mud, which has a number of similarities with this film (for my money Mud is the better of the two). It's done well but I felt that it wasn't really anything I hadn't seen before. Cage is still too scenery chewing for me, but Sheridan shows again that he's an actor to watch.
Cut Snake - Another Australian film, set in the 70s, it's about an ex-con being tracked down by his cell mate and falling back into violence and crime. It could have been like any other of the hundreds of films on that theme but it goes in different, and far more interesting, direction. I didn't have huge hopes on it when I went it but it really impressed me, if it does make it to the UK I recommend people go see it.
My Mistress - After the death of his father a boy meets up and forms a relationship with a dominatrix, played by Emmanuelle Béart. It's the debut film of the director and you can tell, it misses the right note occasionally. It's not bad at all but unlike Cut Snake it feels doesn't take the plot into new territory. The actor playing the teenage boy is decent, but I'm wasn't entirely convinced by either Béarts performance or the sub-plot involving the child or her character.
Night Moves - the new film by Kelly Reichardt rather than the brilliant Arthur Penn classic. By and large I think belboid got it right in his review. Thought I thought the ending worked better than he did. I like both Fanning and Eisenberg and I thought they were both good, though I would have liked more Fanning in the second half. One thing belboid neglected to mention was the credits - which are just superb - totally recalling those of the 70s neo-noir that influenced this film without being wanky and ironic. Seriously it's worth going to see it for them alone.
Boyhood - Rather disappointed IMO, I guess it was always going to be pretty tough to live up to the hype. For all the noise about filming over X years etc it's actually a very conservative film, both in terms of plot and politics - coming of age of a white, middle class boy. I liked seeing Patricia Arquette who doesn't seem to be around so much these days, never been a big fan of Ethan Hawke's and I'm not really that keen on his performance here, far too knowing in comparison with the much more natural preface of Arquette.
Godfather, Godfather II, Godfather III - The ACMI in Melbourne has worked out a deal with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to bring restored prints of classic films out to Australia, there doing one film each quarter and started of with the Godfather Trilogy. In fact not only was the print restored but it was actually virgin, having never before been through a projector before these sessions. It'd been some time since I last saw any of the films and re-watching them again over one weekend was just fantastic, I particularly enjoyed Diane Keaton's performances this time round, in the relatively small amount of time she's actually on screen she absolutely nails the role. Anyone I'm not sure what the next films in the project are going to be but I would absolutely recommend that any urbanites in Melbourne come see them
The Little Death - An Australian sex comedy, like Allen's Everthing you wanted to know... it's based around a number of different stories/characters, all with different sexual fetishes. Some of the parts work, some don't, the best scene is the last one where a deaf bloke calls up phone sex line via a signing service. For Australians a good number of the faces in it will be recognisable but they probably won't be to those overseas, glad to see Kate Mulvany turning up in something else, an excellent Australian actor who needs more recognition.
Vertigo - What can I say, absolute classic. Great to see it at the cinema.
Careful He Might Hear You - Adaptation of Australian book about a young boy growing up in 30s Sydney who gets caught in the middle of a custody battle between his two aunts. Showing as part of a mini-season of films starring Wendy Hughes by the ACMI. Hughes is excellent in it, lighting up the screen whenever she appears, and the rest of the cast are good two.
Late Autumn - Again showing at the ACMI with a restored print, it's the first Ozu film I've seen. Really enjoyed it, it looked absolutely gorgeous, the colours in it reminded me of Powell and Pressburger. It's both funny and sad, the performances are all spot on, but I particularly like Mariko Okanda as the best friend.
The Infinite Man - Australian film about a bloke who invents a time machine so that he can give his girlfriend a perfect holiday, it's a comedy-drama about their relationship rather than a science fiction film. It reminded me strongly of Ruby Sparks, using a fantastic plot device to explore how a man relates to, and trys to control, his girlfriend. The filmmakers have done a really great job on what was obviously a very tight budget, using the small cast (just three actors) and single location to excellent effect. Sadly it doesn't seems to have a lot of impact here.
Life of Crime - latest adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel, it's not the best adaptation of his work I've seen but it's good entertainment. Jennifer Aniston plays a wife who is kidnapped and held for ransom, only her husband, Tim Robbins, is about to divorce her anyway. I think Aniston is better than anything I've seen her in since Friends, Isla Fisher is very likeable as the mistress and John Hawkes is good.
Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train - second in the Wendy Hughes season by ACMI. Hughes plays a teacher who makes up the extra money she needs to feed her brother's heroin habit by acting as a prostitute on the train between Sydney and Melbourne. The first two thirds, which use her interactions with a number of different punters to explore her characters as well as other themes are pretty good. The last third just didn't work for me, it's clearly not meant to be realistic and it's not the plot which lost me just that I don't think it gelled with the previous parts of the film.
Pride - Absolutely fantastic, I guess with the subject matter I was always going to be partial to it but it's actually a very well made film. Script is good, there's very little fat in there and the cast are good. It might be retreading some of the same ground as Brassed Off, and doesn't quite reach the quality of that film, but it's still a wonderful film. Despite the sadness of it - the loss of the strike, the impact of HIV/AIDS - I found it a really uplifting film, solidarity can be a victory in itself. It was showing to virtually a full house here (lots of ex-poms I'm guessing) and got a round of applause when it finished. I've seen better films this year but I don't know if I've seen a more enjoyable one.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
It was the Freudian aspect that intrigued me, the depiction of an exhausted mum's exasperation with and resentment of her own child that i thought was very wel drawn. And the Expressionist visuals were ace. It really stays with you too, meaning i like it the more I think about it.
heinous seamus
Perfect in an empty room
I saw Still The Enemy Within on Sunday. The story of the miner's strike told by miners who were involved, with lots of archive footage. Thought it was excellent.
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
Just back from that, and wholeheartedly agree. Easily the best documentary I've seen this year, a simply, brilliantly, told story, with no recourse to pseudo-experts (Owen Jones was interviewed, but then dumped) or official leaders. Just miners, their wives, and support group members (one of whom crops up in another film from this year) talking straight to camera. Ohh, and a couple of amusing recreations.
What was really great was that it wasn't all bleak brutality, it showed them having a fucking great time and a laugh on many occasions. Even us old lefties forget that quite often.
I may have liked it more because it turns out I knew a fair few of the interviewee's.
Finally, fucking NACODS, who was bought off there then
heinous seamus
Perfect in an empty room
The Scottish guy who was in it did a Q and A at the showing I went to and he was surprisingly sympathetic to the NACODS union leader - saying he was under tremendous pressure from the right-wing media.
Yeah, there were some great laugh-out-loud moments.The interviewee's all came across superbly - would love to go for a pint with any of them!
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
It's hard to believe it was that simple, partly cos of what else we know now about MI5 involvement I guess, but it is hard to understand what kind of pressure they must have been under as well.
We had rounds of applause for the stories of the single picket, and Jools Holland.
We had rounds of applause for the stories of the single picket, and Jools Holland.
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
yup, I'd agree with this. A top piece of entertainment, although if I'm being picky, there wasn't really much of an ending. Not one that wasn't in the bloody trailers, anyway.
I'd agree too. The scene in the Mexican restaurant made my skin crawl. Thought the sociopath hiding behind business bollocks was...interesting too. Debut director.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
As its Ritzy (London) cheap day on Mondays I saw "Nightcrawler" and "Leviathan".
Two contrasting films. One fast paced American the other slow meditative Russian. What they had in common is that they both featured men on the edge living in nightmarish societies.
Jake Gyllenhaal character Lou in Nightcrawler has been compared in reviews to Travis from Taxi Driver. I think that there is a definite reference to that earlier film about USA by the director of this film. This time it revolves around the news in US. Without spoiling the end of film its more nightmarish than Taxi Driver. This film goes beyond the media as an indictment of the ruthless nature of present day American society. I also liked it as its got a sense of (very black) humour and verges on B movie sordidity at times. Stops the film being to worthy.
Its also a film about voyeurism. As Nina ( Rene Russo as the hot older woman) the TV news director says car crashes and bloody crime is what makes the news. It reminded me of Haneke film "Funny Games". Which Haneke made to criticize violence onscreen. The aftermath of violence shown in Nightcrawler and the way Lou gets so engrossed in filming it does not glamorous it in any way. One of the good things about this film. There are elements of horror in Nightcrawler despite it being rooted in reality.
"Leviathan" is very very Russian. Russian films like this are like marmite. You either like them or loath them. I like them. Its long ( surprise surprise) with slow long takes. I bumped into another cinephile at Ritzy who had just seen it before I did. He noticed that for a long slow film the audience settled down and were gripped by it. I would agree. It did hold peoples attention. It held mine even though I am not quite sure what it was about. Starts out as film about political corruption and ends with a discussion about faith. In particular the story in the Bible about Job. In between its about father/ son relationship, Russian masculinity ( drinking and shooting), the Kafkaesque legal system ie the small town is a microcosm of present day Russia. I do not mind not being sure exactly what a film is about if it grips me like this film did. The visuals are wonderful. Like Nightcrawler the heavy nature of its story is lightened by streaks of black humour.
Two contrasting films. One fast paced American the other slow meditative Russian. What they had in common is that they both featured men on the edge living in nightmarish societies.
Jake Gyllenhaal character Lou in Nightcrawler has been compared in reviews to Travis from Taxi Driver. I think that there is a definite reference to that earlier film about USA by the director of this film. This time it revolves around the news in US. Without spoiling the end of film its more nightmarish than Taxi Driver. This film goes beyond the media as an indictment of the ruthless nature of present day American society. I also liked it as its got a sense of (very black) humour and verges on B movie sordidity at times. Stops the film being to worthy.
Its also a film about voyeurism. As Nina ( Rene Russo as the hot older woman) the TV news director says car crashes and bloody crime is what makes the news. It reminded me of Haneke film "Funny Games". Which Haneke made to criticize violence onscreen. The aftermath of violence shown in Nightcrawler and the way Lou gets so engrossed in filming it does not glamorous it in any way. One of the good things about this film. There are elements of horror in Nightcrawler despite it being rooted in reality.
"Leviathan" is very very Russian. Russian films like this are like marmite. You either like them or loath them. I like them. Its long ( surprise surprise) with slow long takes. I bumped into another cinephile at Ritzy who had just seen it before I did. He noticed that for a long slow film the audience settled down and were gripped by it. I would agree. It did hold peoples attention. It held mine even though I am not quite sure what it was about. Starts out as film about political corruption and ends with a discussion about faith. In particular the story in the Bible about Job. In between its about father/ son relationship, Russian masculinity ( drinking and shooting), the Kafkaesque legal system ie the small town is a microcosm of present day Russia. I do not mind not being sure exactly what a film is about if it grips me like this film did. The visuals are wonderful. Like Nightcrawler the heavy nature of its story is lightened by streaks of black humour.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
Is the boycott off then?
On a related note have you seen BACM-TEAM have just transferred their undertakings to Prospect?
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
I hadn't, but it surprises me not.
Just got back from seeing David Bowie IS. The film of the bestselling, uhhh, exhibition. It's a good documentary, concentrating on the man's costumes over the years, but throwing plenty else in as well. It'd be well worth watching if it came on the telly, but really quite a waste of money to go and see at the pics. A few bits I'd never seen before, including a section of the unrealised film of Hunger City.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Yes its off.
Had a chat with a Ritzy worker on the day I went to cinema. Told them that I had emailed Picturehouse directors about the proposed redundancies. Ritzy mge have backed down. For now. I actually got a reply from Picturehouse to say so.
Ritzy worker thought that they might try again at later date.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
Yeah, I texted a mate who works there after asking that and they said it's off (for now) too. 
Yeah, I texted a mate who works there after asking that and they said it's off (for now) too.
Thanks for that. I've been boycotting the Hackney PH and wasn't quite sure what the story was. Sounds like it's okay to go back though. (Never did get a reply from PH management to the irate mail I sent about this months ago.)
Went to see The Theory of Everything yesterday. Eddie Redmayne is very good as Stephen Hawking but overall I felt the film was a bit uninvolving and not that interesting.
Worse bit was a scene in a hospital where I was just thinking "I'm sure that doctor is French footballer Frank Leboeuf" rather than listening to the bad news he was giving.
Worse bit was a scene in a hospital where I was just thinking "I'm sure that doctor is French footballer Frank Leboeuf" rather than listening to the bad news he was giving.
MellySingsDoom
Decimated by the shrapnel of his rhetoric
Been a while since I've posted here, so here goes:
"Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story Of Cannon Films" (2014, dir. Mark Hartley) - a truly entertaining, and at many points, uproarious documentary covering the late 70's/80's production outfit Cannon Films, and the irrepressible moguls Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. Too many highlights to mention, but what we have is an extraordinary tale of two men with a vision to take on Hollywood at their own game and win, and if it wasn't for the sheer amount of their output, might have done so too. There is a downer moment when the documentary covers the shit/objectionable "Death Wish" sequels, but fortunately that doesn't last too long. Talking heads include Franco Nero and Pete Walker (!?!), and some good films (really!) are covered, including the truly awe-boggling musical "The Apple", and the maybe under-appreciated "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2". Although the end of Cannon Films was a financially messy one, and they did launch the likes of Chuck Norris as 80's star names (err....), the good news is that Golan and Globus are reconciled (and have just done their own documentary on Cannon Films!). Highly recommended to those with an interest in high-budget trash cinema.
"Kristy" (2014, dir. Oliver Blackburn) - a decent low-budget effort from the "Donkey Punch" director, this is a horror-themed take on internet cults and knowing referencing of the genre. Haley Bennett convinces as Justine, the woman who has been targeted as being "Kristy", the female manifestation of Christ, and there is some good pacing and action throughout. Films referenced include "Scream", "Halloween" and (of all things!) "Last House On Dead End Street", and although the ending was no real surprise (and the end credits sequence a bit cliched), overall this is an agreeable entry into the modern US horror canon.
"Robot Overlords" (2014, dir. Jon Wright) - a family-friendly sci-fi dystopia piece, where robots have taken over the world (again!), and forced everyone to stay indoors, on pain of evaporation. The young leads come across convincingly as helping lead the fight-back, Gillian Anderson is good as the mother figure who has to choose sides, and Ben Kingsley hams it up effectively as the robot's collaborator. Some good/decent CGI work here, and the ending sees battle truly commence between the invaders and the resistance. Although not quite as powerful as the likes of "District 9", I found this to be an endearing effort by British director Wright, and this deserves to get a widespread audience once the jolly old BBFC have classified it.
"Fury" (2014, dir. David Ayer) - Yet another entry in the WW2 films cycle, and here Brad Pitt leads a tank battalion taking on the Nazis in France in the last stages of the war. I'm afraid to say that this one didn't do much for me at all. Pitt gives a one-note, tiresome "I love mah country" performance, and the usual WW2 film cliches abound, to diminishing returns. This almost made me want to re-watch one of Luigi Batzella's awful/unbearable war films again! Not recommended at all.
"Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story Of Cannon Films" (2014, dir. Mark Hartley) - a truly entertaining, and at many points, uproarious documentary covering the late 70's/80's production outfit Cannon Films, and the irrepressible moguls Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. Too many highlights to mention, but what we have is an extraordinary tale of two men with a vision to take on Hollywood at their own game and win, and if it wasn't for the sheer amount of their output, might have done so too. There is a downer moment when the documentary covers the shit/objectionable "Death Wish" sequels, but fortunately that doesn't last too long. Talking heads include Franco Nero and Pete Walker (!?!), and some good films (really!) are covered, including the truly awe-boggling musical "The Apple", and the maybe under-appreciated "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2". Although the end of Cannon Films was a financially messy one, and they did launch the likes of Chuck Norris as 80's star names (err....), the good news is that Golan and Globus are reconciled (and have just done their own documentary on Cannon Films!). Highly recommended to those with an interest in high-budget trash cinema.
"Kristy" (2014, dir. Oliver Blackburn) - a decent low-budget effort from the "Donkey Punch" director, this is a horror-themed take on internet cults and knowing referencing of the genre. Haley Bennett convinces as Justine, the woman who has been targeted as being "Kristy", the female manifestation of Christ, and there is some good pacing and action throughout. Films referenced include "Scream", "Halloween" and (of all things!) "Last House On Dead End Street", and although the ending was no real surprise (and the end credits sequence a bit cliched), overall this is an agreeable entry into the modern US horror canon.
"Robot Overlords" (2014, dir. Jon Wright) - a family-friendly sci-fi dystopia piece, where robots have taken over the world (again!), and forced everyone to stay indoors, on pain of evaporation. The young leads come across convincingly as helping lead the fight-back, Gillian Anderson is good as the mother figure who has to choose sides, and Ben Kingsley hams it up effectively as the robot's collaborator. Some good/decent CGI work here, and the ending sees battle truly commence between the invaders and the resistance. Although not quite as powerful as the likes of "District 9", I found this to be an endearing effort by British director Wright, and this deserves to get a widespread audience once the jolly old BBFC have classified it.
"Fury" (2014, dir. David Ayer) - Yet another entry in the WW2 films cycle, and here Brad Pitt leads a tank battalion taking on the Nazis in France in the last stages of the war. I'm afraid to say that this one didn't do much for me at all. Pitt gives a one-note, tiresome "I love mah country" performance, and the usual WW2 film cliches abound, to diminishing returns. This almost made me want to re-watch one of Luigi Batzella's awful/unbearable war films again! Not recommended at all.
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belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
Hobbit, Battle of the Five Armies
Fight, fight, battle, battle, fight, fight, battle, battle. It's fairly non-stop, and generally looks good, but it is (shock horror) poorly paced, and would have worked much better as two films (at most). The death of Smaug feels almost thrown away and anti-climactic. Good when Freeman's on tho
Fight, fight, battle, battle, fight, fight, battle, battle. It's fairly non-stop, and generally looks good, but it is (shock horror) poorly paced, and would have worked much better as two films (at most). The death of Smaug feels almost thrown away and anti-climactic. Good when Freeman's on tho
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
Yes. No. Sounds interesting the Stuart Hall one, was it?
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
The Immigrant - James Grey (Two Lovers) latest starring Marion Cotillard as a Polish immigrant to the US in the 1920s who gets caught up in a prostitution racket. Cotillard is good as is Joaquin Phoenix who plays her pimp and gives a pretty nasty character a sympathetic touch.
Two Days, One Night - People have already talked about it on the thread so I've not really got a lot to add, nit my favourite Dardenne's but still very good.
The Drop - another adaptation of Dennis Lehane's work, and James Gandolfini's last film, also starring Tom Hardy who's more in check than sometimes (though still overacts a bit IMO). They play the former owners/current managers of a bar that is used as a drop off point for illegal money, which is then robbed one night. The links into the other plot of Hardy's burgeoning relationship with Noomi Rapace. Not as good as the excellent Gone Baby, Gone but worth watching.
White Reindeer - a sort of black comedy xmas movie about about a woman who's husband is killed i the run up to Xmas, her discovery of his affair and how she copes with her grief. It's very american-indie but the lead, Anna Margaret Hollyman, is excellent and deserves to get a lot of work on the back of this.
Two Days, One Night - People have already talked about it on the thread so I've not really got a lot to add, nit my favourite Dardenne's but still very good.
The Drop - another adaptation of Dennis Lehane's work, and James Gandolfini's last film, also starring Tom Hardy who's more in check than sometimes (though still overacts a bit IMO). They play the former owners/current managers of a bar that is used as a drop off point for illegal money, which is then robbed one night. The links into the other plot of Hardy's burgeoning relationship with Noomi Rapace. Not as good as the excellent Gone Baby, Gone but worth watching.
White Reindeer - a sort of black comedy xmas movie about about a woman who's husband is killed i the run up to Xmas, her discovery of his affair and how she copes with her grief. It's very american-indie but the lead, Anna Margaret Hollyman, is excellent and deserves to get a lot of work on the back of this.
benedict
Well-Known Member
Here are some of the films I've enjoyed at the cinema - for a variety of reasons.
Birdman - I felt this dragged a bit in the second half but the idea was pretty great and the execution - cinematographically - was stunning.
Whiplash - Intense student-teacher psychological abuse flick. A little bit of a cliched parable on ambition. But it has some lovely jazz and delicious close-ups of players, kit etc.
Tracks - Incredible story of a young woman's solo hike across Australia and beautiful shots of Aussie outback
The Drop - Gandolfini's last film. Fun Brooklyn-based mob story. Tom Hardy was pretty good here. Some nice plot twists.
Skeleton Twins - Really endearing sibling reuniting film with some fun scenes.
Calvary - Contemporary Irish noir focused on a priest who is finding himself irrelevant. Slightly melodramatic ending. Surreal elements give the setting a disturbing edge.
Night Moves - Great indie thriller set in the northwest US. Environmental terrorism plot. Very tense.
The Rover - One man against bandits and authorities in a disturbing and violent post-apocalyptic Australia.
Locke - Interesting concept: Welshman confined to a car during crucial hours in engineering project; personal mission means sacrifice of career in construction.
Birdman - I felt this dragged a bit in the second half but the idea was pretty great and the execution - cinematographically - was stunning.
Whiplash - Intense student-teacher psychological abuse flick. A little bit of a cliched parable on ambition. But it has some lovely jazz and delicious close-ups of players, kit etc.
Tracks - Incredible story of a young woman's solo hike across Australia and beautiful shots of Aussie outback
The Drop - Gandolfini's last film. Fun Brooklyn-based mob story. Tom Hardy was pretty good here. Some nice plot twists.
Skeleton Twins - Really endearing sibling reuniting film with some fun scenes.
Calvary - Contemporary Irish noir focused on a priest who is finding himself irrelevant. Slightly melodramatic ending. Surreal elements give the setting a disturbing edge.
Night Moves - Great indie thriller set in the northwest US. Environmental terrorism plot. Very tense.
The Rover - One man against bandits and authorities in a disturbing and violent post-apocalyptic Australia.
Locke - Interesting concept: Welshman confined to a car during crucial hours in engineering project; personal mission means sacrifice of career in construction.
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