List the films you've seen at the cinema: 2016

[DJWrongspeed]

I thought The Revenant looked beautiful in a Malick/Herzog way and was an amazing technical feat, but there is no depth to the film. It's a bog standard survival/revenge story and for a film which is so convinced of its own visionary brilliance I would expect something more. Irranitu makes his films harrowing but that isn't the same as being meaningful. That said, it's the film of his I liked the best (or more accurately, disliked the least) and on a superficial adventure movie level it worked just fine. But it's too thematically flat to be the masterpiece some declare it go be.

I think you're right. It's an old fashion chase movie with a bit of Malick spirtuality thrown in. Both Tom Hardy & Caprio are excellent but it's all a bit 'western' style grunting and groaning, alot of groaning!

But.....it's also brilliantly filmed, the Oscar needs to goto the landscape and cinematographer.

Saw 'Force Awakens' and really liked it. The desert planet chase sequence was thrilling.

 

[Kesher]

Room

Much better than I thought it would be. Great performances by Brie Larson (mother) and Jacob Tremblay (son). Be prepared: an emotional film and at one point highly emotional.

Well worth seeing

 

[redsquirrel]

The Revenant - Well made but without an emotional core, I just didn't care about what was going to happen to any of the characters. It's also definitely too long. I think Reno sums it up better than I can

Because the Oscars love a film about a character who overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles and triumphs. DiCaprios tortured performance is exactly what the Oscars loves to reward and the film drips with prestige and self regard, while ultimately being rather empty. Technical specs from cinematography, to score, to special effects are all first rate. It's a populist blockbuster in art house drag. Seen on a big screen with a good sound system it's at least impressive on a technical and visceral level.

 

[Kesher]

The Danish Girl

Good film; but I'm not sure about Eddy Redmayne's portrayal of shy Lily: it seemed at times over the top. Alicia Vikander who plays his wife is excellent; however I don't see her as a support actress (Oscar nominated) in this film: she very much has a main role.

 

[blossie33]

Armin Linke doc arty film about the Alps - not much dialogue but nice shots of life in the Alps in Switzerland, France and Italy plus shots of and indoor ski resort in Saudi.

Creed - thought it was very well done and touching.

The Assassin - historical Chinese martial art film. Was quite different to what I expected, being used to fast moving epics like Hero and Crouching Tiger.
This was very slow moving, very little dialogue and long pauses between speech, arty indoor shots and lovely outdoor sceneryshots. I must admit I got a bit confused with the characters and I'm not entirely sure what happend at the end but I did enjoy it - it was different.

 

[Sue]

The Hateful Eight. A much inferior Reservoir Dogs set in the Wild West. Didn't care about any of the characters or what happened to them or about any of it really. And too long, though can't remember the last time I didn't think that about a Tarantino film.

Vive Sa Vie. Young woman drifts into prostitution. Almost documentary-like in places, Anna Karina is excellent.

 

[Kesher]

The 5th Wave

Alien invasion in five stages. 1st third of film is good; 2nd third slows down a bit; final third picks up again. Clearly aimed at YA's; but I enjoyed it overall. Also looks like a film: warm looking; not like one filmed with a digital camera.

 

[brogdale]

Been out a while, but last week I finally got to see Lindholm's "Krigen" (A War) at 'Chapter' in Canton.
Really enjoyed the film; found it both visceral and thought-provoking with convincing performances all round. The sound at Chapter was a tad loud for my liking, but I have to admit that you did really feel the battle scene.

 

[8115]

Room, pretty good, it was a solid film and I didn't get bored at any point, no major surprises though, it felt a little predictable. Solid 7.5/10.

 

[Kesher]

The Big Short

Very good. Deals with a complicated subject (the 2008 financial crisis) in a humorous; but serious way and attempts to help the viewer understand via various methods such as cutaways, eg: Margot Robbie is introduced as Margot Robbie whereby the scene switches to her in a bubble-bath holding a glass of champagne. She then talks directly to the camera and explains what sub-prime loans are, the film then returns to the main players and the story continues. Bale, Gosling and Carell put in fine performances and so do the rest of the cast.

 

[Dr. Furface]

The Big Short

Very good. Deals with a complicated subject (the 2008 financial crisis) in a humorous; but serious way and attempts to help the viewer understand via various methods such as cutaways, eg: Margot Robbie is introduced as Margot Robbie whereby the scene switches to her in a bubble-bath holding a glass of champagne. She then talks directly to the camera and explains what sub-prime loans are, the film then returns to the main players and the story continues. Bale, Gosling and Carell put in fine performances and so do the rest of the cast.

I loved it, it's a serious comedy - very funny and (pun intended) 'right on the money'. It's one of those rare films that when it ended, I wanted to watch it over again. I didn't, but I definitely will do. The peculiar thing about it is that the main characters in the film, the 'heroes' of the piece, are actually anything but - because although not personally responsible for bringing about the financial crash, they profited massively when it happened and themselves contributed to the collapse of certain financial institutions. They were just smart enough to see it coming and, rather than ringing any alarm bells, they did what money men do - they largely kept it to themselves and capitalised on it. Steve Carell's character is the closest the film has to a moral centre (it is a morality play at heart) but even he plays the system to win - so there are no real 'good guys' here, just a handful of winners, and billions of losers. I couldn't recommend it higher. ★★★★★

 

[redsquirrel]

Looking for Grace - Australian independent film, where a teenage girl runaways from home followed by her parents, with the story being told from the perspectives of the different characters. It's got a good cast, Richard Roxburgh and, the usually excellent and underrated, Radha Mitchell as the parents, but the script and direction don't really do their talents justice. It's by no means bad but I felt it was a bit lacking. It probably wasn't helped as I saw the (very good) actor who plays the daughter, Odessa Young, recently in another Australian family drama The Daughter, which is a much better film. While the films are different in many ways there's enough similarities that I couldn't help compare them. Anyway it's probably worth going to see for the performances of the three main cast.

Carol - Todd Haynes adaptation of Patricia Highsmiths novel, loved this. It looks absolutely gorgeous, there's a beautiful woozey sensitivity to it, it would be worth going to see on the look alone, but there's so much more. The cast is great, not just the two leads but all the minor parts too. I thought the script was top notch too, loads and loads of things hinted at but not explained. Easily the best thing I've seen at the cinema for a while.

 

[rubbershoes]

Pan

Any children's film that has the Ramones and Nirvana in the soundtrack is OK.

 

[redsquirrel]

The Hateful Eight - Don't think anyone needs me to give the background to this one. Bit mixed, for the first third/half I really enjoyed it (particularly the parts before they got to the cabin) but by the two-thirds mark I was getting pretty bored. As Sue said it's definitely too long, and much much too baggy, which is a shame because I do think there is some good stuff in there but Tarantino shouldn't be allowed to edit his films, or else he needs a producer that will tell him to tighten stuff up. That said the films worth going to see for Jennifer Jason Leigh alone, it's bloody criminal that she's done so little work over the lest decade.

 

[belboid]

Room

It's not perfect, by any means, one crucial part didn't ring entirely plausibly for me, but that didn't stop what immediately followed being nail bitingly tense. The first hour is superbly done, the second act very good indeed, but the third act just didn't quite have the same drive as the first two, so it slightly fizzled out for me.

 

[Mr Smin]

The 5th Wave

Alien invasion in five stages. 1st third of film is good; 2nd third slows down a bit; final third picks up again. Clearly aimed at YA's; but I enjoyed it overall. Also looks like a film: warm looking; not like one filmed with a digital camera.

Fun but insubstantial. Maybe because I've watched a few alien invasion flicks in a short time span.

 

[miss direct]

The 5th wave - enjoyed it, nice escapism.

 

[Reno]

A Bigger Splash, with Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton. Foiled again by undeserved rave reviews, I though this was a completely pointless film.

It's the type of film which looks like it was fun to make for all involved (they all got a stay in beautiful Italian locations out of it), but it's far less fun having to watch it. I suppose the actors were given a lot of free reign in creating their characters, as it feels rather-self indulgent when it comes to the performances, but the characters didn't have enough depth for this being an absorbing drama and when it turns into a thriller late on, it never really thrills.

I loved the director's previous film which was the wildly OTT retro art house melodrama I Am Love (also starring Swinton), but unlike the wildly flamboyant earlier film, this was underpowered and simply not very interesting.

It's a remake of the 70s film The Swimming Pool (stylish, but no classic either), which ran for years in one of my local cinemas because it featured a nude Romy Schneider. This still was a draw back then and while there is plenty of flesh on display in this remake, that's just not enough anymore. The only thing I liked were the fantastic gowns Tilda Swinton got to wear when she wasn't in the nude.

 

[A380]

Pride and Predudice and Zombies.

Far more than just an (excellent) one line joke.
The ludicrous concept is played straight by a fantastic cast. The cinematography is brilliant and the whole thing beautiful to look at (not just for the male and female cast members) with a great juxtaposition of accurate regency interiors and costumes and period / very light touch steam punk weapons and technology.

The only trouble is I'm worried that if I watch any other adaptations I'll now be worried where the living dead are hiding....

I'd go and see this at the cinema, not just wait for online, DVD.

 

[Chilli.s]

Went to see Star Wars, the screen was dirty and one of the sound channels was not working properly. A poor experience for 25 quid. Film was ok.

 

[Kesher]

Pride and Predudice and Zombies.

Far more than just an (excellent) one line joke.
The ludicrous concept is played straight by a fantastic cast. The cinematography is brilliant and the whole thing beautiful to look at (not just for the male and female cast members) with a great juxtaposition of accurate regency interiors and costumes and period / very light touch steam punk weapons and technology.

The only trouble is I'm worried that if I watch any other adaptations I'll now be worried where the living dead are hiding....

I'd go and see this at the cinema, not just wait for online, DVD.

I really enjoyed this: normally I wouldn't be interested in this type of film; but the zombies and their opponents doing martial arts is a great idea. Lily James is gorgeous, if I had known she was in Downton Abbey I would have tried watching it.

 

[RubyBlue]

The Danish girl and the one about the catholic priest peado expose in Boston but can't remember the name - oh, spotlight?

 

[bluescreen]

Another vote here for The Big Short - really slick and clever presentation of the cynical hollowness at the heart of the banking system. Witty and self-aware, good acting, a compelling piece of drama.

 

[catinthehat]

Two final films at the Stockfish Film Festival. Victoria - German film, Sebastian Shipper cinematography by Sturla Brandth Grovlen the same guy that did Rams, my top film of 2015. Victoria is set in Berlin and filmed in a single shot in real time. Spanish girl who has been studying piano for 17 years and is chucked out of music school, goes to Berlin. It starts in a club, has a heist in the middle, then stuff which I wont spoil. Really great film and the technique used gives it a "you are in it" effect. There was a Q and A with the film maker after the screening. It sort of out dogmad dogma. Then Journey to Istanbul about a Belgian mother trying to get her daughter back from running off to Syria. French film by Rachid Bouchareb. I#m no expert but I would say that Sturla Brandth Grovlen is a ruddy genius.

 

[Pickman's model]

revenant
hateful eight

 

[Dr. Furface]

Trumbo - classy biopic of the screenwriter who was jailed and blacklisted in Hollywood for being a Communist. 7

Deadpool - Ryan Reynolds as the wisecracking Marvel superhero. I loved it's tongue in cheek wit and style - the action and effects aren't bad either. 8

 

[Sue]

Trumbo - classy biopic of the screenwriter who was jailed and blacklisted in Hollywood for being a Communist. 7

Deadpool - Ryan Reynolds as the wisecracking Marvel superhero. I loved it's tongue in cheek wit and style - the action and effects aren't bad either. 8

I really liked Trumbo though I was kind of always going to, given the subject matter. Would've much preferred Bryan Cranston to have won the Oscar rather than DiCaprio who to my mind wasn't v interesting in The Revenant. Saying that, thought The Revenant was really overhyped. Yes, the scenery looked great and making it was no doubt an epic task but a bit meh really.

Couple from the Glasgow Film Festival.

Experimenter. Stanley Milgram's life and work, mainly focusing on his obedience experiments. The experiments were interesting (didn't know six degrees of separation was his thing) but the stuff about him wasn't interesting enough really. Also found the talking directly to camera to explain what's happening thing a bit annoying.

Disorder. French ex-soldier with PTSD takes a job as bodyguard to the family of a shady businessman. Lost the tension a bit towards the end but thought this was pretty good.

Double Indemnity. They do a free screening every morning of a classic film so why not .

 

[Orang Utan]

I wasn't that impressed by Revenant either. Nearly three hours of Di Caprio crawling and groaning on snow.

 

[belboid]

Hail Caesar! - the Coen Brothers show off their intimate knowledge of the history of cinema and film-making by making a Wes Anderson movie.

 

[redsquirrel]

Brooklyn - Very well done. Not groundbreaking but really well put together, well written, well shot and well acted, I especially liked Domhnall Gleeson's performance. The low-key, downplayed nature just really worked and makes a really good film.

The Big Short - Entertaining enough but not really deserving of all the praise it's got. Absolutely nothing low-key about this at all, lots of people all trying to one up each other in the acting states. None of the characters really rang true, that's not necessarily a problem of course but I simply didn't think it worked here. I guess the pace, performances, breaking the third wall stuff was supposed to reference the hyper nature of the stock market but a lot of the time it was just annoying.

Trumbo - Solid and an enjoyable two hours but with some flaws. My main problem with the film was that at times it did feel very much made by numbers and a little pat. The falling and making up with his daughter scenes for instance, just seemed to be there because the should be there rather to provide us with greater insight into that relationship (which I would have liked). I might be been a little harsh but I felt that thought a perfectly decent movie it could have been really good.

45 Years - Excellent, Rampling is as good as everyone has said but I thought all the cast were good, even the minor parts. The landscape of the film on Broads was also a great idea, works really well. The best thing I've seen so far this year.

Hail, Caesar! - while belboid's comment does have some truth to it I really enjoyed this. It's by no means one of their best but there are some very funny scenes and the recreations of films from the 50s are great (I want to go and check out some aqua-musicals now).