List the films you've seen at the cinema: 2016
- Thread starter metalguru
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It wasn't completely clear (well to me anyway) but assume the father had had a similar role in the dictatorship but went freelance when the regime was toppled. In which case dead eyes seemed a very apt portrayal.
And the whole way the family ignored/normalised what was going on was utterly bizarre but presumably accurate.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Nanker Phelge
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
Saw this yesterday. Plenty of laughs, plenty of heart, plenty action, and much fun.
Kuso
drinking like george best, gettin less women
Went to see 'The girl with all the gifts' last night. Absolutely amazing. I didn't know what to expect apart from "the best zombie movie since 28 days later".
Really, really creepy in places, and managed to put a fresh, but familiar, twist on the whole zombie ting. I can't think of anything better or that I enjoyed more this year. It was so good I thought I should actually write this to tell y'all.
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Really, really creepy in places, and managed to put a fresh, but familiar, twist on the whole zombie ting. I can't think of anything better or that I enjoyed more this year. It was so good I thought I should actually write this to tell y'all.
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Dr. Furface
One small step for me
Yes, on the whole it was entertaining, often thought-provoking and pretty funny, but ultimately it was disappointing in that it starts by seeming like it's quite radical, but ultimately it has a very conservative subtext. Kids shouting 'stick it to the man!' may be cute but in this film the only man that gets a sticking-to is their dad.
Under the Shadow. As the Iran-iraq War nears its end, both sides are bombing the other's cities. In Tehran, a woman starts to experience bizarre goings on as the bombs rain down. Not a horror/supernatural film fan but thought this was excellent, if mainly for the depiction of Iranian life at that time. (Unsurprisingly, very shit if you were a woman.)
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Reno
The In Kraut
I thought this was great! I liked that they didn't make the lead character that likeable, she wasn't some suffering saint but one also understood where her frustrations came from. The film was very well directed, a great debut film which makes me look forward to what Babak Anvari does next (hopefully not some US horror remake). Also reminded me of Hideo Nakata's Dark Water, which is not a bad thing as that is one of the best horror films of the 21st century.
Together with The Invitation and The Witch this is shaping up to be a good year for horror films.
Just got annoyed with the audience who chortled through the film like it was high comedy (twats who needed to let everyone know that they are above the scares of a horror film), especially at the scene where she flees the haunted building in terror without wearing a hijab and gets picked up by the morality police. Not that funny for women in Iran.
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Reno
The In Kraut
The Girl With All the Gifts, which I thought was excellent. It's a British, post apocalyptic scifi-horror film based on a popular novel and it does for zombies what Let the Right One In did for vampires. Both films came at a point when their respective monsters had been done to death and manage to breath new life into a tired subgenre. Like with Let the Right One In, here the monster also is a young girl who can't help her murderous impulses.
The "zombies" in this are of the infected and running variety, victims of a fungus which mutates them into braindead, people eating monsters. The film starts at least a decade into the zombie apocalypse and deals with a group of children in a research bunker, who are different, like the next step in an evolution of the creatures (I liked the gruesome explanation for their existence). When they aren't hungry and able to smell living creatures, they pretty much behave like normal kids, unlike the vast majority of the adult "hungries" who have devastated the world. The focus is on twelve year old Melanie who is unusually bright and has more control over her cannibalistic impulses than the other children. Gemma Arterton plays a teacher who becomes close to her, Glenn Close a scientist who harvests the kid's brains to create a vaccine and Paddy Considine is a sergeant there to protect the staff and who doesn't like the growing bond between the girl and her teacher. Then everything goes tits up.
It's a great piece of film making, often surprisingly touching and it has more on its mind than you average zombie flick. Sennia Nanua, who plays Melanie, is a real find and gives one of the great performances by a child actor in recent years. With the cause of the mayhem being a plant and some great use of London locations, this is a better take on something like The Day of the Triffids than any of the official adaptations and the end gets the spirit of Matheson's I Am Legend, unlike any of those film adaptations. And there is a bit of The Village of the Damned/ The Midwich Cuckoos in there as well.
The "zombies" in this are of the infected and running variety, victims of a fungus which mutates them into braindead, people eating monsters. The film starts at least a decade into the zombie apocalypse and deals with a group of children in a research bunker, who are different, like the next step in an evolution of the creatures (I liked the gruesome explanation for their existence). When they aren't hungry and able to smell living creatures, they pretty much behave like normal kids, unlike the vast majority of the adult "hungries" who have devastated the world. The focus is on twelve year old Melanie who is unusually bright and has more control over her cannibalistic impulses than the other children. Gemma Arterton plays a teacher who becomes close to her, Glenn Close a scientist who harvests the kid's brains to create a vaccine and Paddy Considine is a sergeant there to protect the staff and who doesn't like the growing bond between the girl and her teacher. Then everything goes tits up.
It's a great piece of film making, often surprisingly touching and it has more on its mind than you average zombie flick. Sennia Nanua, who plays Melanie, is a real find and gives one of the great performances by a child actor in recent years. With the cause of the mayhem being a plant and some great use of London locations, this is a better take on something like The Day of the Triffids than any of the official adaptations and the end gets the spirit of Matheson's I Am Legend, unlike any of those film adaptations. And there is a bit of The Village of the Damned/ The Midwich Cuckoos in there as well.
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A few from the London Film Festival.
The Handmaiden. Park Chan-wook does Sarah Waters. In Japanese-occupied 1930s Korea, a young Korean woman becomes the maid of a Japanese heiress in a plot to defraud her of her inheritance. Thought this was really good though the sex scenes (well the main one in particular) felt a bit uncomfortable -- not sure if it's the music but it all started to feel a bit soft porn. The baddie's also a bit too pantomime near the end but definitely worth seeing.
Frantz. Francois Ozon's take on a French play, filmed (if from a different POV) by Lubitsch in the 30s. A young French man turns up in small town Germany in 1919 to lay flowers on the grave of a German killed during WWI. It's told from the point of view of the German's fiancee and the big twist happens about halfway through but it's pretty heavily signposted so not much of a twist really. Thought the second half (set in France) was better than the first. It moves between black and white and colour and wasn't sure that really worked. (Ozon was there and said it was because Germany looked too colourful and cheerful so they used black and white instead.) Sad and romantic, if there's one bit that did make me roll my eyes quite a lot.
Huston/Bogart's Beat the Devil. Restored to its original version -- apparently the version most people have seen doesn't make much sense due to strange cutting. Really good. Pre-film Q&A with a woman who worked on scripts for 14 of Huston's films including this one. Apparently the script changed day on day and no-one had much idea what was going to happen next...
The Fury of a Patient Man. Billed as a modern (Spanish) western, more of a revenge thriller. Pretty violent.
The Handmaiden. Park Chan-wook does Sarah Waters. In Japanese-occupied 1930s Korea, a young Korean woman becomes the maid of a Japanese heiress in a plot to defraud her of her inheritance. Thought this was really good though the sex scenes (well the main one in particular) felt a bit uncomfortable -- not sure if it's the music but it all started to feel a bit soft porn. The baddie's also a bit too pantomime near the end but definitely worth seeing.
Frantz. Francois Ozon's take on a French play, filmed (if from a different POV) by Lubitsch in the 30s. A young French man turns up in small town Germany in 1919 to lay flowers on the grave of a German killed during WWI. It's told from the point of view of the German's fiancee and the big twist happens about halfway through but it's pretty heavily signposted so not much of a twist really. Thought the second half (set in France) was better than the first. It moves between black and white and colour and wasn't sure that really worked. (Ozon was there and said it was because Germany looked too colourful and cheerful so they used black and white instead.) Sad and romantic, if there's one bit that did make me roll my eyes quite a lot.
In a cafe in Paris, some French soldiers appear. One by one the customers stand up and sing the Marseillaise. (It mirrors a scene earlier in the film where some Germans sing a traditional song to goad the French man.) It's presumably meant to echo Casablanca/La Grande Illusion if from the view of the victors but it felt really clumsy and obvious and (for me anyway) completely lacked the emotion of either of those two.
Huston/Bogart's Beat the Devil. Restored to its original version -- apparently the version most people have seen doesn't make much sense due to strange cutting. Really good. Pre-film Q&A with a woman who worked on scripts for 14 of Huston's films including this one. Apparently the script changed day on day and no-one had much idea what was going to happen next...
The Fury of a Patient Man. Billed as a modern (Spanish) western, more of a revenge thriller. Pretty violent.
Nanker Phelge
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
Girl With All the Gifts. Reno said it all really. Excellent film.
ETA: Also reminded me of the recent Planet of the Apes.
ETA: Also reminded me of the recent Planet of the Apes.
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Lolita - first in a Kubrick double bill, I should point out that I've not read the book. While not disliking it I couldn't really find myself connecting with it. There are one or two points where I felt for characters, mostly an embarrassed humour, and Seller's performance I just fund immensely annoying and hammy (is the Quilty character like that in the book?). While far better than the 90s version I can't say that I was blow away.
Barry Lyndon - a much better film, for a start it looks absolutely gorgeous, and while there is a certain detachment in the way the story is told the humorous edge kept me involved over all the three hours. O'Neal works really well in the main role and it's one film where the narration adds to the film rather than takes away from it (helps that Michael Hordern has one of those voices that could read telephone directory and you'd still find it interesting and gorgeous). Wonderful.
Joe Cinque's Consolation - Based on a book of the same title which is an account of the true story of the killing of a man by his girlfriend and her friend, after telling a number of people what she planned to do, in Canberra in the late 90s. I don't know how closely the film follows the real events but the general plot seems to be correct. The plot is strong and the performances of the main actors are good which makes up for some the weaknesses in the supporting cast and odd clunk in the script. Worth going to see just for the strangeness of the events.
Julieta - Almodovar's latest which is more in the style of All About My Mother than his last two films, it's not in the first class of Almodovar films but it's still really enjoyable. It also stars Emma Suarez who I loved in Julio Medem's early work but I've not seen in anything recently. Suarez plays the older version of the titular character who has had no contact with her daughter.
Cafe Society - Latest Woody Allen, about a young new yorker who goes out to LA is on the periphery of the movie scene, gets his heart broken and goes back to NY. It's not plumbing the absolute depths that Cassandra's Dream reached but it's absolutely forgettable, the most interesting thing about it is that it stars Ken Stott (who really does need to get more work) as a Jewish New Yorker, took me a while to recognise him. It's set in the 1930s and IMO looks rather horrible (horrible orangey light for lots of the LA scenes), I'm not sure whether Allen's done it on purpose or not but looks reminds me of some horrible 1930s theme night than the real 1930s. Also in respect to Barry Lyndon this is a perfect example of where narration doesn't work. Wouldn't bother with it.
Barry Lyndon - a much better film, for a start it looks absolutely gorgeous, and while there is a certain detachment in the way the story is told the humorous edge kept me involved over all the three hours. O'Neal works really well in the main role and it's one film where the narration adds to the film rather than takes away from it (helps that Michael Hordern has one of those voices that could read telephone directory and you'd still find it interesting and gorgeous). Wonderful.
Joe Cinque's Consolation - Based on a book of the same title which is an account of the true story of the killing of a man by his girlfriend and her friend, after telling a number of people what she planned to do, in Canberra in the late 90s. I don't know how closely the film follows the real events but the general plot seems to be correct. The plot is strong and the performances of the main actors are good which makes up for some the weaknesses in the supporting cast and odd clunk in the script. Worth going to see just for the strangeness of the events.
Julieta - Almodovar's latest which is more in the style of All About My Mother than his last two films, it's not in the first class of Almodovar films but it's still really enjoyable. It also stars Emma Suarez who I loved in Julio Medem's early work but I've not seen in anything recently. Suarez plays the older version of the titular character who has had no contact with her daughter.
Cafe Society - Latest Woody Allen, about a young new yorker who goes out to LA is on the periphery of the movie scene, gets his heart broken and goes back to NY. It's not plumbing the absolute depths that Cassandra's Dream reached but it's absolutely forgettable, the most interesting thing about it is that it stars Ken Stott (who really does need to get more work) as a Jewish New Yorker, took me a while to recognise him. It's set in the 1930s and IMO looks rather horrible (horrible orangey light for lots of the LA scenes), I'm not sure whether Allen's done it on purpose or not but looks reminds me of some horrible 1930s theme night than the real 1930s. Also in respect to Barry Lyndon this is a perfect example of where narration doesn't work. Wouldn't bother with it.
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8den
No I'm pretty sure that was 8ball...
Utterly brilliant going to show it to my family over Christmas.
stdP
One Swiss dinosaur in Polly Gosling's anorak hood
Wanted to go and see The Girl With All The Gifts or Train To Busan, but the missus has a flat-out ban on anything that looks even slightly horror-tinged. Thumb-twiddling' time until the DVD release I guess.
So we "compromised" and I was dragged into the mediocre The Girl On The Train. Apparently the book was a poor-man's Gone Girl (itself no great shakes) and the films seems to be in the same vein. Very plodding direction, precious little suspense and - crucially I felt - piss-poor character development that I couldn't really bring myself to care about any of them that much.
Have to congratulate Emily Blunt on another "is there any role she can't play?" performance though. Her depiction of someone with a crippling alcohol problem was pretty spot on, and even if the director didn't seem to care about her, she was the one person in the film that I managed to feel any sympathy for through the force of her performance. Justin Theroux as his short-back'n'smarm self was too obvious a choice of bad guy though even if I do find the guy hideously watchable.
So we "compromised" and I was dragged into the mediocre The Girl On The Train. Apparently the book was a poor-man's Gone Girl (itself no great shakes) and the films seems to be in the same vein. Very plodding direction, precious little suspense and - crucially I felt - piss-poor character development that I couldn't really bring myself to care about any of them that much.
Have to congratulate Emily Blunt on another "is there any role she can't play?" performance though. Her depiction of someone with a crippling alcohol problem was pretty spot on, and even if the director didn't seem to care about her, she was the one person in the film that I managed to feel any sympathy for through the force of her performance. Justin Theroux as his short-back'n'smarm self was too obvious a choice of bad guy though even if I do find the guy hideously watchable.
belboid
Exasperated, not angry.
American Honey saw it a week so back, and if you can travel back in time to catch it at the pics, you really should. It's surprisingly tender, as we follow a young lass abandon her two little siblings with a mother who abandoned them earlier and runs off with a bunch of scally's selling shitty mags across America. In awe of a surprisingly good Shia LaBeouf she [Sasha Lane, also ace] gets into all kinds of risky situations, and you are sure it is all going to go horribly wrong. Most people are basically nice tho, even if looking after Number 1. Sassy and funny, well worth the watch.
Doctor Strange - Steve Ditko's classic brought to the big screen in a manner you'd have thought Mr D would have thoroughly approved of. Quite ossibly the best Marvel adaptation to date, Cumberbund is quite marvellous as the Doctor, as is Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. Funny, good looking, proper spacey, great soundtrack, and the Dread Dormammu. What more could you want? Well, there's no 'by the hoary hosts of Hogoth' but that's about it
Doctor Strange - Steve Ditko's classic brought to the big screen in a manner you'd have thought Mr D would have thoroughly approved of. Quite ossibly the best Marvel adaptation to date, Cumberbund is quite marvellous as the Doctor, as is Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. Funny, good looking, proper spacey, great soundtrack, and the Dread Dormammu. What more could you want? Well, there's no 'by the hoary hosts of Hogoth' but that's about it
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
The Neon Demon - Agree with Sue's and Reno's comments, style can't make up the absolute absence of substance. Drive was great and while I didn't like Only God Forgives and thought it was massively overrated, there was at least something there. This is just crap, even the usually interesting Jena Malone is pretty rubbish in this, though that's as much to do with the role as anything. Don't bother with it.
Captain Fantastic - like belboid says it's not a great film, bits of it are absolute nonsense and the overall trajectory is pretty obvious from the start but there are a lot of very funny moments and as long as you give your sense of disbelief some leeway then it's a really enjoyable ride. Sarja is my favourite.
Hell or Highwater - I'm a western fan and so was looking forward to this and it didn't disappoint. Set up has two brothers robbing the bank that their mother's farm is mortgaged to. I particularly liked the shift from the almost comic tone of the initial robberies to the truely awful repercussions of what their actions have entailed, which was done very naturally and not in a heavy-handed manner. Chris Pine and Ben Foster are very good as the brothers, the character Jeff Bridges plays is laid on a little thick but that's a minor quibble in a very good film.
Elle - Paul Verhoeven's latest, which has Isabelle Huppert in the lead. The film starts of with her rape in her home and then looks at her actions in response to it, as well as going back into her past and family dynamics. A really interesting film, much less exploitative than the plot summary and Verhoeven's name might suggest. As usual Huppert is top notch playing a complex character you who both sympathise with and yet dislike at times. I won't say much more as I think it will give things away which you are better off coming to 'cold' but definitely recommended.
Also a Polanski season has started at the ACMI, so saw two of his, neither of which I've seen previously.
Knife in the Water - absolutely wonderful. I wasn't super excited about this, instead more looking forward to Repulsion but it really blew me away. Nothing wasted, just really simple but taut from start to finish.
Repulsion - Probably a bit unfortunate that I saw this after Elle and Knife in the Water, as after two really good films this had a lot to live up to and in comparison to the two previous films during which I was gripped from start to finish at times this felt to drag a bit (I could have just been a bit tired too). Despite that there are some wonderfully creepy moments in there.
BTW Sue I've just finished reading Sunset Song, really, really enjoyed it. While the film is obviously made by someone who loves the book and has the best of intentions it really doesn't do it justice. Now got to get the sequels from the library.
Captain Fantastic - like belboid says it's not a great film, bits of it are absolute nonsense and the overall trajectory is pretty obvious from the start but there are a lot of very funny moments and as long as you give your sense of disbelief some leeway then it's a really enjoyable ride. Sarja is my favourite.
Hell or Highwater - I'm a western fan and so was looking forward to this and it didn't disappoint. Set up has two brothers robbing the bank that their mother's farm is mortgaged to. I particularly liked the shift from the almost comic tone of the initial robberies to the truely awful repercussions of what their actions have entailed, which was done very naturally and not in a heavy-handed manner. Chris Pine and Ben Foster are very good as the brothers, the character Jeff Bridges plays is laid on a little thick but that's a minor quibble in a very good film.
Elle - Paul Verhoeven's latest, which has Isabelle Huppert in the lead. The film starts of with her rape in her home and then looks at her actions in response to it, as well as going back into her past and family dynamics. A really interesting film, much less exploitative than the plot summary and Verhoeven's name might suggest. As usual Huppert is top notch playing a complex character you who both sympathise with and yet dislike at times. I won't say much more as I think it will give things away which you are better off coming to 'cold' but definitely recommended.
Also a Polanski season has started at the ACMI, so saw two of his, neither of which I've seen previously.
Knife in the Water - absolutely wonderful. I wasn't super excited about this, instead more looking forward to Repulsion but it really blew me away. Nothing wasted, just really simple but taut from start to finish.
Repulsion - Probably a bit unfortunate that I saw this after Elle and Knife in the Water, as after two really good films this had a lot to live up to and in comparison to the two previous films during which I was gripped from start to finish at times this felt to drag a bit (I could have just been a bit tired too). Despite that there are some wonderfully creepy moments in there.
BTW Sue I've just finished reading Sunset Song, really, really enjoyed it. While the film is obviously made by someone who loves the book and has the best of intentions it really doesn't do it justice. Now got to get the sequels from the library.
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DexterTCN
Troy and Abed in the morning
Dr Strange. The story is run of the mill Marvel, nothing exceptional. The humour is good, Mikkleson, Swinton and Cumby (he's basically playing House) rock their parts although working with comic book plots.
But the visual effects....I've never seen any film with that amount of work or imagination. If you see it check out the amount of people involved in making the visual/digital/cgi effects.
For what it is it's very good.
But the visual effects....I've never seen any film with that amount of work or imagination. If you see it check out the amount of people involved in making the visual/digital/cgi effects.
For what it is it's very good.
DJWrongspeed
radio eros
Not been at the cinema much recently. Nocturnal Animals got such great reviews I had to see it. Really enjoyed Tom Ford's Single Man.
Defo worth checking. The piss take of the art scene is brilliant. The main plot line is pretty harrowing.
Defo worth checking. The piss take of the art scene is brilliant. The main plot line is pretty harrowing.
Glad you liked Sunset Song redsquirrel.
I've been to see a few films in the French Noir season at the BFI.
Le Dernier Tournant. The first film adaptation of The Postman Only Rings Twice. Really liked it but it's apparently little known as it was made in 1939 and suppressed during the Occupation as the director was Jewish. Post-war, one of the actors was found to have collaborated and the father of the female lead was executed for collaborating so imagine it wasn't the most popular film in town.
Touchez Pas Au Grisbi -- Jean Gabin plays a world weary gangster who pulls one last job. What could possibly go wrong...
Rififi. Hadn't seen this on the big screen before -- looks great.
Also A Raisin in the Sun with a young Sidney Poitier playing a father struggling to get by. Very of its time (early 60s). with the male characters without exception sexist and weak. The female characters are much more interesting. Some interesting bits but too long and felt liked the film of a play (which it was).
I've been to see a few films in the French Noir season at the BFI.
Le Dernier Tournant. The first film adaptation of The Postman Only Rings Twice. Really liked it but it's apparently little known as it was made in 1939 and suppressed during the Occupation as the director was Jewish. Post-war, one of the actors was found to have collaborated and the father of the female lead was executed for collaborating so imagine it wasn't the most popular film in town.
Touchez Pas Au Grisbi -- Jean Gabin plays a world weary gangster who pulls one last job. What could possibly go wrong...
Rififi. Hadn't seen this on the big screen before -- looks great.
Also A Raisin in the Sun with a young Sidney Poitier playing a father struggling to get by. Very of its time (early 60s). with the male characters without exception sexist and weak. The female characters are much more interesting. Some interesting bits but too long and felt liked the film of a play (which it was).
Trolls
It wasn't that bad. Fun enough.
Can you spot a pattern in the films I've seen?
Banff Mountain Film Festival aside!
I also went to the Ocean Film Festival. Not as good. But still a good night out.
How much Justin Timberlake would I have to suffer If I went see Trolls ?
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
He's the lead. Plus his music. But it was kinda fitting.
There was a great snippet of a Gorrilaz track that made me chuckle.
Hellsbells
World's best procrastinator
Both me and my friend fell asleep half way through
The Birth of a Nation
Set in the Antebellum South and based on a True Story about a slave rebellion led by a literate, slave preacher. Be warned there is a scene which is graphically, brutal and centres around two shackled slaves who are on hunger strike and what their owner does to one of them. Overall a film worth seeing.
Set in the Antebellum South and based on a True Story about a slave rebellion led by a literate, slave preacher. Be warned there is a scene which is graphically, brutal and centres around two shackled slaves who are on hunger strike and what their owner does to one of them. Overall a film worth seeing.
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