What DVD / Video did you watch last night? (pt3)

[Badgers]

Watched a few yesterday.

The Illusionist for the second time which is good I thought. Have that and The Prestige which I think overshadowed Illusionist a bit.

Up earlier than I should be on a Sunday. Just put on series three of The Wire

 

[andy2002]

oh excellent- I knew about the cancer but I had thought the prequels were the plan all along.

Oh shit. It seems Andy Whitfield's cancer's back and he won't be doing any more Spartacus after all...

www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/news/a277614/andy-whitfield-leaves-spartacus.html

Andy Whitfield leaves 'Spartacus'

Andy Whitfield will not return to Spartacus: Blood And Sand for the show's second season, it has been announced.

The actor was forced to leave the series after experiencing a recurrence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma for which he must undergo "aggressive treatment", reports People.

"It's with a deep sense of disappointment that I must step aside from such an exceptional project as Spartacus and all the wonderful people involved," he said in a statement.

"It seems that it is time for myself and my family to embark on another extraordinary journey."

Upon hearing news of Whitfield's cancer diagnosis, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said: "Our hearts and prayers are with Andy and his family during this difficult time.

"Andy is not only an incredible actor whose portrayal of Spartacus made an indelible impression on Starz audiences, he is also an amazing human being whose courage, strength and grace in the face of adversity have inspired all of us."

 

[marty21]

'L'Auberge espagnole' or 'The Spanish Inn' or 'Pot Luck'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Auberge_espagnole

very funny film, set in Barcelona mostly (with some Paris) following a French Erasmus student (Romain Duris), sharing a chaotic flat with several different nationalities. Really enjoyed it, and apparently there is a sequel so will look that up as well.

 

[Reno]

'L'Auberge espagnole' or 'The Spanish Inn' or 'Pot Luck'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Auberge_espagnole

very funny film, set in Barcelona mostly (with some Paris) following a French Erasmus student (Romain Duris), sharing a chaotic flat with several different nationalities. Really enjoyed it, and apparently there is a sequel so will look that up as well.

The sequel is called Russian Dolls I thought it was as good as the first film.

 

[marty21]

The sequel is called Russian Dolls I thought it was as good as the first film.

good, I'm looking forward to watching that.

 

[Part 2]

Matewan. Reminded of this earlier in the thread. Mate told me I should watch it years ago. It's very good.

 

[DotCommunist]

Good ennit?


I watched Iron Man 2 which was nonsense but had people in battlesuits fighting so I rated it

 

[starfish]

Kick Ass. Really, really enjoyed it.

 

[smmudge]

i know what you mean. it's so unexpected but i was more 'disturbed' by the uncertainty of the ending, but i'm used to seeing transgressive violence on the screen as i suppose it's my 'hobby' to watch things that go beyond the pale. but sometimes things can take you by surprise. the most disturbing thing i've ever seen is...actually disturbing is probably the wrong word. shocking is better. the most shocking thing i've ever seen was in the hbo tv series, oz. there's lots of violent murder and assault in it, but one particular moment was so unexpected cos it comes from someone who you think didn't have it in them and it's so vicious it really takes your breath away.
i'll work out how to use the spoiler tag if anyone really wants to know what it is, though i'm not sure if the spoiler tag is necessary for a decade old tv series.

Aye, though I'm afraid I've not heard of that series. Even though I said I wouldn't watch Hidden again I did love that it had that effect on me. It's funny you hear people say certain movies are 'shocking' for their amount or kind of violence, Saw, Hostel etc. but it's not any old violence that shocks, it's the way, as you explain, it's placed in the narrative and how or why it's carried out that causes it to shock.


Yesterday I watched Turtles Can Fly. Really beautiful, though terribly sad too. Reading around on other people's reviews, it weird how many people didn't get the story behind the toddler, though it's pretty essential to the plot like

 

[imposs1904]

All Or Nothing

I think I would have switched off after twenty minutes if it wasn't for Ruth Sheen's performance. Mike Leigh phoned this one in.

 

[Orang Utan]

prince of persia - i only watched it cos a friend is in it. it's a big stinky bag of shite. features a lot of white actors browned up, which is the least of the film's egregious sins. gemma arterton and jake gyllenhall look unconvinced by the terrible script and alfred molina and ben kingsley ham it up atrociously. there are so many creaky parallels drawn between the time it's set and the present political situation of the middle east and molina keeps joking about being a small tax-paying businessman, to try and give it some modern relevance. it does at least try and be faithful to its origins as a videogame, with plenty of action sequences that employed in the game, but as these are mostly rooftop chases and leaping along evenly spaced beams, it's not very exciting and there are no major action setpieces.
be kind rewind - i need to watch this again as i was cooking while it was on, but i found it charming, despite the presence of two awful actors, jack black and mos def. this got a drubbing by critics and the internet alike IIRC, but i quite liked it and found its emphasis on community solidarity rather heartwarming.
pandorum - i really really liked it - wasn't planning on watching it, but it was on the actual telly box when be kind rewind finished and i meant to go to bed, but i got sucked in. i thought it would be crap, just another low budget b-movie sci-fi horror film, but it was intelligent and compelling and the sets and 'monsters' in it looked incredible. the plot is resolved neatly and surprisingly too. strongly recommended.

 

[QueenOfGoths]

"Alien Vs Predator: Requiem" - it was shit but as I wasn't expecting or wanting anything other than a bit of shit so it suited me fine. Plus Sam from "True Blood" is in it though sadly not showing his arse.

 

[krtek a houby]

The Special Relationship - Dennis Quaid makes for a strong Bill Clinton & Sheen does his usual Blair thing. Can't wait until the Blair & Bush years...
Jumpers - Heroes kind of vibe. Interesting idea, marred by Haydn Christiansen, redeemed by Jamie Bell despite an accent that seemed to jump all over the place...
Men in Black 2 - Smith on autopilot, felt stale compared to the brilliant 1st instalment.
Alien V Predator: Requiem - Passable. Probably a lot better than the forthcoming latest prequel.

 

[Reno]

pandorum - i really really liked it - wasn't planning on watching it, but it was on the actual telly box when be kind rewind finished and i meant to go to bed, but i got sucked in. i thought it would be crap, just another low budget b-movie sci-fi horror film, but it was intelligent and compelling and the sets and 'monsters' in it looked incredible. the plot is resolved neatly and surprisingly too. strongly recommended.

That one was a pleasant surprise. I liked the whole amnesia idea where the lead characters have to figure out where they are and what is going on and the end came as a genuinely unexpected surprise

 

[DotCommunist]

Clash of the Titans

What a load of cock. Bad dialogue, did nothing new with the story. The combat scenes were rubbish as well- I did like the giant scorpions but that was it. Waste of time.

 

[Captain Hurrah]

I saw that on the plane back from my hols on Saturday. Fucking dire. I wanted more Kraken action, though, but no ...

 

[DotCommunist]

Liam Neeson blatantly just collecting a paycheck- has he even done a good film since Rob Roy?

I'm going to watch kickass tonight and it had better be good.

The other day however I watched a suprisingly good film called 'The man who captured Eichman' http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116975/ which was fucking ace. The run up to the capture wasn't the best bit, the second half of the film where the MOSSAD agent tries to get eichmann to sign the document agreeing to be tried in Israel was excellent.

 

[Structaural]

The Prestige - I enjoyed it, though I sussed a few bits which made it less twisty as it could have been. Bit long-winded though, and some of the accents were all over the shop. Johansson's acting was terrible. Good fun though and Bowie didn't suck as much as I thought he would.

 

[avu9lives]

Boy Definitely a must see film! Great fun and great lol moments. Just goes to show yer dont need a massive budget and famous actors to make a great film.. If new zealand are churnin out little gems like this i need to explore their films a bit more methinks,,,,,,

 

[DotCommunist]

Kick Ass. It was OK for what it was. Nicholas Cage died and we got to see a small girl murderating loads of baddies like it was a manga live action. 5/10.

 

[Orang Utan]

au hasard balthazar - a rather cynical film about a put-upon donkey and a put-upon girl who are humiliated and beaten by nasty humans. i felt sorry for the donkey and not for the girl, which made me cross with the director. i don't share his views of humanity i guess.

 

[Virtual Blue]

Dogtooth - Greek film. Interesting. Odd. Pretty good.

Cemetery Junction - Not bad at all. Sad but enjoyable.

 

[Augie March]

Two recent horrors, The Mist and The Crazies remake.

The Crazies was good, having never seen the original, I couldn't comment on it's comparative quality to that. But overall, it was a fine horror film, if not a little too slick and predictable at times.

The Mist was even better. Frank Darabont knows how to tackle Stephen King stories and does so brilliantly here. It's scary, intelligent and demonstrates perfectly how to construct a horror flick that plays on the fear of the unknown. And the ending is just... well, not to give too much away, it's unexpectedly downbeat. Well worth watching.

 

[butchersapron]

au hasard balthazar - a rather cynical film about a put-upon donkey and a put-upon girl who are humiliated and beaten by nasty humans. i felt sorry for the donkey and not for the girl, which made me cross with the director. i don't share his views of humanity i guess.

For me a hopelessly optimistic film.

 

[Orang Utan]

really? how did you see it that way?

 

[butchersapron]

All these things happen, but they don't matter. People are horrible, dumb beasts endure and they help to understand ourselves - doesn't matter though. If it mattered death wouldn't be a chance shot.

 

[Orang Utan]

i'm not sure i'd see that as optimistic! more nihilistic!

 

[butchersapron]

i'm not sure i'd see that as optimistic! more nihilistic!

To me that's supremely optimistic - let's make stuff matter.

 

[Orang Utan]

ah, i see. hmm.

 

[butchersapron]

Support dirty leeds - it'll make sense