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

[May Kasahara]

The Devil's Daughter. Incredibly, laughably shit 1970s 'horror'.

 

[The Boy]

World War Z (2013). Zombie yarn very loosely based on the book of r same name. First third is good as far as big budget zombie efforts go (though struggling to think of another big budget zombie effort tbh). Middle third gets a bit meh then it goes a bit rubbish and silly. Which is annoying.

Oh yeah. Dialogue which had no purpose other than explaining fine aspect of the plot. Pet hate of mine.

 

[Belushi]

The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry 2006) Enchanting visuals but ultimately a self indulgent mess, watchable but Gondry's films never really work for me.

 

[imposs1904]

The wonders of YouTube has allowed me to indulge in a Minder/Shoestring marathon in the last few days.

Murphy's Mob is up next.

 

[Belushi]

Croupier (Mike Hodges 1998) Pretty good British neo-noir, made Clive Owen's name in the States.

 

[Vintage Paw]

I just watched Iron Sky.

Good god.

 

[blairsh]

Rewatching first series of the 1994 animated Spiderman ont youtube this evening.

Nostalgia

 

[DotCommunist]

I just watched Iron Sky.

Good god.

Iron Sky 2 is in development. This time its hollow earth nazis and Hitler rides a t-rex

 

[Indeliblelink]

Decoder (1984), German film which looks good and has a decent soundtrack of industrial and synth pop, cameos from Genesis P-Orridge & WIlliam S. Burroughs, no idea what the plot was meant to be, something about toads and making people in McDonalds revolt by playing them music. Cool as fuck anyway.

 

[Idris2002]

Five Graves to Cairo.

Billy Wilder, 1943. Erich von Stroheim as Rommel is the main attraction in this story of a Brit tankman who gets stranded in a remote hotel on the road to Alexandria, and then discovers that. . .

What could have been a forgettable propaganda flick us raised above that level by the trademark Wilder touch of mixing the comic and the dark. The comic element can be a bit broad though, especially in the case of the opera singing Italian general. No stereo was left untyped there, I can tell you.

 

[ringo]

The World's End
Badly written and completely lacking in humour and any other redeeming feature.

 

[butchersapron]

White God - Hungarian allegory based around a canine uprising. Good little genre piece. And dedicated to my fav every director.

 

[Belushi]

Cosmopolis (David Cronenberg 2012) Boring adaptation of a Don DeLillo novel.

 

[renegadechicken]

Big Game- watched this on sunday, when it was raining outside. Great sunday afternoon film, just ignore plot holes, eat some junk food we made hotdogs and relax and enjoy. It's okay for what it is, a no Brainer, hangover film.
Also watched this....



pretty good film tbh

 

[Belushi]

Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock 1954) Jimmy Stewart gets obsessed with the neighbours.

 

[starfish]

Kung Fury. Fucking brilliant.
Portuguese telly isn't up to much.

 

[DexterTCN]

Hunger Games: Mocking Jay part 1

If you haven't read the books or aren't interested in the movie series you probably shouldn't bother.

I have, I am and I enjoyed it...but it's not great and barely even good. Decent money spent on it, plenty of eye-candy, acceptable acting (exceptional actors here) but this film should not exist. There is nowhere near enough plot in this two hour film...it's a set-up for the finale and it's not even a good set up.

It tries to do the first part of the third book and fails but tries hard.

Fans only.

 

[Belushi]

Jagged Edge (Richard Marquand 1985) Glossy, unconvincing eighties thriller.

 

[Orang Utan]

Jagged Edge (Richard Marquand 1985) Glossy, unconvincing eighties thriller.

i remember being shocked by the twist, but i can't remember the twist

 

[DaveCinzano]

Blood Ties.

From this year or last (I think) and based on a French original, this 1974 set film could easily have been made in that year. At first, I thought it was going to be a fairly straight-forward of how clean-cut, straight-shooting cop Billy Crudup persuades his rough-diamond ex-con brother Clive Owen to infiltrate a criminal gang that's wreaking havoc in '74 Noo Yawk. Things quickly took a different turn. Owen's character turns out to be much, much darker than I had assumed, and Crudup's character, meanwhile, turns out to be very much a mixed-up kid. The story kept surprising me, put it that way. Zoe Saldana, Mila Kunis and Marion Cotillard play the long-suffering women in their lives. Not bad at all - I'd give it 6.5 out of ten, but a good 6.5.

A very fair summation, I think. It sidestepped many of the (over) familiar period crime drama tropes, though ultimately I found the absence of much to replace them somewhat unsatisfying. In a similar to A Most Violent Year, though that one pulled together much better, I think.

 

[Idris2002]

The Look of Love.

Steve Coogan IS King of Soho Paul Raymond.

Or, the Partridge of Wisdom Flies Only at Dusk, as Hegel didn't say.

Well produced, and well performed biopic of Britain's most successful pornographer. "It won't bring you happiness, my lad". Some cool swinging London (and Seventies' London) stuff but ultimately altogether basically depressing.

 

[Idris2002]

A very fair summation, I think. It sidestepped many of the (over) familiar period crime drama tropes, though ultimately I found the absence of much to replace them somewhat unsatisfying. In a similar to A Most Violent Year, though that one pulled together much better, I think.

I see what you mean there, but I don't think I can agree. Sidestepping those overly familiar tropes meant it did its own thing, and did it successfully.

 

[starfish]

Ooh, Mr Jolly Lives Next Door is about to start on Gold.

 

[Idris2002]

Fury.

A good war movie, a bad film about war.

"War is hell, but it will make a man of you". The same old bollocks, in other words.

I found a lot to enjoy in this one, but Kelly's Heroes remains the better movie.

 

[DexterTCN]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind. oooh..Lance Henriksen is in it, never noticed that before.

Gone Girl. Quality dark stuff from Fincher laced with brilliant humour in the final stages.

 

[Belushi]

Red Sorghum (Yimou Zhang 1987) Melodramatic fable set in 1930's China.

 

[ringo]

Starred Up - Grim and violent but well made prison punch up.

 

[stethoscope]

Pride (finally!).

 

[starfish]

Iron Man 3. Quite amusing in parts. Thought we'd already seen Iron Man 2 but midway through we realised we hadnt, not sure if it mattered though.

 

[DotCommunist]

Iron Man 3. Quite amusing in parts. Thought we'd already seen Iron Man 2 but midway through we realised we hadnt, not sure if it mattered though.

It was rubbish, you missed nothing