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

The Survivalist, recent British low budget, post-apocalyptic drama which got rave reviews but which I found excruciatingly dull. It has only three characters of any importance and it goes for "enigmatic" with their depiction (little dialogue, long meaningful glances) but to me they ended up as not terribly interesting. Neither trashy fun nor arty enough to be profound or beautiful, this is about as much fun as a zombie apocalypse without any zombies.
 
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Reno said:
The Survivalist, recent British low budget, post-apocalyptic drama which got rave reviews but which I found excruciatingly dull. It has only three characters of any importance and it goes for "enigmatic" with their depiction (little dialogue, long meaningful glances) but to me they ended up as not terribly interesting. Neither trashy fun nor arty enough to be profound or beautiful, this is about as much fun as a zombie apocalypse without any zombies.
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I quite enjoyed that one. Don't agree that it tried to be enigmatic whatsoever. It merely depicted a state of affairs where people would be intensely paranoid and tight-lipped about their intentions.
 
TruXta said:
I quite enjoyed that one. Don't agree that it tried to be enigmatic whatsoever. It merely depicted a state of affairs where people would be intensely paranoid and tight-lipped about their intentions.
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...which I didn't find very interesting because the people weren't. Everybody is frightened and paranoid in just about every post-apocalyptic film I've seen, so there was nothing new there.
 
Reno said:
...which I didn't find very interesting because the people weren't. I've seen way too many films like this and there are far better ones out there
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Fair enough, horses for courses, but I still think your description as trying to be enigmatic is just plain wrong.
 
What, you needed more exposition? More "I feel this" kinda dialogue? Just curious really. Also, what movies in the same vein would you rate higher?
 
TruXta said:
What, you needed more exposition? More "I feel this" kinda dialogue? Just curious really. Also, what movies in the same vein would you rate higher?
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I don't need more exposition, but if you do a post-apocalyptic film which is primarily character based, then come up with more interesting characters. Don't entirely rely on that the dire situation they are in will be enough to make them compelling. The idea that they may fuck each other over alone didn't keep me on the edge of my seat, that comes with the genre. There was one moment where the mother character inserted so long a pause before the (expected) final word of a sentence, it actually made me laugh at the stilted approach to attempt "meaningful drama"

Small scale apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic films which were better and which were primarily about the dynamics and tensions between the characters: The Quiet Earth, The Dark Hour (aka La Hora Fria), Time of the Wolf, The Road, Right at Your Door, It's a Disaster, Testament, These Final Hours, The Last Battle, Last Night, The Invitation, Pontypool, A Boy and His Dog, Hell, The Rover.

Some of them I didn't even like that much but all of them brought more to the able than this.
 
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Justice League: Gods and Monsters

ok so in this one the League are bad, Superman is evil (he has the mirror universe goatee as well and I know some geek twat did that reference deliberatly. Must have). Lex Luthor is actually the gooddie. I found it fun if forgettable. Evil Wonderwoman (bekka) should have been more domme.

I think there is a vast chunk of backstory her that I CBA with cos DC is all about the reboots and shit gets confusing. Worth a watch tho, excellent animation as per
 
Up to episode 8 of Banshee.

Nuts, but very entertaining.

The actor who plays the sleazy drug lawyer (Levy) from The Wire shows up and was almost unrecognizable but still great.

The 'Bad guys' are complex and the 'good guys' are often arseholes of the first order, just how I like my pulpy action shows :cool:
 
Watching the second Hobbit film on telly. I've never had any desire to see these, but have been watching them with my 7yo which seems to have highlighted their point i.e. as big dumb action entertainers for 7yos. Still disappointed at how much Sauron's eye looks like a big scary fanny though.
 
13 hours.

A strange film, featuring scenes that often appear to have been inserted later with no regard for continuity. It claims to be based on a true story, but the accuracy of the film can only be judged by those present at the time. One thing is clear - it appears to have been a full scale shit storm to have been involved in.
 
Filth - James McAvoy gives a career best as a manic cop on a murder case. Lots of romping, tooting, causing all manner of offense. Kind of like Trainspotting meets Bad Lieutenant.

Philomena - Judi Dench and Steve Coogan portray Philomena Lee and Martin Sixsmith in the true story of a woman's search for her son. Very moving and not popular with apologists for the RCC's taliban lite treatment of women in 20th century Ireland.
 
The Keep. Michael Mann supernatural horror from the early 80s. Lots of plot holes (probably explained by the studio cutting it from its intended three and a half hours to an hour and a half), dodgy accents and a very, very 80s soundtrack from Tangerine Dream. Quite fun if ultimately quite rubbish.
 
Sue said:
The Keep. Michael Mann supernatural horror from the early 80s. Lots of plot holes (probably explained by the studio cutting it from its intended three and a half hours to an hour and a half), dodgy accents and a very, very 80s soundtrack from Tangerine Dream. Quite fun if ultimately quite rubbish.
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Possibly the best, fairest review of that film ever made :D
 
Sue said:
The Keep. Michael Mann supernatural horror from the early 80s. Lots of plot holes (probably explained by the studio cutting it from its intended three and a half hours to an hour and a half), dodgy accents and a very, very 80s soundtrack from Tangerine Dream. Quite fun if ultimately quite rubbish.
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I'm sure the version I saw on Film 4 last year was three and a half hours :confused: Maybe it just felt like it. Either way, it wasn't any more coherent.
 
May Kasahara said:
I'm sure the version I saw on Film 4 last year was three and a half hours :confused: Maybe it just felt like it. Either way, it wasn't any more coherent.
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Wouldn't be surprised if there're various versions floating about.

Eta Or maybe it did just feel like it. :hmm:
 
Originally The Keep was 3.5 hours long but the studio cut it down to just over 1.5 hours before its release, so what they showed on Film 4 must have been a director's cut. A synopsis of the film makes it sound really interesting, but I've never made it all the way through the short version. The film is an incoherent mess and it looks like a poor 80s pop promo.
 
Seeing as there's a fucking heatwave on, my fave summer film (and the only lovey-dovey slush fesh I can stand), Beautiful Thing.

*Downloads Mama cass tracks*
 
The Peanuts Movie which was surprisingly good and despite its translation into 3D animation, true to its source. The only thing I was missing was a Vince Guaraldi score.
 
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