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

[Petcha]

Mark Kermode gave Censor his maximum score today. So i've downloaded it and was planning to watch tonight. Is it really shit?

Censor review – a brilliantly adventurous horror debut

A video nasties film censor finds her work rather too absorbing in this razor-sharp first feature from the Welsh writer-director Prano Bailey-Bond

www.theguardian.com

 

[Orang Utan]

Mark Kermode gave Censor his maximum score today. So i've downloaded it and was planning to watch tonight. Is it really shit?

Censor review – a brilliantly adventurous horror debut

A video nasties film censor finds her work rather too absorbing in this razor-sharp first feature from the Welsh writer-director Prano Bailey-Bond

www.theguardian.com

sounds like it is designed algorithmically by an AI to please Mark Kermode

 

[Part 2]

Mark Kermode gave Censor his maximum score today. So i've downloaded it and was planning to watch tonight. Is it really shit?

Censor review – a brilliantly adventurous horror debut

A video nasties film censor finds her work rather too absorbing in this razor-sharp first feature from the Welsh writer-director Prano Bailey-Bond

www.theguardian.com

I wouldn't say it's shit, but by no means is it a 'best score you can give' film. Kermode often gets it wrong imo.

I also think Calm With Horses was terrible, but I seem to be on my own with that one.

 

[T & P]

It reminds of Lost but without any drama. Its going to tank as quickly as Nicole Kidman’s accent.

I fear you might be right, but Lost (as you mention it) was such a disappointment that I’ve trained myself to not commit to some series and enjoy the good aspects of the ride as and when they come.

 

[passenger]

I’m enjoying “He Kills Coppers” tonight which is available on the STV catch up app which seems to be available outside of Scotland too. Good cast including the wonderful Paul Ritter

Just about got STV going I wonder if its about Harry Roberts?

 

[Elpenor]

Just about got STV going I wonder if its about Harry Roberts?

It’s based loosely on what happened

 

[krtek a houby]

I fear you might be right, but Lost (as you mention it) was such a disappointment that I’ve trained myself to not commit to some series and enjoy the good aspects of the ride as and when they come.

Lost, the journey was a complete trip. The ending, however, was a nightmarish disappointment. Do feel that JJ Abrams and co-creators made up for that with the 5 season Fringe.

 

[Jeff Robinson]

Watching the new HBO dark comedy-drama miniseries White Lotus. Set in a hotel in Hawaii where something bad has happened, we get to discover the story and know the aloof characters in the week leading to it.

Not fantastic but good enough to merit watching it imo. Think a more luxurious version of the Fawlty Towers hotel but with characters far more fucked up, and darker themes.

3 episodes in and loving it. I looked up the actual hotel its set in and it turns out the most expensive suites are just under $30,000 a night!

 

[belboid]

3 episodes in and loving it. I looked up the actual hotel its set in and it turns out the most expensive suites are just under $30,000 a night!

You better get the mutha fuggin plunge pool for that

 

[Reno]

Lost, the journey was a complete trip. The ending, however, was a nightmarish disappointment. Do feel that JJ Abrams and co-creators made up for that with the 5 season Fringe.

JJ Abrams directed the pilot for Lost but wasn't involved with the show after that, he went off to do films. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were the showrunners and the problem was, that the studio wanted them to carry on the show beyond its natural endpoint, so they kept adding to the mythology, inevitably writing themselves into a corner. Lindelof more than made up with The Leftovers though.

 

[passenger]

Run hide fight, on sky cinema I did try but nowhere near its 5-star rating, a bit poo really.

The 1968 version of the 39 steps, seen it a few times nothing will beat the original but still very good

 

[Reno]

Run hide fight, on sky cinema I did try but nowhere near its 5-star rating, a bit poo really.

The 1968 version of the 39 steps, seen it a few times nothing will beat the original but still very good

The one from 1978 with Robert Powell ? There also is a 1959 version, but there isn't one from 1968.

 

[May Kasahara]

Cockneys vs Zombies Watched with my teen and enjoyed it for the juvenile nonsense that it is.

 

[DaveCinzano]

Just about got STV going I wonder if its about Harry Roberts?

It's based on a novel by Jake Arnott, and as Elpenor says that in turn is loosely based (as is Arnott's shtick) on Harry Roberts, the Braybrook Street treble, and their effect on British culture/society. I recall that Mel Raido in the lead was a bit wishy-washy, sort of a faded photocopy of Daniel Craig as Geordie in Our Friends In The North, but still watchable.

 

[passenger]

The one from 1978 with Robert Powell ? There also is a 1959 version, but there isn't one from 1968.

Yes Robert Powell, always thought the color one was 68 sorry.

 

[Elpenor]

I recall that Mel Raido in the lead was a bit wishy-washy, sort of a faded photocopy of Daniel Craig as Geordie in Our Friends In The North, but still watchable.

That’s a good comparison

 

[belboid]

I wouldn’t describe Nine Perfect Strangers as anywhere near shit so far. I suspect the plot might become ludicrous but some of the characters and the performances alone make this a perfectly watchable series so far, if certainly nowhere near great.

Melissa McCarthy is fucking great in this imo

Watched the first two last night. It really is a montage of umpteen other series’ ideas crudely spliced together, everyone slowly releasing their dark secrets to the loony leader.

but it is watchable. All the actors are fine, and it’s quite pretty to look at. Whether it can actually hold up over eight episodes tho…

 

[krtek a houby]

Revenge of the Sith
Sci-fi from 2005 where Natalie Portman is reduced to taking a backseat so emo Vader can grump about not getting what he wants. Lot darker than remembered.

 

[Elpenor]

Frost / Nixon.

Hadn’t seen it before, interesting to see what David Frost was like before he came a cuddly old interviewer who didn’t ask tough questions.

Great performance by Frank Langhella. Nixon is an interesting character, in many ways he achieved quite a lot, back when the presidency wasn’t as curtailed by congress, and was at the upper echelons of American politics for 25 years or so. But seemed deeply unhappy, paranoid, and not at ease with people. Bit of an enigma. May track down Nixon the Oliver Stone film with Anthony Hopkins

Felt the talking heads but was a bit rubbish.

 

[Elpenor]

Kenneth Williams - Fantabulosa.

Sheen gets the voice just right. An interesting character study.

Loved reading KW’s diaries a while back when I got them out of the library. A deeply unhappy and troubled man though

 

[passenger]

Just found the lady vanishes the original 1938 film, on the I player, when I was
in hospital at Chertsey (pay per view thing) the film made me fall in love with the
old black and white films

BBC Two - The Lady Vanishes

Hitchcock thriller. A couple investigate when a woman disappears. With Margaret Lockwood.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[T & P]

Why Women Kill. A glossy dark comedy/ drama TV series by the creator of Desperate Housewives.

I created a thread about this a few days ago that received fuck all replies, but I’m not deterred enough by that not to give it another plug here.

S1 packs in three different storylines with unrelated characters in different timelines (60s, 70s and present day) but linked by being set in the same house. S2 is brand new and being currently being aired weekly on Alibi, and is set in the 1950s and unrelated to S1.

Bloody good and I’m genuinely surprised at the low awareness of it in the UK. A number of great performances in both seasons. Nick Frost is one of the main leads in S2 and is frankly superb. As was Jack Davenport in S1.

Can’t find S1 freely available atm but S2 is, and I thoroughly recommend it as an entertaining well made mini series. Kind of Desperate Housewives meets Fargo.

 

[belboid]

Hungry Heart

Adam Driver and an Italian woman whose name escapes me have the almost opposite of a cute-meet when they are trapped together in a toilet where he has just taken a really smelly dump. A very much anti-rom com. He and she are both great, tho the script is underdeveloped and the ending quite unsatisfying. It's AD's 10th best performance according to the Guardian and was the only one on on that list that was on amazon for under a fiver that we hadn't seen.

Candyman

Noting the upcoming 're-imagining' I realised I hadn't seen the original in years. My recall of it had been diminished by the shoddy sequels so it was a real pleasure to see that it is actually a great movie. Some good scares, neat ambivalence, and a bloody well crafted story. It's sad that it is the last leading role for Virginian (Michael's sister) Madsen. Sadly it was not enough to overcome being in Highlander 2 just beforehand.

 

[T & P]

Palm Springs, comedy which turns out to be about a Groundhog Day-style time loop. Surprisingly good and very funny, this manages to add a couple of twists to the formula (it takes place in a world where the characters are aware of films like Groundhog Day). The two leads, Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti have been around for a while but not in lead roles and I hope this gives them a career boost, both have comedic chops and great chemistry.

View attachment 223441

Archive about an A.I. robot in the mould of Ex_Machina. It tries hard but just isn't very good and not nearly as smart as it thinks it is. It takes aspects from many better science fiction films. Unlike Palm Springs it doesn't manage the breathe any fresh air into a familiar concept. Even a big plot twist is a snooze which I've seen done too many times before.

View attachment 223443

The Nightshifter is a Brazilian horror film which starts out strong but then becomes a little too conventional. It's about a morgue worker who can converse with the dead. The image of the talking corpses is unsettling as only their faces move. When one day he uses information gained from on of those conversations to take revenge on someone, the dead don't take well to having been used in that way. Good but could have been better, worth a watch though if you like horror films.

View attachment 223445

Just watched Archive and wholly agree with your review. The twist made it better for me and transformed it from a ‘ffs, waste of time’ film to an acceptable one. But yes, it thinks it’s cleverer and more accomplished than it really is, not to mention the fact that it borrows heavily from themes already featured in a few recent sci-fi films/ series. It might have worked a bit better with a faster pace and fewer pretentious arty shots that aren’t going to fool anyone.

 

[Reno]

Hungry Heart

Adam Driver and an Italian woman whose name escapes me have the almost opposite of a cute-meet when they are trapped together in a toilet where he has just taken a really smelly dump. A very much anti-rom com. He and she are both great, tho the script is underdeveloped and the ending quite unsatisfying. It's AD's 10th best performance according to the Guardian and was the only one on on that list that was on amazon for under a fiver that we hadn't seen.

Candyman

Noting the upcoming 're-imagining' I realised I hadn't seen the original in years. My recall of it had been diminished by the shoddy sequels so it was a real pleasure to see that it is actually a great movie. Some good scares, neat ambivalence, and a bloody well crafted story. It's sad that it is the last leading role for Virginian (Michael's sister) Madsen. Sadly it was not enough to overcome being in Highlander 2 just beforehand.

Virginia Madsen has had a long career, including lead roles, since Candyman. I'm fairly certain she'd overcome being in Highlander 2 by the time she was nominated for an Oscar in Sideways.

 

[T & P]

The Toll. A new supernatural horror film about a woman visiting her father and her slightly oddball taxi driver being misdirected by the satnav and then stranded on a dirt track road in the middle of the night. Nothing that dramatic actually happens, and the film doesn’t rely on any properly spooky stuff, jump scares or gore but on character development and their background story. I found it oddly satisfying and a 6/10 of a late weekend night.

 

[belboid]

Virginia Madsen has had a long career, including lead roles, since Candyman. I'm fairly certain she'd overcome being in Highlander 2 by the time she was nominated for an Oscar in Sideways.

she's done loads of movies since, but they're all shit. I was gobsmacked about the lack of quality in her subsequent career, other than The Haunting.

And Sideways, which I managed to completely overlook.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Our Ladies. Very funny.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Run hide fight, on sky cinema I did try but nowhere near its 5-star rating, a bit poo really.

The 1968 version of the 39 steps, seen it a few times nothing will beat the original but still very good

My grandfather was an extra in the original.

 

[Knotted]

I watched Patrick a little while ago. It's a Belgian film about a (implied neuro atypical) handyman in a nudist colony who loses his hammer. It's heavily metaphorical about grief and finding acceptance but it works very well without the metaphorical baggage which is good because I was in it for the story and the autism angle. Features the most undignified punch up which is a real delight.