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

[rubbershoes]

Last night I watched “A Very British Coup”, it’s my last week of Britbox so being very selective as to what I watch. Captain Darling playing a security services shit was very good, as was the chap who played the lead.

I haven't seen that but the book's good

 

[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

You were certainly right about the plot becoming ludicrous.

 

[Reno]

The new Candyman, a direct sequel to the first film which thankfully ignores the previous sequels. It's pretty good and well directed, even if in terms of plot it feels a little thin.

 

[Orang Utan]

The new Candyman, a direct sequel to the first film which thankfully ignores the previous sequels. It's pretty good and well directed, even if in terms of plot it feels a little thin.

saw that on Friday, some ingenious murders, but not much else to it, and didn’t understand the ending, it felt like they missed that bit out

 

[DaveCinzano]

saw that on Friday, some ingenious murders, but not much else to it, and didn’t understand the ending, it felt like they missed that bit out

I genuinely think you, AS and Reno should do a film review podcast together, where first we get the diametrically-opposed yet equally crackpot, attention-challenged hot takes, before the grown-up steps up and presents a well-argued, substantiated critical perspective

 

[T & P]

Gunpowder Milkshake. An action crime thriller that could roughly be described as a female John Wick assassin premise combined with women empowerment.

I would certainly recommend anyone who likes that genre, and John Wick in particular, to check it out. It was a lot of fun, with a solid cast and very well produced and visually pleasing.

 

[Orang Utan]

I genuinely think you, AS and Reno should do a film review podcast together, where first we get the diametrically-opposed yet equally crackpot, attention-challenged hot takes, before the grown-up steps up and presents a well-argued, substantiated critical perspective

i’m guessing the grown up here is Reno but who are you?

 

[DaveCinzano]

i’m guessing the grown up here is Reno but who are you?

An avid listener

 

[Reno]

saw that on Friday, some ingenious murders, but not much else to it, and didn’t understand the ending, it felt like they missed that bit out

I thought the ending was clear, though the film is closely tied to the original from 1992.

I don't understand titling horror sequels and prequels after the original film now. First The Thing from 2011 did it and people still insist on it being remake even though it is a prequel, then Halloween (2018), now this and next will be Scream (2022) which really is Scream 5.

 

[Reno]

Old, the latest one by M. Night Shyamalan. After a two decade creative decline of one awful film worse than the last one, he bounced back with the surprisingly fun low budget found footage film The Visit, which he followed up with Split, which I thought was one of the better horror films in recent years. It looked like he'd discovered a sense of humour, something previously lacking in his dour, ponderous genre films and it suited him. Then he made Glass, a sequel to Split (and Unbreakable) which was disappointing and with Old he's back to making laughably awful films again. This fits alongside The Happening or Lady in the Water. The Twilight Zone-style premise of a beach, which rapidly ages a group of tourists stranded there, is intriguing enough, the problem is the writing. None of the characters act in a way that feels remotely believable, even under the outlandish circumstances and a first rate cast give Star Wars-prequel level career worst performances, struggling with the awful dialogue. The twist is underwhelming and dumb when it finally comes,

Spoiler

it's anti-science sentiment rings a false note in the pandemic ( admittedly unintentionally so as it was made before)

If you fancy a trashy/fun horror flick with a great twist, watch James Wan's Malignant instead.

I also watched the The White Lotus, the six part mini-series (now anthology, since it got renewed) by Mike White, long one of the best writers working in US films and tv. Like Old it's set on a tropical resort, unlike Old it's brilliant and frequently had me laughing out loud. Something I always liked about White is that while he satirises the entitled behaviour of the rich and privileged, his characterisation is nuanced and nothing is ever entirely black and white. The entire cast is outstanding, the only downside is that I've had its weird-yet-beguiling theme tune stuck in my head ever since.

 

[krtek a houby]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Despite the highly dubious treatment of women - either bedding or biffing them - it's an otherwise enjoyable romp from garish 1969, with lots of references to past (and future) Bond. And the sountrack! The cast! The ending!

 

[Buddy Bradley]

The Dead Don't Die (2019), Jim Jarmusch's latest - fun and silly with an amazing cast, but ultimately it didn't really go anywhere.

 

[Elpenor]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Despite the highly dubious treatment of women - either bedding or biffing them - it's an otherwise enjoyable romp from garish 1969, with lots of references to past (and future) Bond. And the sountrack! The cast! The ending!

One of my favourite Bond films. The look of fear and vulnerability on Lazenby’s face when he is being chased at the ski resort and then bumps into Tracey is quite unique for a Bond film.

 

[Elpenor]

Been watching some Dutch crime thing with my Dad called The Blood Pact on All4 - quite good. Subtitles naturally and Dutch is a funny language to listen to.

 

[May Kasahara]

No Country for Old Men - watched with my 13yo son, at his request. I'd seen it before, he hadn't. Both enjoyed it, and I'm hopeful this could start a Coen Brothers binge.

I've told him Fargo is up next. We'll work our way up to Miller's Crossing.

 

[DaveCinzano]

No Country for Old Men - watched with my 13yo son, at his request. I'd seen it before, he hadn't. Both enjoyed it, and I'm hopeful this could start a Coen Brothers binge.

I've told him Fargo is up next. We'll work our way up to Miller's Crossing.

Please do include the (Coen-penned but Raimi-directed) Crimewave because it's a lot of cartoonish fun!

 

[May Kasahara]

I fucking love Crimewave. Where is it available?

 

[Orang Utan]

I fucking love Crimewave. Where is it available?

Prime Video £2.49

 

[DaveCinzano]

When I am all alone, and feeling sad, I do a Brion James rat face to myself, and I am happy again

 

[May Kasahara]

Shoplifters. A surprisingly chill couple of hours.

 

[krtek a houby]

Coming to the end of Dear White People. It's quite different from what's gone before. There doesn't seem to be any hype about the show at all, in some ways, that's good. No spoilers.

 

[Brainaddict]

I've just rewatched Chinatown, because it is one of my favourite films and because I just read The Big Goodbye about the making of Chinatown by Sam Wasson, which is fascinating. While Robert Towne always got the credit for having written what is considered to be among the greatest screenplays ever, Polanski basically rewrote it, threw out a gazillion of unnecessary subplots focused the plot on Gittes and added the bleak ending which made it the classic the film is. Wasson writes that The Two Jakes is what Chinatown would have been like if the original Towne screenplay would have been shot the way it was. Anyways, if you read books about film, the book is highly recommended. It also covers the Manson murders in the first part about so much has been written and managed to bring some new insights to it and how it connects to the end of Chinatown.

Just watched Chinatown for the first time last night and I'm calling Emperors New Clothes. It's a decent film and entertaining, and the ending is brutally memorable. But I didn't think the script or story were all that (there are even continuity problems like never learning why Ida Sessions has the photos - no reason it would have made sense to plant them), it plods a little bit in places, the relationship with the police detective is confused and never clears up - also a key scene involves the 'hero' battering his lover to get the truth out of her, somehow offered as though its for her own good. It's a well-made film noir but in my book doesn't rise above the genre to become a really great film.

 

[Indeliblelink]

Japan's Longest Day (1967) dramatization of the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration and the 24 hours between the Emperor accepting they were going to agree to the Allies terms and it being broadcast to the population during which the Kyujo incident, an attempted military coup by sections of the army that didn't want Japan to surrender, took place.
Fantastic film with an all-star Japanese cast headed up by Toshiro Mifune and Chishu Ryu.

 

[magneze]

Coming to the end of Dear White People. It's quite different from what's gone before. There doesn't seem to be any hype about the show at all, in some ways, that's good. No spoilers.

The musical numbers put me right off. The other series are good though.

 

[Chz]

Coming to the end of Dear White People. It's quite different from what's gone before. There doesn't seem to be any hype about the show at all, in some ways, that's good. No spoilers.

Loved the first two series, but I think it fell apart big time in the third.

 

[krtek a houby]

Loved the first two series, but I think it fell apart big time in the third.

Yeah, the third is the weakest, so far. On the plus side, Brooke was awesome in it.

 

[platinumsage]

Binged Godfather of Harlem season 2, even better than the first season.

Just realised the guy who plays Chin Gigante was Private Pyle in Full Metal Jacket!

 

[Reno]

Malignant, the new James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring) horror film. I've always been a James Wan sceptic as find a lot of his work far too derivative and he's never encountered a horror movie cliche he didn't like, but this is my favourite film of his so far. The first two thirds feel rather stilted, like this is another killer-stalks-woman-who-he-has-a-psychic-connection-with thriller and it pretends to be a far more routine and serious horror film than it turns out to be. Two thirds in, the film pulls one of the most outrageous plot twists ever out of the hat, goes totally batshit and it becomes clear that this always was supposed to be tongue in cheek and OTT. The clunky dialogue and stiff acting which are initially off-putting, contribute to the campy vibe, the monster is truly grotesque and it climaxes with a fabulously demented show off between heroine and villain. The trailer doesn't give anything crucial away, btw.

I watched this again, because I showed it to a friend. This film appears to be divisive and I can see why some think this is a bad film but I believe the clunky dialogue and bad acting are intentional. Similar to what Stuart Gordon did with Re-Animator and From Beyond, this is a deadpan body-horror comedy. For an hour and a bit Malignant appears to be a middling horror film about a woman who shares a pysychic connection with a creepy serial killer. Then the last act reveales what or who its antagonist is, which leads into the most joyfully batshit last 30 minutes in recent cinema. Again I sat there with a big grin.

 

[Reno]

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[DaveCinzano]

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