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

[DaveCinzano]

The Last Valley (1970) - absolute stinker of a historical 'epic' - adapted from a James Clavell novel about the 30 years war, filmed in Switzerland. Bunch of mercs rock up in a village isolated from the horrors of war, then inflict the horrors of war on it. Amusing for spotting old UK acting lags doing their best manly bellowing (Brian Blessed! Michael Caine!) and some startlingly nasty 70s misogyny (local women being divvied up as tribute for the mercs, witch burnings etc.) Omar Sharif is in it, for no apparent reason, wearing amazingly unconvincing chalky-white makeup. Larded with great lumps of clodhopping dialogue about how war is hell and there's no god etc etc. Action sequences with vast hordes of extras in an amazing landscape and there's still not a hint of excitement throughout. Only bright spot (literally) is an amazingly hamfisted bit of model-burning (no CGI in them days son) purporting to depict the sack of a city. Just dire, a load of claggy old porridge.

I've just revisited my notes from watching that - I think I felt it was less of a turd than you, though it is not without many flaws. I seemed to like the performances, in the main.

 

[DotCommunist]

Upgrade- a decent sci fi film, relatively simple story thats effective. It was well done, no massive clunky exposition dumps or 'look here I am worldbuilding'. Special props for the penultimate baddie, was like a wetwired assasin from something Elizabeth Bear or Neal Asher might write. Its got a lot of style all round

Spoiler: stuff

the murder sneeze thing was quality

and I will probs watch again towards the end of the year on a bigger screen.

Disenchanted

sounds weird but I'd almost missed groenings animation style some how. It was actually just good to see that again, in fantasy clothes. First two eps have some laughs, not sure yet overall but then futurama took a few eps to grown on me as well so...

 

[not-bono-ever]

child 44

Stalin era filum with tom hardy about a serial killer and the dying throes of 50s stalinism and its madness

should have worked but felt a bit ropey

 

[Ralph Llama]

The House Of Tomorrow is basically a good feel good film about some hippy kid brought up on Buckminster Fuller's philosophy who forms a punk band with the son of an Evangelical minster. I liked it.

The House of Tomorrow (2017) - IMDb

 

[Toast Rider]

Dr WHo, Terror of the Autons.

nuff fucking said

 

[ringo]

Revolver.
A below par Guy Richie job I spotted in a charity shop and had never seen before. Entertainingly silly, especially when it tries to get clever at the end.

 

[flypanam]

Search party. All4 silliness. Quite good.

 

[DotCommunist]

Whiskey Galore which is funny, even now its still lolz. The iplayer has been showing old ealing stuff.

 

[The39thStep]

Good Time - basically a film about fucked up people doing fucked up things that are normal to their fucked up lives. It was ok sometimes it was good but I had a long sigh of relief when it ended and woke up to my more mundane and normal life.

 

[hot air baboon]

this really enjoyable little gem from 1970 courtesy of the film necromancers at London Live - ( ok a pretty shoddy channel but with some great hard-to-see 1960'-70's films filling their graveyard slot )



like one of those New English Library exploitation paperbacks brought to celluloid about the groupie scene

 

[trabuquera]

I am watching a worrying amount of London Live and Talking Pictures recently. Nostalgia for times before my birth wtf.

 

[hot air baboon]

join the club ( although if you can't remember half-crowns you won't qualify for a gold membership I'm afraid )

 

[yield]

Cargo an Australian zombie apocalypse. Martin Freeman is great in this. Must find a home for his child before he turns.

Infinity Chamber low budget indie thoughtful scifi. Mainly shot in a prison cell. Kept thinking of Portal. Very good.

 

[rekil]

Cargo an Australian zombie apocalypse. Martin Freeman is great in this. Must find a home for his child before he turns.

He was just Tim from The Office yet again. Ghost Stories (2017) - IMDb is great apart from all the scenes he's in.

 

[Reno]

Cargo an Australian zombie apocalypse. Martin Freeman is great in this. Must find a home for his child before he turns.

I’ve enjoyed that a lot too. There is another good Netflix-exclusive zombie movie, the French-Canadian Ravenous. Doesn’t do anything new, but it’s scary and very well directed.

 

[ginger_syn]

Train to Busan, an excellent south korean zombie film.

 

[krtek a houby]

He was just Tim from The Office yet again. Ghost Stories (2017) - IMDb is great apart from all the scenes he's in.

Haven't seen the latter yet but in Cargo he was nothing like Tim from The Office. Which is one of the reasons why I liked it

 

[not-bono-ever]

Wind river. Murder and misery in the utterly stunning Wyoming rockies. A jaundiced swipe at the grim situation of native Americans in the USA

 

[rubbershoes]

Red Sparrow - I'm not sure why I expected more from this. A film needs more than thick Russian accidents and convoluted spy capers . 5/10

Unsane - with HM Claire Foy . IMO they should have kept the central is he/isn't he question going longer , but it was a decent film overall. The message is don't mess with Claire Foy 6/10

Journeyman - Bleak but excellent tale of a boxer coming back from injury. Paddy Considine wrote, directed and starred in it and possibly did the catering too. 8/10

American animals - True life heist movie including bits of interviews with some of the actual people 8/10

 

[Virtual Blue]

Upgrade - watched this a few hours after finishing Harari's Deus.

There was something real 80s about it, maybe cos 'Stem' sounded so much like KIT. Fun low budget sci-fi - a rare find these days.

 

[trabuquera]

Fragment of Fear (1970) - proper trippy paranoia thriller with an increasingly sweaty and deranged David Hemmings trying to solve the apparent murder of a rich aunt in Italy. As he's a (supposedly) recovered drug addict, his attempts to play detective and uncover the truth lead to social embarassment, sinister encounters with men in hats, a ruined wedding and some dunkings in the sleazier tail-end of 60s London hipness. Terrific soundtrack (you'll recognise it when you hear that screaming breathy flute!) and some great hallucination/dream/nightmare sequences - and wonderful period detail. It doesn't make a lot of sense, it's perhaps more than a bit misogynist ... but it's a good 'un.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls - never seen it before. Completely demented. Ruined a bit for me by some dated 'satire' (Bormann jokes? really?) and attitudes towards women, trans, etc. But the music is amaaaaaaaayyyyzing! Worth watching even if just once. Ideally out of your box on something or other, I think.

 

[sojourner]

Watched Interstellar again. What a fucking brilliant film that is

 

[DaveCinzano]

Journeyman - Bleak but excellent tale of a boxer coming back from injury. Paddy Considine wrote, directed and starred in it and possibly did the catering too. 8/10

But did he sing the theme tune? No he did not, the lazy fuck

 

[rubbershoes]

But did he sing the theme tune? No he did not, the lazy fuck

Under Equity rules, the only actor allowed to sing theme tunes is Denis Waterman.

 

[Sue]

Under Equity rules, the only actor allowed to sign theme tunes is Denis Waterman.

I see your Denis Waterman and I raise you Jimmy 'Crocodile Shoes' Nail...

 

[Ralph Llama]

Upgrade - watched this a few hours after finishing Harari's Deus.

There was something real 80s about it

This little baby might have something to do with it.

 

[sojourner]

Mudbound. Good slow build.

 

[flypanam]

Succession. HBO show. Could be about the Murdochs.

 

[Supine]

Succession. HBO show. Could be about the Murdochs.

Thought that was great. Hope S2 is made.

 

[Ralph Llama]

Hereditary ... Absolutely terrifying. Sound track is brilliant. Just watch it.