The Movie Thread

[RobYob]

The BEEKEEPER stupid, but in a good way. Jason Statham hits baddies in entertainingly violent ways for an hour and a half. The baddies having all scored gold stars in the Stormtrooper school of marksmanship.

Six correctly used staplers out of ten.

[mik]

Belfast

Brilliant! Utterly Brilliant. Brilliantly acted, brilliantly filmed. Brilliant Van Morrison soundtrack. Just brilliant.

11 brilliant things out of 10

Watched it again last night. My opinion hasn’t changed. But I’ll give it 12 brilliant things out of 10 this time

Finally watched this last night (having intended to view several times over the festive period).

The cinematography is fabulous, and the blend of colour vs black & white that could have felt a little "done before mate", absolutely doesn't.

The opening scene grabs you by the ears and rips you out of your seat into the action, and - as someone who has always been deeply suspicious of religion and the bigotry that surrounds it - covers a subject that incites real personal frustration.

Not a great deal actually happens in the story, whilst at the same time so much happens in the story. Characters are highly convincing, and at times their interactions appear so genuine that you almost feel you're watching a fly-on-the-wall documentary. It's impossible not to be captivated by child actor Jude Hill (11 or so at the time of filming?) with his delivery (both vocally and his movements) - lets hope he can carry this on and not be ruined by the Hollywood (as opposed to Holywood) / global media machine.

I had it playing though the hi-fi, and the musical soundtrack was great, but the non-musical elements sounded even better - very well judged.

9 painted kerbstones out of 10 for me. Recommended.

[dinny_g]

It really is great isn't it.

Pa's line at the end - "That wee girl can be a practicing Hindu, or a Southern Baptist, or a vegetarian Antichrist, but if she's kind, and she's fair and you two respect each other, she and her people are welcome in our house any day of the week. Agreed" is so simple but yet so prophetic...

[Jimmy Choo]

Jimmy's films he's finally getting round to watching

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Breathtakingly good. George Peppard was such a handsome young man and the interplay between him and Hepburn is wonderful. It's dated horribly with everyone smoking and the overt racism of Mr. Yunioshi being played by Mickey Rooney. It's definitely one I should have watched earlier.

Before Sunrise

I had heard about the Before trilogy but hadn't watched any of them. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are young, beautiful and impulsive and the story is just one night together, exploring Vienna. There are no exploding helecopters but it's an absorbing piece and I loved it.

[jamcg]

One life

It’s a well known story, of sir Nicholas winton who saved 669 children from Prague so the nazis didn’t get their grubby murderous mits on them, with his eventual famous appearance on that’s life in the 80’s with the “if anyone owes their life to this man please stand up” bit

It’s filmed as flitting between the 80’s and 1938/1939. Incredibly moving and Hopkins as great as ever

[Rich B]

Wonka

TC was excellent, as was the rest of the cast. The sets were great (and fun to try and spot the locations) and the overall film was a properly tight fun family film.

[Rich B]

Saltburn

I really liked the style and the look, and it was really engaging for the first 2/3s

Spoiler

But, it all got a bit lame for the big finale twist. When Felix died, India saw him with Oliver so would clearly be questioned in some way, then the same with the sister and the rest. It just seemed like they didn't quite know how to do it in a clever enough way, so just went a bit "scooby doo" on it.

Shame.

[mik]

His House

BAFTA award winner. It’s gets the heebies in very early, and rapidly follows with the jeebies.

At times a little confusing, everything becomes clear at the end, but it kinda feels like the story is secondary to the skarez.

6.5 broken hinges out of 10.

[Simon]

Finally finished watching Oppenheimer. Quite a film. Nolan keeps knocking it out the park, doesn't he? Apart from the slightly ambitious Tenet to blot his copybook, I've loved most of what he's done.

A worthy winner of multiple BAFTA gongs too... I wonder what we'll see next from him.

[RobYob]

Finally finished watching Oppenheimer. Quite a film. Nolan keeps knocking it out the park, doesn't he? Apart from the slightly ambitious Tenet to blot his copybook, I've loved most of what he's done.

A worthy winner of multiple BAFTA gongs too... I wonder what we'll see next from him.

Do you need a decent home theatre setup to enjoy a dab of Oppo?

I'm interested in the subject but would be on a plain old TV with in built speakers.

[Simon]

I have a 5.1 soundbar and sub setup but actually you don't need it. Most of the appreciation is in the story and the visual, not the aural.

[Gavster]

One life

It’s a well known story, of sir Nicholas winton who saved 669 children from Prague so the nazis didn’t get their grubby murderous mits on them, with his eventual famous appearance on that’s life in the 80’s with the “if anyone owes their life to this man please stand up” bit

It’s filmed as flitting between the 80’s and 1938/1939. Incredibly moving and Hopkins as great as ever

Watched it this evening, I had no idea about the story. They’ve done a brilliant job weaving such an incredibly emotive story and the dialogue is fantastic too, I loved the Samaritans anecdote. Guaranteed not a dry eye in the house during this one.

I give it a solid 9 Czech orphans out of 10.

[tim]

Michael Mann's Ferrari.

A bit slow. Shit CGI. Penelope Cruz saved it. 6 people cut in half out of a possible 10.

[Mito Man]

Leave the World Behind - what a shit movie, just as you think it can't get any more shit you get to the ending which just tops the shit factor. Feels like all Netflix productions frankly, get a few famous slightly past it actors, shit script and they all feel low budget.
2 smashed Teslas out of 10.

[mik]

Leave the World Behind -

Yeah it wasn’t very convincing. Or very coherent. Or very good.

[mik]

A Man Called Otto

A lovely film staying true to the book. Tom Hanks was great, and it was cast well. They'd managed the transition from a Swedish to American context very well, and with mostly less known/unknown actors it came across more authentic. Definitely worth two hours of your time.

Agreed - it is really really good.

I thought Mariana Treviño as Marisol stole the show. It’s funny and poignant, hilarious and gut wrenching.

I’m a soppy old sod at the best of times but this one got me good and I had things in my eye several times.

I’ll give 9 out of 10…

There were definitely a few tears when I watched it too.

I just watched it on a plane (tiny screen and awful sound - which may be a significant factor here), but whilst it was a very long way from bad, I felt they really rushed into the “impossibly grumpy old git” vibe which compromised its believability. At the start it felt like Woody playing Tom Hanks playing Otto.

I also took an immediate dislike to the guy playing younger-Otto. Can’t really put my finger on why - it may be as simple as “no his face is too fat to be a young Tom Hanks”. Yes I get the irony that his biological son doesn’t provide a good facsimile.

I rated it 7 press the clutches out of 10.

[DeskJockey]

Agreed - it is really really good.

I thought Mariana Treviño as Marisol stole the show. It’s funny and poignant, hilarious and gut wrenching.

I’m a soppy old sod at the best of times but this one got me good and I had things in my eye several times.

I’ll give 9 out of 10…

There were definitely a few tears when I watched it too.

I just watched it on a plane (tiny screen and awful sound - which may be a significant factor here), but whilst it was a very long way from bad, I felt they really rushed into the “impossibly grumpy old git” vibe which compromised its believability. At the start it felt like Woody playing Tom Hanks playing Otto.

I also took an immediate dislike to the guy playing younger-Otto. Can’t really put my finger on why - it may be as simple as “no his face is too fat to be a young Tom Hanks”. Yes I get the irony that his biological son doesn’t provide a good facsimile.

I rated it 7 press the clutches out of 10.

Try the book, the development of the grumpy bit works better when not compacted into movie length/attention span.

[DeskJockey]

Nyad (Netflix I think).

The story of Diana Nyad and how she swam from Cuba to Florida. Annette Benning and Jodie Foster are a fantastic duo.

Movie aside, what stood out for me is how completely alien and unfathomable to me having that kind of singular, obsessive drive and ability is. It is a good watch

80/103 miles of open sea swimming with sharks and jellyfish.

[V8Granite]

I watched Gran Turismo on the plane.

How is Orlando Bloom still an actor ?

How was a “true to life” car racing game so badly done ?

It was like Fast and Furious but with worse acting, the only saving grace being Djimon as the father.

It did make me want an R35 though.

Dave!

[DeskJockey]

I watched Gran Turismo on the plane.

How is Orlando Bloom still an actor ?

How was a “true to life” car racing game so badly done ?

It was like Fast and Furious but with worse acting, the only saving grace being Djimon as the father.

It did make me want an R35 though.

Dave!

Does that make it your favourite GTR?