What was the last film you watched?

[rogerzilla]

Time Machine- the Guy Pearce, Samantha Mumba and Jeremey Irons as Uber Morlock version.

I think this was about the time when "Viz" printed a notorious letter referring to Samantha Mumba.

On here if you can lower yourself to look for it.

http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/social/2785099

[Kim]

By Dawn's Early Light

One of those obscure films I saw so long ago that I have no memory of low production values or dodgy writing/acting (though given the budget it was made on, I can't criticise), and has effectively turned into a book in my brain.  Watching it again was less disappointing than I expected.

[Paul]

The Country Girl.

Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, William Holden.

Bing Crosby plays an alcoholic with Oscar-worthy subtlety and depth.  The disease is portrayed with great understanding, as is co-dependency by Grace Kelly as his tortured wife.  Bill Holden is the third corner of this dysfunctional triad, set in an era of different sexual mores and gender power relationships.  The past really is another country, and it's necessary to remember that watching a film like this.

Oh, and you get to hear Bing's liquid gold singing voice, which is always a real treat.

You'd not see such an accurate and un-Hollywooded portrayal of an issue like that these days.  Silver Linings Playbook, for instance, which kind of shows what life is like with a serious mental illness, but it's still a bit 'nicey nicey'.  Take it from me, living with a psychotic person can break you, and nobody really comes close in 'Playbook'.  Whereas Country Girl is all about being broken.

What a great movie.  How did they manage to get Grace to look so dowdy?  When to me, she has always been the epitome of '50s poise, glamour and beauty. Maybe it's just that she can really act.

I've never heard of this film. But I've been to the pub a few times (not as often as Basil, thobut). I will keep an eye out for it.

[Paul]

City Slickers is on as I type. Top 30 for me.

[Ruth]

City Slickers is on as I type. Top 30 for me.

Me too.  Brilliant film.

[red marley]

The Desolation of Smaug.

Why has it taken me so long to realise Peter Jackson is just taking the piss?

[Wascally Weasel]

The Desolation of Smaug.

Why has it taken me so long to realise Peter Jackson is just taking the piss?

Because I think all the padding in the recent films is soaking up the excessive amounts of urine before Jackson can properly remove it.

[spesh]

The Desolation of Smaug.

Why has it taken me so long to realise Peter Jackson is just taking the piss?

Because I think all the padding in the recent films is soaking up the excessive amounts of urine before Jackson can properly remove it.

Given that LOTR, even in the director's cuts, was a slimmed down version of the source material, The Hobbit had to have a bad case of padding-out in order to be in accordance with the law of conservation of literary mass. 

[Ruth]

The Country Girl.

Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, William Holden.

Bing Crosby plays an alcoholic with Oscar-worthy subtlety and depth.  The disease is portrayed with great understanding, as is co-dependency by Grace Kelly as his tortured wife.  Bill Holden is the third corner of this dysfunctional triad, set in an era of different sexual mores and gender power relationships.  The past really is another country, and it's necessary to remember that watching a film like this.

Oh, and you get to hear Bing's liquid gold singing voice, which is always a real treat.

You'd not see such an accurate and un-Hollywooded portrayal of an issue like that these days.  Silver Linings Playbook, for instance, which kind of shows what life is like with a serious mental illness, but it's still a bit 'nicey nicey'.  Take it from me, living with a psychotic person can break you, and nobody really comes close in 'Playbook'.  Whereas Country Girl is all about being broken.

What a great movie.  How did they manage to get Grace to look so dowdy?  When to me, she has always been the epitome of '50s poise, glamour and beauty. Maybe it's just that she can really act.

Bing Crosby didn't get the Oscar that year, by the way, although Grace Kelly did.  Bing was merely nominated.  Best Actor that year was Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront.

If you're still interested, Best Actor last time was Daniel Day Lewis for Lincoln.  Best Actress was Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook.

Which was the drier year?  You can answer that one.

[Kim]

By Dawn's Early Light

One of those obscure films I saw so long ago that I have no memory of low production values or dodgy writing/acting (though given the budget it was made on, I can't criticise), and has effectively turned into a book in my brain.  Watching it again was less disappointing than I expected.

...And followed this up with the 2000 remake of Failsafe, which deals with similar themes.

I thought it was rather good, but I'm a sucker for understated radio-style dramatisation.

[Wascally Weasel]

I saw that this week too, interesting live production, gripping story and a great cast.

[tiermat]

The Country Girl.

Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, William Holden.

Bing Crosby plays an alcoholic with Oscar-worthy subtlety and depth.  The disease is portrayed with great understanding, as is co-dependency by Grace Kelly as his tortured wife.  Bill Holden is the third corner of this dysfunctional triad, set in an era of different sexual mores and gender power relationships.  The past really is another country, and it's necessary to remember that watching a film like this.

Oh, and you get to hear Bing's liquid gold singing voice, which is always a real treat.

You'd not see such an accurate and un-Hollywooded portrayal of an issue like that these days.  Silver Linings Playbook, for instance, which kind of shows what life is like with a serious mental illness, but it's still a bit 'nicey nicey'.  Take it from me, living with a psychotic person can break you, and nobody really comes close in 'Playbook'.  Whereas Country Girl is all about being broken.

What a great movie.  How did they manage to get Grace to look so dowdy?  When to me, she has always been the epitome of '50s poise, glamour and beauty. Maybe it's just that she can really act.

Thank you for the review, I shall have to check it out. For my money this topic hasn't really been covered properly, in modern times, since "Leaving Las Vegas", another of my favourites, and possibly the onlt Nick Cage film I really like (Face/Off is ok, but not as good as LLV)

[mrcharly-YHT]

'Seven Psychopaths'.

Great cast. As usual, Colin Farrell does a great job of displaying an idiot and Woody Harrelson is suitably menacing.

So, I didn't really like the film. Couldn't work out why. I think that somehow there isn't really any great tension and it's hard to feel sympathy for the characters.

The contrast with 'In Bruges' is noted. Colin Farrell plays a similar idiot in that film but with a lot of self-torment that makes it possible to empathise with him.

[tiermat]

'Seven Psychopaths'.

Great cast. As usual, Colin Farrell does a great job of displaying an idiot and Woody Harrelson is suitably menacing.

So, I didn't really like the film. Couldn't work out why. I think that somehow there isn't really any great tension and it's hard to feel sympathy for the characters.

The contrast with 'In Bruges' is noted. Colin Farrell plays a similar idiot in that film but with a lot of self-torment that makes it possible to empathise with him.

I watched the first 30 minutes of this the other week, and just couldn't get with it (and this is from someone who usually enjoy "odd" films, such as Pan's Labyrinth etc).  Glad it's not just me, don't think I'll try any more of it.

[interzen]

The Desolation of Smaug.

Why has it taken me so long to realise Peter Jackson is just taking the piss?

The fact that he planned to turn The Hobbit into three films should have been a fairly big clue.

[fuzzy]

Men of Honour.

DeNiro makes a fantastic piss head Master Chief

[mark]

Watched The Hobbit 2 / The Desolation of Smaug last night. From now on, I think I will enjoy Tolkien on the printed page, as J.R.R. himself intended.

[T42]

Watched #1 and thought it much overstretched, like Gollum, or over-padded like Gimli.  A single film would have covered the whole thing adequately and left enough money over for tea & buttered scones.

[spindrift]

The Way Way Back. Anyone who hasn't seen that film is dead to me.

[Efrogwr]

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Excellent. Great acting, particularly Jennifer Lawrence. She makes her character believable, human and sympathetic. The other main protagonists are very well done too. Donald Sutherland (the President) is horrible in a very quiet and understated way. There is enough tension in the action sequences to hold the audience's attention (unlike in, say, The Hobbit) enough menace is the portrayal of a distopia and enough disgust at the sight of the spectacle to hold the audience's attention.

[hillbilly]

Watched The Hobbit 2 / The Desolation of Smaug last night. From now on, I think I will enjoy Tolkien on the printed page, as J.R.R. himself intended.

I'm hoping either the studio (or a committed fan) will re-edit the film to a "original story cut" for a blu-ray special or separate release.

I am definitely not hoping for a director's cut, along the lines of LotR, which gave us additional footage.

"Oi, Jackson, no"

[Wascally Weasel]

Watched The Hobbit 2 / The Desolation of Smaug last night. From now on, I think I will enjoy Tolkien on the printed page, as J.R.R. himself intended.

I'm hoping either the studio (or a committed fan) will re-edit the film to a "original story cut" for a blu-ray special or separate release.

I am definitely not hoping for a director's cut, along the lines of LotR, which gave us additional footage.

"Oi, Jackson, no"

An ‘extended’ issue of the first part of The Hobbit is already available.  They seem to be following the exact same release pattern as for the LOTR films – film in cinemas mid December, DVD out six months later, extended edition out a couple of weeks before the next film hits the cinema.

I pretty much slavishly bought, watched & enjoyed each LOTR instalment but, other than seeing them in the cinema on release have little desire to rewatch the Hobbit films.

But yes, I was pondering the other day whether a three hour or so fan edit could be made.  I think the problem people would have in preparing such an edit is they have placed in the padded scenes in such a way that it would be difficult to get a coherent edit together (in fact the padding even seems to have come at the expense of scenes from the written book, some of which are quite sketchily done). 

I’m confident someone will manage it though – there is allegedly a very cut down edit of the Star Wars prequels that supposedly makes reasonably good viewing but it’s never been accessible online to my knowledge.

[hillbilly]

there is allegedly a very cut down edit of the Star Wars prequels that supposedly makes reasonably good viewing.

Making the impossible possible.

[citoyen]

Just been watching the shortlisted films for the 5Live "Well Done U" competition - amateur short films with the only criteria being that they have to be under two minutes and comply with the bbfc guidelines for a U certificate. They're really very good. Personal fave would be The Colouring Box, which almost had me in tears...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01nbd2l

[spindrift]

Blue Is The Warmest Colour. It doesn't really matter that it's a relationship between two women, it's about the imbalance that can make a couple attracted to each other then tear them apart. I was confused by the timescale then read that the director said it's played out over thirty years but he didn't want to age the actors. It's certainly graphic but it fits with the feel of the film, eating scenes are just as graphic and show as much of the characters, it's the domestic background. It's a film for anyone who's fallen head over heels and had their dreams shatter as they slowly realise a mismatch. The two leads are brilliant, the lesbian bar scene is wonderful, when you can't help staring at someone you are captivated by, I don't know how much was ad libbed but it's so natural and funny and you share Adele's butterflies in the stomach. It's a film about Exarchopoulos really, it's her story. I hope she's ok at the end, a French film with no easily understandable resolution, who'd have thought.