What was the last film you watched?

[LEE]

Rush

The story of the Formula 1 rivalry between playboy James Hunt and the more analytical Niki Lauder.

The cars are the ones from my Scalextric so it's perfectly nostalgic for me.

That Niki Lauder ever got back into a car is one thing, that he did it just a few races after his accident is just unbelievable.
Disturbing hospital scenes make you realise just how driven (no pun intended) he was by the rivalry.

F1 then and F1 now are entirely different sports.

[spindrift]

James Hunt was a bit of a wanker, Richard Burton offered him £1m for his wife and Hunt agreed.

[Mr Larrington]

Hunt would have given her away in exchange for twenty Bensons having tried everything possible to get out of the wedding up to and including getting pissed out of his mind before going to the church.

[Ruthie]

Amy

What an experience, watching that film.  I remember the first time I saw Amy Winehouse perform on TV, and she really did make you stop what you were doing.  She had a mesmerising, stand-out talent.

This film shows you so much more - her fierce intelligence, vitality and artistic integrity.  Her vulnerability and humour.  There's footage of her singing I'd never seen before, a fresh reminder of just how damn good she was.

The story of her decline and fall is harrowing.  The people around her, who were labelled as culpable in part for her death, nevertheless participated in the film and were themselves pretty honest, so far as they could be, about what happened.

I went to see this with a friend, who at the time was very scathing about Amy's addictions and death.  Seeing what happened in the context of a person's life, and as an evolving narrative rather than a photo and two paragraphs every so often, has changed the way she views Amy's life and death, and that has to be a good thing.

It's a good, and honest, enough film to say that it doesn't dishonour Amy Winehouse's memory.  I suspect there was a whole lot more to it than you see here though. 

Just a thought - it's a better account than The Life and Death of a Cyclist, by a long way, and I liked that film too.

[LEE]

James Hunt was a bit of a wanker

That's awful rhyming slang.

[spindrift]

Spy.

People here raved about it, I thought it was a bit meh, not half as good as Bridesmaids, and Peter Surname plays an Italian who is, wait for it, a groper and a terrible driver, foreign people stereotypes lols. And The Stath doesn't really do a great deal, he's just as rubbish an actor in this as he is when he's driving that car and naked Chinese women are saying "Kiss me, I think you're gay".

[Andrew]

naked Chinese women are saying "Kiss me, I think you're gay".

That's a good line that. Probably from anyone's lips but doubly from a naked Chinese women. I'm thinking to have her hold a pekingese, or would that be ovetkill?

[Steph]

I really fancy that,  was it on DVD?

On one of the iplayer type sites, can't remember which channel.

[Ruthie]

I really fancy that,  was it on DVD?

On one of the iplayer type sites, can't remember which channel.

By some enormous coincidence, Daisyhill obtained a copy and I'm watching it with her this week 

[Steph]

I really fancy that,  was it on DVD?

On one of the iplayer type sites, can't remember which channel.

By some enormous coincidence, Daisyhill obtained a copy and I'm watching it with her this week 

Great. Last night, "Into the White"

Battle of Norway, German bomber Heinkel 111 shot down by what was probably a Skua. German survivors find isolated hut; are joined by Brit pilot and Navigator (Rupert Grint doing scouse). Cue tensions...

No subtitles; people speak German, English and Norwegian, and it works. Captions in the end are in Nog, but no problem for me. Remarkable film.

[Chris S]

Ghajini.

Well. Just as you think you've seen it all in BollywoodLand...

 

The song lyric "I'll spew my seed of life into your path" was a magic moment, and no mistake.

Cracking (if rather lengthy) stuff  . Grab a Cobra and a Korma, and give it a watch.

[Peter]

That's just begging for a bit of northern realism:-

"I'll spew my seed of life into your path"

"Yer'll do as yer told.  Pass the beetroot."

[Ruthie]

That's just begging for a bit of northern realism:-

"I'll spew my seed of life into your path"

"Yer'll do as yer told.  Pass the beetroot."

Crying with laughter.   

[Peter]

Happy to oblige, Ruth!

[L CC]

https://youtu.be/4xY6-exZToo

Sing along boys and girls. (and if someone with more time and patience than me could transcribe the lyrics I'd be very grateful).

[Valiant]

Predestination.

I don't know where to start with this, other than that I think everyone should watch it as it's going to be a cult classic. It's a time travel film with Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snooke and well it's just amazing.

Check it out.

[Ruthie]

The Lost Weekend.

It's very good at showing the insanity of alcoholism.  This means it's a dark movie indeed.  In terms of style and dialogue it's of its time (1945), a kind of Trainspotting for a generation who always wore a hat and a raincoat.

It'd be interesting to see what someone like Jean-Marc Vallee would do with it.  Hard to see how you could make it any better.

[andrewc]

"Victim", an oldie from 1961. Dirk Bogarde playing a secretly gay barrister trying to fight a blackmail plot.
Well done & pretty controversial in its day.

[Andrew]

Victim is a cracking movie. One of my all time favourites. Watch also The Servant, Bogarde again with James Fox, Sarah Miles and (a pre sit-com) Wendy Craig, from 1963. A rich rich period for British film.

[ian]

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Go on, it does what it says on the tin. I enjoyed it.

[fuzzy]

The Adjustment Bureau. I liked it.

[hillbilly]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I've avoided re-watching this for a long time, as it had reached the heady position of "possibly my favourite film" when I watched it last (which was in the cinema) and it also touched a nerve about a particular relationship (which I'm now less reflective on).  Anyway....

It's essentially a movie about what makes us fall in and out of love.  It's told from the perspective of Joel (Jim Carrey) who meets Clementine (Kate Winslett), they become a couple, and when their relationship breaks down they each get their memory of it erased.  The story is essentially told through the memories as they are wiped, which gives an insight into the events that shaped their relationship and the character flaws of Joel and Clementine that lead to the disintegration of the relationship.

This 10 year old film has stood the test of time, with a script that still stands out as original.  It's actually hard to think of many films that feel as fresh despite the passage of time.  The director (Michael Gondry) was clearly confident in the material and the vision he had for it.  It benefits from a lot of in-camera effects (rather than CGI) so that the SFX does not detract due to age and inevitable IT progress made since 2004.  This leaves the high concept sci-fi film with a "near future" feel without overplaying this conceit.

Jim Carrey gives a good non-comic performance and Kate Winslett a brilliant one.  The supporting cast is also pretty good.  The score by Jon Bryon is also perfectly pitched.

Basically, this remains (to my relief) "possibly my favourite film".  It's by no means perfect but does touch great heights.  There is a meaningful core to it that chimes with the human and, shucks, romantic in me (it also helps that I can vaguely relate to Joel as a character). 

Goes without saying that I'd recommend people watch this if they've not done so already (if you do, to avoid possible confusion, take note of Clementine's hair as that is the main signposting to time period).

On a separate point, I began watching Bladerunner.   Did you know that it was set in 2019.  That's a mere 4 years away.  Science had better get a shift on if its to provide me with a hovercar and off-world replicant.

[Andrew]

Yep, a good film....  and I'm not a fan of Jim Carey. I'd rate up a!ongst my recommended films, if not my favourites. Kate Winslet is very good.

Anything written by Charlie Kaufman is going to be original. Weird even. They guy messes with some fascinating ideas.

[LEE]

I love Eternal Sunshine....

A good reminder to watch it again actually though it doesn't quite make my top 10.

As for Jim Carrey I think he's sublimely brilliant at what he's good at, if that makes sense.  ESOTSM showed he wasn't just an extremely gifted physical clown though.
No matter what the role he does seem to get the "Man just outside of society" roles though.

I mean, come on.. This is one of my favourite scenes, ripping the piss out of one of my favourite scenes... Good bye Jim

Blade Runner and the year 2019.  If you watch the extras from "The Director's Cut" you 'll hear some of the actors explain the genius of the Ridley Scott vision of the book and how much L.A. is becoming like his vision.

Bladerunner is firmly placed in my top 5 somewhere.

[ian]

Blade Runner and the year 2019.  If you watch the extras from "The Director's Cut" you 'll hear some of the actors explain the genius of the Ridley Scott vision of the book and how much L.A. is becoming like his vision.

If you've ever sat in traffic on 110 you'd wish for a hovercar.