What was the last film you watched?

[Valiant]

The Good Lie


I'm unsure what to make of this film. I know I enjoyed it very much, it was emotional in places, touching in others and then had some funny bits. It was a good watch.


Fury (2014)
The one with Brad Pitt as a tank captain. Surprisingly I actually really liked this as it was just a dumb movie about jarheads, there was a certain je ne said qoui about it.

[Tigerrr]

you never know with je ne said qoui - but Brad Pitt certainly has saviour fair and a sprit de core.

[Steph]

Under the Skin

Atmospheric and well shot.  But basically had the feel of a short film that was made into a feature length film because Scarlett Johansson was attached.  I spent too long thinking "yeah ok get to the point".

Good to hear Weegie banter though, even if scripted.

Not sure I'd recommend this one.

Exactly. Though I did giggle at the bedside lamp moment.

[Jakob]

"Fury".  Much much darker than I expected, most certainly describes war as violent, dirty and turns even the good guys (GI's) into bad people. Starts out reasonably well, but last third is silly.

[Jakob]

Cloud Atlas. I really enjoyed that and are looking forward to the extended version.

Extended version - that's interesting.  I'll look that out when the time comes. Very much enjoyed it in the cinema and on bluray.  Any idea when that might be available?

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/netflix-chief-says-4-hour-cut-of-cloud-atlas-will-blow-you-away-wachowskis-doubt-theyll-get-big-studio-budgets-again-20150210

Doesn't say

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Fifty Shades of Grey.  But only vicariously, Mrs A and daughter went; I went to the gym.  I understand the ending was unsatisfactory (if I may put it like that, or maybe that is exactly the right way to put it?)

   

[citoyen]

When you've seen the film, don't forget to buy the official merchandise...



*boggle*

[ian]

There was an obligatory BBC (I think) story the other day about the expected perils of ambulance call-outs to rescue stranded victims of Fifty-Shades inspired attempts at restrained amour (yeah, yeah, they have the NHS doing PR). It ended with a few typical examples of lost handcuff keys and finally, deadpan, on a the rescue of a man from a toaster. Is that in the film? I may have to take back some of criticisms if there's toaster sex. I always thought a pop tart was a diabetes-inducing breakfast comestible, but now I have to wonder if it's not something else entirely. That's an extreme sport. Vacuum cleaners, so last year, it's only a matter of time before the true aficionado of culinary gratification casts an febrile eye upon other kitchen appliances. Ladies may have to put up with the outsized phallic pepper mill, but for the man in search of adventure, there are gadgets galore. Let's just hope those men wash that breadmaker out afterwards.

[mattc]

We almost need a separate F***y thread.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/50-shades-of-grey-valentines-day-screening-ends-in-man-being-glassed-vomiting-in-the-aisles-10048515.html

[Andrew]

Bad Lieutenant

Not the Harvey Keitel one, the Nicholas Cage film of the same name. Cage gives one of his caricature performances, larger than life - he is so good at it. Personally, I don't like it but I think this is a film that probably divides opinion. If you like Cage in classic OTT manic mode than you'll love it.

I have to admit I did smile at the beautifully hammy  'all worked out ok in the end' ending but I found little else to remark upon in here. Just not my thing. It's directed by Werner Herzog so maybe there's a wacky German sense of humour at play.

[ian]

I did sign off yesterday wondering if I'd imagined up the toaster thing. But Google says it's an actual Thing, for which I'm dubiously relieved. I'd hate to the be one to have imagined that one up. I've also been advised that sadly no one fucks a toaster in Fifty Shades, which I think is a shame, and might have added a little much needed colour in more ways than one. Insert your own crumpet joke, but hey, don't insert your own Thing. This is your obligatory don't-do-this-at-home kids warning. Really, keep your dick out of the kitchen. It's advice my wife gave me some time ago, and I've never had to be rescued by a fireman and a liberal salving of I Can't Believe That's Not Butter.

Apropos of nothing, I used to share an office with Britain's most prominent academic urological organ. My office mate, the delightful Veronica, dutiful servant of said organ (hey, these bondage allusions don't come easily to my anointed little fingers) would gleefully show me pictures from their case study submission section. There truly is no place that the male penis hasn't pioneered. They're like the Indiana Jones of anatomical stupidity, always dashing into danger. And you don't want to know the sort of thing its chucklesome spheroid twins do for comic relief. If we had an inner goddess, she'd undoubtedly be shaking her head in resigned shame.

[Ruthie]

Her

Spike Jonze thing. I liked it a lot, in an Eternal Sunshine kind of way. It's more interesting than just a quirky romcom about a man falling in love with his computer - it actually has some interesting (if not entirely original) things to say about relationships and identity. Only thing I'm not convinced about is that a glorified greetings card writer could earn enough to live his lifestyle.

Spoilerish comment to follow...

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Because of the way it ends, it did strike me that you could look at it as a prequel to The Matrix.

I liked it too.

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It made me thing of Childhood's End by AC Clarke, where the human race transcends itself by evolving into a purely intellectual single entity that ascends to join the universal consciousness.

But, yeah, as a prequel to The Matrix it could work too.

As an examination of relationships, and the way we invent them as we live them, it was most interesting. 

[Ruthie]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

I just found this film incredibly depressing and upsetting.  A whole sequence of horrible events in people's lives, awful.

[CAMRAMan]

Pretty much why I couldn't watch No Country for Old Men after recording it. It was great when I first saw it and it is a fantastic film, but it is a continuous series of brutal killings and too grim to watch, knowing what is about to happen.

[Jakob]

Guardians of the Galaxy. First half was so-so, second half was quite good.

[Jakob]

American Sniper.
I do like the way that Clint Eastwood portraits people. He's very good at making them feel like real people. The story is fairly compelling, but also in typical Eastwood style, leaves a lot untold. With out knowing about Chris Kyle in advance, it's a very good movie, but by many accounts, he was a bit of a dick (despite his VA work) and the film pretty much skips that and that does detract from it.

[TimO]

Last weekend I watched Cloud Atlas, which was interesting, if a bit complicated and very long.  I'll probably need to watch it again, possibly a few times, to work out all of the interesting details!

Currently, I'm half way through watching Lucy, which whilst not on the same scale as Cloud Atlas, is somewhat amusing in its portrayal of a sort of next stage homo sapiens, and how she behaves.

[Von Broad]

Just watched David Cronenberg's 'Spider', shot in London in 2002.

Beautifully filmed tale about a disturbed bloke seeking to come to terms with his mother's murder.
Ralph Fiennes is brilliant and consistently believable throughout.
Didn't see the twist coming at the end [but there again I never do lol].
You've got to be in the mood, and I guess this evening I was.
Compelling. Didn't put the kettle on once throughout.

[Jaded]

Kingsman. The most fun film I've seen in a cinema for many a year. Plenty of different aspects to keep you entertained. Bit naughty at the end though.

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Yes, the bit that catches you out after the first credits.

The cinema was half full. Maybe because about half the slots in the multiplex were 50 Shades, with gaggling groups of girls giggling their way in.

Lots of drunk students about in the streets in pyjamas afterwards, then the street theatre of a drunk woman with two companions avoiding a beggar with his dog before she dropped her knicks and pissed in an M&S doorway.

If you are shopping in Bath today, keep a lookout for puddles.

[rafletcher]

Headhunters, based on a Jo Nesbo book.  Good fun.

[TimO]

The recent version of 47 Ronin, which is fairly loosely based upon the Japanese 18th century events.

It's not a bad film, the cinematography, dress, and fight scenes are impressive.  It attempts to be both a fantasy and historical retelling, and unfortunately straddles the two to the extent that it fails at being either well.

Keanu Reeves seems to be an unnecessary embellishment, presumably to encourage USA audiences to watch it, which it failed at, since it bombed, making $151 million with a budget of $175 million.

I enjoyed it, but I like Japanese fantasy tales.  I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it, but it's worth spending the £7 that Amazon are charging for it at the moment.^[1]

Footnote [1] On Amazon, you can get 47 Ronin, RIPD and Immortals on Bluray for £6-90, which is an odd mixture, but a bit of a bargain for some not brilliant but mostly fun films.

[sg37409]

World War Z last night.  Pretty good. A lot of unbelieveable bits in it but still pretty good.

[rogerzilla]

The Spy Who Loved Me.  Probably the most representative Bond film.  It has the lot; snow, deserts, an underwater car and a truly bonkers villain.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Kingsman. The most fun film I've seen in a cinema for many a year. Plenty of different aspects to keep you entertained. Bit naughty at the end though.

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Yes, the bit that catches you out after the first credits.

We saw it last night. I really enjoyed it but something about the violence made me feel a bit uncomfortable. It felt like half the violence was very cartoony but other half was gruesomely explicit. It wasn't clear what sort of tone they were going for with it and it was weird to watch. I did like it though.

[ian]

Kingsman. The most fun film I've seen in a cinema for many a year. Plenty of different aspects to keep you entertained. Bit naughty at the end though.

(click to show/hide)

Yes, the bit that catches you out after the first credits.

We saw it last night. I really enjoyed it but something about the violence made me feel a bit uncomfortable. It felt like half the violence was very cartoony but other half was gruesomely explicit. It wasn't clear what sort of tone they were going for with it and it was weird to watch. I did like it though.

I think I'm getting old, I'm starting to find violence, especially the consequence-lite stylistic and cartoonistic gore, discomforting. That and the fact it's peachy to slash, maim, and decapitate en masse, but if we see a cock or nipples and the world might just end. Will someone please think of the children. Not you, Rolf, not you.

In other news...

Alien and Aliens because I found the quadrilogy hiding in box in the garage. They've aged very well (other than the suspiciously low tech computers). Aliens still is still the boss alien-fighting movie. It also reminds me of many lost hours of my PhD spent abusing the university network with multiplayer Aliens Doom. I can, as a result, kick xenomorph ass with a pipette or a M41A pulse rifle. Assuming xenomorphs have an ass.

Not sure I can brave Aliens³, I can always remember it being a bit shit. And I can't remember Alien Resurrection at all, which possibly isn't complimentary. Like Terminator, one of those series that should have stopped at number 2. There's a good reason people don't do number 3s. Unless they're xenomorphs with their mysterious ass situation. That might enable a number 3.