What was the last film you watched?

[mattc]

UP

Quite a few plot holes in it.

If we're playing utterly charming, a few plot holes, haven't-you-seen-that-yet?, I give you Paddington. Almost a perfect christmas movie. Can't believe the sequel is better!

[Jaded]

Yes, Paddington was under consideration.   

[citoyen]

John Wick 2

Just as much fun and just as stupid as the first one. With added Lovejoy and Morpheus. And Peter Serafinowicz.

I appreciate the fact that although there are a ridiculous number of deaths, it’s only people within their world who die - they’re admirably scrupulous about not shooting innocent bystanders.

The fighting does get a bit repetitive after a while though - John has some impressive moves but not an unlimited repertoire. Might have helped if it had been 20 minutes shorter.

I’m looking forward to chapter 3 but hope it has a proper ending.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

The Greatest Showman.  I enjoyed it although it has no great revelations or depths.  Very competent performances all round. 

Paddington comes first, however.

[Jaded]

Oceans Eleven

A slow starter that wasn’t as good as it was first time round.

[Kim]

Forrest Gump

In which astronaut Jim Lovell does all sorts of things, but doesn't go into space.

[Torslanda]

Patriot's Day

First 'proper' viewing. Despite Mark Wahlberg in the lead and a lot of gunfire, it's not the bang-shoot-em-up number you might be expecting. The characters are extremely well drawn and the actors' resemblance to the real life characters is uncanny. Telling the story of the Boston Marathon bombings in a reportage style and following the investigation, flight of the perps and subsequent capture, it's easy to get caught up in the whole plot.

Well worth a watch.

[Pickled Onion]

Rams

Icelandic film about two old men with big beards and their sheep, set in a remote valley in Iceland. Far better than it sounds.

[TimO]

The Maze Runner and Maze Runner : The Scorch Trials

Films which is obviously targeted at a teen audience, but actually not bad for adults too.  I think they're in a similar vein to the Hunger Games Series and the Divergent Series of films, as well as not being entirely dissimilar to the Resident Evil Series either.

All of these films are set in dystopian futures, and this pair are the first two parts of a three part story, with the final "Maze Runner: The Death Cure" coming out in a few weeks time.

Aside from being a bit coming-of-age, and to be fair, they mostly don't overdo the "Lord of the Flies" aspect, they're good dystopian saving-the-world films, with zombie elements, and a few twists and double-crosses.  The end-of-the-world background is fairly standard, but there are some nice original bits in it too.

Even though a lot of the cast (at least in the first film) are relatively young, by and large they're good actors.

I'm not claiming they are wonderful works, full of artistic subtleties.  They are clearly science-fiction action thrillers, so are full of escapism (and escapes!) and some ludicrous plot lines, but they're generally enjoyable films, which is often what you want to watch. 

[Aidan]

Beauty and the Beast

The latest film version.   I'll say up front its not my kind of film , but dear God it was awful.

[Aidan]

Blade Runner 2049

Now this I really enjoyed.  long and nicely slow in places, and a real visual feast.

[ian]

Whatever the latest Star Wars episode is (The Last Jedi, cheers Google). A good deal better than the first one, which was little more than a retread, if not especially awesome.

Spoilered, though frankly there's no surprises if you've seen the previous movies.

(click to show/hide)

I wish they'd learn to avoid the dull middle sections where the character imbued by the Force is forced to sit around with Yoda/Luke etc. Does anyone like that bit of every SW movie? We want space battles!

On the subject of space battles. Firstly, evil Empire/First Order/Bad Guys, stop fucking building starships with obvious flaws. Secondly, if you've got a fleet of star destroyers, why not use them. Or, I mean, you could just let them hang around spectating while the plucky resistance exploit the obvious flaw in your giant space mega-dreadnought. There's no consistency to the plot – and this seems to be common to many movies – basically things happen just because, the bend the plot and story around what they want to show on screen. OK, I know previous SW have form, Deathstars can zip across the universe in moments but then take just that precise amount of time to target the rebel base.

I presume some people like the riffing on the earlier movies (the entire Lando plot from ESB, curiously deployed for no real purpose other than to give Finn something to do; the Hoth battle scene – salt, not snow, and dulled down, no dramatic speeder antics – and apropos the above, why just stand around and wait to be attacked?) I kind of wish they'd do something new though I suspect I'll be in a minority.

Last night, Atomic Blonde. Disappointingly, she didn't contain a nuclear reactor, something I didn't establish until quite far into the movie. Splendid soundtrack and some classy late 80s duds but other than that, well, if you want to watch a spy movie no one is getting around to bettering Bourne. Admittedly, Charlize looks better in heels.

[Manotea]

I wish they'd learn to avoid the dull middle sections where the character imbued by the Force is forced to sit around with Yoda/Luke etc. Does anyone like that bit of every SW movie? We want space battles!

Yeah, but that would be like an Arnie film without a "arming up" sequence, or a Rocky movie without a "training montage", etc.

It's endless cgi fuelled fight/battle sequences I find boring...

[ian]

Well, if they go to too long, like the week-long fight sequences in the Matrix sequels.

But entire initiate-goes-to-see-Jedi-Master-who-says-no-you-are-not-ready-but-what-the-hell-i'll-do-so-anyway-but-only-if-you-fight-yourself-after-dabbling-in-the-dark-place-you-were-specifically-told-to-avoid.

Anyway, modestly enjoyable, but I still wish for a proper Star Trek style reboot, though I'll admit that such contemplation is likely heretical to proper franchise devotees.

[fuzzy]

On a Star Wars theme, I did my chrimbo copy of Rogue One tonight. Now theres proper space battles for you

[T42]

The Artist, for the benefit of son & spouse who hadn't seen it. They'd avoided it because they'd already seen Jean Dujardin in a number of stupid films and thought he was rubbish.

[mattc]

The Artist, for the benefit of son & spouse who hadn't seen it. They'd avoided it because they'd already seen Jean Dujardin in a number of stupid films and thought he was rubbish.

Utterly lovely film (we re-watched it earlier this year IIRC)    The only other Dujardin films I've seen are the 60's Bond spoofs http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464913/

... which were highly enjoyable, and seemed to really know what they were (unlike too many recent "comedy" action movies  )

[citoyen]

Total Recall

Arnie at his best. The film is showing its age in many ways but it’s perfectly paced and still as much fun as ever.

[mattc]

Gone Girl

Flawed, but gripping and lots of very good bits. Rosamund is truly disturbing at all the right times!

Main complaint was the inaudible first hour of dialogue. made worse by loud background music (which was rather good to be fair!). Hmm - directed by David Fincher ... oh yes, he made Seven, with all those mumbled scenes with police neglecting to turn lights on while investigating crime scenes. I sense a style-over-substance thing here, sod the viewers 


_{(Nice to see that Emily RattyKowski has found her niche - playing pathetic needy half-naked teenager. She may never need to dance naked in a pop video again - you Go Girl!)}

[ian]

Spiderman: Homecoming. I'd avoided this on the basis of does the world need yet another Spiderman movie, but it was 99p on the magic box so what the hell.

It turned out to be the best one by far. Only gripe was Marisa Tomei as Aunt May. Come on. Mind you I just checked and it seems we're both getting older.

[TimO]

Spiderman: Homecoming. I'd avoided this on the basis of does the world need yet another Spiderman movie, but it was 99p on the magic box so what the hell.

It turned out to be the best one by far. Only gripe was Marisa Tomei as Aunt May. Come on. Mind you I just checked and it seems we're both getting older.

Actually, I quite liked Marisa Tomei as the aunt, rather than the cliched old biddy of most other versions.  I was more offended by Tom Holland, a 20 year old man, playing a 14 year old.  That seemed unnecessary, when there are plenty of younger capable actors about.

You could believe the degree of stupidity shown by Spiderman, in a 14 year old, but the actor just seemed too old to be quite that thick.

(Oh, and Happy Hogan should have been sacked by Tony Stark, several times).

[T42]

Diva. Still good after 36 years. Reminds me a bit of the workie who read Shakespeare for the first time at night school - "full of clichés, innit?" - for a lot of its devices were copied later. It also has one of those "toddle round the Tuiléries to mood music" interludes, an earlier cliché that has since died out. Bloody good film, though.

One nice wee thing: that bit in The Matrix where the wee spoon-bender says "there is no spoon..." mirrors the spiel of the Rasta in Diva when he makes a sandwich.

[Mr Larrington]

Je n'aime pas les parkings!

[ian]

Spiderman: Homecoming. I'd avoided this on the basis of does the world need yet another Spiderman movie, but it was 99p on the magic box so what the hell.

It turned out to be the best one by far. Only gripe was Marisa Tomei as Aunt May. Come on. Mind you I just checked and it seems we're both getting older.

Actually, I quite liked Marisa Tomei as the aunt, rather than the cliched old biddy of most other versions.  I was more offended by Tom Holland, a 20 year old man, playing a 14 year old.  That seemed unnecessary, when there are plenty of younger capable actors about.

You could believe the degree of stupidity shown by Spiderman, in a 14 year old, but the actor just seemed too old to be quite that thick.

(Oh, and Happy Hogan should have been sacked by Tony Stark, several times).

I dunno, most large organizations I've worked for seem to be staffed, in a large part, with Happy Hogans. It's reassuring that Stark Industries isn't that different.

I'm used to the fact that American teens all look like they're in their mid-twenties. I had just assumed it was from all the cow growth hormones they consume in their USDA prime beef and the fact they think bacon is a vitamin.

[Kim]

I'm used to the fact that American teens all look like they're in their mid-twenties.

It's not so much suspension of disbelief as something you come to expect through prolonged exposure.  Like the ridiculous portrayals of mundane computer things in anything made before about 2005 or so.

I had just assumed it was from all the cow growth hormones they consume in their USDA prime beef and the fact they think bacon is a vitamin.

I dunno, the cast of the average show on The CW tend to look like they'd benefit from a bit more lard consumption.