What was the last film you watched?

[Kim]

Contagion What an odd experience it was watching this movie. It had all the components to be a good movie (director, cast, budget, even script) yet somehow failed. It's not like the subject couldn't have delivered a decent film either. It even felt like it thought it was a good movie but.... I think someone simply forgot to decide what they wanted to say. It didn't suck, it just didn't happen.

Just watched this.  I think they were going for realism.  Getting the science right^[1] and the lack of heroic gun fights, car chases, MovieOS, plucky journalists, and outright stupidity in the name of saving the main character's family were all notable.

On that basis, I thought it was quite good.

The film didn't have to say anything (beyond "this is what could happen"), but that's maybe because I wasn't expecting it to?


_{[1] Other than the incubation period of the disease being far too short for it to spread that widely.}

[Andrew]

My addendum....

A web search reveals that the film was applauded for its treatment of the science; introducing and using medical terms correctly etc. Maybe the intention of the film (the thing I didn't see) was to be factual - a kind of docu-film or perhaps more accurately a film-umentary. Maybe I was looking for the wrong thing and it's actually a wonderful, genre-defying film.

To be fair to the film, I was simply wrong footed by it. Sometimes I take potluck with what's on tele and don't read any further than the TV guide 4 sentence blurb.  That can build a false expectation. This film is perhaps one to take a notebook to rather than popcorn!

[Kim]

Agreed.  From a typical plot synopsis, you'd be expecting something akin to Outbreak.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

The Next Three Days probably the best I've seen from Russel Crowe. Which is maybe not saying much.

He was quite good as a Hornblower but he couldn't keep it up.

I mean there was only one.

Portraying John Nash in 'A Beautiful Mind'?

Yes, that too, it has to be said.

[ian]

I thought Contagion was well handled. But yeah, if you went into it expecting anything in particular to happen, then it might be guilty of disappointment. They did gleefully and gruesomely kill off lots of famous actors.

Anyway, on flight back

The Man from UNCLE. From the TV show I'm sure I remember watching but probably didn't on the grounds I wasn't born, but everyone knows the characters. It's well cast and modestly entertaining though burdened with the usual identikit plot that every spy thriller has.

Sicario Seems have got a lot of critical approbation, seemingly on the basis it's a bit morally ambiguous and that Americans seem consistently surprised by their nation's relationship with illegal drugs. Emily Blunt has to wear a very serious actor's face throughout the entire movie which must have been quite tiring and I mostly wanted to give her a pep talk (and to be honest, it wasn't really clear why her character was in the movie). Benicio del Toro was awesomely scary though. I don't think the movie received any funding from the Mexican Tourist Board.

[andyoxon]

BBC's An Inspector Calls, with David Thewlis.  Excellent.

[Andrew]

The Green Hornet (2011) :-  enjoyable silliness.

[T42]

....
Portraying John Nash in 'A Beautiful Mind'?

Yes, that too, it has to be said.

I liked Stephen Fry's comment "John Nash, who suffered the terrible handicap... of being played by Russel Crowe".

[Wascally Weasel]

....
Portraying John Nash in 'A Beautiful Mind'?

Yes, that too, it has to be said.

I liked Stephen Fry's comment "John Nash, who suffered the terrible handicap... of being played by Russel Crowe".

That's a bit harsh (from Fry) considering what a decidedly limited actor Fry is too.

There are performances by both that I like but both play, or at least are required to play within a fairly limited range.

[clarion]

Stephen Fry is an accomplished and talented actor, playing parts across the whole range from 'Stephen Fry' to 'Stephen Fry'

[Andrew]

He's also a comedian (of sorts) and tends to say things tongue-in-cheek for laughs/piss take. I'm sure Mr Crowe will not take too much offence.

Edit: in fact he might, as pointed out later in this thread. He can be a right argumentative sod. 

[mattc]

The revenant. Best crawling movie ever. De Caprio crawls superbly in snow and ice and water. Masterful anguished bleak facial expressions. Best bear attack ever filmed. Horse guts less convincing.

It's better than when he leaves the country club, gets into his car and drives slowly and carefully home?  (Wolf of Wall Street)   And why did he attack the bear?  No, don't tell me, I can wait.   
 

You've overlooked the other option; think what "knife-attack" usually means.

Anyway, no more spoilers. I've seen the thing now - bloody great. (with some emphasis on bloody). Definitely a "big screener". It deserves one of the Oscars for cinematography and direction (I'm never sure where the split is in between those :/ ), and Supporting Actor (although it certainly won't get that one, its the wrong kind of role).
Leo is good, but I'd say he put more suffering than acting talent into the making of this.


There is quite a lot of crawling, but actually the true story featured many many miles more crawling, so we should be grateful!

[Riggers]

Saw it too, on Friday. Excellent. Watching on big screen essential.

Crawling features quite a lot, as does speaking Pawnee, as does traipsing through freezing cold water. How on earth these chaps survived in them days, is beyond me. Tough chaps.

Got most of what Tom Hardy was talking about. Was the rest of his dialogue in Welsh?

[red marley]

I've not seen any crawling films recently (maybe the Shawshank Redemption or possibly Aliens were the last ones I did watch), but I did see Room last week. Highly recommended. If you've read the book, it captures it very well, which is not surprising considering Emma Donnoghue was a screen writer and producer. If you've not read it, I'd recommend seeing the film with as little forewarning about the context as possible. I thought Jacob Tremblay as Jack was superb. To what extent that was his acting or the direction I don't know, but a fine performance in any case.

[Andrew]

I'd recommend seeing the film with as little forewarning about the context as possible.

Ditto. Their situation is unclear at first, and it's slow unveiling gives the film added creepiness.

I thought Jacob Tremblay as Jack was superb.

And ditto again. Tremblay is Screen Actors Guild nominated for best supporting actor 2016 - pretty impressive for a 9 year old!

[T42]

Stephen Fry is an accomplished and talented actor, playing parts across the whole range from 'Stephen Fry' to 'Stephen Fry'

He's too instantly identifiable to play much else.  Hamlet, with that conk?

[clarion]

Though he managed both a moving  Oscar Wilde, and a barely moving Jeeves very convincingly.

[hillbilly]

Though he managed both a moving  Oscar Wilde, and a barely moving Jeeves very convincingly.

He has been trying to play Oscar Wilde for most of his life.

[citoyen]

Stephen Fry is an accomplished and talented actor, playing parts across the whole range from 'Stephen Fry' to 'Stephen Fry'

His Jeeves was awful! So wooden. Hugh Laurie is a great Wooster though.

Andrew - Russell Crowe takes offence very easily, as he has famously demonstrated in numerous interviews (eg when Kermode commented on his accent as Robin Hood)

[citoyen]

Back on topic, kind of: I was supposed to be going to a screening of Battle Mountain tonight, the new Graeme Obree documentary, but I can't make it. Very disappointed.

[mattc]

Stephen Fry is an accomplished and talented actor, playing parts across the whole range from 'Stephen Fry' to 'Stephen Fry'

His Jeeves was awful! So wooden. Hugh Laurie is a great Wooster though.

Andrew - Russell Crowe takes offence very easily, as he has famously demonstrated in numerous interviews (eg when Kermode commented on his accent as Robin Hood)

Was it not Mark Lawson on R4? Very memorable interview - I actually thought Lawson deserved a bunch-of-fives, but it made entertaining listening anyway?

[citoyen]

Yes, I think you're right, Lawson rather than Kermode. I can't stand Lawson but that was very funny.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Crawling features quite a lot, as does speaking Pawnee, as does traipsing through freezing cold water. How on earth these chaps survived in them days, is beyond me. Tough chaps.

The consensus from people who live up in those parts is "wtf are they doing, going through that water? Getting wet means dying, fast.".

[Kim]

Tomorrowland

The Disney extravaganza that the inexplicably popular Pirates of the Caribbean franchise wasn't.

If you enjoyed Jupiter Ascending, then it's worth watching, but I recommend you stop 3/4 of the way through and imagine your own ending.  Perhaps featuring David Bowie as Nikola Tesla^[1].

(click to show/hide)

If you ignore this sage advice, you do get to witness an utterly splendid use of the word "bollocks" by Hugh Laurie.  It's little compensation.

If this doesn't sound appealing, then avoid with a very sturdy barge pole.


_{[1] Don't get me started on that movie.}

[Mr Larrington]

Back on topic, kind of: I was supposed to be going to a screening of Battle Mountain tonight, the new Graeme Obree documentary, but I can't make it. Very disappointed.

First I've heard of it and I'm probably in it