What was the last film you watched?

[Jakob]

Zombieland 2, Far more entertaining than it had any right to be.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Funeral in Berlin.

Nostalgic Cold War stuff. Ipcress File next.

[Ashaman42]

Black Panther

Fun enough, not my favourite of the MCU but had a few cool bits. Only the second time we've seen it. Missed it at the cinema.

[ian]

Ant-Man

So good. So very very good. I remember some here being a bit scathing when it came out. What are you guys on? This is exactly what a superhero film should be in my book. Fun, exciting, just the right level of peril.

Paul Rudd is surprisingly good as an action hero.

Loved it.

I loved Ant-Man, Rudd is perfectly cast.

Ultron has some good set pieces, but yeah, was a bit overstuffed. They do a better job of managing the multiple leads in the Infinity War/Endgame than in the earlier attempts.

Civil War is one of my least favourites – it's not bad, but it's a bit laboured in places (the boss-level battle is awesome though).

Dr Strange is one of the meh-er ones too. It suffers a bit because the eponymous hero starts out as a dick and remains like that for much of the movie, that and it's an origin story, so its heavy on the exposition.

But then you've hot GotG 2, which is as awesome as the original.

[Ashaman42]

Last night we watched Infinity War and lots of fun it was too.

[Kim]

Dr Strange is one of the meh-er ones too. It suffers a bit because the eponymous hero starts out as a dick and remains like that for much of the movie, that and it's an origin story, so its heavy on the exposition.

Being a dick didn't stop Tony Stark, but yes.  I still liked the film though, because it was pretty.

[pcolbeck]

The Departed

Martin Scorsese's Boston gangster film. I rather enjoyed it. Great cast including Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Ray Winston and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Jack Nicholosn hams it up gleefully as usual.

[ian]

Dr Strange is one of the meh-er ones too. It suffers a bit because the eponymous hero starts out as a dick and remains like that for much of the movie, that and it's an origin story, so its heavy on the exposition.

Being a dick didn't stop Tony Stark, but yes.  I still liked the film though, because it was pretty.

Yeah, but Tony Stark got over it quite quickly (ok, after umpteen years in a cave) and became a likeable egomaniac.

I liked Dr Strange, it's just, not the best of the canon and I found it opted for a bit too much DC-esque exposition and the entire character redemption arc is a bit old hat (well, it worked for Tony, but that was the first movie of the franchise so it's allowed a pass).

[citoyen]

Civil War is one of my least favourites – it's not bad, but it's a bit laboured in places (the boss-level battle is awesome though).

Watched Civil War last night. I started watching it before when it was on the telly but got bored with it very quickly. It only makes any sense in the context of the series. There’s no story, just lots of earnest talking broken up by a few big set pieces. Admittedly the trashing of Leipzig airport is lots of fun.

Steve Rogers is just as much a dick as Tony Stark.

One thing I don’t understand: if Zemo was just some random lone wolf, where did he get his resources? And how did he know about the winter soldier programme? Have I missed something?

[ian]

No idea, I think the standard nerd get-out-clause for such matters is that it's covered in volume 5, issue 12 of Avengers vs. Pot Noodles #66.

There is an entire SHIELD vs. HYDRA backstory covered in Agents of SHIELD which is occasionally alluded to in the movies.

Hail HYDRA!

[Ashaman42]

I think it says in the film that he found out about the Winter Soldier program from the Hydra data that Black Widow dumped to the internet at the end of The Winter Soldier film.

As for resources I think he was an ex special ops guy or a spy or something. It's only briefly mentioned in the film.

[citoyen]

I think it says in the film that he found out about the Winter Soldier program from the Hydra data that Black Widow dumped to the internet at the end of The Winter Soldier film.

Yes, that came back to me while I was out on my run this morning. It's mentioned fairly early in the film, and it's so mind-numbingly long that I'd forgotten by the end of it.

Zemo is a canonical character in the comics, apparently, but the film version seems to be only tenuously related.

[citoyen]

Avengers vs. Pot Noodles #66.

I would so watch that film.

[T42]

All this late conversation reminds me of when Sierra's first graphic game, King's Quest I, came out in the 80s, and virtually immobilized our Support dept. for a couple of weeks.  We'd be sitting round lunch in our usual restaurant saying things such as "you have to take a carrot from the garden to throw across the bridge to get the goat to cross and bring out the troll", with diners at neighbouring tables looking at us as if we were daft.

[Kim]

Avengers vs. Pot Noodles #66.

I would so watch that film.

(click to show/hide)

The Pot Noodles win.

[rob]

Civil War is one of my least favourites – it's not bad, but it's a bit laboured in places (the boss-level battle is awesome though).

Watched Civil War last night. I started watching it before when it was on the telly but got bored with it very quickly. It only makes any sense in the context of the series. There’s no story, just lots of earnest talking broken up by a few big set pieces. Admittedly the trashing of Leipzig airport is lots of fun.

Steve Rogers is just as much a dick as Tony Stark.

One thing I don’t understand: if Zemo was just some random lone wolf, where did he get his resources? And how did he know about the winter soldier programme? Have I missed something?

Just to check are you watching to the end of the credits on each of them for the clues ?

[citoyen]

Just to check are you watching to the end of the credits on each of them for the clues ?

Yes, but I may have forgotten something important... Did Zemo appear in one of those? I did get the vague feeling I'd seen the character before.

Daniel Brühl was in Goodbye Lenin, which is a really lovely film.

[citoyen]

Avengers vs. Pot Noodles #66.

I would so watch that film.

(click to show/hide)

The Pot Noodles win.

(click to show/hide)

I'm sure we've all been defeated by a Bombay Bad Boy at some point.

[Tim Hall]

Once Upon a Time in London, on Netflux.  The history of Billy Hill & Jack "the Spot" Comer, who started up organized crime in London - Billy Hill was godfather to the Krays before he retired to Morocco.  Got the impression that it had been whittled down from something much longer, several scenes being context-free and seemingly meaningless, e.g. a bloke running away from a copper and being brought down by same and three other blokes in Army uniform. You couldn't tell who the bloke was and it didn't tie in with anything upstream or downstream.  Shame, for although it wasn't the kind of story the title suggests, it was interesting enough.

Bill Hilly and Spotty both feature in the early series of GF Newman's "The Corrupted", which I mentioned on the "What's worth listening to on the radio" thread.  Until I saw either Once Upon a Time in London or another docu-drama film I'd assumed they were fictional. (The Corrupted intertwines fictional and real life villains)

[T42]

Once Upon a Time in London, on Netflux.  The history of Billy Hill & Jack "the Spot" Comer, who started up organized crime in London - Billy Hill was godfather to the Krays before he retired to Morocco.  Got the impression that it had been whittled down from something much longer, several scenes being context-free and seemingly meaningless, e.g. a bloke running away from a copper and being brought down by same and three other blokes in Army uniform. You couldn't tell who the bloke was and it didn't tie in with anything upstream or downstream.  Shame, for although it wasn't the kind of story the title suggests, it was interesting enough.

Bill Hilly and Spotty both feature in the early series of GF Newman's "The Corrupted", which I mentioned on the "What's worth listening to on the radio" thread.  Until I saw either Once Upon a Time in London or another docu-drama film I'd assumed they were fictional. (The Corrupted intertwines fictional and real life villains)

The film is rather more friendly to Hill than he deserves.

(click to show/hide)

At the end of it I felt rather pleased that he was able to retire and live out his life in comfort.

In reality he was just as bad as the Krays and the Richardsons.

[rob]

Just to check are you watching to the end of the credits on each of them for the clues ?

Yes, but I may have forgotten something important... Did Zemo appear in one of those? I did get the vague feeling I'd seen the character before.

Daniel Brühl was in Goodbye Lenin, which is a really lovely film.

Sorry, I was being a bit more general.  I agree Zemo just turned up from nowhere and was dismissed pretty quickly.

Bruhl was also very good as Niki Lauda in Rush.

[citoyen]

Spider-Man: Homecoming - breaking with the running order slightly but I just fancied this one tonight.

It's very enjoyable indeed, highly entertaining... but way, way too long. Could have lost about 40 minutes easily enough. Michael Keaton is a great bad dude. I can't accept Marisa Tomei being old enough to play Aunt May. That makes me feel old. She has aged much better than me though.

Glad there's no dwelling on the back story. That has been done to death and we really don't need to see it again - I think one of the reasons I didn't watch this one first time round was the "Not another Spider-Man reboot?" feeling. But it really does enough to justify its existence.

There are obviously lots of nods to classic teen movies (explicitly to Ferris Bueller) but the one it probably reminded me of most was the original Teen Wolf.

Good to see they acknowledge the aftermath of previous films with the New York clear-up too.

Really good post-credits clip.

[Kim]

Donne moi des ailes / Spread Your Wings (2019)

Competent but completely unnecessary French remake of Fly Away Home.  The original has better geese.

[ian]

We did Spiderman: Homecoming at the weekend, this under a misapprehension it was Far from Home, but by that the time we had the DVD spinning we couldn't be bothered with another game of hunt the disk (probably good, it seems we don't have it, must have streamed it).

I remember the first time it came out thinking the oh no, not again but yeah, it thankfully skips the origin story, and plays it in a classic teen movie style. They should have done a Michael J Fox cameo.

[citoyen]

They should have done a Michael J Fox cameo.

Yep, that would have been good. Also James Spader (if only he hadn't been in Ultron) or Rob Lowe. Or Matthew Broderick (as well as the brief clip of Ferris Bueller in Homecoming, there's also a nice reference to War Games in Winter Soldier when they get trapped in the bunker with a disembodied Toby Jones.)

I thought the dude playing Flash was an obvious homage to Judd Nelson in Breakfast Club. And Michelle is so very obviously modelled on Ally Sheedy.

Almost a surprise they didn't cast Winona Ryder as Aunt May. Marisa Tomei is better anyway.