Author Topic: What was the last film you watched?  (Read 926020 times)

Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8300 on: 03 February, 2019, 04:58:33 pm »
Total Recall (2012)

I just came across the new version of this film (albeit, 6 years after it was made!) on Amazon Prime, and watched it out of curiosity.

It is essentially a remake of the Arnie version, however there are some substantial changes to the storyline.  Colin Farrell is a far more believable character than Arnie was, and generally they've played this version with a lot less of the lighthearted elements of the earlier one, and that seems to have been a good choice. In my opinion, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel also work better than Rachel Ticotin and Sharon Stone did.  Sharon Stone, like Arnold, seemed to have been inserted into the film as actors who were popular at the time, rather than ones who actually suited the parts.

The basic concepts aren't quite as scientifically bad as the 1990 version, although there are still things which are hardly rigorously accurate, but the future it portrays is more accurate given our current technology, than the earlier version.  It's quite a bit more dystopian, and Mars is barely mentioned.  I think the one small mention of Mars that I noticed, was like a few of the other elements, dropped in as a small tribute to the earlier version.

I think it works quite well.  I haven't read the PKD novel, so don't know how it compares to that, but it's certainly a better film than the one with Arnie.  It portrays a more realistic future, a bit darker, using far better special effects and with better acting.  The story also doesn't depend on telepathy, implausible and inaccurate science, and mysterious martians, which it definitely benefits from.  Overall I think I'd give it a B+ for an action and adventure film.

(Much the same post also in this thread : Remake of Total Recall in the offing).
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Kim

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8301 on: 04 February, 2019, 01:14:37 pm »
Mortal Engines

Pretty steampunk[1] nonsense.  All the best bits are in the first ten minutes.


[1] Aesthetically, if not technically.

hillbilly

Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8302 on: 06 February, 2019, 11:06:47 am »
Burning

Korean film.  Kind of a mystery film, sort of a thriller, sort of a detective film.

Getting all the praise from critics.  I spent the first half of the film with my sceptical hat on, thinking "get on with it".  But it turns around in the second half when you realise "the slow pace of the first half means I'm really engaged in this."  It's very thought provoking, with connections and themes running through it. 

Rather than getting all wanky about these connections/themes I'll just suggest you either go and see it if you like classy films with subtitles (or wait for the inevitable remake, no doubt starring Steve Carrell who appears to be in f**king everything pumped out by Hollywood at the moment).

Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8303 on: 06 February, 2019, 05:36:47 pm »
Mortal Engines

Pretty steampunk[1] nonsense.  All the best bits are in the first ten minutes.


[1] Aesthetically, if not technically.
Seen the trailer somewhere and it looked unutterably shite.  Rather you than me.

Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8304 on: 07 February, 2019, 09:58:15 pm »
The Alice Vikingland Tomb Raider. Better than the Jolie #2 but not as good as #1.

Well, probably technically better than #1 but not as fun.

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Kim

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8305 on: 07 February, 2019, 10:29:03 pm »
Bohemian Rhapsody

Going into it expecting a huge amount of historical inaccuracy meant I had low expectations.  I didn't expect it to be as moving as it was.

All the best bits are in the last ten minutes.  Turn it up to 11.

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rogerzilla

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8306 on: 10 February, 2019, 07:42:31 pm »
Tag.

Not bad, the "untaggable" Jerry is slightly oddly cast compared to the others but Isla Fisher is very good as a slightly over-competitive (read: barkingly aggressive) wife.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

hillbilly

Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8307 on: 11 February, 2019, 09:46:47 am »
The Guilty

Essentially a policeman in the emergency call centre tries to unravel the identity of a killer through a succession of received calls.  All of the action takes place in the call centre, focussed on the central character.  This maybe doesn't sound that great, particularly if I add that it is in Danish and the twist doesn't come as a shock, but this is 90 minutes or so of pretty gripping plot that shows what can be done through simple narrative and good acting.  I think it was Denmark's entry for the foreign language Oscar (if that kind of thing matters).  Well worth a try imo (it's on Curzon home player but is no doubt available on other on demand options).

Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8308 on: 14 February, 2019, 10:08:54 pm »
What's eating Gilbert Grape

Excellent. The best performance I've seen from Leonardo de Caprio, but everyone in the Grape family is really good. A beautiful story of brothers and family life. Very highly recommended.

T42

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8309 on: 20 February, 2019, 07:53:07 am »
Velvet Buzzsaw - a not-very-horrific horror film that is really a delightful send-up of the art-criticism/gallery world. Going to watch it again just for Jake Gyllenhaal's character.
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Jaded

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8310 on: 20 February, 2019, 11:49:42 am »
Starter for Ten enjoyable rom-com hung around University Challenge

T2 Trainspotting finally seen it, and well worth it. A worthy sequel to Trainspotting, with great music.

The Truman Show seen it before but couldn’t remember a lot of it. Well worth watching again.
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8311 on: 24 February, 2019, 05:08:29 pm »
The Shaun the Sheep movie. Aardman were always going to be a good bet for a kids' film that was also bearable for adults, but this was just delightful - so many sight gags that went over the 6-year-olds' heads, but had me and my other half in stitches. Clearly made by people with a deep knowledge of and love for film history.

Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8312 on: 24 February, 2019, 08:05:13 pm »
Incredible s 2. Wonderful.
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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8313 on: 24 February, 2019, 08:09:26 pm »
The Shape of Water. Best film I've seen in years.

Jaded

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8314 on: 25 February, 2019, 02:07:13 am »
Split

Apparently it is part of a trilogy. I’ll never watch the first film, so I’ll have to peoples word for it.

It started off reasonably well, although the cardboard cutouts that were acting two of the girls made up for the splendid multi-faceted James McAvoy.

After a while it just got silly. And ended silly.
It is simpler than it looks.

Wowbagger

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8315 on: 25 February, 2019, 04:32:50 am »
Green Book

A couple of weeks ago. I thought it was very enjoyable and woke up this morning to the news that it had won an Oscar. So I wasn’t the only one who liked it.
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hillbilly

Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8316 on: 25 February, 2019, 08:59:05 am »
The Shape of Water. Best film I've seen in years.

Since watching it, the joke in my house is that the ASL for "eggs" is fish sign language for "show's yer lady cushions".

Kim

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8317 on: 25 February, 2019, 01:15:49 pm »
The Shape of Water. Best film I've seen in years.

Since watching it, the joke in my house is that the ASL for "eggs" is fish sign language for "show's yer lady cushions".

I read it more like a disparaging term for Sheffield.  That's the problem with ASL, it tricks you into thinking it's going to make sense, and then people are vomiting up their grandmothers and things.   :)


I did watch The Shape Of Water, some time ago but if I wrote it up here I'm failing to find it.  I was, frankly, baffled.  How a beautifully filmed retro pulp SFF story can be Oscar material suggests that either I missed the point chronically, or that the Oscar winning process makes even less sense than I thought it did.  Probably both.


Speaking of Oscars, I saw Into The Spider-Verse the other day.  That it didn't even get nominated shows there's no justice in the world.  If nothing else, it's surely the greatest achievement in animation since Toy Story.

Jaded

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8318 on: 25 February, 2019, 01:24:34 pm »
Best animated feature
Winner: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
It is simpler than it looks.

Kim

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8319 on: 25 February, 2019, 01:30:46 pm »
Best animated feature
Winner: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

...

I didn't realise they had an animation ghetto.  The media obviously don't seem interested in it, otherwise I might have heard of it.

It was still Best Picture material.

Jaded

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8320 on: 25 February, 2019, 01:33:35 pm »
The Oscars nomination lists seem to be a dark art.
It is simpler than it looks.

ian

Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8321 on: 25 February, 2019, 01:40:46 pm »
I think they dynamically generate nomination categories based on what people are currently angry about on Twitter. There's probably an algorithm.

Kim

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8322 on: 25 February, 2019, 01:58:14 pm »
I think they dynamically generate nomination categories based on what people are currently angry about on Twitter. There's probably an algorithm.

Algorithms are rubbish though.  Twitter always seems to think people are going to be interested in sportsball, when everyone knows the internet is for porn and bitching about movies.

Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8323 on: 25 February, 2019, 02:50:10 pm »
There was a Mark Kermode thingy about what makes an Oscar winner on BBC4 (I think - as usual I watched it on iPlayer) this week, which was quite entertaining.

citoyen

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Re: What was the last film you watched?
« Reply #8324 on: 25 February, 2019, 05:28:10 pm »
I didn't realise they had an animation ghetto.  The media obviously don't seem interested in it, otherwise I might have heard of it.

It was still Best Picture material.

Only three animated movies have ever been nominated for Best Picture (Beauty & The Beast, Up, Toy Story 3). None has ever won it. Even live-action superhero movies don't get nominated for Best Picture - I believe Black Panther was the first.

(Although with so much CGI involved, a lot of modern films are pushing the definition of "live action" anyway - Avatar is arguably another "animated" film to have been nominated for Best Picture.)
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