Good films I watched this weekend (Vol 2)
Discussion
Ok not a movie but I watched Road this weekend. Very good documentary http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3546370/
Watched "Tomorrow Never Dies" again at the weekend as it was on ITV2, but I was surprised to note how many cuts they made. In the opening sequence where Bond steals the fighter, the whole sequence where the copilot wakes up and tries to throttle him was gone, with only the final where he ejects him into the other plane retained. I wondered if some of it was done to remove very-slightly-risque stuff to start showing it at 8pm - Moneypenny's "cunning linguist" comment was gone, as was her "you'll have to decide how much pumping" a few moments later.
As the start of this film is one of my all-time favourite Bonds, I always try to see it when it's shown and I've never noticed these cuts before.
As the start of this film is one of my all-time favourite Bonds, I always try to see it when it's shown and I've never noticed these cuts before.
chris watton said:
Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) - This was a huge surprise for me, I really enjoyed it, not half as cheesy as I feared it'd be, and turned out to be the best of the movies we watched!
Agree. Dwayne Johnson really can hold a movie quite well and I actually think with any other "star" in the lead role this could well have been totally awfull. As you say though, actually very enjoyable and pretty funny. Loved the nutter who had to be chained up every night... great character.
Civpilot said:
Agree.
Dwayne Johnson really can hold a movie quite well and I actually think with any other "star" in the lead role this could well have been totally awfull. As you say though, actually very enjoyable and pretty funny. Loved the nutter who had to be chained up every night... great character.
He did have a good supporting cast as well, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.Dwayne Johnson really can hold a movie quite well and I actually think with any other "star" in the lead role this could well have been totally awfull. As you say though, actually very enjoyable and pretty funny. Loved the nutter who had to be chained up every night... great character.
k off... You go first"droopsnoot said:
Watched "Tomorrow Never Dies" again at the weekend as it was on ITV2, but I was surprised to note how many cuts they made. In the opening sequence where Bond steals the fighter, the whole sequence where the copilot wakes up and tries to throttle him was gone, with only the final where he ejects him into the other plane retained. I wondered if some of it was done to remove very-slightly-risque stuff to start showing it at 8pm - Moneypenny's "cunning linguist" comment was gone, as was her "you'll have to decide how much pumping" a few moments later.
As the start of this film is one of my all-time favourite Bonds, I always try to see it when it's shown and I've never noticed these cuts before.
Likewise - love the opening of TND, and as this was probably the only Bond film that the g/f hadn't seen, we settled down to watch it and I was gutted by the amount they cut. Throughout the film they cut many key bits that made his "witty" one-liners sound completely out of place. The fight inside the soundproofed room was also edited. Stupid really - its Bond, so its fairly cartoon violence anyway, and I grew up watching the movies on Sunday afternoons, now you can see attempted strangulation after 8pm on a Saturday night?As the start of this film is one of my all-time favourite Bonds, I always try to see it when it's shown and I've never noticed these cuts before.
Just finished watching Roman Polanskis version of Oliver Twist. Thought it was bloody great. the acting, sets ..everything was just spot on. Jamie Forman was brilliant as Bill Sykes as was Ben Kingsley as the best fagin since ron moody. off to bed and going to watch layer cake for about the 20th time 
Another batch, including:
I Origins
Great concept - scientist tried to disprove the creationists theory that the human eye is too complex to have evolved, and on that journey he finds something else.
This is not an especially dynamic film (if you suffer with ADHD) however the concepts are good, the leading ladies are nice to look at, and the film wraps up fairly satisfactorily.
Definitely worth a watch - 7/10
Hercules
Surprisingly good. I think Dwayne has proven himself a worthy "watch" by avoiding unduly cheesy characters or films. Good cast generally too.
OK, it's not high-brow storytelling but there is enough happening to keep you entertained.
Worth a watch - 7/20
I, Frankenstein
Slightly less worthy that those above but not the disaster I was expecting. The special effects looked cheaply done (fire especially) but I'm not one to pick too deeply into SFX as long as they made a reasonable attempt and it didn't detract from the story. The story was new (with regards to Frankenstein) having come from the pen of the same author of the Underworld series (Kevin Grevioux) and was originally intended to act as a crossover with that series, however it felt less substantial than that series. A bit like Van Helsing on a substantially lower budget.
OK if you like this sort of thing (I do) - 5/10
The Last Days on Mars
Bit disappointing overall. It's a horror film story that has been done so much better (with a feeling of "originality") many times before. Not bad as such but nothing new. Effects were good. Story was average.
Why not? 5/10
Sparks
Watched only 30 mins before I grew tired of it. Difficult to offer a score on that basis. NOT a super hero film. More a story about people who dress up like "supers" which is exactly what Watchmen was, only 10 million times better.
What Dreams May Come
Despite the age of this film, I'd never seen it before and having decided to work my way through Robin Williams' collection of films, when this one cropped up on my supplier's list, I took the plunge... and I now wish I hadn't.
I like films that try to portray heaven and hell but this one didn't really move into the realms of dark comic type portrayal I like (think "Constantine"). It's a love story with the element of fantasy thrown in.
And, as a father, I couldn't understand the motivation for their decision right at the very end. Didn't work for me.
3/10
The Thirteenth Floor
I remember this from years ago but didn't remember the twist until it presented itself. Think of it as a conflation of The Matrix or Tron, and Inception. It predates The Matrix and Inception though, and might have been written on the back of the success of the original Tron.
The story is pretty good although the lead actor is a bit hammy. Ultimately the story wins over the hamminess and dated presentation of future-tech to provide a decent flick.
6/10.
I Origins
Great concept - scientist tried to disprove the creationists theory that the human eye is too complex to have evolved, and on that journey he finds something else.
This is not an especially dynamic film (if you suffer with ADHD) however the concepts are good, the leading ladies are nice to look at, and the film wraps up fairly satisfactorily.
Definitely worth a watch - 7/10
Hercules
Surprisingly good. I think Dwayne has proven himself a worthy "watch" by avoiding unduly cheesy characters or films. Good cast generally too.
OK, it's not high-brow storytelling but there is enough happening to keep you entertained.
Worth a watch - 7/20
I, Frankenstein
Slightly less worthy that those above but not the disaster I was expecting. The special effects looked cheaply done (fire especially) but I'm not one to pick too deeply into SFX as long as they made a reasonable attempt and it didn't detract from the story. The story was new (with regards to Frankenstein) having come from the pen of the same author of the Underworld series (Kevin Grevioux) and was originally intended to act as a crossover with that series, however it felt less substantial than that series. A bit like Van Helsing on a substantially lower budget.
OK if you like this sort of thing (I do) - 5/10
The Last Days on Mars
Bit disappointing overall. It's a horror film story that has been done so much better (with a feeling of "originality") many times before. Not bad as such but nothing new. Effects were good. Story was average.
Why not? 5/10
Sparks
Watched only 30 mins before I grew tired of it. Difficult to offer a score on that basis. NOT a super hero film. More a story about people who dress up like "supers" which is exactly what Watchmen was, only 10 million times better.
What Dreams May Come
Despite the age of this film, I'd never seen it before and having decided to work my way through Robin Williams' collection of films, when this one cropped up on my supplier's list, I took the plunge... and I now wish I hadn't.
I like films that try to portray heaven and hell but this one didn't really move into the realms of dark comic type portrayal I like (think "Constantine"). It's a love story with the element of fantasy thrown in.
And, as a father, I couldn't understand the motivation for their decision right at the very end. Didn't work for me.
3/10
The Thirteenth Floor
I remember this from years ago but didn't remember the twist until it presented itself. Think of it as a conflation of The Matrix or Tron, and Inception. It predates The Matrix and Inception though, and might have been written on the back of the success of the original Tron.
The story is pretty good although the lead actor is a bit hammy. Ultimately the story wins over the hamminess and dated presentation of future-tech to provide a decent flick.
6/10.
Having had many successive hangovers I've caught quite a few films this weekend. I find myself these days enjoying a film when I'm watching/just watched it then by time I come on here to do a little write up pick holes and find it wasn't all that.
The Equalizer
This is essentially just Taken with a slightly different plot and Liam Neeson being replaced by Denzel Washington. Both were pushing 60 when the films were made and both are unstoppable bad asses taking down 10's of stereotypes single handily.
It's a decent brains out popcorn movie that Denzel carries. 7
It had a few gaffs in it, the bit with the bent cop in the car with the exhaust fume piped into the car, the keys were in the ignition, he had one hand free, he could have either opened the door, put the window down himself, or just reversed the car out of the garage himself! Also the last bit in the DIY store was just too Home Alone for me.
Gone Girl
I'm a bit confused over this one, at the time despite it being really long it kept me interested throughout. I guessed the twist pretty early on and thought the film could have ended once the truth come out. Thought the lead actors were good, Rosamund Pike's character I got she was just a bunny boiler but it didn't really give her enough back story to understand her motivation fully. All in all I enjoyed it, something different and thought provoking 8
Again I might have spoiled this a bit afterwards overthinking things. There were plot holes but the biggest one for me was all the tech in his sisters shed. All ordered online who signed for it? How'd she get it in there without the sister (who didn't like her) noticing? Who's prints were all over it? How did Afleck's character not notice despite admitting he'd often take the girl he was carrying on with for a good shag in there? There were others
71
Solider gets left behind in Belfast after a riot breaks out. I thought it was OK, the first half hour had me interested but then descended into a run of the mill action movie. 6
The Guest
Guy from Downton Abbey (so the wife informs me) plays a drifter solider type that turns up on his dead friends families doorstep, who in no time at all take him in. This film is bonkers but enjoyably so IMO, it felt like and 80's action B movie and descends into something a bit like Universal Solider. 6.8
The Equalizer
This is essentially just Taken with a slightly different plot and Liam Neeson being replaced by Denzel Washington. Both were pushing 60 when the films were made and both are unstoppable bad asses taking down 10's of stereotypes single handily.
It's a decent brains out popcorn movie that Denzel carries. 7
It had a few gaffs in it, the bit with the bent cop in the car with the exhaust fume piped into the car, the keys were in the ignition, he had one hand free, he could have either opened the door, put the window down himself, or just reversed the car out of the garage himself! Also the last bit in the DIY store was just too Home Alone for me.
Gone Girl
I'm a bit confused over this one, at the time despite it being really long it kept me interested throughout. I guessed the twist pretty early on and thought the film could have ended once the truth come out. Thought the lead actors were good, Rosamund Pike's character I got she was just a bunny boiler but it didn't really give her enough back story to understand her motivation fully. All in all I enjoyed it, something different and thought provoking 8
Again I might have spoiled this a bit afterwards overthinking things. There were plot holes but the biggest one for me was all the tech in his sisters shed. All ordered online who signed for it? How'd she get it in there without the sister (who didn't like her) noticing? Who's prints were all over it? How did Afleck's character not notice despite admitting he'd often take the girl he was carrying on with for a good shag in there? There were others
71
Solider gets left behind in Belfast after a riot breaks out. I thought it was OK, the first half hour had me interested but then descended into a run of the mill action movie. 6
The Guest
Guy from Downton Abbey (so the wife informs me) plays a drifter solider type that turns up on his dead friends families doorstep, who in no time at all take him in. This film is bonkers but enjoyably so IMO, it felt like and 80's action B movie and descends into something a bit like Universal Solider. 6.8
a311 said:
71
Solider gets left behind in Belfast after a riot breaks out. I thought it was OK, the first half hour had me interested but then descended into a run of the mill action movie. 6
Watched this last night, poor bloke really had a bad day didn't he Solider gets left behind in Belfast after a riot breaks out. I thought it was OK, the first half hour had me interested but then descended into a run of the mill action movie. 6
This film could have been so much better, but was an OK watch.Sin City 2
Lacks the originality of the first one but I enjoyed it nonetheless. And it was nothing to do with Eva Green being naked throughout most of her scenes. Honest.
The recommendation is simple - if you liked the first one, or will suffer this one because of a chance to perv at Eva Green, then you'll like this one.
6/10
Lacks the originality of the first one but I enjoyed it nonetheless. And it was nothing to do with Eva Green being naked throughout most of her scenes. Honest.
The recommendation is simple - if you liked the first one, or will suffer this one because of a chance to perv at Eva Green, then you'll like this one.
6/10
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