Good films I watched this weekend (Vol 2)
Discussion
SWoll said:
irocfan said:
bingybongy said:
SWoll said:
JonRB said:
Dredd
After the total pile of pants that was the remake of RoboCop I had zero expectations.
This was visually stunning, claustrophobic and I really enjoyed it.
It's a cracker isn't it? I still hold out hope for a sequel although based on BO numbers it's not looking likely. After the total pile of pants that was the remake of RoboCop I had zero expectations.
This was visually stunning, claustrophobic and I really enjoyed it.
The Raid is much more violent though.
Then watch The Raid 2. It's The Raid on speed and also very good.
The Raid 2 is IMHO the best of the lot though. What a movie.
Hammer girl.
Avengers Age of Ultron
Another brain off, action packed beautifully cgi'd assault on the eyes.
Mis-placed humour, no real sense of threat/dread and just too many characters to allow for decent storylines spoils it somewhat and as others have said, it's abundantly clear the film should've been nearer 3 hours.
Still, the ball hasn't been dropped.....6.9/10
Another brain off, action packed beautifully cgi'd assault on the eyes.
Mis-placed humour, no real sense of threat/dread and just too many characters to allow for decent storylines spoils it somewhat and as others have said, it's abundantly clear the film should've been nearer 3 hours.
Still, the ball hasn't been dropped.....6.9/10
a311 said:
SWoll said:
Kingsman : The Secret Service
Ridiculously OTT violence, preposterous story, absolutely loved it. Already pre-ordered the Blu-ray.
8.5/10
Watched this Friday-summed up perfectly. Very enjoyable!Ridiculously OTT violence, preposterous story, absolutely loved it. Already pre-ordered the Blu-ray.
8.5/10
The head fireworks was embarrassing.
American Gangster
I've found that the 'sweet spot' for rewatching films so I forget enough about them to enjoy them fresh is 7-8 years so I'm going back to 2007/8 for a bit.
Directed by Ridley Scott, Denzel Washington is a gangster, starting up being an assistant to his mentor, a benevolent 'manager' of the Harlem Streets, to getting the idea of importing drugs from the far east, and branding them, and selling better quality, more cheaply. Russell Crowe is a green and honest police detective in a department which is institutionally corrupt.
Set in the late 60's and early 70's it is essentially two separate stories of the two characters, who collide at the end after both have risen from their beginnings and the police detective is now uncovering the institutional corruption and the payments from and thefts from drug dealers by police.
I watched the extended cut at a couple of minutes under three hours, and was not bored for a minute and totally drawn into the film. Frank Lucas, the gangster, is in interesting character, who you find yourself rooting for, as neither a 'goody' or 'baddy' but as a character in their own right. The 70's vibe was spot on, they must have shut down whole streets and filled them with 70's cars, a great effort, rather epic all in all.
Great film: 8.5/10
I've found that the 'sweet spot' for rewatching films so I forget enough about them to enjoy them fresh is 7-8 years so I'm going back to 2007/8 for a bit.
Directed by Ridley Scott, Denzel Washington is a gangster, starting up being an assistant to his mentor, a benevolent 'manager' of the Harlem Streets, to getting the idea of importing drugs from the far east, and branding them, and selling better quality, more cheaply. Russell Crowe is a green and honest police detective in a department which is institutionally corrupt.
Set in the late 60's and early 70's it is essentially two separate stories of the two characters, who collide at the end after both have risen from their beginnings and the police detective is now uncovering the institutional corruption and the payments from and thefts from drug dealers by police.
I watched the extended cut at a couple of minutes under three hours, and was not bored for a minute and totally drawn into the film. Frank Lucas, the gangster, is in interesting character, who you find yourself rooting for, as neither a 'goody' or 'baddy' but as a character in their own right. The 70's vibe was spot on, they must have shut down whole streets and filled them with 70's cars, a great effort, rather epic all in all.
Great film: 8.5/10
Over the last week or so -
Avengers - Age of Ultron Great Marvel action film as usual. Ticked all the boxes for comedy/tragedy/romance/action (obviously). But I felt it needed more screen time as parts felt rushed.
Only criticism other than that is that it needs more Hulk!! And we need a standalone Hulk film again
Surprisingly enjoyed Maleficent over the weekend. swmbo wanted to watch it so I let her put it on while I potched about on the laptop, but found myself paying more attention to the film than my stuff.
Visually its very good. Great twisting on the fairytale. the only bugbear was the South African/Scottish accent on the King.
Angelina Jolie was perfect for the role imho.
And also saw - Fast & Furious 7 I believe we need a mediocre film thread. I wanted to really enjoy this film, but the more I think about it, the more I realise it is just an OK film, given the extra hype over the loss of Paul Walker (tho the end tribute to him was touching). The film as a whole was just meh.
Maybe its because its become just another action film now more than a driving/racing based action film.
The Statham/Tony Jaa/Dwayne Johnson fight scenes were well choreographed and I enjoyed these parts.
But the rest of it was again, just meh.
Avengers - Age of Ultron Great Marvel action film as usual. Ticked all the boxes for comedy/tragedy/romance/action (obviously). But I felt it needed more screen time as parts felt rushed.
Only criticism other than that is that it needs more Hulk!! And we need a standalone Hulk film again
Surprisingly enjoyed Maleficent over the weekend. swmbo wanted to watch it so I let her put it on while I potched about on the laptop, but found myself paying more attention to the film than my stuff.
Visually its very good. Great twisting on the fairytale. the only bugbear was the South African/Scottish accent on the King.
Angelina Jolie was perfect for the role imho.
And also saw - Fast & Furious 7 I believe we need a mediocre film thread. I wanted to really enjoy this film, but the more I think about it, the more I realise it is just an OK film, given the extra hype over the loss of Paul Walker (tho the end tribute to him was touching). The film as a whole was just meh.
Maybe its because its become just another action film now more than a driving/racing based action film.
The Statham/Tony Jaa/Dwayne Johnson fight scenes were well choreographed and I enjoyed these parts.
But the rest of it was again, just meh.
Quickmoose said:
Avengers Age of Ultron
Another brain off, action packed beautifully cgi'd assault on the eyes.
Mis-placed humour, no real sense of threat/dread and just too many characters to allow for decent storylines spoils it somewhat and as others have said, it's abundantly clear the film should've been nearer 3 hours.
Still, the ball hasn't been dropped.....6.9/10
Whedon has been vocal in his disagreements with Marvel. Looks like he won't be making the next one. But the DVD version should be closer to what he wanted.Another brain off, action packed beautifully cgi'd assault on the eyes.
Mis-placed humour, no real sense of threat/dread and just too many characters to allow for decent storylines spoils it somewhat and as others have said, it's abundantly clear the film should've been nearer 3 hours.
Still, the ball hasn't been dropped.....6.9/10
Wall-e - 10/10
This was on the BBC (again) at the weekend, for me, Toy Story aside, the only western animation that is comfortably on a par with the best Studio Ghibli output.
I could watch the first 45 minutes or so on earth over and over again, the spaceship section is growing on me but I just love the near-silent stuff on earth.
This was on the BBC (again) at the weekend, for me, Toy Story aside, the only western animation that is comfortably on a par with the best Studio Ghibli output.
I could watch the first 45 minutes or so on earth over and over again, the spaceship section is growing on me but I just love the near-silent stuff on earth.
ukaskew said:
Wall-e - 10/10
This was on the BBC (again) at the weekend, for me, Toy Story aside, the only western animation that is comfortably on a par with the best Studio Ghibli output.
I could watch the first 45 minutes or so on earth over and over again, the spaceship section is growing on me but I just love the near-silent stuff on earth.
Top film - the level of detail in the animation when you watch it on a big HD telly from a bluray is wonderful.This was on the BBC (again) at the weekend, for me, Toy Story aside, the only western animation that is comfortably on a par with the best Studio Ghibli output.
I could watch the first 45 minutes or so on earth over and over again, the spaceship section is growing on me but I just love the near-silent stuff on earth.
Tiggsy said:
Closest I've come to walking out of a film in years.
The head fireworks was embarrassing.
You do realize it is a comic book adaptation? The head fireworks was embarrassing.
Either way, they used that kind of affect for the same reason QT used black and white for the geisha-house fight scene in the first Kill Bill film. Scenes and scenes of realistic head explosions would have been cut by the censors.
ETA: I did think the same as you when I first watched the film, but when I came across the explanation it seemed to make sense.
Edited by parabolica on Tuesday 5th May 13:41
Tiggsy said:
a311 said:
SWoll said:
Kingsman : The Secret Service
Ridiculously OTT violence, preposterous story, absolutely loved it. Already pre-ordered the Blu-ray.
8.5/10
Watched this Friday-summed up perfectly. Very enjoyable!Ridiculously OTT violence, preposterous story, absolutely loved it. Already pre-ordered the Blu-ray.
8.5/10
The head fireworks was embarrassing.
budfox said:
I've just watched "Brassed Off" again. Quite superb, and a country mile better than the massively overrated "Full Monty".
'Bout time I watched this again. Wonderful film. Anybody who doesn't like bass bands is surely converted after hearing this:https://youtu.be/zo8hIc7DpuE
rasto said:
Halb said:
Grave of the Fireflies.
Jesus. What a powerful film. Great. But I'll not watch it again.
Definitely not a feel good film and it has joined a select few films that I can't watch again but wish I could. Jesus. What a powerful film. Great. But I'll not watch it again.
I loved Spirited Away, Laputa, Howl's Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke though.
JonRB said:
I've had several Anime fans specifically warn me about watching this film from the recent Ghibli season on Film4. I've not dared watch it yet, being a very emotional person (or "wetter than a haddock's wet bits", to quote Blackadder).
Same. It's gut-wrenching and pretty much chewed me up. I watched it with a kind of numb wetness.Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff