Good films I watched this weekend (Vol 2)

[toon10]

The Equalizer. It was OK in a "I've seen it millions of times before" kind of way.

Starred Up. I really enjoyed this. It's a bit grim but a bit more believable than a lot of prison dramas. Some great performances, especially from the lads father.

[Mafffew]

popeyewhite said:

Jurassic World. Completely enthralling escapism, though not as good as the first. Although in keeping with value measures on here for only average movies I'll give it 9/10.

For true scale though I'd give Jurassic Park 12/10.

Watched the original last night, 12/10 is about right I'd say It still looks pretty damn good despite being 20 years old now. I'm going to be humming the theme tune to myself all day today.

[toasty]

We had a Richard Linklater weekend.

Boyhood - 2 and a bit hours of skimming through a boy's childhood from 6ish to 18ish. It's fascinating to see all the actors age in super fast time yet make a decent story that fits in the given timescale. I liked the way that topics were merely hinted at without going into detail and slowing down the story. 8/10

Before Sunrise - The first of a series of Before films with the sequels 10 and 20 years later. Boy meets girl on train and they spend one night together in Vienna before he has to fly home to America in the morning. Not very PH but good for a night at home with the OH. 7/10

[Evil Jack]

"While We're Young"

Starring Ben Stiller & Naomi Watts

Great film - seemed very influenced by Woody Allen to me. & I like that.

[Veeayt]

Westworld - very good sci-fi. It's like mixing predator, jurassic park and terminator together, but in the 70's. Youl Brinner was menacing. Solid 7/10

[Watchman]

Veeayt said:

Westworld - very good sci-fi. It's like mixing predator, jurassic park and terminator together, but in the 70's. Youl Brinner was menacing. Solid 7/10

Great film. They're making a TV series about it. Should be fun.

[Halb]

Yeah, Westworld is special. Jurassic Park is Crighton reworking his own story, and I think Cameron is on record as basing the Terminator on Yul's android.

[coopedup]

The savages
Philip Hoffman and Laura Linney play a middle aged brother and sister trying to cope with their fathers onset of dementia and troubled childhood memories. Superb acting, very funny and sad, for me a solid 8/10

[K12beano]

Watchman said:

Veeayt said:

Westworld - very good sci-fi. It's like mixing predator, jurassic park and terminator together, but in the 70's. Youl Brinner was menacing. Solid 7/10

Great film. They're making a TV series about it. Should be fun.

Could be good as a TV series. Won't benefit from a simple story remake, but if they did something like a "Fargo" to it, it might be a winner?

[towser]

A few from the last couple of weeks :

It Follows : Being a horror fan I'd been looking forward to this after reading several positive reviews. What unfolded was a rather ponderous story with no real feeling of dread or tension. I kind of liked the premise but it played out like an 90s advert warning kids about the dangers of STD. 4 /10.

Pride : Joyful and improbable ( but based on "real life events" ) tale of gay activists and striking welsh miners. Wasn't laugh out loud funny but had enough gentle humour to keep a smile on my face. Special mention to Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Bill Schnetzer and Paddy Considine for making you really buy into their characters. 8/10

Whiplash : I really liked the way this was filmed and the musical score was superb. The main characters were unlikeable in different ways. It's all about JK Simmons portrayal of the teacher for me though - he just owns the screen when he's on but he's repellent. Miles Teller as the student seeking approval and redemption is a sneering, cold fish who'll do anything to be the best. I'm still wondering whether I loved this or hated it - which I guess is the mark of great story-telling and film-making. The fact that it's still rumbling around in my head is proof that it makes an impact. 7 / 10 for now!!

[JustinP1]

Wild Tales

Just out of DVD/Bluray - Argentinian film nominated for the Oscar for best foreign film.

This film is a 'portmanteau'. For non film geeks, this is a film made up of a number of separate short films, usually linked together.

If you remember Roald Dahl's 'Tales of the Unexpected', this is a similar tone. Six stories of between ten and forty minutes in length, starting out in a very mundane way, each involving a bizarre set of circumstances evolving from human emotions.

Each is very engaging, despite the short length, and all follow themes of anger and revenge, each with a bizarre twist you simply could not guess from the start.

Great stories, often with black comedy. highly recommended if you don't mind subtitles. 8.05/10.

[King Kai]

tobinen said:

Nightcrawler- Dark and grim story of an unemployed bloke who turns to filming car crashes and other crimes for money not long after they happen. Demonstrates the lack of morals both in the buying and selling, but also in the end viewer who is the demand. Jake Gyllenhaal is very good and Rene Russo plays the TV news buyer. Not a feelgood film. 7/10

Actually gave this a try on your recommendation. Was a very intriguing film, the character he played was an interesting anti-heroe. You couldn't help but root for him.

Another great edge to the film was the grim insight into the media industry, which I found to be fairly realistic.

Totally agree with your rating.

[K12beano]

Last weekend managed:

Jurassic World - which is pretty much what you'd expect, plus some heavy product placement to detract but minus (3D version) anything too stupid and gimmicky CGI-wise, but with a corny plot, average acting and a little bit of lavish "wow-factor" and a few non-sequiturs. But, hey! It's a kids film and it doesn't can't outdo that classic original

Maybe 6/10 - not bad

Rush - which is one I hadn't rushed out to see, but turned out to be pretty darn good on several levels. The actors were great - not too OTT, just believable - the story, we probably mostly know. Did we learn much? Maybe a bit. Was it enjoyable? Hell, yes. Would I go over the top about it? No - it didn't overwhelm me, but really - whether you're a regular PHer or a geek - you'll get something out of this.

My verdict 8/10

Anna Karenina - OK are you thinking "chick flick", "historical costume mumbo-jumbo"? Yeah....you're kinda right.

And it's a slow old game, the action scenes could be outdone by a snail on chill-pills, but it has an intensity and a sumptuous, catchy lusciousness in the way an historical saga should! I'm currently reading War and Peace but have never read AK - although it's a predictable romp through Victorian-type values. I felt a sense of Moulin Rouge meets Grand Budapest - some nice comic choreography especially from Matthew MacFadyen actually. Jude Law was a controlled performance, the bird off Pirates ot Carib was the main feature - and I can honestly say there's not one corner of her physically or artistically which "does" anything for me, yet despite this handicap the film for me was an...


8/10 or a tad more, and I'd love someone do some of this to the "Peace" with some real good and serious "War" on Tolstoy's better known....

Honestly, even if you're suspicious about Tolstoy, these are films I urge you to give a go!!

[DuncanM]

K12beano said:

Anna Karenina - OK are you thinking "chick flick", "historical costume mumbo-jumbo"? Yeah....you're kinda right.

And it's a slow old game, the action scenes could be outdone by a snail on chill-pills, but it has an intensity and a sumptuous, catchy lusciousness in the way an historical saga should! I'm currently reading War and Peace but have never read AK - although it's a predictable romp through Victorian-type values. I felt a sense of Moulin Rouge meets Grand Budapest - some nice comic choreography especially from Matthew MacFadyen actually. Jude Law was a controlled performance, the bird off Pirates ot Carib was the main feature - and I can honestly say there's not one corner of her physically or artistically which "does" anything for me, yet despite this handicap the film for me was an...


8/10 or a tad more, and I'd love someone do some of this to the "Peace" with some real good and serious "War" on Tolstoy's better known....

Honestly, even if you're suspicious about Tolstoy, these are films I urge you to give a go!!

I really enjoyed Anna Karenina and have recommended it to others.

Keira Knightley is excellent in it, arguably the best performance I have seen of hers.

[irocfan]

K12beano said:

Jurassic World - which is pretty much what you'd expect, plus some heavy product placement to detract but minus (3D version) anything too stupid and gimmicky CGI-wise, but with a corny plot, average acting and a little bit of lavish "wow-factor" and a few non-sequiturs. But, hey! It's a kids film and it doesn't can't outdo that classic original

Maybe 6/10 - not bad

I'd agree with that, just watched it last night - good fun, light-hearted romp, not bad at all. At times it did feel like an extended Mercedes commercial but that aside, 65%? Saw it in 3d which was great - the only thing I've suddenly realised (being somewhat sloooooow) is that watching in 3d does make it somewhat darker (took the glasses off once or twice just out of curiousity and was struck by how nice and light the picture really was)

[ZesPak]

irocfan said:

I'd agree with that, just watched it last night - good fun, light-hearted romp, not bad at all. At times it did feel like an extended Mercedes commercial but that aside, 65%? Saw it in 3d which was great - the only thing I've suddenly realised (being somewhat sloooooow) is that watching in 3d does make it somewhat darker (took the glasses off once or twice just out of curiousity and was struck by how nice and light the picture really was)

As for the product placement, I do get that it annoys people, but I actually thought it was well done for several reasons.

1. Mercedes doesn't feel out of place and it's possibly one of the few (the only one?) that could have gotten away with it. Having very utilitarian (G wagon, vans,...) vehicles as well as more posh (GLE product placement) vehicles.
2. It gives the producers extra money to work with.
3. It's a frikkin' amusement park, I expect to see vehicles from only one manufacturer, a Samsung/Apple store and a Starbucks, doesn't feel forced at all.

[irocfan]

ZesPak said:

irocfan said:

I'd agree with that, just watched it last night - good fun, light-hearted romp, not bad at all. At times it did feel like an extended Mercedes commercial but that aside, 65%? Saw it in 3d which was great - the only thing I've suddenly realised (being somewhat sloooooow) is that watching in 3d does make it somewhat darker (took the glasses off once or twice just out of curiousity and was struck by how nice and light the picture really was)

As for the product placement, I do get that it annoys people, but I actually thought it was well done for several reasons.

1. Mercedes doesn't feel out of place and it's possibly one of the few (the only one?) that could have gotten away with it. Having very utilitarian (G wagon, vans,...) vehicles as well as more posh (GLE product placement) vehicles.
2. It gives the producers extra money to work with.
3. It's a frikkin' amusement park, I expect to see vehicles from only one manufacturer, a Samsung/Apple store and a Starbucks, doesn't feel forced at all.

Oh I do get the commercial reality - once or twice though it did really jar

[coppice]

JustinP1 said:

Wild Tales

Just out of DVD/Bluray - Argentinian film nominated for the Oscar for best foreign film.

This film is a 'portmanteau'. For non film geeks, this is a film made up of a number of separate short films, usually linked together.

If you remember Roald Dahl's 'Tales of the Unexpected', this is a similar tone. Six stories of between ten and forty minutes in length, starting out in a very mundane way, each involving a bizarre set of circumstances evolving from human emotions.

Each is very engaging, despite the short length, and all follow themes of anger and revenge, each with a bizarre twist you simply could not guess from the start.

Great stories, often with black comedy. highly recommended if you don't mind subtitles. 8.05/10.

Saw this at local Curzon and just loved it ; beautifully shot and laugh out loud funny in Tarantino sort of way . Brilliant film- and if somebody gave the original Jurassic Park 12 /10 then Wild Tales deserves at least 93.7 /10...

[fathomfive]

I watched City of God last night.

How I've missed this in the past 13 years I don't know, but it's a bloody good film and based on a true story.

A solid 9/10.

[Finlandia]

fathomfive said:

I watched City of God last night.

How I've missed this in the past 13 years I don't know, but it's a bloody good film and based on a true story.

A solid 9/10.

Then watch Tropa De Elite 1&2 next, you won't be disappointed.