Films I watched this week (Vol 2)
Discussion
fatbutt said:
Rocketman : Finally got round to seeing this and was surprised at how good it is. I thought it'd pale against Bohemian R but really it's a different beast entirely. I preferred Rocketman.
I didn't like it as much as BR but to be fair I think it was the actor more than anything (Eddie the eagle) probably tainted my view.However I did watch Worried about the boy last week and enjoyed it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1597178/
Downton the Movie - Extended TV episode. Ok if you like that sort of thing. 6/10 for me.
Parasite - Not really sure what to make of this. I was gripped all the way through and there were a few unexpected moments, the characters were great the dialogue strong but not sure it was the greatest cinematic experience of my life. Still enjoyed it and it has to be at least an 8.5 but I feel no desire to watch it again.
Parasite - Not really sure what to make of this. I was gripped all the way through and there were a few unexpected moments, the characters were great the dialogue strong but not sure it was the greatest cinematic experience of my life. Still enjoyed it and it has to be at least an 8.5 but I feel no desire to watch it again.
Lordbenny said:
Back to the Future
Probably watched for the third or fourth time since it’s release. This film really defines my life so far..I’m 53. Really stands the test of time.
Does make me feel old when the Doc tells Marty that he’s going off way into the future....30 years...in 1985!!!
Remember how ancient the 50s felt like when it came out? If it was released now they’d be going back to 1990!
9/10
Probably watched for the third or fourth time since it’s release. This film really defines my life so far..I’m 53. Really stands the test of time.
Does make me feel old when the Doc tells Marty that he’s going off way into the future....30 years...in 1985!!!
Remember how ancient the 50s felt like when it came out? If it was released now they’d be going back to 1990!
9/10
Finally saw Parasite last night, really weird but found it really good.
Would it have worked as well in English? I think being in Korean made it a bit more 'odd' so you weren't quite as relaxed watching it as you might be in English which tied in with a theme of the film that the main characters are really nice but also complete dicks.
Would it have worked as well in English? I think being in Korean made it a bit more 'odd' so you weren't quite as relaxed watching it as you might be in English which tied in with a theme of the film that the main characters are really nice but also complete dicks.
Pericoloso said:
Thanks for the replies on the Jeremy Renner /Bourne #4 ,I'll give it a try.
It is pretty good, although prefer Bourne 1 & 2. Whatever you do, do not waste your life by watching the Bourne Legacy or the Treadstone TV series. Blood will seep from your ears, depression will descend and your life will ebb away and during none of that will you feel in any way, in ANY WAY, entertained - not even for a moment.
I know, I suffered for you, so you don’t have to...
Lordbenny said:
Back to the Future
Probably watched for the third or fourth time since it’s release. This film really defines my life so far..I’m 53. Really stands the test of time.
Does make me feel old when the Doc tells Marty that he’s going off way into the future....30 years...in 1985!!!
9/10
Yep, I was only a kid when they came out, but flying cars and hover boards by 2015 seemed plausible, sometimes I look at the news and wonder if Biff managed to steal the sports almanac after-all. Probably watched for the third or fourth time since it’s release. This film really defines my life so far..I’m 53. Really stands the test of time.
Does make me feel old when the Doc tells Marty that he’s going off way into the future....30 years...in 1985!!!
9/10
Watch Jojo Rabbit at the weekend.
Really enjoyed it, it's really not the film the Trailers make it out to be, there are funny and warm parts but they're balanced by haunting moments.
8.5/10
One thing that has stuck with me is the Gestapo 'raid' you known they're going to be horrible
s, but then it's Stephen Merchant and he's being nice, it's light hearted and funny with all the Heils it disarms you, then not long later when Jojo see's his mothers shoes you know they've done that. I was pretty sad that it was the Americans who captured the Gestapo at the end who would have likely kept them as POWs or whatever and not the Russians who would have shot them.
Really enjoyed it, it's really not the film the Trailers make it out to be, there are funny and warm parts but they're balanced by haunting moments.
8.5/10
One thing that has stuck with me is the Gestapo 'raid' you known they're going to be horrible
s, but then it's Stephen Merchant and he's being nice, it's light hearted and funny with all the Heils it disarms you, then not long later when Jojo see's his mothers shoes you know they've done that. I was pretty sad that it was the Americans who captured the Gestapo at the end who would have likely kept them as POWs or whatever and not the Russians who would have shot them. Kill Bill, both parts across Friday and Sunday night (my wife's choice of film for Valentines day 
)
Not watched it in ages but hadn't realised it's 17 years old! It has some flaws but I love the way it jumps around and uses grainy black and white for some bit, and the comic book style works really well. I hadn't twigged Samuel L Jackson is in it before.
)Not watched it in ages but hadn't realised it's 17 years old! It has some flaws but I love the way it jumps around and uses grainy black and white for some bit, and the comic book style works really well. I hadn't twigged Samuel L Jackson is in it before.
Two this (last?) week...
'Eagle Eye' (2008) - Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan, ably supported by Billy Bob Thornton. Not brilliant, but far from a waste of a couple of hours. My wife put it on while I was doing some word puzzles in the newspaper. It was enough to grab my attention right from the start, and keep it to the end, so it must have had something going for it. BBT stole most of the scenes he was in, to be fair, and was probably the best of the on screen talent. He played an FBI type being manipulated, along with the two main stars, by an all-seeing beta-testing AI. This AI (ARIA) was being tested by the US Government, to assess and prioritise intelligence reports and to direct the intelligence services into taking appropriate action. "She" (for this ARIA had a female voice) had assessed a potential strike on a terrorist target, and advised the military to abort their strike. POTUS, by phone, overruled the Secretary Of Defence, and ordered the strike to go ahead. The target wasn't who it was thought to be, the strike killed innocents at a funeral, and the resultant revenge attacks on US citizens upset the AI. "She" then manipulated various people, but mostly the two stars, in a plan to rigorously enforce the US Constitution to the letter.
Cue a seemingly random series of events, with people stealing musical instruments and unarmed civilians holding up security company armoured trucks, along with deliciously ridiculous car chases and shoot-outs. No-one seemed to know where any of this was going, why it was going there, or how it would all join up in the end. But it did get there. Albeit while spiralling down an ever less believable rabbit hole of contrivances and unnecessary jeopardy. Typical action/thriller fodder really. But it was 2 hours of brain-out fun, so I (mostly) forgave it.
6 Hellfire Missiles/10 Reaper drones.
The better (by a Texas country mile) of the two films was 'The Highwaymen' (2019). Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson basically smash it out of the park playing a pair of (former) Texas Rangers brought in to the manhunt for Bonny & Clyde. Based on a true story, it's genius was to treat Bonny Parker and Clyde Barrow as non-speaking bit-part characters, and to concentrate on the story from the side of the lawmen hunting them down. The two lead actors were brilliantly cast and it was played seriously. No bigging up the crooks, no playing it for laughs, and it never felt like liberties were being taken with the truth upon which it was based. Bonny & Clyde had very little screen time until they met their end, in fact. Most of the scenes in which they appeared they were seen only at a distance by witnesses or the two Texas Rangers.
The bulk of the film relied on dialogue between Costner and Harrelson, and it was a stronger film for it's reliance on them. Both actors on great form, and had me fully invested in their characters from start to finish. Some amusing scenes, but not overly comedic, and didn't distract from the serious subject. I particularly liked Kevin Costner's gun shop scene ("I'll take all of 'em") and a scene in which some ne'er-do-wells sympathetic to Bonny & Clyde try to ambush Woody Harrelson's character in the toilet of a bar while he's having a pee.
A great film, I'm fairly sure it was on Netflix, but one I felt entertained and educated at the same time. I'd definitely sit through all 2 hours and 12 minutes of it again quite happily. One of the better new movies I've seen in the last few years.
9 BARs/10 Colt Monitors
'Eagle Eye' (2008) - Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan, ably supported by Billy Bob Thornton. Not brilliant, but far from a waste of a couple of hours. My wife put it on while I was doing some word puzzles in the newspaper. It was enough to grab my attention right from the start, and keep it to the end, so it must have had something going for it. BBT stole most of the scenes he was in, to be fair, and was probably the best of the on screen talent. He played an FBI type being manipulated, along with the two main stars, by an all-seeing beta-testing AI. This AI (ARIA) was being tested by the US Government, to assess and prioritise intelligence reports and to direct the intelligence services into taking appropriate action. "She" (for this ARIA had a female voice) had assessed a potential strike on a terrorist target, and advised the military to abort their strike. POTUS, by phone, overruled the Secretary Of Defence, and ordered the strike to go ahead. The target wasn't who it was thought to be, the strike killed innocents at a funeral, and the resultant revenge attacks on US citizens upset the AI. "She" then manipulated various people, but mostly the two stars, in a plan to rigorously enforce the US Constitution to the letter.
Cue a seemingly random series of events, with people stealing musical instruments and unarmed civilians holding up security company armoured trucks, along with deliciously ridiculous car chases and shoot-outs. No-one seemed to know where any of this was going, why it was going there, or how it would all join up in the end. But it did get there. Albeit while spiralling down an ever less believable rabbit hole of contrivances and unnecessary jeopardy. Typical action/thriller fodder really. But it was 2 hours of brain-out fun, so I (mostly) forgave it.
6 Hellfire Missiles/10 Reaper drones.
The better (by a Texas country mile) of the two films was 'The Highwaymen' (2019). Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson basically smash it out of the park playing a pair of (former) Texas Rangers brought in to the manhunt for Bonny & Clyde. Based on a true story, it's genius was to treat Bonny Parker and Clyde Barrow as non-speaking bit-part characters, and to concentrate on the story from the side of the lawmen hunting them down. The two lead actors were brilliantly cast and it was played seriously. No bigging up the crooks, no playing it for laughs, and it never felt like liberties were being taken with the truth upon which it was based. Bonny & Clyde had very little screen time until they met their end, in fact. Most of the scenes in which they appeared they were seen only at a distance by witnesses or the two Texas Rangers.
The bulk of the film relied on dialogue between Costner and Harrelson, and it was a stronger film for it's reliance on them. Both actors on great form, and had me fully invested in their characters from start to finish. Some amusing scenes, but not overly comedic, and didn't distract from the serious subject. I particularly liked Kevin Costner's gun shop scene ("I'll take all of 'em") and a scene in which some ne'er-do-wells sympathetic to Bonny & Clyde try to ambush Woody Harrelson's character in the toilet of a bar while he's having a pee.
A great film, I'm fairly sure it was on Netflix, but one I felt entertained and educated at the same time. I'd definitely sit through all 2 hours and 12 minutes of it again quite happily. One of the better new movies I've seen in the last few years.
9 BARs/10 Colt Monitors
I've just watched Captain Fantastic, on iPlayer for another 29 days. Not a Marvel movie, or anything close. Didn't expect to watch it all the way through, but found it compelling in a slow, thoughtful kind of way. Might be a Viggo Mortensen thing... he has a brooding presence that adds depth to a role somehow. It's a bit more cheerful than The Road, thankfully, but it made me cry over a character you don't meet. That takes some doing really. 8/10.
Lordbenny said:
Back to the Future
Probably watched for the third or fourth time since it’s release. This film really defines my life so far..I’m 53. Really stands the test of time.
Does make me feel old when the Doc tells Marty that he’s going off way into the future....30 years...in 1985!!!
9/10
I’m 42 (I was 8 when it came out) and it’s one of my all time favourites. Probably watched for the third or fourth time since it’s release. This film really defines my life so far..I’m 53. Really stands the test of time.
Does make me feel old when the Doc tells Marty that he’s going off way into the future....30 years...in 1985!!!
9/10
I’m strangely obsessed with 70’s and 80’s America. You know, the streets and houses etc, like in ET and Mac n Me.
Sort of wish I’d grown up there, although if I had it would just be the norm.
Watched 1917 at the cinema.
Didn’t really feel that into it during it, but by the end you realise how much you’ve got into the characters and things. Tear-jerker.
8/10.
On Netflix I watched the Irishman.
De Niro is just bloody brilliant in everything isn’t he.
Film itself was too long and I was getting a touch lost with the plot regarding JFK and the unions, etc.
Good, but it’s no Goodfellas.
7/10.
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