Films I watched this week (NO SPOILERS) (Vol 3)
Discussion
Jurassic Park. Last night at the Eden Project on a giant outdoor screen. Superb, with the biomes as a backdrop and the Project itself very Jurassicy it was the perfect set up for such a film, and despite the intermittent rain the 800-odd attendees thoroughly enjoyed it. As to the film itself, it lent itself perfectly to a big screen and big sound and seemed to flash by in an instant.
If you ever get the chance to go to an outdoor screening don’t pass it up, it’s well worth it.
If you ever get the chance to go to an outdoor screening don’t pass it up, it’s well worth it.
Daz68 said:
peterperkins said:
President Merkin said:
The Ministry of ungentlemanly warfare.
Chanced on this last night & gave it a go. Within ten minutes, I was longing for thre sweet embrace of death. In the hands of Guy Ritchie, a daring WW2 operation to disrupt German U boat operations is run over by a bus, dragged 100 yards down the road & finally flung through a plate glass window, Long on action, short on tension, cardboard cut out characters, overlong one handed, no aiming machine gun massacres.
Every last German lifted straight from the pages of every 1950's war comic, managing to be simultaneously arrogant & hapless, lacking only fencing scars & monocles, Churchill seemigly on a crash diet & played as a cringy caricature and somehow having his premiership in the hands of an admiral who may or may not tell on him. Ultimately, Guy Ritchie's laddish vibe overlays the whole thing to its grea detriment. I wasn't a fan. Three ration books out of ten.
I agree, it was rubbish. Quite a good cast horribly wasted in cinematic no man's land. Chanced on this last night & gave it a go. Within ten minutes, I was longing for thre sweet embrace of death. In the hands of Guy Ritchie, a daring WW2 operation to disrupt German U boat operations is run over by a bus, dragged 100 yards down the road & finally flung through a plate glass window, Long on action, short on tension, cardboard cut out characters, overlong one handed, no aiming machine gun massacres.
Every last German lifted straight from the pages of every 1950's war comic, managing to be simultaneously arrogant & hapless, lacking only fencing scars & monocles, Churchill seemigly on a crash diet & played as a cringy caricature and somehow having his premiership in the hands of an admiral who may or may not tell on him. Ultimately, Guy Ritchie's laddish vibe overlays the whole thing to its grea detriment. I wasn't a fan. Three ration books out of ten.
Edited by peterperkins on Tuesday 21st May 10:10
I actually read the WIKI on the real life Operation Postmaster. Probably would have been better to follow that story rather than inventing one "based on"
Its Just Adz said:
Civil War
I really enjoyed it. Different as it's following the journalists, not a sniper or military unit.
I watched Civil War at the weekend. As you say an enjoyable alternative to a war movie. I just thought it was a bit too short - not enough time to flesh out the main characters - no back stories or motives given, just 4 randoms on a road trip. I really enjoyed it. Different as it's following the journalists, not a sniper or military unit.
That said the road trip itself was entertaining enough, great cinematography and some thought provoking scenarios.
towser said:
Its Just Adz said:
Civil War
I really enjoyed it. Different as it's following the journalists, not a sniper or military unit.
I watched Civil War at the weekend. As you say an enjoyable alternative to a war movie. I just thought it was a bit too short - not enough time to flesh out the main characters - no back stories or motives given, just 4 randoms on a road trip. I really enjoyed it. Different as it's following the journalists, not a sniper or military unit.
That said the road trip itself was entertaining enough, great cinematography and some thought provoking scenarios.
Edited by alisdairm on Monday 27th May 16:00
Atlas - Netflix
Set in the future, AI humanoids have become a threat to humans, led by it's chief terrorist Harlen.
Jennifer Lopez is an analyst on a mission to a far off planet to bring him down as he was the helper robot that was created by her mother.
Due to this AI rebellion, JLo has a big mistrust of anything machine based, however to complete her mission on this harsh planet, she has to let go and fully accept her AI controlled robotic mech suit through the process of neural linking.
It's boggo Netflix production with quite a few flaws, however I didn't mind it that much and found it enjoyable at points.
It might have been a bit better if it was someone besides JLo, as this role doesn't suit her.
Slightly above average and a lot better than that Rebel Moon rubbish.
5.5
Set in the future, AI humanoids have become a threat to humans, led by it's chief terrorist Harlen.
Jennifer Lopez is an analyst on a mission to a far off planet to bring him down as he was the helper robot that was created by her mother.
Due to this AI rebellion, JLo has a big mistrust of anything machine based, however to complete her mission on this harsh planet, she has to let go and fully accept her AI controlled robotic mech suit through the process of neural linking.
It's boggo Netflix production with quite a few flaws, however I didn't mind it that much and found it enjoyable at points.
It might have been a bit better if it was someone besides JLo, as this role doesn't suit her.
Slightly above average and a lot better than that Rebel Moon rubbish.
5.5
Radec said:
Atlas - Netflix
Set in the future, AI humanoids have become a threat to humans, led by it's chief terrorist Harlen.
Jennifer Lopez is an analyst on a mission to a far off planet to bring him down as he was the helper robot that was created by her mother.
Due to this AI rebellion, JLo has a big mistrust of anything machine based, however to complete her mission on this harsh planet, she has to let go and fully accept her AI controlled robotic mech suit through the process of neural linking.
It's boggo Netflix production with quite a few flaws, however I didn't mind it that much and found it enjoyable at points.
It might have been a bit better if it was someone besides JLo, as this role doesn't suit her.
Slightly above average and a lot better than that Rebel Moon rubbish.
5.5
It's not as bad as I expected, in no rush to watch it again though. Set in the future, AI humanoids have become a threat to humans, led by it's chief terrorist Harlen.
Jennifer Lopez is an analyst on a mission to a far off planet to bring him down as he was the helper robot that was created by her mother.
Due to this AI rebellion, JLo has a big mistrust of anything machine based, however to complete her mission on this harsh planet, she has to let go and fully accept her AI controlled robotic mech suit through the process of neural linking.
It's boggo Netflix production with quite a few flaws, however I didn't mind it that much and found it enjoyable at points.
It might have been a bit better if it was someone besides JLo, as this role doesn't suit her.
Slightly above average and a lot better than that Rebel Moon rubbish.
5.5
towser said:
I watched Civil War at the weekend. As you say an enjoyable alternative to a war movie. I just thought it was a bit too short - not enough time to flesh out the main characters - no back stories or motives given, just 4 randoms on a road trip.
That said the road trip itself was entertaining enough, great cinematography and some thought provoking scenarios.
I agree some fantastic cinematography, a few scenes really had me silent.That said the road trip itself was entertaining enough, great cinematography and some thought provoking scenarios.
Reunion
Comedy murder mystery.
After being snowed in at a high school reunion at their rich classmates house, a murder takes place in the middle of the night.
It's up to the people that crashed at the house that night to solve the mystery, however they are all suspects.
Decent whodunnit that keeps you guessing, it doesn't really pick up until the murder.
Seeing the lovely Nina Dubrev is always welcome too.
5.5/10
The Last Stop in Yuma County
A petrol station/diner is out of fuel in the middle of the desert.
This forces a bunch of people to stop at the diner until a fuel truck arrives.
All's well until a couple of bank robbers on the run turn up, this then turns into a hostage situation which then snowballs into chaos due to all the different characters that are there with their own agendas, with plenty of twists and turns.
Enjoyable Tarantino/Coen bros influenced film.
6.5/10
Comedy murder mystery.
After being snowed in at a high school reunion at their rich classmates house, a murder takes place in the middle of the night.
It's up to the people that crashed at the house that night to solve the mystery, however they are all suspects.
Decent whodunnit that keeps you guessing, it doesn't really pick up until the murder.
Seeing the lovely Nina Dubrev is always welcome too.
5.5/10
The Last Stop in Yuma County
A petrol station/diner is out of fuel in the middle of the desert.
This forces a bunch of people to stop at the diner until a fuel truck arrives.
All's well until a couple of bank robbers on the run turn up, this then turns into a hostage situation which then snowballs into chaos due to all the different characters that are there with their own agendas, with plenty of twists and turns.
Enjoyable Tarantino/Coen bros influenced film.
6.5/10
BunkMoreland said:
Daz68 said:
peterperkins said:
President Merkin said:
The Ministry of ungentlemanly warfare.
Chanced on this last night & gave it a go. Within ten minutes, I was longing for thre sweet embrace of death. In the hands of Guy Ritchie, a daring WW2 operation to disrupt German U boat operations is run over by a bus, dragged 100 yards down the road & finally flung through a plate glass window, Long on action, short on tension, cardboard cut out characters, overlong one handed, no aiming machine gun massacres.
Every last German lifted straight from the pages of every 1950's war comic, managing to be simultaneously arrogant & hapless, lacking only fencing scars & monocles, Churchill seemigly on a crash diet & played as a cringy caricature and somehow having his premiership in the hands of an admiral who may or may not tell on him. Ultimately, Guy Ritchie's laddish vibe overlays the whole thing to its grea detriment. I wasn't a fan. Three ration books out of ten.
I agree, it was rubbish. Quite a good cast horribly wasted in cinematic no man's land. Chanced on this last night & gave it a go. Within ten minutes, I was longing for thre sweet embrace of death. In the hands of Guy Ritchie, a daring WW2 operation to disrupt German U boat operations is run over by a bus, dragged 100 yards down the road & finally flung through a plate glass window, Long on action, short on tension, cardboard cut out characters, overlong one handed, no aiming machine gun massacres.
Every last German lifted straight from the pages of every 1950's war comic, managing to be simultaneously arrogant & hapless, lacking only fencing scars & monocles, Churchill seemigly on a crash diet & played as a cringy caricature and somehow having his premiership in the hands of an admiral who may or may not tell on him. Ultimately, Guy Ritchie's laddish vibe overlays the whole thing to its grea detriment. I wasn't a fan. Three ration books out of ten.
Edited by peterperkins on Tuesday 21st May 10:10
I actually read the WIKI on the real life Operation Postmaster. Probably would have been better to follow that story rather than inventing one "based on"
Watched it last night and embraced it for what I knew was coming. Over the top Guy Richie style. Really enjoyed it with quite a few laugh out loud moments. Great fun. Bit like an old fashoined war film with ultra violence (and unbelievable kill on sight/never miss / unrealistically silenced machine guns :-) ). Daft and fun.
Edited by Griffith4ever on Tuesday 28th May 09:14
Edited by Griffith4ever on Tuesday 28th May 09:14
C5_Steve said:
rider73 said:
The fly. Original
Love these old movies. Lots of screaming and fainting and posh talking. And the effects....
8 white headed flies out of ten.
One of my favourite horror/sci-fi films. Still terrifying today thanks to the practical effects. Love these old movies. Lots of screaming and fainting and posh talking. And the effects....
8 white headed flies out of ten.
moanthebairns said:
Blackberry - A story about the rise and fall of the blackberry brand. I flung this on with little expectations but I really enjoyed it if I'm honest. Funny, fast paced, plenty of nostalgia and a decent soundtrack. Tetris meets Wolf on Wall Street, 8.5/10
Really enjoyed this too - Glenn Howerton was excellent in his role, and if you've ever seen It's Always Sunny, he's basically just playing a version of Dennis Reynolds in the film 
I took full advantage of a weekend to myself!
Damsel
The Netflix films with Milly Bobby-Brown, came out a while ago and seemed to get a resounding "It's alright" rating. I'd have to agree, it was distinctly "alright". Nothing new unfortunately despite the story seemingly promising something new with it's whole damsel doesn't need rescuing premise. I'm a big Dragon fan and I must say, the Dragon was excellent (an actual Dragon, not a Wyvern which makes a nice change). Shohreh Aghdashloo is brilliant in everything she does and her voice work was a very different touch.
Will I ever watch it again? No. But if you like Dragons, fairy tale type things or MBB give it a go.
6/10
Spaceman
Adam Sandler sci fi drama where he's on a mission to deep space and picks something up, another Netflix film. I'd seen mixed reviews on this, some love it, some thought it was terrible. I'm firmly in the "it's good but I need to see it again" camp.
Sandler is brilliant, the man really can do serious acting and his lonely, tortured performance here is very strong. The visuals are beautiful, with the emptiness of space captured spectacularly. Paul Dano's voice work is also fantastic, I still have it echoing in my head 3 days later.
I think the film is doing a lot all at the same time, with the two storylines of Sandler in space and his wife on Earth running concurrently, but you also have a lot of bigger psychological stuff with Sandler dealing with past traumas as well alongside the some subplots of is he actually alone? Is this all in his head?
It gets very 2001 towards the end, but I found myself emotionally effected by the story and I really want to watch it again to better pick up the various threads throughout.
One of the better more original films I've seen this year and nice to see something that keeps you thinking afterwards.
7/10
Jaws 2
I think I defended this for not being as bad as people say on this thread some time ago, I'd picked up the collectors edition 4k to go with the various copies of Jaws I have (one of my all time faves) but not gotten around to it.
Following the greatest film about sharks ever made (sorry Deep Blue Sea) by one of the greatest directors of all time, this was never going to be well received as it was always living in the originals shadow. To it's credit, much like Aliens to Alien, this is a different film all together. Gone is the suspense, as it should be, and in with the shocks right from the start we go. The film breaks the rules of the original on several occasions and the action is turned up a notch in place of the generational -performances from the cast of the original.
At times, this film looks beautiful. Helped by the 4k restoration, there are certain scenes or shots that really are glorious but the trouble it it's mixed in with so much dull directing. There's still not one shot that can compare to anything in Jaws but there's just a lot of really basic stuff here. The biggest thing that stuck out to me I actually took from The Fablemans. The whole "horizon in the middle, boring. Horizon at the top or bottom, interesting." take slaps you in the face here as almost every shot with the horizon in (being at sea, that's a lot!) has the horizon smack bang in the middle and nothing else going on.
Overall it's silly, it's not the original and you do spend most of the film just wishing the Shark would eat more of the annoying kids but it's worth watching and still a good shark film, if no where near a great film.
7/10
Smokin' Aces
Not seen this film for a while and saw a clip online the other day about how Ryan Renolds should do more serious stuff which reminded me he was in this so gave it a watch. I think this and Lucky Number Slevin are vastly underrated films (came out the same year). Both brilliant original stories and both with absolutely stacked casts, Aces has the feel of some of the new action films Netflix pumps out but with a great script and a stellar cast. You really do forget the breadth of talent in this film if you've not seen it in a while.
Short plot is a group of hitmen/women all get the same contract for Aces, the FBI need to protect him. Worth watching if you haven't seen it if just to remember what an "average" film was like before everyone banged them on a streaming service and actually put in the work.
7/10
The Lord of the Rings:Return of the King
Finally watched the last extended edition of these from the other week, I think I might actually now prefer this to TTT. The only criticism I have of the extended edition is the end does drag out now and affects the pace, even if it does offer a more rounded end to the story.
So many great moments that still hit hard today. One of the best trilogies of all time.
10/10
Deadpool
Having already booked my tickets for DvW I wanted to watch the first two again. It's a crazy world wer'e in right now, looking back I remember all the furore around Deadpool from the Origins film, how disappointed Renolds was and what happened to the internet when the Deadpool fan film "leaked". We really have come a long way from them fighting to get it made to (I sincerely hope) having the biggest film in the MCU since Endgame.
The first one is still a great film, with great humour and a genuinely engaging story. Ed Skrein is always brilliant as a bad guy and the film did a lot with very little both in terms of budget and access to the bigger franchise. I really love how they built on this film after film. Oh, and it has one of the best post-credits scenes of all time (well the bit just after the post-credit scene).
8/10
And finally...
Confess Fletch
Didn't see this when it came out, it's on Amazon so a nice palette cleanser for a Monday night. I don't really know the character or anything previous to do with it so have no base for John Hamms version. He plays a retired investigative reporter who's dragged in to investigate a case of stolen art. It was fine, a few good laughs here and then, some genuine who dunnit plot threads and it was entertaining enough. A lot of the characters are supposed to be Italian and the accents are on the whole, awful but I just found this added to the humour as they ham it up (no pun intended).
Harmless fun.
7/10
Off to see Furiosa later
Damsel
The Netflix films with Milly Bobby-Brown, came out a while ago and seemed to get a resounding "It's alright" rating. I'd have to agree, it was distinctly "alright". Nothing new unfortunately despite the story seemingly promising something new with it's whole damsel doesn't need rescuing premise. I'm a big Dragon fan and I must say, the Dragon was excellent (an actual Dragon, not a Wyvern which makes a nice change). Shohreh Aghdashloo is brilliant in everything she does and her voice work was a very different touch.
Will I ever watch it again? No. But if you like Dragons, fairy tale type things or MBB give it a go.
6/10
Spaceman
Adam Sandler sci fi drama where he's on a mission to deep space and picks something up, another Netflix film. I'd seen mixed reviews on this, some love it, some thought it was terrible. I'm firmly in the "it's good but I need to see it again" camp.
Sandler is brilliant, the man really can do serious acting and his lonely, tortured performance here is very strong. The visuals are beautiful, with the emptiness of space captured spectacularly. Paul Dano's voice work is also fantastic, I still have it echoing in my head 3 days later.
I think the film is doing a lot all at the same time, with the two storylines of Sandler in space and his wife on Earth running concurrently, but you also have a lot of bigger psychological stuff with Sandler dealing with past traumas as well alongside the some subplots of is he actually alone? Is this all in his head?
It gets very 2001 towards the end, but I found myself emotionally effected by the story and I really want to watch it again to better pick up the various threads throughout.
One of the better more original films I've seen this year and nice to see something that keeps you thinking afterwards.
7/10
Jaws 2
I think I defended this for not being as bad as people say on this thread some time ago, I'd picked up the collectors edition 4k to go with the various copies of Jaws I have (one of my all time faves) but not gotten around to it.
Following the greatest film about sharks ever made (sorry Deep Blue Sea) by one of the greatest directors of all time, this was never going to be well received as it was always living in the originals shadow. To it's credit, much like Aliens to Alien, this is a different film all together. Gone is the suspense, as it should be, and in with the shocks right from the start we go. The film breaks the rules of the original on several occasions and the action is turned up a notch in place of the generational -performances from the cast of the original.
At times, this film looks beautiful. Helped by the 4k restoration, there are certain scenes or shots that really are glorious but the trouble it it's mixed in with so much dull directing. There's still not one shot that can compare to anything in Jaws but there's just a lot of really basic stuff here. The biggest thing that stuck out to me I actually took from The Fablemans. The whole "horizon in the middle, boring. Horizon at the top or bottom, interesting." take slaps you in the face here as almost every shot with the horizon in (being at sea, that's a lot!) has the horizon smack bang in the middle and nothing else going on.
Overall it's silly, it's not the original and you do spend most of the film just wishing the Shark would eat more of the annoying kids but it's worth watching and still a good shark film, if no where near a great film.
7/10
Smokin' Aces
Not seen this film for a while and saw a clip online the other day about how Ryan Renolds should do more serious stuff which reminded me he was in this so gave it a watch. I think this and Lucky Number Slevin are vastly underrated films (came out the same year). Both brilliant original stories and both with absolutely stacked casts, Aces has the feel of some of the new action films Netflix pumps out but with a great script and a stellar cast. You really do forget the breadth of talent in this film if you've not seen it in a while.
Short plot is a group of hitmen/women all get the same contract for Aces, the FBI need to protect him. Worth watching if you haven't seen it if just to remember what an "average" film was like before everyone banged them on a streaming service and actually put in the work.
7/10
The Lord of the Rings:Return of the King
Finally watched the last extended edition of these from the other week, I think I might actually now prefer this to TTT. The only criticism I have of the extended edition is the end does drag out now and affects the pace, even if it does offer a more rounded end to the story.
So many great moments that still hit hard today. One of the best trilogies of all time.
10/10
Deadpool
Having already booked my tickets for DvW I wanted to watch the first two again. It's a crazy world wer'e in right now, looking back I remember all the furore around Deadpool from the Origins film, how disappointed Renolds was and what happened to the internet when the Deadpool fan film "leaked". We really have come a long way from them fighting to get it made to (I sincerely hope) having the biggest film in the MCU since Endgame.
The first one is still a great film, with great humour and a genuinely engaging story. Ed Skrein is always brilliant as a bad guy and the film did a lot with very little both in terms of budget and access to the bigger franchise. I really love how they built on this film after film. Oh, and it has one of the best post-credits scenes of all time (well the bit just after the post-credit scene).
8/10
And finally...
Confess Fletch
Didn't see this when it came out, it's on Amazon so a nice palette cleanser for a Monday night. I don't really know the character or anything previous to do with it so have no base for John Hamms version. He plays a retired investigative reporter who's dragged in to investigate a case of stolen art. It was fine, a few good laughs here and then, some genuine who dunnit plot threads and it was entertaining enough. A lot of the characters are supposed to be Italian and the accents are on the whole, awful but I just found this added to the humour as they ham it up (no pun intended).
Harmless fun.
7/10
Off to see Furiosa later
Clockwork Cupcake said:
C5_Steve said:
rider73 said:
The fly. Original
Love these old movies. Lots of screaming and fainting and posh talking. And the effects....
8 white headed flies out of ten.
One of my favourite horror/sci-fi films. Still terrifying today thanks to the practical effects. Love these old movies. Lots of screaming and fainting and posh talking. And the effects....
8 white headed flies out of ten.
I'm not sure I knew there was an earlier one, I'm going to have to track that one down.
Clockwork Cupcake said:
Gosh, C5_Steve, you do watch a lot of films! But thank you for taking the time to write such great reviews. 
Very welcome, tbh this weekend and last week was a one off, the GF went away for the weekend (having been on holiday the week before!) so I've had free reign to watch everything I wanted to fit in but never found the time. I do try and watch a few a week here and there, as new TV series are slowing down I'm having more time in the evening as well.
smithyithy said:
moanthebairns said:
Blackberry - A story about the rise and fall of the blackberry brand. I flung this on with little expectations but I really enjoyed it if I'm honest. Funny, fast paced, plenty of nostalgia and a decent soundtrack. Tetris meets Wolf on Wall Street, 8.5/10
Really enjoyed this too - Glenn Howerton was excellent in his role, and if you've ever seen It's Always Sunny, he's basically just playing a version of Dennis Reynolds in the film Edited by American iv on Tuesday 28th May 11:30
C5_Steve said:
smn159 said:
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Despite the ludicrous premise, a fairly watchable film with some nice nods to the original.
What was the "ludicrous premise"? Do you mean the whole apes take over the world thing or am I missing something Despite the ludicrous premise, a fairly watchable film with some nice nods to the original.
I do enjoy the franchise though and the CGI in the latest one is pretty good.
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