Films I watched this week
Discussion
The Bad Batch, on Netflix.
Some oddball effort about a banished girl, who wanders into the Mexican desert after having a number tattooed in her neck, then she gets tied down and an arm and a leg sawn off, to feed a tribe of cannibal bodybuilders, then she escapes and rolls across the desert on a skateboard, then she meets a black women on a scrap heap and shoots her..... ....and on and on.
I have NO idea what it was really about and turned off before I got to the end. 1/10
Oddly enough, it has some decent actors in, but they couldn't rescue it.
Some oddball effort about a banished girl, who wanders into the Mexican desert after having a number tattooed in her neck, then she gets tied down and an arm and a leg sawn off, to feed a tribe of cannibal bodybuilders, then she escapes and rolls across the desert on a skateboard, then she meets a black women on a scrap heap and shoots her..... ....and on and on.
I have NO idea what it was really about and turned off before I got to the end. 1/10
Oddly enough, it has some decent actors in, but they couldn't rescue it.
Edited by King Herald on Tuesday 3rd October 09:30
I suspect I might be on my own here, but tonight my local Vue screened Lang's Metropolis. It's celebrating its 90th birthday so is having another airing in some places. I'm afraid I don't know it well enough to say whether or not any of the recently rediscovered footage was included but thankfully it had English title cards.
I have seen it before, many years ago but it would have been on a wet Thursday afternoon while skipping school, so memories are sketchy.
Boy oh boy it's heavy going. We all know that some of the pictures are stunning and have influenced many other forms of visual art over the years, but the story drags and is difficult for dunce like me to follow. I know much of the symbolism whooshed straight over my head.
Obviously it's not a talky which means a constant expressive musical score from an era of German nationalism which is very hard to listen to for any length of time.
I'm not convinced I understood it, so might leave it another 90 years before I watch it again. /Luddite/
I have seen it before, many years ago but it would have been on a wet Thursday afternoon while skipping school, so memories are sketchy.
Boy oh boy it's heavy going. We all know that some of the pictures are stunning and have influenced many other forms of visual art over the years, but the story drags and is difficult for dunce like me to follow. I know much of the symbolism whooshed straight over my head.
Obviously it's not a talky which means a constant expressive musical score from an era of German nationalism which is very hard to listen to for any length of time.
I'm not convinced I understood it, so might leave it another 90 years before I watch it again. /Luddite/
Alex said:
Jake "the Muss" is one of the most scary characters in cinema. Given this, what one of his drinking buddies does is *insane*...
I used to work with a Kiwi guy offshore years ago, toldme some scary tales of the gangs down there, Black Power and a few others, full face tattoos, extreme violence, total disregard for the law etc. He reckons the movie is very typical of the way many of them live. There is a third section of the story, by Alan Duff, but it is still only in book form: Jakes Long Shadow.
Part 1 of a short film produced for the City of Culture festival.
Hope you enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTT0s5hBj0k
Hope you enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTT0s5hBj0k
toasty said:
Captain Fantastic - Anti-establishment dad brings up his six kids to live his way in the woods of Pacific Northeast USA. Things get awkward when they have to go back to civilisation for their mum's funeral. One for the hippies, man. 7/10
Enjoyed that.Can you imagine that happening in England!
Cold said:
I suspect I might be on my own here, but tonight my local Vue screened Lang's Metropolis. It's celebrating its 90th birthday so is having another airing in some places. I'm afraid I don't know it well enough to say whether or not any of the recently rediscovered footage was included but thankfully it had English title cards.
I have seen it before, many years ago but it would have been on a wet Thursday afternoon while skipping school, so memories are sketchy.
Boy oh boy it's heavy going. We all know that some of the pictures are stunning and have influenced many other forms of visual art over the years, but the story drags and is difficult for dunce like me to follow. I know much of the symbolism whooshed straight over my head.
Obviously it's not a talky which means a constant expressive musical score from an era of German nationalism which is very hard to listen to for any length of time.
I'm not convinced I understood it, so might leave it another 90 years before I watch it again. /Luddite/
We've got this on a DVD that my dad got free with the Times some years I ago (I think) and we keep saying we're going to watch it, but we never have.I have seen it before, many years ago but it would have been on a wet Thursday afternoon while skipping school, so memories are sketchy.
Boy oh boy it's heavy going. We all know that some of the pictures are stunning and have influenced many other forms of visual art over the years, but the story drags and is difficult for dunce like me to follow. I know much of the symbolism whooshed straight over my head.
Obviously it's not a talky which means a constant expressive musical score from an era of German nationalism which is very hard to listen to for any length of time.
I'm not convinced I understood it, so might leave it another 90 years before I watch it again. /Luddite/
I'll cue it up for a wet Sunday afternoon this winter
M
toasty said:
Captain Fantastic - Anti-establishment dad brings up his six kids to live his way in the woods of Pacific Northeast USA. Things get awkward when they have to go back to civilisation for their mum's funeral. One for the hippies, man. 7/10
Just a quick correction, its the Pacific Northwest. Spent many a day in that part of the world.The Shooter and American Sniper
Similar concepts, totally different execution, if you excuse the pun.
The Mark Wahlberg film is quite enjoyable and your average action film.
The Bradley Cooper film is grittier and gives you a lot more to think about.
Horses for courses, dependent on mood but both good, in their own way.
Similar concepts, totally different execution, if you excuse the pun.
The Mark Wahlberg film is quite enjoyable and your average action film.
The Bradley Cooper film is grittier and gives you a lot more to think about.
Horses for courses, dependent on mood but both good, in their own way.
Wind river
9.78/10
Great film. But damn if you don't like bleak films thus ain't for you.
Did I mention it's bleak because holy st it's bleak. Don't remember ever leaving a film where everybody was silent.
.22 removed for the very slight almost missed it un bleakness at the very end.
9.78/10
Great film. But damn if you don't like bleak films thus ain't for you.
Did I mention it's bleak because holy st it's bleak. Don't remember ever leaving a film where everybody was silent.
.22 removed for the very slight almost missed it un bleakness at the very end.
Edited by Pesty on Wednesday 4th October 21:24
Pesty said:
Wind river
9.78/10
Great film. But damn if you don't like bleak films thus ain't for you.
Did I mention it's bleak because holy st it's bleak. Don't remember ever leaving a film where everybody was silent.
.22 removed for the very slight almost missed it un bleakness at the very end.
The Revenant, which is poetic as Wind River and TR have bleakness in common, and the fact you feel cold just looking at the screen.9.78/10
Great film. But damn if you don't like bleak films thus ain't for you.
Did I mention it's bleak because holy st it's bleak. Don't remember ever leaving a film where everybody was silent.
.22 removed for the very slight almost missed it un bleakness at the very end.
Edited by Pesty on Wednesday 4th October 21:24
Alex said:
King Herald said:
'Once were warriors' and 'What becomes of the broken hearted'.
30 something year old Kiwi movie, and sequel, about gangs and domestic violence. Pretty gritty movie portraying the very bottom end of social life amongst the indigenous in New Zealand.
"An unemployed Maori living in the Auckland slums, Jake Heke (Temuera Morrison) has a terrible temper that he takes out on family and strangers alike. His wife, Beth (Rena Owen), takes regular beatings after he's been at the pub, and his kids do what they can to sidestep trouble".
Jake "the Muss" is one of the most scary characters in cinema. Given this, what one of his drinking buddies does is *insane*...30 something year old Kiwi movie, and sequel, about gangs and domestic violence. Pretty gritty movie portraying the very bottom end of social life amongst the indigenous in New Zealand.
"An unemployed Maori living in the Auckland slums, Jake Heke (Temuera Morrison) has a terrible temper that he takes out on family and strangers alike. His wife, Beth (Rena Owen), takes regular beatings after he's been at the pub, and his kids do what they can to sidestep trouble".
Bullett said:
Dredd was on tonight.
Love it, nice gritty feel, not quite a visually accurate as the Stallone but the vibe was miles better.
Pity about the awful cgi right at the end when Cersei gets hers, and not sure the chucking her off the roof bit worked but excellent otherwise
8/10
I thought he went out of character by passing Anderson at the end. Shame we never got a sequel to this one.
To be fair about the Anderson thing, in the comic's he always cut's her way more slack than other judges as her 'talents' are worth the annoyance. So I actually thought that passing her was in keeping with the strange 'friendship' they seem to have. She's about the only Judge who can bust his balls when he's being a stick in the mud as he tends to get that she is a really good (and useful) Judge.Love it, nice gritty feel, not quite a visually accurate as the Stallone but the vibe was miles better.
Pity about the awful cgi right at the end when Cersei gets hers, and not sure the chucking her off the roof bit worked but excellent otherwise
8/10
I thought he went out of character by passing Anderson at the end. Shame we never got a sequel to this one.
And the CGI at the end is pretty good I thought. The going through the window bit was actually filmed though, not CGI. they used state of the art 120fps 3D camera's, then just tweaked and added the glittery sparkles to give the effect of 'Slow-Mo' she was experiencing at the time. It was a real stunt woman through real (movie)glass window.
I rate the movie as a solid 9.5/10 based on the subject matter. And it only loses a point for the sparse fly over of Megacity One, as said visually it's Just not as good as the Stallone movie. The perfect 10/10 Dredd film would have been this one with Urban... but with a massively crowded City scape in the external shots. Whilst the Stallone movie had a great outfit of the current comic book look I think Urban's outfit and build are actually closer to the very first Dredd stories I read (back then he was a bit of a bean pole with small shoulder pads). More realistic as a functional 'Judge' of Mega City One.
I'm looking forward to the stars aligning and Urban managing to get the free time to be in the TV show that is currently in development. He wants to do it, they want him to do it, but it's all about schedules.
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