Nowhere near a 'latest film' .. I recorded 'On the Road' ages ago and have been watching it in dribs and drabs over the past few days .. incident wise, nothing like the famous book .. but a very good, well acted and colourful movie displaying the excesses, ambitions, the loneliness, hedonism and desire for innovation and excitement in America during the immediate post WW2 years. Also, the emptiness and sheer size of the prairies, mountains and forest which constitute the 'fly over States'
Southpaw - good, but not as good as the Fighter I thought, let down by 50 Cent.
Trainwreck- really liked this, thought it was really funny and not too American. Le Bron was actually ok.
Straight outta Compton - really good, the music sounds incredible - definitely one to see at the cinema.
How did 50 Cent let down Southpaw?
Straight Outta Compton was really well done and fairly well balanced for a biopic covering 10 years.
50 Cent let Southpaw down by being a terrible actor. I couldn't stop comparing it to the Fighter in my head, so much so that I watched that at the weekend and it's definitely the superior film.
Saw Minions at the weekend with my 9 yo. A few giggles, she loved it but definitely was a film for the kids.
During the trailers, we saw an promo for 'the secret life of pets' or something like that it was called. That looks a whole lot of fun so am looking forward to that!
Inside out is definitely going to be one of those films you either love or hate.
Inside Out is a bona fide Pixar classic. Paulie is the only person whom I've come across who genuinely didn't like it. I must admit, I didn't hear a huge amount of laughter from the kids, and the themes are more interesting to parents, but it was ever thus with Pixar - The basic plot is enough to engage them, everything else is added depth that you'll only get at a certain age.
No children could have fully understood the pathos of Up's opening act, or the coming-of-age arc of Toy Story 3. But they understood the need to save a rare giant bird or to escape the evil daycare centre. And with Inside Out, the basics are pretty easy to follow. And it's a very, very good thing that there wasn't a battle scene. There's enough Marvel bullshit to go around without Pixar getting that lazy.
It would be a real shame for someone on here to miss out on Inside Out, almost as much as it would be tragic for anyone to spend money on Terminator: Genisys!
Finally caught a showing of Inside Out last week. Bloody genius. One of the best films I've seen in ages. Definitely up there with Toy Story 3 and Up! in my opinion.
Sicario is an intense journey into the heart of the war on drugs between the US and Mexico. I knew very little about the plot before I went in which worked in the movie's favour, although I was happy for it to be an hour longer - the story certainly could have supported it.
It's directed by Denis Villeneuve, who is on a bit of a streak after the success of Prisoners and Enemy, although it's nowhere near as enigmatic as the latter. He uses his more elusive techniques to ramp up the tension here to an almost unbearable level.
The most notable thing is the horror element - I don't mean the shock and gore (there's only a little of each) but the unseen foe. Big, sweeping shots of the Mexican landscape accompanied by a groaning soundtrack that gives you the impression of a monstrous cartel lurking in its midsts. But you rarely see it. And you really only see the consequences of the bad guys' actions. The desert is like looking at the sea in Jaws, knowing there's something extremely deadly underneath. And the craziest thing is, it blurs the lines of good and evil.
Performances are first rate. Brolin exudes confidence and Del Toro is his standard mystifying self. The only thing I didn't buy was a lead character's naivety (it's easy to figure out - and buy into - what's happening before she does on multiple occasions) but that's essential to the story I guess. It's told from her perspective so if she doesn't know something, we're not supposed to (but probably will figure it out first).
And the set-pieces (border crossing, tunnel entry etc) are brilliant. I'll say no more on that though.
I found myself noticing some of Villeneuve and DoP Roger Deakins' camera tricks too, which I don't usually do on a first viewing. They shoot a lot of characters from angles that make it hard to identify them, which is the point - some of these guys are undercover, silent and specific. Who they are doesn't matter, what they're doing does. There's loads of profile shot and backs of peoples' heads, which is a bit unerring at times.
There's also the odd moment of "why did we get a close up of that" which, either immediately after or a little bit later turns into "oh shit, I get it. That was so simple but so clever."
It could be a franchise (although it's not designed as such) or even a ten-part series, there's so much more to dig into. I can't wait to see it again. - 5/5
This is the true story of two different expeditions in 1996 who attempt to scale Everest but encounter massive storms on the descent down the mountain. Everest is a stunning looking film that you come away from , feeling totally exhausted. Because it is so realistic you do feel you are with the climbers at times. Sure , it's a stock disaster movie but because of the nature of the true story behind it , you feel more connected. The special affects are amazing and the performances from Jason Clarke and Keira Knightley are great too. I watched this in 3D but ended up taking the glasses off because it was so annoyingly dark so i recommend watching it in 2D instead. It's a staggering statistic that 1 in 4 people who attempt to get get to the summit of Everest , dies. Why do people do it? that question is asked in this film but apart from the usual answer of " Because it's there" it is never really answered . Perhaps there isn't one?
This is the true story of two different expeditions in 1996 who attempt to scale Everest but encounter massive storms on the descent down the mountain. Everest is a stunning looking film that you come away from , feeling totally exhausted. Because it is so realistic you do feel you are with the climbers at times. Sure , it's a stock disaster movie but because of the nature of the true story behind it , you feel more connected. The special affects are amazing and the performances from Jason Clarke and Keira Knightley are great too. I watched this in 3D but ended up taking the glasses off because it was so annoyingly dark so i recommend watching it in 2D instead. It's a staggering statistic that 1 in 4 people who attempt to get get to the summit of Everest , dies. Why do people do it? that question is asked in this film but apart from the usual answer of " Because it's there" it is never really answered . Perhaps there isn't one?
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Oh my Christ that was awful. I mean, really bad. What the hell happened? The script was straight out of a terrible TV show from the 1980s.
4/10.
Run All Night Wow what a surprise. I'm not a fan of the current swathe of revenge genre films but this is great.
Run All Night Wow what a surprise. I'm not a fan of the current swathe of revenge genre films but this is great.
9/10
Agreed. I watched it a few months ago and totally enjoyed it! Very entertaining. I didn't have high expectations as it got a poor rating on IMDB. I thought it would be another typical Liam Neeson action flick but it turned out so much better than the likes of Taken and Non-Stop. Joel Kinnaman was really good in it although I'd never seen him in anything else before. Very under-rated film.
There is no denying that the physical transformation Jake Gyllenhaal went through to play boxer Billy Hope was amazing. He is almost unrecognisable as the same man who played Louis Bloom in Nightcrawler . Sadly this film cannot hold a candle to that one . Having grown up watching and enjoying the Rocky films you would have thought i would have embraced this film but i didn't and that's simply because the boxing scenes were so terrible. With Rocky you expect the exaggerated punches and cartoon like action but with this i wanted more realistic sporting action. Sadly it almost bordered on comedic. The best bits of this film were definitely all outside the ring and even those were packed full of head shaking cliches. The rap based soundtrack irritated me too . This is film that promised so much but failed to pack any significant punches.
There is no denying that the physical transformation Jake Gyllenhaal went through to play boxer Billy Hope was amazing. He is almost unrecognisable as the same man who played Louis Bloom in Nightcrawler . Sadly this film cannot hold a candle to that one . Having grown up watching and enjoying the Rocky films you would have thought i would have embraced this film but i didn't and that's simply because the boxing scenes were so terrible. With Rocky you expect the exaggerated punches and cartoon like action but with this i wanted more realistic sporting action. Sadly it almost bordered on comedic. The best bits of this film were definitely all outside the ring and even those were packed full of head shaking cliches. The rap based soundtrack irritated me too . This is film that promised so much but failed to pack any significant punches.
Rom-coms are way down on my list of genres of films to watch usually .They are usually reserved for the wife to watch but strangely enough on the odd occasion i watch one i more often than not end up liking them and Man Up is no exception. This is the story of a woman who is mistaken for a blind date partner due to a mix up at a railway station and ends up going along with it. After watching this i had to go and check if this was a Richard Curtis film. It isn't but it might as well have been. It's a very British comedy full of wacky , likable , middle class characters and Simon Pegg could quite have easily been Hugh Grant. Pegg is good but the stand out star is Lake Bell who plays his date. She is very funny and carries this film to a large extent. There are some very funny moments and the usual schmaltz as you would would expect but overall i really enjoyed it.
Went to see Everest, just beautiful on the big screen (certainly the place to see it) if ever I have a mid life crisis I won't be taking up mountain climbing.
Preferred it to Gravity and Interstellar , if I was being hypercritical I'd say it was a tad self indulgent, but I'm a Matt Damon fan, and I do like stuff that has a bit of empathy for a character, with a not taking yourself too seriously.A lot better than the trailer, and better than I thought it was going to be, I want to grow some potatoes next year!
Rom-coms are way down on my list of genres of films to watch usually .They are usually reserved for the wife to watch but strangely enough on the odd occasion i watch one i more often than not end up liking them and Man Up is no exception. This is the story of a woman who is mistaken for a blind date partner due to a mix up at a railway station and ends up going along with it. After watching this i had to go and check if this was a Richard Curtis film. It isn't but it might as well have been. It's a very British comedy full of wacky , likable , middle class characters and Simon Pegg could quite have easily been Hugh Grant. Pegg is good but the stand out star is Lake Bell who pays his date. She is very funny and carries this film to a large extent. There are some very funny moments and the usual schmaltz as you would would expect but overall i really enjoyed it.
Like you, I seldom watch rom-coms but totally enjoyed this film. I wouldn't have heard of it though if it wasn't for Elbow's song which was released earlier this year and appears in the end credits. There're a lot of laughing-out-loud moments for me and Lake Bell indeed did a fantastic job. (And I had no idea she's actually an American actress.) I gave it an 8/10 on IMDB.
First i have to confess that before watching this i didn't have a clue who NWA was. The Hip Hip / Rap scene passed me by or more accurately i avoided it because i really can't stand rap. F. Gary Gray lazily presumes the audience is already familiar with these people and that annoyed me. I did not have a clue who the members of NWA were and i think that put me at a massive disadvantage when watching this film. The characters aren't the most likable of people. They seemed to spend the majority of the film scowling and arguing about money rather than making music and it this grated on me ( but not as much as the music) . Only in the last half an hour of the film do we actually see any form of compassion or humanity from the band members . It wasn't until the film showed a few real film footage clips near the end did i realise how well they did with the casting as the actors as they really do look like the real artists. Sadly that wasn't enough for me to like this film but i'm sure fans of NWA would totally disagree.
This is the story of Greg who spends his spare time avoiding trouble at school and making film parodies with his unlikely friend Earl. One day his mother asks him to visit Rachel , a girl who he has hardly anything to do with but has just been diagnosed with Leukemia. Now the premise of this film may sound a little depressing but it totally isn't . It's also not a romantic story in any way. This is a funny , extremely well written comedy that just makes you smile. Thomas Mann is excellent as Gregg as is RJ Cyler as Earl and these two make the film what it is. Their movie parodies titles are very funny i only wish we got to watch some of them ! . If i had to be slightly critical it would be that the last half an hour of the film doesn't live up to the rest of it but all in all i found myself smiling through out most of this.
Man with a movie camera is a 1929 silent documentary film, with no story and no actors re-released this year for the BFI film festival. This is one of the most hypnotic films i have seen i a long time even though this is just basically a man , with a camera shooting everyday things in 1928 Russia. He's obvious raw talent for film making makes this an absolutely fascinating watch. The people he films are normal Russians going about their everyday life yet i could watch them for hours. I couldn't help looking at the young people wondering what would have happened to them 10 + years later in the war against Germany. He also tries to experiment with the camera quite a lot and the outcome is quite crude yet i imagine ground breaking for the time. The soundtrack can be a little annoying at times but i recommend this highly to lovers of the history of film .
This is the story of Greg who spends his spare time avoiding trouble at school and making film parodies with his unlikely friend Earl. One day his mother asks him to visit Rachel , a girl who he has hardly anything to do with but has just been diagnosed with Leukemia. Now the premise of this film may sound a little depressing but it totally isn't . It's also not a romantic story in any way. This is a funny , extremely well written comedy that just makes you smile. Thomas Mann is excellent as Gregg as is RJ Cyler as Earl and these two make the film what it is. Their movie parodies titles are very funny i only wish we got to watch some of them ! . If i had to be slightly critical it would be that the last half an hour of the film doesn't live up to the rest of it but all in all i found myself smiling through out most of this.
Comments
Also, the emptiness and sheer size of the prairies, mountains and forest which constitute the 'fly over States'
It's directed by Denis Villeneuve, who is on a bit of a streak after the success of Prisoners and Enemy, although it's nowhere near as enigmatic as the latter. He uses his more elusive techniques to ramp up the tension here to an almost unbearable level.
The most notable thing is the horror element - I don't mean the shock and gore (there's only a little of each) but the unseen foe. Big, sweeping shots of the Mexican landscape accompanied by a groaning soundtrack that gives you the impression of a monstrous cartel lurking in its midsts. But you rarely see it. And you really only see the consequences of the bad guys' actions. The desert is like looking at the sea in Jaws, knowing there's something extremely deadly underneath. And the craziest thing is, it blurs the lines of good and evil.
Performances are first rate. Brolin exudes confidence and Del Toro is his standard mystifying self. The only thing I didn't buy was a lead character's naivety (it's easy to figure out - and buy into - what's happening before she does on multiple occasions) but that's essential to the story I guess. It's told from her perspective so if she doesn't know something, we're not supposed to (but probably will figure it out first).
And the set-pieces (border crossing, tunnel entry etc) are brilliant. I'll say no more on that though.
I found myself noticing some of Villeneuve and DoP Roger Deakins' camera tricks too, which I don't usually do on a first viewing. They shoot a lot of characters from angles that make it hard to identify them, which is the point - some of these guys are undercover, silent and specific. Who they are doesn't matter, what they're doing does. There's loads of profile shot and backs of peoples' heads, which is a bit unerring at times.
There's also the odd moment of "why did we get a close up of that" which, either immediately after or a little bit later turns into "oh shit, I get it. That was so simple but so clever."
It could be a franchise (although it's not designed as such) or even a ten-part series, there's so much more to dig into. I can't wait to see it again. - 5/5
This is the true story of two different expeditions in 1996 who attempt to scale Everest but encounter massive storms on the descent down the mountain.
Everest is a stunning looking film that you come away from , feeling totally exhausted. Because it is so realistic you do feel you are with the climbers at times. Sure , it's a stock disaster movie but because of the nature of the true story behind it , you feel more connected.
The special affects are amazing and the performances from Jason Clarke and Keira Knightley are great too.
I watched this in 3D but ended up taking the glasses off because it was so annoyingly dark so i recommend watching it in 2D instead.
It's a staggering statistic that 1 in 4 people who attempt to get get to the summit of Everest , dies. Why do people do it? that question is asked in this film but apart from the usual answer of " Because it's there" it is never really answered . Perhaps there isn't one?
8 out of 10
Don't see many films these days but this is one I had earmarked.
And it fits my East Stander profile.....Will take my thermos & tartan blanket to help the ambience.
8/10
6/10
Oh my Christ that was awful. I mean, really bad. What the hell happened? The script was straight out of a terrible TV show from the 1980s.
4/10.
Run All Night
Wow what a surprise. I'm not a fan of the current swathe of revenge genre films but this is great.
9/10
There is no denying that the physical transformation Jake Gyllenhaal went through to play boxer Billy Hope was amazing. He is almost unrecognisable as the same man who played Louis Bloom in Nightcrawler . Sadly this film cannot hold a candle to that one .
Having grown up watching and enjoying the Rocky films you would have thought i would have embraced this film but i didn't and that's simply because the boxing scenes were so terrible. With Rocky you expect the exaggerated punches and cartoon like action but with this i wanted more realistic sporting action. Sadly it almost bordered on comedic.
The best bits of this film were definitely all outside the ring and even those were packed full of head shaking cliches.
The rap based soundtrack irritated me too .
This is film that promised so much but failed to pack any significant punches.
5 out of 10
Man Up
Rom-coms are way down on my list of genres of films to watch usually .They are usually reserved for the wife to watch but strangely enough on the odd occasion i watch one i more often than not end up liking them and Man Up is no exception.
This is the story of a woman who is mistaken for a blind date partner due to a mix up at a railway station and ends up going along with it.
After watching this i had to go and check if this was a Richard Curtis film. It isn't but it might as well have been.
It's a very British comedy full of wacky , likable , middle class characters and Simon Pegg could quite have easily been Hugh Grant. Pegg is good but the stand out star is Lake Bell who plays his date. She is very funny and carries this film to a large extent.
There are some very funny moments and the usual schmaltz as you would would expect but overall i really enjoyed it.
7 out of 10
8 out of 10, I'd watch it again.
Preferred it to Gravity and Interstellar , if I was being hypercritical I'd say it was a tad self indulgent, but I'm a Matt Damon fan, and I do like stuff that has a bit of empathy for a character, with a not taking yourself too seriously.A lot better than the trailer, and better than I thought it was going to be, I want to grow some potatoes next year!
Straight Outta Compton
First i have to confess that before watching this i didn't have a clue who NWA was. The Hip Hip / Rap scene passed me by or more accurately i avoided it because i really can't stand rap. F. Gary Gray lazily presumes the audience is already familiar with these people and that annoyed me. I did not have a clue who the members of NWA were and i think that put me at a massive disadvantage when watching this film.
The characters aren't the most likable of people. They seemed to spend the majority of the film scowling and arguing about money rather than making music and it this grated on me ( but not as much as the music) . Only in the last half an hour of the film do we actually see any form of compassion or humanity from the band members . It wasn't until the film showed a few real film footage clips near the end did i realise how well they did with the casting as the actors as they really do look like the real artists. Sadly that wasn't enough for me to like this film but i'm sure fans of NWA would totally disagree.
4 out of 10
Makes you wonder who's idea it was to cast the Kemp twins in the earlier film!
Me and Earl and the dying girl
This is the story of Greg who spends his spare time avoiding trouble at school and making film parodies with his unlikely friend Earl. One day his mother asks him to visit Rachel , a girl who he has hardly anything to do with but has just been diagnosed with Leukemia.
Now the premise of this film may sound a little depressing but it totally isn't . It's also not a romantic story in any way. This is a funny , extremely well written comedy that just makes you smile.
Thomas Mann is excellent as Gregg as is RJ Cyler as Earl and these two make the film what it is. Their movie parodies titles are very funny i only wish we got to watch some of them ! .
If i had to be slightly critical it would be that the last half an hour of the film doesn't live up to the rest of it but all in all i found myself smiling through out most of this.
7 out of 10
Great bit of musical film making, part of the Doc'n and Roll Festival. 45 years of waiting for this to come out, brillant stuff........
Man with a movie camera is a 1929 silent documentary film, with no story and no actors re-released this year for the BFI film festival.
This is one of the most hypnotic films i have seen i a long time even though this is just basically a man , with a camera shooting everyday things in 1928 Russia. He's obvious raw talent for film making makes this an absolutely fascinating watch.
The people he films are normal Russians going about their everyday life yet i could watch them for hours.
I couldn't help looking at the young people wondering what would have happened to them 10 + years later in the war against Germany.
He also tries to experiment with the camera quite a lot and the outcome is quite crude yet i imagine ground breaking for the time.
The soundtrack can be a little annoying at times but i recommend this highly to lovers of the history of film .
8 out of 10
A warm , funny and thought provoking film, that covers lots of topics, I enjoyed it.
8 out of 10