Rate the last film you saw partie deux

[Jubbs]

They're all absolutely brilliant. So yeah, definitely give them a watch, my favourites are probably Howl's Moving Castle and My Neighbour Totoro. The scores on them are incredible, Joe Hisaishi is a genius. I'll sometimes listen to a playlist on YouTube purely of Studio Ghibli music.

Grave of the Fireflies is definitely depressing though.

[Comrade 86]

On a different tip, A Man Called Otto is a return to form for Tom Hanks and pretty decent feel-good movie. Some might find it a tad saccharine but I really liked it. Hanks plays a widower who's run out of reasons to live. Mariana Treviño is excellent as the chatty new neighbour . Funny, touching and relevant, it's definitely worth a watch.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3901455/?ref_=tt_ov_st

[DarkFruitsRam7]

6 minutes ago, 86 Hair Islands said:

On a different tip, A Man Called Otto is a return to form for Tom Hanks and pretty decent feel-good movie. Some might find it a tad saccharine but I really liked it. Hanks plays a widower who's run out of reasons to live. Mariana Treviño is excellent as the chatty new neighbour . Funny, touching and relevant, it's definitely worth a watch.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3901455/?ref_=tt_ov_st

I've heard the original Swedish version (A Man Called Ove) blows this one out of the water.

[Bob The Badger]

Much against my better judgment, Mrs Badger got me to watch Bullet Train the other night.

Well, I actually liked it and I laughed several times and smiled a lot.

Brad Pitt actually does humour very well.

An amusing romp.

I expected to be giving it a 5 or 6, but I think it deserves a 7.5/10 and I apologise unreservedly for doubting it.

 

[Crewton]

2 hours ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

I've heard the original Swedish version (A Man Called Ove) blows this one out of the water.

The book is superb, and I don't think the Hanks version quite does it justice, but is enjoyable all the same. I've not seen the original Swedish version, but I imagine if Hollywood put out their own version so soon after, it must have been pretty good.

[BaaLocks]

See How They Run. Set up as a 1950s Agatha Christie (quite literally) murder mystery it is styled in a self-depracating and original way. It rolls along quite nicely and has a stonking cast (inc. Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan - both of whom are great actors in pretty much anything they touch). But then it's as if they realise they're 85 minutes in and need to wrap everything up, one minute you're in the middle of the plot and the next it's the credits with everything inbetween just lying incomplete. It just ran out of every idea in less time than it takes to say "and I would have got away with it if it hadn't been for you meddling kids".

Giles Barnes / 10 for me (started wonderfully, looked like it was going to grow into something special then fell away to nothing in next to a heartbeat)

[Wolfie]

23 hours ago, BaaLocks said:

See How They Run. Set up as a 1950s Agatha Christie (quite literally) murder mystery it is styled in a self-depracating and original way. It rolls along quite nicely and has a stonking cast (inc. Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan - both of whom are great actors in pretty much anything they touch). But then it's as if they realise they're 85 minutes in and need to wrap everything up, one minute you're in the middle of the plot and the next it's the credits with everything inbetween just lying incomplete. It just ran out of every idea in less time than it takes to say "and I would have got away with it if it hadn't been for you meddling kids".

Giles Barnes / 10 for me (started wonderfully, looked like it was going to grow into something special then fell away to nothing in next to a heartbeat)

I watched this early Jan (and posted at the time) and it's a bit of damning indictment of the film that I read your comments and then couldn't remember enough about it, to be able to say I agree with you or not.

I remember being disappointed with it because it should have been right up my street (comedy + mystery) but for me it all just fell a bit flat.

[sage]

On 01/03/2023 at 16:07, 86 Hair Islands said:

On a different tip, A Man Called Otto is a return to form for Tom Hanks and pretty decent feel-good movie. Some might find it a tad saccharine but I really liked it. Hanks plays a widower who's run out of reasons to live. Mariana Treviño is excellent as the chatty new neighbour . Funny, touching and relevant, it's definitely worth a watch.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3901455/?ref_=tt_ov_st

I just watched it. It's a good film only spoilt by my hay fever making my eyes water at the end. 

[Comrade 86]

The Living - an unheralded, rare gem of a film with Bill Nighy quite excellent in the role of a 'grey man' trying to reconcile his life, whilst coming to terms with his own mortality. The rather adorable Aimee Lou Wood is every bit as good in her role as his mildly reticent companion and confidante. 

A little melancholy by nature, the film asks and answers some important and troubling questions, but does so with an exceptionally light touch. It's a wonderfully crafted piece as well as being moving, thought provoking and ultimately, uplifting. I shall definitely be delving into more of Oliver Hermanus' back catalogue based on this first visit. 

9/10 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9051908/

[DarkFruitsRam7]

On 28/02/2023 at 16:46, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

I've seen there are a lot of animated Japanese (I think) films on Netflix recently. Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, etc. No idea why, but I've always felt like they'll be really depressing and so I've avoided them. Am I being ignorant?

 

On 28/02/2023 at 19:03, AndyinLiverpool said:

I dion't find them at all depressing. They can be dark; very dark in the case of something like Princess Mononoke; but I find them incredibly uplifting. Give one or two a go. You might find you want to watch them all. I did.

 

On 01/03/2023 at 13:39, Animal is a Ram said:

There are some darker themes in some of them, Princess Mononoke (as per @AndyinLiverpool) and Howl's Moving Castle because of their basis around conflict, I found the former especially tough to watch as it's heavy on the mysticism too.

Others are more light-hearted and easy-going, but they all have their heart warming moments.

I'll thoroughly recommend Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro as good entry points. I'd also recommend watching them with subtitles rather than the dubbed versions - with the exception of Kiki's Delivery Service, JiJi (the cat) is better voiced in the English version - it just seems better on the immersion, but it won't ruin it if you choose the English voices, I know subtitles can grate on some people!

 

On 01/03/2023 at 16:01, Jubbs said:

They're all absolutely brilliant. So yeah, definitely give them a watch, my favourites are probably Howl's Moving Castle and My Neighbour Totoro. The scores on them are incredible, Joe Hisaishi is a genius. I'll sometimes listen to a playlist on YouTube purely of Studio Ghibli music.

Grave of the Fireflies is definitely depressing though.

Watched My Neighbor Totoro last night. Enjoyed it, although I don't think I've ever seen a film with such little jeopardy!

I'll definitely watch a few more now. I've had some of the music from Howl's Moving Castle on my study/work playlist for a few years so I'm looking forward to that.

Edited March 5, 2023 by DarkFruitsRam7

[TimRam]

Fall on netflix. Brilliantly shot and gives a feeling of being 'at height' so don't watch if you suffer from vertigo! 9/10.

[Animal is a Ram]

On 05/03/2023 at 11:47, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

Watched My Neighbor Totoro last night. Enjoyed it, although I don't think I've ever seen a film with such little jeopardy!

I'll definitely watch a few more now. I've had some of the music from Howl's Moving Castle on my study/work playlist for a few years so I'm looking forward to that.

I think that's what makes it good, just a film to melt your heart

Howl's is good for a little jeopardy though!

[sage]

Pale Blue Eye

A mystery set in early 19th century USA. Very clever but drags towards the end.

Asanovic / 10 

 

[Comrade 86]

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre - Hard to know what it's meant to be. The reviews say, 'action-comedy', but while it has a bit of the former, the latter is conspicuously absent. The Stath does The Stath, nothing wrong with that, Hugh Grant does a washed out version of Fletcher from The Gentleman, Aubrey Plaza does 'pretty' and can act, while Josh Hartnett does 'pretty', but can't act. 

Coming to the conclusion that bar the odd bump in the curve, it all seems to be slowly drifting downhill since the halcyon days of Snatch and Lock Stock.

4/10

[ramit]

Found a real gem on YouTube, a Yugoslavian comedy from 1980 Ko to tamo peva (Who's Singin' Over There)

Somewhere in the Serbian countryside in the spring of 1941 folks board a bus headed for Belgrade.  What follows is wicked comedy.  i love road trip films and this one is now my favorite.  There are some very strange and rather annoying sounds while the opening credits are rolling, but i soon forgave that oddity.  A 10/10 from me, a masterpiece.

 

 

[Crewton]

From BBC iPlayer "Mr Jones", a drama based on the true story of Gareth Jones, an ex-Foreign Adviser to Lloyd-George who traveled to the Soviet Union in the early 1930s, ostensibly to try to interview Stalin, but who ended up taking an unauthorised and unchaperoned journey to the Black Earth region of Ukraine and witnessed Stalin's famine at first hand. James Norton plays Mr Jones. Some dramatic licence, but a well put together film that sheds light on one of the greatest crimes against humanity of the 20th century. 8/10

[Bob The Badger]

Luther: The Fallen Sun on Netflix

I thought the last season of Luther was abysmal. Even the plot holes had holes, and I only saw it out because of the screen presence of Idris Elba and my loyalty to a previously solid franchise.

I wasn't expecting much from Luther: The Fallen Sun and I didn't get much.

Actually, that's not true, I got a lot, but not much of it made any sense and it felt like a movie that couldn't figure out its own identity and what genre it belonged in.

The main baddie in this one was sooooo close to a Bond villain including castles, cross-continent shenanigans, and murders so creative that Salvador Dali would have felt humbled, that it felt like it was he and not Elba was auditioning for the next Bond.

If the writer wasn't on acid most of the time he was thinking up different ways for the victims to die,  he probably needs to be kept an eye on.

Elba was his usual brilliant, charismatic self and arch-villain Andy Serkis was great too (the rest of the acting not so much) but as per the final TV season, there were too many gaping plot flaws.

I didn't hate it, but I think I probably would have done if it hadn't been for Idris Elba carrying it.

6/10

[Chester40]

Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Had no clue what it was about, it just popped up on Paramount. Subsequently has done great things at the Oscars.

Absolutely breath-takingly impressive, genre-hopping, brain-melter of a film.

Hard to compare it but it had a definite Matrix vibe to it and lots of nods to other films, I suppose it was a sci-fi film but not sure!? Had lots of comedy, a whole raft of  full on action scenes and a tender, downbeat, family story at its core.

Can only recall watching Natural Born Killers and being so blown away by the outrageous scope of what was attempted. 

Brilliant film.

 

[BaaLocks]

42 minutes ago, Chester40 said:

Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Had no clue what it was about, it just popped up on Paramount. Subsequently has done great things at the Oscars.

Absolutely breath-takingly impressive, genre-hopping, brain-melter of a film.

Hard to compare it but it had a definite Matrix vibe to it and lots of nods to other films, I suppose it was a sci-fi film but not sure!? Had lots of comedy, a whole raft of  full on action scenes and a tender, downbeat, family story at its core.

Can only recall watching Natural Born Killers and being so blown away by the outrageous scope of what was attempted. 

Brilliant film.

 

I'm definitely missing something with this, the last scene with her daughter is being described as one of those "you can't watch it without crying" moments. I could. It felt like a poor man's Scott Pilgrim to me, without the wit and interplay. Glad you enjoyed it but, for me, I'm feeling a bit jealous that I didn't see all the things that have won it so many plaudits.

[AndyinLiverpool]

50 minutes ago, BaaLocks said:

I'm definitely missing something with this, the last scene with her daughter is being described as one of those "you can't watch it without crying" moments. I could. It felt like a poor man's Scott Pilgrim to me, without the wit and interplay. Glad you enjoyed it but, for me, I'm feeling a bit jealous that I didn't see all the things that have won it so many plaudits.

I hated it. Couldn't connect with it at all. Only stayed to the end because I was with her indoors.