What film did you watch last night?

[Drago]

In a perfect New York Italian accent. The characterisation was so bad that I just couldn't take the movie seriously. Some of Chuck Norris' slop had better characterisation.

The weapons drills were dreadful.

 

[AndyRM]

Yep, chuck norris type slop with big ticket names. That's the most praise I can give it.

I watched it today, just because I haven't seen it in ages. The score is class, and I can think of 10 rap tunes which directly quote it off the top off my head, so as a pop culture thing (especially with the GTA tribute) it's spot on.

Made me look up De Palma's films, which are more misses than hits for me really.

 

[AndyRM]

Girl, Interrupted - 4/10

Despite a stellar cast, this is pretty run of the mill stuff which is a pale version of the memoir it's based off, and comes across like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for angsty teenage girls.

There are some lovely and genuinely touching moments, but overall it's clichéd schmaltz.

 

[matticus]

Girl, Interrupted - 4/10

Despite a stellar cast, this is pretty run of the mill stuff which is a pale version of the memoir it's based off, and comes across like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for angsty teenage girls.

There are some lovely and genuinely touching moments, but overall it's clichéd schmaltz.

It was a long time ago, but ...

I recall a pretty good film (7/10 maybe?) marked by a riveting performance from Britanny Murphy. Hard to believe she played such a different character - and equally well - in Clueless, and then was really funny in the (kinda mediocre) Just Married.

And then died.

 

[AndyRM]

Requiem for a Dream - 9/10

Watching this first thing in the morning was probably a mistake because it's darker than Hades. Of the four intertwining stories of addiction, abuse and manipulation it's always, always Harry's mum, Sara, that breaks me.

Killer score too, which you'd expect from Clint Mansell.

 

[AndyRM]

Backrooms.
At the flicks.
Wow. One of the best movies all year. Stark, creepy, unsettling. Think the dread of Blair Witch crossed with the starkness and the claustrophobia of The Shining. Absolutely fabulous movie.

This. Absolutely this, having finally seen it myself!

The scene at the kitchen table? Ooft.

The sound design is unreal too.

 

[stephec]

No Retreat, No Surrender

An absolute eighties cheesefest, it's a while since I last watched it but it's exactly the pound shop Karate Kid that I remember.

A bloke runs a dojo and is being hassled by the mob who want to takeover, obviously he refuses so in steps Jean Claude van Damme as Ivan the Russian to make him change his mind. Badly injured he moves away and renounces violence, much to the disgust of his son.

In their new town, Seattle, the son has a few fights, there's even a rival dojo and fights over a girl. Then one day the son visits the grave of Bruce Lee and begs him for help, and the next day the ghost of Bruce appears to train him. 😂

A few months later the mob turn up again wanting to takeover the local dojo, and obviously the grande finale is the son defeating Jean Claude where all the other senseis failed, thus reuniting son and father again.

A magnificent mountain of Mozzarella, apparently there's two sequels but I can't bring myself to watch them as there's no way they can measure up to the crappiness of the original.

 

[ianrauk]

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, in full iMax.
To say this movie is an epic is the understatement of the year.
Everything about it was absolutely brilliant. The storyline, the set piece action sequences, the actors and acting. The cinematography was stunning with a soundtrack that tears right through your chest and bones. Mind-blowing.
It was long, three hours but no mid movie dip. It simply roared along at a hand gripping, edge of your seat pace.
This movie deserves all the accolades it's currently getting and more
If you're going to see one movie this year then this is the one.
And it must be at iMax.

 

[Punkawallah]

One Man War, Statham. A fair balance between ‘crash, bang, wallop’ and mundane life.

 

[AndyRM]

Subservience - 5/10

Cautionary tale of the dangers of allowing AI/robots to take over mundane tasks. Not bad, but nothing new and entirely predictable, also done far better by the likes of Companion, Megan and iRobot (amongst others).

Megan Fox is perfectly cast as the gynoid antagonist which can only crack a smile, very much art imitating life.

 

[AndyRM]

Dumplin' - 8/10

Feel good alternative take on the weirdness of beauty pageants, in a similar vein to Little Miss Sunshine and Miss Congeniality.

If it wasn't as well performed, especially by Daniella MacDonald (who I first saw in the excellent series The Tourist) it would be cheesy nonsense, but it's got a lot of heart and a killer soundtrack by Dolly Parton who wrote six songs specifically for the film.

Notably Jennifer Aniston almost manages to not sound/act like Rachel, but doesn't quite pull it off. One day Jennifer, maybe one day.

 

[Pblakeney]

Over Your Dead Body and The Housemaid, both on Prime.
They both meet their expectations but not much more. Worth a watch if you're in the mood with nothing better but also instantly forgettable.

 

[Drago]

Super Troopers 1 and 2 in readiness for the release of 3.

9.999999999/10.

 

[wakemalcolm]

Now you see me: now you don't: 2/10.

I could excuse this kind of Scooby Doo plotted novelty nonsense for 1 film, but 3? Gets an additional mark for Isla Fisher.

Paging Woody Harrelson: think legacy not cash, Woody.

 

[Punkawallah]

Wild Target, 2010, Bill Nighy. British dark comedy, delightful.