What film are you watching tonight/watched last night???

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Non-anamorphic Region 1/A release that I really need to upgrade (to Blu-ray) because of its relatively piss-poor video quality...

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Mamma Mia! Here we go again (iTunes)

The little part of my brain that all my love for 80's slashers, Italian B-movie gorno schlock and grimy grindhouse shockers has pushed to one side, every now and then, just pokes its head up to breathe. Its the same part of the brain that would, growing up, every so often put down the Sacred Reich, Testament and Helloween LPs and switch on MTV and sit goggle eyed through the frankly amazing 'If I Could Turn Back Time' music video...…..you know, the part of the brain that just wants to camp the living crap out of everything......

…....you know it, we all have it.

And it was this part of the brain that loved the first Mamma Mia! Classic songs belted out by Hollywood superstars, not giving a damn what they looked or sounded like, all just wallowing in that glorious high camp of Abba. It was wonderful. But this follow up is a bit of mixed bag if I'm honest, even if it now comes full circle and brings back those wonderful memories of one of its stars straddling a battleship's gun turrets with her minky almost on show.

Narratively, its brave to take such a melancholy approach which nicely sets it apart from the first. That sense of loss and celebration at the same time is really rather well done across all the high camp that's still certainly on show. And having all the gang back, plus its very worthy additions (although more from Garcia wouldn't have gone amiss), gives it a feel of a worthy follow up.

Where it starts to fall down for me is that the young versions of the cast just aren't that interesting - no offence to them, but there is a hell of a difference between seeing Pierce Brosnan belt out a wobbly tune (its ruddy Bond! Singing! Badly!) and Jeremy Irvine belt one out (no offence but......who?). And couple this with the fact that this has to use some of the lesser known tunes from the songbook means it just doesn't feel as warm, as fun, as recognisable as the first film did.

There are still some glorious moments - Cher is hilariously Cher, seeing Skarsgaard and Firth recreate Jack and Rose on the prow of the Titanic is almost worth the price of admission alone and the grand sequinned finale gives us everything we wanted from 'Hollywood doing Abba' - and for fans of the first film, its worth seeing. But for the narrative and the different approach taken, rather than the glorious song and dance numbers which now feel much smaller in scope and lacking the unbridled joy of the first one's numbers. Possibly because of the overall tone of the film, but possibly because the young cast and the songs just aren't as interesting.

Now, lets see what Spotify have put on this weeks Discover Weekly playlist for me...…...Slayer and Transvision Vamp, huh? Sold!!!!!! :smashin:
 
Escape From LA is one I'd gladly downgrade to vhs, anything better than that is more than it deserves
 
I totally disagree about Escape From LA -- was it a quasi-cult-classic in the same vain as Carpenter's New York? Of course not. But I always thought the way Carpenter paralleled the script, pacing and other elements of New York when he did LA was brilliant and effective; I suppose you just have to be a fan, which, obviously, many on this forum are not. :p

Now, that atrocious CGI work -- if you want to call it that -- is another matter entirely.....:eek:
 
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I have to say Stallone and Bullock really worked together, a favourite of mine.
 
I have to say Stallone and Bullock really worked together, a favourite of mine.

Absolutely agreed, Troll; and how great did she look in that tight police uniform of "the future"? :thumbsup:

I always wanted to replace the original Warner snapper case flipper DVD of this title with the Blu-ray, but never got around to it...to be honest, the widescreen side of the disc upscales really nicely by the players I've had over the years (the Panasonic DMP-BD10A, Oppo BDP-83, now the Cambridge Audio CXUHD) even though almost everyone who comments about the DVD vs. BD quality talks about how the DVD was "completely unwatchable." That HASN'T been my experience, at all; perhaps my gear, particularly now, is just better at presenting DVD content compared to what most folks are using?

At any rate, the Region 1/A Blu-ray is the same stripped-down affair, in terms of extras, as the DVD version, so unless Warner decides to revisit this in UHD BD/4K (not likely any time soon) I will probably continue watching my trusty ole DVD. :smashin:

BTW...just for some shites and giggles, here's some mindless trivia about Demolition Man you may not be aware of:

- The voice of the computer system throughout the film -- "L7" -- is the voice of Adrienne Barbeau, the actress from Swamp Thing, The Fog, Escape From New York, et al.

- The sequence in which Snipes begins repeating the warden's speech in an alternate language -- after his Simon Phoenix character is thawed out in the beginning -- was based on a moment during Snipes' rehearsals when he started speaking his lines in Spanish as a goof...director Brambilla and others thought it was funny, and this morphed into that scene in the film.

- Bullock looked at Stallone as a sort of "big brother" during the filming.

- Millions of dollars worth of General Motors prototype cars for the future were used in the film, and you can see so many examples throughout...cars that eventually became models we saw on the roads after 1993, such as the Pontiac Firebird (the body style GM last put out before the model was cancelled) and a few different Cadillacs.

- The fight sequences for the film were supposed to be a little "cartoonish," according to Brambilla, which is why there is some odd, comical-esque score accompanying them.

- There are a plethora of deleted scenes that diehard fans always wanted to see, but haven't surfaced on any edition of the film on disc; these include a hand-to-hand fight between Stallone's Spartan character and Jesse Ventura's character, the murder of Zachary Lamb, the helicopter pilot from the opening scene who eventually grows old and meets up with Spartan later on, by the hands of Phoenix, and sequences involving Spartan's daughter (she was originally part of the script, which is why she's referred to so much in the film, but it was ultimately decided that she'd be left out).

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
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Army of Darkness (1992)
View attachment 1213132
B-class movie, but what is great is that this movie does not pretend to be something it is not. Intelligent sense of humor, I highly recommend.

What can I said more, sometimes I love watch movies and sometime is time for playing. My favorite games like Path of Exile are great and it's not easy to learn everything about poe and poe currency. I' love the most only a few orbs (orbs are currency in poe) and only most value orbs like Exalts (exalted orbs, main exchange currency) and Chaos orbs (same as Exalted orbs but a little lower) For example you can buy 1 exalted orb for 62 chaos orbs, and you can buy 30 Vaal orbs for something around 60 chaos orbs. After that you can use currency for upgrade your equipment (armor, weapon, everything what you use when you play PoE). If you neex and you want to buy poe currency just enter this shop and buy your safe poe currency -> buy poe currency
Klaatu Barada cough cough :laugh:
 
Absolutely agreed, Troll; and how great did she look in that tight police uniform of "the future"? :thumbsup:

I always wanted to replace the original Warner snapper case flipper DVD of this title with the Blu-ray, but never got around to it...to be honest, the widescreen side of the disc upscales really nicely by the players I've had over the years (the Panasonic DMP-BD10A, Oppo BDP-83, now the Cambridge Audio CXUHD) even though almost everyone who comments about the DVD vs. BD quality talks about how the DVD was "completely unwatchable." That HASN'T been my experience, at all; perhaps my gear, particularly now, is just better at presenting DVD content compared to what most folks are using?

At any rate, the Region 1/A Blu-ray is the same stripped-down affair, in terms of extras, as the DVD version, so unless Warner decides to revisit this in UHD BD/4K (not likely any time soon) I will probably continue watching my trusty ole DVD. :smashin:

BTW...just for some sh*tes and giggles, here's some mindless trivia about Demolition Man you may not be aware of:

- The voice of the computer system throughout the film -- "L7" -- is the voice of Adrienne Barbeau, the actress from Swamp Thing, The Fog, Escape From New York, et al.

- The sequence in which Snipes begins repeating the warden's speech in an alternate language -- after his Simon Phoenix character is thawed out in the beginning -- was based on a moment during Snipes' rehearsals when he started speaking his lines in Spanish as a goof...director Brambilla and others thought it was funny, and this morphed into that scene in the film.

- Bullock looked at Stallone as a sort of "big brother" during the filming.

- Millions of dollars worth of General Motors prototype cars for the future were used in the film, and you can see so many examples throughout...cars that eventually became models we saw on the roads after 1993, such as the Pontiac Firebird (the body style GM last put out before the model was cancelled) and a few different Cadillacs.

- The fight sequences for the film were supposed to be a little "cartoonish," according to Brambilla, which is why there is some odd, comical-esque score accompanying them.

- There are a plethora of deleted scenes that diehard fans always wanted to see, but haven't surfaced on any edition of the film on disc; these include a hand-to-hand fight between Stallone's Spartan character and Jesse Ventura's character, the murder of Zachary Lamb, the helicopter pilot from the opening scene who eventually grows old and meets up with Spartan later on, by the hands of Phoenix, and sequences involving Spartan's daughter (she was originally part of the script, which is why she's referred to so much in the film, but it was ultimately decided that she'd be left out).

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

this is a much better post than just throwing up a few screenshots from a film most will have seen. I like reading this thread because i enjoy reading everyone's opinions on whatever they watched last night good or bad.... a few screens doesnt really bring anything to it for me. :)

I'm sure i read somewhere ages back that the original script had bullock's character as his daughter but was changed part way through to make her the love interest... thats why there is no missing scenes of her.
 
- The voice of the computer system throughout the film -- "L7" -- is the voice of Adrienne Barbeau, the actress from Swamp Thing, The Fog, Escape From New York, et al.

She also plays a computer system in Judge Dredd and, as John Carpenter's first wife, the chess computer in The Thing.
 
Sorry We Missed You (2019) - Ken Loach
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Popped my Loach cherry yesterday with his latest. Its a grim tale of working class hardship, as is his forte, this time shining a light on the gig economy with its exploitative terms and life destroying demands. Mancunian grafter Ricky lives in Newcastle with his nuclear family, trying to revive their finances after the financial crash of 2008. Unfortunately his shiny new delivery 'job' lands him in more debt than when he started despite working to the point of exhaustion. His wife has it equally tough as a zero hours carer spending all day bussing between clients, while their son skips school and adds to their troubles. As time goes on the toll on the family begins to have damaging consequences.

I was gripped pretty much from the off, and never bored. The family depicted here aren't 'dysfunctional' at all, they are loving, close nit and all care deeply for each other; but are beginning to buckle under the weight of outside forces bearing down on them from all sides. Its tragic. No matter how hard they graft or how much they sacrifice, the odds are always stacked against them. There are plenty of tender moments that show how close they really are; the son asking his dad if he wants a cuppa, despite telling each other to eff off earlier in the day and almost coming to blows. A heartbreaking confession from the daughter also nearly broke me. There are happy moments too; several moments of levity, some beautifully improvised family time, and a fist pump moment when wife Abby finally snaps. All these moments are organic and believable, and paint a life like portrait of real people coping with real circumstances. Performances are a bit of a mix, with Kris Hitchen and Katie Proctor standing out as the father and daughter. The other performances occasionally seem a bit unpolished, but in some ways this adds to the documentary feel. Ross Brewster is also highly memorable as the mean bastard in charge of the delivery company. He too is reminiscent of guys we've seen in real life. The bleak conclusion also brings it home that for some families the hardships don't stop after the credits roll. I'm not necessarily left leaning, but there's nothing Loach is trying to say here that I would disagree with. Really really good. 9/10
 
Doctor Sleep - Mike Flanagan - 2019

A laudable attempt at adapting King's novel and combining it with Kubrick's supernatural/psychological horror classic. Commendable but ultimately frustrating due to an unnecessary misstep at the story's climax. The perplexing thing is that Flanagan was on the right track by only
incorporating the Overlook into scenes through either flashback (fine in small doses) and by jarringly placing it (Ulman's office) in locations it doesn't belong, i.e. the AA guy's office was a replica of Ulman's office at the Overlook which is creepy and unnerving as it shouldn't be there. Placing the hotel in mindbending locations was a perfect way of paying homage to Kubrick without turning it into a pastiche.

Rebecca Ferguson was tremendous as Rose the Hat, the
leader of the Carnie Coven and its band of freaks and predators. She exuded a predator's menace and danger even when she was meditating and soaring through the clouds (beautiful scene) during an OOBE.
Same goes for her righthand man played by the ever-stoic Zahn McClarnon (brilliant in Fargo S2).

Some truly horrifying scenes too. The
scene in which the young boy is pinned down and ritually tormented and sacrificed was difficult to sit through. Even the less visceral horror was chilling, like the pusher girl causing Cliff Curtis to turn the rifle on himself by whispering 'Kill Yourself' during her death throes. Robert Longstreet as the taunting Barry was another disgusting character that stood out. His hyena laugh as helpless children pleading for their lives and sarcastic barbs made his death one of the most satisfying that I've seen on screen in a while. What a creep.

A potentially great supernatural film that becomes bogged down by its legacy. Shame. Could have been one of this decade's greats from that genre. Still, I'll watch it on general release as it has a lot going for it.
 
^ great review mate definitely agree the film is at its strongest when focused on Fergusson and the coven (those arial scenes were terrific); less so when it tries to relive past glories. I also really enjoyed the interactions between Danny and Abra via
blackboard
.
 
Yeah, Abra and Danny were good to watch too. The young girl playing her did a great job here as well, especially in the scenes between her and Rebecca Ferguson. Mike Flanagan is a good director. Got a good sense of visual composition, editing, storytelling and gets good performances out of his actors. Looking forward to his next film or TV series.

Just remembered another bit I enjoyed from the film - the opening scenes with Danny when he's
wasted, batters a guy with a pool ball, sleeps with a scrubber, uses her death as an opportunity to steal money from her purse and soothes his conscience by thrusting some crisps into her orphaned baby's mitts all the while Dick Halloran sits on his shoulder trying to coax him into doing the right thing. The theft was left open-ended. Reckon he pinched her money?
 
Yeah, Abra and Danny were good to watch too. The young girl playing her did a great job here as well, especially in the scenes between her and Rebecca Ferguson. Mike Flanagan is a good director. Got a good sense of visual composition, editing, storytelling and gets good performances out of his actors. Looking forward to his next film or TV series.

Just remembered another bit I enjoyed from the film - the opening scenes with Danny when he's
wasted, batters a guy with a pool ball, sleeps with a scrubber, uses her death as an opportunity to steal money from her purse and soothes his conscience by thrusting some crisps into her orphaned baby's mitts all the while Dick Halloran sits on his shoulder trying to coax him into doing the right thing. The theft was left open-ended. Reckon he pinched her money?

Can't quite remember but didn't he say it was probably his money anyway?
 

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