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

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - 9/10

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It's a 7/10 film really, but it gains a huge two points due to the greatest act of pantomime villainy in cinema history. Alan Rickman should have won an Oscar.

It's also the source of one of cinema's greatest mysteries - Morgan Freeman's Azeem. Long has the mystery around his character haunted me - why is he the "Painted Man"? When was he painted? Why did the witch know him? Why was she scared? What's his legend?!!! 😱 😱 There's a prequel there that we'll never get....

Then there's Kevin Costner. Part of a long tradition of terribly cast Robin Hood's, it seems to be one of Hollywood's favourite things to do. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio keeps it feisty and tough though as a non-traditional Maid Marian. Not so much damsel in distress, more damsel in a rage.

Having said that however, it's a rip roaring yarn of loveable rogues and bombastic set pieces. And despite a very ropey script there's still time for some stunning one liners from Rickman going full on dastardly bastard as The Sheriff of Nottingham.

And then of course there's that bloody song. I say bloody song, but I actually love it :D In some ways more legendary than the legend of Robin Hood. Plus a cameo from Connery in his very own Brando moment of, "pay me a load of money for a few minutes work". Fortunately he donated it all to charity.

Anyways, an absolute classic and next time it's on Channel 5 I'll watch the damn thing again no doubt.
 
Surely this is worth a higher score just for how bloody gorgeous Jennifer Connelly looks

Good point, well made
I Am Patrick Swayze (2019, UK iTunes)

I hate that Patrick Swayze is no longer with us.

And I hate even more that it took a watch of this outstanding documentary to make me realise how much he obviously meant to me growing up, judging from the floods of tears I've been in since this bloody thing started.

With unfettered access to those closest to him - his wife, his brother, his career team - and those he's worked with (just about every star he was on film with is interviewed - Demi Moore, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Rob Lowe, Thomas Howell, Lori Petty, etc), we get very open, honest and sometimes awfully unflinching interviews about 'Buddy', which together with rafts of home videos, take us through his amazing life.

From his hinted at parental abuse by his ballet teacher mother to the indignity he suffered as a trained dancer from Texas in the 1970s, all the way through his key films (and some not so key - that rollerskating one looks immense) to his horrifically sad death, the film has an emotion to it that just comes from the interviewees: every one lining up to tell us how utterly amazing he was as a human being, how perfect he was as an actor and as a man and unlike so many of these puff pieces that pass for 'reality' these days, you get a genuine sense from all of them that he really was. He really was all that and more.

Complex, haunted, difficult yet able to bring so much to so many through his larger than life film roles, this isn't an in-depth career retrospective, more a portrait of a man who really did seem to be just as perfect as everyone says he was, even with his demons. And it had me in absolute bits.

I hate that Patrick Swayze isn't with us any more and I hate even more that I'd forgotten just how good he was. This doc - and Swayze himself - was so good its just made me purchase Ghost. And I hated Ghost when I saw it at the cinema.......but I reckon I just might love it now.

And I hate that.

Outstanding.

Cheers Coz would love to check that out. Sounds sad, but 'pain don't hurt' (except it does).
 
The Devil All The Time (2020) Directed by Antonio Campos
Netflix
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Absolutely superb loved everything about this and I mean everything the narration the era, the performances and in the way its story just simply spanned out, a real gem and one of the best movies of this year, fantastic.9/10

Great news, loved the look of the trailer and the cast but was worried Netflix may not bring the goods. That's tonight's viewing sorted :smashin:
 
Black Rainbow (1989, Arrow films, streaming on UK iTunes and Arrow Films channel)

A very odd take on the late 80's fad for psychic horror, this time coming from the not very obvious choice of Mike 'Get Carter/Flash Gordon' Hodges.

Rosanna Arquette is a travelling medium, peddling her show around the Midwest by her father, the very alcoholic and yet still very immense Jason Robards. At one of her shows, rather than contact the usual long dead spirits, she happens to make contact with someone who is very much alive, only for her to predict this person's very imminent demise. Some very convoluted plotting then ensues which sees the assassin responsible for that imminent death follow Arquette to stop her from identifying him, all the while helped/hindered in equal measure by a skeptical reporter played by a very big haired Tom Hulce.

Firstly, unlike so many of its peers, it almost completely shies away from showing anything of the spirit world - all the contact we have with the dead is done via conversations at these shows. It gives the whole thing much more of a character piece feel rather than an out and out thriller or even a horror film. But what this does though is give an awful lot of depth to certainly our lead trio - Arquette is an enthralling mix of friendless, repressed recluse who knows nothing but these shows and sexual predator, dropping her saintly robes to reveal some very attractive underwear at a moments notice to try and connect with anyone who she comes into contact with; Robards is a self-loathing mix of ringleader for these shows and hateful skeptic, raging at his daughter for reminding him of her mother whilst not believing she can actually see the future; and Hulce is, well, Hulce just looks bemused, one minute falling into bed with Arquette, the next trying to piece the story together while......well I'm not really sure.

Its an interesting way of approaching the story, reminding me in its rundown, melancholic tone and feel more of Angel Heart rather than say similarly plotted The Gift or The Dead Zone: the focus is most definitely on the characters rather than the narrative. And while it mostly works, what little plot is in here - some guff about a whistleblower being silenced - feels awfully tacked on, with some attempts at giving the assassin as much character work being woefully misplaced, adding nothing at all to the film or the characters.

But for genre fans, there's enough in here to warrant a cautious explore.
 
I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) - Charlie Kaufman
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Watched this without realising there was a connection to the film above. I think this is probably the most interesting film I've seen this year. Starts off making you think it's one thing, before making you realise its about something completely different. Not 100% sure it worked as a satisfying whole however, at least not like Eternal Sunshine or John Malkovich. I get it, but I'm not sure its entirely as gripping. Had issues with the car scenes; far too long, and the clever script can only get you so far when you are trapped inside a vehicle. Fortunately the segments in the house and other pit stops make up for it with some delightfully surreal moments and enjoyably bonkers characters. I'd have preferred a more traditional denouement to the art-house conclusion we got (apparently the book is less opaque), but overall I found it worked as a weirdly off-kilter study of ageing and regret that was actually quite sad. I find myself in the weird place where I've enjoyed thinking about the film even more than watching it. I reckon I'll get more out of it on second watch. 7/10

I gave up on this with 55 minutes left on the clock. The car scenes, that you mentioned above, left me reaching for my phone and then I didn't know and didn't care what they were talking about.

Maybe I'll go back and finish it sometime but I think i'd have to be short of things to watch to do that.
 
Il Postino - Watched this last night on Prime. It was actually the first time I´d seen this, and what a treat it was. Oozing with charm, filmed beautifully, stunning scenery, wonderful characters and featuring a gorgeous soundtrack. Wonderful performances throughout, particularly from the leads Massimo Troisiand and Philippe Noiret. It's really stuck with me all day, and the immediate passing of Massimo Troisi, following filming left me feeling terribly sad. Thoroughly recommended. Just need a price drop on iTunes now as definitely a keeper.
 
G.I. Jane - DVD

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Ridley Scott brings us Demi Moore in a lovely little film about a female sailor who is sent to go through combat training to test whether women can be front line troops.

The nasty, nasty Generals send her to the SEALs to ensure she fails.

The film is really great for the first 90% and then gets a bit wonky at the end, not quite sure what happened, maybe they run out of budget.

Entertaining enough - 6 Frag Grenades out of 10 Claymore Mines.

Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World - DVD

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Starring Russell Crowe as Captain Aubrey and directed by Peter Weir we are transported to the early 1800s on The Surprise, a real life corvette won from the French, which is tasked to hunt down a dastardly Frenchie preying on traders in the Caribbean and heading for the rich hunting grounds of the South Pacific.

Considering this is a old DVD the blacks were excellent and it holds up incredibly well visually on my Panny dx902b 65inch 4K screen, just goes to show that you really shouldn't need to compress the buggery out of a signal to broadcast it eh Sky??

Really enjoyable film, based on the books of Patrick O'Brian, with some superb battle scenes and tactical sailing that puts across life on a fighting tall ship very well. Russell does an excellent job as the captain with the scientist/surgeon Paul Bettany lending a supporting hand throughout.

8 Lashes out of 10 Keel Hauls
 
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How To Build A Girl (2019) Amazon Prime

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"There's no such thing as a digeridoo. That man is mooing down a pipe."

Fresh from her success in Booksmart, Beanie Feldstein has an absolute ball here playing 90's music journalist Johanna Morrigan. The character comes from Caitlan Moran's screenplay, based on her own turbulent teenage years. Feldstein is hilarious, cringeworthy and adorable by turns, armed with a 'twinkle in her eye' that so few actors get to master onscreen, and some VERY bold fashion choices. Oh, and she makes a pretty decent job of nailing that Wolverhampton accent too.
Alfie Allen delivers a performance that shows there's more to him than Theon Greyjoy, as rock star John Kite, nicely understated and without the egotistical side you expect. Feldstein and he develop a friendship of sorts, which is partly key to helping her navigate the world of celebrity.
It's also good to see the brilliant Paddy Considine, who plays Feldstein's father, a failed musician who can't quite let go of his past. It's a solid supporting role, and a welcome change in tone after the heavy going, darker material normally associated with him. There's a tasty cameo in the last act that hits the spot too.
It's all a pretty lightweight and breezy affair from director Coky Giedroyc, with almost no fat on it's running time. I thoroughly enjoyed this for what it was, but you might not remember much about it a while afterwards...

7/10
 
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Batman Returns (1992) Directed by Tim Burton
MA Screen Pass
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Yep Batman returns and does virtually nothing throughout the film, DeVito's penguin is fun for all of 5 mins and just gets excruciatingly worse the more it goes on, wiggy Walken well just wtf is all you can say, but my oh my Pfeiffer's fill ya boots Catwoman owns every scene she is in but such a shame it's wasted in this complete mess of a film, and that damn Elfman score just never seems to stop.4/10
 
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Batman Returns (1992) Directed by Tim Burton
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Yep Batman returns and does virtually nothing throughout the film, DeVito's penguin is fun for all of 5 mins and just gets excruciatingly worse the more it goes on, wiggy Walken well just wtf is all you can say, but my oh my Pfeiffer's Catwoman owns every scene she is in but such a shame it's wasted in this complete mess of a film, and that damn Elfman score just never seems to stop.4/10

With a four you are not leaving many places to go for the next two.
 
Solaris (2002, UK iTunes)

Eighteen years ago, coming to this gorgeous looking, latest sci-fier from A-listers Jim Cameron and George Clooney and even seeing Clooney reunite with his Out of Sight director Soderbergh, my expectations were all askew. Having briefly heard of the original film, this meditation on memory, grief, loss and so many other aspects of the human condition simply didn't have enough space porn or explosions to meet them so naturally this was consigned to the 'never watch again' pile.

But while those intervening years may not have seen me actually mature emotionally, I certainly have when it comes to my movie tastes and my movie understanding. Revisiting this now, having lived more of a life and having both seen the original film and read the original novel, I can only now begin to appreciate this for the mini masterpiece many more ought to consider it as.

Bringing so much visual storytelling to the screen, using Kubrick as a major touchstone ironically not for the 2001 elements, more his approach to shooting emotions (the reversing static shots of Clooney and MacElhone in different settings could have come from any of Kubrick's films exactly as they are), the film shows an awful lot in a fairly lean run time. And its a credit to Soderbergh the writer that he can convey so many themes in a much shorter run time than the original - the use of traditional sci-fi narrative beats (discovery of dead bodies in a floating space station, seeing the return of loved ones as 'copies', the nature of risk vs reward with regard to bringing their research back home and the ticking clock of the expanding planet below) to convey different emotional messages (having the copies not know who or what they are and discover all over again their links and relationships to those onboard is narratively brilliant) works superbly.

Notions of memory, of grief and loss, of undoing past mistakes vs leaving them alone, all brilliantly portrayed by Clooney and MacElhone, my only issue being we never really got to understand more about the other crew members and their 'returnees'. But bloating the runtime would have brought its own impacts, notably duplicating the key messages of the film, so while I desperately wanted to explore certainly Jeremy Davies' Snow more, its ending satisfied wholly.

The gorgeous Cliff Martinez electronic score is the cherry on an already delicious cake and here's a another film you can add to the list of remakes that are better than their originals, even when their originals are heralded as classics.
 
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The Devil All The Time (2020) - Antonio Campos
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A generation-spanning deep dive into a world of damaged characters, lost souls and god-fearing sickos in post-war Ohio and West Virginia. Tragedy, regret, loss, and revenge abound; all with a distinctly Christian flavour and embodied by a fantastic cast. At first I wasn't completely sold on Tom Holland who seemed more like he was trying to nail the accent than anything else. That quickly passed though, and his performance emerges as one of the best: nervous and psychologically scarred but fiercely protective; his scene with Pattinson (equally good) was brilliantly acted. It's an ensemble piece however, and all the performances are corkers, with Bill Skarsgard (excellent) and Riley Keough among my other personal standouts. Christianity is also a major character here; Bible-belt piety nakedly exposed in all it's hypocrisy and insanity. DELUSIONS! Film-making flourishes such as flashbacks and recaps, as well as a gentle and unobtrusive narration, are all done with subtlety and the bursts of violence are horrifying and sordid. 'Film of the year' sounds hyperbolic but compared to the motley selection of 2020, there really is no current competition for the title. Y'all need to watch this. 8.5/10
 
The Devil All The Time (2020) - Antonio Campos
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A generation-spanning deep dive into a world of damaged characters, lost souls and god-fearing sickos in post-war Ohio and West Virginia. Tragedy, regret, loss, and revenge abound; all with a distinctly Christian flavour and embodied by a fantastic cast. At first I wasn't completely sold on Tom Holland who seemed more like he was trying to nail the accent than anything else. That quickly passed though, and his performance emerges as one of the best: nervous and psychologically scarred but fiercely protective; his scene with Pattinson (equally good) was brilliantly acted. It's an ensemble piece however, and all the performances are corkers, with Bill Skarsgard (excellent) and Riley Keough among my other personal standouts. Christianity is also a major character here; Bible-belt piety nakedly exposed in all it's hypocrisy and insanity. DELUSIONS! Film-making flourishes such as flashbacks and recaps, as well as a gentle and unobtrusive narration, are all done with subtlety and the bursts of violence are horrifying and sordid. 'Film of the year' sounds hyperbolic but compared to the motley selection of 2020, there really is no current competition for the title. Y'all need to watch this. 8.5/10
"DELUUUSIONS!" is this year's "I drink your milkshake!"
 
300 (2007) - Zach Snyder
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Haven't seen for a good long while, and the break provided a welcome reevaluation. I think it's a cracking graphic-novel adaption, with Snyder playing to all his comic book strengths. Overblown in all the right ways and packed with mythology, machismo, and glorious combat. And it still looks great to boot (despite the trowelled-on artificial grain). Hugely entertaining hokum 7/10
 
Solaris (2002, UK iTunes)

Eighteen years ago, coming to this gorgeous looking, latest sci-fier from A-listers Jim Cameron and George Clooney and even seeing Clooney reunite with his Out of Sight director Soderbergh, my expectations were all askew. Having briefly heard of the original film, this meditation on memory, grief, loss and so many other aspects of the human condition simply didn't have enough space porn or explosions to meet them so naturally this was consigned to the 'never watch again' pile.

But while those intervening years may not have seen me actually mature emotionally, I certainly have when it comes to my movie tastes and my movie understanding. Revisiting this now, having lived more of a life and having both seen the original film and read the original novel, I can only now begin to appreciate this for the mini masterpiece many more ought to consider it as.

Bringing so much visual storytelling to the screen, using Kubrick as a major touchstone ironically not for the 2001 elements, more his approach to shooting emotions (the reversing static shots of Clooney and MacElhone in different settings could have come from any of Kubrick's films exactly as they are), the film shows an awful lot in a fairly lean run time. And its a credit to Soderbergh the writer that he can convey so many themes in a much shorter run time than the original - the use of traditional sci-fi narrative beats (discovery of dead bodies in a floating space station, seeing the return of loved ones as 'copies', the nature of risk vs reward with regard to bringing their research back home and the ticking clock of the expanding planet below) to convey different emotional messages (having the copies not know who or what they are and discover all over again their links and relationships to those onboard is narratively brilliant) works superbly.

Notions of memory, of grief and loss, of undoing past mistakes vs leaving them alone, all brilliantly portrayed by Clooney and MacElhone, my only issue being we never really got to understand more about the other crew members and their 'returnees'. But bloating the runtime would have brought its own impacts, notably duplicating the key messages of the film, so while I desperately wanted to explore certainly Jeremy Davies' Snow more, its ending satisfied wholly.

The gorgeous Cliff Martinez electronic score is the cherry on an already delicious cake and here's a another film you can add to the list of remakes that are better than their originals, even when their originals are heralded as classics.
Glad you've seen the light Coz! I've always loved this one and yeah burn me at the stake but the original sends me to sleep.

The German blu-ray is the best we have for now. Maybe a 4K one day from Kino or Arrow perhaps? Soundtrack is absolutely top notch.
 
The Devil All The Time (2020)
What to add to the above, well, not much.
A surprise for Netflix to actually hit one out of their park deluged by meh of late. Still, that pretty well always sums up Netflix year on.
An ensemble from Sweden, Britain, Australia and America that manages to pull it together nicely under Campos direction. Although I'd like to think, Donald Ray Pollock had a hand under the hood here in not just the adept tones of worldly added narration but; also how elements should play out, as he wrote the original novel.
I suppose the greatest success here, is managing to pull off a tale that has been done in various other forms over the years and yet still manages to bring a new and vibrant feel to the table.
Loved the music too. So fitting to end with Banks of the Ohio.
 
Thunderball - 5/10 - Our slow re-trawl through the Bond's continues with this 1965 effort, after the success of Goldfinger (the best so far) the producers tried to go bigger with this one but largely failed, the extra budget went on a raft (pardon the pun) of underwater scenes of which some work and some don't, its overlong at 130mins and does drag in places, some of the effects have dated so badly they're laughable, Connery is still good as 007 but its definitely one of those to remember for what it was, possibly the worst in the series so far.
 
Swallow (2019)

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Hunter has recently married a rich guy, the new and youngest ever CEO of his father's successful company. They are given a large, expensive home and Hunter spends most of her time alone, rattling around the home during the day. Happy enough, but a little bored.
Soon, she becomes pregnant and her husband and his parents are ecstatic. Hunter is seen by the parents as little more than a trophy wife to their son, and they show little interest in much about her. Well, until they did out she suffers from Pica Disorder and loves to eat non edible items...
There's lots to love in this film, the cinematography was sublime, acting was class, especially Hunter played by Haley Bennett. 8/10.
 
Oh my good Lord, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is on again this afternoon :eek:

Should I.....
 
Dare you!
 
Colour Out of Space

Didn't know what to expect with this, actually was quite good, it reminded me of a movie from the 80s, but I won't say which because that would ruin it.

8/10

Sonic the Hedgehog

Pretty enjoyable afternoon watch, more for the kids but I enjoyed it for what it was, I thought Carrey was a good choice as the villain and played it very well.

7/10
 

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