I saw Wonka just before Christmas with the family. I thought it was good, and loved the Oompah Loompah, but that the songs were forgettable being charitable, and rubbish being honest. My wife hated it and my younger daughter liked it 'apart from the songs'. 6/10
I saw Rebel Moon in the Christmas period and just didn't really get into it at all. It perpetually felt like a star wars spin off to me (and I don't like Star Wars at all) so while I started off with an open mind, it gradually ground me down, I won't waste tme with the second part. 4/10
Rebel Moon is literally a rejected SW script that Synder turned into his own film, a few mates of mine have seen it and said it's pretty naff so going to swerve it.
Watched Boudica: Queen of War the other night, as I saw several of the cast had been involved in Vikings, which I enjoyed.
My expectations weren't high tbh but this was absolute garbage. Olga Kurylenko was the worst of lot (if we overlook her two children, who performed like they were reading from cue cards) and she was horribly miscast as the supposed inspirational leader. You wouldn't follow her down the pub. Proper straight to video stuff.
If I see a worse film this year I'll be surprised.
Took the kids to see Wonka based on others recommendations on here. Enjoyed it, made me laugh a number of times. Agree the songs weren't standouts, but the film wasn't reliant on them.
Also watched Saltburn. Entertaining but rather silly and empty. Seemed like it was building itself up to say something interesting about class, but actually it was just rather gratuitous nonsense.
The Promised Land (Madds Mikkelson) - already shortlisted for best foreign film for Oscars. We release it February 16 2024 across the UK and Ireland. We find out Friday if it gets shortlisted for Best Actor, Best Film In The Foreign Language and other catagories for BAFTA - I have lots of things crossed!
Next up = Hamlet (Ian McKellen) Very decent Shakesperian "thriller" set in a modern day theatre, using Shakesperian prose, with a twist in that SIM (not allowed to call him Sir in any press) plays Hamlet....
In Cinemas for one night only, with pre recorded Q&A with Director and Ian McKellen - 27 February 2024
Mate. Can’t wait for this. Saw Sir Ian in it for my birthday 2 years ago in Windsor. Looks like they used it in this film. What cinema and how do I get tickets?
The Promised Land (Madds Mikkelson) - already shortlisted for best foreign film for Oscars. We release it February 16 2024 across the UK and Ireland. We find out Friday if it gets shortlisted for Best Actor, Best Film In The Foreign Language and other catagories for BAFTA - I have lots of things crossed!
Next up = Hamlet (Ian McKellen) Very decent Shakesperian "thriller" set in a modern day theatre, using Shakesperian prose, with a twist in that SIM (not allowed to call him Sir in any press) plays Hamlet....
In Cinemas for one night only, with pre recorded Q&A with Director and Ian McKellen - 27 February 2024
Mate. Can’t wait for this. Saw Sir Ian in it for my birthday 2 years ago in Windsor. Looks like they used it in this film. What cinema and how do I get tickets?
The Promised Land (Madds Mikkelson) - already shortlisted for best foreign film for Oscars. We release it February 16 2024 across the UK and Ireland. We find out Friday if it gets shortlisted for Best Actor, Best Film In The Foreign Language and other catagories for BAFTA - I have lots of things crossed!
Next up = Hamlet (Ian McKellen) Very decent Shakesperian "thriller" set in a modern day theatre, using Shakesperian prose, with a twist in that SIM (not allowed to call him Sir in any press) plays Hamlet....
In Cinemas for one night only, with pre recorded Q&A with Director and Ian McKellen - 27 February 2024
Mate. Can’t wait for this. Saw Sir Ian in it for my birthday 2 years ago in Windsor. Looks like they used it in this film. What cinema and how do I get tickets?
www.hamletincinemas.co.uk
Thanks mate. Can’t wait. Great cast and a great version when I saw it. SIM runs about like a man 50 years his junior.
Watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall over the weekend after me going in two footed on bad romantic comedies recently. It was my wife's choice she had never seen it which is miraculous in itself as it must have been shown upwards of 100,000 times on various ITV channels
Anyway 9/10
Thats how a romantic comedy should be, genuinely really funny, well observed, the dialogue is brilliant, the little bits that are easily missed are class. It has some very funny nudity that punctuate the film too. Paul Rudd and Kirstin Wiig among others play their cameos perfectly. And Mila Kunis launched a million mens hotel receptionist fantasies and plays her part really well with some quality comedic timing
Watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall over the weekend after me going in two footed on bad romantic comedies recently. It was my wife's choice she had never seen it which is miraculous in itself as it must have been shown upwards of 100,000 times on various ITV channels
Anyway 9/10
Thats how a romantic comedy should be, genuinely really funny, well observed, the dialogue is brilliant, the little bits that are easily missed are class. It has some very funny nudity that punctuate the film too. Paul Rudd and Kirstin Wiig among others play their cameos perfectly. And Mila Kunis launched a million mens hotel receptionist fantasies and plays her part really well with some quality comedic timing
I reckon your Mrs will like this one then...
Long Story Short. Stumbled upon this again on Prime. A really funny story set in Sydney starring Raph Spall and the delightful Zarah Newman. Basic plot about how we can get absorbed in day to day life and miss out on all the more important things.
Was really looking forward to MAESTRO but was disappointed. The performances of Cooper and Mulligan were terribly mannered and self-aware in a look-at-me- doing-good-acting way. The story had no real focus and just glanced at various aspects of Bernstein's life without really coming to grips with his talent or his complex character. Will probably do well in awards because it feels manufactured to do so.
Saw a documentary on Netflix last night called "the Deepest Breath", about free divers. Really interesting, superb cinematography, and a powerful if sad ending. Really recommend it, unless you have a fear of drowning!
Saw a documentary on Netflix last night called "the Deepest Breath", about free divers. Really interesting, superb cinematography, and a powerful if sad ending. Really recommend it, unless you have a fear of drowning!
Was really looking forward to MAESTRO but was disappointed. The performances of Cooper and Mulligan were terribly mannered and self-aware in a look-at-me- doing-good-acting way. The story had no real focus and just glanced at various aspects of Bernstein's life without really coming to grips with his talent or his complex character. Will probably do well in awards because it feels manufactured to do so.
I agree that it is a thoroughly overrated film and I’m pleased it didn’t win anything at the Golden Globes. I actually thought that Carey Mulligan - unlike Bradley Cooper - was pretty good (as she is in most things), as was the concert scene in Ely Cathedral but the rest of the film left me cold. I didn’t feel at all invested in the relationship and marriage between the two leads and, whilst I appreciate that the film focused on the breakdown of that, it would have been good to offer at least some insight into Bernstein’s musical genius. There was none of that and the film came across to me as pure Oscar bait.
A romantic comedy/drama from Finnish director, Aki Kaurismäki, about two lonely, marginalised outsiders who seek to develop their relationship despite various misunderstandings and obstacles, including a lost phone number and the man's alcohol dependency. The deadpan and laconic humour, the presence of lugubrious hard-drinking Finns and plenty of live music are typical of the director's films.
Whilst I didn't feel that Fallen Leaves is quite at the level of his two previous films, Le Havre and The Other Side of Hope, I thought it was still very good.
A Man called Otto Big thanks for those who mentioned this yesterday - I was off work sick so a good film was welcome. I gave this the swerve when it originally came out. In Spain, it was helpfully called 'The Worst Neighbour in the World' which was a great title for the first five minutes, but didn't do the film much justice. For the opening few minutes, I loathed it - Otto was an areshole and I have a neighbour or two like that so I wanted to switch off. But then it settled down and the story kicked in. In short it was gripping, maravellous, going from tear jerking to laugh out loud funny in very quick time. Tom Hanks was great, but ably assisted by a very good cast. I would recommend it to anyone, except a person like Otto. 9/10
As an extra, the general perception was that the original 'A Man Called Ove' was superior, so I tried that in the evening. Probably too soon, as it started almost equally plotted with the first one but in Spanish (no English option in Spain) so I was perpetually drawing comparisons with the Hanks version. I gave up after 20 minutes so I'll go back at a later date.
Comments
Interesting film from Ben Affleck. Few twists and turns albeit towards the end it did remind me of another film with a similiar scenario.
7/10
My expectations weren't high tbh but this was absolute garbage. Olga Kurylenko was the worst of lot (if we overlook her two children, who performed like they were reading from cue cards) and she was horribly miscast as the supposed inspirational leader. You wouldn't follow her down the pub. Proper straight to video stuff.
If I see a worse film this year I'll be surprised.
Also watched Saltburn. Entertaining but rather silly and empty. Seemed like it was building itself up to say something interesting about class, but actually it was just rather gratuitous nonsense.
In the Land of saints & sinners
No block buster but worth a watch
Anyway 9/10
Thats how a romantic comedy should be, genuinely really funny, well observed, the dialogue is brilliant, the little bits that are easily missed are class. It has some very funny nudity that punctuate the film too. Paul Rudd and Kirstin Wiig among others play their cameos perfectly. And Mila Kunis launched a million mens hotel receptionist fantasies and plays her part really well with some quality comedic timing
Long Story Short.
Stumbled upon this again on Prime. A really funny story set in Sydney starring Raph Spall and the delightful Zarah Newman. Basic plot about how we can get absorbed in day to day life and miss out on all the more important things.
Now, I wasn’t expecting much, but oh my god what a complete load of bollocks.
In Julia Roberts and the mixed raced daughter, must be two of the most insufferable arseholes to ever grace a movie screen.
2 hours and 20 minutes of my life I’ll never get back and I don’t think I’ll forgive my missus for a while.
A romantic comedy/drama from Finnish director, Aki Kaurismäki, about two lonely, marginalised outsiders who seek to develop their relationship despite various misunderstandings and obstacles, including a lost phone number and the man's alcohol dependency. The deadpan and laconic humour, the presence of lugubrious hard-drinking Finns and plenty of live music are typical of the director's films.
Whilst I didn't feel that Fallen Leaves is quite at the level of his two previous films, Le Havre and The Other Side of Hope, I thought it was still very good.
Big thanks for those who mentioned this yesterday - I was off work sick so a good film was welcome. I gave this the swerve when it originally came out. In Spain, it was helpfully called 'The Worst Neighbour in the World' which was a great title for the first five minutes, but didn't do the film much justice. For the opening few minutes, I loathed it - Otto was an areshole and I have a neighbour or two like that so I wanted to switch off. But then it settled down and the story kicked in. In short it was gripping, maravellous, going from tear jerking to laugh out loud funny in very quick time. Tom Hanks was great, but ably assisted by a very good cast. I would recommend it to anyone, except a person like Otto.
9/10
As an extra, the general perception was that the original 'A Man Called Ove' was superior, so I tried that in the evening. Probably too soon, as it started almost equally plotted with the first one but in Spanish (no English option in Spain) so I was perpetually drawing comparisons with the Hanks version. I gave up after 20 minutes so I'll go back at a later date.
7/10
Easy watch.
7/10