Oppenheimer - worthy enough but too long and time jumps (a Christopher Nolan specialty) are a pain.
Saltburn - brilliant cast, tremendous production values but rather daft poorly constructed story with a few shock scenes which good old Ken Russell would have been proud of.
Some mentions on here recently about A Man Called Otto. Agree with others, a well told story with some wonderful characters. Hanks is excellent as always.
Watched The Scala, a doc about the former cinema in Kings Cross and before that in town. Some good recollections of a different time but a tendency to come across as a bit smug, we-were-all-fashionable-and-trendy-and-you weren't-and-aren't.
I saw Saltburn at the weekend. Theer was a real Peter Greenaway feel to it - one of my favourite film's of all time is Drowning by Numbers. The sets were glorious, there was a range of quirky and off beat characters and some arty stuff thrown in to give the overall feel a bit of glitz. The acting was great - the guys who played Ollie and Felix were very very good. A couple of scenes were a bit..well.. unorthodox. From what I'd read on here I was expecting worse but everyone who's seen the film knows the two we are talking about. That's the positive bit. The negative is that unlike Drowning by Numbers, it just felt a bit empty. Almost every character had a slightly unpleasant feel, the twist at the end (or revelation if that's better) was sort of nasty more than anything else, and overall, after watchig a feel goof ilm like aMan called Otto, this felt like a feel bad movie. It didn't do it for me, and that essentially came down to the plot line 5/10
And now you come crashing back down to earth on here .......
Lol Honestly I’m still on a high from it. I loved reading the book as a child. Roald Dahl along side CS Lewis were my go to reads as a kid. So when I first saw Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory I was transfixed. I didn’t mind the Johnny Depp stuff but it didn’t give me the same feels.
Today was very different. I was in those recliner seats (OMG! 😳🤗) and all of it just took me back. I really don’t know why some say the songs weren’t memorable. I couldn’t wait to download the soundtrack. And all the way through every now and then a wee nod a small tune and it took you back to the original.
Then to top it all off. Huge Grant was the best Ompa Lumpa EVER!
I am the happiest Smudge of all time.
And I fully appreciate this will all come crashing down at full time at the Valley tomorrow night.
And now you come crashing back down to earth on here .......
Lol Honestly I’m still on a high from it. I loved reading the book as a child. Roald Dahl along side CS Lewis were my go to reads as a kid. So when I first saw Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory I was transfixed. I didn’t mind the Johnny Depp stuff but it didn’t give me the same feels.
Today was very different. I was in those recliner seats (OMG! 😳🤗) and all of it just took me back. I really don’t know why some say the songs weren’t memorable. I couldn’t wait to download the soundtrack. And all the way through every now and then a wee nod a small tune and it took you back to the original.
Then to top it all off. Huge Grant was the best Ompa Lumpa EVER!
I am the happiest Smudge of all time.
And I fully appreciate this will all come crashing down at full time at the Valley tomorrow night.
"Huge Grant"?
Is that your pet name for him?
I call any Hugh, Huge. Our Grandad was called Hugh and he was really tall. Just a habit I can’t shift 🤣🤣
A film about a cranky history teacher who has to look after a group of children who have nowhere to go at Christmas. Paul Giamatti is excellent in the main role and it's a heartwarming, funny and moving film. I loved this film. 9/10
A film about a cranky history teacher who has to look after a group of children who have nowhere to go at Christmas. Paul Giamatti is excellent in the main role and it's a heartwarming, funny and moving film. I loved this film. 9/10
Agree with all that. It’s well worth a watch.
Story not quite as predictable as you might expect.
A film about a cranky history teacher who has to look after a group of children who have nowhere to go at Christmas. Paul Giamatti is excellent in the main role and it's a heartwarming, funny and moving film. I loved this film. 9/10
Agree with all that. It’s well worth a watch.
Story not quite as predictable as you might expect.
Day 4 of Sundance been and gone Seen some good, some average, some poor and some plain daft.
Skywalkers - A Love Story My Old Ass Thelma
My favoyrures so far.
Weirdest Sasquatch Sunset
I was captivated for 90 minutes but I'm not sure that was a good thing!
Skywalkers sold to Netflix My Old Ass selling to MGM/Amazon Thelma due to be sold shortly
Really liked Will & Harper - a documentary about Will Ferrell and his close friend who just transitioned going on a 17 day road trip across America. Very good documentary sprinkled with Will Ferrell stardust.
Homourable mentions to My Love, Freaky Tales, Winner, Never Look Away and Daughters.
Watched the Oscar nominated French film "Anatomy of a Fall" and thought it was decent. Probably a bit slow in parts but a good watch on the whole. Better than "Marriage Story" from a few years ago which dealt with a similar subject. But I have issues with the premise of the film (there's an obvious lack of concrete evidence to deem the wife as the prime suspect let alone to put her on trial) and I don't think it should win Best Picture at the Academy Awards come March as Killers of the Flower Moon and Oppenheimer are both greater films.
A film about a cranky history teacher who has to look after a group of children who have nowhere to go at Christmas. Paul Giamatti is excellent in the main role and it's a heartwarming, funny and moving film. I loved this film. 9/10
Agree with all that. It’s well worth a watch.
Story not quite as predictable as you might expect.
Finally watched this and agreed it's a wonderful film. I initially thought it was a comedy but in the end shed quite a few tears. Apart from Killers of the Flower Moon, it is my favourite film this awards season.
Watched the Triangle Of Sadness. File this one under weird but enjoyable. My wife's choice and I went into it blind, and found the two characters in the opening third beyond dislikeable and the pacing quite slow.
We almost bailed tbh, but with the move of location to the cruise it really starts to deliver. No spoilers, but if your funny bone is tickled by Mr Creosote then you're in for a treat.
It's about the dynamics of power on a very basic level but with enough plot twists to maintain your interest right to the end.
Watched Joy Ride. It was essentially a comedy film about an adopted Asian American going to find their birth mother in China. It was really over the top American humour that was quite funny in parts but painfully cringey in others.
It seemed to review pretty well with critics but not audiences which was surprising. Overall a bit of a strange one 5/10
+1 for One Life. Saw it with my good lady at the little independent cinema in Hawkhurst yesterday. Brilliantly done and the time jumps were perfect. Criminal that the story itself is not more mainstream. There were probably 25 people in the cinema and it felt like I was the only one not crying at the end. Hopkins was amazing.
We went to see Poor Things the other night. Completely bonkers and meandering film. Emma Stone & Ruffalo both gave brilliant performances, and it had plenty of laughs. I do like films where it feels like you're being taken into an original world and this is one of those.
Another vote for the Holdovers. Such a good film. Anatomy of a fall I liked, didn’t love. Priscilla not as good as I’d hoped. Meastro; superb performance by Bradley Cooper. That’s me up to date
Saw The Holdovers last night, and agree with the positive comments above. Gently enjoyable and very well scripted with very good performances. Thoroughly entertaining.
The Creator - not often we get big budget, original movie that isn't based on a book or comic book or whatever, so I really wanted to like it. Especially as Gareth Edwards is a good visual storyteller. A lot of the best visuals of Rogue One are his, although that's probably more Tony Gilroy's movie than Edwards's.
Anyway, The Creator might be original in that sense, but it's totally derivative. Like a mash-up of Children of Men, Terminators 2 and 4, The Matrix (second renaissance Pt.1) and maybe The Fifth Element. Probably more.
Denzel Washington Jr is really watchable, as is Watanabe. The child actor is really impressive too. The effects are fucking great, and it's perfectly watchable, if a little confusing at times which I didn't expect from Edwards. I wasn't entirely sure why robots were shooting at robots at one stage, although maybe I lost concentration. Allison Janney is chomping scenery but it's totally one dimensional villainy.
Interesting concept, pretty well executed but a little underwhelming.
Comments
Oppenheimer - worthy enough but too long and time jumps (a Christopher Nolan specialty) are a pain.
Saltburn - brilliant cast, tremendous production values but rather daft poorly constructed story with a few shock scenes which good old Ken Russell would have been proud of.
Some mentions on here recently about A Man Called Otto. Agree with others, a well told story with some wonderful characters. Hanks is excellent as always.
6/10
The negative is that unlike Drowning by Numbers, it just felt a bit empty. Almost every character had a slightly unpleasant feel, the twist at the end (or revelation if that's better) was sort of nasty more than anything else, and overall, after watchig a feel goof ilm like aMan called Otto, this felt like a feel bad movie. It didn't do it for me, and that essentially came down to the plot line
5/10
Is that your pet name for him?
Our Grandad was called Hugh and he was really tall.
Just a habit I can’t shift 🤣🤣
One night only in cinemas on 29 February 2024
An Amazon Prime Original in March
Curbs is in it too!
A film about a cranky history teacher who has to look after a group of children who have nowhere to go at Christmas.
Paul Giamatti is excellent in the main role and it's a heartwarming, funny and moving film.
I loved this film.
9/10
My Old Ass selling to MGM/Amazon
Thelma due to be sold shortly
Really liked Will & Harper - a documentary about Will Ferrell and his close friend who just transitioned going on a 17 day road trip across America. Very good documentary sprinkled with Will Ferrell stardust.
Homourable mentions to My Love, Freaky Tales, Winner, Never Look Away and Daughters.
Thomas won't be getting his money back on this one!
We almost bailed tbh, but with the move of location to the cruise it really starts to deliver. No spoilers, but if your funny bone is tickled by Mr Creosote then you're in for a treat.
It's about the dynamics of power on a very basic level but with enough plot twists to maintain your interest right to the end.
I'd give it a solid 7.5/10.
It seemed to review pretty well with critics but not audiences which was surprising. Overall a bit of a strange one 5/10
Subtitled but very watchable. Different perspective as portrayed more from the German side.
7/10
Thoroughly entertaining.
Anyway, The Creator might be original in that sense, but it's totally derivative. Like a mash-up of Children of Men, Terminators 2 and 4, The Matrix (second renaissance Pt.1) and maybe The Fifth Element. Probably more.
Denzel Washington Jr is really watchable, as is Watanabe. The child actor is really impressive too. The effects are fucking great, and it's perfectly watchable, if a little confusing at times which I didn't expect from Edwards. I wasn't entirely sure why robots were shooting at robots at one stage, although maybe I lost concentration. Allison Janney is chomping scenery but it's totally one dimensional villainy.
Interesting concept, pretty well executed but a little underwhelming.
I give it 4 out of 8.