It was a really bad year for films and last nights ceremony summed that up.
Totally agree, Beds. I've really struggled to use my inclusive tickets this year, the choice has been mediocre. Can't remember the last time I saw a properly good film at the cinema. I enjoyed The Goldman Case and Anatomy of a Fall, Conclave was better than average but everything else I've seen this year has left me underwhelmed.
I am not sure what I missed on Anora. I said before that I enjoyed the swing from what I thought it was to what it became, but I am not even convinced that was intentional, maybe I just didn't understand what I was watching until later on. I don't think there's a huge amount happening in the direction either, there's no real subtext from what I can see. Happy, or even hoping to be put straight on that point. It's a slapstick comedy at one point. If anything it was extremely well edited and that gave it a pace and vibrancy that it could easily have lacked. But Best Picture seems insane to me.
I am not sure what I missed on Anora. I said before that I enjoyed the swing from what I thought it was to what it became, but I am not even convinced that was intentional, maybe I just didn't understand what I was watching until later on. I don't think there's a huge amount happening in the direction either, there's no real subtext from what I can see. Happy, or even hoping to be put straight on that point. It's a slapstick comedy at one point. If anything it was extremely well edited and that gave it a pace and vibrancy that it could easily have lacked. But Best Picture seems insane to me.
I think winning the Palm D'or probably elevated its chances, especially with voters that didn't bother to watch it. I was definitely expecting something a bit more substantial from it.
Just got round to seeing "Heretic" which was right up my street. Great oddball performance from Hugh Grant, who still managed to be Hugh Grant. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it
Just got round to seeing "Heretic" which was right up my street. Great oddball performance from Hugh Grant, who still managed to be Hugh Grant. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it
Same! Wasn't expecting anything, but had a lot of fun with Hugh on top form.
I thought there were some good films amongst the ten nominees for Best Film but no outstanding ones. Not a good year overall, in contrast to last year, where we had films like The Holdovers, The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of A Fall, amongst others. I saw Anora at the London Film Festival and was disappointed with it, given its status as a Palme d'Or winner. An energetic and, at times, amusing black comedy but I found it all a bit shallow, with excessive effing and jeffing to the point of banality and too many cartoon characters.
I was pleased that I'm Still Here won the Best International Feature Oscar (Fernanda Torres' performance was in a different league to Mikey Maddison's). Like @Addickhead86, I was also pleased that No Other Land won the Best Documentary award - a pity that no USA distributor had the balls to take the film. Notwithstanding the Oscar, that is unlikely to change now given Trump's proposal that the United States “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip.
No Other Land is on Channel 4 tomorrow night at 23:15 and available to stream from Channel 4 for 28 days.
Not a fan of Anora, but pleased Sean Baker pick up a load of oscars, purely for being snubbed years ago for Florida Project, which is an incredible film.
Mickey 17 - bonkers fun with a serious underlying politic message. I play the stenographer in the courtroom cross examination scene which was fun to shoot
Mickey 17 - bonkers fun with a serious underlying politic message. I play the stenographer in the courtroom cross examination scene which was fun to shoot
Just saw it, and did have fun. Excellent stenography, too!
Not sure it's the right place for this, but myself, my partner and our team are in the last few days of raising the last bit of funding we need to complete our latest short film, 'He woke Up To Deflating News.'
It's a short comedy about an old-timer who finds out that his local council are turning him into a high-street coffee shop, and follows his attempts to avoid this fate. It's starring Irish comedian Michael Redmond, who some may know better as Father Stone in Father Ted.
Any and all help would be welcome, and here's a little bit of Addicks influence on the film:
Our production designer wanted to create a few fake photos from the past of our character's heyday, with him doing a spot of fishing. See if you can guess what reference photo I sent her to base it on...
Captain America: Brave New World is stunningly lazy. The story, the set pieces and the storytelling are all really poor. The exposition is so incredibly heavy-handed that I was cringing every time they found a lame way to get information across. What really struck me was how B-Marvel it felt. Disney reinvented sequels with the MCU, and yet this felt like a return to lower budget, diminishing returns franchise filmmaking. I am beginning to wonder if the Russos can save the MCU.
Also, I came across a Nic Cage movie called The Humanity Bureau and it was not just fucking awful, which was funny, but totally boring too so I switched it off after 25 minutes. Worth it for seeing him fly fishing in a glass of water I suppose.
Got dragged to Snow White as my daughter was desperate to see it.
It wasn't good, but it also wasn't as bad as I feared. For all the talk about Rachel Zegler, she was OK, and I didn't even mind the CGI dwarves that much.
But Gal Godot as the evil queen was absolutely f***ing awful.
Currently watching Joker 2 from last year, why did they decide to turn it into a musical?
It's feeding into Arthur's fantasy world. With the exception of Grease, I hate musicals. But oddly, quite liked Joker 2. I think the musical side of it was integral to the plot so maybe that's why.
Flow - Latvian produced winner of Best Animation Feature at the Academy Awards. Obviously the animation is very impressive and it is artistically excellent. Has some gripping moments but as it nears the end it does start to drag in places which is not a great sign for such a short film. Unsure if kids will like it or grow a bit impatient but the plot is pretty simplistic for adults.
Just emerged from When Autumn Falls. If you like french films, you'll like this. Gently paced and absorbing. Very much enjoyed it, a solid 8.
To expand, I almost let my picturehouse membership lapse due to an almost incessant stream of mediocrity released over the past year, to the extent I struggled to remember the last properly decent film I'd seen, and found it difficult to use up my inclusive tickets. Then this was announced in an email and I thought I'd give them one more chance. So pleased I did, this film is excellent. The lead actress Helene Vincent is brilliant but the whole cast works perfectly.
Comments
I was pleased that I'm Still Here won the Best International Feature Oscar (Fernanda Torres' performance was in a different league to Mikey Maddison's). Like @Addickhead86, I was also pleased that No Other Land won the Best Documentary award - a pity that no USA distributor had the balls to take the film. Notwithstanding the Oscar, that is unlikely to change now given Trump's proposal that the United States “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip.
No Other Land is on Channel 4 tomorrow night at 23:15 and available to stream from Channel 4 for 28 days.
It is VERY Danny Dyer !
Will not be troubling the Oscar’s that’s for sure.
kickstarter.com/projects/deflatingnews/he-woke-up-to-deflating-news/
It's a short comedy about an old-timer who finds out that his local council are turning him into a high-street coffee shop, and follows his attempts to avoid this fate. It's starring Irish comedian Michael Redmond, who some may know better as Father Stone in Father Ted.
Any and all help would be welcome, and here's a little bit of Addicks influence on the film:
Our production designer wanted to create a few fake photos from the past of our character's heyday, with him doing a spot of fishing. See if you can guess what reference photo I sent her to base it on...
Also, I came across a Nic Cage movie called The Humanity Bureau and it was not just fucking awful, which was funny, but totally boring too so I switched it off after 25 minutes. Worth it for seeing him fly fishing in a glass of water I suppose.
It wasn't good, but it also wasn't as bad as I feared. For all the talk about Rachel Zegler, she was OK, and I didn't even mind the CGI dwarves that much.
But Gal Godot as the evil queen was absolutely f***ing awful.
What a story that is!
To expand, I almost let my picturehouse membership lapse due to an almost incessant stream of mediocrity released over the past year, to the extent I struggled to remember the last properly decent film I'd seen, and found it difficult to use up my inclusive tickets. Then this was announced in an email and I thought I'd give them one more chance. So pleased I did, this film is excellent. The lead actress Helene Vincent is brilliant but the whole cast works perfectly.
I will seek out more films by this director.