A Ukrainian audience member on BBC Question Time last week, pointed out that Anora was Russian propaganda, as in hegemonic. Haven't seen it myself but made me think - does it normalise Russia or Russian society or its people as somehow untroubled by war or shortcomings in daily living? Most films do to some extent, in my opinion, but anything notably/ apparently sinister with Anora?
A Ukrainian audience member on BBC Question Time last week, pointed out that Anora was Russian propaganda, as in hegemonic. Haven't seen it myself but made me think - does it normalise Russia or Russian society or its people as somehow untroubled by war or shortcomings in daily living? Most films do to some extent, in my opinion, but anything notably/ apparently sinister with Anora?
Didn’t feel it was spinning a line at all / remotely political.
It portrays as many ‘gangster’ films do a rich Russian family who get what they want because they buy it.
I have to admit to seeing the latest Bridget Jones film !
To be fair it’s quite decent and to my surprise hasn’t been the case of 1 sequel too many. Yes sentimental, yes predictable but that’s what you know before you start to watch.
Amusing cameo from Hugh Grant.
My Mrs took me to watch 'Mad about The Boy' on Valentines day, in a nice Curzon cinema (great seats). I was quietly dreading it but it was very pleasant. Agree with Valley Nick that Hugh Grant was good.
I have to admit to seeing the latest Bridget Jones film !
To be fair it’s quite decent and to my surprise hasn’t been the case of 1 sequel too many. Yes sentimental, yes predictable but that’s what you know before you start to watch.
Amusing cameo from Hugh Grant.
My Mrs took me to watch 'Mad about The Boy' on Valentines day, in a nice Curzon cinema (great seats). I was quietly dreading it but it was very pleasant. Agree with Valley Nick that Hugh Grant was good.
We watched it a couple of weeks ago, I tend to agree. My view was it was about 30 minutes too long and strongly agree that Hugh Grant is great in it, Rene Zellweger plays that part really well and its quite the thing for a Texan to do a posho British accent that well. I lost interest towards the end mainly due to the length but it was a decent film and had some genuine laughs
Not a latest film post so I apologise, but thought this fitted in nicely in a film thread. Just saw this story and thought how great!
"Terry Jones, one of the Monty Python team, shared an amusing tale about how the legendary Spike Milligan ended up with a cameo in *Life of Brian*. During the filming in Tunisia, Milligan happened to be visiting the area to pay respects at World War II battlefields. By sheer coincidence, he stopped by the Python set just as they were filming a scene involving wandering prophets.
Jones, always on the lookout for comic talent, invited Milligan to join in. Spike agreed, appearing in a brief role as a prophet who is ignored because his followers have chased after Brian. True to Milligan’s unpredictable nature, he disappeared later that same day, leaving the crew unable to capture any close-up shots or include him in promotional material. His brief presence, however, left an indelible mark on the film’s quirky charm."
Not recent, but Nightmare Alley is on C4 tonight at 9. Given the abject procession of meh films for months, this is one I'll watch again over the weekend. I found this hugely entertaining first time round.
The Last Showgirl was heartbreaking. Great supporting actress turn by Jaime Lee Curtis. Just need to see I’m Still Here tonight after the football to complete all of the Oscar nominees!
What are everyone's thoughts on last night's Oscar results? I didn't love it, but I'm surprised the Brutalist didn't get more, and I didn't see Anora sweeping everything.
Very happy for No Other Land winning best doc, was in my top films of last year, and might be the first film to win an Oscar without a distribution deal in the US.
What are everyone's thoughts on last night's Oscar results? I didn't love it, but I'm surprised the Brutalist didn't get more, and I didn't see Anora sweeping everything.
Very happy for No Other Land winning best doc, was in my top films of last year, and might be the first film to win an Oscar without a distribution deal in the US.
Very surprised by Anora. Conclave was far superior to me.
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.
Comments
it was pile of steaming turd . Awful
I kept thinking of Jack Nicholson when the balding hair was revealed.
"Terry Jones, one of the Monty Python team, shared an amusing tale about how the legendary Spike Milligan ended up with a cameo in *Life of Brian*. During the filming in Tunisia, Milligan happened to be visiting the area to pay respects at World War II battlefields. By sheer coincidence, he stopped by the Python set just as they were filming a scene involving wandering prophets.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7ev3wygl4o
Very happy for No Other Land winning best doc, was in my top films of last year, and might be the first film to win an Oscar without a distribution deal in the US.
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.