Latest Films

Fanny Fanackapan

WOW, Dazzler21 ! 

That info was amazing & made us look forward to seeing  the film in a few weeks' time even more . 

Thanks x

Billy_Mix

JiMMy 85 said:

Just back from The Odyssey. As you’d expect, a thoroughly riveting spectacle. 

I thought the editing was the real hero. It has that lean approach nearly all Nolan movies have, and in spite of it being packed with exposition, myriad locations and interweaving time periods, it flows beautifully.

It’s not perfect. The villain is woefully under-developed. He was a bit rude at the dinner table over and over again. 

And a fight sequence late on has shades of other Nolan movies in which he does a kind of wavy-hands thing and hopes broad strokes cover up some character actions that don’t make a lick of sense. “Get the shield!” / “Get the spear!” / “Get the sword!”

And there’s one beat that repeats three times, and I can see it becoming a bit of a meme. “To the boats!” 

Still, minor quibbles. It’s well worth seeing on the biggest screen possible. A couple of the set pieces are absolutely stupendous. 

spectacular interpretation when this and much of Nolan's releases grind towards 3 hours

Making_all_the_noise

End of Oak Street - Unsure why it has got mixed reviews. Really enjoyed it, great fun, plenty of jumps and far far better than anything the Jurassic Park franchise has produced for years. Thought it was really good. 

Making_all_the_noise

Coyote v ACME - good fun jokes for kids and some hit home for adults too who can bask in some Loony Tunes nostalgia. Quite unusual to see live animation films these days but this one is pretty decent. 

Pressure - Far better than Darkest Hour imo (which unlike most viewers, I thought was poorly acted). This one has faultless performances by the cast, a couple of them award worthy. An interesting take on D-Day and maintains tension throughout. One of the best films released this year. 

usetobunkin

Saw Pressure, recently visited Southwick House just outside side Portsmouth. The big map is Operation  Neptune  the naval element of Overlord.  Staggs weather reports are framed and one has some remarks by Ike. 

Not historically accurate, but great film to hopefully trigger interest in the subject. 

Making_all_the_noise

Heart of the Beast - one of the worst films I’ve ever seen in the cinema. The dog is the best actor in the movie. Brad Pitt churns through cliches and tropes at an alarming rate in a wooden performance. This is a cross between Turner and Hooch/The Revenant, except they’re top films and this is dross. Felt like AI wrote a plot and screenplay with the instructions to create a survival dog/man buddy film that will appeal in a base level simply to dog lovers. 

As bad as it is, maybe the weirdest thing about the trip to the cinema was seeing the trailer for Digger…I mean that looks like one hot funk mess of a film. If anyone is willing to sit through it, I’d be interested to hear your opinions.

Fanny Fanackapan

Making_all_the_noise said:

Heart of the Beast - one of the worst films I’ve ever seen in the cinema. The dog is the best actor in the movie. Brad Pitt churns through cliches and tropes at an alarming rate in a wooden performance. This is a cross between Turner and Hooch/The Revenant, except they’re top films and this is dross. Felt like AI wrote a plot and screenplay with the instructions to create a survival dog/man buddy film that will appeal in a base level simply to dog lovers. 

As bad as it is, maybe the weirdest thing about the trip to the cinema was seeing the trailer for Digger…I mean that looks like one hot funk mess of a film. If anyone is willing to sit through it, I’d be interested to hear your opinions.

Totally agree with the comments on Digger- trailer seen at The Odyssey.

First I'd heard of it and will now wait to read what the critics have to say.

usetobunkin

Digger is Dr Strangelove for climate change. 

hoof_it_up_to_benty

VERITY - Had the misfortune to watch this. Terrible plot and wooden acting.

ken_shabby

The Substance
Finally caught this film. Felt a bit of a combination of Dorian Gray meets desperate women wanting to stay young. And to begin with it was interesting. But as it progressed the plot diminished while it seemed as if the only real thing lumping the film along was increasingly gross scenes. And so it wandered on to one of the dumbest endings I've seen in a film 
Awful awful film. Doesn't even deserve a Razzie.

Blucher

 I saw a lot of films at the London Film Festival over 10 days earlier this month. These seven were my favourites:

Minotaur: a 2026 domestic and political thriller directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan) and based on the 1969 French film The Unfaithful Wife by Claude Chabrol. Set against the backcloth of the Russian-Ukrainian War, the life of an arrogant business owner starts to unravel. An excoriating vision of Putin’s gangster State and one of my two LFF favourites with Fjord. It's released into UK cinemas next month.

Fjord: a devoutly religious and traditional Romanian Norwegian couple resettle in a remote village with their five children. When their adolescent daughter shows up at school with some bruises on her body, the parents stand accused of child abuse. Loosely inspired by the true story of a family whose children were forcefully taken from them by the authorities in Norway. Winner of the Palme d’Or, a family legal drama with outstanding performances from Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan (last seen in The Apprentice as Donald Trump). Released into UK cinemas next month. 

La Bola Negra - Spain’s entry for the Best International Feature Oscar. An epic over three timeframes: 1932, 1937 (the Spanish Civil War) and 2017, as the lives of three gay men become intertwined. I’m sure it will be nominated, although it is long at 165 mins.

Wild Horse Nine: a good black comedy from Martin McDonagh, with an excellent cast, including John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi.

Rose: Sandra Hüller assumes a male identity following a war in 17th century Germany (“it’s easier with trousers”). Very atmospheric, if a bit sombre, so it won't be everyone's cup of tea.

Fatherland: In 1949, author Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller) return to Germany after sixteen years, driving across a war-ruined, divided country from Frankfurt in the West to Weimar in the Russian controlled East. It did not quite meet my heightened expectations and is not at the level of Pawlikowski’s masterpiece, Ida. It is however a well crafted and interesting period piece, with excellent cinematography and is, in my view, well worth a watch. In UK cinemas now.

Tender Loving Care: Amy, a government child protection worker moves in with her best friend Rosie a social worker, as they deal with difficult clients and their respective romantic lives. Meanwhile, Amy's ageing parents navigate their own health and life challenges. A fine drama/comedy, with such likeable characters. It is Mike Leigh’s last film and he certainly goes out on a high. 

Festival films I missed but want to see: The Beloved, Look Back (Koreeda), Bunker and Woman Unknown.

iainment

On my way to see Fatherland right now.

Recently saw Rififi, which I really enjoyed. And Everyone digs Bill Evans which has nominations all over it. Good film.

IdleHans

Reading Bluchers very helpful reviews above, I noticed one of the films is 165 minutes. Add on the trailers beforehand, which I like to see, and there's three hours. To my mind that's a three drink film but I'm of an age now where I can't drink three drinks and not go for a wee. Why do they not stick a ten minute interval in anything over two and a half hours - surely they'd sell more drinks as well?

DaveMehmet

Saw Ghosts tonight with the family. Admittedly we’re all fans but thought it was brilliant. Didn’t feel like they were just cashing in on the popularity of the series. Decent storyline and some really funny moments.

charlton4ever

DaveMehmet said:

Saw Ghosts tonight with the family. Admittedly we’re all fans but thought it was brilliant. Didn’t feel like they were just cashing in on the popularity of the series. Decent storyline and some really funny moments.

we are going tomorrow. 

Weegie Addick

@Blucher we got along to Bunker and Isabel. I had high hopes for the latter but in the end it was rather shallow and self-indulgent. 

Bunker on the other hand exceeded expectations. It’s not that highly rated on IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes but actually we found it quite well done, topical and well-acted. Steven Graham stealing the show as usual. The one thing which jarred for me was the London setting as some of the events are not at all London. So needed to suspend belief a bit for that. I’d recommend it though - not a classic but decent enough.

iainment

Fatherland excellent. A must see.

DeGaulle Part 1 Resistance. Really good, well worth seeing. I’m seeing part 2 next week.

Bournemouth Addick

I saw Greenland 2 on Amazon this week. Having considered the first one to be the worst movie I'd seen that year, I was drawn into the sequel by what must be a strong sense of sadomasochism, and curiosity that it couldn't possibly be as bad as the first. To my surprise, it's even worse!

Good lord, how does utter garbage like that still get green lit? Would be a proper 'straight to video' back in the day, so I suppose being a filler movie on Netflix/Amazon is now the equivalent.

I can't stress enough to avoid this junk if you're looking for something to watch.

Blucher

Weegie Addick said:

@Blucher we got along to Bunker and Isabel. I had high hopes for the latter but in the end it was rather shallow and self-indulgent. 

Bunker on the other hand exceeded expectations. It’s not that highly rated on IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes but actually we found it quite well done, topical and well-acted. Steven Graham stealing the show as usual. The one thing which jarred for me was the London setting as some of the events are not at all London. So needed to suspend belief a bit for that. I’d recommend it though - not a classic but decent enough.

Thanks, Weegie - I'll definitely try and get to see Bunker when it comes out in the cinemas. I like Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, whilst Stephen Graham is always good value.

I also saw Isabel - a film lacking any real heft.

Weegie Addick

We were lucky enough to be at the Premier with both Cruz and Bardem. It might have helped our view of the film a little bit! 

Weegie Addick said:

@Blucher we got along to Bunker and Isabel. I had high hopes for the latter but in the end it was rather shallow and self-indulgent. 

Bunker on the other hand exceeded expectations. It’s not that highly rated on IMDb / Rotten Tomatoes but actually we found it quite well done, topical and well-acted. Steven Graham stealing the show as usual. The one thing which jarred for me was the London setting as some of the events are not at all London. So needed to suspend belief a bit for that. I’d recommend it though - not a classic but decent enough.

Thanks, Weegie - I'll definitely try and get to see Bunker when it comes out in the cinemas. I like Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, whilst Stephen Graham is always good value.

I also saw Isabel - a film lacking any real heft.

Weegie Addick

Saw Ghosts tonight and had a good laugh. It is what it is. 

hoof_it_up_to_benty

WICKER

Enjoyable fantasy film based on a short story about a romance with a Wicker man starring Olivia Colman - an easy watch and some funny scenes.