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I had two beers first !!
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Just finished psychological drama 'Beast'. Set in present day Jersey. Recommended.
Poor Things
Took a while to get into it but enjoyable on the whole.
Enjoyed costume and creative design throughout and Willem Dafoe, great performance as ever.
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Tetris. Watched it last night and it’s an excellent film. I quite liked Matthew Marsh as Gorbachev, but the story itself kept me hooked.
'The Death of Dick Long' on C4. An 'interesting' indie flick. I'll say no more :-0
King Richard on Netflix was truly superb 10/10. All based on the father/family of Venus & Serena Williams.
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“Talk To Me” is an Aussie horror film from last year, very good if you’re a fan of the genre.
Highly recommended. Battle for Sevastopol 2015.
Decorated woman sniper in Russian army with over 300 kills.
Very well done.
Went to see Dune part 2 at the weekend. Having enjoyed the first one (now available on Netflix) I knew what to expect and it delivered. For me its a grown up Star Wars and needs a visit to the cinema to do it justice.
THE TRAIN
One of the few classic war movies (1964) I've never seen - just fabulous.
Burt Lancaster and Paul Scofield, directed by John Frankenheimer - that alone should get you looking.
I agree, brilliant film, also highlighting the work of French train workers for the resistance. You also have "La Bataille du Rail" (Battle of the rails), a 1946 film by René Clément, narrated by Charles Boyer.
Amusing factoid about this film: Vietnam was starting its independence war against France when the film came out, and it was promptly removed from cinemas in Saigon as it was showing how the Resistance disabled and derailed trains; too late though, those techniques were used against French railways in Vietnam.
Followed by Von Ryan's Express to complete the trilogy. OK, maybe not.
No but you also have another "Le Train", from Pierre Granier-Deferre in 1973, this time about what we call the "exode", the exodus to Southern France (in this case La Rochelle and Belgian refugees) of populations in front of advancing German troops. It was from a book by Belgian Georges Simenon (of Commissaire Maigret fame), and a very personal film for both Simenon and the director: Simenon lived in La Rochelle at the time and was put in charge of Belgian refugees, and PGD lived through the exode as a 12yo.
Good satire on brainwashing, bigotry and nazi ideologies.
It's been mentioned but THE OUTFIT on Netflix is a cracker.
Very wordy and like watching play, as already noted. Feels like LA Confidential meets Glengarry Glen Ross.
As a fan of the book and the first one, Dune part 2 definitely hit the spot. Epic film making, particularly in IMAX, though I wouldn’t recommend sitting too close. You can safely ignore Kevin Maher’s whiney, wide of the mark review in the Times, the man is a certified idiot.
Zone of Interest - pretty good, but not really worthy of the hype.
Ferrari - Not bad, but pretty selective with the events covered. I expected to see the attempted take over by Ford and maybe some Le Mans action.
Totally agree about Poor Things. What a fantastic moment for cinema.
12 Angry Men is on Prime currently. Absolute classic.
Just spent 2 hours watching The Monuments Men. Don't bother. Just a whole lot of sentimental drivel trying to bee deep and meaningful. Wishy washy, predictable and painfully dull. The true story is probably incredible but this is a shit reflection of it.
Watching O Brother Where Art Thou for the umpteenth time .
It just never gets old .
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Others have already mentioned Dune 2, but I'll add another vote for it. If you enjoyed the first one, then you'll enjoy this one. (I love the book (and the first couple of sequels), and I think DV is making superb adaptations of them - diverging in parts, but delivering so well on so many aspects.)
NT Live: Vanya
Andrew Scott's one-man Chekov won't be everyone's nip of vodka but I really enjoyed it.
“Anatomy of a Fall”
Thought it was brilliant, very Cleverly written, keeps your attention and level of acting from young lad playing son amazing and the dog.
Worth a watch if you like the genre and leaves you thinking for days.
Dumb Money was good, like The Big Short but not as good.
Blackberry, a very good film based in the rise and fall of the company.
AKA Mr Chow - enigmatic and eccentric life story of marriage, death, fame and fortune.
Got around to watching 'Nomadland' on t'tellybox last night. 2020 was a strange old year to say the least, and this is a curiously claustrophobic movie given its protagonists spend so much time outdoors; a reflection of the times.
It deals with the escalating phenomenon of the washed-up elderly whose lives have unravelled just when it's hard to bootstrap themselves back into conventional society. Instead, they invest the last of their money into vans, trucks or campers in order to both simply live, and to follow seasonal work. Though Steinbeck gets a nod, the obvious simile is more with the now extinct 'hobo' culture: as misunderstood as it is largely forgotten. Fern is very much Steamtrain Maury-in-a-van.
Nomadland feels like a documentary, marbled with authenticity, helped hugely by the fact that many of its lead characters are not actors, but IRL 'nomads'. The book on which it is based was written by someone who went-out and lived the lifestyle, while the final brick in this solid wall is Frances McDormand, who not only ruthlessly pegs-down her ego in the lead-role, but is behind the scenes from the point of optioning the book, to engaging the director.
It's taken some criticism for failing to make its subject into some kind of misery memoir, and it doesn't ladle out much in the way of drama, little in the ways of emotional highs and lows, and of Action there is zero: as such stays true to reality. Like a good book, it provokes thought and leaves abundant room for your imagination to fill in the gaps. It garnered a slew of Oscars and other awards - and given how far from the mainstream it falls I'm honestly surprised by this, but I enjoyed it very much, not least because I've often wondered if this is how I'll play-out my own last few years...
Apparently I’m the only one who struggled with Poor Things. It was no doubt brilliant and original film making, great acting, art direction, music, wardrobe, photography, and all the rest of it. But for me it was also hard going from the start, and about an hour too long. Apparently a lot of people found it funny, unfortunately I didn’t have that reaction, at all. I got through it, but in the same way you can get through a visual migraine. It appeared clever without being in any way enjoyable. But it seems I’m in the minority, and a clutch of awards and nominations say I’m just wrong.
I haven't watched Poor Things yet but I have watched a couple of other Yiorgos Lanthimos' films; namely Death of a Sacred Deer and Dogtooth.
Both are weird films due careful attention paid to the art of film making and story telling so I can see why you felt you couldn't get into it.
Yiorgos films are not for everyone.
Personally, I am looking forward to watching Poor Things.
Hmmm we haven't got around to watching it yet...I'm intrigued, from the reviews I've read it sounds like something of a Frankenstein/ kinda Edward Scissor Hands mash up with a chick, sex scenes and obvs a feminist perspective...with a trippy steampunk aesthetic...bit of a sticking point in our house, the missus isn't a fan of Ruffalo.
We tried the big O, got bored after about 40 minutes and gave up, know the ending after all, yahoo, great man's 'become destroyer of worlds' super, not.
Funnily enough as a film maker myself, I could appreciate the brilliantly strong style and art direction, and the thinking behind the story, without actually enjoying watching it. I think the Victorian freak show vibe just creeped me out, and I never reached the point of finding it delightfully absurd, or fascinatingly odd, or darkly funny, or anything else people have been saying about it. The bonking also seemed relentless, I must be getting old. I managed better with some of his other films.
'Reality' on Amazon Prime is an interesting, detailed exploration of the interrogation of American whistleblower Reality Winner. Originally a play, it starts slowly but builds into a claustrophobic but compelling film.
What an excellent review, I think that you have encompassed the film brilliantly, thank you.
I watched it a couple of months ago and have to confess to feeling a little sad for a couple of days afterwards, it just showed another side to the American Dream and -as you say- Frances McDormand plays the role so subtly, it was fantastic
If anybody hasn't watched this, I highly recommend it
I watched Barbie last night !!!!! :)
I took my parents to see The Lavender Hill Mob on the big screen over the weekend. It's as delightful now as it ever was. The scenes dealing with French passport control and customs whilst rushing to board at Calais added a rather wry element.
What a film, what a cast. Alec Guinness was a legend long before the Star Wars crap. Stanley Holloway, Sid James and Alfie Bass complete a Stella line up. Love those old Ealing films, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Passport to Pimlico and the Titfield Thunderbolt are equally brilliant.
My favourite is The Magnet filmed in 1950 in my birth place of New Brighton starring a 10 year old James Fox and shows loads of location shots around the Wirral, Liverpool docks and the long gone Overhead Railway. Great stuff.
Watched Titanic 2 at the weekend.
Avoid at all costs.
You might enjoy the book that I bought my dad for his birthday.
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Finally watched Dune, which is great, but also watched The Founder, which is the Micheal Keaton film about the bloke who nicked McDonald's from the two brothers who started it. Really good, and enlightening!
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