Case 39 : Dear oh dear - this was on telly last night.

Filmed in 2009 with Renne Zellwegger - it's a supernatural story of a demon child adopted by Renne for some reason.

Said child begins to reveal her powers-cum-craziness to the cost of all she meets etc . . . blah, blah, yawn.

It's literally a joke of a movie, almost 70's B-movie territory.

The sound is terrible, every conceivable cliché has be thrown at it ... and made in 2009 - it's unforgivably bad.

Rarely do I switch a movie off but this one - yep !!

Score : 3/10

Saint posted:

10, CLoverfield Lane :

This is an odd and rather pointless movie.

It's links to the original Cloverfield are tenuous at best .

This is a hostage movie - nothing more. And all done before.

The main protagonist goes through the typical gambit of emotions - imagine what a hostage would go through - she goes through it.

Having said that it's interesting and shocking at times - not dull at least.

 

Until the end which I rather bizarrely linked to the original movie - loosely.

Quite odd . . .

Score : 5/10

 

To be fair I did not rate the original film. After watching it my first thought was that the writer had mashed together three films and come out with Cloverfield. 

The beginning of Cloverfield (bit before the monster) was great - loved the relationship stuff and characters, reminiscent of 'ThirtySomething'.

If any series akin to the beginning of Cloverfield exists I would love to know about it.

Excellent cast, criminally underused in movies after Cloverfield.

None of you will have ever seen the 1950 film Coriolan. It was made by the French director Jean Cocteau. His best known film is his version of Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête).

The film was shot over the course of several years, mostly during weekends at Jean Cocteau's country house at Milly-la-foret outside Paris. The filming was done by Henri Filipacchi with his amateur 16-millimeter camera. There is no negative since the film used was Kodak 16 millimeter "inversible" (translated from French). The principal actors where Jean Marais, Josette Day and Jean Cocteau himself but certain friends who where invited to his country house on those weekends are visible at the beginning of the film. They include Paul Morhien, Jean Genet, George Mathis, the owner of the restaurant "Le Catalan" whose name is forgotten as well as Henri Filipacchi himself among others. Le film was silent and there was no crew other then Henri Filipacchi the cameraman. Henri Filipacchi showed the movie several times in his apartment on rue d' Assas in Paris to guests on Sundays: they included, Roberto Rosselini, Hughes Panassie, Simone Signoret and Micheline Presles. Henri Filipacchi kept the original and only copy of this film and at his death in 1961 passed it on to his son Daniel who is its current owner. Since then, the film has never been shown since Jean Cocteau and Henri Filipacchi had cleared instructed that this movie never be shown to anyone other then close friends. Jean Cocteau and Henri Filipacchi said: "It is our 'Chef d' Oeuvre Inconnu'" (Unknown Masterpiece).

Saint posted:

The beginning of Cloverfield (bit before the monster) was great - loved the relationship stuff and characters, reminiscent of 'ThirtySomething'.

 

If any series akin to the beginning of Cloverfield exists I would love to know about it.

Excellent cast, criminally underused in movies after Cloverfield.

Wot yer on about! I thought it was c.a.r.p. 

I thought the actors in Cloverfield were amazing.

Excellent young talent

Deserving of their own "Friends" kinda series - seriously.

Remember the show "Thirty-something" - a show like that

Saint posted:

I thought the actors in Cloverfield were amazing.

Excellent young talent

Deserving of their own "Friends" kinda series - seriously.

Remember the show "Thirty-something" - a show like that

I couldn't stand them and couldn't wait for them to get smooshed! Bahaha  

Due Date : Robert Downey Jnr and Zach Ghiliroroeiejdjdvbdbe-kis

Well . . . it's ok - a colour-by-numbers crazy road movie type thing.

Entertaining in parts but could have easily been made better.

I remember Bruce Willis' Blind Date being better and Due Date is in a very similar vein.

Hmmmm . . . . not bad all in all.

Score : 7/10

The Firm : Watching it on telly for the umpteenth time and still as good.

Tom Cruise at his best and a great script/supporting cast.

Hard to fault

Score : 8.5/10

I watched X-Men: Apocalypse last night - thoroughly enjoyed it - opted for a 3D screening and believe it was worthwhile given the amount of action sequences.

The trailer for Independence Day 2 looked awesome in 3D.

Saint posted:

The Firm : Watching it on telly for the umpteenth time and still as good.

Tom Cruise at his best and a great script/supporting cast.

Hard to fault

 

Score : 8.5/10

I suspect you are not talking about this film then...

No but it looks erm . . . interesting

I watched The Nice Guys on Saturday night.

Part violent noir-ish thriller, part slapstick comedy... I thought it worked well and enjoyed it - but I notice the reviews are not all positive.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Tonight on Channel 4. I must have been in the mood and quite receptive to it as I really enjoyed it. I thought the pace was good, the story moved along well and some good scenery along with the odd comic moment made for an entertaining watch. I liked the ending and negative reveal.

Every so often I catch a Ben Stiller directed or produced movie and enjoy it even though I'm 50/50 on his acted films. Submarine being the other I enjoyed.

Would recommend, defo on a Sunday evening.

on holiday we watched 'behind the door' complete and utter sh!te

i watched the purge election years-i enjoyed that cos ive watched the 1st 2 & i like the idea of finishing a few people off that annoy me...im starting with....well im not telling you lol

Quick visit - can't stay

ATONEMENT - I love it.

"The truth is, I feel rather lightheaded and foolish in your presence, and I don't think I can blame the heat."

Saint posted:

Quick visit - can't stay

ATONEMENT - I love it.

"The truth is, I feel rather lightheaded and foolish in your presence, and I don't think I can blame the heat."

 Hope you're getting through Sainty, and it's lovely to see you. Maybe you'll pop into the CBB thread?

I liked Atonement - thought James McEvoy was fantastic - but wish there'd been a better leading actress. Ikea Knightley was bloomin' awful. 

Enthusiastic Contrafibularities posted:

Saint posted:

The Firm : Watching it on telly for the umpteenth time and still as good.

Tom Cruise at his best and a great script/supporting cast.

Hard to fault

 

Score : 8.5/10

I suspect you are not talking about this film then...

 

I had this on video cassette taped from the original broadcast and must have watched it a dozen times through the 90's - until I no longer owned a VCR!

Does anyone remember a similar TV drama from around the same time called: Arrivederci Millwall?

A few films I've seen recently:

Central Intelligence

The Legend of Tarzan

Jason Bourne

Suicide Squad

You go to the cinema a lot?

I'm a 5 minute walk away from a Cineworld cinema and do go quite regularly.

For fans of Alfred Hitchcock films, the Talking Pictures TV channel will be showing his 1930 film Murder! on Saturday 10th at shortly after noon. It's about a juror on a murder case, after voting to convict has second thoughts and decides to investigate.

It's only his second sound film in that genre, the first being Blackmail which was the first British film with sound. I wouldn't expect much from the film but I can't recall it having been shown on television before.

Titanic  -  I felt they somewhat telegraphed the ending.

Poland's most important film director Andrzej Wajda has died.
https://www.gagajoyjoy.com/topi...drzej-wajda-has-died

El Loro posted:

Poland's most important film director Andrzej Wajda has died.
https://www.gagajoyjoy.com/topi...drzej-wajda-has-died

I have actually heard of him and noticed that over recent years a number of his films have appeared on blu-ray in the World Section.

ARBITRAGE with that there Richard Gere - whose middle name is TIFFANY !!!!

Very well acted, wonderfully shot and interesting story that built well.

But sadly it was pretty much a colour-by-numbers kinda thing, never really grabbing my attention nor giving real tension.

It remains another 'drama'

Watched "The English Patient" recently.

Wonderful, beautifully shot, great acting and i'm a sucker for anything WW2

 . . . and it has the gorgeous Juliet Binoche. If that's not good enough it has the elegantly sophisticated Kristin Scott Thomas *swoon*

"No Escape" was better than expected and well worth watching.  

I had moderate expectations of "Eye in the Sky" but it far exceeded my expectations.  

A few bits didn't quite ring true like the melodramatic reaction of the US service personnel but the political toing and froing and respective moral differences between the US and UK was well played.  Overall, a really good film that raised ethical points that aren't black and white.

Carnelian posted:

"No Escape" was better than expected and well worth watching.  

I had moderate expectations of "Eye in the Sky" but it far exceeded my expectations.  

 

A few bits didn't quite ring true like the melodramatic reaction of the US service personnel but the political toing and froing and respective moral differences between the US and UK was well played.  Overall, a really good film that raised ethical points that aren't black and white.

Have you seen "Good Kill", starring Ethan Hawke?

On the face of it, they look like being very similar (both about the ethics of drone strikes), but IMO they each manage to stand on their own. "Eye in the Sky" is about one specific mission, whereas "Good Kill" looks at the effects on one individual over a period of time - think of it like being "EitS" seen solely from the POV of the Aaron Paul character...

I'm in this (apparently) 

It looks great

Every time I see the reference T2, I always think Terminator 2.

i watched world war z again the other night-its not well rated but i love it-a bit of mindless zombie violence is good for you...probably

The 1927 silent film Napoleon will be shown in some cinemas from tomorrow and will be released on BluRay and DVD on the 21st.

The ffilm was directed by the Frenchman Abel Gance. It's not a complete history of Napoleon as Gance had hoped to make sequels but did not raise the money to direct them himself. Kevin Brownlow, possibly Britain's foremost film restorer, spent many years trying to restore the film to its original length. Although there are still some scenes missing, this version is the most complete. A version was shown on television some years ago but this is an improved version.

It was one of the most technically advance films made at that time. The finale was filmed with three cameras side by side to create the first use of widescreen in film. It is a massive film - this version runs for just over five and a half hours. If you are able to see it at a cinema you'll be able to get the full impact of the finale which will be lessened by watching it on a televison.

You will notice in the trailer that the late Stanley Kubrick called the film a masterpiece of cinematic invention. Kubrick had hoped for many years to be able to make a film about Napoleon, did a substantial amount of research, script writing and plannng but of course never made it.

El Loro posted:

The 1927 silent film Napoleon will be shown in some cinemas from tomorrow and will be released on BluRay and DVD on the 21st.

 

The ffilm was directed by the Frenchman Abel Gance. It's not a complete history of Napoleon as Gance had hoped to make sequels but did not raise the money to direct them himself. Kevin Brownlow, possibly Britain's foremost film restorer, spent many years trying to restore the film to its original length. Although there are still some scenes missing, this version is the most complete. A version was shown on television some years ago but this is an improved version.

 

It was one of the most technically advance films made at that time. The finale was filmed with three cameras side by side to create the first use of widescreen in film. It is a massive film - this version runs for just over five and a half hours. If you are able to see it at a cinema you'll be able to get the full impact of the finale which will be lessened by watching it on a televison.

 

You will notice in the trailer that the late Stanley Kubrick called the film a masterpiece of cinematic invention. Kubrick had hoped for many years to be able to make a film about Napoleon, did a substantial amount of research, script writing and plannng but of course never made it.

Also released on blu-ray 

Ghost in the Shell

Trailer

El Loro posted:

The 1927 silent film Napoleon will be shown in some cinemas from tomorrow and will be released on BluRay and DVD on the 21st.

Meant to thank you earlier for posting this, EL. I did see it when it was shown on TV and it's really extraordinary. Would love to see it in the cinema, but I doubt I'll get the chance.

Reviews are great and it looks good 

Sing Street: Great music, good performances, weak story.

Eugene's Lair posted:

El Loro posted:

The 1927 silent film Napoleon will be shown in some cinemas from tomorrow and will be released on BluRay and DVD on the 21st.

Meant to thank you earlier for posting this, EL. I did see it when it was shown on TV and it's really extraordinary. Would love to see it in the cinema, but I doubt I'll get the chance.

I knew I would not get the chance to go see at the cinema and given it's length might not have been able to sustain one continuous sitting. 

So I purchased it on blu-ray. Here is an exploded pack shot.

Eugene's Lair posted:

Carnelian posted:

"No Escape" was better than expected and well worth watching.  

I had moderate expectations of "Eye in the Sky" but it far exceeded my expectations.  

 

A few bits didn't quite ring true like the melodramatic reaction of the US service personnel but the political toing and froing and respective moral differences between the US and UK was well played.  Overall, a really good film that raised ethical points that aren't black and white.

Have you seen "Good Kill", starring Ethan Hawke?

On the face of it, they look like being very similar (both about the ethics of drone strikes), but IMO they each manage to stand on their own. "Eye in the Sky" is about one specific mission, whereas "Good Kill" looks at the effects on one individual over a period of time - think of it like being "EitS" seen solely from the POV of the Aaron Paul character...

Yep saw that, but preferred Eye in the Sky, although "Good Kill" was a good film that explored the scenario, consequences and morality of warfare by remote control.