Last movie watched...

[Richmond Clements]

Really don't understand how anyone could appreciate Valhalla Rising on anything other than a superficial technical level. As I said, lovely looking, atmospheric film and clearly made by talented people, but it's a plotless, pretentious bore through and through. Felt like a big budget student film.

Yes, it was a real waste of talent I thought. Particularly the endless middle section with a load of thesps pondering in an obviously studio bound boat.

[bigjobs67]

I f##kin love that bit. I think it should be viewed as a kind of earth based Space journey as they travel from the their world to the 'New World' and trip the f##k out when they eventually get their. Such a great movie. I've said it before earlier in this tread but Refin ROCKS!! Put that in yer pipe and smoke it. Lol.

[Ghastly McNasty]

You do realise telling me not to watch Human Centipede 2 just makes me want to watch it more than I did before, don't you.

If the stories you've written are anything to go by, you would probably enjoy it, you sicko It is a good film, i watched the uncut version which prob didn't help.

Valhalla Rising - What a waste of my life that was. Resent that film for looking like it should be brilliant and being so so rubbish.

Watched Dale and Tucker VS Evil last night - Quality film. A must for fans of college students hunted by hillbillys movies.

[bigjobs67]

Your so wrong about 'Valhalla Rising'. Like sprouts, your filmic taste buds may hate it now but you will eventually come to love it as they mature. Trust. Lol.

[Richmond Clements]

I f##kin love that bit. I think it should be viewed as a kind of earth based Space journey as they travel from the their world to the 'New World' and trip the f##k out when they eventually get their. Such a great movie. I've said it before earlier in this tread but Refin ROCKS!! Put that in yer pipe and smoke it. Lol.

It should be view as that, you're right. But is was painfully obvious it was nothing but filler (and ploddingly written filler at that) that was there because they hadn't got the budget to film any more on the water.

[bigjobs67]

Maybe! but still affecting and not a cliched epic sea voyage type thing in any way shape or form.
A bit of the 'Kubrick' about it I thought.
Also loved the scene where they all get messed up on some strange viking 'Peyote' with Mads Mikkelsen character (incredibly brutalized but ultimately sorted) the only one to hold his shit together as everyone else starts freaking out.
Gonna watch this again on Blue ray with a gin+juice and a big fat doobe! Lol.

[I, Cosh]

Narrative is a cage. I thought Mikkelson was electrifying in this and the score was almost as good: http://forums.2000adonline.com/index.php?topic=24797.0

Story - 3/10
Atmosphere - 11/10
Bug-eyed intensity - 9/10

Looks and sounds amazing and Mads Mikkelson is fabulous in this. Admittedly, almost everyone else is awful. I'd love to see him fight Snake Plisskin for the title of World's Hardest Monocular Man.

[radiator]

Narrative is a cage.

I disagree completely with that. Narrative is essential - without one I get bored very quickly. Pretty pictures aren't enough on their own to sustain my interest for 90+ minutes. If you're just making what is essentially a mood piece, then why make it a very padded feature length film - Valhalla Rising would have been infinitely better as a short film. I thought the soundtrack was ok, but bordering on distracting/irritating at times.

Out of interest, would you watch it again?

[bigjobs67]

Over and over and over! lol. You on for a bit of 'Quatermas and the Pit'? BOYYY!!!!. The Copper talkin about 'Hobbs End'. shits me rite up every time. get this on blue ray. Trust.

[dweezil2]

Because I'm a masochist I went to see The Phantom Menace 3D-it's still a load of bollocks!

[Gonk]

Just watched an excellent film called "The Secret Agent". It's a 12 cert so I didn't think it would be much good after reading the book but I was really pleased with it. It's got a good cast : Bob Hoskins, Gerard Depardieu, Christian Bale and Patricia Arquette are in it, along with Robin Williams who plays a loony of a terrorist. I was totally carried along by the story and great acting.     

[Emp]

Tucker & Dale Vs Evil.

Claims to do for rednecks what Shaun of the dead did for zombies.....and it fails. Not that its a bad film but its no Shaun of the dead.
Its clever in that the high school kids only ever hear the worst parts of any conversation and jump to the wrong idea and it shows how classic scenes may have been misconstrued.

Not a brilliant flick but not the worst 80 odd mins i ever sat through.

[Pete Wells]

I finally got round to watching Scott Pilgrim last night. Quite enjoyed it and, as ever, Edgar Wright was wonderful.

[I, Cosh]

Narrative is a cage.

I disagree completely with that. Narrative is essential - without one I get bored very quickly. Pretty pictures aren't enough on their own to sustain my interest for 90+ minutes. If you're just making what is essentially a mood piece, then why make it a very padded feature length film - Valhalla Rising would have been infinitely better as a short film. I thought the soundtrack was ok, but bordering on distracting/irritating at times.

Out of interest, would you watch it again?

Good question. I think I would, although I probably wouldn't go out my way to and I might get fed up halfway through. I wouldn't argue that it may have been more effective as a short but, for me, the problem with it overall wasn't the lengthy posing around in funny colour scenes but how wooden every other performance is when compared to Mikkelson. That is particularly problematic during the boat scene.

As for narrative, well I don't think every film should be a freeform collection of sense impressions and jarring cuts, nor would I want everything I watch to be like that. However, I do think there are a lot of different things that can be done in film and telling a story is just one of them. I'm not suggesting they're equivalent but look at something like Pulp Fiction. The actual plot is so slight that even chopping it up and showing it out of sequence it's almost non-existent. Instead, almost everything worthwhile and memorable about it is simply texture and mood: a series of neat vignettes connected only in the loosest of fashions by the same characters.

There are also some pretty obvious similarities between Valhalla Rising and Bronson: both clearly start with the idea of a strong central character, get a good actor in to play him then attempt to explore, if not necessarily illuminate, him in an unusual way. Actually from what I remember of Pusher it fits that template to an extent too and Drive sounds like a Hollywoody variation on the same theme, although I haven't seen it yet.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a fabulous film but I did enjoy it and still find it interesting even though I know it's up itself. Did you know what to expect from it? I ask because most of the ire I've seen directed at it was from people who had been expecting more of a straightforward action outing whereas I knew in advance what I was getting.

I guess we have differing tastes on the music too. I actually waited for the credits to roll so I could see who it was by before leaving.

[Ghastly McNasty]

The DVD cover, poster and trailer I saw made it look like a non stop action movie with battle scenes and blood aplenty. Might have appreciated it more if I hadn't seen these things first.