Last movie watched...

[sheridan]

At some point, I'm going to copy and paste Radiator's comments, only with "Batman & Robin" where "Jurassic Park" would be.

The one Batman film (including Adam West) which I've only ever seen once.

[TordelBack]

At some point, I'm going to copy and paste Radiator's comments, only with "Batman & Robin" where "Jurassic Park" would be.

The one Batman film (including Adam West) which I've only ever seen once.

You got something against lingering closeups of rubberclad crotches, huh? Back to ISIL with you.

[Dandontdare]

Also recently saw Bill Drummond documentary Imagine Waking Up Tomorrow and All Music Has Disappeared. Bill rolls out a few of the old KLF stories as he wanders aimlessly around Europe trying to get random people to take part in his conceptual, site-specific musical performances.

It's repeating a lot of the same ideas from his No Music Day and there's a whiff of the second-rate avant gardener about some of his pieces. This is all just about offset by Bill's gruff charm and the way he manages to leave the majority of his random vocalists slightly bemused but clearly happy about having done something daft.

Haven't seen this, but I saw him do a talk and Q&A at his book launch a few years ago - went in thinking he was an avant garde genius, came out thinking he was a pretentious twat. He devoted a lot of time to explaining why the 'shuffle' function is a thing of evil and is disrespectful to artists. Still love KLF though.

[dweezil2]

Watched Spectre last night- formulaic and tired in the extreme and that's saying something for a Bond movie!

Craig looked bored shitless during the whole thing too.

[Daveycandlish]

Crimson Peak.
Someone described it as Jane Eyre meets Hammer horror and that sums it up nicely.
Looks beautiful with a few creepy bits chucked for good measure. Worth a watch.

[Professor Bear]

At some point, I'm going to copy and paste Radiator's comments, only with "Batman & Robin" where "Jurassic Park" would be.

The one Batman film (including Adam West) which I've only ever seen once.

I understand completely.  It is, after all, the only film about Batman that is poorly-made and inherently silly.

[radiator]

I'd just like to offer my support and say that Radiator is one hundred percent correct in everything he says about Jurassic Park. It's a beautifully crafted film in every regard.

Jurassic World can be most charitably described as 'content'.

In the same way that I reckon NOBODY would have anything nice to say about The Phantom Menace if, instead of being a Star Wars film, it was just called 'Generic Space Adventure Film', I'm completely convinced that nobody would have any time for Jurassic World without the nostalgic connection to the far, far superior Jurassic Park.

Thank you, thought I was going mad for a minute there! 'Content' sums it up perfectly.

Totally agree about your broader point as well - Jurassic World, the Bond movies, Prometheus... Based on their last few entries alone and separated from nostalgia for the iconic originals, these franchises would be dead in the water.

I can't believe people still fall for it *goes and watches The Force Awakens trailer for 17th time*

Damn it!!!!

Anyway, last night we watched The Two Faces of January on Netflix.

It's a thriller that treads very similar ground to The Talented Mr Ripley (its adapted from a book by the same author), so if you've seen that film you'll know what to expect - glamorous, handsome, well-to-do (or are they?) Americans swanning about in 1950s Mediterranean countries and getting embroiled in intrigue and murder.

Really enjoyed it, a really taut, engaging and beautifully shot film that is all wrapped up in just over 90 minutes. Viggo Mortensen and Oscar Isaac play off each other brilliantly, though I felt Kirsten Dunst was a little miscast - she's fine but plays quite a pivotal role and it seemed to me to require a more magnetic actress with a bit more star quality.

[I, Cosh]

Also recently saw Bill Drummond documentary Imagine Waking Up Tomorrow and All Music Has Disappeared ...

Haven't seen this, but I saw him do a talk and Q&A at his book launch a few years ago - went in thinking he was an avant garde genius, came out thinking he was a pretentious twat. He devoted a lot of time to explaining why the 'shuffle' function is a thing of evil and is disrespectful to artists. Still love KLF though.

It's always a fine line and I was a bit worried it was heading the wrong way at the start.

[radiator]

The Guest.

Man oh man. Can't believe I'd heard such good things about this film. Starts out with what could be a really neat premise for a low key, slow burn of a thriller, then suddenly accelerates headlong into laughably hokey b-movie nonsense, and gets exponentially sillier until the credits roll.

Some really clunky dialogue and acting too - like student-film level bad.

Also demonstrates just what a remarkable balancing act Drive did in turning the incongruous pairing of stylised, brutal screen violence and retro synth pop into cinematic gold, because The Guest tries really hard to do it and its just embarrassing.

[Theblazeuk]

I loved it!

But it was pretty clear it was a b-movie from the first minute of the acting.

[Mardroid]

Centurion

I've had this for a while but only got round to watching it yesterday evening.

I think that maybe they should have left out the voiceover narration. And some of the acting struck me as a bit iffy, mainly the delivery of certain characters.

Overall though, I thought it a very good film. Highly enjoyable.

[spoiler]I was a bit worried the Romans would be depicted as the good guys and the Picts the villains, but, it really is not as simple as that. The Roman legionaries are very likeable characters, and I found myself hoping things would work out for them (and I'm usually on the side of the so called barbarians in these things) but the Picts motivations are totally understandable.[/spoiler]

[radiator]

I loved it!

But it was pretty clear it was a b-movie from the first minute of the acting.

I could maybe get behind some of the sillier elements in The Guest if it had a more playful, tongue in cheek tone. But I didn't really get that from it - quite the opposite; I actually got the impression the folks making it genuinely thought they were filming a great script, and the film actually seems (to me at least) to play it fairly straight and take itself quite seriously.

The bizarre, out of nowhere, [spoiler]quasi science fiction[/spoiler] twist the plot takes around halfway through was where it really started to fall apart for me, and by the [spoiler]slasher panto[/spoiler] finale I was just laughing at it rather than with it. The plot, which for the first half hour or so seems to be leading somewhere vaguely interesting, just gives up trying to make any kind of sense and then just shrugs and says [spoiler]'I guess he's just going to kill everyone now'.[/spoiler] And that final shot. Ugh.

I think the thing that irked me most about it was that I haven't seen a film that strives so desperately hard to manufacture 'cool' cinematic moments (and just comes across as cringeworthy) since all those Tarantino and Guy Ritchie knock-offs in the late nineties. I could see what they were going for with the soundtrack (Drive, essentially) but it was really misjudged imo (and a 20 year old making a mix CD? Was the film set in 2002 or something?).

I quite often hear this film being compared to 1980s John Carpenter movies. If that's the case I'd say its far closer to his goofier, more divisive, harder to defend late 80s films like Big Trouble in Little China than anything legitimately great he did earlier on.

[The Legendary Shark]

How can anyone not like Big Trouble in Little China? It's a thoroughly enjoyable flick... or should I be posting this on the "Take Away My Geek Card" thread?

[SIP]

Big trouble in little China is great.

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

I think the thing that irked me most about it was that I haven't seen a film that strives so desperately hard to manufacture 'cool' cinematic moments (and just comes across as cringeworthy) since all those Tarantino and Guy Ritchie knock-offs in the late nineties.

You had best not be referring to Boondock Saints, or I might be forced to shout at you in a terrible Oirish accent.