Last movie watched...

[The Bissler]

I had high hopes for Sanctum, especially when I saw James Cameron was producing it.  Turns out it was puir pish.

[GrinningChimera]

Alan Partridge : Alpha Papa

Not a bad film at all. Not brilliant and unlikely to be at the top of any lists, but a great little film with some good laughs in it.

My two favourite bits were [spoiler]when he was hiding in the septic tank[/spoiler], which was somewhat spoiled by the trailer, and the [spoiler]"window scene"  where he "tucks himself in"[/spoiler]. That had the whole cinema laughing out loud.

If you want a film where you don't have to think too hard and are looking for a few laughs, it's worth checking out.

[Zarjazzer]

Thor the Dark World. I really enjoyed it even the Charing Cross bit.

[von Boom]

Non Stop. Some fun bits but not as good as Taken.

[Frank]

Alan Partridge : Alpha Papa Not a bad film at all. Not brilliant and unlikely to be at the top of any lists, but a great little film with some good laughs in it ... If you want a film where you don't have to think too hard and are looking for a few laughs, it's worth checking out.

I just watched it this week too, and there are so many hilarious moments I couldn't possibly recount them all here. The opening ten minutes are fun, while feeling like material better suited to telly, but the minute the siege kicks in everything becomes much more immediate, and Coogan's expert riffing on the character's obsessions and neuroses becomes even funnier and actually propels the narrative, rather than derailing it - the makers of Anchorman should take note. Alan complaining about the seat position when he commandeers the vehicle and his discussion of his favourite sieges kick the film into a different gear.

The supporting characters like Lynne, 'love' interest Angela, and Steve (Tim Keys) are all brilliant, giving the film another level to work on and providing welcome variety in the source and type of laughs. Any film where an English character suggests the way to build bridges with an Irish character might be to donate some money to Sinn Fein is smart and ironic enough to get away with as many route-one comedy scenes of characters singing along to crap eighties tunes and dropped trouser gags as it pleases. The paparazzo's "that's right, turn and look at me" as he shoots Alan's bare arse is a brilliant, brilliant touch.

[Professor Bear]

Interesting to see what tropes are cherry-picked to fill out the running-time of How I live Now once it gets beyond its rather shameless central premise of being a Young Adult redux of The Road - no, really - but by and large it's a pointless exercise as you only end up reminding yourself of all the better films you could have watched instead: Day of the Triffids, Walkabout, Fist of the North Star, Cyborg - and yes, even these last two are better dramatic explorations of adversity in a post-apocalyptic environment than this rather shite effort that doesn't just miss the Road's central themes of hope and isolation by a country mile but replaces them with the main character's quest to find the man that will complete her.  No I am not joking and yes, it really is 2014.
So much that could have been done with this setup is just thrown away on the usual YA shite - how the makers missed the chance to basically do a westernised version of Grave of the Fireflies I will never know.  I wish I'd watched Judge Minty again instead.

[Daveycandlish]

R.I.P.D.
90 minutes of enjoyable hokum. Kind of Men in Black but with dead people. Worth a watch with a few beers on a Saturday night.

[Keef Monkey]

Was at Glasgow Frightfest at the weekend and saw a ton of movies. There was a bit of a dampener due to The Raid 2 being on the bill early on and then removed because of some sort of distributor weirdness (gutted!) but still a lot of good and interesting stuff, and probably the most consistent the fest has been (there weren't any absolute howlers really). Here's what I thought -

SAVAGED - I really didn't like the turgid rapey torture porny film this started as but had a rollicking good time with the demented unintentionally (?) hilarious cheese dream it flipped into.

PROXY - Felt like this took too long to say what it wanted to, but was pretty engrossed all the same. Looks lovely, with some violent moments rendered oddly beautiful and mesmerizing. Good Q&A too.

WOLF CREEK 2 - I'd forgotten WC ever happened so didn't really see the need for any more, but this is a hoot. Outswaggers the original by aiming for thrills and laughs and hits the mark most of the time. Also features an appearance by someone I'm absolutely certain was Joe Mangle. Think it's coming out in October which should make for great Halloween fodder.

THE SACRAMENT - Brilliant, and film of the day. Another effective Ti West slow-burn, but the documentary style gives it a totally different vibe to something like House Of The Devil. Terrifying in its believability (this shit has happened and does happen), great performances and a really effective score. Should hit pretty hard on release. Ti West's Q&A was brilliant, cool guy.

AFFLICTED - Yet another found footage movie, but with enough fresh ideas to still be a lot of fun. Also has some really impressive effects, could be a real cult hit. The POV Vampire Parkour genre has been looking a bit barren lately after all.

VIDEO NASTIES: DRACONIAN DAYS - Sequel to the first Video Nasties doc, didn't really think they'd have any more ground to cover but then I'd forgotten how mad things got in the 90s. Great doc, recommend them both.

THE SCRIBBLER - Really very cool. Based on a graphic novel I'm unfamiliar with, stylish and funny and seems well positioned to strike a Donnie Darko style chord with a chosen few. Also, if films were rated by a system of stars based on how attractive I found the lead character, this would get about 45 stars out of 5. A good box quote could be "A bit like what Sucker Punch would have been like if Sucker Punch wasn't fucking awful".

TORMENT - Weakest film for me. It's competent, but there's nothing at all going on to recommend it over the billion other stabmasky home invasion movies out there. It's also very dark, but in that 'I can't see what's going on' kind of way.

MINDSCAPE - It's about a mind detective! SOLD! Quite enjoyed this, the hopping in and out of memories angle is a bit Inceptiony, which I think made me expect the twists and turns to be a bit more complex. There are twists and turns, they just didn't tingle the brain all that much, even if it was a very enjoyable ride. Quite commercial, could do well.

ALMOST HUMAN - A backyard Raimi style DIY horror film with a bit of a Carpenter vibe (they've even stolen the font, you would though right?) this is a lot of fun in places. The first couple of slow acts lack energy though, with only the last half hour or so really hitting the splatter fun levels that the makers seem to be going for. Impressive low budget work, and it had one of those Q&As that make you like the film more, those guys are great.

KILLERS - Not a film to forget in a hurry. Unflinchingly brutal, disturbing, occasionally blackly funny, this should find an audience with the same folks who loved Sympathy For Mr Vengeance and whatnot. Me then, loved it. Favorite score of the weekend too, and the way it's used is intense as all hell.

[Link Prime]

THE SACRAMENT - Brilliant, and film of the day. Another effective Ti West slow-burn, but the documentary style gives it a totally different vibe to something like House Of The Devil. Terrifying in its believability (this shit has happened and does happen), great performances and a really effective score. Should hit pretty hard on release. Ti West's Q&A was brilliant, cool guy.

Dying to see this. I've been very impressed with everything I've seen from West thus far.

[Theblazeuk]

I, Frankenstein.

I, enjoyed as much as expected. Terrible CGI fluff.

[Tiplodocus]

CHASING AMY - a nearly twenty year old Rom-Com from Kevin Smith wot I have never seen before. Sort of like the Big Bang theory with swearing and dick jokes.  I'm kidding, of course.  Though I've enjoyed Kevin Smith movies, I'm not a big fan of his "quotable" dialogue.  It's often not that clever and I feel might just get quoted because his characters talk about Star Wars a lot. The two main Bros in this are unbearable characters.  There's a big degree of male-fantasy in the central proposition which I wasn't terrifically happy with. But I did like the fact that nothing is tied up in a neat package at the end. Everybody is wrecked and changed (damaged even) by the rom part of the com.

I GIVE IT A YEAR - a year or so old rom-com that acts would like to be edgy (it's effectively the break up of a marriage on display here) but so completely bottles out that you would not believe the hoops they jump through to ensure a happy ending.  Characters just literally do not give a fuck about the relationship they are in.  Minnie Driver dissing him from Primeval during a game of charades is the highlight - watch that on the trailer and forget the rest. (Stephen Marchant delives a few "I can't belive he said that!" gags but there are so many that they blur into one by the end). I'd totally do Simon Baker though - even though he was in Land of the Dead.

[Sideshow Bob]

Just been to pictures yesterday with my son Andrew, to watch Robocop....
Enjoyable enough, with good special effects and a reasonable storyline.......So not too disappointed after watching it.....and anyone not aware of the Original Robocop wouldn't be too disappointed, but the real question still remains.......
What really was the point of remaking it ( apart from money, obviously ) as it didn't really add anything at all,  other than slightly better effects....
Another, more or less, pointless remake....
Cheers

[Ghost MacRoth]

The point of remaking films like this is to save the producers from ever taking a risk, or having an original idea once in their lives.

[Frank]

The point of remaking films like this is to save the producers from ever taking a risk, or having an original idea once in their lives.

The twenty year olds at my work won't generally watch anything with pre-year-2000 effects or production values. They lap up every remake of an old (eighties) horror film, but would never dream of watching the original. Love The Expendables and Rambo 4; not interested in any of those guys' old movies. To be fair, most of those old films are shite, but then so are the remakes.

[mimikeke]

I think it depends on what kind of family you were brought up in (whether you watched older movies and have a 'tolerance' for them)

I didn't grow up watching Star Wars (gasp) and Ep 1 came out when I was in middle school.  I thought it was awesome cuz I had never been introduced to the SW universe.  Then I went off and saw the originals and realized how stupid Ep1 was, mostly :p. So I guess sometimes the kids will go back and watch the old stuff