Last movie watched...

[Professor Bear]

I think it is probably impossible to sit through Blacula or Scream Blacula Scream without wondering why William Marshall wasn't a bigger star.  Much as I like both movies, he really was too good for them.

[Mardroid]

As suggested by Gregg (thanks) Pacific Rim.

Good choice. That was very good. The premise is very similar to a 2000 AD story that rangers when I first started getting the prog. Not just the fact that it's big robot like machines fighting monsters, but the fact the monsters are extradimensional in nature.

They even suggested the kaiju were the dinosaurs, although they didn't really look like that here, but as they all look different, the dinosaurs could be early 'models'. And they looked just like dinosaurs in that strip.

I was worried it would have a lot of the 'boo-yah' crap you get in a lot of American military films and corny speechifying. Well, Idris Elba did a bit of that, but it wasn't that corny, and fit the moment and the cast and crew here were multinational. And it included that chap from Torchwood, I noticed.

The protagonists were likeable. The mash up was cool, although I sometimes had to rewind to catch what was happening. The CGI was excellent. The jaigir robot things were distinctive and cool. It was a lot of fun.

Oh, and if you haven't done so yet, stick around after the credits for a great gag.

[Dandontdare]

Watched double bill on C4 last night of Now you See me followed by the Hole. The former was an enjoyable romp up until the big reveal which was shite. The Hole was just shite.

[Buttonman]

Posted this on my FB - anyone else done the Oscar Octet? Favourite?

That's me finished seeing all the Best Picture Oscar Nominees - here they are in best to worst. Nothing was terrible but I've ranked them in order of enjoyment rather than on any highbrow merit, which I'm clearly not qualified to comment upon.

1) Mad Max Fury Road - Visually stunning and exciting.
2) The Martian - Lots of enjoyable science stuff.
3) Bridge of Spies - Some great turns and tense as well.
4) The Revenant - Will win but a bit dark and drawn out.
5) Brooklyn - Lightweight fluff but good sets and cast.
6) The Room - Good first hour but a bit bleak over all.
7) Spotlight - By the numbers press expose.
8) The Big Short - Weird guys get rich and banks are bad - yawn!

[I, Cosh]

Three-quarters of John Carter. Now, maybe my expectations had already been lowered. Or perhaps the 25 minutes I missed consists entirely of John fucking a donkey before he finds his way to Mars.

I can't really see any other sensible explanation for why this isn't a much loved property spawning sequels and spin-offs like Star Wars or whatever. Nothing earth shattering about it but it was exciting and fun from start (well, almost) to finish. Really liked the fakeout ending and even the stupid dog thing wasn't annoying.

[I, Cosh]

Posted this on my FB - anyone else done the Oscar Octet? Favourite?

That's me finished seeing all the Best Picture Oscar Nominees - here they are in best to worst. Nothing was terrible but I've ranked them in order of enjoyment rather than on any highbrow merit, which I'm clearly not qualified to comment upon.

Not yet, but every year I try to and every year I fail. Here's my progress to date. Check back on this very thread for more exciting updates.

1) Mad Max Fury Road - Seen this four or five times now. Easily the best new release I saw in the cinema last year.
2) The Martian - Not seen. Didn't really pick up on it being any good until after it was gone.
3) Bridge of Spies - Not seen. Never really interested in seeing Spielberg films even though they keep turning out decent.
4) The Revenant - Not seen, but the only other one on the list I actively want to. Should make it this week.
5) Brooklyn - Almost saw last Tuesday but went for a beer with colleagues instead as the German guy who normally works remotely was in town.
6) The Room - Not out here for another couple of months. Have managed to avoid knowing anything about it despite general buzz being that it's amazing.
7) Spotlight - Genuinely don't understand who goes to see stuff like this.
8) The Big Short - Not seen. Doesn't sound very thrilling.

[richerthanyou]

Three-quarters of John Carter. Now, maybe my expectations had already been lowered. Or perhaps the 25 minutes I missed consists entirely of John fucking a donkey before he finds his way to Mars.

I can't really see any other sensible explanation for why this isn't a much loved property spawning sequels and spin-offs like Star Wars or whatever. Nothing earth shattering about it but it was exciting and fun from start (well, almost) to finish. Really liked the fakeout ending and even the stupid dog thing wasn't annoying.

John Carter is a great film. I don't understand how it was such a box office flop. And no, there was no donkey stuff in the first 25 mins. 

[TordelBack]

Three-quarters of John Carter. Now, maybe my expectations had already been lowered. Or perhaps the 25 minutes I missed consists entirely of John fucking a donkey before he finds his way to Mars.

I can't really see any other sensible explanation for why this isn't a much loved property spawning sequels and spin-offs like Star Wars or whatever. Nothing earth shattering about it but it was exciting and fun from start (well, almost) to finish. Really liked the fakeout ending and even the stupid dog thing wasn't annoying.

Yep, loads of fun. A bit like Dredd in that its publicity campaign never found its audience.

Caught The World's End again by accident at the weekend.  Can't get over what a well-made film that is. Everybody giving great performances, great (almost Greenaway!) structural devices, some terrific jokes - and a huge dollop of relatable reality at its heart. Pretty much a masterpiece.

[Link Prime]

Caught The World's End again by accident at the weekend.  Can't get over what a well-made film that is. Everybody giving great performances, great (almost Greenaway!) structural devices, some terrific jokes - and a huge dollop of relatable reality at its heart. Pretty much a masterpiece.

I caught it on telly Friday night too, and couldn't turn it off despite having the BD.
A modern classic in my eyes, and I've been humming songs from the soundtrack all weekend.

[CrazyFoxMachine]

Seven Samurai

Often imitated, never bettered. An absolutely flawless film that deserves it lofty critical place in my view. Every time I watch it, I'm floored by how much I love it. The characters are as well-constructed as the lengthy and meticulous plot and it unfolds at a surprisingly brisk pace. Outrageously brilliant and resoundingly human.

A film that everyone needs to see and one that will stay with you long after the breathtaking rain-soaked finale. Utterly Timeless.

[TordelBack]

A film that everyone needs to see and one that will stay with you long after the breathtaking rain-soaked finale. Utterly Timeless.

So true. I'll never forget the first time I saw it, on some late night C4 slot, the realisation that this is what all those other films I liked were such a pale imitation of.

[radiator]

The Room

That would be Room. The Room is quite a different proposition.

[Tiplodocus]

A film that everyone needs to see and one that will stay with you long after the breathtaking rain-soaked finale. Utterly Timeless.

So true. I'll never forget the first time I saw it, on some late night C4 slot, the realisation that this is what all those other films I liked were such a pale imitation of.

I'm lucky enough to be guiding Tiny Tips through sixties Kurosawa samurai movies just now. Not seen them for decades myself so having a grand time. Sanjuro was last one. Great stuff and THAT ending.

[I, Cosh]

Seven Samurai...A film that everyone needs to see and one that will stay with you long after the breathtaking rain-soaked finale. Utterly Timeless.

So true. I'll never forget the first time I saw it, on some late night C4 slot, the realisation that this is what all those other films I liked were such a pale imitation of.

Through the magic of comfortable local arthouses, I've been lucky enough to see it in the cinema 3 or 4 times. It's always amazing.

[Tiplodocus]

KILL BILL Volumes 1 & 2

Picked up for 99p each on DVD only to find the fuckers on Netflix when i got home.

Anyway,  I'd been a bit harsh on these previously. But actually enjoyed watching  them in pretty much one sitting.  In fact, I think I've only ever seen Volume 2 while really pissed and tired previously so it was all fairly new to me.

Is Volume 1 generally agreed to be the better?  It meanders a bit (I'd have certainly dropped the dull coma-victim rape strand) and is a bit slow but just seemed more fun. Tiny Tips, who times these things, says it was 65 minutes to the start of the Crazy 88 sequence which then takes up the next half hour!

The action sequences are certainly brilliantly OTT but straddle a fine line between being completely grounded in reality (that amount of gore would have been unwatchable) and being to cartoony (that amount of gore would have had you laughing far too much).  The decisions to go to cartoon for O Ren's origin and then, in the Crazy 88 sequence, to switch to Black&White and then to Elvis-vision are cute but again protect us from "too much gore".

Volume 2 has a good extended sequence with Michael Madsen's Bud character that has you feeling sorry for him (until you don't!). But I didn't really like the training montage (until the pay-off at the Paula Schulz grave) and I didn't really buy Bill as the charismatic snake-charmer.  He just seems plain nasty.

And I have no idea how you would have cut it as a single movie and not give yourself a massive pacing issue after the brilliance of the Hatari Hanzo sword, O Ren Ishii and the Crazy 88 sequences.