What was the last film you watched?

[Ome]

​

My first visit to the cinema in almost two years, and I'm back again on Friday for the Halloween Kills.

I enjoyed Venom: Let There Be Carnage, it was action-packed, and though the story follows the typical Marvel, it's the comedy angle that wins me around. Hilarious in many ways and fun to watch. The teaser at the end with Spiderman had me excited.

 

[Brian Kinney]

Dune (2021)

I found it painfully slow to the point where I got bored at times. I can't help wondering if it was a mistake dragging the story out over 2 films instead doing it all in one but going at a brisker pace.

But that's the thing I don't have a problem with . No, the pace has to be just like it is. I think it's important because the story spans over a few years (Paul's upcoming training on Dune). Lynch's 1984 version of DUNE had moments of that but was too rushed in the last third. So I'm in for PART 2 despite my criticism. I was a bit underwhelmed that Villeneuve chose the same story highlights but in my view his storytelling was nevertheless superior to Lynch's one.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

My first visit. I've been meaning to check out Andrew Garfield's interpretation for a while. Visually he's far closer to my image of Peter Parker than Tobey Maguire ever was, and he also seems to be a better actor. Before watching I'd had my doubts about other casting (Sally Field as Aunt May), but in the context of the film it all worked well. Emma Stone was a great 21st Century take on Gwen Stacy and it was good to see Captain Stacy appear, even though his death wasn't used as effectively as it was in the source material. Rhys Ifans was good as Curt Connors, but the Lizard was a bit too CGI for my tastes, and where on earth were Martha and Billy. One thing that's long made Curt stand out for me is the fact that he's a family man. Here he was presented as too much of a loner.

I wasn't expecting the origin to be re-told and I suppose it's inevitable it would take some more revisionist liberties with the origin story and continuity. None of this bothered me, partly because I'd determined to view it as a blank slate, but I think it helped that this film is already non-canon thanks to the MCU's Spider-Man.

The film's long running time (it's the best part of two and a half hours) mostly worked in its favour. I especially appreciated the fact that we spent so much time with Peter Parker before he was even bitten.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

What Lies Beneath (2000)

It's many a year since I last rewatched this one and some of the details had started to fade, which is nice.

While I loved it when it first came out, my memory had started to remember the film as being full of schlocky jumps in lieu of genuine suspense. Turns out I was only half right. There are a number of jump scares accompanied by sudden bursts of loud music. But there's also a nice human story that drives it, with a great deal of time seeing smaller moments. There's also a nice brooding atmosphere that builds.

Character is lacking slightly, outside of Michelle Pfeiffer's character (and Harrison Ford's to a lesser extent). Other characters are purely functional, but since we don't spend much time with them it doesn't seem to matter.

It's probably best remembered as an attempt at an updated Hitchcock-type film and it's reasonably effective there. There are a couple of direct nods to Hitchcock films (a body apparently loaded into a car boot at night and a shower curtain being pulled down as a woman collapses out of the bathtub after an attack both evoke Psycho. And there's the snooping on the neighbours element of Rear Window). But it works well as an intriguing thriller even without these.

It really hit the spot for me, and it felt like an indulgent treat to have a matinee.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Countdown (2019)

Essentially a poor man's Final Destination with some creepy weirdness which is how I imagine The Ring to be.

It's pretty terrible. But it still made me jump.

 

[Long Lashes]

The Conjuring

This is one of those haunted house types of horror with lots going on.

Its very effective how doors opening and slamming shut, plus loud banging scares me witless. I always find its not what I can see which frightens me, its the not knowing what's there that does it.

Next .. The Conjuring2

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Don't Breathe (2016)

Home invasion films unsettle me, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this one going in.

I had the luxury of knowing almost nothing beforehand other than the very basic summary of the premise on Prime. This allowed me to be genuinely caught up in experiencing and appreciating the various turns the plot took. It's nicely written with a lot of tension and some very good performances (I wouldn't have expected to find myself feeling empathy for two of the three burglars).

The tone is gritty and grim and it gets pretty twisted at times, but it never exceeds the boundaries of its own reality and so doesn't feel as shocking as I might have expected had someone described some of the events to me. Essentially, the viewer adjusts to the extreme situations along with the characters, which is a great place to be.

It's not the kind of film I'd be in a hurry to watch again. I may never re-watch. But I'm glad I stumbled upon it last night.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I was in the mood for a sleaze/cult/trash movie but not necessarily the horror genre. Most titles in the playlist suggested vampire and zombie movies with lame special effects (perhaps the playlists are adjusted to suit the Halloween theme) but then I found this title with the additional description "VHSrip". Perfect.

At first I wasn't sure what I was watching - comical? dramatic? over-the-top-or-not? - but after a while it didn't matter anymore. The mood and performances are very engrossing and even though it wasn't the camp trash I was looking for I found this movie quite fascinating.

 

[Ome]

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

​

I enjoyed the scene where they flew amongst the fireworks, but the trailer below is my favourite part of this movie.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Don't Breathe (2016)

I've watched this movie not so long ago but not all of it, according to the trailer. To be fair, I'm a terrible movie watcher and I don't have the patience for anything unless there's something in it, no matter how insignificant, that interests me right from the start.

 

[Willie Oleson]

but the trailer below is my favourite part of this movie

Who's the blonde woman? Is she the villain?

 

[DallasFanForever]

Who's the blonde woman? Is she the villain?

Yes, that’s Cheetah. She’s the villain played by Kristen Wiig

 

[Angela Channing]

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)


View attachment 31660



​

I enjoyed the scene where they flew amongst the fireworks, but the trailer below is my favourite part of this movie.

I thought it was a really good film, not as good as the first Wonder Woman film but still a great piece of entertainment. I thought Gal Gadot looked amazing in it.

 

[Angela Channing]

It Couldn't Happen Here (1987)

OK, this isn't Oscar winner material, the plot is almost non-existant and the Pet Shop Boys aren't exactly great actors but this film is a lot of fun. It's more of a collection of pop videos held together by a flimsy story of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe travelling across the country and they meet an assortment of eccentrics along the way. One of the people they encounter is played by Joss Ackland who is nothing short of brilliant in this film. He's not on screen for more than 10 minutes but he steals every scene he's in and is incredibly funny. Gareth Hunt is also very good in this too. The songs are great but it's not just a film for Pet Shop Boys fans because even those who aren't familiar with their music can still enjoy it. It has a feel of a film made by Ken Russell with a few elements of Derek Jarman and Peter Greenaway thrown in.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

even though it wasn't the camp trash I was looking for I found this movie quite fascinating.

The title alone has put it onto my viewing bucket list.

the trailer below is my favourite part of this movie.

I've watched this movie not so long ago but not all of it, according to the trailer. To be fair, I'm a terrible movie watcher and I don't have the patience for anything unless there's something in it, no matter how insignificant, that interests me right from the start.

I must confess I'm pretty bloody minded about film watching. Once I start watching I have to watch to the bitter end, even if it means gritting my teeth and trying to suppress eye-rolls and heavy sighs.

I'm curious about how far you got, but we may never know.

It Couldn't Happen Here (1987)

Oh my. While I recognise the name (possibly in association with the album) I don't think I even knew this film was a thing.

 

[Angela Channing]

Oh my. While I recognise the name (possibly in association with the album) I don't think I even knew this film was a thing.

I wasn't aware of the film until I stumbled across the trailer on YouTube by chance.

I'm not a big Pet Shop Boys fan (I only have album of theirs and that's their greatest hits compilation) but was curious to see what the film was like. I recognised some of the scenes because they were repurposed for some of their music videos. To enjoy this film you have to accept you are not watching Shakespeare and just enjoy it for what it is which is more or less an extended music video.

 

[darkshadows38]

Zero Hour! (1957) it was the Original Airplane (1980) just without the comedy i'm not even making that up they bought the rights to it so they can use dialog from it i also love this look as well of the site

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Terror Train (1980)

I bought this on DVD many years ago and thought it was so terrible I ended up disposing of it. Yet weirdly I had an urge to watch it last night - perhaps to make up for not watching Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween this year for the first time in decades.

Beginning a film with ridiculously low expectations always helps because I quite enjoyed it this time round. I'd also misremembered who the killer was, which was another bonus. David Copperfield and Hart Bochner both had an attractiv intensity. I also thought Jamie Lee's prolonged fight with the killer was even more intense than the Laurie/Michael scenes which clearly inspired it (but then I don't know it beat for beat in the way I do Halloween. And her being covered in blood made it more visually shocking).

It's not a true classic in my mind, but its cult/underdog reputation adds to the appeal.

 

[darkshadows38]

i watched this for the first time a few years ago after wanting to see it for years upon years. and i had high expectations for it well it wasn't as good as i thought it would be but i thought it was decent. i have watched it a 2nd time since and my feelings are about the same it's a decent little horror movie that's not on my list of favorite films of all time but it's still a lot of fun. i wish she'd do more horror that isn't just Halloween though.

i watched a couple 1. hell's Final Hours (1958) that was wow a bad one. i'd say 5/10. than after that i watched one called Undersea Girl (1957) that one was pretty bad as well but not as bad. i'd say 6/10. what it really was, was just plain boring it was a better film i think than the last one by far it was just boring that's all

 

[Ome]

thought it was a really good film, not as good as the first Wonder Woman film but still a great piece of entertainment

I never read reviews even after watching a movie. I think it’s because I don’t know the people reviewing the movies. I like to read the reviews on Telly Talk because I get a sense of consistency and an idea on who like what.

I did hear or read somewhere that WW1984 received lots of bad reviews, though I don’t know how many or how terrible it appeared to movie goers.

So, with that in mind I watched with low expectations and sadly it didn’t help. The action was great, the characters enjoyable, but it was the story that didn’t work for me. That’s down to me and not the storyteller, I do not enjoy movies that are based on magic and wishes.

Another major letdown was my expectations from the soundtrack. Foolishly, I checked Spotify for the soundtrack, which had tracks from Donna Summer, Toto, FGTH, Queen and many more great tracks from the 80s.


I wish I hadn’t looked on Spotify.