What was the last film you watched?

[Angela Channing]

Bombshell (2019).

A fascinating film for the #metoo era. John Lithgow is superb in this and his performance is Oscar-worthy so it's amazing he wasn't even nominated. It actually quite a dry story but it's so tightly written, directed and performed that it is compelling to watch.

 

[Angela Channing]

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

I'm not a fan of motor sports (I don't even drive a car) but I really liked this film. Although parts of it were a bit clichéd the race scenes were genuinely exciting and brilliantly staged.

 

[Angela Channing]

Dolemite Is My Name (2019)

I knew nothing of this film until the recent Golden Globes awards and it was a surprising delight. I've never really liked Eddie Murphy as an actor but he is very good in this.

 

[Angela Channing]

Portrait de la Jeune Fille En Feu/Portrait of a Lady On Fire (2019)

A gentle, beautiful and stunning piece of French cinema.

 

[Angela Channing]

Knives Out (2019)

A modern take on a traditional murder mystery and a good one.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Father's Doing Fine (1952)

 

[Richard Channing]

I thought Joker was incredible, it totally lived up to all the hype. Joaquin Phoenix's performance is nothing short of astounding and he absolutely deserves to win the Oscar for best actor. I couldn't imagine any other actor working today doing what he did. A tour de force.

Interestingly as I watched the credit roll I saw that the part of Thomas Wayne was played by Brett Cullen. And only cause I watched a Falcon Crest opening credits earlier today did I recognize the name. Dan Fixx is Batman's father!

 

[Seaviewer]

Jojo Rabbit (2019).

Some of the reviews I read about this film said people will either love or hate this film. They were correct, I hated it. Even the stunning performance of the child star who had an engaging screen presence and was a brilliant actor, couldn't save this film for me.

Haven't seen it yet but the concept does seem calculated to divide opinion.

A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood (2019)

This is being advertised here as "based on a true story". I'm aware of who Mr. Rogers is but not being from the States I naturally don't have the emotional background. I grew up with an entirely different set of TV personalities who I'm sure would be quite unknown overseas.

 

[Seaviewer]

The Handmaid's Tale (1990)

I watched this mainly out of curiosity to compare it with the TV series.

The movie goes into a bit more detail explaining how Gilead came to be and obviously the pace is a bit faster to get the whole story into two hours but the most disconcerting differences are the fact that Offred's real name is Kate rather than June, and the casting of Victoria Tennant as Aunt Lydia - a very different choice than Ann Dowd.

Next stop I suppose will be to go back even further and read Margaret Atwood's original novel.

 

[Seaviewer]

I thought Joker was incredible, it totally lived up to all the hype.

Joker seems to be a more successful attempt at the same idea as Halle Berry's Catwoman - a standalone villain origin story that has no connection to the films it spins off from.

 

[Sarah]

Fall From Grace. Very good, with Clair Huxtable from the Cosby Show.

 

[Angela Channing]

Haven't seen it yet but the concept does seem calculated to divide opinion.

I had no problem with the concept of making a comedy about Hitler and the Hitler Youth movement, I just didn't think it was funny or a particularly interesting film.

I grew up with an entirely different set of TV personalities who I'm sure would be quite unknown overseas.

I'm from the UK and I was trying to think of an equivalent British children's TV star to Mr Rogers and there wasn't really one, the closest I could come up with was Brian Cant (my era) or Justin Fletcher who is more current.

 

[Angela Channing]

The Handmaid's Tale (1990)

I didn't know this film existed. I'm a big fan of the TV series so I need to see this film.

 

[Angela Channing]

1917 (2019)

There's no denying that this is a stunning example of film making. Telling the story as though was one continuous camera take makes the experience more immersive but the way the camera moved throughout did make it look a bit like a video game.

 

[Angela Channing]

Harriet (2019)
I generally find films about slavery to be depressing but this one focussed more on her escape from slavery and what she achieved next. The uplifting story of Harriet Tubman transformation from slave to an American hero whose determination lead her to freeing hundreds of others. A really good film.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The March Hare (1955)

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I've been meaning to watch this for yonks and finally took it from the shelf tonight.

It raised a few smiles. Some of the stuff with the private eye seemed rather fake and mockumentary-ish, but maybe truth is stranger than fiction.​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

 

[Angela Channing]

Richard Jewell (2019)

I didn't know the background to this story which made it all the more fascinating. Not a whodunnit but more of a did-he-do-it, brilliantly told. As big a mystery as the central story of this film was how did Kathy Bates get nominated for an Oscar for her role in this? She was very good (as she always is) but it was a small, unremarkable part and I can think of more deserving performances last year (top of my list of snubbed supporting female actors is Da'Vine Joy Randolph for Dolemite Is My Name). However, it's a very good film and worth watching.

 

[Angela Channing]

Pain and Glory/Dolor y Gloria (2019)

It's been my aim to watch all the films nominated in the 6 main Oscar categories (film, director, actor, actress, supporting actor and supporting actress) before the ceremony in just over a week. I've never been a fan of the films of Pedro Almodóvar so I left this one until last. It is one of his better films and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would but I didn't think it was great.

 

[Angela Channing]

Just Mercy (2019)

One of the most moving, gripping, shocking and inspiring films I've seen in a very long time. I have nothing but praise for this film and it's up there with the best films I've seen so far this millenium. Just brilliant.