What was the last film you watched?

[Angela Channing]

Blithe Spirit (2020)

I hadn't seen the play or the original film adaptation so I knew very little about the story and was looking forward too seeing this however, I shouldn't have bothered. Very disappointing film. I didn't laugh once even though it was meant to be a comedy. I'm going to have to watch the 1945 film of the story to see if it was any better. On the plus side, the setting was great and I liked a lot of the cinematography but the slapstick moments were cringy rather than funny and Judi Dench played her role too seriously to be a kooky madcap medium.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I'm going to have to watch the 1945 film of the story to see if it was any better.

I'm very fond of the 1945 version. The effects are a little dated, but the dialogue is delivered brilliantly, as you'd expect from Rex Harrison and Margaret Rutherford (I don't think anyone could accuse the ever-wacky Rutherford of playing Madame Arcati too seriously). It's also worth bearing in mind that Margaret Rutherford and Kay Hammond originated their respective roles in the first run of the play.

I can understand the point of a remake - after all it's been three quarters of a century, and the play has been performed on stage by countless actors since it began. All the same, the 1945 version feels definitive to me, so I'd find it difficult to put those interpretations out of my mind enough to enjoy the new version.

 

[Angela Channing]

I can understand the point of a remake - after all it's been three quarters of a century, and the play has been performed on stage by countless actors since it began.

This was the main reason why I was keen to see the remake. It's a play that is constantly being revived in London's West End, most recently Jennifer Saunders was playing Madame Arcati because lockdown stopped that production and just a few years ago Angela Lansbury made a triumphant West End Return when she was 88, so I had high expectations for it.

I can imagine Margaret Rutherford as being perfect in the role of Madame Arcarti so I'm going to track down a copy of the 1945 version soon.

 

[darkshadows38]

saw 4 (2007) it's a good movie but not one of my favorites in the series part 2 (2005) is my favorite one actually. this one i'd say is 8/10

 

[Mel O'Drama]

And The Same To You (1960)

With a cast including Terry Scott, Tommy Cooper and Renee Houston. William Hartnell plays a Sid James type dual role as the fast talking con artist who poses as an avuncular vicar, while Sid James himself plays another role entirely.​

 

[The Lovely Sue Ellen]

IT Chapter 2

 

[darkshadows38]

how did you like it? i'm one of those weird ones that thought the 2nd one was actually better than the first, the 1st one angered the living shit out of me cause of the way it ended with Beverly getting kidnapped that's not in the book and that ending and what they did angered me so much that to me hurt the film for me so i give it a lower rating to boot. the way Pennywise died though was really really really stupid though that's not how he is killed in the book either a drunk frat boy can prolly come up with a better idea than the idiots who made the film

 

[Angela Channing]

The Father (2020)

This is a film about the confusion and disorientation that dementia can cause. It reminded a lot of the episode of Emmerdale a few years ago which was told from the point of view of the character Ashley who was living with dementia and I thought Emmerdale did it better. However, this was a very insightful film in how it showed the effects of dementia on the screen at time making me experience the confusion that the Anthony Hopkins character was going through.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Clue (1985)

It really hit the spot for me tonight, and Tim Curry is blindingly good.

I think I've watched it before, but I may be thinking of Murder By Death, which I've definitely seen. In fact I would have sworn this scene was from MBD:

 

[Angela Channing]

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

I can't understand why the critics panned this film because I loved it and Gal Gadot is stunningly beautiful in it even after a long energetic fight scene. Maybe the critics didn't like it because it wasn't as good as the original, maybe it was because it never got a proper cinema release so some of the action sequences didn't have the intended impact or maybe it was because the storyline is a bit ludicrous but then it's a superhero film so it's not meant to be realistic. Whatever the reason why they didn't like it, don't listen to them, it's a great piece of entertainment.

 

[The Lovely Sue Ellen]

The Craft

 

[James from London]

My favourite film critic Mark Kermode thinks "The Deer Hunter is one of the worst films ever made, a rambling self-indulgent, self-aggrandising barf-fest steeped in manipulatively racist emotion, and notable primarily for its farcically melodramatic tone which is pitched somewhere between shrieking hysteria and somnambulist somberness." I can kind of see what he means, but I also think it's beautiful, haunting, harrowing and just so sad. It feels epic and small at the same time, sort of like an existential Dr Zhivago. The running time is three hours and pretty much the first third is given over to a small town wedding which doubles as a send-off party for the groom and his two friends who are off to Vietnam the next day. It's so wonderful to see a pre-fame Robert de Niro*, Christopher Walken, Cazale, Meryl Streep and the especially great John Savage back when they were all so young, playing off each other so beautifully -- getting drunk, falling in love, taking the p*ss, laughing, dancing, streaking. Then without warning, you're plunged into the hell of war and the film's most infamous sequence. Suffice to say, there aren't many laughs from this point on, but there are moments of delicacy and beauty and it's completely riveting throughout.

*Actually, de Niro had already done Taxi Driver and The Godfather Part II by this point.

Esquire has ranked The Deer Hunter as the second worst Oscar winning film of all-time, calling it "Unbearably annoying, and the wedding section’s so long you’ll find yourself praying for a barely competent local band to start parping out ‘Mr Brightside’ so you can sneak off." I feel strangely proud.

All 93 Best Picture Oscar Winners, Ranked

Nearly a century of Academy darlings, from worst to best. And no, 'Crash' isn't at number 92

www.esquire.com

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I can't understand why the critics panned this film because I loved it and Gal Gadot is stunningly beautiful in it even after a long energetic fight scene.

Whatever the reason why they didn't like it, don't listen to them, it's a great piece of entertainment.

It's nice to see a favourable review. Often, films that get slated across the board aren't quite as awful as all that (just as the ones with all the acclaim are perhaps not all that great), and I do wonder if a lot of these reviews are simply critics giving in to peer pressure, or at least viewing it with a biased conception based on other reviews.

I haven't seen it (I only got round to watching the first film in the last couple of months), but would like to at some point, if only to finally see a live-action Cheetah.

Esquire has ranked The Deer Hunter as the second worst Oscar winning film of all-time, calling it "Unbearably annoying, and the wedding section’s so long you’ll find yourself praying for a barely competent local band to start parping out ‘Mr Brightside’ so you can sneak off." I feel strangely proud.

Great stuff. I still feel I ought to watch The Deer Hunter just to say I've ticked that box. But it's fair to say my expectations aren't as high as they once were.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

A Month In The Country (1987)

The first main film roles for Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh. Beautiful film.
​

 

[thomaswak]

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

I can't understand why the critics panned this film because I loved it and Gal Gadot is stunningly beautiful in it even after a long energetic fight scene. Maybe the critics didn't like it because it wasn't as good as the original, maybe it was because it never got a proper cinema release so some of the action sequences didn't have the intended impact or maybe it was because the storyline is a bit ludicrous but then it's a superhero film so it's not meant to be realistic. Whatever the reason why they didn't like it, don't listen to them, it's a great piece of entertainment.

It's nice to see that you liked the movie. To be honest, I really dislike it. I wasn't aware of the bad critics when I watched it. So I wasn't under influences.

 

[Angela Channing]

It's nice to see that you liked the movie. To be honest, I really dislike it. I wasn't aware of the bad critics when I watched it. So I wasn't under influences.

Was there something specific you didn't like about the film? Did you not find the characters interesting? Was the storyline too far-fetched for you? Were there too many plot holes that you were unable to accept?

 

[Angela Channing]

The United States vs Billie Holiday (2021)

A really interesting film which changed my understanding of Billie Holiday's story. I previously thought she was a victim of her addiction to drugs but this film shines a light on how she was a victim of the FBI who tried to censor her. Well worth a watch.

 

[darkshadows38]

though it's a Pilot to a tv show it's 97 minutes therefore a film and that's SG-1's 1st episode Children of the god's parts 1 & 2 from July 27th 1997.

10/10

 

[thomaswak]

Was there something specific you didn't like about the film? Did you not find the characters interesting? Was the storyline too far-fetched for you? Were there too many plot holes that you were unable to accept?

Details. For example I really enjoyed the first movie because the special FX seemed more "real".
In this new movie, the CGI WW was too obvious for me. The integration of the FX was not good. WW fighting in the mall was badly executed from and WW Jumps felt very fake. Also the FX Cheetah were kinda awful imo.

I did not warm up to the 2 villains. The character development of two villains at the same time was average. I think It might have been better with more screen time to develop only 1 villain instead of 2. Cheeta's "evolution" going from sweet & shy to seductive and ultra confident, to angry and mean, felt too fast imo

Also, the "return" of a certain dead character was forced (I get that they wanted Chris Pine) and Diana's not moving on him for almost 35years wasn't really believable. I don't mean she had to stop loving him or forget him. I understand he was her great first love. But staying for 35 years without being loved or without loving anyone : I can't buy it. I unfortunately know that grieving is a long process... But 35 years is quite a lot. Unless they explain that time is not the same for an Amazon.

Overall, the movie felt too much like a DC/Warner attempt to be colorful and fun like a Marvel movie. I really prefer the darker tone of the Snyder Universe. It was not perfect, but it was an interesting take, Snyder taking time to build a universe. Marvel has already its own formula. It's really sad that DC/Warner gage up on their first strategy (Snyder) to try to emulate Marvel (hoping It would make more money)....

 

[Angela Channing]

Details. For example I really enjoyed the first movie because the special FX seemed more "real".
In this new movie, the CGI WW was too obvious for me. The integration of the FX was not good. WW fighting in the mall was badly executed from and WW Jumps felt very fake. Also the FX Cheetah were kinda awful imo.

I did not warm up to the 2 villains. The character development of two villains at the same time was average. I think It might have been better with more screen time to develop only 1 villain instead of 2. Cheeta's "evolution" going from sweet & shy to seductive and ultra confident, to angry and mean, felt too fast imo

Also, the "return" of a certain dead character was forced (I get that they wanted Chris Pine) and Diana's not moving on him for almost 35years wasn't really believable. I don't mean she had to stop loving him or forget him. I understand he was her great first love. But staying for 35 years without being loved or without loving anyone : I can't buy it. I unfortunately know that grieving is a long process... But 35 years is quite a lot. Unless they explain that time is not the same for an Amazon.

Overall, the movie felt too much like a DC/Warner attempt to be colorful and fun like a Marvel movie. I really prefer the darker tone of the Snyder Universe. It was not perfect, but it was an interesting take, Snyder taking time to build a universe. Marvel has already its own formula. It's really sad that DC/Warner gage up on their first strategy (Snyder) to try to emulate Marvel (hoping It would make more money)....

You make some good points and I can understand why some people wouldn't like the film. Personally, I liked the lighter tone because it gives the film a more of a comic book feel. I have a different opinion of Zach Snyder's interpretations of DC comics which I think is too serious for what is essentially a film of a comic and I really didn't like Batman vs Superman, for example. That's the joy of the movies, different people can watch the same film and have a completely different opinion on it.