What was the last film you watched?

[Willie Oleson]

I found the third instalment predicable and way too long at 150 minutes

Another thing I hate about modern cinema: the ridiculously long running time (rarely justified, quality or entertainment-wise) has become the standard.
Lots of films would be so much more enjoyable with some decent editing. (Not sure about Guardians Of The Galaxy volume 3!! )

When watching this I'm left wondering what comes first; the story or letting the imagination run wild with CGI

I have no problem with CGI-dominated films, but the time has come to declare this genre as "animation".
Having an "actor" dangling in front of a green screen does NOT make it a live-action film. Consequently, it should NOT be allowed to promote these films with or by the people who are hired to pose as GCI models.

These are my demands, or else!

 

[Rove]

Having an "actor" dangling in front of a green screen does NOT make it a live-action film

On watching Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 there were some embarrassing scenes which the actors were required to run. It looked like they were on treadmills against a green screen so rather than displaying some urgency to escape the danger it looked like they were enjoying a relaxing run in Central Park.

 

[Biggie]

Ballard Of Buster Scruggs.

I had high hopes for this, as I have been known to suck up westerns. Where er'y body is a cadaver waiting to happen. Our man Buster was quite happy to help the mans and that standing on the wrong side of his shooting iron cross over to Valhalla.

The whole thing soon feel out off the sky like a paratrooper or bird shit, you decide. Made little sense and jumped around like one of my meandering post conjured up late night candle light.

I'll suck up a time travelling spaceship, I'll buy into the crack head logic of sending a time travelling murder robot to a date after it's first failed attempt to lead up Sarah Conner, instead of sending the murder robot to 20 years before and capping Sarah as a child. Barbie comes to life and saves Barbie Land without being sectioned for public safety, why not.

But throwing a chap that's the star attraction of the travelling show, a dude with no arms or legs off a bridge as a way of terminating his employment. Only to replace the spinning torso main event with a chicken that can do mathematics. I say again... chicken... mathematics... I draw line here sir.

It went steadily down hill very quickly. So on reflection, like my meandering posts, this movie was also conjured up late night candle light

The star of the show was the spinning torso that couldn't outwit a chicken, or fly.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Ballard Of Buster Scruggs.

I had high hopes for this, as I have been known to suck up westerns. Where er'y body is a cadaver waiting to happen. Our man Buster was quite happy to help the mans and that standing on the wrong side of his shooting iron cross over to Valhalla.

The whole thing soon feel out off the sky like a paratrooper or bird shit, you decide. Made little sense and jumped around like one of my meandering post conjured up late night candle light.

I'll suck up a time travelling spaceship, I'll buy into the crack head logic of sending a time travelling murder robot to a date after it's first failed attempt to lead up Sarah Conner, instead of sending the murder robot to 20 years before and capping Sarah as a child. Barbie comes to life and saves Barbie Land without being sectioned for public safety, why not.

But throwing a chap that's the star attraction of the travelling show, a dude with no arms or legs off a bridge as a way of terminating his employment. Only to replace the spinning torso main event with a chicken that can do mathematics. I say again... chicken... mathematics... I draw line here sir.

It went steadily down hill very quickly. So on reflection, like my meandering posts, this movie was also conjured up late night candle light

The star of the show was the spinning torso that couldn't outwit a chicken, or fly.

If we had a button function that said Post of the Year Candidate I’d hit it right now

 

[darkshadows38]

a really damn good one called The Hitch Hiker (1953) directed by Ida Lupino and she co-wrote it too she was one of the 1st women directors but not the 1st. there was one who's name i don't remember i'm sure it would be easy to look up but i'm just plain lazy lol. anyways that one directed films starting out in the silent era i can't remember if she ever made any once movies turned into talkies to use the term used back than. but she was Very Successful and ahead of her time i think.

some of them have since i think been lost but thankfully not all of them. anyways the film in question had not one woman in it, it was an all male cast, there's a scream from a woman at the start of the film but her body cause she was killed at the start was never shown. it was worth watching 10/10 had it been made in the 40's i think that Bogie would have played the big bad in it.

 

[Seaviewer]

Life With Father (1947)
Another William Powell starrer but quite different from the others I've watched recently. In this one he's an eccentric father of a large family. If you like Clifton Webb in Cheaper By The Dozen and Fred MacMurray in The Happiest Millionaire, you'll probably like this, too.
Irene Dunne plays the wife, with a teenage Elizabeth Taylor as love interest for the eldest son. Edmund Gwenn plays a minister who could be a relative of his Kris Kringle from Miracle on 34th Street made the same year.

 

[Long Lashes]

Boiling Point

It wasn’t the plot that attracted me to watch this film, but an actor who I could watch forever .. Stephen Graham… who plays head chef on a busy night in a top London restaurant supported by a wonderful cast especially Vinette Robinson as Carly.

It's a very tense atmosphere right from the start as the film delves into the lives of the various characters, it’s also hard hitting at times and extremely well written. This was a one-shot/single take film - i.e. one take/continuous full-length film with one single camera, I'd never even heard of this concept before watching this.

From my description it doesn’t sound too exciting and if you’re looking for an all action blockbuster then this film isn’t it, in fact, it’s a low budget film and it almost feels like a fly-on-the-wall documentary because it’s so realistic . I can’t praise this film more and Stephen Graham was rightly nominated for ‘Best Actor In A Leading Role’ by the British Academy Film Awards as too was the film itself as for ‘Outstanding British Film’ in 2021.



I’m excited to have discovered that a sequel TV series for the BBC has been confirmed, with Stephen Graham and Vinette Robinson reprising their roles

 

[Willie Oleson]

I’m excited to have discovered that a sequel TV series for the BBC has been confirmed

but an actor who I could watch forever .. Stephen Graham

I think he was in In The Line Of Duty?

It's a very tense atmosphere right from the start as the film delves into the lives of the various characters

Yeah, like a soapy indie disaster movie, slightly exaggerated for dramatic purposes.

This was a one-shot/single take film - i.e. one take/continuous full-length film with one single camera, I'd never even heard of this concept before watching this.

It looks like a very ambitious project.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

This was a one-shot/single take film - i.e. one take/continuous full-length film with one single camera, I'd never even heard of this concept before watching this.

This wouldn't have been possible in the pre-digital age. Not with a feature-length film, anyway, because a reel of film could only shoot so many minutes before it needed to be changed.

Hitchcock did a similar concept with Rope all the way back in 1948, but had to cheat and have a few moments where the camera was briefly-but-cleverly obscured to allow for reel changes whilst giving the impression of a continuously shot film. I'd recommend it if Boiling Point has piqued your interest in the concept.

(On a smaller scale, there's also the Spice Girls' Wannabe video).

It looks like a very ambitious project.

Ooh - it certainly does.

 

[Long Lashes]

Oh you've watch it too Willie , did you feel like you'd worked the restaurant shift along with the staff? .. I did

I think he was in In The Line Of Duty?

Yes he played John Corbet a 'bent copper'

Yeah, like a soapy indie disaster movie, slightly exaggerated for dramatic purposes.

It really was.

It looks like a very ambitious project.

Oh wow 2000 actors! the sheer logistics must be a nightmare, having everyone in the right place at the right time. Can you imagine being the actor who completely fluffs his lines and then everyone would have to start filming right from the beginning again

This wouldn't have been possible in the pre-digital age. Not with a feature-length film, anyway, because a reel of film could only shoot so many minutes before it needed to be changed.

How true, I hadn't thought of this.

Hitchcock did a similar concept with Rope all the way back in 1948, but had to cheat and have a few moments where the camera was briefly-but-cleverly obscured to allow for reel changes whilst giving the impression of a continuously shot film. I'd recommend it if Boiling Point has piqued your interest in the concept.

Hitchcock was ahead of his time, thanks Mel I will look up ROPE.

It was only after watching BOILING POINT that I discovered it was filmed in one continuous take and I thought .. "no, it can't have been" .. I rarely re-watch films, but I watched it again to see if it was true that a single camera was used , it was very clever and added to the stressful atmosphere of this particular film.

 

[Seaviewer]

(On a smaller scale, there's also the Spice Girls' Wannabe video).

Even before the Spice Girls became as big as they did, I loved that video. All the stuff that's going on that had to be timed just right - amazing.

 

[Seaviewer]

Tell It to the Bees (2018)
This is quite an unusual film. On one level it's a slice of life drama set in a small Scottish town in 1952 which is already uneasy about the fact that the new doctor is a woman and is then further scandalised when she begins an affair with the mother of one of her patients.
But overlaying that is a surrealism concerning the bee hive in the doctor's back yard whose bees may or not be sentient.
Well-acted and engrossing.

 

[Toni]

Downsizing (2017)
View attachment 46484
The first half of the film is all about the fascinating Sci-Fi and mini worlds, but that no longer matters in the second half when it all looks like the real world.
Disappointing.

Oh that tagline says so much about Matty & Benny's relationship...

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

It's a joy to watch a film without any kind of preconceptions. I've seen - but have no strong sentiment towards - the TV series. And I had no idea this film remake was even a thing. I don't even recall how it ended up in my Prime watchlist, but looking at the director it was probably suggested after I watched the Downey/Law Sherlock Holmes films (after years of no desire to watch a Guy Ritchie film I've stumbled into watching three this year... and all have been enjoyable enough in their own way).

The good news with this film is that it's extremely stylish: it looks dark and drab in the best possible way, with long moody shadows and luscious sets contrasting with the occasional sunny location; the cast is extremely photogenic (I felt a little dirty realising I'd been enjoying watching Armie Hammer, a name I only know from repeatedly seeing this intriguing thread title); the Sixties fashions are fun; and the score strikes a nice balance, being quirky and retro while still appealing to 21st Century tastes.

The not-so-good news is that this style is mostly over substance. There's a lot of action and there are certainly a lot of twists when it comes to which of the double and triple agents can be trusted. The story, however, doesn't hold the interest. It's essentially an "origin" story and so feels like watching a slick pilot for a TV series, the tone of which is necessarily different from the rest of the series itself. By film's end, it feels things are being set up for an ongoing series of films (or, at the very least, a sequel) which may have been an improvement.

Even as I watched, I realised I had no desire to watch it ever again. But, had there been a sequel, I'd certainly have been up for continuing watching, so it must have had something going for it.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

A film I've not watched for a long, long time. I'd thought I'd watched it only once or twice, back when it was released on home video. But a great many of the scenes, imagery and even dialogue came back to me as I watched, suggesting I've watched it more than this. Now I'm getting a fragmented remembrance of having recorded this back when it first aired on British TV (BBC, if I'm not mistaken. I'm fairly sure there were no ads).

If anything, I found it more watchable than I did back then. It's certainly a nice little time capsule of an Eighties New York that may or may not have existed.Nicely written with some snappy lines (Laurie Metcalfe snapping "Take a valium, like a normal person" has never been forgotten by me, though until last night I couldn't have told you where I'd heard it).

Back then, Into The Groove was a big deal. Having only discovered Madonna with the Like A Virgin single, I'd say ITG was the single that cemented my fandom (it was her first British #1, and for one of those glorious four weeks she made chart history by holding the TOP TWO positions - with the re-release of Holiday being #2). It was so nice to revisit the song in context last night and relive some of the magic of the time. In terms of soundtrack, though, the revelation this time round was Thomas Newman's score which is quirky and whimsical without being daft. Most enjoyable.​

 

[Seaviewer]

I've seen - but have no strong sentiment towards - the TV series.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is the first show that I was conscious of considering my favourite. While I'm curious about what they've done with it, I have no great desire to see this movie (but I may end up catching it eventually).

 

[Seaviewer]

The Stranger (1946)
I haven't seen a lot of Orson Welles's work but I saw this on one of the local free catch-up services to I thought I'd give it a look.
Welles directs and appears as a fugitive Nazi who takes up residence in a small American town and makes the mistake of falling in love (apparently genuinely) with a local girl, played by Loretta Young. Top billing goes to Edward G. Robinson as a detective out to bring the Nazi to justice.
I've always thought that the best direction is the one you don't notice, and Welles's use of shadows and unusual angles tends to take me out of the story, but it's still quite gripping.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Living (2022)

While I'm not familiar with a great deal of Bill Nighy's work, I'd say the "career-best" boast could well be accurate. It's certainly a wonderful, touching performance.

This is the kind of film that gives one a little perspective... even if it's brief. It's life-affirming in the same kind of way as is attending a funeral. Despite the subject matter of dying, the film is made with a light touch and stays the right side of gentle and watchable.

The biggest nice surprise was the period setting. Now I look more closely at the poster it's obvious it's a period film, but having only previously glanced at it, I simply saw a conservatively dressed older man, so I hadn't picked up on this. The retro opening titles were great.

The period detail looked mostly fairly good, though - as always - some contemporary speech patterns and expressions blighted this somewhat, with a little Kardashian vocal fry creeping into the younger women's speech. Aimee Lou Wood's character in particular spoke like a 21st Century intern (which, to be fair to her, could be the writing as much as the performance).

Still, it's a gorgeous-looking film, wonderfully performed, and I'm sure it more than deserves its many accolades and awards.
​

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is the first show that I was conscious of considering my favourite. While I'm curious about what they've done with it, I have no great desire to see this movie (but I may end up catching it eventually).

I'd imagine it might be a more bitter pill to swallow for someone who is very familiar with the series. I'd love to say give it a go, mainly because I'd be curious to know what you thought of it, but the chances are that you're wise to give it a wide berth.

The Stranger (1946)

Oh, until I read your post I'd forgotten all about this one, which I only watched for the first time a couple of years ago:

It took me about a third of the film to settle into the slow pace and general quaintness, but from then on I found the film quite compelling. The references to Naziism and visuals of concentration camps took me aback a fair bit, as it would still have been very fresh and raw when this was made. A brave move, and it paid off.

As Franz Kindler, Orson Welles visually reminded me of - alternately - JR Ewing and Josh Henderson's John Ross. With Edgar Randolph's cheekbones, moustache and secret past.

And it all takes place in a kind of Peyton Place, with a gorgeous New England town square set (and some good-looking young men that would give the Harringtons a run for their money).

 

[Mel O'Drama]

WarGames (1983)

How this one passed me by as a kid I have no idea. I heard about it, of course, but that was as far as it went. Perhaps it's because as a child I wasn't particularly interested in computers. Or international relations.

I expected this film to feel dated, a feeling borne out by the very Eighties electronic calculator red font used for the opening titles. Certainly, most of the tech looks very old school.

Still, the writing holds up well, the subject is (sadly) as relevant as ever, and casting is great. I believe this is the second Ally Sheedy film I've watched (after finally doing The Breakfast Club earlier this year). Matthew Broderick is... fine. There were an awful lot of familiar faces, most of whom were in the war room: Whitey from One Tree Hill (AKA Fenton Washburn) had some meaty scenes; Cagney & Lacey's Inspector Marquette (AKA the nice black doctor who told Karen Mackenzie she was going to die) was also present, as was the mean sexist from both Nine To Five and Tootsie. It took me ages to place John Spencer - L.A. Law's Tommy Mullaney - who appeared in the tense pre-credit scene (the film's best sequence, in my opinion) as the man who refused to turn the key to launch a missile strike.

Overall, expectations were fairly low. I expected to tick the box of having seen it and to get a slice of Eighties nostalgia along the way. I'm happy to say it both met and exceeded expectations. There's a nice postmodernism running through the film that makes it really work today. The scene where "Joshua" dials up David at home is genuinely chilling.​

 

[Seaviewer]

I saw War Games when it first came out but I don't think I've seen it since. Pretty good as I remember it.