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No, I think movies get this all on their own.
What was the last film you watched?
- Thread starter Mel O'Drama
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- 17
The only time I will use the “so bad it’s good” phrase is if it’s a bad comedy that, even though the movie may be terrible, at least I laughed for a couple of hours. That’s when it will usually apply for me.
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My problem with Sharknado was that the filmmakers deliberately set out to make a B-movie that's "so bad it's good". That intent made it fall flat for me. It's like trying to engineer "cult". In short, it was not good enough to enjoy, but nowhere near bad enough for me to find entertaining even on that level.
And yet the person who recommended it to me sang its praises so highly I was convinced I needed to see it. It takes all sorts to make a world.
Apart from film and TV, there have been some terrible novelty songs which have been enjoyed for their naffness.
And then there are jokes. I do love a good groaner.
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Flightplan (2005)
I couldn’t swear that this is my first time with this film. It looked vaguely familiar, but I thought I might be mixing it up with the similarly-themed Red Eye, released at the same time and which I know I saw at the cinema. As Flightplan got underway I didn’t remember a thing and so became convinced that I could have seen it before. Then came Greta Scaachi’s scene as the therapist and I knew I’d previously seen it in context (again, I’d retconned this into Red Eye in my collective memory). And yet I remembered nothing apart from this scene - not even the ending.
Looking at information on the film, it seems Flightplan was critically panned. I’m glad I don’t place much stock in these things and wouldn’t seek out a review ahead of time. I like to decide for myself whether or not a film works for me (indeed, this is one of those films where the less you know going in, the more caught up you can be in the turns) and, taken on its on merits, I thought this one was a decent enough film.
Robert Schwentke’s direction impressed me. It’s quite Hitchcockian in that it’s quite creatively showy and draws attention to itself at times. Too often when directors do this it falls flat and comes across as gimmicky or trying too hard, but in this film it’s done with confidence and flair and Schwentke’s choices enhance the film.
It goes without saying that Jodie Foster is a terrific actress and she’s another reason this feels significantly elevated from the standard thriller fare this appears to be on the surface. With its themes of bereavement and loss, and her character’s sanity in question at times it’s certainly a meaty enough role and her wonderful work in this film alone makes it worth watching. She’s surrounded by good actors who all play their roles perfectly, knowing when to underplay and when to hide things from the audience, which made the surprises more satisfying.
There’s an atmosphere of tension that runs all the way through this film. Like the symbolic ugly grey aeroplane on which we spend much time, the film feels alive, groaning and creaking under its own weight, with dark hidden cavities that hide the unknown (yikes. I wasn’t expecting to write an entire paragraph of purple prose. The film must have inspired me to pull it from one of my own dark hidden cavities).
Something Flightplan does very well is create a very subjective view for the audience. It’s a film where the lines between reality and fantasy aren’t clear, which makes us frequently question and doubt what we see. And the leading character isn’t excluded from our doubts. When something is revealed midway through the film that tells us Kyle’s reality isn’t as she thought it was, it hits hard because I’d walked in her shoes and believed her. I felt almost as devastated as she did because in the light of this concrete proof it all seems so obvious and I felt almost foolish for buying in to a fantasy. And even that wasn’t the end.
This is a film that shifts both genres and themes as it shifts gears. Based on the poster alone I went in expecting a Hollywood thriller. It was a little surprising to find that it began as a European arthouse film where widows sit on empty Berlin U-Bahn platforms watching trains go about their business while conversing with their dead husbands. Then it’s a kind of road trip/rite of passage film about a mother and daughter’s new start. By the time it’s evolved into a thriller, it’s one so deeply entrenched in psychology I couldn’t help feeling invested. Later in the film it became a film about grief, denial and letting go. And essentially about one person’s nervous breakdown seen from a subjective viewpoint. Once this clicks with us, it’s a bit of a shock but almost a relief as well. But this is just the start and, as the climax approaches, it becomes a film about the wrong person in the frame, finding themselves in a position from which it seems there’s no way out.
If the film was a letdown on any front it’s the climax. So much thought had gone into every aspect of the film, right down to Kyle’s job as an aviation engineer who knows her way around every part of an aircraft. I believed everything right up until the last minute. The wrap-up felt too sudden and too complete and in light of what had happened immediately beforehand I believe the authorities would shoot first and ask questions later, no matter what. What actually happened felt too simplistic.
Still, it was a much better film than I’d anticipated. I’m glad I saw this one before it dropped off Prime.
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It's very real.
Another Life | Forums for television shows past and present (tellytalk.net)
I had started watching the second season, hoping it would be worse but, alas, it wasn't.
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- 52
Vengence (2022)
Before I share my thoughts on the film, how brilliant is that film poster? It's like a throwback to an old Hollywood poster from the 1950s: eye-catching and tells you something about the film without giving anything away.
The film itself is pretty good. BJ Novak, who I only previously have seen in one of my favourite films Saving Mr Banks (2013) wrote, directed, starred and executive produced this so he is the only person to blame if you don't like it. What I did like was that the film it well written, clever dialogue, funny in places without being hilarious but what I didn't like was the ending which I didn't find entirely believable.
BJ Novak plays a player who is contacted by one of his sexual conquests when she dies. To him she was a casual fling but she told her family that he was her boyfriend so they want him to come to her funeral. The police think she took an overdose of illegal drugs but her family think she was murdered. Novak's character sees these events as an interesting subject for a podcast which is a medium he is trying to get into. Much of the story and humour is about the culture clash between a blue state New Yorker (Novak) and the dead woman's family who are red state gun-loving Texan stereotypes. It's an interesing multi-layered film that could have been great but ultimately falls a bit short.
Before I share my thoughts on the film, how brilliant is that film poster? It's like a throwback to an old Hollywood poster from the 1950s: eye-catching and tells you something about the film without giving anything away.
The film itself is pretty good. BJ Novak, who I only previously have seen in one of my favourite films Saving Mr Banks (2013) wrote, directed, starred and executive produced this so he is the only person to blame if you don't like it. What I did like was that the film it well written, clever dialogue, funny in places without being hilarious but what I didn't like was the ending which I didn't find entirely believable.
BJ Novak plays a player who is contacted by one of his sexual conquests when she dies. To him she was a casual fling but she told her family that he was her boyfriend so they want him to come to her funeral. The police think she took an overdose of illegal drugs but her family think she was murdered. Novak's character sees these events as an interesting subject for a podcast which is a medium he is trying to get into. Much of the story and humour is about the culture clash between a blue state New Yorker (Novak) and the dead woman's family who are red state gun-loving Texan stereotypes. It's an interesing multi-layered film that could have been great but ultimately falls a bit short.
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- 27
The atmospheric period setting, the horror bits, acting and dance performances, score and audio effects, costumes and make-up - everything is in place to make this a perfect neo-European Arthouse Horror film.
It's a lengthy movie but funnily enough the only thing that crossed my mind was that it must have taken forever to make this movie. Perhaps that qualifies as "epic".
And yet, as I'm typing these words, my memories of this movie already start to fade despite my efforts to hold on to them.
It's a feeling that I connect with many streaming content - impressive to look at, but it lacks an overarching, dominant feeling that makes it linger on in my mind.
I'm not enticed to think about it, to revel in those thoughts regardless of what I'm getting out of it or what I'll learn from it.
Perhaps the explanation is simple, there's too much going on and it's impossible to say what part is supposed to be the most satisfying. And that's a shame because it really looks like a labour of love and craftsmanship.
I'm glad they made it and I loved to watch it - kinda like "if Midsommar had been a good movie" - and who knows, maybe it's too early to say if it's memorable or not.
It's just that I stopped feeling it as soon as it ended, and I'm sure this wasn't supposed to be that kind of short-lived (albeit lenghty) piece of escapism. They could have achieved that with much less.
There are some shocking twists in the casting: Jessica "Suspiria '77" Harper, Tilda Swinton who also played Dr. Josef Kemperer (I had no idea!) and Dutch whatever-happened-to-her?-actress Renée Soutendijk who looked so much like Renée Soutendijk that I simply assumed it wasn't her.
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After 30 minutes I still had no idea who these people were, why they were there and why they were having conversations that told me absolutely nothing.
Another 30 minutes later I woke up from a well deserved power nap so I guess the movie isn't completely without merit.
Trash.
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i loved Sharknado (2013) it's one of those films that i went in with low expectations and i ended up loving it, what makes it work is that cast/crew/writer/ director everyone did not take the film serious at all the director who if he was telling the truth back on IMDB board back in the day was telling us this. sometimes when you don't take something serious depending on what the film is of course it can help the film. seeing the late John Heard try and beat a shark to death with a bar stool and him carry that around is so absurd that it's funny as hell. why was he carrying it? i have no idea one wonders if that was even in the script at all or it was just Heard's idea.
it's not a work of art or a masterpiece but i went in wanting to enjoy a fun film like this that you just can't take serious at all and it helped i think. i haven't seen the sequels yet so i can't say how good or how bad they are to be fair but the 1st one i loved. i bought it on bluray in fact some years back at i think at Super-K which is now Meijers go figure. i'm not even sure if that's spelled right? but that's the store that's there now where Super-K used to be.
the last film i watched was called Emergency Hospital (1956) and it was a B picture and it was actually pretty good it was worth watching once. it's not a film i'm gonna ever go back to but i'm glad i watched it. i'd say 8/10
i haven't seen the Susperia remake but i have seen that god awful (1977) film that is just so beautifully shot by Dario Argento or however ya spells his last name as well. he was a great director but the script needed more work i think.
it's not a work of art or a masterpiece but i went in wanting to enjoy a fun film like this that you just can't take serious at all and it helped i think. i haven't seen the sequels yet so i can't say how good or how bad they are to be fair but the 1st one i loved. i bought it on bluray in fact some years back at i think at Super-K which is now Meijers go figure. i'm not even sure if that's spelled right? but that's the store that's there now where Super-K used to be.
the last film i watched was called Emergency Hospital (1956) and it was a B picture and it was actually pretty good it was worth watching once. it's not a film i'm gonna ever go back to but i'm glad i watched it. i'd say 8/10
i haven't seen the Susperia remake but i have seen that god awful (1977) film that is just so beautifully shot by Dario Argento or however ya spells his last name as well. he was a great director but the script needed more work i think.
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Calendar Girls (2003)
One of those films where even before watching you all but know exactly what the tone will be and how the story will play out. The poster says most of it, and the cast of usual British rom-com suspects says the rest.
Julie Walters; Celia Imrie; Penelope Wilton... this could be any one of a dozen British films (two of these - and probably more from the extended cast - were in the last-but-one film I watched, further up the page). And yet there's a good reason why these names keep showing up. Because they're solid, reliable, funny and all-round terrific.
That's certainly the case here. Celia Imrie does her usual reliable support thing, while Julie Walters and Helen Mirren take leads as the two best friends, with Julie playing against type as the quiet, nervous one and Mirren as the brassier confident one who makes it all about her (something, thankfully, which is acknowledged in the film).
As in practically every project in which I've seen her, it's Penelope Wilton who steals the show as the very proper one in denial about her husband's affair and resistant to anything that could challenge the proper order of things - including stripping off for a calendar.
The casting remains as good all the way through. John Alderton's too-brief turn as Julie Walters' equally reserved husband is great. He makes a lasting impression which helps give the rest of the story a substance, and his North Yorkshire accent sounds impressively authentic as well. I was a little surprised Pauline Collins didn't accompany him to play one of the women as this seems right up her street. It was less surprising to learn that Ann Reid was offered a role, but was too busy to accept.
There are familiar "grouchy old people" sitcom faces in Annette Crosby and Graham Crowden (the latter, sadly, barely a cough and a spit). And Harriet Thorpe (whom I still remember best from her association with French & Saunders in the Eighties, particularly as boiler-suited feminist Chris in Girls On Top) was on authoritative form here as a W.I. head honcho.
While the journey is predictable and familiar* (and yes - it does at times feel like a female version of The Full Monty. The Full Monica, if you will), it is enjoyable, rewarding and satisfying. The performances are great and the scenery - from Yorkshire to London to Hollywood - most attractive.
This last-minute watching of films that are about to drop off Prime is proving worthwhile. If it hadn't been on the clock I may not have made the effort of finally watching this for the first time. And I'm very glad I did.
* Being based on actual events, the outcome is also inevitable up to a point. It is a great story, though, and there's also some dramatic licence on top of this.
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Genius, love it.
I've watched this film and recall that I found it okay with expected performances from a reliable cast.
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Oh, thanks.
Yes, that about sums it up. When Penelope Wilton, Julie Walters and Celia Imrie deliver expected performances it's never a disappointment.
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Deadpool 2.
Super hero genre movies usually fail to land with me. But Deadpool caught my attention so decided to watch the second offering.
Deadpool 2 was peppered with some excellent comedy and OTT action that fitted the overall narrative of the movie. The tongue 'n' cheek self-reference quips worked.
What's left to say.... Deadpool 2 is worth the watch.
Super hero genre movies usually fail to land with me. But Deadpool caught my attention so decided to watch the second offering.
Deadpool 2 was peppered with some excellent comedy and OTT action that fitted the overall narrative of the movie. The tongue 'n' cheek self-reference quips worked.
What's left to say.... Deadpool 2 is worth the watch.
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yes it's worth a watch i saw it on the big screen it was and is a good movie but it's nowhere near as good as the 1st film though.
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I tend to agree. The first one was much better. The second movie is very good as a sequel for me but the first one outshines it.
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Going In Style (2017)
Another of my "I'd never have got round to watching if it wasn't about to drop off Prime" random films.
This is a fun comedy heist film with an impressive cast and a nice buoyant upbeat tone. It's a remake of a 1979 film which I've never seen, but I couldn't help wondering if the "inspiration" for this version came as much from Golden Years, a low key British film from almost exactly a year before this one (and which I happened to watch myself almost exactly a year ago). It felt uncannily similar in tone as well as premise.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Another of my "I'd never have got round to watching if it wasn't about to drop off Prime" random films.
This is a fun comedy heist film with an impressive cast and a nice buoyant upbeat tone. It's a remake of a 1979 film which I've never seen, but I couldn't help wondering if the "inspiration" for this version came as much from Golden Years, a low key British film from almost exactly a year before this one (and which I happened to watch myself almost exactly a year ago). It felt uncannily similar in tone as well as premise.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
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I'd not heard of Deadpool until I was round a friends yard and he mentioned that he'd strayed across it and enjoyed it and put it on. Having no preconceptions and no idea what to expect.... Absolutely enjoyed Deadpool.
Deadpool2 was good, but the "wow didn't expect that" element was missing. Know what I mean? In fact I struggle to think of a sequel I enjoyed more the the first.
Actually, Die Hard With A Vengeance has just sprung to mind.
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yeah Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995) also the only one i ended up seeing on the big screen is my favorite one as well. i love a good sequel don't get me wrong there's plenty of sequels that have films better than the 1st film but they are far and in between. than there's Friday the 13th (1980) the Original Classic that is often overlooked these days but a lot of the series fans or who claim they are fans and yet they've only seen a couple of them. the 1st for those who don't know doesn't have Jason as the Killer at all. he never was intended to be the killer that was pretty much a fluke really. they couldn't come up with a way to end it and well check out the very end to see what i mean.. Puppet master 3: Toulan's Revenge (1991) comes to mind as being far better than the 1st film and is easily the best out of them all.
as as Deadpool for those who don't know and who have never seen it nor follow the character he's a comic book character that's pretty dark actually. in the books apparently he's Bi though in the films i don't think it's written that way. the films also are NOT for kids at all. i'd love to show that to my Nephew but since he's gonna be 11 next month that would be a big fat HELL NO!
as as Deadpool for those who don't know and who have never seen it nor follow the character he's a comic book character that's pretty dark actually. in the books apparently he's Bi though in the films i don't think it's written that way. the films also are NOT for kids at all. i'd love to show that to my Nephew but since he's gonna be 11 next month that would be a big fat HELL NO!
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The Bucket List (2007)
With these actors and a premise that features two men brought together by sharing a hospital room while being treated for cancer I probably shouldn't have been so surprised to find that this film pulled out the emotional rug several times. But I was.
Perhaps because of its relative brevity I was expecting a simpler, broader sillier comedy. It has the laughs - above all this is a buddy comedy - but there are some heavier moments that give the laughs a deeper meaning. It's one of those life affirming, thought-provoking films that I probably wasn't prepared for last night, but loved all the same. Perhaps the reason I found it so powerful was exactly because I was expecting something else.
The performances are great and there's some glorious scenery as the film opens up later on. A beautiful film on so many levels.
With these actors and a premise that features two men brought together by sharing a hospital room while being treated for cancer I probably shouldn't have been so surprised to find that this film pulled out the emotional rug several times. But I was.
Perhaps because of its relative brevity I was expecting a simpler, broader sillier comedy. It has the laughs - above all this is a buddy comedy - but there are some heavier moments that give the laughs a deeper meaning. It's one of those life affirming, thought-provoking films that I probably wasn't prepared for last night, but loved all the same. Perhaps the reason I found it so powerful was exactly because I was expecting something else.
The performances are great and there's some glorious scenery as the film opens up later on. A beautiful film on so many levels.
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Jodie Foster has had my attention since she was about 3 or whatever it was on My Three Sons and The Courtship of Eddie's Father TV series.
This is one of her standout roles as far as I'm concerned. Gritty, determined, I love that stuff.
The plot is also reminiscent of another of my favourites - the British mystery So Long At the Fair, starring Jean Simmons and Dirk Bogarde.