What was the last film you watched?

[Willie Oleson]

Many pretty girls have tried their luck in Hollywood only to end up in places and jobs they could never have imagined.
During this new millennium, a new kind of narcissism wormed its way into our cultural psyche: sexual desire. Even the famous bombshells from the golden era of Hollywood - sexually desired by many, indeed - were often marketed by studios as being bombshells. And while some (or many) of these actresses may have used their looks to get into the studios in the first place, that kind of career probably wasn't the original plan.

Big Hollywood Names who had done some risqué gigs in the past (but still relatively tame by today's standards) have moved heaven and earth to get that particular material censored.
I don't know exactly when it happened, but things definitely changed when that kind of naughty exposure became the goal in itself, and it was the end of old glamour, old fame and old status as we knew it in the 20th century.
Princess/Lady Diana may have been the last one of her kind.

The main character in PLEASURE moves from Sweden to L.A. to become a big name in the adult industry.
My first thought was, just how big is that name going to be? What is fame when it isn't mainsteam?
It can only be some kind of underground fame, except that the adult industry isn't underground anymore. Everybody's watching porn, and from that point of view it makes a little more sense.
Nevertheless, the film shows that this industry can be hazardous scene for those who choose it for the wrong reasons. Bella Cherry is ambitious and opportunistic but at the same time she has no idea what it takes to make those movies she's been watching online.
Seeing how she tries to push her boundaries it's easy to understand why people like her lose their identity, and even the purpose and benefits of being in the adult industry.

There are quite a few adult performers co-starring in this film and this allows them to show some graphic nudity but there's no actual porn in it.
Sofia Kappel plays Bella Cherry and she's very good, but Zelda Morisson who plays her friend Joy is the bigger pleasant surprise.
I've enjoyed this film very much it's sort of a 21st century Valley Of The Dolls. I want sequels, prequels, the series - everything.

 

[Angela Channing]

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Many pretty girls have tried their luck in Hollywood only to end up in places and jobs they could never have imagined.
During this new millennium, a new kind of narcissism wormed its way into our cultural psyche: sexual desire. Even the famous bombshells from the golden era of Hollywood - sexually desired by many, indeed - were often marketed by studios as being bombshells. And while some (or many) of these actresses may have used their looks to get into the studios in the first place, that kind of career probably wasn't the original plan.

Big Hollywood Names who had done some risqué gigs in the past (but still relatively tame by today's standards) have moved heaven and earth to get that particular material censored.
I don't know exactly when it happened, but things definitely changed when that kind of naughty exposure became the goal in itself, and it was the end of old glamour, old fame and old status as we knew it in the 20th century.
Princess/Lady Diana may have been the last one of her kind.

The main character in PLEASURE moves from Sweden to L.A. to become a big name in the adult industry.
My first thought was, just how big is that name going to be? What is fame when it isn't mainsteam?
It can only be some kind of underground fame, except that the adult industry isn't underground anymore. Everybody's watching porn, and from that point of view it makes a little more sense.
Nevertheless, the film shows that this industry can be hazardous scene for those who choose it for the wrong reasons. Bella Cherry is ambitious and opportunistic but at the same time she has no idea what it takes to make those movies she's been watching online.
Seeing how she tries to push her boundaries it's easy to understand why people like her lose their identity, and even the purpose and benefits of being in the adult industry.

There are quite a few adult performers co-starring in this film and this allows them to show some graphic nudity but there's no actual porn in it.
Sofia Kappel plays Bella Cherry and she's very good, but Zelda Morisson who plays her friend Joy is the bigger pleasant surprise.
I've enjoyed this film very much it's sort of a 21st century Valley Of The Dolls. I want sequels, prequels, the series - everything.

I've not heard of this film before but my goodness, that poster is eye-catching!

 

[Rove]

However, subsequently I've heard and read many people saying how much they enjoyed it

It might have something to do with this movie not being your typical action, blow everything up and have a satisfying ending. As much as this type of movie lends itself to the big screen, I'm glad I waited until it had a streaming release. I can longer sit in a movie theatre and watch a 2+ hour movie without powdering my nose. How I miss the days of an intermission while the projector guy would have to change the reel

 

[Willie Oleson]

A crime/prison thriller with some emotional punches, almost like a mini-Breaking Bad.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Birds Of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn (2020)

Even with low expectations, Suicide Squad underwhelmed me. Fortunately, Birds Of Prey is a clear case of a sequel/spinoff surpassing its predecessor.

I was a little excited to see in the listing that it featured the Helena Bertinelli iteration of The Huntress as well as Black Canary, however I also understood the chances of the characters I knew being accurately portrayed onscreen were slim at best. Black Canary in particular was very different, but with that accepted it was a decent portrayal.

The weak link is the film's antagonist, Roman Sioni's/Black Mask, who comes off as a wannabe Joker. It's partly in the writing, but Ewan McGregor's portrayal didn't help, since it lacked gravitas, flair and originality and felt a bit tired. Fortunately, the film's "villain" doesn't feel as important here as the new team origin story.

I laughed a lot more than expected through this film. The humour was right up my street and I appreciated the lighthearted tone and the balance of fun and violence. As far as wacky anti-hero films go this is far more my cup of tea than Deadpool. It has the lot, and throws in a Gentlemen Prefer Blondes homage on top

These two hours went very quickly.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Zodiac (2007)
Director's Cut

While I feel quite certain I watched this at the cinema fifteen years ago, I remembered virtually nothing about it other than Jake Gyllenhall driving a rather nice VW Golf (or Rabbit as the Americans call it).

Even though I have it mentally logged as a really good film, nothing really came back as I watched. This turned out to be a good thing because it felt like the first time I'd watched it. And the news is good.

Off the back of my recent binge of the entire MCU the three leads - Mysterio, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner - have a novel element. There are actually loads of terrific actors, familiar from other roles: the very first scene featured Mouth from One Tree Hill getting attacked by the Zodiac; then there's Chloë Sevigny, the reliable secretary from American Psycho; Dermot Mulroney, Holly Hunter's Ben Gibson lookalike cop partner from Copycat; Tom Verica, best known to me as Mark from Central Park West and Grace's post-coital high-fiving boyfriend from Will & Grace, as a vain old talk show host. One particularly familiar face took me ages to place - he had a Jimmy Stewart kind of quality, but also reminded me of Dermot Mulroney (before I realised Dermot was also in this film in another role). It turned out to be Anthony Edwards from ER, almost unrecognisable with hair.

The period detail seemed great. There was very little that felt overly contemporary (other than a couple of little speech patterns that may arguably have been borderline appropriate for Seventies California anyway), and I tend to be quite critical of these things. It all looked very authentic, with skylines and streetscapes feeling very much like films of that era. Even the tone feels eerily Seventies at times (David Fincher is said to have been very influenced by The Conversation, and I can completely feel that in this production). There's a real naturalism to how the film feels, helped by mostly diegetic sounds including era-appropriate music. David Shire's minimalist score fits right in. One barely notices it... in the best possible way.

At two hours and forty minutes, it was a bit of a commitment, but I wasn't about to let my gorgeous new steelbook go to waste. And it was well worth the time invested.​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Ruth & Alex (2015)
A.K.A. 5 Flights Up

A lovely, warm film, with great chemistry between the leads and a premise (the chaos of looking for and bidding on a new home while selling the current one) I haven't really seen done before. Certainly not this well.​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Amorous Prawn (1962)

A typical gentle British comedy of the era. I probably should have saved it for a Sunday matinee, but it hit the spot for me last night. Expectations were low, but it was funnier than I'd imagined it would be. As well as Joan Greenwood, there are a host of familiar faces: Liz Fraser from the Carry Ons doing her usual bit. Harry Locke, also best known to me from his medical Carry Ons. There was Derek Nimmo bizarrely playing an extremely camp chef.

The biggest surprise in this "U"-rated film came near the end when there was a brief-but-clear flash of a man's genitals as he descended from a ceiling with his kilt flying upwards. Not even Carry On Up The Khyber could get away with that one.​

 

[Willie Oleson]

Schockingly bad, as if it were a eurotrash film dubbed in English. The liveliest performance was Angie Dickinson's half-dead character in the elevator, everything else looks and sounds as if it's being read from a teleprompter - and reluctantly so.
Considering the number of suspects, the idea of a murder mystery is laughable.
The first 10 minutes (although it felt like half an hour) in the museum is a good example of self-congratulary cinema because it achieves absolutely nothing. No character, no atmosphere, no tension, no disorientation, it's just walking walking walking.
The best plot twist was the STD but that ended as soon as Angie Dickinson's character was killed.
Harry Potter was in it, too.

Horrible movie! Trash!

 

[Seaviewer]

Horrible movie! Trash!

Very controversial in its day, though.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Upside (2017)

I've no idea how this ended up in my watchlist, but it fitted the bill last night when I was in the mood for a 2 hour + film that wasn't too heavy.

Probably helping things, I wasn't familiar with the two lead actors. Bryan Cranston seems very familiar and looking at his IMDb I've watched him in some small guest-roles (mostly from decades before this), but I thought he gave a knockout performance. Nicole Kidman is a familiar face (with only one expression at that. Still, she was perfectly acceptable here). I had no idea who Kevin Hart is, but thought he gave a reasonable performance, particularly in the interactions with his estranged partner and son. However, I never found him at all likeable which made it difficult to buy the growing connection between the two men. Consequently some of his "rebellious" actions felt more tiresome than endearing. The scene where he laughed at the opera is an example of this. The character just seemed like a douche. And in a key scene where Dell smashed Philip's belongings he gave out so little sense of empathy towards the other character, it seemed Dell was simply still the same thug he was when he barged into the interview, hiding his thuggery behind a more altruistic motive, so there was a frustrating lack of a sense of journey or growth for the character. Reading about Hart's homophobic tweets and jokes when looking up information on the actors this morning has soured me on him even more, and puts an even more unpleasant spin on the scene where his character made a huge deal out of changing Philip's catheter.

Even though it seemed to have been universally panned by critics, I thought it was a perfectly watchable film. However, I didn't know until after it was over that it was a remake of a French film called The Intouchables. While I don't regret watching The Upside, frankly I suspect I'd have preferred to have watched the original than an unnecessary Hollywood karaoke version.​

 

[Willie Oleson]

It's been a treat to rewatch this gorgeous disaster film after so many years. The way the camera captures the bridge as a place of utter doom almost makes it look evil, and the motion of the train itself helps to build up the tension which can't be achieved with a boat or plane. Additionally, there's a WWII theme going on that makes it all even more depressing (but in a fascinating way).

 

[Angela Channing]

The Upside (2017)

I've no idea how this ended up in my watchlist, but it fitted the bill last night when I was in the mood for a 2 hour + film that wasn't too heavy.

Probably helping things, I wasn't familiar with the two lead actors. Bryan Cranston seems very familiar and looking at his IMDb I've watched him in some small guest-roles (mostly from decades before this), but I thought he gave a knockout performance. Nicole Kidman is a familiar face (with only one expression at that. Still, she was perfectly acceptable here). I had no idea who Kevin Hart is, but thought he gave a reasonable performance, particularly in the interactions with his estranged partner and son. However, I never found him at all likeable which made it difficult to buy the growing connection between the two men. Consequently some of his "rebellious" actions felt more tiresome than endearing. The scene where he laughed at the opera is an example of this. The character just seemed like a douche. And in a key scene where Dell smashed Philip's belongings he gave out so little sense of empathy towards the other character, it seemed Dell was simply still the same thug he was when he barged into the interview, hiding his thuggery behind a more altruistic motive, so there was a frustrating lack of a sense of journey or growth for the character. Reading about Hart's homophobic tweets and jokes when looking up information on the actors this morning has soured me on him even more, and puts an even more unpleasant spin on the scene where his character made a huge deal out of changing Philip's catheter.

Even though it seemed to have been universally panned by critics, I thought it was a perfectly watchable film. However, I didn't know until after it was over that it was a remake of a French film called The Intouchables. While I don't regret watching The Upside, frankly I suspect I'd have preferred to have watched the original than an unnecessary Hollywood karaoke version.​

I've seen both The Upside and Intouchables on which it was based and the original is far superior. However, The Upside is still a pretty good film, although I thought the subplot of the Kevin Hart's character's relationship with his son and the son's mother was unnecessary. Other than that subplot the storyline of both films is very similar but The Upside doesn't have as much charm as Intouchables and the chemistry of the 2 leads works so much better in the original.

This is my favourite scene in Intouchables and I didn't think the equivalent scene in The Upside worked as well because it was more about Kevin Hart whereas in Intouchables it was more about the relationship between the 2 main characters.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I've seen both The Upside and Intouchables on which it was based and the original is far superior. However, The Upside is still a pretty good film, although I thought the subplot of the Kevin Hart's character's relationship with his son and the son's mother was unnecessary. Other than that subplot the storyline of both films is very similar but The Upside doesn't have as much charm as Intouchables and the chemistry of the 2 leads works so much better in the original.

Thanks. It's good to have a comparison from someone familiar with both. And Omar Sy is quite the dancer!!

I would like to watch Intouchables someday, but I'd wait until The Upside slips further back in my memory banks so I can fully invest in the film.

 

[Angela Channing]

Mrs Harris Goes To Paris (2022)

Charming old fashioned film, the sort of thing that would have starred someone like Jane Wyman, Joan Fontaine or Jennifer Jones had it been made in Hollywood's golden age.

Ada Harris is a cleaning lady whose husband is missing presumed dead during World War 2. She admires the Dior dress of one of the rich women she works for and sets her heart on buy one for herself. So she scrapes together all the money from a range of sources and goes to Paris to buy the dress. She's treated with hostility from some of the snobby staff at Dior but her good nature wins over many of the people she meets.

It's a nice, heart-warming wholesome story that is beautifully shot and acted.

 

[Angela Channing]

Emily The Criminal (2022)

This is a really good film. Emily is struggling to pay her student debt and can't get a job when someone suggests she does mystery shopping which turns out to be a front for a credit card fraud operation run by 2 cousins. Emily gets more and more involved in the running of the fraud (hence the title of the film) and is a total badass when dealing with anyone who crosses her. The acting in this film is really strong, every character is believable and interesting and the whole film is a thrilling ride.

 

[Angela Channing]

Breaking (2022)

Great film with superb acting, especially from John Boyega who plays the main role of a US Marine veteran who has financial difficulties because the Veterans Association won't give him the $800 that they owe him. He holds up a bank to force them to transfer the money he is owed to his account. It's a tense and gripping thriller based on a true story.

 

[Willie Oleson]

A crime/gore/thriller with some surprisingly funny moments and comments, and a narrative that is in sync with the poker game itself.
Not that I know anything about the rules of poker but I'm sure everybody's familiar with the mood of it.
Since POKER NIGHT mimicks the tough-talk stories that are being told within the story I felt the ending was a little straightforward and therefore doesn't quite pack a punch.
Overall, an original film that kinda bluffs, bedazzles and confuses in a way the poker player is supposed to do (I think).


I didn't know this was based on/inspired by real people and true events and that's why it looked like a "David Lynch" for kids - and that's right up my cul de sac.
So, when I discovered that it was a semi-biopic it felt a tiny bit disappointed, but only for a few moments.
Because I know what most biopics look like, and this is definitely not of them.

A special mention for Tom Hank's scene in "let's have a minute of silence" - he was looking straight into the camera for what seemed like minutes and I didn't know if or what was going to happen. I pushed my chair backwards and I think it's rather unique to have such a physical experience.
I also loved the puppets and toy imagery.

 

[Willie Oleson]

and who knows, maybe it's too early to say if SUSPIRIA is memorable or not.

Not that this will mean anything to anyone, but I'm happy to report that it's finally found a place in my mental library.
Of all the films I've streamed recently, this is the only one that keeps popping up in my mind.

To compare: I thoroughly enjoyed the Amazon Exclusive PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN - and yet, last night, I almost added it to my watchlist again.
And since I couldn't give you the full story if my life depended on it perhaps I should do that anyway.

I think I'm going to re-read the entire thread and make a list of all the films I've watched (and add more titles that have been positively reviewed by other tellytalkers).

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I think I'm going to re-read the entire thread and make a list of all the films I've watched (and add more titles that have been positively reviewed by other tellytalkers).

Ooh... could this lead to a spinoff thread, I wonder...?

Or even some kind of lavish red carpet award thingy for your top films. We could all don our best attire to attend The First Annual Thrillies Ceremony.