What was the last film you watched?

[Mel O'Drama]

Shazam! (2019)

(AKA the original Captain Marvel)

I kept expectations low for this one, but really enjoyed it. Surprisingly, the best thing about it was the teenage actors playing the kids. I really liked the whole foster family setup and the school scenes. Zachary Levi as Captain Marvel was funny enough, but he also got a bit wearing at times, playing it broadly like an American sitcom. The villain wasn't particularly interesting and I thought the actor had little screen presence. An hour after watching I struggle to remember a single thing he said or did.

The foster theme made it kind of like a superheroic Home and Away. Combined with the body switch of Freaky Friday or Big.


​

Anything with Margaret Rutherford is watchable. She had such a great screen presence and energy that you can't take your eyes off her.

Yes, she's brilliant. I'm overdue a rewatch of her four Marple films. And I also stumbled upon a film about her life story on Prime which I'm hoping to watch soon.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Aquaman (2018)

Despite my comics reading childhood, Aquaman was a character who - other than some regular appearances in the JLA - mostly passed me by. He just never interested me in the way that many of his peers did. I really wasn't sure I wanted to watch a two and a half hour film about the character.

There was lots I really enjoyed. I found the origin and backstory interesting enough and I mostly liked the world created. And Willem Dafoe is in it, so there's that.

I wasn't so keen on the abundance of CGI which made it feel far too much like a video game at times. Then there were the roaring sharks! And the Atlanteans all having broad American accents (the actor playing the brother who looked like Draco Malfoy had teen drama delivery. Mera's accent was not only off-puttingly rhotic, it was accompanied by Kardashian vocal fry. Not at all how I'd long imagined this regal princess would sound).

Oh, and when I paused the film for a pee break the cast names came up on screen, and I realised the woman playing Mera was Amber "No-one is going to believe that" Heard. Which made it difficult to fully enjoy the rest of the film.​

 

[9unfold]

Sully. Miracle On The Hudson.

Tom Hanks continues to offer outstanding performances. The whole movie was really enjoyable.

 

[Angela Channing]

Sully. Miracle On The Hudson.

Tom Hanks continues to offer outstanding performances. The whole movie was really enjoyable.

This is a wonderful film, I really liked it and an incredible story of a true hero.

 

[Angela Channing]

The Jolson Story (1046)

This is a superior biopic. It's a sanitised version of the life of Al Jolson so it doesn't address the controversy of wearing blackface, his falling out with his brother is ignored by not including the character in the film and his multiple divorces are not mentioned and all his wives are rolled into a single character. However, all that aside, the essence of his life story is intact and it's a very enjoyable film and Larry Parks is outstanding as Jolson even though he looks nothing like him but his performance is so good you completely overlook that.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Ones Below (2015)

This was a spontaneous watch, which is often the best kind. I had no idea what this would be going in, but thought I might end up whiling away an hour and a half with a few jump scares. I was pleasantly surprised to be gripped by a film full of humanity and psychological tension.

It helped that I didn't recognise any of the cast as I watched, though I've since realised that one of the actors was One Summer's Billy Rizley (unrecognisable in this role). And it's brilliantly acted.

Here's one of James's favourite reviewers talking about his experience with the film, which is not unlike my own:

Sully. Miracle On The Hudson.

This is a wonderful film, I really liked it and an incredible story of a true hero.

It was on TV last week when I was channel surfing. Midway through, unfortunately. I only saw half a scene but made a mental note to watch it in full sometime.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Quartet (2012)

Brilliant film with a terrific cast. Warm and funny in all the right places. And directed by one Dustin Hoffman.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Number 13 (2006)

A short adaption by the BBC of the M. R. James ghost story.​

 

[Willie Oleson]

Like Maleficent, it turns the super villain's non-story into a heart-wrenching victim story with the obligatory soapy sub-plot.
But, unlike Maleficent, the JOKER trailer is the real thing. In fact, the movie is an extended director's cut of that trailer.

In MALEFICENT, it was the premise that worked against the movie, in JOKER it's the title character itself that takes the sting out of it.
It's very well done and it looks very convincing (and how could it not with such a paper-thin plot) but the fact that he is the famous Joker kinda keeps me at arm's length.
It's not a character's story, it's the story of a character.
The dampy/gritty seventies style is wonderfully recreated although I'm not sure if it's supposed to represent the 1970s period. It's hard to tell with all those big American cars.

The movie has its moments and I think it's succeeded in what it wanted to be. But I wouldn't recommend it to someone else.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Whistle & I'll Come To You (2010)

As with Number 13, this is another BBC adaption of an M.R. James ghost story. In fact this was the next in the series, airing the Christmas after Number 13.

I'm not familiar with the original, but reading reviews after watching it appears this is nothing like the original. Many don't seem to like this adaption, but it really worked for me.

It was damned creepy in places, and there was one big jump for me. But the real strength was the vein of foreboding running through it. Dementia, old peoples' homes and being alone are three things that I find terrifying, so the entire setup felt uncomfortable and off-kilter before any hint of ghostly doings.

The entire (small) cast is wonderful. Lots of inscrutable half smiles on faces that could be read as friendly, but could also be masking something quite sinister. And John Hurt is as marvellous as you'd expect in response to the half smiling women with whom he interacts occasionally.​

 

[Willie Oleson]

Whistle & I'll Come To You

If you can.

 

[Jessie]

Great White

 

[Grant Jennings]

Sully. Miracle On The Hudson.

Tom Hanks continues to offer outstanding performances. The whole movie was really enjoyable.

I had a serious problem with this movie. I know bio-pics and "based on a true story" movies often take liberties with the story (composite characters, time compression) but the entire last act of this movie is pure fiction. The NTSB hearing was not the way it was depicted in the film. When Chesley Sullenberger was handed a copy of the script he complained that the entire tone of the hearing was wrong. When the producers refused to make significant changes Sullenberger insisted the names of the board members be changed because the characters in the movie did not accurately reflect the real life board members.

 

[Grant Jennings]

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

From the second when the titles first appear on the screen this film appears dated and low budget but don't be put off by that as it's a good story told in an engaging way that at times is funny and always is intelligent. It successfully captures the vibe of 1980s Britain, covering the racial tensions, views on homosexuality and generational and class differences that existed at the times and many ways still exist today.

Excellent movie. I think the low budget look works to the movie's advantage. Gordon Warnecke and Daniel Day-Lewis have excellent chemistry.

 

[Angela Channing]

View attachment 27388

Like Maleficent, it turns the super villain's non-story into a heart-wrenching victim story with the obligatory soapy sub-plot.
But, unlike Maleficent, the JOKER trailer is the real thing. In fact, the movie is an extended director's cut of that trailer.

In MALEFICENT, it was the premise that worked against the movie, in JOKER it's the title character itself that takes the sting out of it.
It's very well done and it looks very convincing (and how could it not with such a paper-thin plot) but the fact that he is the famous Joker kinda keeps me at arm's length.
It's not a character's story, it's the story of a character.
The dampy/gritty seventies style is wonderfully recreated although I'm not sure if it's supposed to represent the 1970s period. It's hard to tell with all those big American cars.

The movie has its moments and I think it's succeeded in what it wanted to be. But I wouldn't recommend it to someone else.

To me it seemed very much like an updated and more gory remake of Martin Scorsese's King of Comedy (1982). I loved both films.

 

[Angela Channing]

Excellent movie. I think the low budget look works to the movie's advantage. Gordon Warnecke and Daniel Day-Lewis have excellent chemistry.

You're not wrong: the low budget added to the 1980s vibe of the film.

 

[Angela Channing]

Moonlight (2016)

I had seen this film before when it was first released but my opinion of it was coloured by the hype that surrounded it so I thought it deserved another viewing. It's a film in 3 parts: Chiron as a child, as a adolescent as finally as a man and at each stage he is confused or coming to terms with his sexuality. The first 2 parts were gripping, skilfully made, beautifully shot and acted. Both ended leaving me wanting more of the story and wondering what happened next. Definitely a case of less is more. The final part had less action and more subtly in how the story unfolded. Every scene is meaningful and every line of dialogue is thought out, Overall a masterclass in film making and deserving of all the accolades it received.

 

[9unfold]

I had a serious problem with this movie. I know bio-pics and "based on a true story" movies often take liberties with the story (composite characters, time compression) but the entire last act of this movie is pure fiction. The NTSB hearing was not the way it was depicted in the film. When Chesley Sullenberger was handed a copy of the script he complained that the entire tone of the hearing was wrong. When the producers refused to make significant changes Sullenberger insisted the names of the board members be changed because the characters in the movie did not accurately reflect the real life board members.

I tend to agree with you. Bio-pics often take liberties with facts.

When I turned over to watch Sully: Miracle..... I did so knowing that I was looking to be entertained and not educated. Tom Hanks is a great actor and I was not disappointed.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Canterville Ghost (1985)

I spotted this on Prime and had assumed (because it's the adaption I've heard of) that it would feature David Niven. It didn't, but there was a pre-Knots Brian Green (billed sans "Austin") in what appears to be his first screen role.​

 

[i love jr ewing]

Beginners.