What was the last film you watched?

[Angela Channing]

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

That's 2 hours of my life I won't get back. A clichéd courtroom drama that failed to grab my attention to the extent that I didn't care whether or not the accused was found guilty or not guilty. There were some weird choices made by the director or editor which didn't work such as scenes filmed with hand held cameras which gave them an unsteady, jerky feel, fast edits and the use of a rap song as background music. It possibly would have worked in an action film but not in a film that is otherwise trying to be a tense drama.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

There were some weird choices made by the director or editor which didn't work such as scenes filmed with hand held cameras which gave them an unsteady, jerky feel, fast edits and the use of a rap song as background music.

Oh dear. That sounds dreadful.

I'll consider myself warned, so at least you've saved someone else from subjecting themselves to it.

 

[DallasFanForever]

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

That's 2 hours of my life I won't get back. A clichéd courtroom drama that failed to grab my attention to the extent that I didn't care whether or not the accused was found guilty or not guilty. There were some weird choices made by the director or editor which didn't work such as scenes filmed with hand held cameras which gave them an unsteady, jerky feel, fast edits and the use of a rap song as background music. It possibly would have worked in an action film but not in a film that is otherwise trying to be a tense drama.

I remember seeing this years ago and I thought it had potential. I actually thought it was pretty good for awhile but the ending made no sense to me. Without giving anything away it felt like it could’ve ended about 30 minutes before it did with the end of the trial. I’m not sure why they kept it going. It seemed like the story had already finished.

 

[DallasFanForever]

And last night I watched...

RFK Must Die: The Assassination Of Bobby Kennedy (2008)

I’ve always wanted to see this but have never gotten around to it. I read the book years ago and found it very enjoyable.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I’ve always wanted to see this but have never gotten around to it. I read the book years ago and found it very enjoyable.

If you have any streaming services it might be worth seeing if it's on there. Here in the UK it was free for me to watch on my regular streaming service. I've also lined up the documentary about the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald, which was made by the same guy.

The film was under an hour long, and there's only so much information that can be given in this way. I suspect the book would be a lot more comprehensive and informative. Maybe I'll check it out at some point.

 

[Angela Channing]

Oh dear. That sounds dreadful.

I remember seeing this years ago and I thought it had potential. I actually thought it was pretty good for awhile but the ending made no sense to me.

Amazingly, the film had some good reviews but so maybe I wasn't seeing something in it that others were. The twist and the end wouldn't have worked if the film had built suspense and tension but it never did so when the twist happened I just thought "who care?"

 

[Angela Channing]

The Insult (2017)

This was the third courtroom drama in a row that I watched and this one was a bit of a cracker. A Lebanese film about about an argument between a Christian Arab and a Palestinian that escalates into a court case may make you think it isn't going to be a great piece of entertainment but you would be wrong. I only became aware of this film because it became the first Lebanese film to be nominated for a Oscar so out of curiosity it's long been on my list of films to watch. The court dispute is like a proxy for the tension that exists between religious groups in the area and the argument between the two men has more meaning than the insult itself but reflects the history of animosity between their people since the Lebanese civil war. What is so clever about the film is that as the plot unfolds you see the good and bad in both characters making it difficult to side with either party but you are still satisfied with the outcome when one is victorious.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I've also lined up the documentary about the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald, which was made by the same guy.

I watched this tonight...

Killing Oswald (2013)

This is one for those with a die-hard interest in this subject, I'd say. The trailer makes it look quite compelling, but it's mostly men with dandruff delivering dry information to camera in a monotone.​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Remember (2015)

I hadn't heard of this and so went in completely uninformed. And it blew me away. Powerful, touching, unsettling and shocking, with beautiful performances all round, but especially from Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau. And with a couple of surprising turns along the way, which took me along for the ride because the entire film felt both real and subjective.​

 

[DallasFanForever]

I watched this tonight...

Killing Oswald (2013)

This is one for those with a die-hard interest in this subject, I'd say. The trailer makes it look quite compelling, but it's mostly men with dandruff delivering dry information to camera in a monotone.​

I remember when this came out around the time of the 50th anniversary of the assassination. I was looking forward to it as well but I couldn’t help but be very disappointed by it.

 

[Angela Channing]

I hadn't heard of this and so went in completely uninformed. And it blew me away. Powerful, touching, unsettling and shocking, with beautiful performances all round, but especially from Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau.

I'm going to watch this. Like you, I've never heard of this film but I really love the work of Christopher Plummer so I need to see this as it sounds really good.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I remember when this came out around the time of the 50th anniversary of the assassination. I was looking forward to it as well but I couldn’t help but be very disappointed by it.

The RFK documentary by the same guy was interesting enough, but I thought this Lee Harvey Oswald documentary was very poor. It's an interesting angle (based, naturally, on conspiracy theories) but with all the material out there I'm sure it's been covered before, and probably better.

I'm going to watch this. Like you, I've never heard of this film but I really love the work of Christopher Plummer so I need to see this as it sounds really good.

Oh great. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

 

[Angela Channing]

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

I saw this film when it was first released which was almost 30 years ago and I've not seen it since so it was due a re-watch. Anyone who says Leonardo DiCaprio can't act needs to watch this film. His portrayal of Arnie, Gilbert's younger brother with learning difficulties is stunning in its intelligence, nuance, believability and ability to emotionally move you. Johhny Depp also give a very strong and sympathetic performance and overall it's a very good film about family, loyalty, love and responsibility.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Anyone who says Leonardo DiCaprio can't act needs to watch this film. His portrayal of Arnie, Gilbert's younger brother with learning difficulties is stunning in its intelligence, nuance, believability and ability to emotionally move you.

I couldn't agree more.

Like you, I saw it around the time of its release. I think it would have been its debut on Sky Movies or The Movie Channel. This was the first film in which I saw Leo and he was so convincing I assumed they had chosen an actor with moderate learning difficulties to play the role. I was very surprised to find this wasn't the case when I later saw him in a different role.

 

[Jessie]

The Woman in The Window

Excellent film , it was very interesting, I enjoyed watching it.

 

[Jessie]

Evil Eye
Interesting film , I enjoyed it.

 

[Jessie]

The Unholy

 

[Seaviewer]

the first film in which I saw Leo

I still see him as Luke, a kind of step-brother to the Seaver kids in a few episodes of Growing Pains. It's amazing to me that he's gone on to this major career.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Rental (2020)

Two couples - four profoundly unlikeable and entitled individuals - rent a large oceanside home in the middle of nowhere where they spend most of the film being unlikeable and entitled before getting what's coming to them.

The slow burning, character driven plot would have been more attractive were it not these characters, each uglier than the last. Most unlikeable is the aggressive and confrontational drama queen with the permanent chip on her shoulder. The two "nicest" characters are the violent reformed con who resembles an attractive version of Martin Platt from Corrie; and the woman who is fine with stealing another woman's man (because she's "nice" and says she feels badly about it) but becomes insecure and angsty when she realises the woman she'd stolen her husband from had previously stolen him from someone else.

The first two thirds are kind of an American Hollyoaks After Hours Goes On Holiday direct to video kind of thing (the "natural" type acting reminded me a little of This Life, but that comparison would be a little overgenerous).

Then it becomes a by-the-numbers version of pretty much every well-known slasher film. There's the "spooky person looking down from the air vents" of Black Christmas; the "terrible accident" and "nobody ever needs to know" and "this is wrong" of Prom Night or I Know What You Did Last Summer; the "stalker sends victims media of secret recordings " from Scream.

More than anything else, this is clearly heavily influenced by John Carpenter's original Halloween. It's nicely shot with a lot of darkness and shadows, with the pale-faced masked killer remaining mostly hidden. Indeed, there's one moment where he lurches out of a cupboard just as Michael Myers did.

As horrors go the "less is more" approach - with the emphasis on atmosphere and suspense - is my kind of thing. But the deeply unlikeable characters also made it a difficult watch for all the wrong reasons.​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Bystander Theory (2013)

It's rather like what you'd get if early Melrose Place had done an episode based on JFK conspiracy theories. It's all a bit stiff and clunky and earnest and feels very much made for Lifetime.

The lead actress looked and sounded exactly like a genetic hybrid of Jill Eikenberry and Josie Bissett.