Film 2013

[Meade's Ball]

Zero Dark Thirty for me this evening. The final 30 minutes or so truly stunning. The rest of it good enough, keeping the tension going with the how will they do it rather than the will they do it. Some Arnie-esque lines a bit shameful and not the ambiguity of war that Hurt Locker had and also a difficulty in formulating much sense of character as it's more to do with the method than the people, but a very good feature.

 

[Acker79]

Went with friend to watch django unchained again this evening. People were getting up to leave before the final credits started, at least three people were heading out the door before the credits started. No more can any one, when complaining about people leaving the amex early, say "well, you would leave a film early, would you?!" (though I consider leaving before the credits have run as 'leaving early' especially with an increase in mid- and post- end credit additional scenes).

 

[Earlybird]

Think you have to be a QT fan to 'get' Django. I cant see how you can like this but dislike Pulp, Kill Bill or Basterds.
If you liked the latters,. you'll love DU. I thought it was the mutts

I also 'appreciated' Lincoln. DDLs lead was fantastic & if I could imagine what AL was like in real life, DDLs portrayal couldn't have been far off.
Best actor Oscar imo
Different films but if I were to recommend ONE, to you ...& you liked your action stuff, Django would be the one.

 

[pastafarian]

Oh, and don't go expecting to see long scenes of disturbing torture, or leave expecting to have seen something controversial. To any vaguely intelligent person, there's absolutely nothing surprising in it.

exactly

but a thoroughly cracking and very interesting film,i would have been very disappointed if someone had made this story and avoided the torture issue entirely.....now that would have been a good excuse to shout hollywood bunkum propaganda.

its been a good couple of weeks

Zero Dark Thirty
Lincoln
The Impossible.....best film of the year for me so far

looking forward to seeing Flight next week

but bring on Bruce Willis....i need a light relief fix!

 

[Barry Izbak]

Denzil Washington is probably my favourite actor and is supposedly in a two way fight with Daniel Day Lewis to win the Oscar fo r for his performance in Flight
If I was voting Lewis would win but I enjoyed Flight a lot and Washington gave a strong if rather predictable performance as the alcoholic airline pilot.
The first few minutes of the aircraft's flight in this film were really quite realistic. Nervous fliers will need to be prepared for this I reckon
Overall 7.5 / 10

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Denzil Washington is probably my favourite actor and is supposedly in a two way fight with Daniel Day Lewis to win the Oscar fo r for his performance in Flight
If I was voting Lewis would win but I enjoyed Flight a lot and Washington gave a strong if rather predictable performance as the alcoholic airline pilot.
The first few minutes of the aircraft's flight in this film were really quite realistic. Nervous fliers will need to be prepared for this I reckon
Overall 7.5 / 10

Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln 1/20
Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables 10/1
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master 33/1
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook 50/1
Denzil Washington - Flight 50/1

Courtesy of Ladbrokes Plc

 

[Meade's Ball]

Had a welcome relief from seeing consistently average at best oscar nominated film-fare this evening with Bullhead. A Belgian drama with a secret hanging over it and infecting its every scene pretty much. Stars Matthias Schoenaerts from Rust and Bone and he plays a character not a million miles from that in Bone, although without an ounce of charm this time. An animalistic guy, but for different reasons. The ongoing crime case and dodgy deal element of the story you see is just to keep it going along as it all becomes about this one man's loss, the injustice of it all, that one mostly mad hideous moment can really alter a number of loosely-connected people's lives and characters, and not in a Final Destination 6 sort of a way. It grew on me as it went and by the end i was rather transfixed. Not incredible but a definite mainly adult-oriented construction that differs from the likes of the meatless Oscar drabbery i've chosen to sit through, and worth a view. I like the title too.

 

[Vatican Citys No.2 Keeper]

Went to see Les Mis at the Dome in Worthing on Monday. Best £3 per ticket I have ever ever spent!!!!! The cinema is fantastic for what it is (an old, 50's style cinema if you've never been), the sound was fantastic and the picture quality great. I am never going back to a soulless multiplex again

Not to mention the option of sipping on a pint whilst enjoying the movie Been to Dome last 3-4 times I've seen a new film & will continue to do so! Planning to see Django, Gangster Squad & new Die Hard at some point in the next month or two.

 

[Worthingite]

Not to mention the option of sipping on a pint whilst enjoying the movie Been to Dome last 3-4 times I've seen a new film & will continue to do so! Planning to see Django, Gangster Squad & new Die Hard at some point in the next month or two.

I won't go anywhere else now. They get the latest films, it's cheap as anything, and, like you say, reclining in the auditorium with a lovely pint of London Pride can't be beaten

 

[highway61]

Oscars Best Picture odds | Film Specials betting | William Hill

interesting odds

 

[Acker79]

Flight
I rather enjoyed this. I thought Denzel's performance was very good and the oscar nomination is thoroughly deserved. If I was voting dispassionately he would probably got my vote (I loved Les Mis and would probably actually vote for hugh out of loyalty, but something about an all singing performance, while not wanting to understate how good it was, seems un-oscarish to me; Day-Lewis was good, but it seemed... I'm not sure how to put this... more like a performance than acting?; I've liked Bradley Cooper since Alias, but not sure his performance merited nomination; not seen The Master so can't comment on Joaquin).

This was a good film. I didn't realise how little nadine valasquez was in it, or how much kelly reilly was in it. I think the ending, while I agree with the resolution, laid it on bit thick. It's another long one, though.

 

[Acker79]

I Give It A Year
I like this while watching it, but on reflection think it probably wasn't as good as I felt at the time. The characters are not particularly sympathetic, it's difficult to see why an of them are attracted to the other. There are some funny moments, and anti-romcom ideas, but overall the film probably not as strong as it could have been.

Warm Bodies
Again, I liked this while watching it. This one does still feel decent, though. It has some issues picking a tone, which becomes more important when you mix such genres, and I think Hoult's performance as a zombie is a little off even before he meets the girl that starts to 'cure' him, but it's decent enough.

Hitchcock
I missed the tv film The Girl a week or two back, so don't know how it compares. I enjoyed it enough. Nothing special, but fine for what it is.

Wreck-It Ralph 3D
This was good. Very cute, and some neat game references. While I did very much enjoy it, I was expecting it to be a bit better than it was. There is a very sweet short animation before it, too.

 

[Acker79]

A Good Day to Die Hard
I love the first one. Am largely indifferent to the second. Really like the third. Quite like the fourth (I remember spending most of the film trying to work out where I knew the bad guy from, then when I saw his name in the credits was thoroughly surprised that it was mickey from scream 2. He seemed so different.

Anyhoo, number 5 was very m'eh. Decent action, but it was hard to really care about it. There was no attempt to introduce the characters "it's his son" seemed to be the extent of it, but he was so distant and unknowable that it felt hard to believe he was actually the son of john mcclane. There was very little plot, so with no real story, no real characters, it was hard to care about the action.


This Is 40
I'm not really a judd apatow fan. But went to watch this because it had paul rudd in. Leslie Mann was very annoying very quickly (she usually needs a while to really get under my skin, but not in this one). There were plenty of laughs, but also a lot of "lets move on to the next scene, please" moments. Albert Brooks and John Lithgow were both good in their roles, but I'm sure the film would have been fine without them. Megan Fox is starting to look weird.

 

[RowleyBirkinQ.C(deceased)]

Went to see THIS IS 40 last night. Haven't been to the cinema for ages, finally get a babysitter and my wife chose this to go and see. Not having seen knocked up, I wasn't too sure I'd like it, but I have to say it was a great film. Some great performances by all actors involved and the gorgeous Megan Fox in different stages of undress is always a treat. Some very funny set pieces and snappy dialogue. Having just turned 40 myself I could really relate to some of the scenarios the leading actor finds himself in with his wife, friends and his young children, but there's more than enough comedy gross out and sweary confrontation moments for the 20's and 30's.
The only thing I couldn't relate to was the strange relationship the main characters had with both their fathers but in the end it all kind of works out without sickly Hollywood schmaltz.
Great fun and recommended

 

[Questions]

MARGERET

I know it is not a new film but because of its limited release good to see it made it to Sky. An absolute chaos and mess of a film that ultimately turns out to be a truly riveting piece of work. Best I,ve seen For some time. Some excellant cameos from a whole host of top names and although at times the leading character played by Anna Paquin grates, the actress delivers a incredibly powerful performance. It's the sort of film I'm pretty much convinced you,ll either love or hate. Would like to see more of Kenneth Lonergan as a director.

 

[Acker79]

Song for Marion (aka Unfinished Song)
This was ok. It's not going to root up trees, and it's focus on an older character may not mean it appeals to a lot of people, but it was a sweet, albeit entirely unoriginal film.

Beautiful Creatures
It's been a few hours since I saw it and I'm still not sure what I think of it. I liked aspects, was bored by others. I don't think any of it was particularly bad, but I didn't find anything that really clicked for me.

 

[RowleyBirkinQ.C(deceased)]

wasn't going to post this, but what the hell. Saw Wreck It Ralph with the kids today and we all bloody loved it. Great little story, fantastic animation and loads of old school computer game reference's for the oldies. Great fun

 

[vegster]

I'm rather intrigued by the reviews for Cloud Atlas, it seems a juggernaught of a movie and whacks 172 minutes of stress on the old Gluteus Maximus which at my age could produce huge squirmage. The review in The Times says it is a smorgasboard of creativity and ideas but can be regarded as " Barking " ! It sounds like it has sweeping imaginative ideas and incredible costume/character changes.
I'm looking forward to Meade's Ball's review as I feel this film will make perfect sense to him !

 

[vegster]

Well, I went and did it, saw Cloud Atlas at the DoY's. Difficult film to describe as it really was a complete mash up of stories with characters playing multiple personalities across 500 years of history. It is really a cut and shut of Treasure Island/The China Syndrome/ Brideshead Revisited/ One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest/ The Matrix/ Mad Max 3, but, for all that, some cuts as the stories interweave were awesome, and, yes, the stories do interweave very well overall.

At times you are uplifted by the decency and honour of humanity and other times you are dragged in to a world of despair. I won't begin to try to explain any of the plot but the film is a Must See if only to see how fit Halle Berry still is.

8.2

 

[Acker79]

Cloud Atlas
I saw this this evening and am still trying to digest it. I think I really liked it, but I'm not entirely sure yet...