Film 2011

[dannyboy]

saw the tunnel the other day . handheld in the sewers .rec / blair witch style film. not bad actually . 7/10

 

[dannyboy]

also saw paul . didnt laugh out loud once but slightly amusing . 5/10

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Mesrine 1 and 2 on DVD starring La Haine's Vincent Cassel - encroyable true story of the notorious Paris gangster Jacques Mesrine - at a mere fiver on scAmazon for both films you'd be une imbecile to miss out.

7.62222 recurring out of 10.

 

[Meade's Ball]

Had a bit of a double film day yesterday. The one i wanted to see was The Messenger, only showing in four London cinemas, so i took the afternoon off to see it cheaply. Cineworld, slightly unsurprisingly, wasn't willing to display it. So i went to an Odeon. The first screening was at 3.10, so i had a couple of hours to kill after leaving work at 12.30. I checked the listings, and Bridesmaids was the only option i had. I felt a little reserved about seeing it, and i have to say i left it mostly disinterestedly. The Guardian and Independent give it 4 stars, but i'd give it a more paltry 2. I didn't find it very funny in any places and other than the lead's "oh i am a woman who men can't love, why are other women so lucky with the geezers, why am i afraid of the right man, etc etc" was the only real sense of character in it. She's good, but i left the cinema with my sides unnecessary of restitching.

The Messenger was brilliant though. A moody piece starring Woody Harrellson and Ben Foster. All about being the Casualty Notification Officers who arrive straight-facedly to deliver the news to the main parent or loved-one that their son or partner has been killed at war. It's a mission they go on each time, completely unknowing of the accusative or surprisingly-acceptive responses of those they give news to. Incredibly powerful film. Two hours of the main pair drinking inbetween the drives they go on and the guilt they feel for so briefly and systematically telling of doom. I really recommend.

 

[dannyboy]

also saw sucker punch . liked it 7/10

 

[New Carpet?]

The Way

Adapted and directed by Emilio Estevez, this poignant, slow-paced film charts the journey of an estranged father (played by none other than his actual old man, Martin Sheen) who upon discovering upon the news of his son's untimely death in the Pyrenees, decides to carry on where his son left off and embark on a 900-kilometre pilgrimage across the stunning backdrop of Southern France and Northern Spain.

Along the trek, he meets some strange and blatantly flawed characters and together they all trawl along "The Way."

By no means a bad film, and Martin Sheen really does turn in a fantastic lead performance.

If anything though, the one thing the film did was tempt me into taking a trip to Galicia and/or Basque country in the future.

7.6

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Looking forward to seeing 'Bridesmaids' at the DoY later tonight

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Happy to report that Bridesmaids is a HOOT! OK, so its a first and foremost a chick flick as you might expect, but there's some big fat belly laughs in there for the blokes that get dragged along also. Recommended. 7/10

 

[Meade's Ball]

As much as it seems i like to revel and eat well from the harvest of displeasure, i am actually a man that likes to be fed well, nourished and intrigued by the devilish mix disguised as miniscule and concentrated as a mauve petal or as multicoloured and sloppy as a sick bucket's contents. What was forced down my throat on Thursday morning was a limp and unheated frankfurter freshly (and that is the only time i shall use that word in this paragraph or two) groped from its salty tin, not squirt of yellow goo or bun to hold it. I bought it, ok, i know. I know i went to a Cineworld and waved my pass at them to view. I had low expectations, of course, i am a grown-up for god's sake, but this two and a half hours of nibbling on sour blandity took me to a temporary new low. Transformers 3: The Dark Side of the Moon. Yes, i know it is a film for children, but i was a child once and had a taste for the Transformers, those robots in disguise. The disguise stuff has gone now and the Autobots carry out missions for the US government. I missed part two so maybe they struck a deal in that one and were still fighting for equality in a world that wouldn't accept them. But oh look the evil Megatron isn't dead and is hiding in Africa, the continent of the unknown, hatching a cheeky plan to enslave the human population and destroy Optimus and his drab emotionless dialogue.
Two and a half hours. I went for a very slow wee-wee about an hour and forty minutes in and sort of hoped the film itself might have melted into nothingness. There's a bad guy, a brainless bimbo, a leading man who as much as he struggles through can't bring any character to it (or the likelihood that he is anyone younger than 35), an armageddon unseen, long long spells without action, and an awful sense of doing-it-for-the-money from Michael Bay.
I am 36 in 9 days so perhaps that says a little of why i can no longer swallow such grey matter, but this was nonsensical and mostly a waste of time.

 

[Acker79]

July

Moved from the May schedule, Terrence Malick returns in a story of lost innocence with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn in The Tree of Life (2011) - IMDb (trailer)

Former Friends star, David Schwimmer directs Trust (2010) - IMDb , a film about a teenage girl being targeted by an online sexual predator. Stars Clive Owen, Catherine Keener as the young girl’s parents, Liana Liberato as the young girl. (trailer)

From the director of the, imo, underrated Slither, James Gunn comes Super (2010) - IMDb , a superhero film where the hero is not quite super. Rainn Wilson stars as a man who decides to become a superhero when his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer. Ellen Page plays his trusty sidekick. Also stars Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon, with appearances from Slither alum Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker and Gregg Henry. (trailer)

Katherine Heigl stars alongside John Leguizamo and Debbie Reynolds as a young woman who takes a job at her cousin’s bail-bond business and on her first job has to track down a former lover. One for the Money (2011) - IMDb is a comedy crime thriller based on a book. (trailer unavailable)

Holy Rollers (2010) - IMDb starring Jesse Eisenberg and National Treasure and The Hangover’s Justin Bartha is a low budget movie telling the story of a group of ecstasy selling orthodox Jews in Brooklyn. (trailer)

Noel Clarke, Ralph Brown, Johnny Harris, Thandie Newton, Tamsin Egerton and Michelle Ryan star in Ben Miller’s Huge (2010) - IMDb, telling the story of a feuding double act trying to make a name for themselves in the world of comedy. (trailer)

Certain to be cult classic, Rutger Hauer stars in Hobo with a Shotgun (2011) - IMDb (trailer)

Cell 211 (2009) - IMDb is a Spanish film about a prison riot focusing on the man who instigated it, and a guard who poses as an inmate in an effort ot survive it. (trailer)

If chess documentaries are your thing, mayb you’ll be interested in Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011) - IMDb telling the story of the chess master. (trailer)

Not to be confused with the original dance film that saw its sequel released last month, Honey (2010) - IMDb is a Turkish film about the son of a honey collector whose business is faltering. (trailer)

Have you ever thought Office Space needed a bit more gross out comedy? Maybe you’ll like Horrible Bosses (2011) - IMDb, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis play employees of Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell, and due to the unpleasant nature of said bosses, the three conspire to kill them. If you’ve never got the appeal of Jennifer Aniston, maybe this red band trailer will give you something to think about: (trailer)

Ewan McGregor returns to screens in Beginners (2010) - IMDb, a film in which his father, Christopher Plummer reveals he has terminal cancer and a young male love. Also stars Inglourious Basterds’ Melanie Laurent and ER’s Goran Visnjic. (trailer)

A star studded cast including Sly Stallone, Adam Sandler, Rosario Dawson and Cher star in person or as a voice in Zookeeper (2011) - IMDb where the animals in a failing zoo start talking in an effort to help their keeper win the girl of his dreams. (trailer)

From Studio Ghibli, the company responsible for classics such as My Neighbour Totoro, Grave of the Firflies and Spirited Away comes Arrietty (2010) - IMDb which reads a bit like The Borrowers. (trailer)


Anjelica Huston and a bunch of recogniseable, mostly British, names including Jo Brand, Noel Fielding, Matthew Horne, Richard E Grant an Kimberly Walsh is a live action version of Horrid Henry: The Movie (2011) - IMDb, Theo Stevenson plays the title character. (trailer)


Other big films released this month: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) - IMDb (trailer), Cars 2 (2011) - IMDb (trailer) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - IMDb (trailer).

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Just ordered this about Aussie tunnellers in WW1 - apparently a good watch.

 

[Stat Brother]

Just a little nod to Senna still being in the top 10.
I think Kermode said, it's now the biggest grossing English docu-film, ever made.

 

[Meade's Ball]

I had the honour last evening of going to see A Separation. Blimey that was an enthralling beauty. Whatever description of it i give will not mirror the subtle brilliance of the film, and especially when it's billed as an Iranian legal drama. Fundamentally, it's just about a husband and wife looking for divorce in Iran. The wife wants to leave Iran and their visa only has a month left on it in order to escape. The husband cannot leave his alzhemer-suffering father and refuses. They have an 11-year daughter to pretty much battle for the ownership and love of. They argue in the backroom of a legal building in which decisions are morally made of their futures. They are told to fight on for now. The tired helper the husband hires to look after his silent and bemused-looking father by accident brings in another legal case which causes the arguments to broaden and make one glance shockingly at class systems and religion and the lack of support for the sickly and the evidential complete collapse of love and loyalty.
It was an engrossing two hours of discreetly thrilling drama. I kept expecting sometimes those "blom blom"s you hear at key moments in Law & Order (when Ice T is not involved). I thought it was just brilliant and i cannot recommend it highly enough.

 

[murphy's law]

I had the honour last evening of going to see A Separation. Blimey that was an enthralling beauty. Whatever description of it i give will not mirror the subtle brilliance of the film, and especially when it's billed as an Iranian legal drama. Fundamentally, it's just about a husband and wife looking for divorce in Iran. The wife wants to leave Iran and their visa only has a month left on it in order to escape. The husband cannot leave his alzhemer-suffering father and refuses. They have an 11-year daughter to pretty much battle for the ownership and love of. They argue in the backroom of a legal building in which decisions are morally made of their futures. They are told to fight on for now. The tired helper the husband hires to look after his silent and bemused-looking father by accident brings in another legal case which causes the arguments to broaden and make one glance shockingly at class systems and religion and the lack of support for the sickly and the evidential complete collapse of love and loyalty.
It was an engrossing two hours of discreetly thrilling drama. I kept expecting sometimes those "blom blom"s you hear at key moments in Law & Order (when Ice T is not involved). I thought it was just brilliant and i cannot recommend it highly enough.

Why do you bother with this thread given the kind of films people here go and watch? Then again you did go and see transformers.

 

[Meade's Ball]

Why do you bother with this thread given the kind of films people here go and watch? Then again you did go and see transformers.

I can't start a pompous thread in which i am the only poster. Not again anyway.
You have to see the good and the bad, i think. Just like when you're a smoker and you've run out and the person you scav off is a menthol regular. It reminds you of how lovely a B&H is to inhale something so sickeningly minty.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Just ordered this about Aussie tunnellers in WW1 - apparently a good watch.

Have seen it and quite enjoyed it. In the 7-8 type rating range.

 

[Acker79]

Why do you bother with this thread given the kind of films people here go and watch? Then again you did go and see transformers.

This is meant to be a thread for all sorts of movie reviews and recommendations, from the snobbish high culture type films to low end popcorn hollywood cheesefests. I'm very glad MB bothers with this thread.

 

[Meade's Ball]

This is meant to be a thread for all sorts of movie reviews and recommendations, from the snobbish high culture type films to low end popcorn hollywood cheesefests. I'm very glad MB bothers with this thread.

thanks Acker. Does that mean you'll rush to see A Separation today? You should, you know, if you have't already. It's a flipping beauty.

 

[murphy's law]

fair do's, hopefully people will go and see the more interesting films (in my opinion) like a separation than transformers type rubbish, because of meade's reviews.

 

[Meade's Ball]

fair do's, hopefully people will go and see the more interesting films (in my opinion) like a separation than transformers type rubbish, because of meade's reviews.

I have my eye on an Incendies and Akira doublebill on Thursday evening in Stratford (London and not upon-Avon) if you're in the vicinity.