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Film 2013







Meade's Ball

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
13,653
Hither (sometimes Thither)
Another day of silent horror in partnership with piano, but this time also with mishap and catastrophe. The film was Faust by F W Murnau, a cinematic legend played once played by John Malkovich in Shadow of the Vampire, an amusing take on the making of Nosferatu, Murnau's most-famed piece. The opening and end of the film were just excellent visually, the devil's black-angel wings causing darkness and disease over the town in which Faust lives was chilling and the fragmentation of imagery with fractured light was sublime. The middle part was a little scattered and became a little too playful and impish in this supposed full tale of a soul being corrupted, but overall it was class, especially some of the evil acting of Mephisto, with the add-on of the piano work being improvised in the corner of the shaded theatre. WHat gave the player more credit was about 70 minutes in with us all evacuated for the fire alarm suddenly going off. And also for when the film projector then broke down for a few minutes when we came back in from the cold and played on without seeming to miss a note thanks to the hold-up and interruptions.
All in all a good show and i look forward to the next feature for me in this 3-month long Gothic season on at the BFI, and especially one with musical accompaniment.
 




Oscar

Well-known member
Nov 10, 2003
3,864
Gravity - Outstanding performance by Bullock and a lesson in how CGI and 3D should be used to tell a compelling story.

As an aside, does anyone else get annoyed by the way cinemas (Odeon at least) now slam on those bright, harsh lights the moment the last scene is finished in a movie? Even if there's extra bits during the credits, they whack these straight on. Using Cineworld's ad, it's like 'Sit back, relax and enjoy the movie...then hurry up and **** OFF!'
 


shaolinpunk

[Insert witty title here]
Nov 28, 2005
7,187
Brighton
I saw Gravity today - phenomenal. I just wish I'd been able to go and see it when the cinema was quiet, without the rustle of popcorn every so often
 




Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
72,350
I saw GRAVITY last night, initially I wasn't fussed about seeing it but an uncle persuaded me after telling me it was getting good reviews.Then I saw it starred George Clooney and Sandra Bullock and my mood switched back to unenthusiastic.
Having seen it I have to say it was superb, I don't really like Sandra Bullock normally but she was great, but on the flip side I like George Clooney but in this, I really didn't see what he bought to the film. But to be honest, the actors were peripheral to the stunning earth as a backdrop. The film starts with total silence, you're just watching the earth turn from space and then a few minutes in you hear the crackle of astronauts talking, then the space ship starts as a dot and slowly comes into view. The crew are carrying out repairs to the ship but hear the Russians have carried out test rocket attack on a satellite and space debris is crashing around so get back in the ship and get the hell out, ect no spoilers.
Most of the film has the team space walking with the stunning earth as a backdrop. the film is beautiful and exciting and I recommend you pay the extra for 3D and defo see it at the cinema because it won't have the same impact on d.v.d

Like you, I was wary of the film on account of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock usually equating to pure corniness. Having seen it tonight at Duke's at Komedia I'd highly recommend it despite the top billing names. OK, there's some dubious bad science in there, but the effects are quite stunning and it's real edge of the seat stuff. Best of all, the 3D glasses fit snugly on top of normal glasses. Result! 8/10
 


keaton

Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
Nov 18, 2004
9,972
Gravity was great. I'm not a fan of 3d but it was phenomenal in this film
 


piersa

Well-known member
Apr 17, 2011
3,155
London
Gravity is one of the best films I have seen. Imax and 3D make it better. A must.
 




Meade's Ball

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
13,653
Hither (sometimes Thither)
You can have the most top-grade cast - Fassbender, Cruz, Bardem, BRUNO GANZ for fack's sake - a writer with the pedigree of Cormac McCarthy's for all of his deft and cryptic writings and a director that studios give a fortune to quite gladly - even though in my eyes Ridley Scott generally keeps churning out the generally unimpressive - yet The Counselor is still a nonsensical pile of gubbins. An embarrassing couple of hours to sit through a piece without subtlety, clarity or any charm. Prattling gibberish.
 


hart's shirt

Well-known member
Jul 8, 2003
11,079
Kitbag in Dubai
Just seen The Hunger Games: Catching Fire this evening on one of the Premiere screenings.

The film really comes alive when Katniss enters the arena and the IMAX experience kicks in.

Some great performances, but for me the standout acting is Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, the TV show host.

It's always difficult for sequels to deliver, but the fight sequences, stunning visuals and costumes are certainly worthy of mention.

Can Mockingjay be far away?

A solid 7/10.
 


LamieRobertson

Not awoke
Feb 3, 2008
48,426
SHOREHAM BY SEA
You can have the most top-grade cast - Fassbender, Cruz, Bardem, BRUNO GANZ for fack's sake - a writer with the pedigree of Cormac McCarthy's for all of his deft and cryptic writings and a director that studios give a fortune to quite gladly - even though in my eyes Ridley Scott generally keeps churning out the generally unimpressive - yet The Counselor is still a nonsensical pile of gubbins. An embarrassing couple of hours to sit through a piece without subtlety, clarity or any charm. Prattling gibberish.

kinda what i said in less words up above
 




Acker79

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Nov 15, 2008
31,921
Brighton
An advanced preview screening of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

I liked it enough. Not sure I'll make the effort to watch it again, and perhaps is more of a lazy Sunday morning film than a Monday night film, but enough about it to like. I really loved the music. When a film is about a guy who daydreams a lot, there is a sense of "should I bother investing in what I'm seeing, or will this be another daydream" but if you can get past that there's enough to enjoy.

Audience seemed a bit mixed (it was a mystery film for cineworld unlimited card holders - you don't know what the film will be until it starts). A couple of people left when it was revealed. A couple left a short while into the film. Some people near me seemed to lose interest, someone after the film was raving about how amazing it was and how she had hoped was going to be that film.

According to one worker it was the films first showing world wide (simultaneously showing at various cineworld cinemas across the UK), but I see it was shown at a new york film festival, so maybe it's the first international performance and I misheard.
 


Meade's Ball

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
13,653
Hither (sometimes Thither)
Last night i saw Computer Chess, which had its funny moments certainly, but i didn't rejoice in it as much as some reviewers have done. The setting is amusing in essence, with it being the very early 80s and a series of virginal geeks in battle as to which one of their programs is the strongest and most advanced to outwit an opponent at chess, and the film style of it being on the cheapest black and white handheld camera footage as if shot at the time was good. But i only got into it a bit further into the film. That could have been down to the girlfriend threatening to walk out of the cinema for a reason i am yet to discover and me spending about the first 20 minutes rubbing her calm. But let's not blame her. It was good enough.

And speaking of rubbing women, today i went to the Warmest Colour is Blue, a 3 hour session of one young girl, beginning the film at 15, realising her sexuality and very much getting down to it graphically with her first love, Emma, a blue-haired artist. The whole film is shot in potent in your face close-ups and the world clearly doesn't exist outside of Adele's coming of age drama. Adele's performance is astonishingly realistic, her face a canvass of flashes of innocence and vast empty spaces thanks to its fundamental undevelopedness, but her pain as she grows shockingly searing. I didn't think often of how long i'd been in there, and that's a skilful job when a film creeps up to 3 hours, and the emotional weight of it snuck up on me as it went. The sex scenes were lengthy and again in close-up and the actresses seemed to be realistic in their shared pleasure, so again a great performance. It fitted in, their lust and the revelation of their constant physical togetherness. The love story had cliches and moments of corniness, but the performances were fantastic and the naturalism throughout made it effectively gripping.
A really good film overall. And now i am off to bed with a small wish that the dreams i have are fed slightly by young lesbian lovemaking!
 


Acker79

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Nov 15, 2008
31,921
Brighton
The Hunger Games Colon Catching Fire
I really don't understand how a story as miserable and hopeless (they speak of hope as if it is something that has grown since the first, but it doesn't feel that way) has become such a huge success. It's decent enough, and I could understand it gathering a small cult following, but can't see how it has made such mainstream success.

It was decent enough, well made and all, but not one to make an effort for unless you particularly enjoyed the first, but it suffers from that middle film syndrome where there's no real climax, that it's just a middle bit with little conclusive message.

Carrie
I've seen the original. I wasn't particularly blown away by it, but liked it enough. And I pretty much feel the same for this one. Given how bad some recent remakes have been, I suppose that can be considered a success. Again, not worth making the effort for.
 




Acker79

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Nov 15, 2008
31,921
Brighton
Frozen
A really strong outing for Disney's latest animated feature. Great songs (performed well by the likes of Josh Gad and Idina Menzel, and who knew Kristen Bell could sing so well? Disappointing Jonathan Groff didn't have much to sing), funny side kick (a snow man who loves warm hugs and hopes to see summer!), a nice spin on tradition to present a couple of strong female characters without making them sappy doting feathers looking for true love. Not quite as good as the ones I grew up with (Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast era), but definitely a good one.
 


Acker79

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Nov 15, 2008
31,921
Brighton
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (3D, HFR)
I liked it. I think it was probably better than An Unexpected Adventure. Seemed to have found its groove. Some impressive action set pieces, and looks pretty good in HFR.
 


KZNSeagull

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
21,097
Wolsingham, County Durham
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Saw this today and I have to say that I thought it was excellent. Warts and all and not an "Ooh, isn't Madiba marvellous" type film. Idris Elba is absolutely superb. Very well made and acted and moves at a good pace. The 2 Zulu guys next to me in the Cinema said at the end "Wow, what a film that was". Great stuff. Everyone in SA should watch it and some on here could do with seeing it too...
 


The Legend that IS Lawro

It's 'canard' Del
May 8, 2013
895
Burgess Hill
Just watched 'Blue is the Warmest Colour', and not simply for the salacious sex scenes I found it really engrossing and intense, great performances and not over long really at nearly 3 hours. Well worth a go.
 






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