[Film] Film 2014

[Brightonfan1983]

A Most Wanted Man

I'd kept away from trailers and reviews for this, just wanting to see a story unfold.

I loved it. I'm a big PSH fan, and John Le Carre does spin a good, solid, slow-burning yarn. No 'fireworks', just intelligent dense plotting without spoon-feedery of any sort. So far, my film of the year. I cannot fault it.

10/10

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Went to see Pride at the Maroona last night. Walking up to Cineworld I said to the other half "What are all these blokes doing hanging around outside?" then the penny dropped (they also happened to be The Brighton Gay Men's Choir). First time I've been cruised on my way into the flicks. The film - very watchable, even though it did get stuck a couple of times, resuting in a 15 minute delay on two occasions while the technicians sorted it out, the Brighton Gay Men's Choir ignoring the requests to entertain us with a few songs while he waited. Great performances, although I can never warm to that mardy Macc lad who was in This is England - the bloke just isn't a particularly great or very versatile actor.

Inspiring story. 7.215/10

 

[Meade's Ball]

A Most Wanted Man i went to on opening night, expecting a sort of farewell performance from Hoffman that would linger like some of his others, but sadly the clunky dialogue and flatness of parts of the film made it one to not be included in the list of his greats. It was an ok watch, but always felt a little empty, some scenes that you feel will thunder with potency simply limping through. A bit disappointing, and i generally point my finger at Anton Corbijn who made a drabness of The American with George Clooney a few years back.

 

[Nibble]

Two recently:

Wakolda: Argentinian drama/Thrillet set in Argentina after WW2 telling the story of a man who befriends a family who may or not be the war criminal and Nazi death camp "doctor" Mengeles.

Any more info would spoil but it was absolutely superb and chilling.

The 100 yard journey. Took my Gran to see this tale of an Indian family who move to France to open a restaurant but face opposition from Helen Mirren's French restaurant owner. I knew this would be shit but god, I was not prepared for how sentimental it was. Worse than you would expect. I realised how come , produced by Stephen Spielberg AND Oprah Winfrey.

Avoid.

 

[n1 gull]

The Riot Club. Really enjoyed it in a watching behind my hands kinda way.

Truly horrible people, but that's the whole point. Good performances all round

 

[Nibble]

The Riot Club. Really enjoyed it in a watching behind my hands kinda way.

Truly horrible people, but that's the whole point. Good performances all round

I saw the blurb about this and it basically looks like a rip off of The Rotters Club.

 

[n1 gull]

I saw the blurb about this and it basically looks like a rip off of The Rotters Club.

I didn't know anything about it before going in and I don't know the rotters club. Apparently it was a very successful play which makes perfect sense as its basically set in one room

 

[Prince Monolulu]

Wakolda: Argentinian drama/Thrillet set in Argentina after WW2 telling the story of a man who befriends a family who may or not be the war criminal and Nazi death camp "doctor" Mengeles.

Excellent. Thanks, will give it a go

 

[Nibble]

Excellent. Thanks, will give it a go

Do so mate, it's really very good.

 

[vegster]

Saw Pride at The Dome Saturday night. Was not sure what I was getting into as this visit was a contractual obligation to Mrs V. Pleasantly delighted to find it hugely enjoyable from just a few minutes in until the great ( if a little Cheesy ) ending. Fine performances throughout from Imelda Staunton and Bill Nighy, the younger actors and actresses give fine performances too. It trips along with humour, pathos and often some sadness but only ever seems to lose its way a little before the end.

Perhaps a little better editing to shave off about 20 minutes would be useful and would not detract from the continuity or its poignancy as it is a tad overlong at 2 hours. Based on a true story that escaped me at the time,it's atmospheric scenes and thumping good soundtrack makes this a thoroughly enjoyable, yet moving, trip through the 1980's.

Only slight criticism I can find is that the great actor Andrew Scott ( Moriarty in Sherlock) has the misfortune to play a gay Welsh man running away from the constraints of his macho Welsh society to live in London. I felt for him as he had to lose his Irish accent and come up with a slightly understated Welsh accent which he struggled with.

8.3

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

The Dome vegster!? In related news, I was amazed to find out that the lead campaigner in Pride (tasty bloke with black quiff type hair) is played by an American, the same actor playing Max in The Book Thief film - quite amazing.

 

[vegster]

The Dome vegster!? In related news, I was amazed to find out that the lead campaigner in Pride (tasty bloke with black quiff type hair) is played by an American, the same actor playing Max in The Book Thief film - quite amazing.

Yep, The Dome. saved a fortune in wine, parking and tickets too. For reference a single, Scotch Egg costs £2.60 in Duke's. Wow ! he hid his accent well, he sounded genuinely a little Oirish, unlike Andrew Scott who had to learn Welsh.

 

[Acker79]

A Walk Among the Tombstones
Not as bad as I was expecting it would be, but it felt like it was lacking something. Like at some point in its production there were well explored ideas of the nature of fear and when it is appropriate, or a discussion on the addictive nature of revenge and/or self punishment, but that these themes got dropped when it came to putting the film together, leaving lots of hints here and there through out that there is something there you're completely missing.

 

[Meade's Ball]

There's something about Hollywood stars that seems to have them wish to play the monsters they could've become or pastiche the gargoyles they've seen around them. Of course one can't be sure that an actor gaining catharsis from such a performance can really rid themselves of the likely egotism that got them where they are, or the desperation of when their star begins to dull and dim. Julianne Moore is great as Havana Segrand, and duly won best actress at Cannes. Her every moment is a performance, seemingly off-stage more than on, paranoic and fragmented and bloody and unapologetic. We have to be thankful we have an actress like her around, giving weight and potency to film that otherwise could be laughed at - see Keira Knightley in Cronenburg's last and how that in part made it such a nonsense.
This one, Maps to the Stars, was comically dirty and sordid, the dialogue largely a work of in-the-know satirical filth. Outside of Moore causing a memorable scene, we have Mia Wasikowska as the ever-reliable mixture of innocence and internal darkness, the inhuman Nick Cusack as the self-help guru who obsesses over money-streams, and Robert Pattinson as a chauffeur who has dreams of being an actor and film-writer, even feigning love to research for one of his written characters. But hugely enjoyable was Evan Bird as the Macauley Culkin/Frankie Muniz child-star with an unforgivable meanness and detachment from reality that it is hard to say is wholly his fault. His outbursts are usually funny.
Overall, it was a decent film. I had hoped for some added gore, but it did enough to disturb as Cronenburg intended, and darkly amuse as it went.

 

[Barry Izbak]

A walk among the tombstones

I read this book on holiday and was looking forward to the film. Both the book and the film were good I thought, but I was mystified by the change to the storyline in the film.
No discernable reason to leave out the computer hackers, nor to introduce the bit about the third perpertrator throwing himself off the roof.

I'm giving the film 8/10 though

 

[Nibble]

Magic in The Moonlight. Woody Allen's latest offering.

It is well photographed but mostly because it's shot on the French Riveria. It's a bit of harmless whimsy but Colin Firth is EXTREMELY annoying in it. In fact, he's terrible. Emma Stone is okay but she keeps being referred to as a goddess, the most beautiful woman alive throughout the film. Granted she is no Susan Boyle but she's not that good looking. Having said that, the ridiculous notion of Firth's character getting it on with her is wildly misplaced.
It's okay, you won't hate it but there really isn't anything to love.
4/10

 

[Meade's Ball]

Had heard good things about that there Gone Girl, in spite of Ben Affleck being one of its stars, so along i went, half-forgetting the surgical neatness and for the thrills the not quite human coldness of David Fincher's flicks. Twas good enough for all of its 2 and a half hours, and well made, and amusing in its pastiche of chunks of societies so simply led now into madness and adulation by the media, but as ever, for me at least, there's a pristineness to Fincher's films, yes with a dark underbelly, that i don't fully enjoy being in or always empathising with the people dotted around. The girlfriend said it had tv movie quality to it, and i don't disagree. Just a good tv movie with some blood and swearing thrown in to the absurdity as it progresses. I'd give it a 3.7 out of 4.879.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Hector and the search for Happiness 7.0
The Guest 7.1
What we did on our Holidays 6.1
Gone Girl 7.9

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Interstellar is the one. Nolan, McConnaghy and Zimmer combo

 

[Meade's Ball]

Interstellar is the one. Nolan, McConnaghy and Zimmer combo

You not looking more forward to this Hungarian canine uprising beaut? I'm off to it next Friday.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2844798/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1